3 
 
 J 
 

THE PATHFINDER. 
 
 
" He had originally got a position where he might aim with deadly effect 
 through the leaves, and where he could watch the movements of his enemies." 
 Page 58. 
 
THE PATHFINDER 
 
 THE ISTLA^D SEA 
 
 BY 
 
 J. FENIMORE COOPER 
 
 WITH AN 
 
 INTRODUCTION BY SUSAN FENIMORE COOPER 
 
 Here the heart 
 
 May give a useful lesson to the head, 
 And Learning wiser grow without his books. 
 
 COWPEB. 
 
 " OF THE "$^\ 
 
 UFI7BBSIT 
 S!SaO> 
 
 BOSTON AND NEW YORK 
 HOUGHTON, MIFFLIN AND COMPANY 
 
COPYRIGHT, 1876, 
 Br SUSAN FENIMORE COOPER 
 
 RIVERSIDE, CAMBRIDGE: 
 
 STEREOTYPED AND PRINTED BY 
 
 H- o. HOUQIITON AND COMPANY. 
 

 PREFACE. 
 
 FOLLOWING the order of events, this book should be the 
 third in the series of " The Leather-Stocking Tales." In 
 "The Deerslayer," Natty Bumppo, under the sobriquet 
 which forms the title of that work, is represented as a youth, 
 just commencing his forest career as a warrior ; having, for 
 several years, been a hunter so celebrated, as already to 
 have gained the honorable appellation he then bore. In 
 " The Last of the Mohicans " he appears as Hawkeye, and 
 is present at the death of young Uncas ; while in this tale, 
 he reappears in the same war of 56, in company with his 
 Mohican friend, still in the vigor of manhood, and young 
 enough to feel that master passion to which all conditions 
 of men, all tempers, and we might almost say, all ages, sub 
 mit, under circumstances that are incited to call it into ex 
 istence. 
 
 " The Pathfinder " did not originally appear for several 
 years after the publication of " The Prairie," the vi ork in 
 wrhich the leading character of both had closed his career 
 by death. It was, perhaps, a too hazardous experiment t< 
 recall to life, in this manner, and after so long an interval 
 a character that was somewhat a favorite with the reading 
 world, and which had been regularly consigned to bis 
 grave, like any living man. It is probably owing to thig 
 severe ordeal that the work, like its successor, " The Deer 
 slayer," has been so little noticed ; scarce one in ten of 
 those who know all about the three earliest books of the 
 ieries having even a knowledge of the existence of the last 
 *t all. That this caprice OJL taste and favor is in no waj 
 
FSiiFACE. 
 
 t on merit, the writer feels certain ; for, though 
 the trorld will ever maintain that an author is always the 
 worst judge of his own productions, one who has writ 
 ten much, and regards all his literary progeny with more 
 or less of a paternal eye, must have a reasonably accurate 
 knowledge of what he has been about the greater part oi 
 his life. Such a man may form too high an estimate of his 
 relative merits, as relates to others; but it is not easj to 
 jee why he should fall into this error, more than another 
 its relates to himself. His general standard may be raised 
 too high by means of self-love ; but, unless he be disposed 
 to maintain the equal perfection of what he has done, as 
 probably no man was ever yet fool enough to do, he may 
 very well have shrewd conjectures as to the comparative 
 merits and defects of his own productions. 
 
 This work, on its appearance, was rudely and maliciously 
 assailed by certain individuals out of pure personal malig 
 nancy. It is scarcely worth the author s while, nor would 
 it have any interest for the reader, to expose the motives 
 and frauds of these individuals, who have pretty effectually 
 vindicated the writer by their own subsequent conduct. 
 But even the falsest of men pay so much homage to truth, 
 as to strive to seem its votaries. In attacking " The Path 
 finder," the persons alluded to pointed out faults, that the 
 author, for the first time has now ascertained to be real ; 
 and much to his surprise, as of most of them he is entirely 
 innocent. They are purely errors of the press, unless, in 
 deed, the writer can justly be accused of having been a 
 careless proof-reader. A single instance of the mistake i 
 he means may be given in explanation of the manner in 
 which the book was originally got up. 
 
 The heroine of this tale was at first called " Agnes/ Jn 
 ie fifth or sixth chapter this name was changed to " Ma 
 bel," and the manuscript was altered accordingly. Owing 
 io inadvertency, however, the original appellation stood 
 n several places, and the principal female character of the 
 book, uutil HOW, has had the advantage of going bj two 
 
PBEFACE. Tfl 
 
 aames ! Many other typographical errors exist in the ear 
 lier editions, most of which, it is believed, are corrected in 
 this. 
 
 There are a few discrepancies in the facts of this work, 
 as connected with the facts of the different books of the 
 series. They are not material, and it was thought fairer to 
 let their stand as proof of the manner in which the books 
 were originally written, than to make any changes in the 
 
 XiXt. 
 
 In youth, when belonging to the navy, the writer of this 
 book served for some time on the great western lakes. He 
 was, indeed, one of those who first carried the cockade of 
 the republic on those inland seas. This was pretty early 
 in the present century, when the navigation was still con 
 fined to the employment of a few ships and schooners. 
 Since that day, light may be said to have broken into the 
 wilderness, and the rays of the sun have penetrated to tens 
 of thousands of beautiful valleys and plains, that then lay 
 in " grateful shade." Towns have been built along the 
 whole of the extended line of coasts, and the traveller now 
 stops at many a place of ten or fifteen, and at one of even 
 fifty thousand inhabitants, where a few huts then marked 
 the natural sites of future marts. In a word, though the 
 scenes of this book are believed to have once been as 
 nearly accurate as is required by the laws which govern 
 fiction, they are so no longer. Oswego is a large and thriv 
 ing town ; Toronto and Kingston, on the other side of the 
 lake, compete with it ; while Buffalo, Detroit, Cleveland, 
 IMilwaukie, and Chicago, on the upper lakes, to say nothing 
 of a hundred places of lesser note, are fast advancing to 
 the level of commercial places of great local importance, 
 [u these changes, the energy of youth and abundance is 
 quite as much apparent as anything else ; and it is ardently 
 to be hoped that the fruits of the gifts of a most bountiful 
 Providence may not be mistaken for any peculiar qualities 
 in those who have been their beneficiaries. A just appre 
 ciation of the first of these facts will render us grateful and 
 
viii PREFACE. 
 
 meek ; while the vain -glorious, who are so apt to ascribe all 
 to themselves, will be certain to live long enough to ascer 
 tain the magnitude of their error. That great results are 
 intended to be produced by means of these wonderful 
 changes, we firmly believe ; but that they will prove to be 
 the precise results now so generally anticipated, in consult 
 ing the experience of the past, and taking the nature of 
 man into the account, the reflecting and intelligent may b< 
 permitted to doubt. 
 
 It may strike the novice as an anachronism, to place ves 
 sels on Ontario in the middle of the eighteenth century, 
 but, in this particular, facts will fully bear out all the 
 license of the fiction. Although the precise vessels men 
 tioned in these pages may never have existed on that water, 
 or anywhere else, others so nearly resembling them as to 
 form a sufficient authority for their introduction into a work 
 of fiction, are known to have navigated that inland sea, 
 even at a period much earlier than the one just mentioned. 
 It is a fact not generally remembered, however well known 
 it may be, that there are isolated spots along the line of 
 the great lakes, that date, as settlements, as far back its 
 many of the oldest American towns, and which were the 
 seats of a species of civilization long before the greater 
 portion of even the original States was rescued from the 
 wilderness. 
 
 Ontario, in our own times, has been the scene of impor 
 tant naval evolutions. Fleets have manoeuvred on those 
 waters, which, half a century since, were desert wastes ; 
 and the day is not distant, when the whole of that vast 
 range of lakes will become the seat of empire, and fraught 
 with all the interests of human society. A passing glimpse, 
 even though it be in a work of fiction, of what that rast 
 region so lately was, may help to make up the sum of 
 knowledge by which alone a just appreciation can be 
 formed of the wonderful means by which Providence is 
 clearing the way for the advancement of civilization acrosa 
 the whole American continent. 
 
INTRODUCTION. 
 
 BY SUSAN FENIMORE COOPER. 
 
 THE fertile country south of Lake Ontario, lay overshad 
 owed by a beautiful leafy canopy, during untold ages. 
 
 When the wondering pale-faces first landed on the shores 
 of that inland sea, they beheld boundless forests stretching 
 before them, forests made up of oak, ash, chestnut, pine, 
 and maple, of the most noble growth. More than two 
 centuries passed away after the discovery of the St. Law 
 rence, and still that region preserved the same character of 
 a grand, shadowy wilderness. Slowly and reluctantly as 
 it were, those great old trees dropped their limbs, bowed 
 their heads, and stretched their giant trunks on the earth. 
 That fluttering, leafy canopy, vast in its proportions, beauti 
 ful and delicate in texture, ever-varying in its aspects 
 under the successive changes of storm and sunshine, of 
 spring and autumn that living canopy was not to be 
 folded, and laid aside in one century. The brawny arms 
 >f hundreds of thousands of woodmen were needed to do 
 the work, half a dozen generations or more toiled out a 
 life-time, one after the other, and lay down in their grairei 
 ere the task was done. It was not until the first years of 
 ihe present century that the soil of that region was hor* 
 .vighly opened to the light of the sun. 
 
 Meanwhile stirring scenes were enacted within the thady 
 
 limits of those forests. There were grand hunts in which 
 
 whole tribes were engaged. There were wars in which ex- 
 
 ensive confederacies were in arms, wars in which entire 
 
 clans were exterminated. Council fires were lighted, at 
 
X INTRODUCTION. 
 
 which envoys from tribes a thousand miles distant appeared 
 to negotiate peace or war. And, very soon after the plant 
 ing of the first colonies on the St. Lawrence and the Hud- 
 eon, the pale -faces came along those foot-paths, stretching 
 out one hand for the peltries, and offering the fire-water 
 with the other. Stealthily, and treacherously, the astute 
 diplomacy of Versailles came creeping along those forest- 
 trails. In shrewd foresight the statesmen of France far 
 surpassed those of Holland and England. Far-seeing, far 
 reaching, were the plans skillfully woven in the gilded cabi 
 nets of Versailles or St. Germain, for the ultimate mastery 
 of the Continent of North America, at least so far south 
 as Mexico. And thoroughly were those plans carried out 
 by subordinate legions selfish traders, daring adventurers, 
 gallant soldiers, and devout missionaries, whether consciously 
 or unconsciously, tens of thousands of these were working 
 for the extension of French power in North America. 
 
 And what has it all availed ? One touch of the finger of 
 Providence and the proud fabric so cunningly raised has 
 vanished like the bubble blown by a child. The flag of 
 France is an alien flag to-day, throughout North America. 
 
 The possession of the southern shore of Lake Ontario 
 was early deemed of great importance by the Canadian gov 
 ernment. But here they met a foe who not only faced 
 them bravely, but who at one period even threatened utterly 
 to uproot the French Colonies on the St. Lawrence. The 
 Konoshioni, the United People, or the Iroquois tribes as 
 thoy were called by their French neighbors, held the whole 
 country to the southward of the lake. They were brave 
 and fierce in war. They were astute in policy. During 
 nearly a century, the French made little impression on 
 them. At length the Jesuit Missionaries penetrated into 
 she heart of the Iroquois country, about the middle of the 
 seventeenth century. And they came by the river, which 
 Uow bears the name of the Oswego. These good men were 
 early employed by the Canadian authorities in a semi-dip 
 lomatic character, and it was the intention to obtain 
 
INTRODUCTION. XI 
 
 permanent foot-hold in the country, through their influence, 
 and to establish colonies on the shores of Lake Onondaga. 
 This effort failed. But still for many years the Canadian 
 government kept their eyes fixed upon that southern shore, 
 eagerly watching for an opportunity to seize some one 
 favorable point as a nucleus for future operations. The 
 mouth of the Oswego River was the site they most coveted 
 as the key to the whole Iroquois country. Choueguen, as 
 they named the spot, held a prominent place in their plans 
 and is constantly mentioned in their older records. Scarce 
 a meeting between the sachems of the upper tribes, and the 
 agents of the French, whether at Onondaga or at Montreal, 
 in which Choueguen is not named. But the rude diploma 
 tists at the Council fire of Onondaga, were very unwilling 
 to yield this ground to the French. A wild Indian village, 
 insignificant in size, and chiefly occupied by fishing parties, 
 was found there by the first French missionary explorers, 
 and continued for nearly a century, the only human habita 
 tions at the mouth of the river. Fort Frontenac was built 
 on the northern shore of the lake in 1672, but still the Ko- 
 noshioni warned off the pale-faces from the coveted ground 
 at Choueguen. In 1687 the French built a small fort at 
 Niagara, but it was demolished a year later to satisfy the 
 jealousy of the Indians. Thirty-three years afterwards, in 
 1720, the French again took possession of the same ground. 
 u We come to you howling," said the Indian sachems to 
 the Governor of New York, " and this is the reason we 
 howl, because the Governor of Canada encroaches on our 
 land ! " The rebuilding of the fort at Niagara caused the 
 " howling." Governor Burnet remonstrated with the French 
 authorities, but without effect. He resolved to weaken the 
 importance of this French fort by building a stronger one 
 At the mouth of the Oswego River. It appears that it had 
 been the intention of King William to build a fort at 
 Oswego, some thirty years earlier, and the plate and furni 
 ture for a chapel in connection with the fort were sent ovei 
 from England. But the death of the King prevented th 
 
rii INTRODUCTION. 
 
 plan from being carried out. The work was now to be 
 done, however. The Canadian government were thrown 
 into great agitation on learning Governor Burnet s inten 
 tion. Agents and spies passed to and fro, and penetrated 
 into the Iroquois country ; one hundred English with sixty 
 canoes were found in the Oswego River in October, 1725 
 at which the French agent was highly indignant. The 
 only result of the French negotiation with the Iroquois was 
 the permission obtained from the sachems to build at Niag 
 ara a large stone house and two small vessels barques. 
 In the summer of 1726 there were three hundred English 
 at Oswego. In the spring of 1727, a strong stone fortified 
 house was built at the mouth of the river. Permission was 
 asked, and obtained from the Iroquois, for the erection of 
 this fort. Sixty soldiers with a captain and two lieutenants 
 were sent to protect the workmen. Two hundred traders, 
 already on the ground, were also embodied as militia. A 
 permanent garrison of twenty men, under an officer, was 
 stationed there when the work was completed. 
 
 In the course of the summer M. de Beauharnais, Gov 
 ernor of Canada, sent a formal remonstrance in true diplo 
 matic style to Governor Burnet upon his having built a 
 " Redout " at Choueguen, which he chose to consider a vio 
 lation of the treaty of Utrecht. He knew from spies of his 
 own, the nature of the works. This redoubt was in fact a 
 very substantial stone building of rough masonry and clay, 
 sixty feet by twenty-four, with walls four feet thick, and 
 with galleries and loop-holes. There were at that time 
 
 o r 
 
 twenty batteaux and eight bark canoes lying in the little 
 harbor. There were tents for the troops, and seventy 
 cabins for Dutch and English traders. All this excited tine 
 diplomatic ire of M. de Beauharnais to the highest degi ee. 
 He had sent a formal summons to surrender, to the com 
 mander of the fort at Oswego, a week before writing to 
 Governor Burnet, which to us at the present day appears 
 rather a singular mode of proceeding. The English offi 
 cer was ordered to withdraw his garrison and demolish his 
 
INTRODUCTION. ilii 
 
 redoubt " within a fortnight," failing in which the severest 
 measures would be taken to punish his " unjust usurpation/ 
 
 To the remonstrance of M. de Beauharnais, Governoi 
 Burnet sent a very good answer quoting the treaty of 
 Utrecht, which declared the Five Nations to be subject to 
 the dominion of Great Britain. The question was referred 
 to London and Versailles, and like other matters of dispute 
 between the two Crowns, was held in abeyance to be dis 
 posed of at some future day by the sword. Meanwhile fort 
 and garrison were unmolested. 
 
 In 1743 the French had three sailing vessels of fifty cr 
 sixty tons on Lake Ontario. The first English vessel on 
 the lake was a small schooner, forty feet keel, with four 
 teen sweeps and twelve swivels. She was launched on the 
 28th of June, 1755. The following year the English had 
 three flat-bottomed gun-brigs afloat, and were preparing to 
 build others. 
 
 The fortifications at Oswego were gradually much strength 
 ened and enlarged. A new fort of logs, twenty or thirty 
 inches thick, was built on the height above the eastern bank 
 of the river ; the wall was fourteen feet high, and protected 
 by a ditch fourteen feet wide. A third fort was also built to 
 the westward of the older one, with a rampart of earth and 
 Btones, twenty feet thick, and twelve feet high, with a ditch 
 in front fourteen feet wide, and ten feet deep. Cannons 
 and mortars defended these forts. It was now resolved in 
 the councils of Canada that Choueguen should be attacked. 
 But the defeat of General Dieskau at Lake George in 1755 
 delayed the expedition. It was only delayed, however. 
 " From the hour of its foundation, Choueguen is the rallying 
 ground of the Indian tribes," wrote the Governor of Canada, 
 M. de Vaudreuil. "From Choueguen come all the belts and 
 messages that the English scatter among the far nations. It 
 is always at Choueguen that the English hold councils with 
 the Indians." .... In fine Choueguen is the direct cause of 
 ill the troubles that have befallen the colony. Choueguen 
 must fall. 
 
XIV INTRODUCTION. 
 
 In March, 1756, as a preliminary step, the Governor of 
 Canada sent M. de LeVy with three hundred men to attack 
 Fort Bull, where the English kept large supplies of provis 
 ions for Oswego. This party crossing the St. Lawrence on 
 skates, and marching one hundred and twenty leagues 
 through the forest on snow-shoes, suddenly appeared before 
 Fort Bull with a summons to surrender. They were an 
 swered by a brisk fire of musketry. M. de Lery then forced 
 the gate and took the fort by storm, put many of the garri 
 son to death, and burned or destroyed a very large amount, 
 of provisions and ammunition. 
 
 As the spring opened, in April, M. de Vaudreuil sent a 
 force of four or five hundred men to hang about Oswego. in 
 order still farther to cut the communication between that fort 
 and its entrepots. The whole Colony of New York was 
 thrown into agitation by the intelligence of these move 
 ments. From that moment mixed parties of Canadians and 
 Indians were constantly hovering about Oswego, and in the 
 forests along the river. In May, M. de Villiers, a Canadian 
 officer with some thousand men, landed at Hungry Bay, 
 Niaoure, as the French named it, and took up a permanent 
 position there, some fifteen leagues from Oswego. Although 
 France and England had been virtually in a state of warfare 
 on the high seas and in the colonies, during the last two 
 years, yet it was only now that a formal declaration of war 
 took place in Europe. In June and July there were fre 
 quent skirmishes on shore, and constant cruisiugs on the 
 lake. 
 
 The French naval force varied. Their two largest vessels 
 were the Marquise de Vaudreuil carrying eight 8-pounders, 
 8 sixes, and 8 swivels, and the Huron, with 8 sixes, 4 forra 
 and 8 swivels. They had also a schooner with 6 fours and 
 4 swivels, and several smaller craft. 
 
 The English* vessels at the same period were the Ontari-3 
 the Oswego, the London, a brigantine, the Vigilant, a barque, 
 imd other smaller craft. A naval incident which occurred 
 in June, threatened a battle ; two English vessels, the On 
 
INTRODUCTION. X* 
 
 *<ario and the Oswego, with a small schooner were out on 
 a cruise, when they were met by four French vessels of 
 greater force. The English made sail for Oswego, the 
 enemy gave chase but without other success than taking 
 the small schooner. The French report of this affair is 
 amusing. " Our little fleet on Lake Ontario, in number 
 about five vessels, having met the English fleet amounting 
 to ten, gave them battle. We have taken the English Ad 
 miral, put the other to flight, and obliged two to run ashore 
 with all sails set, near Fort Oswego." 
 
 On the 3d of July, Colonel Bradstreet with two hundred 
 batteaux, and three hundred boatmen, was attacked some 
 miles above Oswego by a Canadian and Indian force, vari 
 ously stated by the French themselves as numbering from 
 four hundred to nine hundred men, M. de Vaudreuil giving 
 the latter number. The defense was a gallant one, and very 
 creditable to the boatmen. Colonel Bradstreet took posses 
 sion of a small island where he defended himself against 
 three separate attacks, and subsequently drove the French 
 from a swamp where they had posted themselves, routed 
 and dispersed them. The English lost forty men killed and 
 wounded. The loss of the French was probably larger. 
 Such was the .report of Colonel Bradstreet, which would 
 seem to have been essentially correct. 
 
 For the amusement of the reader we give the other side 
 of the picture, which taken in all its details makes a very 
 entertaining little bit of history : 
 
 " M. de Villiers, who did not lose any opportunity to an 
 noy the enemy, having learned from his scouts that the 
 Choueguen River was covered with batteaux, designed to 
 await the enemy at a portage, but a party of Indians did 
 not give him time to do so. They fired, when the Cana 
 dians were ordered to fire also. The enemy threw them 
 selves with their batteaux on the opposite side of the river. 
 So great was the impetuosity of the Indians that eleven 
 flung themselves in, swimming. They were on the island sur 
 rounded by the English. M. de Villiers waded across witb 
 
XVI INTRODUCTION. 
 
 fifty men, and some officers, and released the Indians. We 
 sent word to the English to surrender, they preferred to 
 throw themselves into their batteaux. Our Indians and 
 Frenchmen rushed into the water, and each made many 
 prisoners. The loss of the enemy from data in our posses 
 sion amounts to twenty-six scalps, and thirty prisoners. De 
 serters report our having put more than four hundred of 
 their men hors du combat. This may allow of a margin. 
 Their detachment cons ; sted of twelve or thirteen hundred 
 men returning from victualling Choueguen. Our detach 
 ment amounted to four hundred, including Canadians and 
 Indians." 
 
 Another variation follows : " Sieur de Villiers, being on 
 che 2d of July at the head of four hundred Frenchmen and 
 some Indians, fell in with about five hundred batteaux and 
 thirteen hundred English, whom he attacked so vigorously 
 that he left four hundred and fifty of them dead, and took 
 forty prisoners. The remainder threw themselves on the 
 opposite side of the river, and abandoned their batteaux, 
 which were burnt. We have lost six men, and two 
 wounded in this affair." 
 
 A third bulletin to the Ministry at Versailles is in the 
 same strain : " This detachment has had occasion to harass 
 the enemy, who, at the close of June, were attacked on 
 their way by water, though numbering nearly two thousand. 
 They lost four hundred men, and we not more than four or 
 five." 
 
 The veracious report of an Abbe*, a private letter, must 
 conclude these variations upon History : " In the beginning 
 of July, while M. de Villiers, a Canadian Captain, was ly 
 ing in ambush, in the river Choueguen, with a detachment 
 of eight hundred men, our Indians fired too soon. The 
 enemy amounted to fifteen hundred, whom we have de> 
 feated ; eight hundred were killed, about five hundred bat 
 teaux and provisions were taken and burned. We lost ten 
 men." 
 
 Let us now resume a grave face, and return to the actua 1 
 
INTRODUCTION. 
 
 iege of Oswego, which fortunately for our task has been 
 recorded with much more accuracy than the reports of the 
 prowess of M. de Villierg, in his encounter with Colonel 
 Bradstreet. 
 
 Regiments had been sent forward from Quebec early io 
 the summer. One of the French officers recently arrived 
 in America, declares himself charmed with the beauty of 
 the country on the banks of the St. Lawrence. The mos 
 quitoes were not so much to his taste ; his regiment had 
 several men in the hospital in consequence of the bites of 
 those insects, and three or four officers were suffering 
 severely from tumors caused in the same way. Montreal 
 delighted him ; it was a large town ; but appeared to him 
 in great danger of being destroyed by fire, " as all the houses 
 are of wood." 
 
 In July the whole French force was moving nearer to 
 the threatened fort at Choueguen. On the 29th of July 
 M. de Montcalm arrived at Frontenac. On the 6th of 
 August, he crossed the lake to Niouare or Sandy Creek. 
 The force under his command was about three thousand 
 men. Among his artillery were guns taken from General 
 Braddock, arid a portion of the cannon balls were marked 
 with the broad arrow of England. 
 
 On the 10th of August, the vanguard advanced to a cove 
 within a mile or two of Oswego. The next day Fort On 
 tario on the eastern bank was invested by a force of Cana 
 dians and Indians. On the 12th the military works of the 
 enemy were carried on vigorously ; batteries were erected ; 
 a park of artillery was placed in position ; and the trencher 
 were begun. The fire of the English was very brisk. The 
 English cruisers were hovering about the mouth of the 
 river. Suddenly about midnight, the fire from Fort Or 
 tario ceased the garrison stationed there was ordered, by 
 a signal from Colonel Mercer, to abandon the fort and 
 move across the river to Port Oswego. The movement 
 was successfully performed, although it became necessary 
 to abandon the guns. The French immediately took po- 
 I 
 
XV111 INTRODUCTION. 
 
 session of this eastern fort, and turned their whole forca 
 against Forts Oswego and George on the western bank. 
 A large battery was built for the purpose of attacking Fort 
 Oswego in the rear ; to complete this work twenty pieces 
 of cannon were transported to this battery during the night 
 by the strong arms of the men, the whole army excepting 
 those in the trenches being engaged in this severe task. At 
 daylight on the 14th, M. de Montcalm ordered the Cana 
 dians and Indians to ford the river and harass the enemy 
 from the surrounding woods. Accordingly with M. de Rigawd 
 at their head, they waded across, raising frightful yells, which 
 the Indians called Salaquois ; probably the death-whoop, 
 said by those who have heard it in our own day to be tha 
 most fearful sound ever uttered by human beings. The 
 fire of the English was briskly kept up until ten o clock. 
 At this hour they unexpectedly hoisted the white fhg, and 
 sent two officers to offer capitulation. 
 
 The French were surprised by this early surrender 
 after a fire so brisk on the part of the besieged. But ijj.c 
 death of Colonel Mercer, the brave commander, appears to 
 have been the principal cause of the step which could r^ot 
 under the circumstances have been long delayed. The groat 
 rapidity of the French movements in opening the trenches, 
 on ground so difficult to work, and in moving their artillery 
 without horses, with the skillful manreuvres of M. de Mont- 
 calm, seems to have produced the impression in the fort, that 
 the besieging army was much larger than their real number. 
 A French account declared that " Choueguen has fallen, or 
 rather surrendered to the yells of the Canadians and In 
 dians." " It is to be concluded," says M. de Montcalm, 
 * that the English when transported, are no longer brave ; 
 
 This was a very important success for Canada. Tho 
 French appear to have lost about eighty killed and wound- 
 id. M. de Vaudreuil, however, in his official despatches to 
 France, says, " three killed, and two by accident ! " The 
 English lost one hundred and fifty killed ; prisoners, sixteen 
 hundred ^nd forty, among whom were eighty military men 
 
INTRODUCTION. xix 
 
 and twelve naval officers. There were also one hundred 
 and twenty women in the fort. Six vessels were captured, 
 one of eighteen guns, one of sixteen, two of ten, one of 
 eight, and two hundred barges or batteaux. The number 
 of guns taken was large ; seven pieces of bronze, forty- 
 eight of iron, fourteen mortars, forty-four swivels. The loss 
 of ammunition was very great. A large amount of provis 
 ions was found in the fort, including nearly fourteen hun 
 dred barrels of Hour, and biscuit, nearly the same number 
 of barrels of pork, with peas, etc., etc. There were thirty- 
 two oxen and eleven hogs in the fort, such was the condi 
 tion of things at this frontier fort. Three military chests of 
 specie were also captured. The prisoners were to be sent 
 to Montreal, and there exchanged. 
 
 In connection with the surrender of Oswego, rumors of a 
 massacre of some of the prisoners, by the Indian allies 
 of M. de Montcalm, soon spread through the colonies. 
 These reports were generally believed by the English at the 
 time. They have been recently contradicted. And yet 
 there is good authority for believing that some painful vio 
 lation of the articles of capitulation actually occurred. One 
 of the reports sent to the French government has the fol 
 lowing passage ; " The Indians have massacred more than 
 a hundred persons included in the capitulation, without our 
 being able to prevent them." Another report says : " The 
 enemy have had one hundred and fifty killed, including those 
 who, wishing to escape during the capitulation, were massa-. 
 cred by the Indians." M. de Montcalm himself observes : 
 " The Indians wished to violate it," i. e., the capitulation. 
 " I put an end to that affair." Such passages as these would 
 not have been sent to France in official papers, if the rumor* 
 had been entirely without foundation. On the other hand 
 there has been found among the papers of Sir William John 
 son the deposition of John Vale, an eye-witness, taken it* 
 October, 1756, which declares that the threatened massacre 
 was prevented by M. de Montcalm, who ordered his men to 
 ftre upon the Indians about, to attack the prisoners, 1 robtk- 
 
X INTRODUCTION. 
 
 blj some of the English were killed by the Indians, before 
 M. de Montcalm resorted to severe measures of restraint, 
 but the number could not have been as large as the colonists 
 of that day believed. 
 
 The French, to gratify the Iroquois tribes, destroyed all 
 the works at Oswego. The fort on the western bank was 
 filled with condemned pork and set on fire. By the 21st 
 of August the work of destruction was completed, and the. 
 army reembarked for Montreal. A large cross had been 
 raised, however, by the Abbe* Picquet, on the site of the fort, 
 xiih the inscription " In hoc signo vincunt," and near it a 
 jolo with the arms of the king of France, and the words 
 " Bring lilies with full hands." As the French fleet sailed 
 away towards Frontenac, they looked back upon these 
 proofs of their prowess. The lilies of France, however, did 
 not take root in that soil, they were a mere passing trophy 
 of war. The standards taken at Oswego were carried in 
 triumph through the streets of Montreal by the Indians 
 and then taken to the doors of the cathedral ; the Indians 
 declaring that these flags were not worthy to enter the 
 church as they were not " Christians." They were, how 
 ever, hung up at a later day in the churches of Montreal 
 and Quebec. 
 
 Oswego was soon rebuilt by the English. In 1751), Gen 
 eral Prideaux arid Sir William Johnson marched against 
 the French fort at Niagara, which surrendered July 25. 
 On the 7th of August, Sir William Johnson, left in com 
 mand by the death of General Prideanx, returned to Os 
 wego. The place had been more or less frequented by tho 
 traders and Indians during the last three years, and the 
 new fort was now planned and the work commenced undei 
 the order of General Gage, who arrived about the middle 
 of the month. 
 
 It was at this period, between the rebuilding of the fort 
 and the final cession of Canada to England in 1763, that 
 Natty is supposed to have been employed as a scout on tho 
 frontier. During those years Major Lundie was in com- 
 
INTRODUCTION. XXI 
 
 mand of the fort Then it was that Pathfinder, and Jasper 
 Fresh-water, and Mabel, and the old Sergeant, and Cap, 
 and Arrowhead, made the eventful cruise in the Scud, re 
 corded by the author of the " Pilot." 
 
 The country between the banks of the Mohawk and the 
 shore of Lake Ontario was still a wilderness, as described 
 in the " Pathfinder." It was at this very period that a 
 little girl and her mother, the daughter and wife of an offi 
 cer in the garrison, made the journey between Albany and 
 Oswego ; and half a century later the little girl, then Mra, 
 Grant of Laggan, wrote and printed her recollections of the 
 expedition. It is difficult for us of the present day to think 
 of that fertile blooming region of Western New York as 
 one vast forest. A few extracts from Mrs. Grant s volume 
 may amuse the reader, as they will lead him over the same 
 track passed by Mabel and her sailor uncle. 
 
 " The first day we came to Schenectady, a little town 
 situated in a rich and beautiful spot, and partly supported 
 by the Indian trade. The next day we embarked, and pro 
 ceeded up the river with six batteaux, and came early in 
 the evening to one of the most charming scenes imaginable, 
 where Fort Hendrick was built, so called in compliment to 
 the principal sachem, or king of the Mohawks. The castle 
 of this primitive monarch stood at a little distance on a 
 rising ground surrounded by palisades. He resided at the 
 time in a house which the public workmen, who had lately 
 built this fort, had been ordered to erect for him. We did 
 not fail to wait upon his majesty, who, not choosing to de 
 part too much from the customs of his ancestors, had not 
 permitted divisions of apartments, or modern furniture, to 
 profane his new dwelling. It had the appearance of a good 
 barn, and was divided across by a mat hung in the middle. 
 King Hendrick, who had indeed a very princely figure, and 
 a countenance that would not have dishonored royalty, was 
 Bitting on the floor beside a large heap of wheat, surrounded 
 with baskets of dried berries of different kinds ; beside him, 
 his son, a very pretty boy, somewhat older than myself, 
 
INTRODUCTION. 
 
 was caressing a foal, which was unceremoniously introduced 
 into the royal residence. A laced hat, a fine saddle and 
 pistols, gifts of his good brother, the great king, were hung 
 round on the cross-beams. He was splendidly arrayed in 
 a coat of pale blue, trimmed with silver ; all the rest of hia 
 dress was of the fashion of his own nation, and highly em 
 bellished with beads and other ornaments. All this suited 
 my taste exceedingly, and was level to my comprehension 
 I wa"s prepared to admire King Hendrick, by having heard 
 him described as a generous warrior, terrible to his enemies 
 and kind to his friends : the character of all others calcu 
 lated to make the deepest impressions on ignorant inno 
 cence, in a country where even infants learned the horrors 
 of war, from its proximity. Add to all this that the mon - 
 arch smiled, clapped my head, and ordered me a little bas 
 ket, very pretty, and filled by the officious kindness of hiu 
 son, with dried berries. Never did princely gifts, or the 
 smile of royalty, produce more ardent admiration and pro 
 found gratitude. I went out of the royal presence over 
 awed and delighted, and am not sure but I have liked kings 
 all my life the better for this happy specimen to whom I 
 was so early introduced. 
 
 " This journey, charming my romantic imagination by its 
 very delays and difficulties, was such a source of interest and 
 novelty to me that above all things I dreaded its conclu 
 sion, which I well knew would be succeeded by long tasks 
 and close confinement. Happily for me we soon entered 
 Wood Creek, the most desirable of all places for a traveller 
 who loves to linger, if such another traveller there be. This 
 is a small river which winds irregularly through a deep a.nd 
 narrow valley of the most lavish fertility. The depth and 
 richness of the soil here were evinced by the loftiness and 
 the nature of the trees, which were hickory, butternut, 
 chestnut, and sycamores of vast circumference, as well as 
 height. These became so top-heavy, and their roots were 
 io often undermined by this insidious stream, that in every 
 tempestuous night some giants of the grove fell prostrate 
 
INTRODUCTION 
 
 and very frequently across the stream, where they lay in all 
 their ponip of foliage, like a leafy bridge, unwithered, and 
 forming an obstacle almost invincible to all navigation. 
 The Indian lifted his light canoe, and carried it past the 
 tree, but our deep-loaded batteaux could not be so man 
 aged. Here my orthodoxy was shocked, and my anti-mili 
 tary prejudices revived, by the swearing of the soldiers ; bu! 
 then again, my veneration for my father was if possible io 
 creased, by his lectures against swearing, provoked by tht-ii 
 transgression. Nothing remained for our heroes but tc 
 attack these sylvan giants axe in hand, and make way 
 through their divided bodies. The assault upon fallen great 
 ness was unanimous and unmerciful, but the resistance was 
 tough, and the process tedious ; so much so that we were 
 three days proceeding fourteen miles, having at every two 
 hours end, at least, a new tree to cut through. These de 
 lays were a new source of pleasure to me. It was October ; 
 the trees we had to cut through were often loaded with nuts ; 
 and while I ran lightly along the branches to fill my royal 
 basket with their spoils, which I had great pleasure in dis 
 tributing, I met with multitudes of fellow plunderers in the 
 squirrels of various colors and sizes, who were here num 
 berless. This made my excursions amusing. We, travelled 
 from one fort to another ; but in three or four instances, to 
 my great joy, they were so remote from each other that we 
 found it necessary to encamp at night OH the bank of the 
 river. This, in a land of profound solitude where wolves, 
 foxes, and bears abounded, and were very much inclined to 
 consider and treat us as intruders, might seem dismal to 
 riser folks. But I was so gratified by the bustle and agi 
 tation produced by our measures of defense, and actuated 
 by the love which all children have for mischief that is not 
 fatal, that I enjoyed our night s encampment exceedingly, 
 We stopped early, wherever we saw the largest and most 
 combustible kinds of trees. Cedars were great favorites, 
 and the first work was to fell and pile upon each other an 
 incredible number, stretched lengthways ; while every one 
 
IX1V INTRODUCTION. 
 
 that coul 1 was busied in gathering withered branches of 
 pine, to fill up the interstices of the pile, and make the 
 green wood burn faster. Then a train of gun-powder was 
 laid along to give fire to the whole fabric at once, which 
 blazed and crackled magnificently. Then the tents were 
 erected close in a row before this grand conflagration. This 
 was not merely meant to keep us warm, though the nights 
 did begin to grow cold, but to frighten wild beasts and 
 wandering Indians. In case any such, belonging to hostile 
 tribes, should see this prodigious pile, the size of it was 
 meant to give them an idea of a greater force than we pos 
 sessed. 
 
 " In one place, when we were surrounded by hills with 
 Bwamps lying between them, there seemed to be a general 
 congress of wolves, who answered each other from opposite 
 hills in sounds the most terrific. Probably the terror all 
 savage animals have of fire, was exalted into fury by seeing 
 so many enemies whom they durst not attack. The bull 
 frogs, those harmless but hideous inhabitants of the swamps, 
 seemed determined not to be outdone, and roared a tremen 
 dous bass to this bravura accompaniment. This was almost 
 too much for my love of the terrible sublime; some women 
 who were our fellow-travellers, shrieked with terror ; and 
 finally the horrors of that night were ever after held in aw- 
 *ul remembrance by all who shared them." 
 
 More than half a century passed away after the journey 
 recorded by the officer s daughter, whose narrative was pub 
 lished in 1808. And still the region about Oswego was 
 essentially a wilderness. During that very year 1808, a 
 young American naval officer, the future author of tho 
 " Pathfinder," made the same journey, in company with a 
 party of messmates who had been ordered to Lake Ontario. 
 Oswego was still very thoroughly a frontier station, beyond 
 the pale of civilization. The young officers had a weary 
 tramp of a week or two over ground which may now be 
 passed in a few hours. There was neither canal, steamboat, 
 uor .railroad to shorten the distance between Albany and 
 
INTRODUCTION. XXV 
 
 Oswego, when this party moved from the sea-board to the 
 Lake shore. But the young officers enjoyed extremely the 
 noyelty of the change, and the spice of adventure con 
 nected with it. They considered it a piece of especial 
 good luck for sailors to find themselves drifting through a 
 forest, and all in the way of duty. Many were the amus 
 ing anecdotes told by Mr. Cooper in later years in connec 
 tion with this service on Lake Ontario ; he always looked 
 hack to it with pleasure, and continued through life ou the 
 most friendly terms with the officers belonging to the ex 
 pedition. More than one of these gentlemen declared at a 
 later day that he had been the life and soul of their mess ; 
 of a gay and buoyant nature, he was overflowing with 
 vivacity, and full of conversation. His physical activity 
 was also remarkable. So vigorous and sound was his con 
 stitution that his cojmrades declared that he rarely encum 
 bered himself with cloak or overcoat, even with the ther 
 mometer below zero. 
 
 In those days travellers moving towards the western wilda 
 on Lake Ontario, or the Genesee country, very generally 
 embarked at Schenectady, ascending the Mohawk in what 
 were still called batteaux. 
 
 The Erie Canal had already been thought of. Among 
 those who had given the subject no little attention was the 
 father of the young midshipman then slowly ascending the 
 Mohawk. In a letter of Judge Cooper, written apparently 
 about the year 1805, the following passages occur relating 
 to this important question. Speaking of the valley of tbf 
 Mohawk and the western lakes, he says : 
 
 " The trade of this vast country must be divided between 
 Montreal and New York, and the half of it thus lost to 
 ue United States, unless an inland communication can bo 
 tbrmed from Lake Erie to the Hudson. This project 
 worthy of a nation s enterprise has been some time medi 
 tated by individuals. Of its practicability there can be no 
 doubt, while the world has as yet produced no work so 
 noble, nor has the universe such another situation to inv 
 
XXVI INTKODUCTiUTN. 
 
 prove. Its obvious utility will hereafter challenge more 
 attention ; men of great minds will turn their thoughts, 
 and devote their energies to its accomplishment, and J 
 do-M, not that it will be one day achieved. 
 
 " The surface of Lake Erie is elevated about two hun 
 dred and eighty feet above the Hudson at Albany. A 
 canal large enough for sloops of fifty tons burden, will not 
 only bring the produce of these great and rich tracts of 
 land in the State of New York to its capital, but will secure 
 all the trade and productions of the vast country which sur 
 rounds the lakes Erie, Huron, Michigan, and Superior. 
 Were this once effected, a sloop might then perform an in 
 land voyage of seventeen hundred miles ! 
 
 " The trade of Lake Erie already supports twenty three 
 ships, brigs, snows, and sloops ; and Ontario twelve. 
 
 " The United States have millions o acres in the Michi 
 gan country, of which the produce by this operation would 
 be transportable to a market. 
 
 " How, you ask, and by what funds is this great work to 
 be accomplished ? Without presuming that my opinion 
 should be the guide in so important a concern, it is enough 
 if I can point out one way in which it may be possible, and 
 I think the mode I am about to propose not only possible, 
 but very practicable. The State of ISew York may cede 
 the track of this canal to the United States, and the United 
 States may then grant a charter to a company, with strong 
 rights and immunities, and the fullest security the gen^r^i 
 laws will admit of in short whatever would encourage 
 the European capitalist to adventure in this magnificent en 
 terprise. Let the United States take shares to the amour t 
 of ten millions of dollars, which will serve as an encourage 
 ment and security to the foreign capitalist and be a safe 
 guard against the effects of those fluctuations in councils, 
 and public opinions, to which the affairs of men are every 
 where liable. 
 
 " The banks of this canal would become a carriage- road, 
 and one of the most beaniful in the universe. That inoal 
 
INTRODUCTION. XXT11 
 
 attractive and gratifying object, the falls of Niagara, would 
 of itself create a thoroughfare, and the product of the tolls 
 on the turnpikes, and canal gates, would raise a revenue 
 sufficient, in a very short time, to requite the undertakers. 
 No stranger but would make this tour his object, and no 
 traveller of taste would leave it uncelebrated. But, as Ih. s 
 ipeculatiou lies in the province of fancy, and may be treated 
 B a vision, I leave it." 
 
 Different indeed was the aspect, and the whole character 
 of the valley of the Mohawk in those days, from what it has 
 since become. If the canal was considered visionary, what 
 would have been thought of the railroads, and of the tele 
 graph which only thirty years later was planned by a friend 
 of the young midshipman, then slowly moving up the 
 troubled current of the stream. There were two kinds of 
 boat, then in general use on the Mohawk, by which the 
 produce of the interior moved down the stream towards the 
 Hudson, and the manufactures of the sea-board were car 
 ried to Utica and the small towns farther west. The Sche- 
 nectady boat was small, flat-bottomed, and rigged with an 
 ungainly sail, though depending chiefly on the muscular 
 power of the boatmen with their oars or poles. The Dur 
 ham boat, of which there were large numbers, was long, 
 shallow, and nearly flat-bottomed. These batteaux, as they 
 were called, were chiefly worked by means of a pole, ten 
 feet long, shod with iron, and crossed at short intervals 
 with small bars of wood ; the men would place themselves 
 ut the bow, two on each side, thrust their poles into the 
 Channel, and grasping the wooden bars successively, work 
 their way towards the stern, impelling the boat forward by 
 this laborious movement. These Durham boats found 
 (heir way from the Mohawk to the St. Lawrence, arid were 
 much used on the Canadian waters. And it was said that 
 one of these craft went into the Missouri River, makirg 
 an inland voyage of six weeks, from the rude wharf at Sche- 
 nectady. The Mohawk boatmeu were singularly fckillful in 
 those tiiueb ; they made the trip to Utica, about one hundred 
 
xxviii INTRODUCE ON. 
 
 miles, against current and rapids, and returned in nine 
 days! Two miles and a half in an hour, was the usual 
 speed against the current. 
 
 The young midshipman was the guide of the party as 
 they moved slowly up the river. He was thoroughly famil 
 iar with the valley of the Mohawk, his own home among 
 the Otsego Highlands lying some five and twenty miles to 
 the southward. The two fine stone houses semi -for tilled, 
 built by Sir William Johnson more than half a century 
 earlier, were passed. And in the same reach of the river 
 a singular Indian antiquity was observed, which is no 
 longer visible ; it was a picture writing, on a rock in a con 
 spicuous position, representing a canoe with seven warriors 
 in it. The coloring was red, the figures rude as usual, but 
 every line had its meaning to the Indian eye. It was said 
 to have been painted by some Mohawk war party about the 
 middle of the last century. At the mouth of the Schoharie, 
 a little fort and church built in the time of Queen Anne, 
 for the benefit of the Mohawks, were still standing. In 
 those days the boatmen generally stopped at this point, for 
 a supply of water from a peculiarly fine spring. At Fort 
 Plain, the little block house which has given its name to 
 the village was still in good condition. At Little Falls the 
 travellers came to one of the first steps in internal improve 
 ment undertaken in our State. There was a succession of 
 five canal locks at the Portage as it was formerly called, for 
 the passage of loaded boats to and fro. They were first 
 used in 1803. General Schuyler had superintended this 
 work, which was a first step towards the Erie Canal. These 
 ,ocks had been originally built of wood, but in 1808 they 
 were rebuilt of stone. The cost of each lock was $10,000. 
 the tolls in 1808 were $4,700. In the course of three 
 months some two hundred and fifty boats would pass. 
 
 Only six days were required for this voyage between 
 Schenectady and Utica ! This was a pleasant little village, 
 inhere twenty years earlier there was only one house. It 
 oouid now boast some two hundred and fifty houses, and 
 
INTPODUCTJON. XX ix 
 
 fifteen hundred inhabitants. It WSLB not considered 
 o weJl built, however, as Cooperstown, a sister village in 
 Otsego county. 
 
 The batteaux still moved up the Mohawk to Rome, the 
 site of Fort Stanwix ; here, at one hundred and six miles 
 from Schenectady, the first stage of the voyage was com 
 pleted oil the seventh day. Here in the last century was a 
 famous portage, between the head waters of the Mohawk, and 
 those of the Wood Creek. A cluster of forts had arisen one 
 after the other about this portage, but they were already in u 
 ruinous condition. And here again, were a cluster of locks, 
 and a bit of canal to connect the eastern and the western 
 waters. The travellers and their batteaux were soon float 
 ing on that dark and sluggish stream, the Wood Creek, and 
 on the evening of the second day they reached the Oneida 
 Lake, a broad sheet of dark-colored water, unwholesome 
 to drink, and strangely blended with small dark particles 
 called the Lake blossom, by the boatmen. It was very rich 
 in fish, the boatmen asserting that more than a hundred large 
 salmons would sometimes be caught in a day, by a small 
 party with a seine. These hundred fish would sell for $75. 
 It was a day s voyage, with the oars and poles, across the 
 lake, against a head wind. Another day was needed to 
 bring the boats to " Three River Point," where the Oneida 
 uid Seneca unite, to form the Oswego River, which is 
 twenty-five miles long, full of rocks and rapids, and at that 
 period flowed through a country still essentially wild. Vast 
 reaches of unbroken forest lay on either side, east and west. 
 The Oswego Fall, with its rocks and foaming waters, mak 
 ing a descent of twelve feet, was passed on foot ; the boats 
 with a light lading were carried down safely by very skill 
 ful pilots. Some months later a large cannon, a thirty-two 
 Viounder, was carried safely down the fall in a boat, the 
 officers standing on the shore anxiously watching its descent. 
 The twelfth day the boats reached the port of Oswego. 
 
 The little village had an odd aspect. The old fortifica 
 tions on both sides of the river were entirely in ruio. 
 
INTRODUCTION, 
 
 There were ruins also of old Dutch trading-houses, of som 
 strength ; these buildings were of stone, built around a long 
 square, upon which all their doors opened within, for secu 
 rity. One of these houses bore the date of 1711, some six 
 teen years before the building of the first English fort. 
 
 The foundation of the American village did not take 
 place until twenty years after the Peace, in 1803. The old 
 est settler had many adventurous stories to tell the young 
 officers, of the hardships he and his family had undergone 
 in the dark ages, five years earlier. He rode forty miles to 
 mill. He had not one neighbor when he built his solitary 
 dwelling. The nearest market, for common necessaries, 
 was one hundred miles distant. 
 
 There was, however, quite a brisk trade at the wharves 
 in 1808, some nine or ten vessels belonging to the port 
 passing constantly to and fro. Many of them were laden 
 with Onondaga salt. And, strange to say, others carried 
 tea and Chinese and East Indian goods to Canada. Upper 
 Canada depended chiefly upon Osvvego for these luxuries. 
 There were several small taverns, and about a dozen houses, 
 with a few log huts. There were several large warehouses 
 iilled with salt, tea, etc., etc. But in winter these were shut 
 up. The whole village went to sleep like the bears, during 
 cold weather ! 
 
 Wild animals still prowled through the adjoining forest; 
 bears, wolves, and panthers were riot wanting. Of deer 
 there was an abundant supply. And one or two f esh 
 beaver-dams were only a short distance from the banks of 
 the river. The officers supplied their mess bountifully with 
 venison, and bear s meat, to say nothing of grouse and 
 water-fowl ; and few days passed without a fishing-party. 
 The fish in the Ontario were excellent, and stories were 
 tol. of the capture of sturgeon weighing nearly a hundred 
 rounds-, of the celebrated muscalonge of half that weight, 
 und of salmon very nearly as large, to say nothing of the 
 white-fish, the Oswego bass, and rock bass. While throw 
 ing himself with all his usual spirit Mito these hunting and 
 
INTRODUCTION XXX) 
 
 fishing expeditions, the young midshipman was never much 
 of an angler. He generally required something more of 
 movement and excitement in his out-door recreations. He 
 was particularly fond of cruising and exploring expedi 
 tions along the lake shore. But whether afloat or ashore 
 the mess led a merry life, they were all young, ou excel 
 lent terms with each other, and their duties at the moment 
 were light. 
 
 In later years Mr. Cooper often mentioned with plea&urft 
 little incidents connected with this period of half garrison, 
 half sailor life. On one occasion while on a journey through 
 the wilderness to Buffalo, they stopped for the night at a 
 rude frontier inn perchance on ground which has now 
 become the heart of a large city. Mr. Cooper acting as 
 caterer for the party, inquired into the state of the larder. 
 Mine host shook his head ruefully ; he could promise very 
 little ; had they come a few weeks earlier he could have 
 done better, but there was nothing to speak of in the house 
 that day. " Give us what you eat yourself; you must have 
 food of some kind ! " Mine host looked melancholy ; on his 
 honor, he assured the officers, he had absolutely nothing to 
 eet before them, but grouse, venison steaks, and brook- 
 trout ; and maybe his wife could find cranberries for a tart ! 
 A month earlier they could have had fried pork fit for the 
 President, with a pumpkin ] ie after it ; but they must not 
 expect any delicacies now. " Game s plenty, but nothing 
 else ! " added the publican with a sigh. Mine host was 
 pining for salt pork! There was at that time an amusing 
 character in the new village, who afforded no little entertain 
 ment to the young officers ; this was a half-fledged medical 
 genius, from New England, with long lank figure, strongly 
 .narked face, full of small professional vanities and preten 
 sions, and with an intensely nasal twang in his pedantic 
 speech ; but withal a good fellow in the main. The Doctor s 
 visits to the mess were always a very especial entertainment. 
 When writing the " Pioneers " at a later day, Mr. Cooper 
 rentured to introduce this old Oswego acquaintance to tii 
 
XXXll INTRODUCTION. 
 
 reader, under the name of Dr. Elriathan Todd. It was sam 
 that he had meanwhile removed further west, changed his 
 profession, grown rich, and would probably not have known 
 himself, if he ever read the book. The servant of the mess 
 was a very raw Irish lad, but recently landed ; he was a thor 
 ough Paddy of the most amusing sort, full of blarney and 
 blunder, an unceasing source of amusement to the young 
 men. On one occasion the table-cloth took fire ; Paddy was 
 at the moment filling a tea-pot on the table, from an ample 
 kettle in his hand. " Pour the water on the cloth, Pat ! " 
 called out one of the officers. " Shure the wather is hot, 
 your honor!" exclaimed Pat in great dismay, holding the 
 kettle at a very safe distance from the bla/ing cloth, his 
 face meanwhile exhibiting the most ludicrous expression of 
 the bull physiognomy that could well be imagined. Mr. 
 Cooper often laughed heartily at the mere recollection of the 
 poor fellow s bewildered countenance. 
 
 The bright idea of giving a ball occurred to the young 
 gentlemen. A fiddle and a ball-room were procured with 
 out much difficulty. With flags and evergreens the bare 
 walls could be made to look festal. The lights were a diffi 
 culty. Pine knots were proposed by a wag. This idea was 
 indignantly rejected. By skillful strategy, a large number 
 of dip tallow candles were secured, sufficient for quite a bril 
 liant illumination ; all sorts of original ideas wf3re resorted 
 to, some military, some culinary, to provide candlesticks 
 and impromptu chandeliers. Thus far the plan looked prom 
 ising; but, where were the ladies to grace the rebels? Alas. 
 ladies in northern New York were then very few, and very 
 far between ! After counting over every woman in the new 
 village who could be supposed capable of dancing, there still 
 remained not a few of the dancing men likely to be partner 
 less. But a dance they were resolved to have, and more 
 over by sending out two or three ox-teams, accustomed to 
 wading small rivers and making their way through swamps 
 hopes were held out of securing a dozen more damsels from 
 ft diitance; boats skillfully commanded were also sent along 
 
INTRODUCTION. XXX111 
 
 the coast and up the river, to capture a few more. The 
 eventful evening came. A delicate point had to be decided, 
 How, and by what rules, so many miles from a regular 
 drawing-roorn, were the honors of the evening to be allotted ? 
 Mr. Wolsey proved himself equal to the occasion. lie 
 issued his orders to the Master of Ceremonies : *" All ladies 
 sir, provided with shoes and stockings, you are to lead to 
 the head of the Virginia reel ; ladies with shoes but without 
 stockings are to be considered in the second rank ladiea 
 without either shoes or stockings, you will lead, gentlemen, 
 to the foot of the country-dance ! " 
 
 The especial duty for which this naval party had been 
 sent to Oswego is thus alluded to in the " History of the 
 Navy:" "In the course of the summer of 1808, it wag 
 thought prudent to make a commencement towards the em 
 ploy men t of a force on the lakes ; England already posses 
 sing ships on Ontario and Erie. Ther-6 being no especial 
 law for such an. object, advantage was taken of the discre 
 tionary powers granted to the President, under the act for 
 building gun-boats. A few officers were placed under the 
 orders of Lieutenant M. T. Wolsey, and that gentleman 
 was empowered to make contracts for the construction of 
 three vessels, one of which was to be built on Lake Ontario 
 and the other two on Lake Champlain. The two vessels 
 constructed on Lake Champlain were ordinary gun boats, 
 but that built on Lake Ontario was a regular brig of war. 
 The latter was of about two hundred and forty tons meas 
 urement, was pierced for sixteen guns, and when delivered 
 by the contractors in the spring of 1809 to the sea officers or 
 dered to receive her, she mounted sixteen twenty-four pour.rt 
 ;arronades. In consequence of an arrangement that \\ (\t 
 made about this time, with England, but which was not mr 
 6ed in Europe, this vessel, which was called the Oneiitn, wua 
 aot equipped and sent upon the lake till the following year." 
 
 The Oueida was driven ashore by the ice, about a year 
 after she was launched. The Canadian government, to pre- 
 their superiority on the lake, soon after the launch of 
 
INTRODUCTION. 
 
 ihe Oneida built a brig of nearly double her force, carrying 
 ihirty guns. 
 
 An amusing anecdote was told in connection with Eng 
 lish ship-building on the lake, about that period, but whether 
 relating to the rival of the Oueida, or some later vessel, 
 we cannot say. The frame and blocks were actually sent 
 over at great expense from England, by the Admiralty, 
 as if there were no timber on the lake shore. And by au 
 absurdity still more glaring each British vessel on the lake 
 was carefully provided with a full supply of English water 
 casks, and moreover, with apparatus foi distilling salt 
 water ! ! There is good Canadian authority for this state 
 ment 
 
 More than thirty years after this cruise on Lake Ontario 
 the author of the " Pilot," while sitting in his library at Ot- 
 sego Hall, planned a new work in which Indians and sailora 
 were to be thrown together on the waters of the " Inland 
 Sea," and in which Natty was again to appear before the 
 reader in the difficult character of a lover. 
 
 In the course of the year 1840, the "Pathfinder" waa 
 written and published. " Mercedes of Castile," a romance 
 of the days of Columbus, was aho written in 1840. 
 
 COOPERSTOWN, 1872. 
 
THE PATHFINDER 
 
 CHAPTER I. 
 
 The turf shall be my fragiant shrine, 
 My temple, Lord ! that arch of thine ; 
 My censer s breath the mountain airs, 
 And silent thoughts my only prayers. 
 
 MOORK. 
 
 THE sublimity connected with vastness is familiar to 
 Bvery eye. The most abstruse, the most far-reaching, per- 
 baps the most chastened of the poet s thoughts, crowd on 
 the imagination as he gazes into the depths of the illimit 
 able void. The expanse of the ocean is seldom seen by the 
 novice with indifference ; and the mind, even in the obscu 
 rity of night, finds a parallel to that grandeur which seems 
 inseparable from images that the senses cannot compass. 
 With feelings akin to this admiration and awe the off 
 spring of sublimity were the different characters with 
 which the action of this tale must open, gazing on the scene 
 before them. Four persons in all, two of each sex, 
 they had managed tc ascend a pile of trees, that had beeD 
 uptorn by a tempest, to catch a view of the objf cts that s.ir- 
 rounded them. It is still the practice of the country to call 
 these spots wind-rows. By letting in the light of heaven 
 upon the dark and damp recesses of the wood, they form a 
 sort of oases in the solemn obscurity of the virgin forests of 
 America. The particular wind-row of which we are writ 
 ing, lay on the brow of a gentle acclivity, and it had opened 
 the way for an extensive view to those who might occupy 
 its upper margin, a rare occurrence tc the traveller in the 
 woods. As usual, the spot was small, but owing to th 
 
2 THE PATHFINDER. 
 
 circumstances of its lying on the low acclivity mentioned, 
 and that of the opening s extending downwards, it offered 
 more than common advantages to the eye. Philosophy has 
 not yet determined the nature of the power that so often 
 lays desolate spots of this description .- some ascribing it to 
 the whirlwinds that produce water-spouts on the ocean 
 while others again impute it to sudden and violent passages 
 of streams of the electric fluid ; hut the effects in the woods 
 are familiar to all. On the upper margin of the opening to 
 which there is allusion, the viewless influence had piled tree 
 on tree, in such a manner as had not only enabled the two 
 males of the party to ascend to an elevation of some thirty 
 feet above the level of the earth, but, with a little care and 
 encouragement, to induce their more timid companions to 
 accompany them. The vast trunks that had been broken 
 and driven by the force of the gust, lay blended like jack- 
 straws ; while their branches, still exhaling the fragrance oi 
 wilted leaves, were interlaced in a manner to afford sufficient 
 support to the hands. One tree had been completely up 
 rooted ; and its lower end, filled with earth, had been cast 
 uppermost, in a way to supply a sort of staging for the four 
 adventurers, when they had gained the desired distance from 
 the ground. 
 
 The reader is to anticipate none of the appliances of peo 
 ple of Q edition in the description of the personal appear 
 ances of the group in question. They were all wayfarers in 
 the wilderness ; and had they not been, neither their pre 
 vious habits nor their actual social positions would have ac 
 customed them to many of the luxuries of rank. Two oi 
 the party, indeed, a male and female, belonged to the native 
 owners of the soil, being Indians of the well-known tribe of 
 the Tuscaroras; 1 while their companions were a man, who 
 here about him the peculiarities of one who had passed his 
 days on the ocean, arid this, too, in a station little, if any, 
 above that of a common mariner ; while his female associate 
 was a maiden of a class in no great degree superior to his 
 ovrn ; though her youth, sweetness of countenance, and : 
 modest but spirited mien, lent that character of intellect and 
 refinement which adds so much to Mie charm of beauty ii! 
 
 1 v^ce A|>pcinlix .Note A. 
 
THE PATHFINDER. 8 
 
 the sex. On the present occasion her full blue eye reflected 
 the feeling of sublimity that the scene excited, and her 
 pleasant face was beaming with the pensive expression with 
 which all deep emotions, even though they bring the most 
 grateful pleasure, shadow the countenances of the ingenuous 
 and thoughtful. 
 
 And, truly, the scene was of a nature deeply to impress 
 the imagination of the beholder. Towards . the west, iii 
 which direction the faces of the party were turned, and in 
 which alone could much be seen, the eye ranged over an 
 ocean of leaves, glorious and rich in the varied but lively 
 verdure of a generous vegetation, and shaded by the luxr-- 
 riant tints that belong to the forty-second degree of latitude* 
 The elm, with its graceful and weeping top, the rich varieties 
 of the maple, most of the noble oaks of the American forest, 
 with the broad-leafed linden, known in the parlance of the 
 country as the bass-wood, mingled their uppermost branches, 
 forming one broad and seemingly interminable carpet of 
 foliage, that stretched away towards the setting sun, until it 
 bounded the horizon, by blending with the clouds, as the 
 waves and the sky meet at the base of the vault of heaven. 
 /Here and there, by some accident of the tempests, or by a 
 caprice of nature, a trifling opening among these giant 
 members of the forest permitted an inferior tree to struggle 
 upwards towards the light, and to lift its modest head nearly 
 to a level with the surrounding surface of verdure. ^Of this 
 class were the birch, a tree of some account in regions less 
 favored, the quivering aspen, various generous nut-woods, 
 and divers others that resembled the ignoble and vulgar, 
 thrown by circumstances into the presence of the stately 
 and great. Here and there, too, the tall, straight trunk of 
 the pine pierced the vast field, rising high above it, like 
 &ome grand monument reared by art on a plain of leaves^ 
 
 It was the vastness of the view, the nearly unbroKOD 
 surface of verdure, that contained the principle of grandeur. 
 The beauty was to be traced in the delicate tints, relie ved 
 by gradations of light and shadow; while the solemn repose 
 induced the feeling allied to awe. 
 
 " Uncle, said the wondering, but pleased girl, addressing 
 
4 THE PATHFINDER. 
 
 her male companion, whose arm she rather touched than 
 leaned on, to steady her own light but firm footing, " this is 
 like a view of the ocean you so much love ! " 
 
 "So much for ignoranst^ and a girl s fancy, Magnet," 
 a term of affection the sailor often used in allusion to his 
 niece s personal attractions ; " no one but a child would think 
 of likening this handful of leaves to a look at the real At 
 lantic. You might seize all these tree-tops to Neptuue c 
 jacket, and they would make no more than a nosegay for 
 his bosom." 
 
 " More fanciful than true, I think, uncle. Look thither ; 
 it must be miles on miles, and yet we see nothing but 
 leaves ! what more could one behold, if looking at the 
 ocean ? " 
 
 " More ! " returned the uncle, giving an impatient gesture 
 with the elbow the other touched, for his arms were crossed, 
 and the hands were thrust into the bosom of a vest of red 
 sloth, a fashion of the times, " more, Magnet ? say, rather, 
 what less ? Where are your combing seas, your blue water, 
 your rollers, your breakers, your whales, or your water 
 spouts, and your endless motion, in this bit of a forest 
 child?" 
 
 "And where are your tree-tops, your solemn silence, 
 your fragrant leaves, and your beautiful green, uncle, on 
 the ocean ? " 
 
 " Tut, Magnet ; if you understood the thing, you would 
 know that green water is a sailor s bane. He scarcely 
 relishes a greenhorn less." 
 
 " But green trees are a different thing. Hist ! h-it 
 aouud is the air breathing among the leaves ! " 
 
 " You should hear a nor wester breathe, girl, if you fancy 
 wind aloft. Now, where are your gales, and hurricanes, 
 a id trad 3s, and levanters, and such like incidents, in this bit 
 of a forest, and what fishes have you swimming beneath 
 y onder tame surface ! " 
 
 " That there have been tempests here, these signs around 
 us plainly show ; and beasts, if not fishes, are beneath those 
 leaves." 
 
 "I d:> not know that," returned the uncle, with a sailor i 
 
THE PATHFINDER. 5 
 
 dogmatism. " They told us many stories at Albany, of the 
 wild animals w* should fall in with, and yet we have seen 
 nothing to frighten a seal. I doubt if any of your inland 
 animals will compare with a low latitude shark ! " 
 
 " See ! " exclaimed the niece, who was more occupied 
 with the sublimity and beauty of the " boundless wood 
 than with her uncle s arguments, " yonder is a smoke curl 
 ing over the tops of the trees ; can it come from a house 2 * 
 
 "Aye, aye; there is a look of humanity in that smoke," 
 returned the old seaman, " which is worth a thousand trees j 
 I must show it to Arrowhead, who may be running past a 
 port without knowing it. It is probable there is a caboose 
 where there is a smoke." 
 
 As he concluded, the uncle drew a hand from his bosom, 
 touched the male Indian, who was standing near him, lightly 
 on the shoulder, and pointed out a thin line of vapor that 
 was stealing slowly out of the wilderness of leaves, at a 
 distance of about a mile, and was diffusing itself in almost 
 imperceptible threads of humidity, in the quivering atmos 
 phere. The Tuscarora was one of those noble-looking 
 warriors that were oftener met with among the aborigines 
 of this continent a century since, than to-day ; and, while 
 he had mingled sufficiently with the colonists to be familiar 
 with their habits, and even with their language, he had^ lost 
 little, if any, of the wild grandeur and simple dignity of a 
 chief. Between him and the old seaman the intercourse 
 had been friendly, but distant, for the Indian- had been too 
 much accustomed to mingle with the officers of the different 
 military posts he had frequented, not to understand that his 
 present companion was only a subordinate. So imposing, 
 indeed, had been the quiet superiority of the Tuscarora s 
 reserve, that Charles Cap, for so was the seaman named, in 
 his most dogmatical or facetious moments had not ventured 
 on familiarity, in an intercourse that had now lasted more 
 than a week. The sight of the curling smoke, however, 
 bad struck the latter like the suddeii appearance of a sail 
 fct sea. a;\d x for the first time since they met, he ventured to 
 the warrior, as has been related. 
 
 The quick eye of the Tuscarora instantly caught a sighl 
 
6 THE PATHFINDER. 
 
 of the smoke, ana for quite a minute he stood, slightly raised 
 OD tiptoe, with distended nostrils, like the buck that scents 
 a taint in the air, and a gaze as riveted as that of the 
 trained pointer, while he waits his master s aim. Then 
 falling back on his feet, a low exclamation, in the soft tones 
 that form so singular a contrast to its harsher cries in the 
 Indian warrior s voice, was barely audible ; otherwise, he 
 was undisturbed. His countenance was calm, and his quick, 
 dark, eagle eye moved over the leafy panorama, as if tc 
 take in at a glance every circumstance that might enlighten 
 his mind. That the long journey they had attempted tc 
 make through a broad belt of wilderness was necessarily 
 attended with danger, both uncle and niece well knew; 
 though neither could at once determine whether the sign 
 that others were in the vicinity was the harbinger of good 
 or evil. 
 
 " There must be Oneidas or Tuscaroras near us, Arrow 
 head," said Cap, addressing his Indian companion by his 
 conventional English name ; " will it not be well to join 
 company with them, and get a comfortable berth for the 
 night in their wigwarn ? " 
 
 " No wigwam there," Arrowhead answered, in his un 
 moved manner ; " too much tree." 
 
 " But Indians must be there ; perhaps some old mess - 
 mates of your own, Master Arrowhead." 
 
 "No Tuscarora no Oneida no Mohawk; pale-face 
 ere." 
 
 " The devil it is ! well, Magnet, this surpasses a seaman s 
 philosophy ; we old sea-dogs can tell a soldier s from a 
 sailor s quid, or a lubber s nest from a mate s hammock ; 
 but I do not think the oldest admiral in his Majesty s fleet 
 can lell a king s smoke from a collier s!" 
 
 The idea that human beings were in their vicinity in that 
 ocean of wilderness, had deepened the flush on the blooming 
 cheek and brightened the eye of the fair creature at his 
 g de, but she soon turned with a look of surprise to her rel 
 ative, and said hesitatingly, for both had often auinired the 
 Tuscarora s knowledge, or we might almost say, instinct, 
 
 " A pale-face s fire ! Surely, uncle, he cannot know 
 that ! " 
 
THE PATHFINDER. 7 
 
 " Ten days since, child, I would have sworn to it ; but 
 uow, I hardly know what to believe. May I take the lib 
 erty of asking, Arrowhead, why you fancy that smoke, now^ 
 a. pale-face s smoke, and not a red-skin s ? " 
 
 " Wet wood," returned the warrior, with the calmness 
 frith which the pedagogue might point out an arithmetical 
 demonstration to his puzzled pupil. " Much wet much 
 smoke ; much water black smoke." 
 
 . " But, begging your pardon, Master Arrowhead, .he 
 smoke is not black, nor is there much of it. To , my eye, 
 now, it is as light and fanciful a smoke as ever rose from a 
 captain s tea-kettle, when nothing was left to make the fire 
 but a few chips from the dunnage." 
 
 " Too much water," returned Arrowhead, with a slight 
 nod of the head : " Tuscarora too cunning to make fire 
 with water ; pale-face too much book, and burn anything ; 
 much book, little know." 
 
 u Well, that s reasonable, I allow," said Cap, who was no 
 devotee of learning : " he means that as a hit at your read 
 ing, Magnet, for the chief has sensible notions of things in 
 his own way. How far, now, Arrowhead, do you make us. 
 by your calculation, from the bit of a pond that you call 
 the Great Lake, and towards which we have been so many 
 days shaping our course ? " 
 
 The Tuscarora looked at the seaman with quiet superior 
 ity, as he answered, 
 
 " Ontario, like heaven ; one sun, and the great traveller 
 will know it." 
 
 " Well, I have been a great traveller, I cannot deny, but 
 of all my v y ges this has been the longest, the least profit 
 able, and the furthest inland. If this body of fresh water 
 is so nigh, Arrowhead, and at the same time so large, ane 
 might think a pair of good eyes would find it out, for, ap 
 parently, everything within thirty miles is to be seen from 
 this lookout." 
 
 " Look," said Arrowhead, stretching an arm before him 
 with quiet grace ; " Ontario ! " 
 
 " Lucle, you are accustomed to cry Land ho ! * but not 
 4 Water ho ! and you do not see it," cried the niece, laugh 
 ing aa girls will laugh at their own ile conceits. 
 
8 THL PATHFINDKK. 
 
 " How now, Magnet ! dost suppose that I shouldn t know 
 my native element, if it were m sight ? " 
 
 <( But Ontario is not your native element, dear uncle, foi 
 you come from the salt water, while this is fresh." 
 
 " That might make some difference to your young man 
 iier, but none in the world to the old one. I should kuov 
 water, child, were I to see it in China." 
 
 u Ontario !" repeated the Arrowhead, with emphasis, 1 again 
 stretching his hand towards the northwest. 
 
 Cap looked at the Tuscarora, for the first time since 
 their acquaintance, with something like an air of contempt, 
 though he did not fail to follow the direction of the chiefs 
 eye and arm, both of which were pointing, to all appear 
 ance, towards a vacant spot in the heavens, a short distance 
 above the plain of leaves. 
 
 " Aye, aye ; this is much as I expected, when I left the 
 coast to come in search of a fresh-water pond," resumed 
 Cap, shrugging his shoulders like one whose mind was 
 made up, and who thought no more need be said. " Onta 
 rio may be there, or, for that matter, it may be in my 
 pocket. Well, I suppose there will be room enough, when 
 we reach it, to work our canoe. But, Arrowhead, if there 
 be pale-faces in our neighborhood, I confess I should like to 
 get within hail of them." 
 
 The Tuscarora now gave a quiet inclination of his head, 
 and the whole party descended from the roots of the up- 
 torn tree, in silence. When they had reached the ground. 
 Arrowhead intimated his intention to go towards the fire, 
 and ascertain who had lighted it, while he advised his wife 
 and the two others to proceed to a canoe, which they had 
 left in the adjacent stream, and await his return. 
 
 " Why, chief, this might do on soundings, and in an offing 
 where one knew the channel," returned old Cap, " but in 
 an unknown region like this, I think it unsafe to trust the 
 pilot alone too far from the ship ; so, with your leave, we 
 will not part company." 
 
 " What my brother wai: t ? " asked the Indian, gravelv 
 though without taking offense at a distrust that was suffi 
 ciently plain. 
 
 1 See Appendix. Note IV 
 
flit PATHFINDER. 8 
 
 u Your con pany, blaster Arrowhead, and no more. I 
 will go with you, and speak these strangers." 
 
 The Tuscarora assented without difficulty, and again he 
 directed his patient and submissive little wife, who seldom 
 turned her full, rich black eye on him, but to express 
 equally her respect, her dread, and her love, to pi oceed to 
 the boat. But here Magnet raised a difficulty. A thougl 
 spirited, and of unusual energy under circumstances of trial, 
 she was but woman, and the idea of being entirely deserteo 
 by her two male protectors, in the midst of a wilderness, 
 that her senses had just told her was seemingly illimitable, 
 became so keenly painful, that she expressed a wish to ac 
 company her uncle. 
 
 " The exercise will be a relief, dear sir, after sitting so 
 long in the canoe," she added, as the rich blood slowly re 
 turned to a cheek that had paled, in spite of her efforts to 
 be calm, " and there may be females with the strangers." 
 
 " Come, then, child ; it is but a cable s length, and we 
 shall return an hour before the sun sets." 
 
 With this permission, the girl, whose real name was 
 Mabel Dunham, prepared to be of the party, while the 
 Dew-of-June, as the wife of Arrowhead was called, pas 
 sively went her way towards the canoe, too much accus 
 tomed to obedience, solitude, and the gloom of the forest, 
 to feel apprehension. 
 
 The three who remained in the wind-row now picked 
 their way around its tangled maze, and gained the margin 
 of the woods, hi. the necessary direction. A few glances of 
 the eye sufficed for Arrowhead, but old Cap deliberately 
 Bet the smoke by a pocket compass, before he trusted him 
 self within the shadows of the trees. 
 
 " This steering by the nose, Magnet, may do well enough 
 fLr an Indian, but your thorough -bred knows the \irtue of 
 the needle," said the uncle, as he trudged at the heels of the 
 light stepping Tuscarora. " America would never have 
 been discovered, take my word for it, if Columbus had been 
 nothing but nostrils. Friend Arrowhead, didst ever see fa 
 machine like this ? " 
 
 The Indian turned, cast a glance at the compass, which 
 
10 THE PATHFINDER. 
 
 Cap held in a way to direct his course, and gravely an 
 swered, 
 
 A pale-face eye. The Tuscarora see in his head. 
 The Salt-water " for so the Indian styled his companion 
 " all eye now ; no tongue/ 
 
 " He means, uncle, that we had needs be silent ; perhapi 
 he distrusts the persons we are about to meet." 
 
 "Aye tis an Indian s fashion of going to quarters, 
 You perceive he has examined the priming of his rifle, and 
 it may be as well if I look to that of my own pistols." 
 
 Without betraying alarm at these preparations, to which 
 she had become accustomed by her long journey in the 
 wilderness, Mabel followed with a step as light and elastic 
 as thai of the Indian, keeping close in the rear of her com 
 panions. For the first half mile no other caution beyond a 
 rigid silence was observed, but as the party drew nearer to 
 the spot where the fire was known to be, much greater care 
 became necessary. 
 
 The forest, as usual, had little to intercept the view be 
 low the branches, but the tall straight trunks of trees. 
 Everything belonging to vegetation had struggled towards 
 the light, and beneath the leafy canopy one walked, as it 
 might be, through a vast natural vault that was upheld by 
 myriads of rustic columns. These columns, or trees, how 
 ever, often served to conceal the adventurer, the hunter, or 
 the foe, and as Arrowhead swiftly approached the spot 
 where his practiced and unerring senses told him the stran 
 gers ought to be, his footsteps gradually became lighter, his 
 eye more vigilant, and his person was more carefully con- 
 tealed. 
 
 " See, Salt-water," he said exultingly, pointing at the same 
 time through the vista of trees, " pale-face fire ! " 
 
 "By the Lord, the fellow is right 1 " muttered Cap; 
 " there they are, sure enough, and eating their grub ai 
 quietly as if they were in the cabin of a three-decker." 
 
 " Arrowhead is but half right," whispered Mabel, " foi 
 there are two Indians and only one white man." 
 
 " Pale-face," said the Tuscarora, holding up two fiugeri 
 * red-man," holding up one. 
 
THE PATHFINDER 11 
 
 Well," rejoined Cap, " it is hard to say which is right 
 and which is wrong. One is entirely white, and a fine 
 comely lad he is, with an air of life and respectability about 
 him ; one is a red-skin as plain as paint and nature can 
 majse him ; but the third chap is half-rigged, being neither 
 brig nor schooner." 
 
 " Pale-face," repeated Arrowhead, again raising two 
 fingers ; " red-man," showing but one. 
 
 " He must be right, uncle, for his eye seems never to fail. 
 But it is now urgent to know whether we meet as friendi 
 or foes. They may be French." 
 
 " One hail will soon satisfy us on that head," returned 
 Cap. " Stand you behind this tree, Magnet, lest the knaves 
 take it into their heads to fire a broadside without a parley, 
 and I will soon learn what colors they sail under." 
 
 The uncle had placed his two hands to his mouth to form 
 a trumpet, and was about to give the promised hail, when a 
 rapid movement from Arrowhead defeated the intention by 
 deranging the instrument. 
 
 " Red-man, Mohican," said the Tuscarora ; " good ; pale 
 faces, Yengeese." 
 
 " These are heavenly tidings," murmured Mabel, who 
 little relished the prospect of a deadly fray in that remote 
 wilderness. " Let us approach at once, dear uncle, and 
 proclaim ourselves friends." 
 
 " Good ! " said the Tuscarora ; " red-man cool, and know ; 
 pale-face hurried, and fire. Let squaw go." 
 
 " What ! " said Cap, in astonishment, " send little Magnet 
 ahead, as a lookout, while two lubbers, like you and me, 
 lie-to, to see what sort of a land-fall she will make ! If I 
 do, I " 
 
 " It is wisest, uncle," interrupted the generous girl, " and 
 I have no fear. No Christian, seeing a woman approach 
 alone, would fire upon her, and my presence will be a pledge 
 of peace. Let me go forward, as Arrowhead wishes, and 
 all will be well. We &ra\ as yet, unseen, and the surprise 
 of the strangers will noi partake of alarm." 
 
 " Gcbd ! " returned Arrowhead, who did not conceal hi* 
 approt at/on of Mabel s spirit. 
 

 12 THE PATHFINDER. 
 
 "It lias an unseaman-like look," answered Cap, * but, 
 being in the woods, no one will know it. Jf you think, 
 Mabel " 
 
 " Uncle, I know there is no cause to fear for me ; and 
 you are always nigh to protect me." , 
 
 Well, take one of the pistols, then " 
 
 "Nay, I had better rely on my youth and feebleness," 
 said the girl, smiling, while her color heightened under her 
 feelings. " Among Christian men, a woman s best guard i 
 her claim to their protection. I know nothing of arms, and 
 wish to live in ignorance of them." 
 
 The uncle desisted ; and, after receiving a few cautious 
 instructions from the Tuscarora, Mabel rallied all her spirit, 
 and advanced alone towards the group seated near the fire. 
 Although the heart of the girl beat quick, her step was firm, 
 and her movements, seemingly,, were without reluctance. A 
 death-like silence reigned in the forest, for they towards 
 whom she approached were too much occupied in appeasing 
 tfiat great natural appetite, hunger, to avert their looks, for 
 an instant, from the important business in which they were 
 all engaged. When Mabel, however, had got within i\ 
 hundred feet of the fire, she trod upon a dried stick, and the 
 trifling noise that was produced by her light footstep caused 
 the Mohican, as Arrowhead had pronounced the Indian to 
 be, and his companion whose character had been thought so 
 equivocal, to rise to their feet, as quick as thought. Both 
 glanced at the rifles that leaned against a tree, and then 
 each stood without stretching out an ar% *s his eyes fell on 
 the form of the girl. The Indian uttered a few words to 
 his companion, and resumed his seat and his meal as calmly 
 as if no interruption had occurred. On the contrary, the 
 white man left the fire, and came forward to meet Mabel. 
 
 The latter saw, as the stranger approached, that she was 
 Jtliout to be addressed by one of her own color, though hia 
 dress was so strange a mixture of the habits of the two 
 races, that it required a near look to be certain of the fact, 
 He was of middle age, but there was an open honesty, a 
 total absence of guile, in his face, which otherwise would not 
 have been thought handsome, tht at once assured Magne* 
 
THE PATHFINDER. 13 
 
 ohe was in no danger. Still she paused, in obedience to a 
 law of bur habits if not of nature, which rendered her averse 
 to the appearance of advancing too freely to meet one of 
 the other sex, under the circumstances in which she waa 
 placed. 
 
 "Fear nothing, young woman," said the hunter, for such 
 his attire would indicate him to be, " you have met Chris 
 tian men in the wilderness, and such as know how to treat 
 all kindly that are disposed to peace and justice. TIL a 
 man well known in all these parts, and perhaps one of my 
 names may have reached your ears. By the Frenchers, 
 and the red-skins on the other side of the Big Lakes, I am 
 called La Lougue Carabine ; by the Mohicans, a just-minded 
 and upright tribe, what is left, of them, Hawkeye ; while the 
 troops and rangers along this side of the water call me 
 Pathfinder, 1 inasmuch as I have never been known to miss 
 one end of the trail, when there was a Mingo, or a friend 
 who stood in need of me, at the other." 
 
 This was not uttered boastfully, but with the honest con 
 fidence of one who well knew that by whatever name others 
 might have heard of him, he had no reason to blush at the 
 reports. The effect on Mabel was instantaneous. The 
 moment she heard the last sobriquet^ *he clasped her hands 
 eagerly and repeated the word, 
 
 " Pathfinder ! " 
 
 * So they call me, young woman, and many a great lord 
 has got a title that he did not half so well merit ; .though, 
 if truth be said, I rather pride myself in finding my way 
 where there is no path, than in finding ,^ where there ia* 
 But the regular troops be by no means particular, and half 
 the time they don t know the difference atween a trail and 
 a path, though one is a matter for the eye, while the other 
 j little more than scent." 
 
 " Then you are the friend my father promised to send to 
 moot us ! " 
 
 " If you are Sergeant Dunham s daughter, the great 
 Prophet of the Delawares never uttered a plainer truth." 
 
 4 * 1 am Mabel, and yonder, hid by the trses, are my uncle, 
 who*e name is Cap, and a Tusczirora, called Arrowhead. 
 
 1 bee Appendix, Note C. 
 
14 THE PATHFINDER. 
 
 "We dil not hope to meet you until we had nearly reached 
 the shores of the lake." 
 
 " I wish a juster-minded Indian had been your guide," 
 said Pathfinder, " for I am no lover of the Tuscaroras, who 
 have travelled too far from the graves of their fathers 
 always to remember the Great Spirit : and Arrowhead is 
 an ambitious chief. Is Dew-of-June with him ? " 
 
 " His wife accompanies us, and a humble and nUd 
 creature she is." y 
 
 " Aye, and true-hearted ; which is more than any who 
 know him will say of Arrowhead. Well, we must take the 
 fan? that Providence bestows, while we follow the trail of 
 life. I suppose worse guides might have been found than 
 the Tuscarora ; though he has too much Mingo blood for 
 one who consorts altogether with the Delawares." 
 
 " It is then, perhaps, fortunate we have met," said Mabel. 
 
 " It is not misfortinate at any rate ; for I promised the 
 sergeant I would see his child safe to the garrison, though 
 I died for it. We expected to meet you before you reached 
 the falls, where we have left our own canoe; while we 
 thought it might do no harm to come up a few miles, in 
 order to be of sarvice if wanted. It s lucky we did, for T 
 doubt if Arrowhead be the man to shoot the current." 
 
 " Here come my uncle and the Tuscarora, and our parties 
 can now join." 
 
 As Mabel concluded, Cap and Arrowhead, who saw that 
 the conference was amicable, drew nigh, and a few words 
 sufficed to let them know as much as the girl herself had 
 learned from the strangers. As soon as this was done, the 
 party proceeded towards the two who still remained car 
 the firo 
 
TH1 PATHFINDER. 
 
 15 
 
 CHAPTER H. 
 
 Yea ! long as nature s humblest child 
 _ -^ Hath kept her temple undefiled 
 
 By simple sacrifice, 
 Earth s fairest scenes are all his own ; 
 He is a monarch, and his throne 
 Is built amid the skies ! 
 
 WILSON. 
 
 THUS Mohican continued to eat, though the second white 
 man rose, and courteously took off his cap to Mabel Dunham. 
 He was young, healthful, and manly in appearance ; and he 
 wore a dress, which, while it was less rigidly professional 
 than that of the uncle, also denoted one accustomed to the 
 water. In that age real seamen were a class entirely apart 
 from the rest of mankind ; their ideas, ordinary language, 
 and attire \ being as strongly indicative of their calling, as 
 toe opinions, speech, and dress of a Turk denote a Mussul 
 man. Although the Pathfinder was scarcely hi the prime 
 of life, Mabel had met him with a steadiness that may have 
 been the consequence of having braced her nerves for the 
 interview ; but, when her eyes encountered those of the 
 young man at the fire, they fell before the gaze of admira 
 tion with which she saw, or fancied she saw, he greeted her. 
 Each, in truth, felt that interest in the other, which simi 
 larity of age, condition, mutual comeliness, and their novel 
 situation, would be likely to inspire in the young and in 
 genuous. 
 
 " Here," said Pathfinder, with an honest smile bestowed 
 oj. Mabel, " are the friends your worthy father has sent to 
 oi9et you. This is a great Delaware ; and one that has had 
 honors as well as troubles in his day. He has an Injiii 
 name fit for a chief, but as the language is not always easy 
 for the inexperienced to pronounce, we nat rally turn it into 
 English, and call him the B : g Sarpent. You are not to 
 
16 THE PATHFINDER. 
 
 suppose, however, that by this name we wish to say that he 
 is treacherous, beyond what is lawful in a red-skin, but that 
 he is wise, and has the cunning that becomes a warrior. 
 Arrowhead, there, knows what I mean." 
 
 While the Pathfinder was delivering this address, the two 
 Indians gazed on each other steadily, and the Tuscaroia 
 advanced and spoke to the other in an apparently friendlj 
 manner. 
 
 " I like to see this," continued Pathfinder ; " the salutes 
 of two red-skins in the woods, Master Cap, are like the hail 
 ing of friendly vessels on the ocean. But, speaking of water, 
 it reminds me of my young friend, Jasper Western, here, 
 who can claim to know something of these matters, seeing 
 that he has passed his days on Ontario." 
 
 " I am glad to see you, friend," said Cap, giving the young 
 fresh-water sailor a cordial gripe ; " though you must have 
 something still to learn, considering the school to which you 
 have been sent. This is my niece, Mabel ; I call her Mag 
 net, for a reason she never dreams of, though you may pos 
 sibly have education enough to guess at it, having some pre 
 tensions to understand the compass, I suppose." 
 
 " The reason is easily comprehended," said the young man, 
 involuntarily fastening his keen, dark eye, at the same time, 
 on the suffused face of the girl ; " and I feel sure that the 
 sailor who steers by your Magnet, will never make a bad 
 land-fall." . 
 
 " Ha ! you do make use of some of the terms, I find, and 
 that with propriety and understanding ; though, on the whole, 
 I fear you have seen more green than blue water ! " 
 
 " It is not surprising that we should get some of the 
 phrases that belong to the land, for we are seldom out of 
 *ight of it twenty -four hours at a time." 
 
 " More s the pity, boy ; more s the pity. A very little 
 land ought to go a great way with a seafaring man-. Now, 
 if the truth were known, Master Western, I suppose there is 
 more or less land all round your lake." 
 
 " And, uncle, is there not more or less land all round the 
 ocean ?" sa ; d Magnet, quickly ; for she dreaded a premature 
 display of the old seaman s peculiar dogmatism, not to say 
 pedantry 
 
THF PATHFINDER. 17 
 
 " No, child, there is more or less ocean all round the land 1 
 th ifr s what I tell the people ashore, youngster. They are 
 living, as it might be, in the midst of the sea, without know 
 ing it ; by s- /erance, as it were, the water being so much 
 the more r /rerful, and the largest. But there is no end to 
 conceit this world, for a fellow who never saw salt water 
 iften fancies he knows more than one who has gone round 
 die Flora. No, no ; this earth is pretty much an island, and 
 ill that can be truly said not to be so, is water." 
 
 Young Western had a profound deference for a mariner 
 of the ocean, on which he had often pined to sail ; but he 
 had, also, a natural regard for the broad sheet on which he 
 had passed his life, and which was not without its beauties 
 in his eyes. 
 
 " What you say, sir," he answered, modestly, " may be true, 
 as to the Atlantic ; but we have a respect for the land up 
 here, on Ontario." 
 
 " That is because you are always land-locked," returned 
 Cap, laughing heartily. " But yonder is the Pathfinder, as 
 they call him, with some smoking platters, inviting us to 
 share in his mess ; and I will confess that one gets no veni 
 son at sea. Master Western, civility to girls, at your time 
 of life, comes as easy as taking in the slack of the ensign 
 halyards ; and if you will just keep an eye to her kid and 
 can, while I join the mess of the Pathfinder and our Indian 
 friends, I make no doubt she will remember it" 
 
 Master Cap uttered more than he was aware of at the 
 time Jasper Western did look to the wants of Mabel, and 
 *>he long remembered the kind, manly attention of the young 
 sailor, at this their first interview. He placed the end of a 
 log for a seat, obtained for her a delicious morsel of the 
 renison, gave her a draught of pure water from the spring, 
 ind, as he sat near and opposite to her, fast won his way to 
 her e.steem by his gentle but frank manner of manifesting 
 Ms care; homage that woman always wishes to receive, but 
 tvhich is never so flattering, or so agreeable, as when it 
 .omes from the young to those of their own age ; from the 
 manly to the gentle. Like most of those who pass their 
 time excluded from the society of the softer sex, young 
 
18 THE PATHFINDER. 
 
 Western was earnest, sincere, and kind in his attention!, 
 which, though they wanted a conventional refinement that 
 perhaps Mabel never missed, had those winning qualities 
 that prove very sufficient as substitutes. Leaving these 
 two inexperienced and unsophisticated young people to be 
 come acquainted through their feelings, rather than their 
 expressed thoughts, we will turn to the group in which the 
 ancle, with a facility of taking care of himself that never 
 deserted him, had already become a principal actor. 
 
 The party had taken their places around a platter of 
 * enison steaks, which served for the common use, and the 
 discourse naturally partook of the characters of the differ 
 ent individuals that composed it. The Indians were silent 
 and industrious, the appetite of the aboriginal American for 
 venison being seemingly inappeasable ; while the two white 
 men were communicative and discursive, each of the latter 
 being garrulous and opinionated in his way. But, as the 
 dialogue will serve to put the reader in possession of cer 
 tain facts that may render the succeeding narrative more 
 clear, it will be well to record it. 
 
 " There must be satisfaction in this life of yours, no 
 doubt, Mr. Pathfinder," continued Cap, when the hunger of 
 the travellers was so far appeased that they began to pick 
 and choose among the savory morsels ; " it has some of the 
 chances and luck that we seamen like, and if ours is all 
 water, yours is all land." 
 
 " Nay, we have water too, in our journeyings and 
 marches," returned his white companion : " we border-men 
 \iandle the paddle and the spear almost as much as the rifle 
 tad the hunting-knife." 
 
 " Aye ; but do you handle the brace and the bow-line ; the 
 wheel and the lead-line ; the reef-point and the top-rope ? 
 fke paddle is a good thing, out of doubt, in a canoe, but 
 it* what use is it in the ship ? " 
 
 " Nay, I respect all men in their callings, and I can be 
 lieve the things you mention have their uses. One who 
 LAS lived, like myself, in company with many tribes, under 
 stands differences in usages. The paint of a Mingo is not 
 .he paint of a Delaware ; and he who should exoect to se 
 
THE PATHFINDER. 19 
 
 B warrior in the dress of a squaw, might be disapp inted. 
 1m not very old, but I have lived in the woods, and have 
 some acquaintance with human natur . I never believed 
 much in the laming of them that dwell in towns, for I 
 never yet met with one that had an eye for a rifle or a 
 trail." 
 
 " That s my manner of reasoning, Master Pathfinder, to 
 a yarn. Walking about streets, going to church of Sun- 
 iays, and hearing sermons, never yet made a man of a hu 
 man being. Send the boy out upon the broad ocean, if you 
 wish to open his eyes, and let him look upon foreign na 
 tions, or what I call the face of natur , if you wish him to 
 understand his own character. Now, there ia my brother-in- 
 law, the sergeant ; he is as good a fellow as ever broke a bis 
 cuit, in his own way ; but what is he, after all ? why, noth 
 ing but a soger. A sergeant, to be sure, but that is a sort 
 of a soger, you know. When he wished to marry poor 
 Bridget, my sister, I told the girl what he was, as in duty 
 bound, and what she might expect from such a husband ; 
 but you know how it is with girls, when their minds are 
 jammed by an inclination. It is true, the sergeant has risen 
 in his calling, and they say he is an important man at the 
 fort ; but his poor wife has not lived to see it all, for she 
 has now been dead these fourteen years." 
 
 " A soldier s calling is an honorable calling, provided he 
 has fi t only on the side of right," returned the Pathfinder ; 
 " and as the Frenchers are always wrong, and his sacred 
 Majesty and these colonies are always right, I take it the 
 ergeant has a quiet conscience, as well as a good character. 
 I have never slept more sweetly than when I have fi t the 
 Mingos, though it is the law with me to fight always like a 
 nhite man, and never like an Injin. The Sarpent, here, 
 iius hia fashions, and I have mine ; yet have we fou t side 
 y side, these many years, without cither s thinking a hard 
 thought, consaruing the other s ways. I tell him there is 
 but one heaven and one hell, notwithstanding his traditions, 
 though there are many paths to both." 
 
 That is rational, and he is bound to believe you, though 
 I fancy most of the roads to the last are on dry land 
 
20 THE PATHFINDER. 
 
 The sea is what my poor sister, Bridget, used to call a 
 1 purifying place, and one is out of the way of temptation 
 when out of sight of land. I doubt if as much can be said 
 in favor of your lakes, up here-away." 
 
 " That towns and settlements lead to sin, I will allow ; 
 but our lakes are bordered by the forests, and one is everj 
 day called upon to worship God in such a temple. Thai 
 men are not always the same, even in the wilderness. 1 
 must admit, for the difference atween a Mingo and a Dela 
 ware is as plain to be seen as the difference atween the sun 
 and moon. I am glad, friend Cap, that we have met, how 
 ever, if it be only that you may tell the Big Sarpent, here, 
 that there be lakes in which the water is salt. We have 
 been pretty much of one mind since our acquaintance be 
 gan, and if the Mohican has only half the faith in me that 
 I have in him, he believes all that I have told him, touch 
 ing the white men s ways and uatur s laws ; but it has 
 always seemed to me that none of the red-skins have given 
 as free a belief, as an honest man likes, to the accounts of 
 the Big Salt Lakes, and to that of there being rivers that 
 flow up stream." 
 
 " This comes of getting things wrong end foremost," 
 answered Cap, with a condescending nod. " You have 
 thought of your lakes and rifts, as the ship, and of the ocean 
 and the tides, as the boat. Neither Arrowhead nor the 
 Serpent need doubt what you have said concerning both, 
 though I confess, myself, to some difficulty in swallowing 
 the tale about there being inland seas at all, and still more 
 that there is any sea of fresh water. I have come this 
 iong journey, as much to satisfy my own eyes and palate 
 concerning these facts, as to oblige the sergeant and Mag 
 net ; though the first was my sister s husband, and I love 
 the last like a child." 
 
 " You are wrong you are wrong, friend Cap ; \ er j 
 wrong, to distrust the power of God in anything," returned 
 Pathfinder, earnestly. " Them that live in the settlements 
 ind the towns get to have confined and unjust opinions con- 
 laming the might of his hand ; but we who pass our tima 
 in his very presence, as it might be, see things differently 
 
THE PATHFINDER. 21 
 
 I mean such of us as have white iiatur s. A red-skin has 
 his notions, and it is right that it should be so ; and if they 
 are not exactly the same as a Christian white man s, there is 
 no harm in it. Still, there are matters that belong alto 
 gether to the ordering of God s providence, and these salt 
 and fresh water lakes are some of them. I do not pre 
 tend to account fur these things, but I think it the duty of 
 all to believe in them. For my part, I am one of them 
 who think that the same hand which made the sweet watei v 
 can make the salt." 
 
 " Hold on there, Master Pathfinder," interrupted Cap, 
 not without some heat ; " in the way of a proper and manly 
 faith, I will turn my back on no one, when afloat. Al 
 though more accustomed to make all snug aloft, and t& 
 show the proper canvas, than to pray, when the hurricane 
 comes, I know that we are but helpless mortals at times, 
 and I hope I pay reverence where reverence is due. All ] 
 mean to say, and that is rather insiniated than said, is this^ 
 which is, as you all know, simply an intimation that, being 
 accustomed to see water in large bodies salt, I should like 
 to taste it, before I can believe it to Refresh" 
 
 " God has given the salt lick to the deer, and He has given 
 to man, red-skin and white, the delicious spring at which to 
 slake his thirst. It is onreasonable to think that He may 
 not have given lakes of pure water to the west, and lakes 
 of impure water to the east." 
 
 Cap was awed, in spite of his overweening dogmatism, 
 by the earnest simplicity of the Pathfinder, though he did 
 not relish the idea of believing a fact which, for many 
 years, he had pertinaciously insisted could not be true. 
 Unwilling to give up the point, and, at the same time, un 
 able to maintain it against a reasoning to which he was unac 
 cwstomed, and which possessed equally the force of truth, 
 faith, and probability, he was glad to get rid of the subjeci 
 by evasion. 
 
 " Well, well, friend Pathfinder," he said, " we will nipper 
 the argument where it is ; and, as the sergeant has sent you 
 to give us pilotage to this same lake, we can only try the 
 irater when we reach it. Only mark my words : I do 1101 
 
22 THE PATHFINDER. 
 
 say that it may not be fresh on the surface; the Atlantic ID 
 sometimes fresh on the surface, near the mouths of great 
 rivers ; but rely on it, I shall show you a way of tasting the 
 water many fathoms deep, of which you never dreamed ; and 
 then we shall know more about it." 
 
 The guide seemed content to let the matter rest, and th 
 conversation changed. 
 
 " We are not over-cousated consarning our gifts," observed 
 the Pathfinder, after a short pause, " arid well know that 
 such as live in the towns, and near the sea " 
 
 " On the sea," interrupted Cap. 
 
 " On the sea, if you wish it, friend have opportunities 
 that do not befall us of the wilderness. Still, we know our 
 own callings, and they are what I consider nat ral callings, 
 and are not parvarted by vanity and wantonness. Now, mj 
 gifts are with the rifle, arid on a trail, and in the way of 
 game and scoutin ; for, though I can use the spear and the 
 paddle, I pride not myself on either. The youth, Jasper, 
 there, who is discoursing with the sergeant s daughter, is a 
 different creatur , for he may be said to breathe the water, 
 as it might be, like a fish. The Indians and Frenchers of 
 the north shore call him Eau-douce, on account of his gifts 
 in this particular. He is better at the oar, and the rope too, 
 than in making fires on a trail." 
 
 " There must be something about these gifts of which you 
 speak, after all," said Cap. " Now this fire, I will acknowl 
 edge, hats overlaid all my seamanship. Arrowhead, there, 
 said the smoke came from a pale-face s fire, and that is a 
 piece of philosophy that I hold to be equal to steering in a 
 lark night by the edges of the scud." 
 
 "It s no great secret it s no great secret," leturned 
 Pathfinder, laughing with great inward glee, though habitual 
 caution prevented the emission of any noise. " Nothing is 
 easier to us who pass our time in the great school of Prou 
 dence, than to 1 arn its lessons. We should be as useless on 
 * trail, or in carrying tidings through the wilderness, as so 
 many woodchucks, did we not soon come to a knowledge of 
 these niceties. Eau-douce, as we call h rn, is so fond of the 
 , that he gathered a damp stick or two for our fire, and 
 
THE PATHFINDER. 23 
 
 there be plenty of them, as well as those that, are thoroughly 
 dried, lying scattered about ; and wet will bring dark smoke, 
 as I suppose even you followers of the sea must know. It s 
 no great secret it s no great secret; though all is mynteij 
 to such as doesn t study the Lord and his mighty ways \\itli 
 humility and thankfulness." 
 
 " That must be a keen eye of Arrowhead s to see so slight 
 a difference." 
 
 " He would be but a poor Injin if he didn t ! No, no ; it 
 is war-time, and no red-skin is outlying without using Lia 
 senses. Every skin has its own natur , arid ev( ry uatur ; has 
 its own laws, as well as its own skin. It was many years 
 afore I could master all them higher branches of a forest 
 3dication, for red-skin knowledge doesn t come as easy to 
 white-skin natur as what I suppose is intended to be white- 
 skin knowledge ; though I have but little of the latter, hav 
 ing passed most of my time in the wilderness." 
 
 " You have been a ready scholar, Master Pathfinder, as is 
 seen by your understanding these things so well. I suppose 
 it would be no great matter, for a man regularly brought 
 up to the sea, to catch these trifles, if he could only bring his 
 mind fairly to bear upon them." 
 
 " I don t know that. The white man has his difficulties 
 in getting red-skin habits, quite as much as the Injin in get 
 ting white-skin ways. As for the raal natur , it is my opin 
 ion that neither can actually get that of the other." 
 
 " And yet we sailors, who run about the world so much, 
 say there is but one nature, whether it be in the Chinaman 
 or a Dutchman. For my own part, I am much of that way 
 of thinking too ; for I have generally found that all nations 
 like gold and silver, and most men relish tobacco." 
 
 " Then you seafaring men know little of the red-skins. 
 Have you ever known any of your Chinamen who could 
 sing their death-songs, with their flesh torn with splinters 
 oiud cut with knives, the fire raging around their naked bod 
 ies, and death staring them in the face ? Until you can find 
 me a Chinaman, or a Christian man, that can do all this, 
 you cannot find a man with red-skin natur , let him look 
 ever so valiant, or know how to read all the books that waa 
 ever printed." 
 
24 THE PATHFINDER. 
 
 " It is the savages only that play each other such hellish 
 tricks ! " said Master Cap, glancing his eyes about him un 
 easily at the apparently endless arches of the forest. " No 
 white man is ever condemned to undergo these trials." 
 
 " Nay, therein you are ag in mistaken," returned thg Path 
 finder, coolly selecting a delicate morsel of the venison as 
 his bonne louche ; " for though these torments belong only 
 to the red-skin natur , in the way of bearing them lik< 
 braves, white-skin natur may be, and often has been, ago 
 \ized by them." 
 
 " Happily," said Cap, with an effort to clear his throaty 
 " none of his Majesty s allies will be likely to attempt such 
 damnable cruelties, on any of his Majesty s loyal subjects. 
 I have not served much in the royal navy, it is true ; but 
 I have served and that is something ; and, in the way of 
 privateering and worrying the enemy in his ships and car 
 goes, I ve done my full share. But I trust there are no 
 French savages on this side the lake, and I think you said 
 that Ontario is a broad sheet of water ? " 
 
 " Nay, it is broad in our eyes," returned Pathfinder, not 
 caring to conceal the smile which lighted a face that had 
 been burnt by exposure to a bright red, " though I mistrust 
 that some may think it narrow ; and narrow it is, if you 
 wish it to keep off the foe. Ontario has two ends, and 
 the enemy that is afraid to cross it will be sartain to come 
 round it." 
 
 " Ah ! that comes of your d d fresh-water ponds ! " 
 
 growled Cap, hemming so loud as to cause him instantly 
 to repent the indiscretion. " No man, now, ever heard 
 of a pirate s or a ship s getting round one end of the At* 
 lantic ! " 
 
 " Mayhap the ocean has no ends ? " 
 
 * That it hasn t; nor sides, nor bottom. The nation tin- 
 \ anugly moored on one of its coasts need fear nothing froi 
 the one anchored abeam, let it be ever so savage, unless i 
 possesses the art of shipbuilding. No, no ; the people wht 
 (ive on the shores of the Allan tic need fear but little foi 
 their skins or their scalps. A. man may lie down at night, 
 m those regions, in the hop* of finding the /iair on his head 
 m the morning, unless he wears a wig." 
 
THE PATHFINDER. 25 
 
 "It isn t so here. I don t wish to flurry the young 
 woman, and therefore I will be no way particular, though 
 she seems pretty much listening to Eau-douce, as we call 
 him; but without the edication I have received, I should 
 think it, at this very moment, a risky journey to go over the 
 very grouud that lies atween us and the garrison, in the 
 present state of this frontier. There are about as many 
 Iroquois on this side of Ontario as there be on the other 
 It is for this very reason, friend Cap, that the sergeant haf 
 engaged us to come out and show you the path." 
 
 " What ! do the knaves dare to cruise so near the gum 
 of one of his Mu^sty s works ? " 
 
 " Do not the ravens resort near the carcass of the deer, 
 though the fowler is at hand ? They come this-away, as it 
 might be, nat rally. There are more or less whites passing 
 atween the forts and the settlements, and they are sure to be 
 on their trails. The Sarpent has come up on one side of 
 the river, and I have come up the other, in order to scout 
 for the outlying rascals, while Jasper brought up the canoe, 
 like a bold-hearted sailor, as he is. The sergeant told him, 
 with tears in his eyes, all about his child, and how his heart 
 yearned for her, and how gentle and obedient she was, until 
 I think the lad would have dashed into a Mingo camp, single- 
 handed, rather than not a-come." 
 
 " We thank him, we thank him ; and shall think the bet 
 ter of him for his readiness ; though I suppose the boy has 
 run no great risk, after all." 
 
 " Only the risk of being shot from a cover, as ho forced 
 the canoe up a swift rift, or turned an elbow in the stream, 
 with his eyes fastened on the eddies. Of all the risky 
 journeys, that on an ambushed rive!" is the most risky, in 
 m^ judgment, and that risk has Jasper run." 
 
 " And why the devil has the sergeant sent for me to 
 u-ivel a hundred and fifty miles in this outlandish manner i 
 jive me an offing, and the enemy in sight, and I ll play 
 Aith him in his own fashion, as long as he pleases, long 
 )owls or close quarters ; but to be shot like a turtle asleep, 
 is ,iot to my humor. If it were not for little Magnet there, 
 I would tack ship this instant, make tho best of nay way 
 
26 THE PATHFINDER. 
 
 oack to York, and let Ontario take care of itself, salt watei 
 or fresh water." 
 
 u That wouldn t mend the matter much, friend mariner^ 
 as the road to return is much longer, and almost as bad as 
 the road to go on. Trust to us, and we will carry you 
 through safe, or lose our scalps." 
 
 Cap wore a tight, solid queue, done up in eel-skin, whik 
 the top of his head was nearly bald, and he mechanical!} 
 passed his hand over both, as if to make certain that each 
 was in its right place. He was at the bottom, however, a 
 brave man, and had often faced death with coolness, though 
 never in the frightful forms in which it presented itself, 
 under the brief but graphic pictures of his companion. It 
 was too late to retreat ; and he determined to put the best 
 face on the matter, though he could not avoid muttering 
 inwardly a few curses on the indifference and indiscretion 
 with which his brother-in-law, the sergeant, had led him into 
 his present dilemma. 
 
 " I make no doubt, Master Pathfinder," he answered, 
 when these thoughts had found time to glance through his 
 mind, " that we shall reach port in safety. What distance 
 may we now be from the fort ? " 
 
 " Little more than fifteen miles ; and swift miles, too, as 
 the river runs, if the Mingos let us go clear." 
 
 " And I suppose the woods will stretch along, starboard 
 and larboard, as heretofore ? " 
 
 " Anan ? " 
 
 u I mean that we shall have to pick our way through 
 these damned trees ! " 
 
 " Nay, nay ; you will go in the canoe, and the Oswego 
 has been cleared of its flood-wood by the troops. It will 
 be floating down stream, and that, too, with a swift cur 
 r ent." 
 
 " And what the devil is to prevent these minks, of which 
 you speak, from shooting us as we double a headland, or 
 are busy in steering clear of the rocks ? " 
 
 " The Lord ! He who has so often helped others ii. 
 greater difficulties. Many and many is the time that inj 
 head would have been stripped of hair, skin and all, liaii 
 
THE PATHFINDER. 27 
 
 the Lord fi t of my side. I never go into a 
 friend mariner, without thinking of this great ally, who can 
 do more in battle than all the battalions of the 60th. werp 
 they brought into a single line." 
 
 ** Aye, aye ; this may do well enough for a scouter ; but 
 we seamen like our offing, and tc go into action with noth 
 ing in our minds but the business before us ; plain broad 
 side and broadside work, and no trees or rocks to thicker 
 the water." 
 
 " And no Lord, too, I dare to say, if the truth was knowii 
 Take my word for it, Master Cap, that no battle is tin 
 worse fou t for having the Lord on your side. Look ai ihe 
 head of the Big Sarpent, there ; you can see the mark of a 
 knife all along by his left ear ; now, nothing but a bullet 
 from this long rifle of mine saved his scalp that day, for it 
 had fairly started, and half a minute more would have left 
 him without the warlock. When the Mohican squeezes my 
 hand, and intermates that I befri nded him in that matter, 
 I tell him, no ; it was the Lord, who led me to the only 
 spot where execution could be done, or his necessity be 
 made known, on account of the smoke. Sartain when I got 
 the right position, I finished the affair of my own accord, 
 for a friend under the tomahawk is apt to make a man 
 think quick, and act at once, as was my case, or the Sai- 
 pent s spirit would be hunting in the happy land of his peo 
 ple at this very moment." 
 
 44 Come, come, Pathfinder, this palaver is worse than be 
 ing skinned from stem to stern ; we have but a few hours 
 of sun, and had better be drifting down this said current of 
 yours, while we may. Magnet, dear, are you not read) to 
 et under wajr ? " 
 
 Magnet started, blushed brightly, and made her prepara 
 tions for an immediate departure. Not a syllable of the 
 Discourse just related had she heard, for Eau-douce, as 
 >oung Jasper w;is oftener called than anything else, had 
 lecn tilling her ears with a description of the yet diutant 
 tort towards which she was journeying, with accounts oi 
 tier father, whom slit- had not seen since a child, and with 
 *bj manner of life <>1 those who lived in the frontier garri- 
 
28 THE PATHFINDER. 
 
 sons. Unconsciously, she had become deeply interested, 
 and her thoughts had been too intently directed to these 
 interesting matters, to allow any of the less agreeable sub 
 jects discussed by those so near to reach her ears. The 
 bustle of departure put an end to the conversation entirely, 
 and the baggage of the scouts, or guides, being trifling, in a 
 few minutes the whole party was ready to proceed. As 
 they were about to quit the spot, however, to the surprise 
 of even his fellow guides, Pathfinder collected a quantity of 
 branches, and threw them upon the embers of the fire, tak 
 ing care even to see that some of the wood was damp, ii 
 >rder to raise as dark and dense a smoke as possible. 
 
 " When you can hide your trail, Jasper," he said, " a 
 otnoke at leaving an encampment may do good, instead of 
 harm. If there are a dozen Mingos within ten miles of us, 
 some on em are on the heights, or in the trees, looking out 
 for smokes ; let them see this, and much good may it do 
 them. They are welcome to our leavings." 
 
 " But may they not strike, and follow on our trail ? " 
 asked the youth, whose interest in the hazard of his situa 
 tion had much increased since the meeting with Magnet. 
 " We shall leave a broad path to the river." 
 
 " The broader the better ; when there, it will surpass 
 Mingo cunning even to say which way the canoe has gone ; 
 up stream or down. Water is the only thing in natur that 
 will thoroughly wash out a trail, and even water will not 
 always do it, when the scent is strong. Do you not see, 
 Kau-douce, that if any Mingos have seen our path below 
 the falls, they will strike off towards this smoke, and that 
 they will nat rally conclude that they who began by going 
 up stream, will end by going up stream ? If they know 
 anything, they now know a party is out from the fort, and 
 .t will exceed even Mingo wit to fancy that we have come 
 up here, just for the pleasure of going back again, and that, 
 too, the same day, and at the risk of our scalps." 
 
 " Certainly," added Jasper, who was talking apart with 
 the Pathfinder, as they moved towards the wind-row, " they 
 cannot know anything about the sergeant s daughter, for th 
 greatest crecy has been observed on her account." 
 
THE PATHFINDER. 2l 
 
 " And they will 1 arn nothiug here," returned Pathfinder, 
 causing his companion to see that he trod with the utmost 
 care on the impressions left on the leaves by the little foot 
 of Mabel, " unless this old salt-water ilsh has been taking 
 his niece about in the wind-row, like a fa o playing by the 
 side of the old doe." 
 
 " Buck, you mean, Pathfinder." 
 
 " Isn t he a queerity ? Now, I can consort with such I 
 sailor as yourself, Eau-douce, and find nothing very contrary 
 in our gifts, though yours belong to the lakes, and mine to 
 the woods. Harkee, Jasper." continued the scout, laughing 
 hi his noiseless manner ; " suppose we try the temper of his 
 blade, and run him over the falls ? " 
 
 " And what would be done with the pretty niece in the 
 mean while ? " 
 
 " Nay, nay ; no harm shall come to her ; she must walk 
 round the portage, at any rate ; but you and I can try this 
 Atlantic oceaner, and then -all parties will become bet 
 ter acquainted. We shall find out whether his flint will 
 strike fire, and he may come to know something of frontier 
 tricks." 
 
 Young Jasper smiled, for he was not averse to fun, and 
 had been a little touched by Cap s superciliousness ; but 
 Mabel s fair face, light agile form, and winning smiles, stood 
 like a shield between her uncle and the intended experi 
 ment. 
 
 " Perhaps the sergeant s daughter will be frightened," he 
 Baid 
 
 " Not she, if she has any of the sergeant s spirit in her. 
 She doesn t look like a skeary thing at all. Leave it to 
 me, Eau-douce, and I will manage the affair alone." 
 
 " Not you, Pathfinder ; you would onlv drown both. If 
 the canoe goes over, I must go in it." 
 
 " Well, have it so, then ; shall we smoke the pipe of 
 a^eement on the bargain ? " 
 
 Jasper laughed, nodded his head, by way of consent, and 
 the subject was dropped, for the party had reached the 
 tanoe, so often mentioned, and fewer words had determined 
 much greater things between the parties. 
 
30 THE PATHFINDER. 
 
 CHAPTER IH. 
 
 Before these fields were shorn and tilled, 
 
 Full to the brim our rivers flowed; 
 
 The melody of waters filled 
 
 The fresh and boundless wood ; 
 
 And torrents dashed, and rivulets played, 
 
 And fountains spouted in the shade. 
 
 BRYANT. 
 
 IT is generally known that the waters wliich flow into 
 the southern side of Ontario are, in general, narrow, slug 
 gish, and deep. There are some exceptions to this rule, for 
 many of the rivers have rapids, or, as they are termed in 
 the language of the region, rifts, and some have falls. 
 Among the latter was the particular stream on which our 
 adventurers were now journeying. The Oswego is formed 
 by the junction of the Oneida and the Onondaga, both of 
 which flow from lakes ; and it pursues its way, through a 
 gentle undulating country, a few miles, until it reaches the 
 margin of a sort of natural terrace, down which it tumbles 
 some ten or fifteen feet, to another level, across which it 
 glides, or glances, or pursues its course with the silent, 
 stealthy progress of deep water, until it throws its tribute 
 nto the broad receptacle of Ontario. The canoe in which 
 Cap and his party had travelled from Fort Stanwix, thp 
 last military station on the Mohawk, 1 lay by the side of this 
 river, and into it the whole party now entered, with the ex 
 ception of Pathfinder, who remained on the land, in older 
 jo shove the light vessel off. 
 
 ." Let her starn drift down stream, Jasper," said the man 
 of the woods to the young mariner of the lake, who had 
 dispossessed Arrowhead of his paddle, and taken his OWD 
 station as steersman ; " let it go down with the current, 
 Should any of them infarnals, the Mingos, strike our trail, 
 or follow it to this pom t, they will not fail to look for the 
 
 l See Appendix, JSote D. 
 
THE PATHFINDER. 31 
 
 gigns in the mud, and if they discover that we tee left the 
 shore with the nose of the canoe up stream, it .s a natural 
 belief to think we went that-away." 
 
 This direction was followed ; and, giving a vigorous 
 shove, the Pathfinder, who was in the flower of his strength 
 and activity, made a leap, landing lightly, and without dis- 
 *urbing its equilibrium, in the bow of the canoe. As soon 
 s it had reached the centre of the river, or the strength of 
 the current, the boat was turned, and it began to glide 
 noiselessly down the stream. 
 
 The vessel in which Cap and his niece had embarked foi 
 their long and adventurous journey, was one of the canoes 
 of bark 1 which the Indians are in the habit of constructing, 
 and which, by their exceeding lightness, and the ease with 
 which they are propelled, are admirably adapted to a navi 
 gation in which shoals, flood-wood, and other similar ob 
 structions so often occur. The two men who composed its 
 original crew had several times carried it, when emptied of 
 its luggage, many hundred yards ; and it would not have 
 exceeded the strength of a single man to lift its weight. 
 Still it was long, and, for a canoe, wide, a want of steadi 
 ness being its principal defect in the eyes of the uninitiated. 
 A few hours practice, however, in a great measure reme 
 died this evil, and both Mabel and her uncle had learned so 
 far to humor its movements, that they now maintained their 
 places with perfect composure ; nor did the additional 
 weight of the three guides tax its powers in any particular 
 degree, the breadth of the rounded bottom allowing the 
 necessary quantity of water to be displaced, without bring 
 ing the gunwale very sensibly nearer to the surface of the 
 stream. Its workmanship was neat ; the timbers were 
 small, and secured by thongs ; and the whole fabric, though 
 it was so slight and precarious to the eye, was probably 
 capable of conveying double the number of persons that it 
 MOW contained. 
 
 Cap was seated on a low thwart, in the centre of the 
 
 _29Jtf)e ; the Big Serpent knelt near him. Arrowhead and 
 
 his Vile occupied places forward of both, the former having 
 
 reliwmished his post aft. Mabel was half reclining on some 
 
 v 
 
 Appeudix, Note ii. 
 
32 THE PATHFINDER. 
 
 of her own effects, behind her uncle, while the Pathlinde 
 and Eau-douce stood erect, the one in the bow and th 
 other in the stern, each using a paddle, with a long, stead} 
 noiseless sweep. The conversation was carried on in lo: 
 u>nes, all the party beginning to feel the necessity of pru 
 ience, as they drew nearer to the outskirts of the fort, au 
 lad no longer the cover of the woods. 
 
 The Oswego, just at that place, was a deep, dark strean 
 yf no great width, its still, gloomy-looking current wiucTii 
 its way among overhanging trees, that, in particular spot 
 almost shut out the light of the heavens. Here and fhei 
 some half-fallen giant of the forest lay nearly across its sui 
 face, rendering care necessary to avoid the limbs ; and inoa 
 of the distance, the lower branches and leaves of the tree 
 of smaller growth were laved by its waters. The pictur- 
 which has been so beautifully described by our own admi 
 rable poet, and which we have placed at the head of thi 
 chapter, as an epigraph, was here realized ; the earth fat 
 tened by the decayed vegetation of centuries, and black 
 with loam, the stream that filled the banks nearly to over 
 flowing, and the " fresh and boundless wood," being all as 
 risible to the eye, as the pen of Bryant has elsewhere 
 vividly presented them to the imagination. / In short, the 
 entire scene was one of a rich and benevolent nature, be 
 fore it has been subjected to the uses and desires of man ; lux 
 uriant, full of wild promise, and not without the charm of the 
 picturesque, even in its rudest state./ It will be remembered 
 that j this was in the year 175-, or long before even specula 
 tion had brought any portion of western New York within 
 the bounds of civilization, or the projects of the adventur 
 ous. At that distant day, there were two great channels 
 of military communication between the inhabited portion 
 of the colony of New York, and the frontiers that lay 
 adja/cent to the Canadas : that by Lakes Champlain and 
 George, and that by means of the Mohawk, Wood Creek, 
 the Oneida, and the rivers we have been describing. Along 
 both these lines of communication military posts had been 
 established, though there existed a blank space of a hundred 
 miles between the last fort at <:he head of the Mohawk, and 
 
THE PATHFINDER. 83 
 
 tho outlet of the Oswego, which embraced most of the dis 
 tance that Cap and Mabel had journeyed under the protec 
 tion of Arrowhead. 
 
 " I sometimes wish for peace again," said the Pathfinder, 
 " when one can range the forest without s arching for any 
 other enemy than the beasts and fishes. Ab s me ! many 
 is the day that the Sarpent, there, and I have passed hap 
 pily among the streams, living on venison, salmon, and 
 trout, without thought of a Mingo or a scalp ! I sometimef 
 wish that them bJessed days might come back, for it is not 
 my raal gift to slay my own kind. I m sartain the ser 
 geant s daughter don t think me a wretch that takes pleasure 
 in preying on human natur ? " 
 
 At this remark, a sort of half interrogatory, Pathfinder 
 looked behind him ; and, though the most partial friend 
 could scarcely term his sunburnt and hard features hand 
 some, even Mabel thought his smile attractive, by its simple 
 ingenuousness, and the uprightness that beamed in every 
 lineament of his honest countenance. 
 
 " I do not think my father would have sent one like those 
 you mention, to see his daughter through the wilderness," 
 the young woman answered, returning the smile as frankly 
 as it was given, and much more sweetly. 
 
 " That he wouldn t, that he wouldn t ; the sergeant is a 
 man of feelin , and many is the march and the fight that we 
 have stood shoulder to shoulder in, as he would call it; 
 though I always keep my limbs free, when near a Frencher 
 or a Mingo." 
 
 " You are then the young friend of whom my father lias 
 spoken so often in his letters ? " 
 
 " His young friend the sergeant has the advantage of 
 me by thirty years ; yes, he is thirty years my senior, and 
 Afi many my better." 
 
 "Not in the eyes of the daughter, perhaps, friend I ath- 
 luuier," put in Cap, whose spirits began to revive when 
 he found the water once more flowing around him. " The 
 thirty years that you mention are not often thought to be 
 AD advantage in the eyes of girls of nineteen." 
 
 Mabel colored, and in turriiig aside her face, to avoid the 
 
34 THE PATHFINDER. 
 
 looks of those in the bow of the canoe, she encountered 
 the admiring gaze of the young man in the stern. As a 
 last resource her spirited, but soft blue eyes, sought refuge 
 in iLe water. Just at this moment a dull heavy sound 
 swept up the avenue formed by the trees, borne along by * 
 light air that hardly produced a ripple on the water. 
 
 That sounds pleasantly," said Cap, pricking up his can 
 like a dog that hears a distant baying ; " it is the surf or 
 the shores of your lake, I suppose ? " 
 
 " Not so not so," answered the Pathfinder ; " it it 
 merely this river tumbling over some rocks, half a mile 
 below us." 
 
 " Is there a fall in the stream ? " demanded Mabel, a still 
 brighter flush glowing in her face. 
 
 " The devil ! Master Pathfinder, or you, Mr. Oh-the- 
 Deuce," for so Cap began to style Jasper, by way of en 
 tering cordially into the border usages, " had you not 
 better give the canoe a sheer, and get nearer to the shore ? 
 These water-falls have generally rapids above them, and one 
 might as well get into the Maelstrom at once as to run into 
 their suction." 
 
 " Trust to us trust to us, friend Cap," answered Path 
 finder ; " we are but fresh-water sailors, it is true, and I 
 cannot boast of being much, even of that ; but we understand 
 rifts, and rapids, and cataracts ; and in going down these, 
 we shall do our endeavors not to disgrace our edication." 
 
 " In going down ! " exclaimed Cap ; " the devil, man ! 
 you do not dream of going down a water-fall in this egg 
 shell of bark ! " 
 
 " Sartain ; the path lies over the falls, and it is much 
 easier to shoot them than to unload the canoe, and to carry 
 that, and all it contains, around a portage of a mile, by 
 hand," 
 
 Mabel turned her pallid countenance towards the young 
 man in the stern of the canoe, for just at that moment a 
 fresh roar of the fall was borne to her ears, by a new cur 
 rent of the air, and it really sounded terrific, now that the 
 cause was understood. 
 
 * We thought that by landing the females and the twc 
 
THE PATHFINDER, 85 
 
 Indians," Jasper quietly observed, " we three white men, all 
 of whom are used to the water, might carry the canoe :ver 
 ha safety, for we often shoot these falls." 
 
 " And we counted on you, friend mariner, as a main 
 stay." said Pathfinder, winking at Jasper over his shoulder, 
 " for you are accustomed to see waves tumbling about, and 
 without some one to steady the cargo, all the finery of the 
 sergeant s daughter might be washed into the river, and be 
 lost." 
 
 Cap was puzzled. The idea of going over a water-falJ 
 was perhaps more serious, in his eyes, than it would have 
 been in those of one totally ignorant of all that pertained to 
 boats ; for he understood the power of the element, and the 
 total feebleness of man when exposed to its fury. Still, his 
 pride revolted at the thought of deserting the boat, while 
 others not only courageously, but coolly, proposed to con 
 tinue in it. Notwithstanding the latter feeling, and his 
 innate as well as acquired steadiness in danger, he would 
 probably have deserted his post, had not the images of 
 Indians tearing scalps from the human head taken so strong 
 bold of his fancy, as to induce him to imagine the canoe a 
 sort of sanctuary. 
 
 " What is to be done with Magnet ? " he demanded, 
 affection for his niece raising another qualm in his con 
 science. " We cannot allow Magnet to land, if there are 
 enemy s Indians near ? " 
 
 " Nay ; no Miugo will be near the portage, for that is a 
 spot too public for their deviltries," answered the Pathfinder, 
 confidently. " Natur is natur , and it is an Injin s natur 
 to be found where he is least expected. No fear of him or 
 a beaten path, for he wishes to come upon you when unpre 
 pared to meet him, and the fiery villains make it a point to 
 deceive you, one way or another. Sheer in, Eau-douce ; 
 we will land the sergeant s daughter on the end of that log, 
 wher? she can reach the shore with a dry foot." 
 
 The injunction was obeyed, and in a few minutes the 
 wbole party had left the canoe, with the exception of Path- 
 Jinder and the two sailors. Notwithstanding his professional 
 oride, Cap would have gladly followed, but he did not lik 
 
36 THE PATHFINDER. 
 
 to exhibit so unequivocal a weakness in the presence of a 
 fresh-water sailor. 
 
 " I call all hands to witness," he said, as* those who had 
 landed moved away, " that I do not look on this affair as 
 anything more than canoeing in the woods. There is no 
 seamanship in tumbling over a water-fall, which is a feat the 
 greatest lubber can perform as well as the oldest mariner." 
 
 Nay, nay ; you needn t despise the Oswego Fallu, 
 neither," put in Pathfinder, " for though they may not be 
 Niagara, nor the Genesee, nor the Cahoos, nor Glenn s, noi 
 them on the Canada, they are narvous enough for a new 
 beginner. Let the sergeant s daughter stand on yonder 
 rock, and she will see the manner in which we ignorant 
 backwoodsmen get over a difficulty that we can t get unaer. 
 Now, Eau- douce, a steady hand and a true eye, for all rests 
 on you, seeing that we can count Master Cap for no more 
 than a passenger." 
 
 The canoe was leaving the shore, as he concluded, while 
 Mabel went hurriedly and trembling to the rock that had 
 been pointed out, talking to her companion of the danger 
 her uncle j unnecessarily ran, while her eyes were riveted 
 on the agile and vigorous form of Eau-douce, as he stood 
 erect in the stern of the light boat, governing its move 
 ments. As soon, however, as she reached a point where 
 she got a view of the fall, she gave an ; nvoluntary but sup 
 pressed scream, and covered her eyes. At the next instant, 
 the latter were again free, and the entranced girl stood 
 immovable as a statue, a scarcely breathing observer of all 
 that passed. The two Indians seated themselves passively 
 on a log, hardly looking towards the stream, while the wife 
 of Arrowhead came near Mabel, and appeared to watch the 
 motions of the canoe with some such interest as a child 
 v^ards the leaps of a tumbler. 
 
 As soon as the boat was in the stream, Pathfinder sank 
 mi his knees, continuing to use the paddle, though it waa 
 slowly, and in a manner not to interfere with the efforts of 
 hie companion. The latter still stood erect, and, as he kept 
 hia eye on some object beyond the fall, it was evident that 
 he was carefully looking for the spot proper for their pas- 
 
THE PATHFINDER. 87 
 
 " Further west, boy ; further west," muttered Pathfinder 
 * there where you see the water foam. Bring the top of 
 the dead oak in a line with the stem of the blasted hem 
 lock/ 
 
 Eau-douce made no answer, for the canoe was in the cen 
 tre of the stream, with its head pointed towards the fall, and 
 it had already begun to quicken its motion, by the increased 
 torce of the current. At that moment Cap would cheerfully 
 havo renounced every claim to glory that could possibly be 
 acquired by the feat, to have been safe again on shore. 
 He heard the roar of the water, thundering as it might be, 
 behind a screen, but becoming more and more distinct, 
 louder and louder ; and before him he saw its line cutting 
 the forest below, along which the green and angry element 
 seemed stretched and shining, as if the particles were about 
 to lose their principle of cohesion. 
 
 " Down with your helm down with your helm, man ! " 
 he exclaimed, unable any longer to suppress his anxiety, as 
 the canoe glided towards the edge of the fall. 
 
 " Aye, aye ; down it is, sure enough," answered Path 
 finder, looking behind him for a single instant, with his 
 silent, joyous laugh ; " down we go, of a sartainty ! Heave 
 her starn up, boy ; further up with her starn ! " 
 
 The rest was like the passage of the viewless wind. 
 Eau-douce gave the required sweep with his paddle, the 
 canoe glanced into the channel, and for a few seconds it 
 seemed to Cap that he was tossing in a caldron. He felt the 
 bow of the canoe tip, saw the raging, foaming water, career 
 ing madly by his side, was sensible that the light fabric 
 in which he floated was tossed about like v an egg-shell, 
 and then, not less to his great joy than to his surprise, he 
 discovered that it was gliding across the basin of still 
 water, below the fall, under the steady impulse of Jasper s 
 paddle. 
 
 The Pathfinder continued to laugh, but he arose from 
 his knees, and, searching for a tin pot and a horn spoon, he 
 began deliberately to measure the water that had been 
 taken in in the passage. 
 
 " Fourteen spoonfuls, Eau-douce ; fourteen fairly mea 
 
38 THE PATHFINDER. 
 
 ured spoonfuls. I have, you mv:st acknowledge, known you 
 to go down with only ten." 
 
 " Master Cap leaned so hard up stream," returned Jas 
 per, seriously, " that I had difficulty in trimming tht 
 canoe." 
 
 " It may be so it may be so ; no doubt it was so, since 
 you say it ; but I have known you go over with onlj 
 ten." 
 
 Cap now gave a tremendous hem, felt for his queue, as if 
 to ascertain its safety, and then looked back, in order to 
 examine the danger he had gone through. His impunity is 
 easily explained. Most of the river fell perpendicularly ten 
 or twelve feet ; but near its centre, the force of the current 
 had so far worn away the rock, as to permit the water to 
 shoot through a narrow passage, at an angle of about forty 
 or forty-five degrees. Down this ticklish descent the canoe 
 had glanced, amid fragments of broken rock, whirlpools, 
 foam, and furious tossings of the element, which an unin 
 structed eye would believe menaced inevitable destruction 
 to an object so fragile. But the very lightness of the canoe 
 favored its descent ; for, borne on the crests of the waves, 
 and directed by a steady eye and an arm full of muscle, it 
 had passed like a feather from one pile of foam to another, 
 scarcely permitting its glossy side to be wetted. There 
 were a few rocks to be avoided ; the proper direction was 
 to be rigidly observed, and the fierce current did the rest. 1 
 
 To say that Cap was astonished, would not be expressing 
 half his feelings. He felt awed, for the profound dread of 
 rocks, which most seamen entertain, came in aid of his 
 admiration of the boldness of the exploit. Still he was 
 indisposed to express all he felt, lest it might be conceding 
 too much in favor of fresh water, and inland navigation ; 
 wid DO sooner had he cleared his throat with the aforesaid 
 hem, than he loosened his tongue in the usual strain of 
 superiority. 
 
 " I do not gainsay your knowledge of the channel, Master 
 
 l Lest the reader suppose we are dealing purel) in fiction, the writer will 
 add that he has known a long thirty-two pounder carried over these same falls 
 in perfect safety. 
 
THE PATHFINDER. 39 
 
 Oh-the-Deuce," for such he religiously believed to be 
 Jasper s sobriquet, " and, after all, to know the channel in 
 such a place is the main point. I have had coxswains with 
 me who could come down that shoot too, if they only knew 
 f .he channe) " 
 
 " It isn t enough to know the channel, friend mariner," 
 said Pathfinder ; " it needs narves and skill to keep the 
 canoe straight and to keep her clear of the rocks, too. 
 There isn t another boatman in all this region that can shoot 
 the Oswego, but Eau-douce, there, with any sartainty; 
 though, now and then, one has blundered through. I can t 
 do it myself, unless by means of Providence, and it needs 
 Jasper s hand and Jasper s eye to make sure of a dry pas 
 sage. Fourteen spoonfuls, after all, are no great matter 
 though I wish it had been but ten, seeing that the sergeant s 
 daughter was a looker-on." 
 
 " And yet you conned the canoe ; you told him how to 
 head and how to sheer." 
 
 " Human frailty, master mariner ; that was a little of 
 white-skin natur . Now, had the Sarpent, yonder, been in 
 the boat, not a word would he have spoken, or thought 
 would he have given to the public. An Injin knows how 
 to hold his tongue ; but we white folk fancy we are always 
 wiser than our fellows. I m curing myself fast of the weak 
 ness, but it needs time to root up the tree that has been 
 growing more than thirty years." 
 
 " I think little of this affair, sir ; nothing at all, to speak 
 my mind freely. It s a mere wash of spray to shooting 
 London Bridge, which is done every day by hundreds of 
 persons, and often by the most delicate ladies in the land. 
 The king s Majesty has shot the bridge in his royal 
 person." 
 
 w Well, I want no delicate ladies or king s majesties (God 
 bless em) in the canoe, in going over these falls; for a 
 boat s breadth, either way, may make a drowning matter of 
 it. Eau-douce, we shall have to carry the sergeant s brother 
 over Niagara yet, to show him what may be done on a 
 frontier ! " 
 
 " The devil ! Master Pathfinder, you must be joking, 
 
40 THE PATHFINDER. 
 
 now ! Surely it is not possible for a bark canoe to go ovei 
 that mighty cataract ! " 
 
 " You never were more mistaken, Master Cap, in your 
 life. Nothing is easier, and many is the canoe I have seen 
 go over it, with my own eyes, and, if we both live, I hope 
 to satisfy you that the feat can be done. For my part, I 
 think the largest ship that ever sailed on the ocean might 
 be carried over, could she once get into the rapids." 
 
 Cap did not perceive the wink which Pathfinder ex 
 changed with Eau-douce, and he remained silent for some 
 time ; for, sooth to say, he had never suspected the possi 
 bility of going down Niagara, feasible as the thing mu*t 
 appear to every one, on a second thought, the real difficulty 
 existing in going up it. 
 
 By this time, the party had reached the place where 
 Jasper had left his own canoe concealed in the bushes, and 
 they all reembarked ; Cap, Jasper, and his niece in one 
 boat, and Pathfinder, Arrowhead, and the wife of the latter, 
 in the other. The Mohican had already passed down the 
 banks of the river by land, looking cautiously and with the 
 skill of his people, for the signs of an enemy. 
 
 The cheek of Mabel did not recover all its bloom, until 
 the canoe was again in the current, down which it floated 
 swiftly, occasionally impelled by the paddle of Jasper. She 
 witnessed the descent of the falls with a degree of terror 
 that had rendered her mute, but her fright had not been 
 so great as to prevent admiration of the steadiness of the 
 youth who directed the movement, from blending with the 
 passing terror. In truth, one much less quick and sensitive 
 might have had her feelings awakened by the cool and 
 gallant air with which Eau-douce had accomplished this 
 clever exploit. He had stood firmly erect, notwithstanding 
 the plunge ; and to those who were on the shore, it was 
 evident that by a timely application of his skill and strength, 
 the canoe had received a sheer that alone carried it clear of 
 a rock, over which the boiling water was leaping in jets 
 ffeau, now leaving the brown stone visible, and now 
 covering it with a limpid sheet, as if machinery controlled 
 the play of the element. The tongue cannot always express 
 
THE PATHFINDER. 41 
 
 what the eyes view, but Mabel saw enough, even in that 
 moment of fear, to blend forever in her mind, the pictures 
 presented by the plunging canoe, and the unmoved steers 
 man. She admitted that insidious sentiment which binds 
 woman so strongly to man, by feeling additional security in 
 finding herself under his care ; and for the first time since 
 leaving Fort Stanwix, she was entirely at her ease in the 
 frail bark in which she travelled. As the other canoe kept 
 quite near her own, however, and the Pathfinder, by float" 
 ing at her side, was most in view, the conversation was 
 principally maintained with that person ; Jasper seldom 
 gpeaking unless addressed, and constantly exhibiting a wari 
 ness in the management of his own boat, that might have 
 been remarked by one accustomed to his ordinary confident, 
 careless manner, had such an observer been present to note 
 what was passing. 
 
 " We know too well a woman s gifts, to think of carrying 
 the sergeant s daughter over the falls," said Pathfinder, look 
 ing at Mabel, while he addressed her uncle ; " though I ve 
 been acquainted with some of her sex, in them regions, that 
 would think but little of doing the thing." 
 
 " Mabel is faint-hearted, like her mother," returned Cap, 
 "and you did well, friend, to humor her weakness. You 
 will remember the child has never been at sea." 
 
 " No, no ; it was easy to discover that, by your own 
 fearlessness ; any one might have seen how little you cared 
 about the matter ! I went over once with a raw hand, and 
 he jumped out of the canoe, just as it tipped, and you may 
 judge what a time he had of it ! " 
 
 " What became of the poor fellow ? " asked Cap, scarce 
 knowing how to take the other s manner, which was so dry, 
 while it was so simple, that a less obtuse subject than the 
 i)ld sailor might well have suspected its sincerity. " One 
 ,vho has passed the place knows how to feel for him." 
 
 " He was a poor fellow, as you say ; and a poor frontier- 
 inan, too, though he came out to show his skill among us 
 ignoranters. What became of him ? Why, he went down 
 ihe falls topsy-turvy like, as would have happened to a 
 court-house or a fort" 
 
42 THE PATHFINDER. 
 
 " If it should jump out of a canoe," interrupted Jasper 
 smiling, though he was evidently more disposed than his 
 friend to let the passage of the falls be forgotten. 
 
 "The boy is right," rejoined Pathfinder, laughing in 
 Mabel s face, the canoes being now so near that they almost 
 touched ; " he is sartainly right. But you have not told us 
 what you think of the leap we took ? " 
 
 " It was perilous and bold," said Mabel ; " while looking 
 At it> I could have wished that it had not been attempted, 
 though, now it is over, I can admire its boldness, and the 
 steadiness with which it was made." 
 
 " Now, do not think that we did this thing to set our 
 selves off in female eyes. It may be pleasant to the young 
 to win each other s good opinions, by doing things that may 
 seem praiseworthy and bold ; but neither Eau-douce nor 
 myself is of that race. My natur , though perhaps the Sar- 
 pent would be a better witness, has few turns in it, and is a 
 straight natur ; nor would it be likely to lead me into a 
 vanity of this sort, while out on duty. As for Jasper, he 
 would sooner go over the Oswego Falls without a looker-on, 
 than do it before a hundred pair of eyes. I know the lad 
 well, from use and much consorting, and I am sure he is 
 not boastful or vain-glorious." 
 
 Mabel rewarded the scout with a smile that served to 
 keep the canoes together for some time longer, for the sight 
 of youth and beauty was so rare on that remote frontier, 
 that even the rebuked and self-mortified feelings of this 
 wanderer of the forest were sensibly touched by the bloom 
 ing loveliness of the girl. 
 
 " We did it for the best," Pathfinder continued ; " twas 
 a^.l for the best. Had we waited to carry the canoe across 
 the portage, time would have been lost, and nothing is so 
 precious as time; when you are distrustful of Mingos." 
 
 " But we can have little to fear, now ! The canoes 
 move swiftly, and two hours, you have said, will carry ua 
 down to the fort." 
 
 " It shall be a cunning Iroquois who hurts a hair of your 
 head, pretty one, for all here are bound to the sergeant, an 3 
 most, I think, to yourself, to see you safe from harm. H 
 
THE PATHFINDLB. 43 
 
 Ean-douce ; what is that in the river, at the lower turn, 
 yonder, beneath the bushes, I mean standing on the 
 rock ? " 
 
 " Tis the Big Serpent, Pathfinder ; he is making signs 
 to us, in a way I don t understand." 
 
 " Tis the Sarpent, as sure as I m a white man, and he 
 wishes us to drop in nearer to his shore. Mischief is 
 brewiri , or one of his deliberation and steadiness would 
 never take this trouble. Courage, all ! we are men, and 
 must meet deviltry as becomes our color and our callings. 
 Ah ! I n sver knew good come of boastin ; and here, just 
 as I was vauntin of our safety, comes danger to give me 
 die lie." 
 
44 THE PATHFINDER. 
 
 CHAPTER IV. 
 
 Art, stryring to compare 
 With nature, did an arber greene dispred, 
 Framed of wanton yvie flowing fayre, 
 Through which the fragrant eglantines did spred. 
 
 SPWCSKB. 
 
 THE Oswego, below tlie falls, is a more rapid, unequal 
 Btream than it is above them. There are places where the 
 river flows in the quiet stillness of deep water, but many 
 shoals and rapids occur ; and, at that distant day, when 
 everything was in its natural state, some of the passes were 
 not altogether without hazard. Very little exertion waa 
 required on the part of those who managed the canoes, ex 
 cept in those places where the swiftness of the current and 
 the presence of the rocks required care ; when, indeed, not 
 only vigilance, but great coolness, readiness, and strength of 
 arm became necessary, in order to avoid the dangers. Of 
 all this the Mohican was aware, and he had judiciously se 
 lected a spot where the river flowed tranquilly, to intercept 
 the canoes, in order to make his communication without 
 hazard to those he wished to speak. 
 
 The Pathfinder had no sooner recognized the form of his 
 red friend, than, with a strong sweep of his paddle, he 
 threw the head of his own canoe towards the shore, mo 
 tioning for Jasper to follow. In a minute both boats 
 were silently drifting down the stream, within reach of ihe 
 bushes that overhung the water, all observing a profound 
 silence ; some from alarm, and others from habitual cau 
 tion. As the travellers drew nearer the Indian, he made 
 a sign for them to stop ; when he and Pathfinder had a 
 short but earnest conference, in the language of the Dela- 
 wares. 
 
 " The chief is not apt to see enemies in a dead log," 
 
THE PATHFINDER. 45 
 
 observed the white man, to his red associate ; " why does he 
 tell us to stop ? " 
 
 " Mingos are in the woods." 
 
 " That we have believed these two days : does the chief 
 know it?" 
 
 The Mohican quietly held up the head of a pipe, formed 
 of stone. 
 
 " It lay on a fresh trail that led towards the garrison ; * 
 foi so it was the usage of that frontier to term a military 
 work, whether it was occupied or not. 
 
 " That may be the bowl of a pipe belonging to a soldier. 
 Many use the red-skin pipes." 
 
 " See," said the Big Serpent, again holding the thing be 
 had found up to the view of his friend. 
 
 The bowl of the pipe was of soap-stone, 1 and it had been 
 carved with great care, and with a very respectable degree 
 of skill. In its centre was a small Latin cross, made with 
 an accuracy that permitted no doubt of its meaning. 
 
 " That does foretell deviltry and wickedness," said the 
 " Pathfinder, who had all the provincial horror of the holy 
 symbol in question that then pervaded the country, and 
 which became so incorporated with its prejudices, by con 
 founding men with things, as to have left its traces strong 
 enough on the moral feeling of the community, to be dis 
 covered even at the present hour ; " no Injin who had not 
 been parvarted by the cunning priests of the Canadas 
 would dream of carving a thing like that on his pipe ! I ll 
 warrant ye, the knave prays to the image every time he 
 wishes to sarcumvent the innocent, and work his fearfhl 
 wickedness. It looks fresh, too, Chingachgook?" 
 
 The tobacco was burning when I found it." 
 
 " That is close work, chief ; where was the trail ? " 
 
 The Mohican pointed to a spot not a hundred yards dis 
 tant from that where they stood. 
 
 The matter now began to look very serious, and the 
 (wo principal guides conferred apart for several minutes, 
 when both ascended the bank, approached the indicated 
 spot, and examined the trail with the utmost care. After 
 dug investigation had lasted a quarter of an hour, the 
 
 1 See Ainiemlix Not* V 
 
46 THE PATHFINDER. 
 
 man returned alone, his red friend having disappeared in the 
 forest. 
 
 The ordinary expression of the countenance of the 
 Pathfinder was that of simplicity, integrity, and sincerity 
 blended in an air of self-reliance, that usually gave great 
 confidence to those who found themselves under his care ; 
 but now a look of concern cast a shade over his honest 
 face, that struck the whole party. 
 
 " What cheer, Master Pathfinder ? " demanded Cap, per 
 mitting a voice that was usually deep, loud, and confident, 
 to sink into the cautious tones that better suited the dan 
 gers of the wilderness; "has the enemy got between us 
 and our port ? " 
 
 " Anan ? " 
 
 " Have any of these painted scaramouches anchored off 
 the harbor towards which we are running, with the hope of 
 cutting us off hi entering ? " 
 
 " It may be all as you say, friend Cap, but I am none 
 the wiser for your words ; and, in ticklish times, the plainer 
 a man makes his English, the easier he is understood. I 
 know nothing of ports and anchors, but there is a direful 
 Mingo trail within a hundred yards of this very spot, and 
 as fresh as venison without salt. If one of the fiery devils 
 has passed, so have a dozen ; and what is worse, they have 
 gone down towards the garrison, and not a soul crosses the 
 clearing around it that some of their piercing eyes will not 
 discover, when sartain bullets will follow." 
 
 " Cannot this said fort deliver a broadside, and clear 
 everything within the sweep of its hawse ? " 
 
 " Nay, the forts this-away are not like forts in the set 
 tlements, and two or three light cannon are all tlsey Lave 
 down at the mouth of the river ; and then, broadsides fired 
 at a dozen outlying Mingos, lying behind logs, find in a 
 forest, would be powder spent in vain. We have but one 
 coarse, and that is a very nice one. We are judgmatically 
 placed, here, both canoes being hid by the high bank and 
 the bushes, from all eyes except them of any lurker directly 
 opposite. Here, then, we may stay, without much present 
 fear ; but how to get the blood-thirsty devils up the stream 
 
THE PATHFINDER. *7 
 
 again ? Ha ! I have it I have it. If it loes no good, it 
 can do no harm. Do you see the wide-top chestnut, heie, 
 Jasper, at the last turn In the river ? On our own side of 
 the stream, I mean." 
 
 " That near the fallen pine ? " 
 
 "The very same. Take the flint and tinder-box, creep 
 along the bank, and light a fire at that spot ; maybe the 
 smoke will draw them above us. In the mean while, we will 
 drop the canoes carefully down beyond the point below, and 
 find another shelter. Bushes are plenty, and covers are 
 uasy to be had in this region, as witness the many arnbush- 
 ments" 
 
 " I will do it, Pathfinder," said Jasper, springing to the 
 shore. " In ten minutes the fire shall be lighted." 
 
 " And, Eau-douce, use plenty of damp wood this time," 
 half whispered the other, laughing heartily, in his own 
 peculiar manner ; " when smoke is wanted, water helps to 
 thicken it." 
 
 The young man, who too well understood his duty to 
 delay unnecessarily, was soon off, making his way rapidly 
 towards the desired point. A slight attempt of Mabel to 
 object to the risk was disregarded, and the party immedi 
 ately prepared to change its position, as it could be seen 
 from the place where Jasper intended to light his fire. The 
 movement did not require haste, and it was made leisurely, 
 and with care. The canoes were got clear of the bushes, 
 then suffered to drop down with the stream, until they 
 reached the spot where the chestnut, at the foot of which 
 Jasper was to light the fire, was almost shut out from view, 
 when they stopped, and every eye was turned in the direc 
 tion of the adventurer. 
 
 " There goes the smoke ! " exclaimed the Pathfinder as 
 a current of air whirled a little column of the vapor from 
 the land, allowing it to rise spirally above the bed of the 
 river. " A good flint, a small bit of steel, and plenty of 
 dry leaves, make a quick fire ! I hope Eau-douce will have 
 the wit to bethink him of the damp wood, now, when it 
 may sarve us ali a good turn." 
 
 " Too much smoke too much cunning," said Arrow 
 head, sententious! y. 
 
48 THE PATHFINDER. 
 
 " That is gospel truth, Tuscarora, if the Mingos didn t 
 know that they are near soldiers ; but soldiers commonly 
 think more of their dinner, at a halt, than of their wisdom 
 and danger. No, no ; let the boy pile on his logs, and 
 smoke them well too ; it will all be laid to the stupidity of 
 some Scotch or Irish blunderer, who is thinking more of his 
 oatmeal or his potatoes than of Injin sarcumventions or 
 Injin rifles." 
 
 " And yet I should think, from all we have heard in the 
 towns, that the soldiers on this frontier are used to the 
 artifices of their enemies," said Mabel ; " and have got to 
 be almost as wily as the red-men themselves." 
 
 " Not they not they. Exper ence makes them but 
 little wiser ; and they wheel, and platoon, and battalion it 
 about, here in the forest, just as they did in their parks at 
 home, of which they are all so fond of talking. One red 
 skin has more cunning in his natur than a whole rijiment 
 from the other side of the water that is, what I call 
 cunning of the woods. But there is smoke enough, of all 
 conscience, and we had better drop into another cover. 
 The lad has thrown the river on his fire, and there is 
 danger that the Mingos will believe a whole rijiment is 
 out." 
 
 While speaking, the Pathfinder permitted his canoe to 
 drift away from the bush by which it had been retained, 
 and in a couple of minutes the bend in the river concealed 
 the smoke and the tree. Fortunately a small indentation 
 in the shore presented itself within a few yards of the point 
 they had just passed ; and the two canoes glided into it, 
 under the impulsion of the paddles. 
 
 A better spot could not have been found for the purpose 
 of the travellers, than the one they now occupied. The 
 bushes were thick, and overhung the water, forming a com 
 plete canopy of leaves. There was a small gravelly stran J 
 at the bottom of the little bay, where most of the party 
 landed to be more at their ease, and the only position from 
 which they could possibly be seen, was a point on the river 
 directly opposite. There was little danger, however, of 
 discovery from that quarter, as the thicket there was even 
 
THE PATHFINDER. 49 
 
 denser than common, and the land beyond it was so wet and 
 marshy, as to render it difficult to be trodden. 
 
 This is a safe cover," said the Pathfinder, after he had 
 taken a scrutinizing survey of his position ; " but it may be 
 necessary to make it safer. Master Cap, I ask nothing of 
 you but silence, and a quieting of such gifts as you may have 
 got at sea, while the Tuscarora and I make provision for the 
 evil hour." 
 
 The guide then went a short distance into the bushes, ic* 
 sompanied by the Indian, where the two cut off the large: 
 stems of several alders and other bushes, using the utmost 
 care not to make a noise. The end of these little trees, 
 for such in fact they were, were forced into the mud, outside 
 of the canoes, the depth of water being very trifling ; and in 
 the course of ten minutes a very effectual screen was inter 
 posed between them and the principal point of danger. 
 Much ingenuity and readiness were manifested in making 
 this simple arrangement, in which the two workmen were 
 essentially favored by the natural formation of the bank, the 
 indentation in the shore, the shallowness of the water, and 
 the manner in which the tangled bushes dipped into the 
 stream. The Pathfinder had the address to look for bushes 
 that had curved stems, things easily found in such a place ; 
 and by cutting them some distance beneath the bend, and 
 permitting the latter to touch the water, the artificial little 
 thicket had not the appearance of growing in the stieam, 
 which might have excited suspicion ; but one passing it 
 would have thought that the bushes shot out horizontally 
 from the bank before they inclined upwards towards the 
 light. In short, the shelter was so cunningly devised, and 
 so artfully prepared, that ^one but -in anusually distrustful 
 eye would have been turned for an instant towards the spot, 
 in quest of a hiding-place. 
 
 " This is the best cover I ever yet got into," said the 
 Pathfinder, with his quiet laugh, after having been on the 
 outside to reconnoitre ; " the leaves of our new trees fairly 
 touch the bushes over our heads, and even the painter who 
 has been in the garrison of late, could not tell which belong 
 o Providence and ,vh ; ch are our n. Hist ! yonder comei 
 
&0 THE PATHFINDER. 
 
 Eau-douce, wading, like a sensible boy as he is, to leave his 
 trail in the water ; and we shall soon see whether our covei 
 is good for anything or not." 
 
 Jasper had, indeed, returned from his duty above, and 
 missing the canoes, he at once inferred that they had dropped 
 round the next bend in the river, in order to get out of sight 
 of the fire. His habits of caution immediately suggested 
 the expediency of stepping into the water, in order thai 
 there might exist no visible communication between the 
 marks left on the shore, by the party, and the place wtere 
 he believed them to have taken refuge below. Should the 
 Canadian Indians return on their own trail, and discover 
 that made by the Pathfinder and the Serpent, in their ascent 
 from, and descent to, the river, the clue to their movements 
 would cease at the shore, water leaving no prints of foot 
 steps. The young man had therefore waded, knee-deep, as 
 tar as the point, and was now seen making his way slowly 
 down the margin of the stream, searching curiously for the 
 spot in which the canoes were hid. 
 
 It was in the power of those behind the bushes, by plac 
 ing their eyes near the leaves, to find many places to look 
 through, while one at a little distance lost this advantage ; or, 
 even did his sight happen to fall on some small opening, the 
 bank and the shadows beyond prevented him from detecting 
 forms and outlines of sufficient dimensions to expose the 
 fugitives. It was evident to those who watched his motions 
 from behind their cover, and they were all in the canoes, 
 that Jasper was totally at a loss to imagine where the Path 
 finder had secreted himself. When fairly round the curva 
 ture in the shore, and out of sight of the fire he had lighted 
 above, the young man stopped, and began examining the 
 bank deliberately and with great care. Occasionally he ad 
 vanced eight or ten paces, and then halted again, to renew 
 the search. The water being much shoaler than common, 
 he stepped aside, in order to walk with greater ease to him 
 self, and came so near the artificial plantation, that he might 
 iaave touched it with his hand. Still he detected nothing 
 and was actuaDy passing the spot, when Pathfinder made sin 
 opening beneath the branches, and called to him, in a low 
 roice, to enter. 
 
THE PATHFINDER. 51 
 
 * This is pretty well," said the Pathfinder, laughing ; 
 
 * though pale-face eyes and red-skin eyes are as different as 
 human spy-glasses. I would wager with the sergeant s 
 daughter, here, a horn of powder agin a wampum belt for 
 her girdle, that her father s rijimeut should march by this 
 ambushment of our n, and never find out the fraud ! But, if 
 the Mingos actilly get down into the bed of the river, where 
 Jasper passed, I should tremble for the plantation. It will 
 do for their eyes even, across the stream, howsever, and will 
 not be without its use." 
 
 " Don t you think, Master Pathfinder, that it would be 
 wisest after all," said Cap, " to get under way at once, and 
 carry sail hard down stream, as soon as we are satisfied 
 these rascals are fairly astern of us ? We seamen call a 
 stern chase a long chase." 
 
 " 1 wouldn t move from this spot until we hear from the 
 Sarpent, with the sergeant s pretty daughter, here, in our 
 company, for all the powder in the magazine of the fort 
 below ! Sartain captivity or sartain death would follow. 
 If a tender fa n, such as the maiden we have in charge, 
 oould thread the forest like old deer, it might, indeed, do to 
 quit the canoes, for by making a circuit we could reach the 
 garrison before morning." 
 
 " Then let it be done," said Mabel, springing to her feet, 
 under the sudden impulse of awakened energy. "I am 
 young, active, used to exercise, and could easily outwalk 
 my dear uncle. Let no one think me a hindrance. I can- 
 oot bear that all your lives should be exposed on my 
 Account/ 
 
 "No, no, pretty one; we think you anything but a 
 kiindrance, or anything that is onbecoming, and would 
 willingly run twice this risk to do you and the honest 
 sergeant a service. Do I not speak your mind, Eau- 
 douce ? " 
 
 u To do her a service ! " said Jasper, with emphasis. 
 
 * Nothing shall tempt me to desert Mabel Dunham, until 
 the is safe in her father s arms." 
 
 " Wei] said, lad ; bravely and honestly said, too ; and I 
 join 11 it, heart and hand. No, no you are not the firit 
 
62 THE PATHFINDER. 
 
 of your sex I have led through the wilderness, aud nevei 
 but once did any harm befall any of them ; that was a 
 ^ad day, sartainly ; but its like may never come again ! " 
 
 Mabel looked from one of her protectors to the other 
 and her fine eyes swam in tears. Frankly placing a hand 
 in that of each, she answered them, though at first her 
 voice was choked, 
 
 " I have no right to expose you on my account. My 
 dear father will thank you I thank you God will re 
 ward you ; but let there be no unnecessary risk. I can 
 walk far, and have often gone miles, on some girlish fancy ; 
 why not now exert myself for my life nay, for your 
 precious lives?" 
 
 " She is a true dove, Jasper," said the Pathfinder, neither 
 relinquishing the hand he held until the girl herself, in 
 native modesty, saw fit to withdraw it, " and wonderfully 
 winning ! We get to be rough, and sometimes even hard 
 hearted, in the woods, Mabel ; but the sight of one like you 
 brings us back ag iii to our young feelin s, and does us good 
 for the remainder of our days. I dare say Jasper, here, 
 will tell you the same ; for, like me in the forest, the lad 
 sees but few such as yourself, on Ontario, to soften his 
 heart, and remind him of love for his kind. Speak out, 
 low, Jasper, and say if it is not so." 
 
 " I question if many like Mabel Dunham are to be found 
 anywhere," returned the young man gallantly, an honest 
 sincerity glowing in his face, that spoke more eloquently 
 than his tongue ; " you need not mention woods and lakes 
 so challenge her equals, but I would go into the settlements 
 4nd towns." 
 
 " We had better leave the canoes," Mabel hurriedly 
 rejoined ; " for I feel it is no longer safe to be here." 
 
 " You can never do it you can never do it. It would 
 De a march of more than twenty miles, and that too of 
 tramping over brush and roots, and through swamps, in the 
 dark; the trail of such a party would be wide, and we 
 might have to fight our way into the garrison, a ter all 
 WQ will wait for the Mohican." 
 
 Kuch appearing to be the decision of him to whom all 
 
THE PATHFINDER. 68 
 
 in their present strait, looked up for counsel, no more was 
 said on the subject. The whole party now broke up into 
 groups; Arrowhead and his wife sitting apart under the 
 bushes, conversing in a low tone, though the man spoke 
 sternly, and the woman answered with the subdued mild 
 ness that marks the degraded condition of a savage s wife. 
 Pathfinder and Cap occupied one canoe, chatting of their 
 different adventures by sea and land, while Jasper and 
 Mabel sat in the other, making greater progress in intimacy 
 in a single hour, than might have been effected under other 
 circumstances in a twelvemonth. Notwithstanding their 
 situation as regards the enejmy, the time flew by swiftly, 
 and the young people in particular were astonished when 
 Cap informed them how long they had been thus occupied. 
 
 " If one could smoke, Master Pathfinder," observed the 
 old sailor, " this berth would be snug enough ; for, to give 
 the devil his due, you have got the canoes handsomely 
 and-locked, and into moorings that would defy a monsoon. 
 The only hardship is the denial of the pipe." 
 
 " The scent of the tobacco would betray us ; and where 
 is the use of taking all these precautions against the Mingos 
 eyes if we are to tell them where the cover is to be found 
 through the nose ? No, no ; deny your appetites, deny 
 your appetites, and learn one virtue from a red-skin, who 
 will pass a week without eating even, to get a single scalp. 
 Did you hear nothing, Jasper ? " 
 
 " The Serpent is coming." 
 
 " Then let us see if Mohican eyes are better than them 
 of a lad who follows. ;he water." 
 
 The Mohican made his appearance in the same direction 
 as that by which Jasper had rejoined his friends. Instead 
 of coming directly on, however, no sooner did he pass the 
 bend, where he was concealed from any who might be 
 dgher up stream, than he moved close under the bank, and, 
 using the utmost caution, got a position where he could 
 ook back, with his person sufficiently concealed by the 
 ashes to prevent its being seen by any in that quarter. 
 
 "The Sarpent sees the knaves !" whispered Pathfinder i 
 as I m a Christian white man they have bit at the bait, 
 td have ambushed the smoke ! " 
 
54 THE PATHFINDER. 
 
 Here a hearty, but silent laugh, interrupted his words, 
 and nudging Cap with his elbow, they all continued to 
 watch the movements of Chingachgook in profound stillness. 
 The Mohican remained stationary as the rock on which he 
 stood, fully ten minutes ; then it was apparent that some 
 thing of interest had occurred within his view, for he drew 
 back with a hurried manner, looked anxiously and keenly 
 along the margin of the stream, and moved quickly down 
 it, taking care to lose his trail in the shallow water. He 
 was evidently in a hurry and concerned, now looking be 
 hind him, and then casting eager glances towards every 
 spot on the shore where he thought a canoe might be coi - 
 cealed. 
 
 u Call him in," whispered Jasper, scarce able to rcstrait 
 his impatience ; " call him in, or it will be too late. See, 
 he is actually passing us." 
 
 " Not so not so, lad ; nothing presses, depend on it," 
 returned his companion, " or the Sarpent would begin to 
 creep. The Lord help us, and teach us wisdom ! I do 
 believe even Chingachgook, whose sight is as faithful as the 
 hound s scent, overlooks us, and will not find out the am- 
 bushment we have made ! " 
 
 This exultation was untimely, for the words were no 
 sooner spoken, than the Indian, who had actually got sev 
 eral feet lower down the stream than the artificial cover, 
 suddenly stopped, fastened a keen riveted glance among the 
 transplanted bushes, made a few hasty steps backwards, and, 
 bending his body and carefully separating the branches, ho 
 appeared among them. 
 
 " The accursed Mingos ! " said Pathfinder, as soon as his 
 friend was near enough to be addressed with prudence. 
 
 " Iroquois," returned the sententious Indian. 
 
 " No matter, no matter ; Iroquois, devil, Mingo, Mengwes, 
 or furies, all are pretty much the same. I call all rascals 
 Mingos. Come hither, chief, and let us convarse ration 
 ally." 
 
 The two then stepped aside, and conversed earnestly in 
 the dialect of the Delaware*. When their private commit 
 uication was over, Pathfinder rejoined the rest, and made 
 them acquainted with all he had learned. . 
 
THE PATHFINDER. 55 
 
 The Mohican had followed the trail of their enemies some 
 distance towards the fort, until the latter caught a sight of 
 the smoke of Jasper s fire, when they instantly retraced 
 their steps. It now became necessary for Chingachgook, 
 who ran the greatest risk of detection, to find a cover where 
 he could secrete himself until the party might pass. It 
 was, perhaps, fortunate for him that the savages were so 
 intent on this recent discovery, that they did not bestow 
 the ordinary attention on the signs of the forest. At all 
 events, they passed him swiftly, fifteen in number, treading 
 lightly in each other s footsteps ; and he was enabled again 
 10 get into their rear. After proceeding to the place where 
 the footsteps of Pathfinder and the Mohican joined the 
 principal trail, the Iroquois had struck off to the river, 
 which they reached just as Jasper disappeared behind the 
 bend below. The smoke being now in plain view, the sav 
 ages plunged into the woods, and endeavored to approach 
 the fire, unseen. Chingachgook profited by this occasion to 
 descend to the water, and to gain the bend in the river also, 
 which he thought had been effected undiscovered. Here he 
 paused, as has been stated, until he saw his enemies at the 
 fire, where their stay, however, was very short. 
 
 Of the motives of the Iroquois, the Mohican could judge 
 only by their acts. He thought they had detected the arti 
 fice of the fire, and were aware that it had been kindled 
 with a view to mislead them ; for, after a hasty examinatior 
 of the spot, they separated, some plunging again into the 
 woods, while six or eight followed the footsteps of Jasper 
 along the shore, and came down the stream towards the 
 place where the canoes had landed. What course they 
 might take on reaching that spot, was only to be conjec 
 tured, for the Serpent had felt the emergency to be too 
 pressing to delay looking for his friends any longer. From 
 some indications that were to be gathered from their ges- 
 .ures, however, he thought it probable that their enemies 
 aight follow down in the margin of the stream, but could 
 ,ot be certain. 
 
 As the Pathfinder related these facts to his companions, 
 the professional feelings of the two other white men came 
 
56 THE PATHFINDER. 
 
 uppermost, and both naturally reverted to their habits, in 
 
 quest of the means of escape. 
 
 " Let us run out the canoes at once," said Jasper, eagerly 
 u the current is strong, and by using the paddles vigorously 
 we shall soon be beyond the reach of these scoundrels ! " 
 
 " And this poor flower, that first blossomed in the clear- 
 in s shall it wither in the forest ? " objected his friend, 
 with a poetry that he had unconsciously imbibed by his 
 long association with the Delawares. 
 
 " We must all die first," answered the youth, a generous 
 color mounting to his temples ; " Mabel and Arrowhead s 
 wife may lie down in the canoes, while we do our duty, like 
 men, on our feet." 
 
 " Aye, you are actyve at the paddle and the oar, Eau 
 douce, I will allow, but an accursed Mingo is more actyve 
 at his mischief; the canoes are swift, but a rifle-bullet is 
 swifter." 
 
 " It is the business of men engaged as we have been, by 
 a confiding father, to run this risk " 
 
 " But it is not their business to overlook prudence." 
 
 * Prudence ! a man may carry his prudence so far as to 
 forget his courage." 
 
 The group was standing on the narrow strand, the Path 
 finder leaning on his rifle, the butt of which rested on the 
 gravelly beach, while both his hands clasped the barrel, at 
 the height of his own shoulders. As Jasper threw out this 
 severe and unmerited imputation, the deep red of his com 
 rade s face maintained its hue unchanged, though the young 
 man perceived that the fingers grasped the iron of the gun 
 with the tenacity of a vice. Here all betrayal of emotion 
 
 "You are young and hot-headed," returned the Path- 
 tinder, with a dignity that impressed his listener with a keek 
 sense of his moral superiority ; " but my life has been passed 
 among dangers of this sort, and my exper ence and gifts are 
 not to be mastered by the impatience of a boy. As for 
 courage, Jasper, I will not send back an angry and unmean 
 ing word, to meet an augry and an unmeaning word, for I 
 know that you are true, in your station and according to 
 
THE PATHFINDER. 67 
 
 your knowledge ; but take the advice of one who faced the 
 Mingos when you were a child, and know that their cun 
 ning is easier sarcuinvented by prudence than outwitted by 
 foolishness." 
 
 * I ask your pardon, Pathfinder," said the repentant 
 Jasper, eagerly grasping the hand that the other permitted 
 him to seize ; " I ask your pardon, humbly and sincerely. 
 Twas a foolish, as well as wicked thing to hint of A Tc.au 
 whose heart, in a good cause, is as firm as the rocks on the 
 lake shore." 
 
 For the first time the color deepened on the cheek of 
 the Pathfinder, and the solemn dignity that he had assumed, 
 under a purely natural impulse, disappeared in the expres 
 sion of the earnest simplicity that was inherent in all his 
 feelings. He met the grasp of his young friend with a 
 squeeze as cordial as if no chord had jarred between them, 
 and a slight sternness that had gathered about his eye dis 
 appeared in a look of natural kindness. 
 
 " Tis well, Jasper, tis well," he answered, laughing. " I 
 bear no ill-will, nor shall any one in my behalf. My natur 
 is that of a white man, and that is to bear no malice. It 
 might have been ticklish work to have said half as much to 
 the Sarpent here, though he is a Delaware, for color will 
 have its way " 
 
 A touch on his shoulder caused the speaker to cease. 
 Mabel was standing erect in the canoe, her light but swell 
 ing form bent forward in an attitude of graceful earnest 
 ness, her finger on her lips, her head averted, the spirited 
 eyes riveted on an opening in the bushes, and one arm ex 
 tended with a fishing-rod, the end of which had touched the 
 Pathfinder. The latter bowed his head to a level with a 
 lookout near which he had intentionally kept himself, and 
 then whispered to Jasper, 
 
 " The accursed Mingos ! Stand to your arms, my men, 
 but lay quiet as the corpses of dead trees ! " 
 
 Jasper advanced rapidly, but noiselessly, to the canoe, 
 and with a gentle violence induced Mabel to place herself 
 in such an attitude as concealed her entire body, though it 
 have probably exceeded his means to induce the girl 
 
68 THE PATHFINDER. 
 
 so far to lower her head that she could not keep her gaze 
 fastened on their enemies. He then took his own post near 
 her, with his rifle cocked and poised, in readiness to fire. 
 Arrowhead and Chingachgook crawled to the cover, and 
 lay in wait like snakes, with their arms prepared for service, 
 while the wife of the former bowed her head between hei 
 knees, covered it with her calico robe, and remained passive 
 and immovable. Cap loosened both his pistols in their belt, 
 but seemed quite at a loss what course to pursue. The 
 Pathfinder did not stir. He had originally got a position 
 where he might aim with deadly effect through the leaves, 
 and where he could watch the movements of his enemies ; 
 and he was far too steady to be disconcerted at a moment 
 so critical. 
 
 It was truly an alarming instant. Just as Mabel touched 
 the shoulder of her guide, three of the Iroquois appeared in 
 the water, at the bend of the river, within a hundred yards 
 of the cover, and halted to examine the stream below. 
 They were all naked to the waist, armed for an expedition 
 against their foes, and in their war-paint. It was apparent 
 that they were undecided as to the course they ought to 
 pursue, in order to find the fugitives. One pointed down 
 the river, a second up the stream, and the third toward* 
 the opposite bank. 
 
THE PATHFINDEB. 69 
 
 CHAPTER V. 
 
 Death is here, and death is there, 
 Death is busy everywhere. 
 
 SHELLBT, 
 
 IT was a breathless moment. The only clue the fagitive* 
 possessed to the intentions of their pursuers was in their 
 gestures, and the indications that escaped them in the fury 
 of disappointment. That a party had returned already on 
 their own footsteps, by lacd, was pretty certain ; and all the 
 benefit expected from the artifice of the fire was necessarily 
 lost. But that consideration became of little moment, just 
 then, for the secreted were menaced with an immediate 
 discovery by those who had kept on a level with the river. 
 All the facts presented themselves clearly, and as it might 
 be by intuition, to the mind of Pathfinder, who perceived 
 the necessity of immediate decision, and of being in readi 
 ness to act in concert. Without making any noise, there 
 fore, he managed to get the two Indians and Jasper near 
 him, when he opened his communications in a whisper. 
 
 " We must be ready we must be ready," he said. 
 "There are but three of the scalping devils, and we are 
 five, four of whom may be set down as manful warriors for 
 such a skrimmage. Eau-douce, do you take the fellow that 
 is painted like death ; Chingachgook, I give you the chief ; 
 and Arrowhead must keep his eye on the young one. 
 There must be no mistake ; for two bullets it the same 
 body would be sinful waste, with one like the sergeant s 
 daughter in danger. I shall hold myself in resarve agin 
 accidents, lest a fourth riptyle appear, for one of your hands 
 may prove unsteady. By no means fire until I give the 
 word ; we must not let the crack of the rifle be heard ex 
 in the last resort, since all the rest of the miscreant* 
 
60 THE PATHFINDER. 
 
 are still within hearing. Jasper, boy, in case of any move 
 ment behind us, on the bank, I trust to you to run out the 
 canoe, with the sergeant s daughter, and to pull for the gar 
 rison, by God s leave." 
 
 The Pathfinder had no sooner given these directions than 
 the near approach of their enemies rendered profound silence 
 necessary. The Iroquois in the river were slowly descend 
 ing the stream, keeping of necessity near the bushes that 
 overhung the water, whilst the rustling of leaves and the 
 snapping of twigs soon gave fearful evidence that another 
 party was moving along the bank at an equally graduated 
 pace, and directly abreast of them. In consequence of the 
 distance between the bushes planted by the fugitives and 
 the true shore, the two parties became visible to each other, 
 when opposite that precise point. Both stopped, and a con 
 versation ensued, that may be said to have passed directly 
 over the heads of those who were concealed. Indeed, 
 nothing sheltered the travellers but the branches and leaves 
 of plants so pliant, that they yielded to every current of air, 
 and which a puff of wind, a little stronger than common, 
 would have blown away. Fortunately the line of sight 
 carried the eyes of the two parties of savages, whether they 
 stood in the water or on the land, above the bushes ; and 
 the leaves appeared blended in a way to excite no suspicion. 
 Perhaps the very boldness of the expedient prevented an 
 exposure. The conversation that took place was conducted 
 earnestly, but in guarded tones, as if those who spoke wished 
 to defeat the intentions of any listeners. It was in a dialect 
 that both the Indian warriors beneath, as well as the Path 
 finder, understood. Even Jasper comprehended a portion 
 of what was said. 
 
 " The trail is washed away by the water ! " said one from 
 helow, who stood so near the artificial cover of the fugitives, 
 (hat he might have been struck by the salmon-spear that 
 lay in the bottom of Jasper s canoe. " Water has washed 
 it so clear, that a Yengeese hound could not follow." 
 
 " The pale-faces have left the shore in their canoes," / 
 gwered the speaker on the bank. 
 
 "It cannot bo. The rifles of our warriors below are 
 oertAin." 
 
THE PATHFINDER 61 
 
 The Pathfinder gave a significant glance at Jasper, and 
 he clenched his teeth in order to suppress the sound of his 
 own breathing. 
 
 " Let my young men look as if their eyes were eagles ," 
 said the eldest warrior among those who were wading jp 
 the river. " We have been a whole moon on the war-path, 
 and have found but one scalp. There is a maiden among 
 them, and some of our braves want wives." 
 
 Happily these words were lost on Mabel, but Jasper s 
 frown became deeper, and his face fiercely flushed. 
 
 The savages now ceased speaking, and the party that was 
 concealed heard the slow and guarded movements of those 
 who were on the bank, as they pushed the bushes aside in 
 their wary progress. It was soon evident that the latter 
 had passed the cover ; but the group in the water still re 
 mained, scanning the shore with eyes that glared through 
 their war-paint, like coals of living fire. After a pause of 
 two or three minutes, these three began also to descend the 
 stream, though it was step by step, as men move who look 
 for an object that has been lost. In this manner they 
 passed the artificial screen, and Pathfinder opened his mouth, 
 in that hearty but noiseless laugh, that nature and habit 
 had contributed to render a peculiarity of the man. His 
 triumph, however, was premature ; for the last of the retir 
 ing party, just at this moment casting a look behind him, 
 suddenly stopped ; and his fixed attitude and steady gaze at 
 once betrayed the appalling fact that some neglected bush 
 had awakened his suspicions. 
 
 It was, perhaps, fortunate for the concealed, that the 
 warrior who manifested these fearful signs of distrust was 
 young, and had still a reputation to acquire. He knew the 
 importance of discretion and modesty in one of his years, 
 and most of all did he dread the ridicule and contempt that 
 would certainly follow a false alarm. Without recalling 
 any of hia companions, therefore, he turned on his own foot 
 steps, and while the others continued to descend the river ; 
 he cautiously approached the bushes, on which his looks 
 were stiil fastened, as by a charm. Some of the leaves 
 wnich were exposed to the su-\ had drooped a little, and 
 
62 THE PATHFINDER. 
 
 this slight departure from the usual natural laws hdd caught 
 the quick eyes of the Indian ; for so practiced and acute do 
 the senses of the savage become, more especially when he 
 is on the war-path, that trifles, apparently of the most in 
 significant sort, often prove to be clues to lead him to his 
 object. The trifling nature of the change which had aroused 
 the suspicion of this youth, was an additional motive foi 
 not acquainting his companions with his discovery. Should 
 he really detect anything, his glory would be the greater for 
 being unshared : should he not, he might hope to escape 
 that derision which the young Indian so much dreads. 
 Then there were the dangers of an ambush and a surprise, 
 to which every warrior of the woods is keenly alive, to 
 render his approach slow and cautious. In consequence of 
 the delay that proceeded from these t-ombined causes, the 
 two parties had descended some fifty or sixty yards before 
 the young savage was again near enough to the bushes of 
 the Pathfinder to touch them with his hand. 
 
 Notwithstanding their critical situation, the whole party 
 behind the cover had their eyes fastened on the working 
 countenance of the young Iroquois, who was agitated by 
 conflicting feelings. First came the eager hope of obtaining 
 success, where some of the most experienced of his tribe had 
 failed, and with it a degree of glory that had seldom fallen 
 to the share of one of his years, or a brave on his first war 
 path ; then followed doubts, as the drooping leaves seemed 
 to rise again, and to revive in the currents of air ; and dis 
 trust of hidden danger lent its exciting feeling to keep the 
 eloquent features in play. So very slight, however, had 
 been the alteration produced by the heat on bushes of which 
 the stems were in the water, that when the Iroquois actually 
 laid his hand on the leaves, be fancied that he had been de 
 ceived. As no man ever distrusts strongly, without using 
 all convenient means of satisfying his doubts, however, ths 
 young warrior cautiously pushed aside the branches, and 
 advanced a step within the hiding-place, when the forms 
 of the concealed party met his gaze, resembling so many 
 breathless statues. The low exclamation, the slight start, 
 and the glaring eye were hardly seen and heard, before the 
 
THE PATHFINDER. 63 
 
 arm of Chingachgook was raised, and the tomahawk of 
 the Delaware descended on the shaven head of his foe. 
 The Iroquois raised his hands frantically, bounded back 
 wards, and fell into the water at a spot where the current 
 swept the body away, the struggling limbs still tossing and 
 writhing in the agony of death. The Delaware made a 
 vigorous but unsuccessful attempt to seize an arm, with the 
 hope of securing the scalp, but the blood-stained waters 
 whirled down the current, carrying with them their quiver 
 ing burden. 
 
 All this passed in less than a minute ; and the events 
 were so sudden and unexpected, that men less accustomed 
 than the Pathfinder and his associates to forest warfare, 
 would have been at a loss how to act. 
 
 " There is not a moment to lose ! " said Jasper, tearing 
 aside the bushes, as he spoke earnestly, but in a suppressed 
 voice. " Do as I do, Master Cap, if you would save your 
 niece ; and you, Mabel, lie at your length in the canoe." 
 
 The words were scarcely uttered, when, seizing the bow 
 of the light boat, he dragged it along the shore, wading him 
 self while Cap aided behind, keeping so near the bank as to 
 avoid being seen by the savages below, and striving to gain 
 the turn in the river above him, which would effectually 
 conceal the party from the enemy. The Pathfinder s canoe 
 lay nearest to the bank, and it was necessarily the last to 
 quit the shore. The Delaware leaped on the narrow strand, 
 and plunged into the forest, it being his assigned duty to 
 watch the foe in that quarter, while Arrowhead motioned to 
 his white companion to seize the bow of the boat, and to 
 follow Jasper. All this was the work of an instant. But 
 when the Pathfinder reached the current that was sweeping 
 round the turn, he felt a sudden change in the weight he 
 was dragging, and looking back he found that both the Tus- 
 carora arid his wife had deserted him. The thought of 
 treachery flashed upon his mind, but there was no time to 
 pause ; for the wailing shout that arose from the party be 
 low, proclaimed that the body of the young Iroquois had 
 floated as low as the spot reached by his friends- The re- 
 tort of a rifle followed ; and then the guide saw that J* 
 
64 THE PATHFINDER. 
 
 per, having doubled the bend in the river, was crossing the 
 stream, standing erect in the stern of the canoe, while Cap 
 was seated forward, both propelling the light boat with vig 
 orous strokes of the paddles. A glance, a thought, and an 
 expedient followed each other quickly, in one so trained iu 
 the vicissitudes of the frontier warfare. Spriiififi^w 1 into the 
 stern of his own canoe, he urged it by a vigorous shove intc, 
 ilie current, and commenced crossing the stream himself, al 
 a point so much lower than that of his companions, as to 
 offer his own person for a target to the enemy, well know 
 ing that their keen desire to secure a scalp would control 
 all other feelings. 
 
 u Keep well up the current, Jasper," shouted the gallant 
 guide, as he swept the water with long, steady, vigorous 
 strokes of the paddle ; ." keep well up the current, and pul] 
 for the alder bushes opposite. Presarve the sergeant s 
 daughter before all things, and leave the Mingo, knaves tc 
 the Sarpent and me." 
 
 Jasper nourished his paddle, as a signal of understanding, 
 while shot succeeded shot in quick succession, all now be 
 ing aimed at the solitary man in the nearest canoe. 
 
 " Aye, empty your rifles, like simpletons as you be/ 
 baid the Pathfinder, who had acquired a habit of speaking 
 when alone, from passing so much of his time in the soli 
 ,ude of the forest ; " empty your ritles, with an onsteady 
 aim, and give me time to put yard upon yard of rivei 
 between us. I will not revile you, like a Delaware or a 
 Mohican, for my gifts are a white man s gifts, and not an 
 Injin s ; and boasting in battle is no part of a Christiau 
 varrior ; but I may say, here, all alone by myself, that you 
 are little better than so many men from the town, shooting 
 at robins in the orchards ! That was well meant," throw 
 ing back his head, as a rifle bullet cut a lock of hair from 
 trie temple ; " but the lead that misses by an inch is as use- 
 less as the lead that never quits the barrel. Bravely done, 
 Jasper ! the sergeant s sweet child must be saved, even if we 
 go in without our own scalps." 
 
 By this time the Pathlinder was in the centre of the 
 river, and almost abreast of his enemies, while the other 
 
" While shot succeeded shot in quick succession, all now being aimed at the 
 solitary man in the nearest canoe. 1 Page 64. 
 
THE PATHFINDER. 6& 
 
 canoe, impelled by the vigorous arms of Cap and Jasper, 
 had nearly gained the opposite shore at the precise spot 
 that had been pointed out to them. The old mariner now 
 played his part manfully ; for he was on his proper element, 
 loved his niece sincerely, had a proper regard for his own 
 person, and was not unused to fire, though his experience 
 certainly lay in a very different species of warfare. A 
 few strokes of the paddles were given, and the canoe shot 
 into the bushes, Mabel was hurried to land by Jasper, and, 
 for the present, all three of the fugitives were safe. 
 
 Not so with the Pathfinder. His hardy self-devotion had 
 brought him into a situation of unusual exposure, the haz 
 ards of which were much increased, by the fact that just as 
 he drifted nearest to the enemy, the party on the shore 
 rushed down the bank, and joined their friends who stood 
 still in the water. The Oswego was about a cable s length 
 in width at this point, and the canoe being in the centre, 
 the object was only a hundred yards from the rifles that 
 wore constantly discharged at it, or at the usual target dis- 
 mce for that weapon. 
 
 In this extremity the steadiness and skill of the Path- 
 luder did him good service. He knew that his safety de 
 pended altogether on keeping in motion ; for a stationary 
 object, at that distance, would have been hit nearly every 
 shot. Nor was motion of itself sufficient ; for, accustomed 
 to kill the bounding deer, his enemies probably knew how 
 to vary the line of aim so as to strike him, should he con- 
 iinue to move in any one direction. He was consequently 
 compelled to change the course of the canoe, at one mo- 
 aient shooting down with the current, with the swiftness of 
 an arrow, and at the next checking its progress in that di- 
 reotioii, to glance athwart the stream. Luckily the Iroquois 
 3ould not reload their pieces in the water, and the bushes 
 that everywhere fringed the shore rendered it difficult tc 
 keep the fugitive in view when on the land. Aided by 
 .hese circumstances, and having received the fire of all nis 
 f oes, the Pathfinder was gaining fast in distance, both down- 
 vards and across the current, when a new danger suddenly, 
 if not unexpectedly, presented itself, by the appearance of 
 6 
 
66 THE PATHWNDER. 
 
 the party that had been left in ambush below, with a view 
 to watch the river. 
 
 These were the savages alluded to in the short dialogue 
 that has been already related. They were no less than ten 
 in number, arid understanding all the advantages of their 
 bloody occupation, they had posted themselves at a spot 
 where the water dashed among rocks and over shallows, in 
 a way to form a rapid, which, in the language of the country, 
 u called a rift. The Pathfinder saw that if he entered this 
 rift he should be compelled to approach a point where the 
 I roquois had posted themselves, for the current was irresisti 
 61e, and the rocks allowed no other safe passage, while death 
 or captivity would be the probable result of the attempt 
 All his efforts, therefore, were turned towards reaching the 
 shore, the foe being all on the eastern side of the 
 But the exploit surpassed human power, and to at 
 tempt to stem the stream would at once have so far dimin 
 ished the motion of the canoe, as to render aim certain. In 
 this exigency the guide came to a decision with his usual 
 cool promptitude, making his preparations accordingly. In 
 stead of endeavoring to gain the channel, he steered towards 
 the shallowest part of the stream, on reaching which he 
 seized his rifle and pack, leaped into the water, and began 
 to wade from rock to rock, taking the direction of the west 
 ern shore. The canoe whirled about in the furious current, 
 now rolling over some slippery stone, now filling, and then 
 emptying itself, until it lodged on the shore, within a few 
 yards of the spot where the Iroquois had posted themselves. 
 
 In the mean while the Pathfinder was far from being out 
 of danger ; for the first minute, admiration of his prompti 
 tude and daring, which are high virtues in the mind of an 
 Indian, kept his enemies motionless ; but the desire of re- 
 renge, and the cravings for the much-prized trophy, soon 
 overcame this transient feeling, and aroused them from their 
 ifoipor Rifle flashed after rifle, and the bullets whistled 
 around the head of the fugitive, amid the roar of the waters. 
 Still, he proceeded like one who bore a charmed life, for 
 while his rude frontier garments were more than once cu^ 
 his skin was not rased. 
 
THE PATHFINDER. tf 
 
 As the Pathfinder, in several instances, was compelled to 
 wade in water that rose nearly to his arms, while he kept 
 his rifle and ammunition elevated above the raging current, 
 the toil soon fatigued him, and he was glad to stop at a 
 large stone, or a small rock, which rose so high above the 
 river, that its upper surface was dry. On this stone he 
 pi iced his powder-horn, getting behind it himself, so as to 
 have the advantage of a partial cover for his body. The 
 western shore was only fifty feet distant, but the quiet, swift, 
 dark current that glanced through the interval, sufficiently 
 showed that here he would be compelled to swim. 
 
 A short cessation in the firing now took place on the part 
 of the Indians, who gathered about the canoe, and, baring 
 found the paddles, were preparing to cross the river. 
 
 " Pathfinder ! " called a voice from among the bushes, at 
 the point nearest to the person addressed, on the western 
 shore. 
 
 " What would you have, Jasper ? " 
 
 " Be of good heart ; friends are at hand, and not a single 
 Mingo shall cross without suffering for his boldness. Had 
 you not better leave the rifle on the rock, and swim to us 
 before the rascals can get afloat ? " 
 
 " A true woodsman never quits his piece, while he has 
 any powder in his horn or a bullet in his pouch. I have 
 not drawn a trigger this day, Eau-douce, and shouldn t relish 
 the idea of parting with them riptyles, without causing them 
 to remember my name. A little water will not harm my 
 legs ; and I see that blackguard, Arrowhead, among the 
 scamps, and wish to send him the wages he has so faithfully 
 earned. You have not brought the sergeant s daughter 
 down here in a range with their bullets, I hope, Jasper ! " 
 
 u She is safe, for the present at least ; though all depend* 
 on our keeping the river between us and the enemy. They 
 must know our weakness, now ; and should they cross, no 
 doubt some of their party will be left on the other side." 
 
 " This canoe.ng touches your gifts rather than mine, boy, 
 though 1 will handle a paddle with the best Mingo that ever 
 struck a salmon. If they cross below the rift, why can t we 
 cross in the still water above, and keep playing at dodge and 
 turn with the wolves ? " 
 
THE PATHFINDER. 
 
 " Because, as I have said, they will leave a party on tlw 
 other shore ; and then, Pathfinder, would you expose Ma 
 oel to the rifles of the Iroquois ? " 
 
 " The sergeant s daughter must be saved," returned the 
 uide, with calm energy. " You are right, Jasper ; she has 
 jo gift to authorize her in offering her sweet face and ten 
 der body to a Mingo rifle. What can be done, then ? They 
 nust be kept from crossing for an hour or two, if possible, 
 tfhen we must do our best in the darkness." 
 
 " I agree with you, Pathfinder, if it can be effected ; but 
 *re we strong enough for such a purpose ? " 
 
 " The Lord is with us, boy the Lord is with us ; and 
 it is onreasonable to suppose that one like the sergeant s 
 daughter will be altogether abandoned by Providence, in 
 such a strait. There is not a boat between the falls and 
 the garrison, except these two canoes, to my sartain knowl 
 edge ; and I think it will go beyond red-skin gifts to cross 
 in the face of two rifles, like these of your n and mine. I 
 will not vaunt, Jasper, but it is well known on all this fron 
 tier that Killdeer seldom fails." 
 
 " Your skill is admitted by all, far and near, Pathfinder, 
 but a rifle takes time to be loaded ; nor are you on the land, 
 aided by a good cover, where you can work to the advantage 
 you are used to. If you had our canoe, might you not pass 
 to the shore with a dry rifle ? " 
 
 " Can an eagle fly, Jasper ? " returned the other, laughing 
 in his usual manner, and looking back as he spoke. " But 
 it would be onwise to expose yourself on the water, for 
 them miscreants are beginning to bethink them again of 
 powder and bullets/ 
 
 " It can be done without any such chances. Master Cap 
 has gone up to the canoe, and will cast the branch of a tree 
 nto the river to try the current, which sets from the poin) 
 above in the direction of your rock. See, there it comes 
 already ; if it float fairly, you must raise your arm, when 
 the canoe will follow. At all events, if the boat should pass 
 you, the eddy below will bring it up, and I can recover it." 
 
 While Jasper was still speaking, the floating branch came 
 in sight, and quickening its progress with the increasing 
 
THE PATHFINDER. 39 
 
 velocity of the current, it swept swiftly down towards the 
 Pathfinder, who seized it as it was passing, and held it in the 
 air as a sign of success. Cap understood the signal, and 
 presently the canoe was launched into the stream, with a 
 caution and an intelligence that the habits of the mariner 
 fitted him to observe. It floated in the same direction as 
 the branch, and in a minute was arrested by the Pathfinder. 
 
 "This has been done with a frontier-man s judgment. 
 Jasper," said the guide, laughing ; " but you have your gifts, 
 which incline most to the water, as mine incline to the woods, 
 Now let them Mingo knaves cock their rifles and get rests 
 for this is the last chance they are likely to have at a man 
 without a cover." 
 
 " Nay, shove the canoe towards the shore, quartering the 
 current, and throw yourself into it as it goes off," said 
 Jasper, eagerly. " There is little use in running any risk." 
 
 " I love to stand up face to face with my enemies like a 
 man, while they set me the example," returned the Path 
 finder, proudly. " I am not a red-skin born, and it is more 
 a white man s gifts to fight openly than to lie in ambush- 
 men t." 
 
 And Mabel ? " 
 
 " True, boy, true ; the sergeant s daughter must be saved ; 
 and, as you say, foolish risks only become boys. Think you 
 that you can catch the canoe where you stand ? " 
 
 " There can be no doubt, if you give a vigorous push." 
 
 Pathfinder made the necessary effort, the light bark shot 
 across the intervening space, and Jasper seized it as it came 
 to land. To secure the canoe, and to take proper positions 
 in the cover, occupied the friends but a moment, when they 
 shook hands cordially ; like those who had met after a long 
 separation. 
 
 " Now, Jasper, we shall see if a Mingo of them all dare 
 cross the Oswego in the teeth of Killdeer ! You are hand 
 ier with the oar, and the paddle, and the sail, than with 
 the rifle, perhaps ; but you have a stout heart and a steady 
 band, and them are things that count in a fight." 
 
 " Mabel will find me between her and her enemies," *aid 
 Jasper, calmly. 
 
70 THE PATHFINDER. 
 
 " Yes, yes, the sergeant s daughter must be protected. 1 
 like you, boy, on your own account, but I like you all the 
 better that you think of one so feeble, at a moment when 
 there is need of all your manhood. See, Jasper, three of 
 the knaves are actually getting into the canoe ! They 
 must believe we have fled, or they would not surely ven- 
 tur so much, directly in the very face of Killdeer ! " 
 
 Sure enough, the Iroquois did appear bent on venturing 
 across the stream, for, as the Pathfinder and his friends now 
 kept their persons strictly concealed, their enemies began to 
 think that the latter had taken to flight. The course was that 
 which most white men would have followed ; but Mabel 
 was under the care of those who were much too well 
 skilled in forest warfare, to neglect to defend the only pass 
 that in truth now offered even a probable chance for pro 
 tection. 
 
 As the Pathfinder had said, three warriors were in the 
 canoe, two holding their rifles at a poise, kneeling in readi 
 ness to aim the deadly weapons ; the other standing erect 
 in the stern to wield the paddle. In this manner they left 
 the shore, having had the precaution to haul the canoe, pre 
 viously to entering it, so far up the stream, as to get into 
 the comparatively still water above the rift. It was appar 
 ent, at a glance, that the savage who guided the boat was 
 skilled in the art, for the long steady sweep of his paddle 
 sent the light bark over the glassy surface of the tranquil 
 river, as if it were a feather floating in air. 
 
 " Shall I fire ? " demanded Jasper, in a whisper, trembling 
 with eagerness to engage. 
 
 " Not yet, boy not yet. There are but three of them 
 and if Master Cap, yonder, knows how to use the pop-guug 
 he carries in his belt, we may even let them land, and thei 
 we shall recover the canoe." 
 
 " But Mabel ? " 
 
 " No fear for the sergeant s daughter. She is safe in the 
 hollow stump, you say, with the opening judgmatically hid 
 by the brambles. If what you tell me of the manner LB 
 which you concealed the trail be true, the sweet one might 
 lie there a month, and laugh at the Mingos." 
 
THE PATHMNDER. 71 
 
 " We are never certain ; I wish we had brought her 
 nearer to our own cover ! " 
 
 " What for, Eau-douce ? To place her pretty little head 
 and leaping heart among flying bullets ? No, no ; she is 
 better where she is, because she is safer." 
 
 " We are never certain we thought ourselves safe bo 
 hind the bushes, yet you saw that we were discovered." 
 
 " And the Mingo imp paid for his cur osity, as them 
 knaves are about to do " 
 
 At that instant tha sharp report of a rifle was heard 
 when the Indian in the stem if the canoe leaped high intc 
 the air, and fell into the water, howling the paddle in his 
 hand. A small wreath of smoke floated out from amon^ 
 the bushes of the eastern shore, and was soon absorber 
 by the atmosphere. 
 
 " That is the Sarpent hissing ! " exclaimed the Path 
 finder, exultingly. * A bolder or a truer heart never beat 
 in the breast of a Delaware. I am sorry that he interfered, 
 but he could not have known our condition he could not 
 have known our condition." 
 
 The canoe no sooner lost its guide, than it floated with 
 the stream, and was soon sucked into the rapids of the rift. 
 Perfectly helpless, the two remaining savages gazed wildly 
 about them, but could offer no resistance to the power of 
 the element. It was, perhaps, fortunate for Chingachgook 
 that the attention of most of the Iroquois was intently 
 given to the situation of those in the boat, else would 
 his escape have been to the last degree difficult, if not 
 totally impracticable. But not a foe moved, except to 
 conceal his person behind some cover, and every eye was 
 riveted on the two remaining adventurers. In less time 
 than has been necessary to record these occurrences, the 
 3anoe was whirling and tossing in the rift, while both the 
 savages had stretched themselves in its bottom, as the only 
 means of preserving the equilibrium. This natural expe 
 dient soon failed them ; for striking a rock, the light craft 
 rolled over, and the two warriors were thrown into the 
 river. The water is seldom deep on a rift, except in par 
 ticular places where it may have worn channels, and there 
 
T2 THE PATHFINDER. 
 
 was little to be apprehended from drowning, though their 
 arms were lost, and the two savages were fain to make the 
 best of their way to the friendly shore, swimming and wad 
 ing as circumstances required. The canoe itself lodged on 
 a rock, in the centre of the stream, where, for the moment, 
 it became useless to both parties. 
 
 " Now is our time. Pathfinder," cried Jasper, as the two 
 Iroquois exposed most of their persons while wading in the 
 shallowest part of the rapids ; " the fellow up stream is 
 mine, and you can take the lower." 
 
 So excited had the young man become, by all the inci 
 dents of the stirring scene, that the bullet sped from his 
 rifle as he spoke, but uselessly, as it would seem, for both 
 the fugitives tossed their arms in disdain. The Pathfinder 
 did not fire. 
 
 " No no Eau-douce," he answered ; " I do not seek 
 blood without a cause, and my bullet is well leathered and 
 carefully driven down, for the time of need. I love no 
 Mingo, as is just, seeing how much I have consorted with 
 the Delawares, who are their mortal and nat ral enemies ; 
 but I pull no trigger on one of the miscreants, unless it be 
 plain that his death will lead to some good end. The deer 
 never leaped that fell by my hand wantonly. By living 
 much alone with God in the wilderness, a man gets to feel 
 the justice of such opinions. One life is sufficient for our 
 present wants, and there may yet be occasion to use Kill- 
 deer in behalf of the Sarpent, who has done an untimor- 
 eorne thing to let them rampant devils so plainly know that 
 he is in their neighborhood. As I m a wicked sinner, there 
 is one of them prowling along the bank, this very moment, 
 like one of the boys of the garrison skulking behind a 
 fallen tree to get a shot at a squirrel ! " 
 
 As the Pathfinder pointed with his finger, while speak 
 ing, the quick eye of Jasper soon caught the object toward 
 which it was directed. One of the young warriors of the 
 enemy, burning with a desire to distinguish himself, had 
 stolen from his party towards the cover in which Chingach- 
 gook had concealed himself; and as the latter was deceived 
 by the apparent apathy of his foes, as well a? engaged in 
 
THE PATHFINDER. 73 
 
 some further preparations of his own, he had evidently ob 
 tained a position where he got a sight of the Delaware. 
 This circumstance was apparent by the arrangements the 
 Iroquois was making to fire, for Chingachgook himself was 
 not visible from the western side of the river. The tift 
 was at a bend in the Oswego, and the sweep of the eastern 
 shore formed a curve so wide that Chingachgook was quite 
 near to his enemies in a straight direction, though separated 
 by several hundred feet on the land, owing to which fact 
 air lines brought both parties nearly equidistant from the 
 Pathfinder and Jasper. The general width of the river 
 being a little less than two hundred yards, such necessarily 
 was about the distance between his two observers and the 
 skulking Iroquois. 
 
 " The Sarpent must be thereabouts," observed Pathfinder, 
 who never turned his eye for an instant from the young 
 warrior ; " and yet he must be strangely off his guard to 
 allow a Mingo devil to get his stand so near, with manifest 
 signs of bloodshed in his heart." 
 
 " See," interrupted Jasper ; " there is the body of the 
 Indian the Delaware shot ! It has drifted on a rock, and 
 the current has forced the head and face above the water." 
 
 " Quite likely, boy ; quite likely. Human natur is little 
 better than a log of drift-wood, when the life that was 
 breathed into its nostrils has departed. That Iroquois will 
 never harm any one more ; but yonder skulking savage is 
 bent on taking the scalp of my best and most tried 
 friend" 
 
 The Pathfinder suddenly interrupted himself, by i aising 
 ins rifle, a weapon of unusual length, with admirable precis 
 ion, and firing the instant it got its level. The Iroquo .s on 
 the opposite shore was in the act of aiming when the fatal 
 messenger from Killdeer arrived. His rifle was discharged, 
 it is true, but it was with the muzzle in the air, while the 
 man himself plunged into the bushes, quite evidently hurt, 
 if not slain. 
 
 " The skulking riptyle brought it on himself," muttered 
 Pathfinder, sternly, as dropping the breech of his rifle, he 
 carefully commenced reloading it. " Chingacbgook and I 
 
74 THE PATHFINDER. 
 
 have consorted together since we were boys, and have fou t 
 in company, on the Horican, the Mohawk, the Ontario, and 
 all the other bloody passes between the country of the 
 Frenchers and our own ; and did the foolish knave bel eve 
 that I would stand by and see my best friend cut off in an 
 ambushment ! " 
 
 " We have served the Serpent as good a turn as he 
 served us. Those rascals are troubled, Pathfinder, and are 
 falling back into their covers, since they find we can reach 
 them across the river." 
 
 u The shot is no great matter, Jasper no great matter 
 Ask any of the 60th, and they can tell you what Killdeei 
 can do, and has done, and that too when the bullets were 
 flying about our heads like hail-stones. No, no ; this is no 
 great matter, and the onthoughtful vagabond drew it down 
 on himself." 
 
 "Is that a dog, or a deer, swimming towards this 
 shore?" 
 
 Pathfinder started, for, sure enough, an object was cross 
 ing the stream above the rift, towards which, however, it 
 was gradually setting by the force of the current. A second 
 look satisfied both the observers that it was a man, and an 
 Indian, though so concealed as at first to render it doubtful. 
 Some stratagem was apprehended, and the closest attention 
 was given to the movements of the stranger. 
 
 " He is pushing something before him, as he swims, and 
 his head resembles a drifting bush ! " said Jasper. 
 
 " Tis Injin deviltry, boy ; but Christian honesty shall sar- 
 cumvent his arts." 
 
 As the man slowly approached, the observers began to 
 doubt the accuracy of their first impressions, and it was only 
 when two thirds of the stream were passed, that the truth 
 was really known. 
 
 " The Big Sarpent, as I live ! " exclaimed Pathfinder, 
 looking at his companion, and laughing until the tears came 
 into his eyes, with pure delight ati the success of the artifice. 
 " He has tied bushes to his head so as to hide it, put the 
 horn on top, lashed the rifle to that bit of log he is pushing 
 before him, and has come over to join his friends. Ah 
 
THE PATHiiNDEB. T5 
 
 me! The Limes and times that he and I have cut such 
 pranks, right in the teeth of Mingos raging for our blood, iik 
 the great thoroughfare round and about Ty ! " 
 
 " It may not be the Serpent, after all, Pathfinder ; I can 
 see no feature that I remember." 
 
 " Featur ! Who looks for featur s in an Injin ? No, 
 no ; boy ; tis the paint that speaks, and none but a Dela- 
 ware would wear that paint. Them are his colors, Jasper, 
 just as your craft on the lake wears St. George s Cross, and 
 the Frenchers set their table-cloths to fluttering in the wind, 
 with all the stains of fish-bones and venison steaks upon 
 them. Now, you see the eye, lad, and it is the eye of a 
 chief. But, Eau-douce, fierce as it is in battle, and glasny 
 as it looks from among the leaves," here the Pathfinder 
 laid his finger lightly but impressively on his companion c 
 arm, "I have seen it shed tears like rain. There is a 
 soul and a heart under that red skin, rely on it ; although 
 they are a soul and a heart with gifts different from our 
 own." 
 
 " No one, who is acquainted with the chief, ever doubted 
 that." 
 
 "I know it," returned the other, proudly, "for I have 
 consorted with him in sorrow and in joy ; in one I have 
 found him a man, however stricken ; in the other, a chief 
 who knows that the women of his tribe are the most seemly 
 in light merriment. But hist ! It is too much like the 
 people of the settlements to pour soft speeches into another s 
 ear ; and the Sarpent has keen senses. He knows I love 
 him, and that I speak well of him behind his back ; but a 
 Delaware has modesty in his inmost natur , though he will 
 brag like a sinner when tied to a stake." 
 
 The Serpent now reached the shore, directly in the front 
 0^ his two comrades, with whose precise position he must 
 have been acquainted before leaving the eastern side of the 
 river, and rising from the water he shook himself like a dog, 
 and made the usual exclamation, 
 
 ; < Hugh ! " 
 
76 THE PATHFINDER 
 
 CHAPTER VI. 
 
 These, as they change, Almighty Father, these 
 Are but the varied God. 
 
 TiiOMsoie. 
 
 As the chief landed he was met by the Pathfinder, who 
 addressed Jiim in the language of the warrior s people. 
 
 " Was it well done, Chingachgook," he said, reproach 
 fully, " to ambush a dozen Mingos alone ! Killdeer seldom 
 fails me, it is true ; but the Oswego makes a distant mark) 
 %nd that miscreant showed little more than his head and 
 shoulders above the bushes, and an onpractysed hand and 
 eye might have failed. You should have thought of this, 
 chief you should have thought of this ! " 
 
 " The Great Serpent is a Mohican warrior; he sees only 
 his enemies, when he is on the war-path, and his fathers 
 have struck the Mingos from behind, since the waters began 
 to run ! " 
 
 " I know your gifts I know your gifts, and respect 
 them, too. No man shall hear me complain that a red-skin 
 obsarved red-skin natur , but prudence as much becomes a 
 warrior as valor ; and had not the Iroquois devils been 
 ooking after their friends who were in the water, a hot 
 trail they would have made of your n ! " 
 
 What is the Delaware about to do ? " exclaimed Jas 
 per, who observed, at that moment, that the chief suddenly 
 left the Pathfinder, and advanced to the water s edge, 
 apparently with an intention of again entering the river 
 " He will not be so mad as to return to the other shore for 
 any trifle he may have forgotten ! " 
 
 " Not he not he ; he is as prudent as he is brave, in 
 the main, though so forgetful of himself in the late ambush- 
 went. Harkee, Jasper," leading the other a little aside 
 
THE PATHFINDER. 77 
 
 just as they heard the Indian s plunge into the water, 
 " harkee, lad ; Chingachgook is not a Christian white man, 
 like ourselves, but a Mohican chief, who has his gifts and 
 traditions to tell him what he ought to do ; and he who con 
 sorts with them that are not strictly and altogether of his 
 own kind, had better leave natur and use to govern hi* 
 comrades. A king s soldier will swear, and he will drink 
 and it is of little use to try to prevent him ; a gentleman 
 likes his delicacies, and a lady her feathers, and it does not 
 avail much to struggle agin either; whereas an Indian s 
 natur and gifts are much stronger than these, and no doubt 
 were bestowed by the Lord for wise ends, though neither 
 you nor me can follow them in all their windings." 
 
 " What does this mean ? See, the Delaware is swim 
 ming towards the body that is lodged on the rock. Why 
 does he risk this ? " 
 
 u For honor, and glory, and renown, as great gentlemen 
 quit their quiet homes, beyond seas, where, as they tell me, 
 heart has nothing left to wish for, that is, such hearts as can 
 be satisfied in a clearin , to come hither to live on game and 
 fight the Frenchers." 
 
 " I understand you ; your friend has gone to secure the 
 scalp." 
 
 " Tis his gift, and let him enjoy it. We are white men, 
 and cannot mangle a dead enemy ; but it is honor in the 
 eyes of a red-skin to do so. It may seem singular to you, 
 Eau-douce, but I ve known white men of great name and 
 character manifest as remarkable ideas consarning their 
 honor, I have." 
 
 " A savage will be a savage, Pathfinder, let him keep what 
 company he may." 
 
 ** It is well for us to say so, lad, but, as I tell you, white 
 honor will not always conform to reason, or to the will " f 
 God. I have passed days thinking of them matters, out i> 
 the silent woods, and I have come to the opinion, boy, that, 
 as Providence rules all things, no gift is bestowed without 
 some wise and reasonable end. If Iiijins are of no use, 
 Injins would not have been created; and I do suppose, 
 could one dive to the bottom of things, it would be fouu j 
 
78 THE PATHFINDER. 
 
 that even the Mingo tribes were produced for some rational 
 and proper purpose, though I confess it surpasses my meana 
 to say what it is." 
 
 " The Serpent greatly exposes himself to the enemy, in 
 order to get his scalp ! This may lose us the day." 
 
 " Not in his mind, Jasper. That one scalp has more 
 honor. in it, According to the Sarpent s notions of warfare 
 than a field s.. vered with slain, that kept the hair on thei; 
 heads. Now, there was the fine young captain of the 60ii 
 that threw away his life, in trying to bring off a three 
 pounder from among the Frenchers, in the last skrimmage 
 we had ; he thought he was sarving honor ; and I have 
 known a young ensign wrap himself up in his colors, and 
 go to sleep in his blood, fancying that he was lying on some 
 thing softer even than buffalo-skins ! " 
 
 " Yes, yes ; one can understand the merit of not hauling 
 down an ensign." 
 
 " And these are Chingachgook s colors ; he will keep 
 them to show his children s children " Here the Path 
 finder interrupted himself, shook his head in melancholy, 
 and slowly added, " Ah s me ! no shoot of the old Mohican 
 stem remains ! He has no children to delight with his tro 
 phies ; no tribe to honor by his deeds ; he is a lone man in 
 this world, and yet he stands true to his training and his 
 gifts ! There is something honest and respectable in these, 
 you must allow, Jasper ; yes, there is something decent in 
 that." 
 
 Here a great outcry from among the Iroquois was sue 
 ceeded by the quick reports of their rifles ; and so eager 
 did the enemy become, in the desire to drive the Delaware 
 hack from his victim, that a dozen rushed into the river, 
 several of whom even advanced near a hundred feet into the 
 foaming current, as if they actually meditated a serious 
 ortie. But Chingachgook continued as unmoved, as h-? 
 -vimained unhurt by the missiles, accomplishing his task with 
 the dexterity of long habit. Flourishing his reeking trophy, 
 he gave the war-whoop in its most frightful intonations, and 
 for a minute the arches of the silent woods, and the deep 
 ?ista formed by the course of the river, echoed with criea so 
 
THE PATHFINDER. 79 
 
 terrific that Mabel bowed her head in irrepressible fear, 
 while her uncle for a single instant actually meditated 
 ilight. 
 
 " This surpasses all I have heard from the wretches," 
 Jasper exclaimed, stopping his ears, equally in horror and 
 disgust. 
 
 " Tis their music, boy ; their drum and fife, their trump 
 ets and clarions. No doubt they love them sounds, for they 
 stir up in them fierce feelings, and a desire for blood," re 
 turned the Pathfinder, totally unmoved. " I thought them 
 rather frightful when a mere youngster, but they have got to 
 be like the whistle of the whip-poor-will, or the song of the 
 cat-bird in my ear now. All the screeching riptyles that 
 could stand atween the falls and the garrison, would have 
 no effect on my narves, at this time of day. I say it not ir 
 boasting, Jasper, for the man that lets in cowardice through 
 the ears, must have but a weak heart, at the best ; sounds 
 and outcries being more intended to alarm women and chil 
 dren, than such as scout the forest, and face the foe. I hope 
 the Sarpent is now satisfied, for here he comes with the 
 scalp at his belt." 
 
 Jasper turned away his head as the Delaware rose from 
 the water, in pure disgust at his late errand, but the Path 
 finder regarded his friend with the philosophical coolness of 
 one who had made up his mind to be indifferent to things 
 he deemed immaterial. As the Delaware passed deeper 
 into the bushes, with a view to wring his trifling calico dress, 
 and to prepare his rifle for service, he gave one glance of tri 
 umph at his companions, and then all emotion connected with 
 the recent exploit seemed to cease. 
 
 " Jasper," resumed the guide, " step down to the station 
 of Master Cap, and ask him to join us ; we have little time 
 for a council, and yet oar plans must be laid quickly, for it 
 will not be long before them Mingos will be plotting our 
 ruin." 
 
 The young man complied, and in a few minutes the foui 
 were assembled near the shore, completely concealed from 
 the view of their enemies, while they kept a vigilant watch 
 over the proceedings of the latter, in o"der to consult OD 
 iheir own future movements. 
 
80 THE PATHFINDER. 
 
 By this time the day had so far advanced, as to leave but 
 a few minutes between the passing light and an obscurity 
 that promised to be even deeper than common. The sun 
 had already set, and the twilight of a low latitude would 
 soon pass into the darkness of deep night. Most of the 
 hopes of the party rested on this favorable circumstance, 
 though it was not without its dangers also, as the very ob 
 scurity which would favor their escape would be as likely to 
 conceal the movements of their wily enemies. 
 
 " The moment has come, men," Pathfinder commenced, 
 " when our plans must be coolly laid, in order that we may 
 act together, and with a right understanding of our errand 
 and gifts. In an hour s time, these woods will be as dark as? 
 midnight, and if we are ever to gain the garrison, it must 
 be done under favor of this advantage. What say you. 
 Master Cap ? For though none of the most exper enced in 
 combats and retreats in the woods, your years entitle you to 
 speak first, in a matter like this, and in a council." 
 
 " And my near relationship to Mabel, Pathfinder, ought 
 to count for something " 
 
 " I don t know that I don t know that. Regard is re 
 gard, and liking, liking, whether it be a gift of natur , or come 
 from one s own judgment and inclinations. I will say noth 
 ing for the Sarpent, who is past placing his mind on the 
 women ; but as for Jasper and myself, we are as ready to 
 stand atween the sergeant s daughter and the Mingos as her 
 own brave father himself could be. Do I say more than 
 the truth, lad ? " 
 
 " Mabel may count on me to the last drop of my blood," 
 said Jasper, speaking low, but with intense feeling. 
 
 " Well, well," rejoined the uncle, " we will not discuss this 
 matter, as all seem willing to serve the girl, and deeds are 
 better than words. In my judgment, all we have to do is 
 to go on board the canoe, when it gets to be so dark the 
 enemy s lookouts can t see us, and run for the haven as winn 
 and tide will allow." 
 
 " That is easily said, but not so easily done," returned 
 the guide. " We shall be more exposed in the river than 
 by following the woods, and then there is the Oswego rift 
 
THE PATHFINDER. J 
 
 beiow us, and I am far from sartain that Jasper himself can 
 carry a boat oafely through it, in the dark. What say you, 
 lad, as to your own skill and judgment ?" 
 
 " I am of Master Cap s opinion about using the canoe. 
 Mabel is* too tender to walk through swamps, and among 
 roots of trees, in such a night as this promises to be, and 
 then I always feel myself stouter of heart, and truer of ey 
 when afloat than when ashore." 
 
 " Stout of heart you always be, lad, and I think tolerablj 
 true of eye for one who has lived so much in broad sun- 
 *--hine, and so little in the woods. Ah s me ! the Ontario 
 ^as no trees, or it would be a plain to delight a hunter s 
 heart ! As to your opinion, friends, there is much for, and 
 ag inst it. For it, it may be said water leaves no 
 
 " What do you call the wake ? " interrupted the pertina 
 cious and dogmatical Cap. 
 
 "Anan?" 
 
 " Go on," said Jasper ; " Master Cap thinks he is on the 
 Dcean ; water leaves no trail " 
 
 " It leaves none, Eau-douce, here-away, though I do not 
 pretend to say what it may leave on the sea. Then a 
 canoe is both swift and easy, when it floats with the cur 
 rent, and the tender limbs of the sergeant s daughter will be 
 favored by its motion. But, on the other hand, the river 
 will have no cover but the clouds in the heavens, the rift is 
 a ticklish thing for boats to venture into, even by daylight, 
 and it is six fairly measured miles, by water, from this spot 
 to the garrison. Then a trail on land is not easy to be 
 found in the dark. I am troubled, Jasper, to say which 
 way we ought to counsel and advise." 
 
 " If the Serpent and myself could swim into the river, 
 and bring off the other canoe," the young sailor replied, " it 
 would seem to me that our safest course would je the 
 water." 
 
 " If, indeed ! and yet it might easily be done, as socn a 
 it is a little darker. Well, well, considering the sergeant s 
 daughter, and her gifts, I am not sartain it will not be the 
 best. Though, were we only a party of men, U would be 
 
82 THE PATHFINDER. 
 
 like a hunt to the lusty and brave, to play at hide-and-seek 
 with yonder miscreants, on the other shore. Jasper," con 
 tinued the guide, into whose character there entered no in 
 gredient that belonged to vain display or theatrical effect, 
 " will you undertake to bring in the canoe ? " 
 
 " I will undertake anything that will serve and protect 
 Mabel, Pathfinder." 
 
 " That is an upright feeling, and I suppose it is natur 
 The Sarpent, who is nearly naked already, can help you 
 and this will be cutting off one of the means of them devils 
 to work their harm." . , 
 
 This material point being settled, the different members 
 of the party prepared themselves to put the project into 
 execution. The shades of evening fell fast upon the forest, 
 and by the time all was ready for the attempt, it was found 
 impossible to discern objects on the opposite shore. Time 
 now pressed, for Indian cunning could devise so many ex 
 pedients for passing so narrow a stream, that the Pathfinder 
 was getting impatient to quit the spot. While Jasper and 
 his companion entered the river, armed with nothing but 
 their knives and the Delaware s tomahawk, observing the 
 greatest caution not to betray their movements, the guide 
 brought Mabel from her place of concealment, and bidding 
 her and Cap proceed along the shore to the foot of the 
 rapids, he got into the canoe that remained in his posses 
 sion, in order to carry it to the same place. 
 
 This was easily effected. The canoe was laid against 
 the bank, and Mabel and her uncle entered it, taking their 
 seats as usual ; while the Pathfinder, erect in the stern, 
 hold by a bush, in order to prevent the swift stream from 
 sweeping them down its current. Several minutes of in 
 tense and breathless expectation followed, while they 
 await<3d the result of the bold attempt of their comrades, 
 
 It will be understood that the two adventurers were 
 compelled to swim across a deep and rapid channel, ere 
 they could reach a part of the rift that admitted of wading. 
 This portion of the enterprise was soon effected ; and Jas 
 per and the Serpent struck the bottom, side by side, at th 
 same instant. Having secured firm footing, they took hold 
 
THE PATHFINDER. 83 
 
 of each other s hands, and waded slowly and with extreme 
 caution, in the supposed direction of the caLoe. But the 
 darkness was already so deep, that they soon ascertained 
 they were to be but little aided by the sense of sight, and 
 that their search must be conducted on that species of in 
 stinct which enables the woodsman to find his way, wheu 
 the sun is hid, no stars appear, and all would seem chaos tc 
 one less accustomed to the mazes of the forest. Under 
 these circumstances, Jasper submitted to be guided by the 
 Delaware, whose habits best fitted him to take the lead. 
 Still it was no easy matter to wade amid the roaring ele 
 ment at that hour, and retain a clear recollection 01 the 
 localities. By the time they believed themselves to be in 
 the centre of the stream, the two shores were discernible 
 merely by masses of obscurity denser than common, the 
 outlines against the clouds being barely distinguishable by 
 the ragged tops of the trees. Once or twice the wanderers 
 altered their course, in consequence of unexpectedly step 
 ping into deep water, for they knew that the boat had 
 lodged on the shallowest part of the rift. In short, with 
 this fact for their compass, Jasper and his companion wan 
 dered about in the water for near a quarter of an hour, and 
 at the end of that period, which began to appear intermi 
 nable to the young man, they found themselves apparently 
 no nearer the object of their search than they had been at 
 its commencement. Just as the Delaware was about to 
 stop, in order to inform his associate that they would do 
 well to return to the land, in order to take a fresh depart 
 ure, he saw the form of a man, moving about in the water, 
 almost within reach of his arm. Jasper was at his side^ 
 and he at once understood that the Iroquois were engaged 
 on the same errand as he was himself. 
 
 " JVIingo ! " he uttered in Jasper s ear : " the Serpent will 
 show his brother how to be cunning." 
 
 The young sailor caught a glimpse of the figure at that 
 instant, and the startling truth also flashed on his mind. 
 Understanding the necessity of trusting all to the Delaware 
 chief, he kept back, while his friend moved cautiously in the 
 direction m wh ; ch the strange form had vanished. In 
 
84 THE PATHFINDER. 
 
 another moment, it was seen again, evidently moving 
 towards themselves. The waters made such an qproar, that 
 little was to be apprehended from ordinary sounds, and the 
 Indian, turning his head, hastily said, 
 
 " Leave it to the cunning of the Great Serpent." 
 
 " Hugh ! " exclaimed the strange savage, adding, in the 
 language of his people, " the canoe is found, but there 
 were none to help me. Come, let us raise it from th< 
 rock." 
 
 * Willingly," answered Chingachgook, who understood 
 the dialect, " lead ; we will follow." 
 
 The stranger, unable to distinguish between voices and 
 accents, amid the raging of the rapid, led the way in the 
 necessary direction, and, the two others keeping close at 
 his heels, all three speedily reached the canoe. The Iro- 
 quois laid hold of one end, Chingachgook placed himself in 
 the centre, and Jasper went to the opposite extremity, as it 
 was important that the stranger should not detect the pres 
 ence of a pale-face, a discovery that might be made, by the 
 parts of the dress the young man still wore, as well as by 
 the general appearance of his head. 
 
 " Lift," said the Iroquois, in the sententious manner of 
 his race ; and by a trifling effort the canoe was raised 
 from the rock, held a moment in the air to empty it, 
 and then placed carefully on the water, in its proper posi 
 tion. All three held it firmly, lest it should escape from 
 .heir hands, under the pressure of the violent current ; 
 while the Iroquois, who led of course, being at the upper 
 snd of the boat, took the direction of the eastern shore, or 
 towards the spot where his friends waited his return. 
 
 As the Delaware and Jasper well knew there must b 
 several more of the Iroquois on the rift, from the circum 
 stance that their own appearance had occasioned no surprise 
 in the individual they had met, both felt the necessity of 
 GUreme caution. Men less bold and determined would 
 have thought that they were incurring too great a risk, by 
 thus venturing into the midst of their enemies ; but these 
 hardy borderers were unacquainted with fear, were accus 
 tomed to hazard, and so well understood the necessity of al 
 
THE PATHFINDEK. 85 
 
 least preventing their foes from getting the boat, thai they 
 would have cheerfully encountered even greater risks to 
 secure their object. So all-important to the safety of Ma 
 bel, indeed, did Jasper deem the possession or the destruc 
 tion of this canoe, that he had drawn his knife, and stood 
 ready to rip up the bark, in order to render the boat tem 
 porarily unserviceable, should anything occur to compel the 
 Delaware and himself to abandon their prize. 
 
 In the mean time, the Iroquois, who led the way, pro 
 ceeded slowly through the water in the direction of his own 
 party, still grasping the canoe, and dragging his reluctant 
 followers in his train. Once, Chingachgook raised his toma 
 hawk and was about to bury it in the brain of his confiding 
 and unsuspicious neighbor, but the probability that the 
 death-cry or the floating body might give the alarm, induced 
 that wary chief to change his purpose. At the next mo 
 ment he regretted this indecision, for the three who clung 
 to the canoe suddenly found themselves in the centre of a 
 party of no less than four others who were in quest of it. 
 
 After the usual brief, characteristic exclamations of satis 
 faction, the savages eagerly laid hold of the canoe, for all 
 seemed impressed with the necessity of securing this impor 
 tant boat, the one side in order to assail their foes, and the 
 other to secure their retreat. The addition to the party, 
 however, was so unlocked for, and so completely gave the 
 enemy the superiority, that, for a few moments, the ingenu 
 ity and address of even the Delaware were at fault. The live 
 Iroquois, who seemed perfectly to understand their errand, 
 pressed forward towards their own shore, without pausing 
 to converse ; their object being in truth to obtain the pad 
 dles, which they had previously secured, and to embark three 
 $>r four warriors, with all their rifles and powder-horns, the 
 yyant of which had alone prevented their crossing the river 
 by swimming as soon as it was dark. 
 
 In this manner the body of friends and foes united reached 
 the margin of the eastern channel, where, as in the case of 
 the western, the river was too deep to be waded. Here a 
 short pause succeeded, it being necessary to determine the 
 in which the canoe was to be carried across. One 
 
86 THE PATHFINDER. 
 
 of the four who had just reached the boat, was a chief, and 
 the habitual deference which the American Indian pays to 
 merit, experience, and station, kept the others silent until 
 this individual had spoken. 
 
 The halt greatly added to the danger of discovering the 
 presence of Jasper, in particular, who, however, had the pre 
 caution to throw the cap he wore into the bottom of the 
 canoe. Being without his jacket and shirt, the outline of 
 his figure, in the obscurity, would now be less likely to at* 
 tract observation. His position, too, at the stern of the 
 canoe, a little favored his concealment, the Iroquois natu 
 rally keeping their looks directed the other way. Not so 
 with Chingachgook. This warrior was literally in the midst 
 of his most deadly foes, and he could scarcely stir without 
 touching one of them. Yet he was apparently unmoved, 
 though he kept all his senses on the alert, in readiness to 
 escape, or to strike a blow at the proper moment. By 
 carefully abstaining from looking towards those behind him, 
 he lessened the chances of discovery, and waited with the 
 indomitable patience of an Indian for the instant when he 
 should be required to act. 
 
 " Let all my young men, but two, one at each end of the 
 canoe, cross and get their arms," said the Iroquois chief. 
 " Let the two push over the boat." 
 
 The Indians quietly obeyed, leaving Jasper at the stern, 
 and the Iroquois who had found the canoe at the bow of the 
 light craft, Chingachgook burying himself so deep in the 
 river, as to be passed by the others without detection. 
 The splashing in the water, the tossing arms and the calls 
 of one to another, soon announced that the four who had last 
 joined the party were already swimming. As soon as this 
 fact was certain, the Delaware rose, resumed his former sta 
 tion, and began to think the moment for action was come. 
 
 One less habitually under self-restraint than this warrior 
 would probably have now aimed his meditated blow ; but 
 Chingachgook knew there were more Iroquois behind him 
 on the rift, and he was a warrior much too trained and ex 
 perienced to risk anything unnecessarily. He suffered the 
 Indian at the bow of the c*noe to push off into the deep 
 
THE PATHFINDER. 87 
 
 water, and then all three were swimming in the direction 
 .*f the eastern shore. Instead, however, of helping the 
 canoe across the swift current, no sooner did the Delaware 
 and Jasper find themselves within the influence of its great 
 est force, than both began to swim in a way to check their 
 further progress across the stream. Nor wait this done sud 
 denly, or in the incautious manner in which a civilized man 
 would have been apt to attempt the artifice, but warily, and 
 so gradually that the Iroqu-ois at the bow fancied at first he 
 was merely struggling against the strength of the current. 
 Of course, while acted on by these opposing efforts, the 
 canoe drifted down stream, and in about a minute it was 
 floating in still deeper water at the foot of the rift. Here, 
 however, the Iroquois was not slow in finding that some 
 thing unusual retarded their advance, and looking back, he 
 first learned that he was resisted by the efforts of his com 
 panions. 
 
 That second nature, which grows up through habit, in 
 stantly told the young Iroquois that he was alone with ene 
 mies. Dashing the water aside, he sprang at the throat of 
 Chingachgook, and the two Indians, relinquishing their hold 
 of the canoe, seized each other like tigers. In the midst of 
 the darkness of that gloomy night, and floating in an ele 
 ment so dangerous to man, when engaged in deadly strife, 
 they appeared to forget everything but their fell animosity, 
 and their mutual desire to conquer. 
 
 Jasper had now complete command of the canoe, which 
 flew off like a feather impelled by the breath, under the 
 violent reaction of the struggles of the two combatants. 
 The first impulse of the youth was to swim to the aid of the 
 Delaware, but the importance of securing the boat pre 
 sented itself with tenfold force, while he listened to the 
 heavy breathings of the warriors as they throttled each 
 other, and he proceeded as fast as possible towards the 
 western shore. This he soon reached, and after a short 
 search, he succeeded in discovering the remainder of the 
 party, and in procuring his clothes. A few words sufficed 
 to explain the situation in which he had left the Delaware, 
 and the manner in whicn the canoe had been obtained. 
 
88 THE PATHFINDER. 
 
 When those who had been left behind had heartf the 
 explanations of Jasper, a profound stillness reigned among 
 them, each listening intently, in the vain hope of catching 
 some clue to the result of the fearful struggle that had just 
 taken place, if it were not still going on in the water. 
 Nothing was audible beyond the steady roar of the rushing 
 river ; it being a part of the policy of their enemies on the 
 opposite shore to observe the most deathlike stillness. 
 
 " Take this paddle, Jasper," said Pathfinder, calmly, 
 though the listeners thought his voice sounded more mel 
 ancholy than usual, " and follow with your own canoe. 
 It is unsafe for us to remain here longer." 
 
 "But the Serpent?" 
 
 " The Great Sarpent is in the hands of his own Deity, 
 and will live or die according to the intentions of Provi 
 dence. We can do him no good, and may risk too much 
 by remaining here in idleness, like women talking over 
 their distresses. This darkness is very precious " 
 
 A loud, long, piercing yell came from the shore, and cut 
 short the words of the guide. 
 
 " What is the meaning of that uproar, Master Path 
 finder ? " demanded Cap. " It sounds more like the out 
 cries of devils than anything that can come from the throats 
 of Christians and men." 
 
 " Christians they are not, and do not pretend to be, and 
 do not wish to be ; and in calling them devils you have 
 scarcely misnamed them. That yell is one of rejoicing, and 
 it is as conquerors they have given it. The body of the 
 Sarpent, no doubt, dead or alive, is in their power ! " 
 
 "And we] " exclaimed Jasper, who felt a pang of gen 
 erous regret, as the idea that he might have averted the 
 calamity presented itself to his mind, had he not deserted 
 his comrade. 
 
 " We can do the chief no good, lad, and must }uit this 
 tpot as fast as possible." 
 
 " Without one attempt to rescue him ! v r ithout even 
 knowing whether he be dead or living ? " 
 
 " Jasper is right," said Mabel, who could speak, though 
 her voice sounded huskily and smothered ; " I have 09 
 
THE PATHFINDER. 89 
 
 tears, ancle, and will stay here until we know what has 
 become of our friend." 
 
 "This seems reasonable, Pathfinder," put in Cap. 
 " Your true seaman cannot well desert a messmate ; and I 
 am glad to find that motives so correct exist among those 
 A esh-water people." 
 
 " Tut, tut ! " returned the imputient guide, forcing the 
 janoe into the stream as he spoke ; " ye know nothing, 
 and ye fear nothing. If ye value your lives, think of 
 reaching Jie garrison, and leave the Delaware in the hands 
 of Providence. Ah s me ! The deer that goes too often to 
 the li 4 meets the hunter at last I " 
 
BC THE PATHFINDER 
 
 CHAPTER VII. 
 
 And is this Yarrow? this the stream 
 
 Of which my fancy cherished 
 
 So faithfully a waking dream ? 
 
 An image that hath perished ? 
 
 O that some minstrel s harp were near, 
 
 To utter notes of gladness, 
 
 And chase this silence from the air, 
 
 That fills my soul with sadness. 
 
 WORDSWOBTB. 
 
 THE scene was not without its sublimity ; and the ar* 
 dent, generous-minded Mabel felt her blood thrill in he* 
 veins, and her cheeks flush, as the canoe shot into the 
 strength of the stream to quit the spot. The darkness of 
 the night had lessened by the dispersion of the clouds ; but 
 the overhanging woods rendered the shores so obscure that 
 the boats floated down the current in a belt of gloom that 
 effectually secured them from detection. Still, there was 
 necessarily a strong feeling of insecurity in all on board 
 them ; and even Jasper, who by this time began to tremble 
 in behalf of the girl, at every unusual sound that arose from 
 the forest, kept casting uneasy glances around him, as he 
 drifted on, in company. The paddle was used lightly, and 
 only with exceeding care, for the slightest sound, in the 
 breathing stillness of that hour and place, might apprise the 
 watchful ears of the Iroquois of their position. 
 
 All the accessories added to the impressive grandeur of 
 her situation, and contributed to render the moment much 
 the most exciting that had ever occurred in the brief 
 existence of Mabel Dunham. Spirited, accustomed to self- 
 relianco, and sustained by the pride of considering herself a 
 soldier s daughter, she could hardly be said to be under the 
 influence of fear; yet her heart often beat quicker than 
 common, her fine blue eye lighted with an exhibition of a 
 
THE .AiHFlNDER. 91 
 
 resolution that was wasted in the darkness, ani her quick 
 eiied feelings came in aid of the real sublimity that be 
 longed to the scene, and to the incidents of the night. 
 
 u Mabel ! " said the suppressed voice of Jasper, as th$ 
 two canoes floated so near each other that the hand of the 
 young man held them together, " you have no dread, yoi 
 trust freely to our care, and willingness to protect you ? " 
 
 " I am a soldier s daughter, as you know, Jasper Western^ 
 and ought to be ashamed to confess fear. * 
 
 " Rely on me on us all. Your uncle, Pathfinder, the 
 Delaware, were the poor fellow here, I myself, will risk 
 everything rather than harm should reach you." 
 
 " I believe you, Jasper," returned the girl, her hand un 
 consciously playing in the water. " I know that my uncle 
 loves me, and will never think of himself until he has first 
 thought of me ; and I believe you are all my father s 
 friends, and would willingly assist his child. But I am not 
 BO feeble and weak-minded as you may think ; for though 
 only a girl from the towns, and, like most of that class, a 
 little disposed to see danger where there is none, I promise 
 you, Jasper, no foolish fears of mine shall stand in the way 
 of your doing your duty." 
 
 " The sergeant s daughter is right, and she is worthy of 
 being honest Thomas Dunham s child," put in the Path 
 finder. " Ah s me ! pretty one, many is the time that your 
 father and I huve scouted and marched together on the 
 fianks and rear of the enemy, in nights darker than this, 
 and that, too, when we did not know but the next moment 
 would lead us into a bloody ambushmeut. I was at his 
 side when he got the wound in his shoulder, and the honest 
 fellow will tell you, when you meet, the manner in which 
 we contrived to cross the river that lay in our rear, in order 
 to save his scalp." 
 
 " He has told me," said Mabel, with more energy per 
 haps than her situation rendered prudent. "I have hia 
 letters, in which he has mentioned all that, and I thank 
 you from the bottom of my heart for the service. God 
 will remember it, Pathfinder ; and there is no gratitude 
 lhat you can ask of the daughter, which she will not cheer 
 fully repay for her father s life." 
 
92 THE PATHFINDER. 
 
 " Aye, that is the way with all your gentle and pure- 
 hearted creatur s ! I have seen some of you before, and 
 have heard of others ! The sergeant, himself, has talked to 
 me of his own young days ; and of your mother, and of the 
 manner in which he courted her, and of all the crossings 
 and disapp intments, until he succeeded at last." 
 
 " My mother did not live long to repay him for whai he 
 did to win her," said Mabel, with a trembling lip. 
 
 " So he tells me. The honest sergeant has kept mothing 
 back, for being so many years my senior, he has looked on 
 me, in our many scoutings together, as a sort of son." 
 
 " Perhaps, Pathfinder," observed Jasper, with a huski- 
 ness in his voice that defeated the attempt at pleasantry, 
 " he would be glad to have you for oae, in reality." 
 
 " And if he did, Eau-douce, where would be the sin of 
 it ? He knows what I am on a trail, or a scout, and he has 
 seen me often face to face with the Frenchers. I have 
 sometimes thought, lad, that we all ought to seek for wives ; 
 for the man that lives altogether in the woods, and in com 
 pany with his enemies, or his prey, gets to lose some of the 
 feelin of kind, in the end." 
 
 " From the specimen I have seen," observed Mabel, " I 
 should say that they who live much in the forest forget to 
 learn many of the deceits and vices of the towns." 
 
 " It is not easy, Mabel, to dwell always in the presence 
 of God, and not feel the power of his goodness. I have 
 attended church sarvice in the garrisons, and tried hard, as 
 becomes a true soldier, to join in the prayers ; for though 
 no enlisted sarvant of the king, I fight his battles and sarve 
 his cause, and so I have endeVored to worship garrison- 
 fashion, but never could raise within me the solemn feelinga 
 and true affection that I feel when alone with God in the 
 forest. There I seem to stand face to face with my Master ; 
 all around me is fresh and beautiful, as it came from his 
 hand, and there is no nicety of doctrine to chill the feelin s. 
 No, no ; the woods are the true t ample, a ter all, for there 
 the thoughts are free to mount higher even than the 
 clouds." 
 
 "You speak the truth, Master Pathfinder," said Cap 
 
THE PATHFINDER. 93 
 
 * and a truth that all who live much in solitude know. What, 
 for instance, is the reason that seafaring men, in general, 
 are so religious and conscientious in all they do, but the 
 fact that they are so often alone with Providence, and have 
 BO little to do with the wickedness of the land ! Many and 
 many is the time that I have stood my watch, under the 
 equator perhaps, or in the Southern Ocean, when the nights 
 are lighted up with the fires of heaven ; and that is the 
 time, I can tell you, my hearties, to bring a man to hii 
 bearings, in the way of his sins. I have rattled down mine, 
 again and again, under such circumstances, until the shrouds 
 and lanyards of conscience have fairly creaked with the 
 strain. I agree with you, Master Pathfinder, therefore, in 
 saying if you want a truly religious man, go to Bea, or go 
 into the woods." 
 
 " Uncle, I thought seamen had little credit, generally, for 
 their respect for religion." 
 
 " All d d slander, girl ! Ask your seafaring man 
 
 what his real, private opinion is of your landsmen, parsons 
 and all, and you will hear the other side of the question. 
 I know no class of men who have been so belied as sea 
 faring men, in this particular ; and it is all because they do 
 not stay at home to defend themselves, and pay the clergy. 
 They haven t as much doctrine, perhaps, as some ashore, but 
 as for all the essentials of Christianity, the seaman beats 
 the landsman, hand-over-hand." 
 
 " I will not answer for all this, Master Cap," returned 
 Pathfinder, " but I dare say some of it may be true. I 
 want no thunder and lightning to remind me of ray God, 
 nor am I as apt to bethink me most of all his goodness, in 
 trouble and tribulations, as on a calm, solemn, quiet day, hi 
 a forest, when his voice is heard in the creaking of a dead 
 branch, or in the song of a bird, as much, in my ears at 
 least, as it is ever heard in uproar and gales. How is it 
 with you, Eau-douce? you face the tempests as well as 
 Master Cap, and ought to know something of the feelin ft 
 of storms." 
 
 " I fear that I am too young and too inexperienced, to 
 be able to say much on such a subject," modestly answered 
 Jasper. 
 
94 THE PATHFINDER. 
 
 " But you have your feelings ? " said Mabel, quickly 
 You cannot no one can live among such scenes without 
 feeling how much they ought to trust in God ! " 
 
 " I shall not belie my training so much as to say I do 
 not sometimes think of these things, but I fear it is not as 
 often, or as much as I ought." 
 
 " Fresh water ! " resumed Cap, pithily ; " you are not to 
 expect too much of the young man, Mabel. I think they 
 call you, sometimes, by a name which would insinuate all 
 this. Eau-de-vie, is it not ? " 
 
 " Eau-douce," quietly replied Jasper, who from sailing on 
 the lake had acquired a knowledge of French, as well as of 
 several of the Indian dialects. " It is a name the Iroquois 
 have given me to distinguish me f^om some of my compan 
 ions who once sailed upon the sea, and are fond of filling 
 the ears of the natives with stories of their great salt-water 
 lakes." 
 
 " And why shouldn t they ? I dare say they do the 
 savages no harm. They may not civilize them, but they 
 will not make them greater barbarians than they are. Aye, 
 aye Oh-the-Deuce ; that must mean the white brandy, 
 whi^-h is no great matter after all, and may well enough be 
 called the deuce, for deuced stuff it is ! " 
 
 " The signification of Eau-douce is sweet water, or water 
 that can be drunk, and it is the manner in which the French 
 express fresh water," rejoined Jasper, a little nettled at the 
 distinction made by Cap, although the latter i^as the uncle 
 of Mabel. 
 
 "And how the devil do they make water out of Oh-the- 
 Deuce, when it means brandy in Eau-de-vie ? This may be 
 the French used here-away, but it is not that they use ID 
 Burdux and other French ports ; besides, among seamen 
 Eau always means brandy, and Eau-de-vie, brandy of a high 
 proof. I think nothing of your ignorance, young man, foi 
 it is natural to your situation, and cannot be helped. If 
 you will return with me, and make a v y ge or two on the 
 Atlantic, it will serve you a good turn the remainder of 
 your days, and Mabel, there, and all the other young 
 women, near the coast, will think all the better of you, 
 
THE PATHFINDER. 96 
 
 ihould you live to be as old as one of the trees in this 
 forest." 
 
 " Nay, nay," interrupted the single-hearted and generoun 
 guide, " Jasper wants not for friends in this region, I cao 
 assure you ; and though seeing the world, according to his 
 habits,, may do him good as well as another, we shall think 
 none the worse of him if he never quits us. Eau-douce or 
 Eau-de-vie, he is a brave, true-hearted youth, and I alwayu 
 ileep as sound when he is on the watch as if I was up and 
 si \rring myself; aye, and for that matter, sounder too, 
 sergeant s daughter, here, doesn t believe it necessary 
 the lad to go to sea in order to make a man of him, or 
 one who is worthy to be respected and esteemed." 
 
 Mabel made no reply to this appeal, and she even looked 
 towards the western shore, although the darkness rendered 
 the natural movement unnecessary to conceal her face. 
 But Jasper felt that there was a necessity for his saying 
 something; the pride of youth and manhood revolting at 
 the idea of his being in a condition not to command the 
 respect of his fellows, or the smiles of his equals of the other 
 sex. Still he was unwilling to utter aught that might be 
 considered harsh, to the uncle of Mabel ; and his self-com 
 mand was, perhaps, more creditable than his modesty and 
 spirit. 
 
 " I pretend not to things I don t possess," he said, " and 
 lay no claim to any knowledge of the ocean, or of naviga 
 tion. We steer by the stars and the compass on these 
 lakes, running from headland to headland, and, having lit 
 tle need of figures and calculations, make no use of them. 
 But we have our claims, notwithstanding, as I have often 
 heard from those who have passed years on the ocean. In 
 the first place we have always the land aboard, and much 
 of the time on a lee-shore, and that I have frequently heard 
 nmkes hardy sailors. Our gales are sudden and severe, ind 
 we are compelled to run for our ports at all hours " 
 
 " You have, your leads," interrupted Cap. 
 
 " They are of little use, and are seldom cast." 
 
 "The deep seas" 
 
 " I have heard of such things, but confess I never saw 
 ne." 
 
i*8 1HE PATHFINDER. 
 
 * Oh-the-Deuce, with a vengeance. A trader, and no 
 deep sea ! Why, boy, you cannot pretend to be anything 
 of a mariner. Who the devil ever heard of a seaman with 
 out his deep sea ? " 
 
 " I do not pretend to any particular skill, Master 
 Cap" 
 
 " Except in shooting falls, Jasper except in shooting 
 fells and rifts," said y Pathfinder, coming to the rescue ; " in 
 which business even you, Master Cap, must allow he ha8 
 gome handiness. In my judgment, every man is to be es 
 teemed or condemned according to his gifts ; and if Master 
 Cap is useless in running the Oswego Falls, I try to remem 
 ber that he is useful when out of sight of land ; and if 
 Jasper be useless when out of sight of land, I do not forget 
 that he has a true eye and steady hand when running the 
 falls." 
 
 " But Jasper is not useless would not be useless when 
 out of sight of land," said Mabel, with a spirit and energy 
 that caused her clear sweet voice to be startling amid the 
 solemn stillness of that extraordinary scene. "No one can 
 be useless there who can do as much here, is what I mean ; 
 though I dare say he is not as well acquainted with ships as 
 my uncle." 
 
 " Aye, bolster each other up in your ignorance," returned 
 Cap, with a sneer ; " we seamen are so much outnumbered 
 when ashore that it is seldom we get our dues; but when 
 you want to be defended, or trade is to be carried on, there 
 is outcry enough for us." 
 
 " But ; incle, landsmen do not come to attack our coasts ; 
 so that seamen only meet seamen." 
 
 " So much for ignorance ! Where are all the enemies 
 Jjat have landed in this country, French and English; let 
 m 9 i uquire, niece ? " 
 
 " Sure enough, where are they ! " ejaculated Pathfinder. 
 None can tell better than we who dwell in the woods. 
 Master Cap. I have often followed their line of march by 
 bones bleaching in the rain, and have found their trail by 
 graves, years after they and their pride had vanished together 
 Ginirals and privates, they Jay scattered throughout the 
 
THE PATHFINDER. 97 
 
 land, so many proofs of what men are when led on by their 
 love of great names, and the wish to be more than their 
 fellows." 
 
 u I must say, Master Pathfinder, that you sometimes uttei 
 opinions that are a little remarkable, for a man who lives by 
 the rifle ; seldom snuffing the air but he smells gunpowder, 
 or turning out of his berth but to bear down on an enemy." 
 
 " If you think I pass my days in warfare against my kind, 
 you know neither me nor my history. The man that lives 
 in the woods, and on the frontiers, must take the chances of 
 the things among which he dwells. For this I am not ac 
 countable, being but an humble and powerless hunter, and 
 scout, and guide. My real calling is to hunt for the army 
 on its marches, and in times of peace ; although T am more 
 especially engaged in the service of one officer, who is now 
 absent in the settlements, where I never follow him. No, 
 no ; bloodshed and warfare are not my real gifts, but peace 
 and marcy. Still, I must face the enemy as well as another, 
 and as for a Mingo, I look upon him as man looks on a 
 snake a creatur to be put beneath the heel, whenever a 
 fitting occasion offers." 
 
 " Well, well ; I have mistaken your calling, which I had 
 thought as regularly warlike as that of a ship s gunner. 
 There is my brother-in-law, now; he has been a soldier 
 since he was sixteen, and he looks upon his trade as every 
 way as respectable as that of a seafaring man, which is a 
 point I hardly think it worth while to dispute with him." 
 
 " My father has been taught to believe that it is honor 
 able to carry arms," said Mabel, " for his father was a sol 
 dier before him." 
 
 " Yes, yes," resumed the guide, " most of the sergeant s 
 gifts are martial, and he looks at most things in this world 
 oyer the barrel of his musket. One of his notions now, is 
 to prefar a king s piece to a regular double-sighted, long- 
 barreled rifle. Such consaits will come over men, from 
 long habit : and prejudice is perhaps the commonest failing 
 of human natur ." 
 
 " Ashore, I grant you," said Cap. " I never return from 
 A v*y ge but I make th3 very same remark. Now, the last 
 
98 THE PATHFINDER. 
 
 time I caine in, I found scarcely a man in all York who 
 would think of matters and things in general as I thought 
 about them myself. Every man I met appeared to have 
 bowsed all his idees up into the wind s eye, and when he did 
 fall off a little from his one-sided notions, it was commonly 
 to wear short round on his heel, and to lay up as close as 
 ever on the other tack." 
 
 " Do you understand this, Jasper ? " the smiling MabeJ 
 half whispered to the young man, who still kept his own 
 canoe so near as to be close at her side. 
 
 " There is not so much difference between salt and fresh 
 *?ater, that we who pass our time on them cannot compre 
 hend each other. It is no great merit, Mabel, to understand 
 the language of our trade." 
 
 " Even religion," continued Cap, " isn t moored in exactly 
 the same place it was in my young days. They veer and 
 haul upon it ashore, as they do on all other things, and it is 
 no wonder if now and then they get jammed. Everything 
 seems to change but the compass, and even that has its 
 variations." 
 
 " Well," returned the Pathfinder, " I thought Christianity 
 and the compass both pretty stationary." 
 
 " So they are, afloat, bating the variations. Religion at 
 sea is just the same thing to-day that it was when I first put 
 my hand into the tar-bucket. No one will dispute it who 
 has the fear of God before his eyes. I can see no difference 
 between the state of religion on board ship now, and what 
 it was when I was a younker. But it is not so ashore, by 
 any means. Take my word for it, Master Pathfinder, it is 
 a difficult thing to find a man I mean a landsman who 
 views these matters to-day, exactly as he looked at them 
 forty years ago." 
 
 4 And yet God is unchanged ; his works are unchanged ; 
 his holy word is unchanged ; and all that ought to bless and 
 honor his name, should be unchanged too ! " 
 
 " Not ashore. That is the worst of the land ; it is all the 
 while in motion, I tell you, though it k oks so solid. If you 
 plant a tree, and leave it, on your return from a three years 
 you don t find it at all the sort of thing you left it. 
 
THE PATHFINDER. 9* 
 
 The towns grow, and new streets spring up ; the wuarves 
 are altered ; and the whole face of the earth undergoes 
 change. Now a ship comes back from an India v y ge just 
 the thing she sailed, bating the want of paint, wear and 
 tear, and the accidents of llie sea. 
 
 " That is too true, Master Cap, and more s the pity./ Ah s 
 me ! the things they call improvements and betterments, 
 are undermining and defacing the land ! The glorious works 
 of God are daily cut down and destroyed, and the hand of 
 man seems to be upraised in contempt of his mighty will. 
 They tell me there are fearful signs of what we may all 
 come to, to be met with west and south of the Great Lakes, 
 though I have never yet visited that region \/ 
 
 " What do you mean, Pathfinder ? " modestly inquired 
 Jasper. 
 
 " I mean the spots marked by the vengeance of Heaven, 
 or which, perhaps, have been raised up as solemn warnings 
 to the thoughtless and wasteful, here-aways. They call them 
 prairies ; and I have heard as honest Delawares as I ever 
 knew, declare that the finger of God has been laid so heavily 
 on them, that they are altogether without trees. Tliis is an 
 awful visitation to befall innocent arth, and can only mean 
 to show to what frightful consequences a heedless desire to 
 destroy may lead." 
 
 " And yet I have seen settlers who have much fancied 
 these open spots, because they saved them the toil of clear 
 ing. You relish your bread, Pathfinder, and yet wheat will 
 QOt ripen in the shade." 
 
 ;< But honesty will, and simple wishes, and a love ci God, 
 Jasper. Even Master Cap will tell you a treeless plain inuar 
 resemble a desert island." 
 
 " Why that as it may be," put in Cap. " Desert islands, 
 too, have their uses, for they serve to correct the reckonings 
 by. If my taste is consulted, I should never quarrel with 
 a plain for wanting trees. As nature has given a man eyes 
 to look about with, and a sun to shine, were it not for ship 
 building, and now and then a house, I can see no great use 
 in a Xree ; especially one that don t bear monkeys or fruit." 
 
 To this remark the guide made no answer, beyond a low 
 
100 THE PATHFINDER. 
 
 sound, intended to enjoin silence on his companions. While 
 the desultory conversation just related had been carried on 
 in subdued voices, the canoes were dropping slowly down 
 with the current, within the deep shadows of the western 
 shore, the paddles being used merely to preserve the desired 
 direction and proper positions. The strength of the stream 
 varied materially, the water being seemingly still in places, 
 while in other reaches it flowed at a rate exceeding two. or 
 even three miles in the hour. On the rifts it even dashed 
 forward with a velocity that was appalling to the unpracticed 
 eye. Jasper was of opinion that they might drift down with 
 the current to the mouth of the river in two hours from the 
 time they left the shore, and he and the Pathfinder had 
 agreed on the expediency of suffering the canoes to float of 
 themselves for a time, or at least until they had passed the 
 first dangers of their new movement. The dialogue had 
 been carried on in voices, too, guardedly low ; for, though 
 the quiet of deep solitude reigned in that vast and nearly 
 boundless forest, nature was speaking with her thousand 
 tongues, in the eloquent language of night in a wilderness. 
 The air sighed through ten thousand trees, the water rippled, 
 and, at places, even roared along the shores ; and now and 
 then was heard the creaking of a branch, or a trunk, as it 
 rubbed against some object similar to itself, under the vibra 
 tions of a nicely balanced body. All living sounds had 
 ceased. Once, it is true, the Pathfinder fancied he heard 
 the howl of a distant wolf, 1 of which a few prowled through 
 these woods ; but it was a transient and doubtful cry, that 
 might possibly have been attributed to the imagination. 
 When he desired his companions, however, to cease talking, 
 *_n the manner just mentioned, his vigilant ear had caught 
 he peculiar sound that is made by the parting of a dried 
 >ranch of a tree, and which, if his senses did not deceive 
 lim, came from the western shore. All who are accustoms I 
 o that particular sound, will understand how readily the 
 tar receives it, and how easy it is to distinguish the tread 
 which breaks the branch from every other noise ..f the 
 forest. 
 
 " There is the footstep of a man on the bank," said Path- 
 
 1 See Appendix. Note (J. 
 
THE PATHFINDER 101 
 
 finder to Jasper, speaking in neither a whisper nor yet in a 
 voice loud enough to be heard at any distance. " Can the 
 accursed Iroquc is have crossed the river, already, with their 
 arms, and withoat a boat ? " 
 
 " It may be the Delaware ! He would follow us of course 
 down this bank, and would know where to look for us. Let 
 me draw closer in to the shore, and reconnoitre." 
 
 " Go, boy, but be light with the paddle, and on no account 
 rentur ashore on an onsartainty." 
 
 " Is this prudent ? " demanded Mabel, with an impet 
 uosity that rendered her incautious in modulating her sweet 
 voice. 
 
 " Very imprudent, if you speak so loud, fair one. I like 
 your voice, which is soft and pleasing, after listening so long 
 to the tones of men ; but it must not be heard too much, or 
 too freely, just now. Your father, the honest sergeant, will 
 tell you, when you meet him, that silence is a double virtue 
 on a trail. Go, Jasper, and do justice to your own character 
 for prudence." 
 
 Ten anxious minutes succeeded the disappearance of the 
 canoe of Jasper, which glided away from that of the Path 
 finder so noiselessly that it had been swallowed up in the 
 gloom before Mabel allowed herself to believe the young 
 man would really venture alone on a service that struck her 
 imagination as singularly dangerous. During this time the 
 party continued to float with the current, no one speaking, 
 and it might almost be said no one breathing, so strong was 
 the general desire to catch the minutest sound that should 
 come from the shore. But the same solemn, we might indeed 
 say sublime, quiet reigned as before ; the washing of the 
 water, as it piled up against some slight obstruction, and the 
 singing of the trees, alone interrupting the slumbers of the 
 forest. At the end of the period mentioned the snapping 
 of dried branches was again faintly heard, and the Path 
 finder fancied that the sound of smothered voices reached 
 aim. 
 
 " I may be mistaken," he said, " for the thoughts often 
 .fancy what the heart wishes ; but them were notes like the 
 low tones of the Delaware ! " 
 
102 THE PATHFINDER. 
 
 " Do the dead of the savages ever walk ? * demanded 
 Cap. 
 
 " Aye, and run, too, in their happy hunting-grounds, but 
 nowhere else. A red -skin finishes with the arth after the 
 breath quits the body. It is not one of his gifts to linger 
 around his wigwam when his hour has passed." 
 
 " I see some object on the water," whispered Mabel, whose 
 eye had not ceased to dwell on the body of gloom with close 
 intensity since the disappearance of Jasper. 
 
 " It is the canoe ! " returned the guide, greatly relieved. 
 " All must be safe, or we should have heard from the lad." 
 
 In another minute the two canoes, which became visible 
 co those they carried only as they drew near each other, 
 again floated side by side, and the form of Jasper was rec 
 ognized at the stern of his own boat. The figure of a sec 
 ond man was seated in the bow, and as the young sailor so 
 wielded his paddle as to bring the face of his companion 
 near the eyes of the Pathfinder and Mabel, they both rec 
 ognized the person of the Delaware. 
 
 " Chingachgook my brother ! " said the guide, in the 
 dialect of the other s people, a tremor shaking his voice that 
 betrayed the strength of his feelings. " Chief of the Mohi 
 cans ! my heart is very glad. Often have we passed through 
 blood and strife together, but I was afraid it was never to 
 be so again." 
 
 " Hugh ! Mirigos squaws ! Three of iheir scalps 
 hang at my girdle. They do not know how to strike the 
 Great Serpent of the Delawares. Their hearts have no 
 blood, and their thoughts are on their return path, across 
 the waters of the Great Lake." 
 
 " Have you been among them, chief ? and what has be 
 come of the warrior who was in the river ? " 
 
 " He has turned into a fish, and lies at the bottom with 
 ilie eels ! Let his brothers bait their hooks for him. Path 
 finder, I have counted the enemy, and have touched theii 
 rifles." 
 
 " Ah ! I thought he would be venturesome ! " exclaimed 
 the guide, in English. " The risky fellow has been in the 
 midst of them, and has brought us back their whole history 
 
THE PATHFINDER. 103 
 
 Speak, Chingachgook, and I will make our friends as know 
 ing as ourselves." 
 
 The Delaware now related in a low, earnest manner the 
 substance of all his discoveries since he was last seen strug 
 gling with the foe in the river. Of the fate of his antag 
 onist he said no more, it not being usual for a warrior to 
 boast in his more direct and useful narratives. As soon as 
 he had conquered in that fearful strife, however, he swam to 
 the eastern shore, landed with caution, and wound his way 
 in amongst the Iroquois, concealed by the darkness, unde 
 tected, and, in the main, even unsuspected. Once, indeed, 
 he had been questioned, but answering that he was Arrow 
 head, no further inquiries were made. By the passing re 
 marks he soon ascertained that the party was out expressly 
 to intercept Mabel and her uncle, concerning whose rank, 
 however, they had evidently been deceived. He also ascer 
 tained enough to justify the suspicion that Arrowhead had 
 betrayed them to their enemies, for some motive that it was 
 not now easy to reach, as he had not yet received the reward 
 of his services. 
 
 Pathfinder communicated no more of this intelligence to 
 his companions than he thought might relieve their appre 
 hensions, intimating at the same time that now was the 
 moment for exertion, the Iroquois not having yet entirely 
 recovered from the confusion created by their losses. 
 
 " We shall find them at the rift, I make no manner of 
 doubt," he continued, u and there it will be our fate to pass 
 them or to fall into their hands. The distance to the garri 
 son will then be so short, that I have been thinking of the 
 plan of landing with Mabel, myself, that I may take her in 
 by some of the by-ways and leave the canoes to their chancea 
 in the rapids." 
 
 u It will never succeed, Pathfinder," eagerly interrupted 
 Jasper. u Mabel is not strong enough to tramp die ivoods 
 in a night like this. Put her m my skiff, and I will lose my 
 life, or carry her through the rift safely, dark as it is." 
 
 " No doubt you will, lad ; no one doubts your willingness 
 to do anything to sarve the sergeant s daughter : but it must 
 \>e the eye of Providence, and not your own, that will take 
 you safely through the Oswego Rift in a night like this." 
 
104 THE PATHFINDER. 
 
 " And who will lead her safely to the garrison if she land? 
 Is not the night as dark on shore as on the water ? or do 
 you think I know less of my calling than you know of 
 yours ? " 
 
 " Spiritedly said, lad ; but if I should lose my way in the 
 dark, and I believe no man can say truly that such a thing 
 ever yet happened to me but, if I should lose my way, no 
 other harm would come of it than to pass a night in the for 
 est, whereas a false turn of the paddle, or a broad sheer of 
 the canoe, would put you and the young woman into the 
 river, out of which it is more than probable the sergeant s 
 daughter would never come alive." 
 
 " I will leave it to Mabel, herself ; I am certain that she 
 will feel more secure in the canoe." 
 
 " I have great confidence in you both," answered the girl, 
 " and have no doubts that either will do all he can to prove 
 to my father how much he values him ; but I confess I 
 should not like to quit the canoe, with the certainty we have 
 of there being enemies like those we have seen in the forest. 
 But my uncle can decide for me in this matter." 
 
 " I have no liking for the woods/ said Cap, " while one 
 has a clear drift like this on the river. Besides, Master 
 Pathfinder, to say nothing of the savages, you overlook the 
 sharks." 
 
 " Sharks ! who ever heard of sharks in the wilderness ! " 
 
 " Aye ! sharks, or bears, or wolves no matter what you 
 call a thing, so it has the mind and power to bite." 
 
 " Lord, lord, man ; do you dread any creatur that is to 
 be found in the American forest ? A catamount is a skeary 
 animal, I will allow, but then it is nothing in the hands of a 
 practysed hunter. Talk of the Mingos and their deviltries, 
 if you will ; but do not raise a false alarm about bears and 
 wolves." 
 
 " Aye, aye, Master Pathfinder, this is all well enough, for 
 you, who probably know the name of every creature you 
 would meet. Use is everything, and it makes a man bold 
 when he might otherwise be bashful. I have known sea 
 men in the low latitudes swim for hours at a time among 
 sharks fifteen or twenty feet long, and think no more of 
 
THE PATHFINDER. 106 
 
 what they were doing than a countryman thinks of whom 
 he is amongst, when he comes out of a church-door of a 
 Sunday afternoon." 
 
 " This is extraordinary ! " exclaimed Jasper, who in good 
 sooth had not yet acquired that material part of his trade, 
 the ability to spin a yarn. " I have always heard that it 
 was certain death to venture in the water among sharks ! 
 
 " I forgot to say that the lads always took capstan-bars, 
 or gunners handspikes, or crows with them, to lap the 
 beasts over the noses, if they got to be troublesomo. No, 
 no ; I have no liking for bears and wolves, though a whale, 
 in my eye, is very much the same sort of fish as a red 
 herring, after it is dried and salted. Mabel and I had 
 better stick to the canoe." 
 
 " Mabel would do well to change canoes," added Jasper. 
 " This of mine is empty, and even Pathfinder will allow 
 that my eye is surer than his own, on the water." 
 
 "That I will, cheerfully, boy. The water belongs to 
 your gifts, and no one will deny that you have improved 
 them to the utmost. You are right enough in believing 
 that the sergeant s daughter will be safer in your canoe than 
 in this ; and, though I would gladly keep her near myself, 1 
 have her welfare too much at heart, not to give her honest 
 advice. Bring your canoe close alongside, Jasper, and I 
 will give you what you must consider a very precious 
 treasure." 
 
 " I do consider it," returned the youth, not losing a mo 
 ment in complying with the request ; when Mabel passed 
 from one canoe to the other, taking her seat on the effects 
 which had hitherto composed its sole cargo. 
 
 As soon as the arrangement was made, the canoes sepa 
 rated a short distance, and the paddles were used, though 
 mth great care to avoid making any noise. The conversation 
 gradually ceased, and as the dreaded rift was approached, all 
 Vecarne impressed with the gravity of the moment. That 
 .:ieir enemies would endeavor to reach this point before 
 :hem, was almost certain ; and it seemed so little probable 
 any one should attempt to pass it, in the profound obscurity 
 wmcb reigned, that Pathfinder was coi fident parties were 
 
106 THE PATHFINDER. 
 
 on both sides of the river, in the hope of intercepting the* 
 when they might land. He would not have made the pro 
 posal he did, had he not felt sure of his own ability to 
 convert this very anticipation of success into a means of 
 defeating the plans of the Iroquois. As the arrangement 
 now stood, however, everything depended on the skill of 
 those who guided the canoes; for should either hit a rock, 
 if not split asunder, it would almost certainly be upset, and 
 then would come not only all the hazards of the river itself 
 but, for Mabel, the certainty of falling into the hands of her 
 pursuers. The utmost circumspection consequently became 
 necessary, and each one was too much engrossed with his 
 own thoughts to feel a disposition to utter more than was 
 called for by the exigencies of the case. 
 
 As the canoes stole silently along, the roar of the rift 
 became audible, and it required all the fortitude of Cap to 
 keep his seat, while these boding sounds were approached, 
 amid a darkness that scarcely permitted a view of the out 
 lines of the wooded shore, and of the gloomy vault above 
 his head. He retained a vivid impression of the falls, and 
 his imagination was not now idle, in swelling the dangers 
 of the rift to a level with those of the headlong descent he 
 had that day made, and even to increase them, under the 
 influence of doubt and uncertainty. In this, however, the 
 old mariner was mistaken, for the Oswego Rift and the 
 Oswego Falls are very different in their characters and 
 violence; the former being no more than a rapid, that 
 glances among shallows and rocks, while the latter really 
 deserved the name it bore, as has been already shown. 
 
 Mabel certainly felt distrust and apprehension ; but her 
 entire situation was so novel, and her reliance on her guide 
 BO great, that she retained a self-command that might not 
 have existed had she clearer perceptions of the truth, 01 
 been better acquainted with the helplessness of men, when 
 placed in opposition to the power and majesty of nature. 
 
 k That is the spot you have mentioned ? " she said to 
 Jasper, when the roar of the rift first came fresh and dis 
 tinct on her ear. 
 
 ** It is ; and I beg you to have confidence in me. W 
 
THE PATHFINDER, 107 
 
 re not old acquaintances, Mabel, but we live many days in 
 one, in this wilderness. I think already that I have known 
 vou years ! " 
 
 " And I do not feel as if you were a stranger to me. 
 Jasper. I have every reliance on your skill, as well as on 
 your disposition to serve me." 
 
 "We shall see we shall see. Pathfinder is striking 
 the rapids too near the centre of the river. The bed of 
 the water is closer to the eastern shore ; but I cannot make 
 him hear me i>rw. Hold firmly to the canoe, Mabel, and 
 fear nothing." 
 
 At the next moment, the swift current sucked them into 
 the rift, and for three or four minutes the awe-struck, rather 
 than the alarmed girl, saw nothing around her but sheets 
 of glancing foam ; heard nothing but the roar of waters. 
 Twenty times did the canoe appear about to dash against 
 some curling and bright wave, that showed itself even amid 
 that obscurity, and as often did it glide away again, un 
 harmed, impelled by the vigorous arm of him who governed 
 its movements. Once, and once only, did Jasper seem to 
 lose command of his frail bark, during which brief space it 
 fairly whirled entirely round ; but, by a desperate effort, he 
 brought it again under control, recovered the lost channel, 
 and was soon rewarded for all his anxiety by finding himself 
 floating quietly in the deep water below the rapids ; secure 
 from every danger, and without having taken in enough of 
 the element to serve for a draught. 
 
 " All is over, Mabel," the young man cheerfully cried. 
 " The danger is past, and you may now, indeed, hope to 
 meet your father this very night." 
 
 " God be praised ! Jasper, we shall owe this great hap* 
 piness to you ! " 
 
 " The Pathfinder may claim a full share in the merit ; 
 but what has become of the other canoe ? " 
 
 " I see something near us on the water ; is it not the boat 
 of our friends ? " 
 
 A few strokes of the paddle brought Jasper to the side 
 of the object in question. It was the other canoe, empty 
 and bottom upwards. No sooner did the young man ascer 
 
108 THE PATHFINDER. 
 
 tain this fact, than he began to search for the swimmers, 
 and, to his g~eat joy, Cap was soon discovered drifting dowK 
 with the current; the old seaman preferring the chances 
 of drowning to those of landing among savages. He was 
 hauled into the canoe, though not without difficulty, and then 
 the search ended ; for Jasper was persuaded that the Path- 
 tinder would wade to the shore, the water being shallow, in 
 preference to abandoning his beloved rifle. 
 
 The remainder of the passage was short, though made 
 amid darkness and doubt. After a short pause, a dull roar 
 ing sound was heard, which at times resembled the mutter- 
 ings of distant thunder, and then again brought with it the 
 washing of waters. Jasper announced to his companions 
 that they now heard the surf of the lake. Low, curved 
 spits of land lay before them, into the bay formed by one 
 of which the canoe glided, and then it shot up noiselessly 
 upon a gravelly beach. The transition that followed was 
 so hurried and great, that Mabel scarce knew what passed. 
 In the course of a few minutes, however, sentinels had been 
 passed, a gate was opened, and the agitated girl found her 
 self in the arms of a parent who was almost a Granger 
 to her. 
 
THE PATHFINDER. 109 
 
 CHAPTER VIII. 
 
 A land of love, and a land of light, 
 Withouten sun, or moon, or night; 
 Where the river swa d a living stream, 
 And the light a pure celestial beam : 
 The land of vision, it would seem 
 A still, an everlasting dream. 
 
 QUEEN S WAKX. 
 
 THB rest that succeeds fatigue, and which attends a 
 lewly awakened sense of security, is generally sweet and 
 dsep. Such was the fact with Mabel, who did not rise 
 from her humble pallet, such a bed as a sergeant s daughter 
 might claim in a remote frontier post, until long after the 
 garrison had obeyed the usual summons of the drums, and 
 had assembled at the early parade. Sergeant Dunham, on 
 whose shoulders fell the task of attending to these ordinary 
 and daily duties, had got through all his morning avoca 
 tions, and was beginning to think of his breakfast, ere his 
 cliild left her room and came into fresh air, equally be 
 wildered, delighted, and grateful, at the novelty and security 
 of her new situation. 
 
 At the time of which we are writing, Oswego was one 
 of the extreme frontier posts of the British possessions on 
 this continent. It had not been long occupied, and was 
 garrisoned by a battalion of a regiment that had been 
 originally Scotch, but into which many Americans had been 
 received, since its arrival in this country, an innovation 
 that had led the way to Mabel s father filling the humble, 
 but responsible, situation of the oldest sergeant. A few 
 young officers, also, who were natives of the colonies, were 
 to be found in the corps. The fort itself, like most works 
 of that character, was better adapted to resist an attack of 
 a vages than to withstand a regular siege ; but the great 
 
110 THE PATHFINDER. 
 
 Difficulty of transporting heavy artillery ani other necessa 
 ries, rendered the occurrence of the latter a probability so 
 remote, as scarcely to enter into the estimate of the engi 
 neers who had planned the defenses. There were bastions 
 of earth and logs, a dry ditch, a stockade, a parade of con 
 siderable extent, and barracks of logs, that answered the 
 double purpose of dwellings and fortifications. A few light 
 field-pieces stood in the area of the fort, ready to be con 
 veyed to any point where they might be wanted ; and one 
 or two heavy iron guns looked out from the summits of the 
 advanced angles, as so many admonitions to the audacious 
 to respect their power. 
 
 When Mabel, quitting the convenient, but comparatively 
 retired hut, where her father had been permitted to place 
 her, issued into the pure air of the morning, she found 
 herself at the foot of a bastion that lay invitingly before 
 her, with a promise of giving a coup d aeil of all that had 
 been concealed in the darkness of the preceding night. 
 Tripping up the grassy ascent, the light-hearted as well as 
 light-footed girl found herself at once on a point where the 
 sight, at a few varying glances, could take in all the ex 
 ternal novelties of her new situation. 
 
 To the southward lay the forest through which she had 
 been journeying so many weary days, and which had 
 proved so full of dangers. It was separated from the 
 stockade by a belt of open land, that had been principally 
 cleared of its woods to form the martial constructions 
 around her. This glacis, for such in fact was its military 
 uses, might have covered a hundred acres, but with it every 
 sign of civilization ceased. All beyond was forest ; that 
 dense, interminable forest that Mabel could now picture to 
 herself, through her recollections, with its hidden, glassy 
 lakes, its dark, rolling streams, and its world of nature ! 
 
 Turning from this view, our heroine felt her cheek 
 fanned by a fresh and grateful breeze, such as she had not 
 experienced since quitting the far-distant coast. Here a 
 new scene presented itself; although expected, it was not 
 without a start, and a low exclamation indicative of pleas- 
 are, that the eager eyes of the girl drank in its beauties, 
 
THE PATHFINDER. Ill 
 
 To the north, and east, and west, in every direction, in 
 short, over one entire half of the novel panorama, lay a 
 Held of rolling waters. The element was neither of that 
 glassy green which distinguishes the American waters in 
 general, nor yet of the deep-blue of the ocean ; the color 
 being of a slightly amber hue, that scarcely affected its 
 limpidity. No land was to be seen, with the exception of 
 the adjacent coast, which stretched to the right and left, 
 in an unbroken outline of forest, with wide bays, and low 
 headlands or points ; still, much of the shore was rocky, 
 and into its caverns the sluggish waters occasionally rolled, 
 producing a hollow sound, that resembled the concussions 
 of a distant gun. No sail whitened the surface, no whale 
 or other fish gamboled on its bosom, no sign of use or 
 service rewarded the longest and most minute gaze at its 
 boundless expanse. It was a scene, on one side, of ap 
 parently endless forests, while a waste of seemingly in 
 terminable water spread itself on the other. Nature had 
 appeared to delight in producing grand effects, by setting 
 two of her principal agents in bold relief to each other, 
 neglecting details ; the eye turning from the broad carpet 
 of leaves to the still broader field of fluid, from the endless 
 but gentle heavings of the lake, to the holy calm and poet 
 ical solitude of the forest, with wonder and delight. 
 
 Mabel Dunham, though unsophisticated, like most of her 
 countrywomen of that period, arid ingenuous and frank as 
 any warm-hearted and sincere-minded girl well could be, 
 was not altogether without a feeling for the poetry of this 
 beautiful earth of ours. Although she could scarcely be 
 said to be educated at all, for few of her sex, at that day, 
 md in this country, received much more than the rudiments 
 of plain English instruct) -m, still she had been taught much 
 more than was usual for young women in her own station 
 in life, and, in one sense certainly, she did credit to her 
 teaching. The widow of a field-officer, who formerly be 
 longed to the same regiment as KeTTather, had taken th 
 child in charge at the death of its mother ; and under t 
 care of this lady, Mabel had acquired some tastes, an 
 many ideas, which otherwise might always have remain 
 
112 THE PATHFINDER. 
 
 strangers to her. Her situation in the family had :ieen 
 less that of a domestic than of an humble companion, and 
 the results were quite apparent in her attire, her language, 
 her sentiments, and even in her feelings, though neither 
 perhaps, rose to the level of those which would properly 
 characterize a lady. She had lost the coarser and less 
 refined habits and manners of one in her original position, 
 wilhou*. having quite reached a point that disqualified her 
 I for the situation in life that the accidents of birth and 
 fortune would probably compel her to fill. All else that 
 was distinctive and peculiar in her, belonged to natural 
 character. 
 
 /^^With such antecedents, it will occasion the reader no 
 / wonder if he learn that Mabel viewed the novel scene 
 / before her with a pleasure far superior to that produced by 
 L vulgar surprise. She felt its ordinary beauties as most 
 would have felt them, but she had also a feeling for its sub 
 limity ; for that softened solitude, that calm grandeur and 
 eloquent repose, that ever pervade broad views of natural 
 objects which are yet undisturbed by the labors and strug 
 gles of man. 
 
 " How beautiful ! " she exclaimed, unconscious of speak 
 ing, as she stood on the solitary bastion, facing the air from 
 the lake, and experiencing the genial influence of its fresh 
 ness pervading both her body and her mind. " How very 
 beautiful ; and yet how singular ! " 
 
 The words, and the train of her ideas, were interrupted 
 by a touch of a finger on her shoulder, and turning, in the 
 expectation of seeing her father, Mabel found Pathfinder at 
 ber side. He was leaning quietly on his long rifle, and 
 laughing in his quiet manner, while, with an outstretched 
 #rm, he swept over the whole panorama of land and water. 
 " Here you have both our domains," he said, " Jasper s 
 and mine. The lake is for him, and the woods are for me. 
 The lad sometimes boasts of the breadth of his dominions, 
 but I tell him my trees make as broad a plain on the face 
 of this arth, as all his water. Well, Mabel, you are fit for 
 cither, for I do not see that fear of the Mingos, or night 
 marches, can destroy your pretty looks," 
 
THE PATHFINDER. 113 
 
 u It is a new character for the Pathfinder to appear in, 
 to compliment a silly girl." 
 
 " Not silly, Mabel ; no, not in the least silly. The ser 
 geant s daughter would do discredit to her worthy father, 
 were she to do or say anything that, in common honesty, 
 could be called silly," 
 
 " Then she must take care and not put too much faith 
 in treacherous, flattering words. But, Pathfinder, I rejoice 
 to see you among us again ; for, though Jasper did not 
 seem to feel much uneasiness, I was afraid some accident 
 might have happened to you and your friend, on that fright 
 ful rift." 
 
 " The lad knows us both, and was sartain that we should 
 not drown, which is scarcely one of my gifts. It would 
 have been hard swimming, of a sartainty, with a long-bar 
 reled rifle in the hand ; and what between the game, and 
 the savages, and the French, Killdeer and I have gone 
 through too much in company, to part very easily. No, 
 no ; we waded ashore, the rift being shallow enough for 
 that, with small exceptions, and we landed with our arms in 
 our hands. We had to take our time for it, on account of 
 the Iroquois, I will own ; but, as soon as the skulking vaga 
 bonds saw the lights that the sergeant sent down to your 
 canoe, we well understood they would decamp, since a visit 
 might have been expected from some of the garrison. So 
 it was only sitting patiently on the stones, for an hour, and 
 all the danger was over. Patience is the greatest of virtue* 
 in a woodsman." 
 
 "I rejoice to hear this, for fatigue itself could scaicely 
 make me sleep, for thinking of what might befall you." 
 
 " Lord bless your tender little heart, Mabel ! But this is 
 ue way with all your gentle ones. I must say, on my part, 
 however, that I was right glad to see the lanterns come 
 ;1own to the water-side, which I Knew to be a sure sign of 
 your safety. \Ve hunters and guides are rude beings, but 
 v r e have our feelin s, our idees, as well as any giniral in the 
 Hrmy. Both Jasper and I would have died, before you 
 should have come to harm, we would." 
 
 " I thank you for all you did for me, Pathfinder ; from 
 8 
 
114 THE PATHFINDER. 
 
 the bottom of my heart, I thank you, and depend on it my 
 father shall know it. I have already told him much, but 
 still have a duty to perform on this subject." 
 
 " Tush, Mabel ! The sergeant knows what the woods 
 be, and what men, true red-men be, too. There is little 
 need to tell him anything about it. Well, now you have 
 met your father, do you find the kouest old soldier the sort 
 of person you expected to find ? " 
 
 " He is my own dear father, and received me as a soldier 
 And a father should receive a child. Have you known him 
 long Pathfinder?" 
 
 * That is as people count time. I was just twelve when 
 the sergeant took me on my first scouting, and that is now 
 more than twenty years ago. We had a tramping time of 
 it, and as it was before your day, you would have had no 
 father, had not the rifle been one of my nat ral gifts." 
 
 " Explain yourself ! " 
 
 " It is too simple for many words. We were ambushed, 
 and the sergeant got a bad hurt and would have lost his 
 scalp, but for a sort of inbred turn I took to the weapon. 
 We brought him off, however, and a handsomer head of 
 hair, for his time of life, is not to be found in the rijiment 
 than the sergeant carries about with him, this blessed day." 
 
 " You saved my father s life, Pathfinder ? " exclaimed 
 Mabel, unconsciously, though warmly, taking one of his 
 hard sinewy hands into both her own. " God bless you 
 for this, too, among your other good acts." 
 
 " Nay, I did not say that much, though I believe I did 
 gave his scalp. A man might live without a scalp, and so 1 
 tannot say I saved his life. Jasper may say that much con- 
 san ing you ; for without his eye and arm the canoe would 
 iiever have passed the rift in safety on a night like the last. 
 The gifts of the lad are for the water, while mine are for 
 .he hunt and the trail. He is yonder in the cove, there, 
 looking after the canoes, and keeping an eye on his beloved 
 little craft. To my eye there is no likelier youth in these 
 parts than Jasper Western." 
 
 For the first time since she had left her room, Mabel now 
 turned her eyes beneath her, and got a view of what might 
 
THE FATHFINDER. 115 
 
 be called the foreground of the remarkable picture she had 
 been studying with so much pleasure. The Oswego threw 
 its dark waters into the lake between banks of some height ; 
 that on its eastern side being bolder arid projecting further 
 north than that on its western. The fort was on the latter, 
 and immediately beneath it were a few huts of logs, which 
 as they could not interfere with the defense of the place., 
 had been erected along the strand for the purpose of receiv 
 ing and containing such stores as were landed or were in 
 tended to be embarked in the communications between the 
 different ports on the shores of Ontario. There were two 
 low, curved gravelly points that had been formed with sur 
 prising regularity by the counteracting forces of the north 
 erly winds and the swift current, and which, inclining from 
 the storms of the lake, formed two coves within the river. 
 That on the western side was the most deeply indented, and 
 as it also had the most water, it formed a sort of picturesque 
 little port for the post. It was along the narrow strand 
 that lay between the low height of the fort and the water 
 of this cove, that the rude buildings just mentioned had 
 been erected. 
 
 Several skiffs, batteaux, and canoes were hauled up on 
 the shore, and in the cove itself lay the little craft, from 
 which Jasper obtained his claim to be considered a sailor. 
 She was cutter-rigged, might have been of forty tons bur 
 den, was so neatly constructed and painted as to have some 
 thing of the air of a vessel of war, though entirely without 
 quarters, and rigged and sparred with so scrupulous a regard 
 U> proportions and beauty, as well as fitness and judgment, 
 as to give her an appearance that even Mabel at once dis 
 tinguished to be gallant and trim. Her irould was admi 
 rable, for a wright of great skill had sent her drafts fron, 
 England at the express request of the officer ivho hao 
 nused her to be constructed ; her paint dark, warlike, ana 
 neat ; and the long coach-whip pennant that she wore at 
 once proclaimed her to be the property of the king. Hei 
 name was the Scud. 
 
 k - That, then, is the vessel of Jasper ! " said Mabel, who 
 associ-Ued the master of the little craft quite naturally with 
 the cutter itself. " Are there many others on this lake? " 
 
116 THE PATHFINDER. 
 
 " The Frenchers have three ; one of which they tell me 
 is a real ship, such as are used on the ocean, another a brig, 
 and a third is a cutter like the Scud, here, which they call 
 the Squirrel, in their own tongue, however ; and which 
 seems to have a natural hatred of our own pretty boat, for 
 Jasper seldom goes out that the Squirrel is not at his 
 heels." 
 
 " And is Jasper one to run from a Frenchman, though he 
 appears in the shape of a squirrel, and that, too, on the 
 wuter ! " 
 
 " Of what use would valor be without the means of turn 
 ing it to account ? Jasper is a brave boy, as all on this 
 frontier know ; but he has no gun except a little howitzer, 
 and then his crew consists only of two men besides himself, 
 and a boy. I was with him in one of his trampooses, and 
 the youngster was risky enough, for he brought us so near 
 the enemy that rifles began to talk ; but the Frenchers 
 carry cannon, and ports, and never show their faces outside 
 of Frontenac without having some twenty men, besides their 
 Squirrel, in their cutter. No, no ; this Scud was built for 
 flying, and the major says he will not put her in a fighting 
 humor by giving her men and arms, lest she should take 
 him at his word and get her wings clipped. I know little 
 of these things, for my gifts are not at all in that way ; 
 but I see the reason of the thing I see its reason, though 
 Jasper does not." 
 
 " Ah ! here is my uncle, none the worse for his swim, 
 coming to look at this inland sea." 
 
 Sure enough, Cap, who had announced his approach by 
 a couple of lusty hems, now made his appearance on the 
 bastion, where, after nodding to his niece and her compan 
 ion, he made a deliberate survey of the expanse of wate: 
 Defore him. In order to effect this at his ease, the mariner 
 mounted on one of the old iron guns, folded his arms across 
 his breast, and balanced his body, as if he felt the motion 
 of a vessel. To complete the picture, he had a short pipe 
 in his mouth. 
 
 "Well, Master Cap," asked the Pathfinder innocently 
 for he did not detect the expression of contempt that vai 
 
THE PATHFINDER. 117 
 
 gradually settling on the features of the other, " is it not a 
 beautiful sheet, and fit to be named a sea ? " 
 
 " This, then, is what you call your lake ? " demanded 
 Cap, sweeping the northern horizon with his pipe. " I say, 
 is this, really, your lake ? " 
 
 " Sartain ; and, if the judgment of one who has lived on 
 the shores of many others can be taken, a very good lake 
 it is." 
 
 " Just as I expected ! A pond in dimensions, and a scut- 
 de-butt in taste. It is all iii vain to travel inland, in the 
 hope of seeing anything either full-grown or useful. I knew 
 it would turn out just in this way." 
 
 " What is the matter with Ontario, Master Cap ? It is 
 large, and fair to look at, and pleasant enough to drink, for 
 those who can t get at the water of the springs." 
 
 " Do you call this large ? " asked Cap, again sweeping 
 the air with the pipe. " I will just ask you what there is 
 large about it ? Didn t Jasper himself confess that it was 
 only some twenty leagues from shore to shore ? " 
 
 " But uncle," interposed Mabel, " no laud is to be seen, 
 except here on our own coast. To me it looks exactly like 
 the ocean." 
 
 " This bit of a pond look like the ocean ! Well, Magnet, 
 that from a girl who has had real seamen in her family is 
 downright nonsense. What is there about it, pray, that has 
 even the outline of a sea on it ? " 
 
 " Why, there is water water water ; nothing but 
 water, for miles on miles, far as the eye can see." 
 
 " And isn t there water water water, nothing but 
 water, for miles on miles, in your rivers, that you have been 
 canoeing through, too ? aye, and * as far as the eye can see, 
 ID the bargain ? " 
 
 " Yes, uncle, but the rivers have their banks, and there 
 *re trees along tljem, and they are narrow." 
 
 u And isn t this a bank where we stand ; don t these sol 
 diers call this the bank of the lake, and aren t there trees iii 
 thousands, and aren t twenty leagues narrow enough of all 
 conscience ? Who the devil ever heard of the banks of the 
 ocean, unless it might be the banks that are under lht< 
 water ? " 
 
118 THE PATHFINDER. 
 
 " But, uncle, we cannot see across this /ake, as we can 
 gee across a river." 
 
 " There you are out, Magnet. Aren t the Amazon, and 
 Oronoco, and La Plata rivers, and can you see across them ? 
 Harkee, Pathfinder, I very much doubt if this stripe of 
 water here be even a lake ; for to me it appears to be only 
 a river. You are by no means particular about your geog 
 raphy, I find, up here in the woods." 
 
 There you are out. Master Cap. There is a river, and 
 a noble one too, at each end of it ; but this is old Ontario 
 before you, and, though it is not my .gift to live on a lake, 
 to my judgment there are few better than this." 
 
 " And, uncle, if we stood on the beach at Rockaway, 
 what more should we see, than we now behold ? There is 
 a shore on one side, or banks there, and trees, too, as well 
 as those which are here." 
 
 " This is perverseness, Magnet, and young girls should 
 steer clear of anything like obstinacy. In the first place, 
 the ocean has coasts, but no banks, except the Grand Banks, 
 as I tell you, which are out of sight of land ; and you will 
 not pretend that this bank is out of sight of land, or even 
 under water ! " 
 
 As Mabel could not very plausibly set up this extrav 
 agant opinion, Cap pursued the subject, his countenance 
 beginning to discover the triumph of a successful dispu- 
 iant. 
 
 " And tnen them trees bear no comparison to these trees. 
 The coasts of the ocean have farms, and cities, and country- 
 seats, and, in some parts of the world, castles and monaster 
 ies, and light-houses aye, aye, light-houses, in particular, 
 on them ; not one of all which things is to be seen here. 
 No, no, Master Pathfinder, I never heard of an ocean that 
 hadn t more or less light-houses on it, whereas, here-away, 
 there is not even a beacon." 
 
 " There is what is better there s what is oelier : a for 
 est and noble trees, a fit temple of God." 
 
 " Aye, your forest may do for a lake, but of what use 
 would an ocean be, if the earth all around it were forest ? 
 Ships would be unnecessary, as timber might be floated in 
 
THE PATHFINDER. US 
 
 rafts, and there would be an end of trade, and what would 
 a world be without trade ! I am of that philosopher s opin 
 ion who says human nature was invented for the purposes 
 of trade. Magnet, I am astonished that you should think 
 this water even looks like sea-water ! Now, J dare say 
 that there isn t such a thing as a whale in all your lake, 
 Master Pathfinder ! " 
 
 " I never heard of one, I will confess, but I am no judge 
 of animals that live in the water, unless it be the fishes of 
 the rivers and brooks." 
 
 " Nor a grampus, nor a porpoise even ; not so much as a 
 poor devil of a shark ? " 
 
 " I will not take it on myself to say there is either. My 
 gifts are not in that way, I tell you, Master Cap." 
 
 " Nor herring, nor albatross, nor flying-fish," continued 
 Cap, who kept his eye fastened on the guide, in order to 
 see how far he might venture. " No such thing as a fish 
 that can fly, I dare say ? " 
 
 " A fish that can fly ! Master Cap Master Cap, do 
 not think because we are mere borderers, that we have no 
 idees of natur , and what she has been pleased to do. 1 
 know there are squirrels that can fly " 
 
 " A squirrel fly ? the devil, Master Pathfinder ! Do you 
 suppose that you have got a boy on his first v y ge, up here 
 among you ? " 
 
 " I know nothing of your v y ges, Master Cap, though I 
 suppose them to have been many ; but, as for what belongs 
 to natur in the woods, what I have seen I may tell, and 
 not fear the face of man." 
 
 " And do you wish me to understand that you have seen 
 
 squirrel fly ? " 
 
 " If you wish to understand the power of God, Master 
 .ap, you will do well to believe that, and many other things 
 uf a like natur , for you may be quite sartain it is true." 
 
 " And yet, Pathfinder," said Mabel, looking so pretty 
 ind sweet even while she played with the guide s infirmity, 
 that he forgave her in his heart, " you, who speak so rever 
 ently of the power of the Deity, appear to doubt that a fish 
 oan fly ? " 
 
120 THE PATHFINDER. 
 
 " I have not said it I have not said it ; and if 
 Cap is ready to testify to the fact, unlikely as it seems, J 
 am willing to try to think it true. I think it every 
 man s duty to believe in the power of God, however diffi 
 cult it may be." 
 
 " And why isn t my fish as likely to have wings as your 
 squirrel ? " demanded Cap, with more logic than was his 
 wont. " That fishes do and can fly, is as true as it is rea 
 Bonable " 
 
 Nay, that is the only difficulty in believing the story " 
 rejoined the guide. " It seems onreasonable to give an 
 animal that lives in the water wings, which seemingly can 
 be of no use to them." 
 
 " And do you suppose that the fishes are such asses as to 
 fly about under water, when they are once fairly fitted out 
 with wings ? " 
 
 " Nay, I know nothing of the matter, but that fish should 
 fly in the air seems more contrary to natur still, than that 
 \ they should fly in their own quarters ; that in which they 
 i were born and brought up, as one might say." 
 
 " So much for contracted ideas, Magnet. The fish fly 
 out of water to run away from their enemies in the water ; 
 o-ud there you see not only the fact but the reason for it." 
 
 " Then I suppose it must be true," said the guide, quietly. 
 - How long are their flights ? " 
 
 " Not quite as far as those of pigeons, perhaps, but far 
 enough to make an offing. As for those squirrels of yours, 
 we ll say no more about them, friend Pathfinder, as J sup 
 pose they were mentioned just as a make-weight to the fish 
 in favor of the woods. But what is this thing, anchored 
 aere under the hill ? " 
 
 " That is the cutter of Jasper, uncle," said Mabel, hur 
 riedly ; " and a very pretty vessel I think it is. Its name ; 
 too, is the Scud." 
 
 " Aye, it will do well enough for a lake, perhaps, but it s 
 DO great affair. The lad has got a standing bowsprit, and 
 who ever saw a cutter with a landing bowsprit before ! " 
 
 " But may there not be some good reason for it, on 
 i*ke like this, uncle ?" 
 
THE PATHFINDER. 121 
 
 " Sure enough ; I must remember this is not the ocean, 
 though ft does look so much like it." 
 
 " Ah ! uncle, then Ontario does look like the ocean, after 
 all I " 
 
 " In your eyes, I mean, and those of Pathfinder ; not in 
 the least in mine, Magnet. Now you might set me down 
 out yonder, in the middle of this bit of a pond, and that too 
 in the darkest night that ever fell from the heavens, and in 
 the smallest canoe, and I could tell you it was only a lake. 
 For that matter the Dorothy " the name of his vessel 
 " would find it out as quick as I could myself. I do not 
 believe that brig would make more chan a couple of short 
 stretches at the most, before she would perceive the differ 
 ence between Ontario and the old Atlantic. I once took 
 her down into one of the large South American bays, and 
 she behaved herself as awkwardly as a booby would in a 
 church, with the congregation in a hurry. And Jasper sails 
 that boat ? I must have a cruise with the lad, Magnet, be 
 fore I quit you, just for the name of the thing. It would 
 never do to say I got in sight of this pond, and went away 
 without taking a trip on it." 
 
 "Well, well, you needn t wait long for that," returned 
 Pathfinder; "for the sergeant is about to embark with a 
 party, to relieve a post among the Thousand Islands; and, 
 as I heard him say he intended that Mabel should go along, 
 you can join company too." 
 
 " Is this true, Magnet ? " 
 
 " I believe it is," returned the girl, a flush so imperceptible 
 as to escape the observation of her companions, glowing on 
 her cheeks, " though I have had so little opportunity to talk 
 with my dear father, that I am not quite certain. Here he 
 comes, however, and you can inquire .of himself." 
 
 Notwithstanding his humble rank, there was something 
 in the mien arid character of Sergeant Dunham that com 
 manded respect. Of a tall, imposing figure, gra^e and 
 saturnine disposition, and accurate and precise in his acts 
 %nd manner of thinking, even Cap. dogmatical and super 
 cilious as he usually was with landsmen, did not presume to 
 take the same liberties with the old soldier as he did with 
 
122 THE PATHFINDER. 
 
 his other friends. It was often remaiked that Sergeam 
 Dunham received more true respect from Duncan of Lun 
 die, the Sojtch laird who commanded the post, than mosi 
 of the subalterns ; for experience and tried services were 
 of quite as much value in the eyes of a veteran major, aa 
 birth and money. While the sergeant never even hoped to 
 rise any higher, he so far respected himself and his present 
 station, as always to act in a way to command attention ; 
 and the habit of mixing so much with inferiors, whose 
 passions and dispositions he felt it necessary to restrain by 
 distance and dignity, had so far colored his whole deport 
 ment that few were altogether free from its influence. 
 While the captains treated him kindly, and as an old com 
 rade, the lieutenants seldom ventured to dissent from his 
 military opinions ; and the ensigns, it was remarked, actually 
 manifested a species of respect that amounted to something 
 very like deference. It is no wonder then that the an 
 nouncement of Mabel put a sudden termination to the 
 singular dialogue we have just related, though it had been 
 often observed that the Pathfinder was the only man on 
 that frontier, beneath the condition of a gentleman, who 
 presumed to treat the sergeant at all as an equal, or even 
 with the cordial familiarity of a friend. 
 
 " Good morrow, brother Cap," said the sergeant, giving 
 the military salute, as he walked in a grave, stately manner 
 on the bastion. " My morning duty has made me seem 
 forgetful of you and Mabel, but we have now an hour or 
 two to spare, and to get acquainted. Do you not perceive, 
 brother, a strong likeness in the girl to her we have so long 
 
 " Mabel is the image of her mother, sergeant, as I nave 
 always said, with a little of your firmer figure ; though for 
 that matter the Caps were never wanting in spring and 
 *cthity." 
 
 Mabel cast a timid glance at the stern, rigid countenance 
 of her father, of whom she had ever thought as the warm 
 hearted dwell on the affection of their absent parents, and, 
 as she saw that the muscles of his face were working, not 
 withstanding the stiffness and method of his manner, lie? 
 
THE PATHFINDER. 123 
 
 irery heart yearned to throw herself on his bosom, and to 
 weep at will. But he was so much colder in externals, so 
 much more formal and distant than she had expected to find 
 s him, that she would not have dared to hazard the freedom, 
 even had they been alone. 
 
 " Yo i have taken a long and troublesome journey, 
 brother, on my account, and we will try to make you com 
 fort able while you stay among us." 
 
 "I hear you are likely to receive orders to lift your 
 anchor, sergeant, and to shift your berth into a part of the 
 world where they say there are a thousand islands ? " 
 
 " Pathfinder, this is some of your forgetfulness ? " 
 
 "Nay, nay, sergeant; I forgot nothing, but it did hot 
 seem to me necessary to hide your intentions so very closely 
 from your own flesh and blood." 
 
 " All military movements ought to be made with as little 
 conversation as possible," returned the sergeant, tapping the 
 guide s shoulder, in a friendly, but reproachful manner. 
 " You have passed too much of your life in front of the 
 French, not to know the value of silence. But, no matter ; 
 the thing must soon be known, and there is no great use in 
 trying, now, to conceal it. We shall embark a relief party, 
 shortly, for a post on the lake, though I do not say it is for 
 the Thousand Islands, and I may have to go with it ; in 
 which case I intend to take Mabel to make my broth for 
 me, and I hope, brother, you will not despise a soldier s fare, 
 for a month or so." 
 
 " That will depend on the manner of marching. I have 
 no love for woods and swamps." 
 
 " We shall sail in the Scud ; and, indeed, the whole 
 service, which is no stranger to us, is likely enough to 
 please one accustomed to the water." 
 
 " Aye, to salt water, if you will, but not to lake water. 
 If you have no person to handle that bit of a cutter for 
 you, I have no objection to ship for the v y ge, notwith 
 standing, though I shall look on the whole affair as so much 
 time thrown away ; for I consider it an hnposition to call 
 ailing about this pond, going to sea." 
 
 tt Jasper is every way able to marage the Scud, brothel 
 
124 THE PATHFINDER. 
 
 Cap, and in that light I cannot say that we have need of 
 your services, though we shall be glad of your company 
 You cannot return to the settlements until a party is sent 
 in, and that is not likely to happen until after my return. 
 Well, Pathfinder, this is the first time I ever knew men on 
 tlie trail of the Miiigos, and you not at their head ! " 
 
 " To be honest with you, sergeant," returned the guide, 
 uoc without a little awkwardness of manner, and a percep 
 tible difference in the hue of a face that had become so 
 uniformly red by exposure, " I have not felt that it was my 
 gift, this morning. In the first place, I very well know 
 that the soldiers of the 55th are not the lads to overtake 
 Iroquois in the woods, and the knaves did not wait to be 
 surrounded, when they knew that Jasper had reached the 
 garrison. Then, a man may take a little rest, after a sum 
 mer of hard work, and no impeachment of his good will. 
 Besides, the Sarpent is out with them, and if the miscreants 
 are to be found at all, you may trust to his inmity and 
 sight : the first being stronger, arid the last nearly, if not 
 quite, as good as my own. He loves the skulking vaga 
 bonds as little as myself ; and, for that matter, I may say 
 that my own feelin s towards a Mingo are not much more 
 than the gifts of a Delaware grafted on a Christian stock. 
 No, no ; I thought I would leave the honor, this time, if 
 honor there is to be, to the young ensign that commands, 
 who, if he don t lose his scalp, may boast of his campaign 
 in his letters to his mother, when he gets in. I thought I 
 would play idler once in my life." 
 
 " And no one has a better right, if long and faithful ser 
 vice entitles a man to a furlough," returned the sergeant 
 Kindly. " Mabel will think none the worse of you, for pre 
 ferring her company to the trail of the savages ; and, I dare 
 say, will be happy to give you a part of her breakfast, if 
 you are inclined to eat. You must not think, girl, however, 
 that the Pathfinder is in the habit of letting prowlers around 
 the fort beat a retreat, without hearing the crack of hi? 
 rifle." 
 
 " If I thought she did, sergeant, though not mu ch given 
 to showy and parade evolutions, I would shoulder Killdeer 
 
THE PATHFINDER. 125 
 
 and quit the garrison before her pretty eyes hud time 
 to frown. No, no ; Mabel knows me better, though we 
 are but new acquaintances, for there has been no want of 
 Mingos to enliven the short march we have already made 
 in company." 
 
 " It would need a great deal of testimony, Pathfinder, to 
 make me think ill of you in any way, and more than ail in 
 the way you mention," returned Mabel, coloring with the 
 sincere earnestness with which she endeavored to remove 
 any suspicion to the contrary from his mind. " Both father 
 and daughter, I believe, owe you their lives, and believe me 
 tJxat neither will ever forget it." 
 
 " Thank you, Mabel, thank you with all my heart. But 
 I will not take advantage of your ignorance neither, girl, 
 and therefore shall say I do not think the Mingos would 
 have hurt a hair of your head, had they succeeded by their 
 deviltries and contrivances in getting you into their hands. 
 My scalp, and Jasper s, and Master Cap s, there, and the 
 Sarpent s too, would sartainly have been smoked ; but as 
 for the sergeant s daughter, I do not think they would have 
 hurt a hair of her head ! " 
 
 " And why should I suppose that enemies known to spare 
 neither women nor children, would have shown more mercy 
 to me than to another ? I feel, Pathfinder, that I owe you 
 my life." 
 
 u I say nay, Mabel ; they wouldn t have had the heart to 
 hurt you. No, not even a fiery Mingo devil would have 
 had the heart to hurt a hair of your head ! Bad as I sus 
 pect the vampires to be, I do not suspect them of anything 
 so wicked as that. They might have wished you nay, 
 forced you to become the wife of one of their chiefs, and 
 t int would be torment enough to a Christian young woman ; 
 but beyond that I do not think even the Mingos themselves 
 woi.ld have gone." 
 
 u Well, then, I shall owe my escape from this great mis 
 fortune to you," said Mabel, taking his hand into her own, 
 frankly and cordially, and certainly in a way to delight the 
 honest guide. "To me it would be a lighter evil to be 
 killed, than to become the wife of an Indian." 
 
126 THE PATHFINDER. 
 
 " That is her gift, sergeant," exclaimed Pathfinder, turn 
 ing to his old comrade, with gratification written on every 
 lineament of his honest countenance, " and it will have its 
 way. I tell the Sarpent, that no Christianizing will ever 
 make even a Delaware a white man ; nor any whooping 
 and yelling convart a pale-face into a red-skin. That is 
 the gift of a young woman born of Christian parents, and 
 it ought to be maintained." 
 
 " You are right, Pathfinder ; and so far as Mabel 
 Dunham is concerned, it shall be maintained. But it is 
 time to break your fasts, and if you will follow me, brother 
 Cap, I will show you how we poor soldiers live, here on 
 distant frontier." 
 
THE PATHFINDER. 127 
 
 CHAPTER IX. 
 
 Now my co-mates and partners in exile, 
 Hath not old custom made this life more sweet 
 Than that of painted pomp ? Are not these wooda 
 More free from peril than the curious court ? 
 Here feel we but the penalty of Adam. 
 
 As You LIKE IT. 
 
 SERGEANT DUNHAM made no empty vaunt when he 
 gave the promise conveyed in the closing words of the last 
 chapter. Notwithstanding the remote frontier position of 
 the post, they who lived at it enjoyed a table that, in many 
 respects, kings and princes might have envied. /At the 
 period of our tale, and indeed for half a century later, the 
 whole of that vast region which has been called the West, or 
 the new countries, since the war of the Revolution, lay a 
 comparatively unpeopled desert, teeming with all the living 
 productions of nature that properly belonged to the climate, 
 man and the domestic animals excepted. The few Indians 
 that roamed its forests then could produce no visible effects 
 on the abundance of the game ; and the scattered garrisons, 
 or occasional hunters that here and there were to be met 
 with on that vast surface, had no other influence than the 
 bee on the buckwheat field, or the humming-bird on the 
 flnver. / 
 
 The marvels that have descended to our own times, in the 
 wuy of tradition, concerning the quantities of blasts, birds, 
 and fiahes, that were then to be met with, on the shoies of 
 the Great Lakes in particular, are known to be sustained by 
 the experience of living men, else we might hesitate about 
 relating them ; but having been eye-witnesses of some of 
 hese prodigies, our office shall be discharged with the con- 
 Qdence that certainty can impart Oswego was particularly 
 veil placed to keep the larder of an epicure amply supplied 
 
128 THE PATHFINDER. 
 
 Fish of various s)rts abounded in its river, and the sports 
 man had only to cast his line to haul in a bass, or some 
 other member of the finny tribe, which then peopled the 
 waters, as the air above the swamps of this fruitful latitude 
 is known to be filled with insects. Among others was the 
 salmon of the lakes, a variety of that well known species 
 that is scarcely inferior to the delicious salmon of northern 
 Europe. Of the difFeient migratory birds that frequent 
 forests and waters, there was the same affluence, hundreds 
 of acres of geese and ducks being often seen at a time, in the 
 great bays that indent the shores of the lake. Deer, bears, 
 rabbits, and squirrels, with divers other quadrupeds, among 
 which was sometimes included the elk or moose, helped to 
 complete the sum of the natural supplies, on which all the 
 posts depended, more or less, to relieve the unavoidable pri 
 vations of their remote frontier positions. 
 
 In a place where viands that would elsewhere be deemed 
 great luxuries were so abundant, no one was excluded from 
 their enjoyment. The meanest individual at Oswego habit 
 ually feasted on game that would have formed the boast of 
 a Parisian table ; and it was no more than a healthful com 
 mentary on the caprices of taste and of the waywardness 
 of human desires, that the very diet which in other scenes 
 would have been deemed the subject of envy and repinings, 
 got to pall on the appetite. The coarse and regular food 
 of the army, which it became necessary to husband on ac 
 count of the difficulty of transportation, rose in the estima 
 tion of the common soldier, and at any time he would cheer 
 fully desert his venison, and ducks, and pigeons, and salmon, 
 to banquet on the sweets of pickled pork, stringy turnips, 
 and half-cooked cabbage. 
 
 The table of Sergeant Dunham, as a matter of course, 
 partook of the abundance and luxuries of the frontier as 
 well as of its privations. A delicious broiled salmon 
 imoked on a homely platter, hot venison steaks sent up 
 their appetizing odors, and several dishes of cold meats, ail 
 of which were composed of game, had been set before the 
 guests in honor of the newly arrived visitors, and in vindi 
 cation of the old soldier s hospitality. 
 
TliE 1 ATHFINDER. 129 
 
 44 You do not seern to be 011 short allowance in this quar 
 ter of the world, sergeant," said Cap, after he had got fairly 
 initiated into the mysteries of the different dishes ; " your 
 salmon might satisfy a Scotsman." 
 
 " It fails to do it, notwithstanding, brother Cap ; for 
 among two or three hundred of the fellows that we have IL 
 this garrison, there are not half a dozen who will not swear 
 that the fish is unfit to be eaten. Even some of the lads 
 who never tasted venison, except as poachers, at home, turn 
 up their noses at the fattest haunches that we get here." 
 
 " Aye, that is Christian natur , put in Pathfinder, " and I 
 must say it is none to its credit. Now, a red-skin never 
 repines, but is always thankful for the food he gets, whether 
 it be fat or lean, venison or bear, wild turkey s breast or 
 wild goose s wing. To the shame of us white men be it said 
 that we look upon blessings without satisfaction, and consider 
 trifling evils matters of great account." 
 
 " It is so with the 55th, as I can answer, though I cannot 
 say as much for their Christianity," returned the sergeant. 
 tt Even the major himself, old Duncan of Lundie, will some 
 times swear an oatmeal cake is better fare than the Oswego 
 bass, and sigh for a swallow of Highland water, when, if 
 so minded, he has the whole of Ontario to quench his thirsi, 
 in." 
 
 " Has Major Duncan a wife and children ? " asked Mabel, 
 whose thoughts naturally turned towards her own sex in her 
 new situation. 
 
 " Not he, girl ; though they do say that he has a betrothed 
 at home. The lady, it seems, is willing to wait rather than 
 tuffer the hardships of service in this wild region, all of 
 which, brother Cap, is not according to my notions of a 
 woman s duties. Your sister thought differently, and had 
 it pleased God to spare her would have been sitting at this 
 moment on the very camp-stool that her daughter so well 
 becomes." 
 
 " I hope, sergeant, you do not think of Mabel for a sol- 
 uier s wife," returned Cap. gravely. " Our family has done 
 its share in that way already, and it s high time that the sea 
 was again remembered." 
 
130 THE PATHFINDER. 
 
 u I do not think of finding a husband for the girl in the 
 55th, or any other regiment, I can promise you, brother 
 though I do think it getting to be time that the child were 
 respectably married." 
 
 Father ! " 
 
 " Tis not their gifts, sergeant, to talk of these matters n 
 so open a manner," said the guide, " for I ve seen it verified 
 by exper ence, that he who would follow the trail of a vir 
 gin s good-will must not go shouting out his thoughts behind 
 her. So, if you please, we will talk of something else." 
 
 " Well, then, brother Cap, I hope that bit of a cold roasted 
 pig is to your mind ; you seem to fancy the food." 
 
 " Aye, aye, give me civilized grub, if I must eat," returned 
 the pertinacious seaman. " Venison is well enough for your 
 inland sailors, but we of the ocean like a little of that which 
 we understand." 
 
 Here Pathfinder laid down his knife and fork, and in 
 dulged in a hearty laugh, though always in his silent manner ; 
 then he asked, with a little curiosity in his manner, 
 
 " Don t you miss the skin, Master Cap don t you miss 
 the skin ? " 
 
 " It would have been better for its jacket, I think myself, 
 Pathfinder; but I suppose it is a fashion of the woods to 
 serve up shoats in this style." 
 
 " Well, well, a man may go round the arth and not know 
 everything ! If you had had the skinning of that pig, Mas 
 ter Cap, it would have left you sore hands. The creatur is 
 a hedge-hog ! " 
 
 " Blast me, if I thought it wholesome natural pork, either," 
 returned Cap. " But then I believed even a pig might lose 
 dome of its good qualities, up here-away, in the woods. It 
 Bsemed no more than reason that a fresh-water hog should 
 DDt be altogether so good as a salt-water hog. I suppose 
 sergeant, by this time, it is all the same to you ! " 
 
 u If the sidnning of it, brother, does not fall to my duty 
 Pathfinder I hope you didn t find Mabel disobedient on the 
 march ? ** 
 
 " Not she not she. If Mabel is only half as well satis- 
 Bed with Jasper and the Pathfinder, as the Pathfinder and 
 
THE PATHFINDER. 181 
 
 Jasper art) satisfied with her, sergeant, we shall be friends for 
 the remainder of our days." 
 
 As the guide spoke, he turned his eyes towards the blush 
 ing girl, with a sort of innocent desire to know her opinion, 
 and then, with an inborn delicacy that proved he was far 
 superior to the vulgar desire to invade the sanctity of fena- 
 oine feeling, he looked at his plate, and seemed to regret his 
 own boldness. 
 
 " Well, well, we must remember that women are not men, 
 my friend," resumed the sergeant, " and make proper allow 
 ances for nature and education. A recruit is not a veteran. 
 Any man knows that it takes longer to make a good soldier 
 than it takes to make anything else ; and it ought to require 
 unusual time to make a good soldier s daughter." 
 
 " This is new doctrine, sergeant," said Cap, with some 
 spirit. " We old seamen are apt to think that six soldiers, 
 aye, and capital soldiers too, might be made, while one sailor 
 is getting his education." 
 
 " Aye, brother Cap, I ve seen something of the opinions 
 which seafaring men have of themselves," returned the 
 brother-in-law, with a smile as bland as comported with his 
 saturnine features ; " for I was many years one of the gar 
 rison in a sea-port. You and I have conversed on the sub 
 ject before, and I m afraid we shall never agree. But if 
 you wish to know what the difference is, between a real 
 soldier and man in what I should call a state of nature, you 
 have only to look at a battalion of the 55th, on parade this 
 afternoon, and then, when you get back to York, examine 
 one of the militia regiments making its greatest efforts." 
 
 " Well, to my eye, sergeant, there is very little difference, 
 mt more than you ll find between a brig and a snow. To 
 me they seem alike ; all scarlet, and feathers, and powder, 
 aiid pipe-clay." 
 
 " So much, sir, for the judgment of a sailor," returned 
 the sergeant with dignity ; " but perhaps you are not aware 
 that it requires a year to teach a true soldier how to eat." 
 
 " So much the worse for him ! The militia know how to 
 eat 1 1 starting ; for I have often heard that, on their marches, 
 they <ommonly eat all before them, even if they do nothing 
 else." 
 
132 THE PATHFINDER. 
 
 " They have their gifts, I suppose, like other men," ob 
 served Pathfinder, with a view to preserve the peace, which 
 was evidently in some danger of being broken, by the obsti 
 nate predilection of each of the disputants in favor of his 
 own calling ; " and when a man has his gift from Provi 
 dence, it is commonly idle to endeavor to bear up agin it. 
 The 55th, sergeant, is a judicious rijiment, in the way of 
 bating, as I know, from having been so long in its company 
 though I dare say militia corps could be found that would 
 outdo them in feats of that natur too." 
 
 " Uncle," said Mabel, " if you have breakfasted, I will thank 
 you to go out upon the bastion with me agam. We have 
 neither of us seen the lake, and it would be hardly seemly 
 for a young woman to be walking about the fort, the first 
 day of her arrival, quite alone." 
 
 Cap understood the motive of Mabel, and having, at the 
 bottom, a hearty friendship for his brother-in-law, he was 
 willing enough to defer the argument until they had been 
 longer together, for the idea of abandoning it altogether 
 never crossed the mind of one so dogmatical and obstinate. 
 He accordingly accompanied his niece, leaving Sergeant 
 Dunham and his friend, the Pathfinder, alone together. As 
 soon as his adversary had beaten a retreat, the sergeant, 
 who did not quite so well understand the manoeuvre of his 
 daughter, turned to his companion, and with a smile that was 
 not without triumph, he remarked, 
 
 "The army, Pathfinder, has never yet done itself justice; 
 and, though modesty Necomes a man whether he is in a red 
 coat or a black one, or, for that matter, in his shirt-sleeves, 
 I don t like to let a good opportunity slip of saying a word 
 in its behalf. Well, my friend," laying his own hand on one 
 of the Pathfinder s, and giving it a hearty squeeze, "ho^ 
 do you like the girl ? " 
 
 " You have reason to be proud of her, sergeant ; you 
 have reason to be proud at finding yourself the father of so 
 handsome and well-mannered a young woman. I have 
 seen many of her sex, and some that were great and beau 
 tiful, but never before did I meet with one, in whor 
 thought Providence had so well balanced the diffe* 
 gift*." 
 
THE PATHFINDER. 133 
 
 * An 1 tho good opinion, I can tell you, Pathfinder, is 
 mutual. She told me last night all about your coolness, 
 and spirit, and kindness, particularly the last; foi kindness 
 counts for more than half with females, my friend, and 
 the first inspection seems to give satisfaction on both sides. 
 Brush up the uniform, and pay a little more attention to 
 the outside, Pathfinder, and you will have the girl hea*t 
 and hand." 
 
 " Nay, nay, sergeant, I ve forgotten nothing that you 
 have told me, and grudge no reasonable pains to make 
 myself as pleasant in the eyes of Mabel, as she is getting to 
 be in mine. I cleaned and brightened up Killdeer, this 
 morning, as soon as the sun rose ; and, in my judgment, 
 the piece never looked better than it does at this very 
 moment ! " 
 
 " That is according to your hunting notions, Pathfinder ; 
 but fire-arms should sparkle and glitter in the sun, and I 
 never yet could see any beauty in a clouded barrel." 
 
 " Lord Howe thought otherwise, sergeant ; and he was 
 .^pcounted a good soldier ! " 
 
 " Very true ; his lordship had all the barrels of his regi 
 ment darkened, and what good came of it? You can see 
 his scutcheon hanging in the English church at Albany I 
 N&, no, my worthy friend, a soldier should be a soldier, 
 and at no time ought he to be ashamed or afraid to carry 
 about him the signs and symbols of his honorable trade. 
 Had you much discourse with Mabel, Pathfinder, as you 
 came along in the canoe ? " 
 
 " There was not much opportunity, sergeant, and then I 
 f ound myself so much beneath her in idees, that I was afraid 
 to speak of much beyond what belonged to my own gifts." 
 
 " Therein you are partly right and partly wrong, my 
 friend. Women love trifling discourse, though they like to 
 have most of it to themselves. Now, you know, I m a man 
 that do not loosen my tongue at every giddy thought, and 
 yet there were days when I could see that Mabel s mother 
 thought none the worse of me, because I descended a little 
 from ray manhood. It is true, I was twenty-two yeari 
 ir then, than I im to-day ; and, moreover, instead of 
 
 i See Appendix Note ii. 
 
134 THE PATHFINDER. 
 
 oeing the oldest sergeant in the regiment, I was the young 
 est. Dignity is commanding and useful, and there is no 
 getting on without it, as respects the men ; but if you 
 would be thoroughly esteemed by a woman, it is "necessary 
 to condescend a little, on occasions." 
 
 " Ah s me ! sergeant ; I sometimes fear it will nevei 
 do!" 
 
 " Why do you think so discouragingly of a matter on 
 which I thought both GUI minds were made up ? " 
 
 We did agree that if Mabel should prove what you told 
 nie she was, if the girl could fancy a rude hunter and guide, 
 that I would quit some of my wandering ways, and try tc 
 humanize my mind down to a wife and children. But 
 since I have seen the girl, I will own that many misgivings 
 have come over me ! " 
 
 " How s this ! " interrupted the sergeant, sternly ; " did 
 I not understand you to say that you were pleased ? And 
 is Mabel a young woman to disappoint expectation ? " 
 
 " Ah ! sergeant, it is not Mabel that I distrust, but my 
 self. I am but a poor ignorant woodsman, after all, and 
 perhaps I m not, in truth, as good as even you and I may 
 think me ! " 
 
 " If you doubt your own judgment of yourself, Path 
 finder, I beg you will not doubt mine. Am I not accus 
 tomed to judge men s characters ? Is it not my especial 
 duty, and am I often deceived ? Ask Major Duncan, sir, 
 if you desire any assurances in this particular." 
 
 " But, sergeant, we have long been friends ; have fou t 
 side by side a dozen times, and have done each other many 
 sarvices. When this is the case, men are apt to think 
 over-kindly of each other, and I fear me that the daughter 
 may not be so likely to view a plain, ignorant hunter as 
 favorably as the father does." 
 
 " Tut, tut, Pathfinder ! you don t know yourself, man. 
 and may put all faith in my judgment. In the first place, 
 you have experience, and as all girls must want that, no 
 prudent young woman would overlook such a qualification. 
 Then you are not one of the coxcombs that strut about 
 when they first join a regiment, but a man who has v seen 
 
THE PATHFINDER. 135 
 
 service, and who carries the marks of it on his person and 
 countenance. I dare say you have been under fire some 
 thirty or forty times, counting all the skirmishes and am 
 bushes that you ve seen." 
 
 " All of that, sergeant, all of that ; but what will it avail 
 in gaining the good-will of a tender-hearted young female ? " 
 
 "It will gain the day. Experience in the field is as 
 good in lova as in war. But you are as honest-hearted 
 and as loyal a subject as the king can boast of God bless 
 him!" 
 
 * That may be too that may be too ; but I m afeard 
 I m too rude, and too old, and too wild like, to suit the 
 fancy of such a young and delicate girl as Mabel, who has 
 been unused to our wilderness ways, and may think the 
 settlements better suited to her gifts and inclinations." 
 
 " These are new misgivings for you, my friend, and I 
 wonder they were never paraded before." 
 
 " Because I never knew my own worthlessness, perhaps, 
 until I saw Mabel. I have travelled with some as fair, and 
 Lave guided them through the forest, and seen them^n 
 their perils and in their gladness ; but they were always too 
 much above me to make me think of them as more than sq 
 many feeble ones I was bound to protect and defend. The 
 case is now different. Mabel and I are so nearly alike, 
 that I feel weighed down with a load that is hard to bear, 1 
 at finding us so unlike. I do wish, sergeant, that I was ten v 
 years younger, more comely to look at, and better suited to 
 please a handsome young woman s fancy ! " 
 
 " Cheer up, my brave friend, and trust to a father s 
 knowledge of womankind. Mabel half loves you already, 
 ind a fortnight s intercourse and kindness, down among the 
 elands yonder, will close ranks with the other half. The 
 girl as much as told me this herself, last night." 
 
 4 Can this be so, sergeant ? " said the guide, whose meek 
 <nd modest nature shrank from viewing himself in colors 
 10 favorable. " Can this be truly so ! I aic but a poor 
 hunter, and Mabel, I see, is fit to be an officer s lady. Do 
 you think the gal will consent to quit all her beloveu 
 settlement usages, and her visitin s, and her church-gom s, 
 
136 THE PATHFINDER. 
 
 to dwell with a plain guide and hunter, up here-away, in the 
 woods ? Will she not, in the end, crave her old ways, and 
 a better man ? " 
 
 " A better man, Pathfinder, would be hard to find," re 
 turned the father. " As for town usages, they are soon 
 forgotten in the freedom of the forest, and Mabel has just 
 spirit enough to dwell on a frontier. I ve not planned this 
 marriage, my friend, without thinking it over, as a general 
 ioes his campaign. At first, I thought of bringing you 
 into the regiment, that you might succeed me when I retire, 
 which must be sooner or later ; but on reflection, Path 
 finder, I think you are scarcely fitted for the office. Still, 
 if not a soldier in all the meanings of the word, you are a 
 soldier in its best meaning, and I know that you have the 
 good-will of every officer in the corps. As long as I live, 
 Mabel can dwell with me, and you will always have a 
 home, when you return from your scoutings and marches." 
 
 " This is very pleasant to think of, sergeant, if the girl 
 can only come into our wishes with good-will. But, ah s 
 me ! it does not seem that one like myself can ever be 
 agreeable in her handsome eyes ! If I were younger, and 
 more comely, now, as Jasper Western is, for instance, 
 there might be a chance yes, then, indeed, there might 
 be some chance." 
 
 " That, for Jasper Eau-douce, and every younker of them 
 in or about the fort ! " returned the sergeant, snapping his 
 fingers. " If not actually a younger, you are a younger 
 looking, aye, and a better looking man than the Scud s 
 master " 
 
 " Anan ! " said Pathfinder, looking up at his companion 
 with an expression of doubt, as if he did not understand hig 
 meaning. 
 
 " I say, if not actually younger in days and years, you 
 ook more hardy and like whip-cord, than Jasper, or any 
 of them; and there will be more of you, thirty years 
 hence, than of all of them put together. A good con 
 science will keep one like you a mere boy all his life." 
 
 " Jasper has as clear a conscience as any youth I know 
 sergeant ! and is as likely to wear, on that account, ai 
 %ny young man in the colony." 
 
THE PATHFINDER. 137 
 
 " Then you are my Mend," squeezing the other s hand 
 * my tried, sworn, and constant friend." 
 
 " Yes, we have been friends, sergeant, near twenty years , 
 before Mabel was born." 
 
 * True enough before Mabel was born we were well- 
 tried friends, and the hussy would never dream of refusing 
 to marry a man who was her father s friend before she was 
 horn!" 
 
 " We don t know, sergeant, we don t know. Like loves 
 like. The young prefar the young for companions, and the 
 old the old." 
 
 " Not for wives, Pathfinder ! I never knew an old man, 
 now, who had an objection to a young wife. Then you are 
 respected and esteemed by every officer in the fort, as I 
 have said already, and it will please her fancy to like a man 
 that every one else likes." 
 
 " I hope I have no enemies but the Mingos," returned 
 the guide, stroking down his hair meekly, and speaking 
 thoughtfully. " I ve tried to do right, and that ought to 
 make friends, though it sometimes foils." 
 
 " And you may be said to keep the best company, for 
 even old Duncan of Lundie is glad to see you, and yon 
 pass hours in his society. Of all the guides, he confides 
 most in you." 
 
 " Aye, even greater than he is have marched by my side 
 for days, and have conversed with me as if I were their 
 brother; but, sergeant, I have never been puffed up by 
 their company, for I know that the woods often bring men 
 to a level, who would not be so in the settlements." 
 
 " And you are known to be the greatest rifle-shot that 
 ever pulled a trigger in all this region." 
 
 " If Mabel could fancy a man for that, I might have no 
 jjreat reason to despair ; and yet, sergeant, I sometimes 
 think that it is all as much owing to Killdeer as to any 
 skill of my own. It is sartainly a wonderful piece, and 
 might do as much in the hands of another." 
 
 " That is your own humble opinion of yourself, Path 
 finder ; but we have seen too many fail with the same 
 weapon, and you succeed too often with the rifles of other 
 
 
138 THE PATHFINDER. 
 
 men, to allow me to agree with you. We will get up a 
 shooting match in a day or two, when you can show your 
 skill, and then Mabel will form some judgment concerning 
 your true character." 
 
 " Will that be fair, sergeant ? Everybody knows that 
 Killdeer seldom misses, and ought we to make a trial of 
 this sort, when we all know what must be the result ? " 
 
 u Tut, tut, man ! I foresee I must do half this courting 
 for you, For one who is always inside of the smoke, in a 
 skirmish, you are the faintest-hearted suitor I ever met 
 with. Remember, Mabel comes of a bold stock ; and the 
 girl will be as likely to admire a man as her mother was 
 before her." 
 
 Here the sergeant arose, and proceeded to attend to his 
 never-ceasing duties, without apology ; the terms on which 
 the guide stood with all in the garrison, rendering this free 
 dom quite a matter of course. 
 
 The reader will have gathered from the conversation just 
 related, one of the plans that Sergeant Dunham had in 
 view, in causing his daughter to be brought to the frontier. 
 Although necessarily much weaned from the caresses and 
 blandishments that had rendered his child so dear to him, 
 during the first year or two of his widowhood, he had still 
 a strong, but somewhat latent, love for her. Accustomed 
 to command and to obey, without being questioned himself 
 or questioning others concerning the reasonableness of the 
 mandates, he was, perhaps, too much disposed to believe 
 that his daughter would marry the man he might select, 
 while he was far from being disposed to do violence to her 
 wishes. The fact was, few knew the Pathfinder intimately, 
 without secretly coming to believe him to be one of extraor 
 dinary qualities. I Ever the same, simple-minded, faithful, 
 atterly without fear, and yet prudent, foremost in all war 
 rantable enterprises, or what the opinion of the day consid 
 ered as such, and never engaged in anything to call a blush 
 to his cheek, or censure on his acts ; it was not possible to 
 live much with this being, who, in his peculiar way, was a 
 sort of type of what Adam might have been supposed to 
 
 -**OZjZmiSi******^f~~~~* *" A f niir -i i r - 
 
 be before the fall, though certainly not without sin, and not 
 
THE PATHFINDER. 189 
 
 feel a respect and admiration for him, that had no reference 
 to his position in life. It was remarked that no officer 
 passed him without saluting him as if he had been his equal ; 
 no common man, without addressing him with the confi 
 dence and freedom of a comrade. The most surprising pe 
 culiarity about the man himself, was the entire indifference 
 with which he regarded all distinctions that did not depend 
 on personal merit/ He was respectful to his superiors from 
 habit, but had often been known to correct their mistaken 
 and to reprove their vices, with a fearlessness that proved 
 how essentially he regarded the more material points, and 
 with a natural discrimination that appeared to set education 
 at defiance. /In short, a disbeliever in the ability of man 
 to distinguish between good and evil without the aid of in 
 struction, would have been staggered by the character of 
 this extraordinary inhabitant of the frontier. His feelings 
 appeared to possess the freshness and nature of the forest 
 in which he passed so much of his time, and no casuist 
 could have made clearer decisions in matters relating to 
 right and wrong ; yet he was not without his prejudices, 
 which, though few, and colored by the character and usages 
 of the individual, were deep-rooted, and had almost got to 
 form a part of his nature. But the most striking feature 
 about the moral organization of Pathfinder, was his beauti 
 ful and unerring sense of justice. This noble trait (and 
 without it no man can be truly great ; with it, no man other 
 than respectable) probably had its unseen influence on all 
 who associated with him ; for the common and unprincipled 
 brawler of the camp had been known to return from an ex 
 pedition made in his company, rebuked by his sentiments, 
 woftened by his language, and improved by his example. 
 As might have been expected, with so elevated a quality, hi* 
 fidelity was like the immovable rock. Treachery in him waa 
 classed among the things that are impossible, and as he sel 
 dom retired before his enemies, so was he never known, 
 inder any circumstances that admitted of an alternative, to 
 abandon a friend. The affinities of such a character were, 
 as a matter of course, those of like for like. His associates 
 and intimates, though more or less determined by chance, 
 
140 THE PATHFINDER. 
 
 were generally of the highest order, as to moral propensi* 
 ties ; for he appeared to possess a species of instinctive dis 
 crimination that led him insensibly to himself, most proba 
 bly, to cling closest to those whose characters would best 
 reward his friendship. j[n short, it was said of the Path 
 finder, by one accustomed to study his fellows, that he was 
 a fair example of what a just-minded and pure man might 
 he, while untempted by unruly or ambitious desires, and 
 left to follow the bias of his feelings, amid the solitary 
 grandeur and ennobling influences of a sublime nature; 
 neither led aside by the inducements which influence all to 
 do evil amid the incentives of civilization, nor forgetful of 
 the Almighty Being, whose spirit pervades the wilderness as 
 well as the towns.f 
 
 Such was the man whom Sergeant Dunham had selected 
 as the husband of Mabel. In making this choice he had 
 not been as much governed by a clear and judicious view 
 of the merits of the individual, perhaps, as by his own lik 
 ings ; still, no one knew the Pathfinder as intimately as 
 himself, without always conceding to the honest guide a 
 high place in his esteem, on account of these very virtues. 
 That his daughter could find any serious objection to the 
 match, the old soldier did not apprehend ; while, on the 
 other hand, he saw many advantages to himself, in dim per 
 spective, that were connected with the -decline of his days, 
 and an evening of life passing among descendants who were 
 equally dear to him through both parents. He first made 
 the proposiLioii to his friend, who had listened to it kindly, 
 but who, the sergeant was now pleased to find, already be 
 trayed a willingness to come into his own views, that was 
 proportioned to the doubts and misgivings proceeding from 
 hi* humble distrust of himself. 
 
THE PATHFINDER. Ill 
 
 CHAPTER X. 
 
 Think not I love him, though I ask for him: 
 "Kg but a peevish boy: yet he talks well 
 But what care I for words ? 
 
 A WEEK passed in the usual routine of a garrison. 
 Mabel was becoming used to a situation that, at first, she 
 bad found not only novel but a little irksome ; and the offi 
 cers, and men, in their turn, gradually familiarized to the 
 presence of a young and blooming girl, whose attire and 
 carriage had that air of modest gentility about them which 
 she had obtained in the family of her patroness, annoyed 
 her less by their ill-concealed admiration, while they grati 
 fied her by the respect which, she was fain to think, they 
 paid her on account of her father ; but which, in truth, was 
 more to be attributed to her own modest, but spirited de 
 portment, than to any deference for the worthy sergeant. 
 
 Acquaintances made in a forest, or in any circumstances 
 of unusual excitement, soon attain their limits. Mabel 
 found one week s residence at Oswego sufficient to deter- 
 .nine her as to those with whom she might be intimate, and 
 those whom she ought to avoid. The sort of neutral posi 
 tion occupied by her father, who was not an officer while he 
 ras so much more than a common soldier, by keeping her 
 aloof from the two great classes of military life, lessened 
 the number of those whom she was compelled to know, and 
 made the duty of decision comparatively easy. Still, she 
 soon discovered that there were a few, even among those 
 that could aspire to a seat at the commandant s table, who 
 were disposed to overlook the halbert, for the novelty of a 
 well turned figure, and of a pretty, winning face ; and by 
 the end of the first two or three days, she had admirers 
 even among the gentlemen. The quartermaster, in par tic- 
 
142 THE PATHFINDER. 
 
 nlar, a middle-aged soldier, who had more than once tried 
 the blessings of matrimony, but was now a widower, was 
 evidently disposed to increase his intimacy with the ser 
 geant, though their duties often brought them together ; and 
 the youngsters among his messmates did not fail to note 
 that this man of method, who was a Scotsman of the name 
 of Mutr was much more frequent in his visits to the quar 
 ters of his subordinate than had formerly been his wont 
 A laugh, or a joke, in honor of the " sergeant s daughter/ 
 however, limited their strictures ; though " Mabel Dun 
 ham " was soon a toast that even the ensign or the lieuten 
 ant did not disdain to give. 
 
 At the end of the week, Duncan of Lundie sent for Ser 
 geant Dunham after evening roll-call, on business of a na 
 ture that, it was understood, required a personal conference. 
 The old veteran dwelt in a movable hut, which, being placed 
 on trucks, he could order to be wheeled about at pleasure, 
 sometimes living in one part of the area within the fort, and 
 sometimes in another. 1 On the present occasion, he had 
 made a halt near the centre, and there he was found by his 
 subordinate, who was admitted to his presence without any 
 delay, or dancing attendance in an antechamber. In point 
 of fact, there was very little difference in the quality of the 
 accommodations given to the officers and those allowed to 
 the men, the former being merely granted the most room, 
 and Mabel and her father were lodged nearly, if not quite, 
 as well as the commandant of the place himself. 
 
 " Walk in, sergeant, walk in, my good friend," said old 
 Lundie, heartily, as his inferior stood in a respectful attitude 
 at the door of a sort of library and bedroom hi to which he 
 bad been ushered ; " walk in, and take a seat on that stocL 
 I have sent for you, man, to discuss anything but rosters 
 and pay-rolla this evening. It is now many years since we 
 have been comrades, and auld lang syne should count foi 
 something even between a major and his orderly, a Scot und 
 a Yankee. Sit ye down, man, and just put yourself at your 
 ease. It has been a fine day, sergeant ? " 
 
 1 This circumstance is a real incident taken from the American L-fidy 01 
 Mra. Grant, of Laggan. See Appendix, Note I. 
 
THE PATHFINDER. 143 
 
 a It has indeed, Major Duncan," returned the other, who, 
 though he complied so far as to take the seat, was much too 
 practiced not to understand the degree of respect it was nec 
 essary to maintain in his manner ; " a very fine day, sir, it 
 has been, and we may look for more of them, at this sea 
 son." 
 
 " I hope so, with all my heart. The crops lock well, as 
 it is, man, and you ll be finding that the 55th make almost 
 as good farmers as soldiers. I never saw better potatoes in 
 Scotland, than we are likely to have in that new patch of 
 ours." 
 
 " They promise a good yield, Major Duncan, and in that 
 light a more comfortable winter than the last." 
 
 " Life is progressive, sergeant, in its comforts, as well a& 
 in its need of them. We grow old, and I begin to think it 
 time to retire and settle in life. I feel that my working 
 days are nearly over." 
 
 " The king, God bless him, sir, has much good service in 
 your honor, yet." 
 
 " It may be so, Sergeant Dunham, especially if he should 
 happen to have a spare lieutenant-colonelcy left." 
 
 " The 55th will be honored the day that commission is 
 given to Duncan of Lundie, sir." 
 
 " And Duncan of Lundie will be honored the day he re 
 ceives it. But, sergeant, if you have never had a lieutenant- 
 colonelcy, you have had a good wife, and that is .the next 
 thing to rank, in making a man happy." 
 
 " I have been married, Major Duncan ; but it is now a 
 long time since I have had no drawback on the love I bear 
 his Majesty and my duty." 
 
 " What, man, not even the love you bear that active, lit 
 tle, round-limbed, rosy-cheeked daughter, that I have seen 
 in the fort, these last few days ! Out upon you, sergeant ! 
 .)ld fellow as I am, I could almost love that little lassie my- 
 rielf, and send the lieutenant-colonelcy to the devil." 
 
 " We all know where Major Duncan s heart is, and that 
 is in Scotland, where a beautiful lady is ready and willing 
 to make him happy as soor as his own sense of duty shall 
 permit." 
 
144 THE PATHFINDER. 
 
 " Aye, hope is ever a far-off thing, sergeant," returned 
 the superior, a shade of melancholy passing over his hard 
 Scottish features as he spoke ; " and bonny Scotland is a 
 far-off country. Well, if we have no heather and oatmeal in 
 this region, we have venison for the killing it ; and salmou 
 as plenty as at Berwick-upon-Tweed. Is it true, sergeant, 
 that the men complain of having been over-venisoned and 
 over-pigeoned of late ? " 
 
 " Not for some weeks, Major Duncan, for neither deer 
 nor birds are so plenty at this season as they have been. 
 They begin to throw their remarks about concerning the 
 salmon, but I trust we shall get through the summer with 
 out any serious disturbance on the score of food. The 
 Scotch in the battalion do, indeed, talk more than is pru 
 dent of their want of oatmeal, grumbling occasionally of our 
 wheaten bread." 
 
 " Ah ! that is human nature, sergeant ; pure unadulter 
 ated Scottish human nature. A cake, man, to say the 
 truth, is an agreeable morsel, and I often see the time when 
 I pine for a bite myself." 
 
 " If the feeling gets to be troublesome, Major Duncan, 
 in the men I mean, sir, for I would not think of saying so 
 disrespectful a thing to your honor, but if the men ever 
 pine seriously for their natural food, I would humbly recom 
 mend that some oatmeal be imported, or prepared in this 
 country for them, and I think we shall hear no more of it. 
 A very little would answer for a cure, sir." 
 
 " You are a wag, sergeant ; but hang me if I am sure 
 you are not right. There may be sweeter things in this 
 world, after all, than oatmeal. You have a sweet daughter, 
 Dunham, for one." 
 
 " The girl is like her mother, Major Duncan, and will 
 pass inspection," said the sergeant, proudly. " Neither wa;- 
 brought up on anything better than good American floin 
 The girl will pass inspection, sir." 
 
 " That would she, I ll answer for it. Well, I may as well 
 tome to the point at once, man, and bring up my reserve 
 into the front of the battle. Here is Davy Muir, the 
 quartermaster, is disposed to make your daughter his wife, 
 
THE PATHFINDER. 145 
 
 and he Las just got me to open the matter to you, being 
 fearful of compromitting his own dignity ; and I may as well 
 add, that half the youngsters in the fort toast her, and talk 
 of her from morning till night." 
 
 " She is much honored, sir," returned the father, stiffly, 
 " but I trust the gentlemen will find something more worthy 
 of them to talk about, ere long. I hope to see her the wife 
 of an honest man, before many weeks, sir." 
 
 " Yes, Davy is an honest man, and that is more than can 
 be said of all in the quartermaster s department, I m think 
 ing, sergeant," returned Lundie, with a slight smile. " Well, 
 then, may I tell the Cupid-stricken youth that the matter is 
 as good as settled ? " 
 
 " I thank your honor, but Mabel is betrothed to an 
 other." 
 
 " The devil she is! That will produce a stir in the fort; 
 though I m riot sorry to hear it, either, for to be frank with 
 you, sergeant, I m no great admirer of unequal matches." 
 
 " I think with your honor, and have no desire to see my 
 daughter an officer s lady. If she can get as high as her 
 mother was before her, it ought to satisfy any reasonable 
 woman." 
 
 " And may I ask, sergeant, who is the lucky man that 
 you intend to call son-in-law ? " 
 
 " The Pathfinder, your honor." 
 
 " Pathfinder ! " 
 
 " The same, Major Duncan ; and in naming him to you, 
 I give you his whole history. No one is better known on 
 this frontier, than my honest, brave, true-hearted friend." 
 
 " All that is true enough ; but is he, after all, the sort of 
 person to make a girl of twenty happy ? " 
 
 " Why not, your honor ? the man is at the head of his 
 calling. There is no other guide, or scout, connected with 
 the army, that has half the reputation of Pathfinder, or who 
 deserves to have it half as well." 
 
 " Very true, sergeant ; but is the reputation of a scout 
 exactly the sort of renown to captivate a girl s fancy ? n 
 
 " Talking of girls fancies, sir, Is, in my humble opinion, 
 much like talking of a recruit s judgment. If we were to 
 
146 THE PATHFINDER. 
 
 take the movements of the awkward squad, sir, as a guide, 
 we should never form a decent line in battalion, Major 
 Duncan." 
 
 " But your daughter has nothing awkward about her ; for 
 a genteeler girl, of her class, could not be found in old Albin 
 itself. Is she of your way of thinking, in this matter ? 
 though I suppose she must be, as you say she is betrothed." 
 
 " We Vve not yet conversed on the subject, your honor, 
 but I consider her mind as good as made up, from several 
 little circumstances that might be named." 
 
 "And what are these circumstances, sergeant?" asked 
 the major, who began to take more interest than he had at 
 first felt in the subject. " I confess a little curiosity to learn 
 something about a woman s mind, being, as you know, a 
 bachelor myself." 
 
 " Why, your honor, when I speak of the Pathfinder to 
 the girl, she always looks me full in the face ; chimes in 
 with everything I say in his favor, and has a frank, open 
 waj with her, which says as much as if she half considered 
 him, already, as a husband." 
 
 " Hum ! and these signs you think, Dunham, are faithful 
 tokens of your daughter s feelings?" 
 
 " I do, your honor, for they strike me as natural. When 
 I find a man, sir, who looks me full in the face, while he 
 praises an officer for, begging your honor s pardon, the 
 men will sometimes pass their strictures on their betters 
 and when I find a man looking me in the eyes as he praises 
 his captain, I always set it down that the fellow is honest, 
 and means what he says." 
 
 " Is there not some material difference in the age of the 
 intended bridegroom and that of his pretty bride, sergeant ? " 
 
 " You are quite right, sir ; Pathfinder is well advanced 
 towards forty, and Mabel has every prospect of happiness 
 that a young woman can derive from the certainty of pos 
 sessing an experienced husband. I was quite forty myself, 
 your honor, when I married her mother. * 
 
 " But will your daughter be as likely to admire a green 
 hunting-shirt, such as that our worthy guide wears, with a 
 fox-skin cap, as the smart uniform of the 55th ? " 
 
THE PATHFINDER. 147 
 
 u Perhaps not, sir ; and therefore she will have the merit 
 of self-denial, which always makes a young woman wiser 
 and better." 
 
 " And are you not afraid that she may be left a widow 
 while still a young woman ? What between wild beasts and 
 wilder Ravages, Pathfinder may be said to carry his life in 
 his hand." 
 
 " Every bullet has its billet, Lundie," for so the majci 
 was fond of being called, in his moments of condescension, 
 and when not engaged in military affairs, " and no man in 
 the 55th can call himself beyond, or above, the chances of 
 sudden death, In that particular, Mabel would gain nothing 
 by a change. Besides, sir, if I may speak freely on such a 
 subject, I much doubt if ever Pathfinder dies in battle, or by 
 any of the sudden chances of the wilderness." 
 
 " And why so, sergeant ? " asked the major, looking at 
 his inferior with the sort of reverence which a Scot of his 
 day was more apt than at present to entertain for mysterious 
 agencies. " He is a soldier, so far as danger is concerned, 
 and one that is much more than usually exposed ; and, being 
 free of his person, why should he expect to escape, when 
 others do not ? " 
 
 " I do not believe, your honor, that the Pathfinder con 
 siders his own chances better than any one s else, but the 
 man will never die by a bullet. I have seen him so often, 
 handling his rifle with as much composure as if it were a 
 shepherd s crook, in the midst of the heaviest showers of 
 bullets, and under so many extraordinary circumstances, that 
 I do not think Providence means he should ever fall in that 
 manner. And yet, if there be a man in his Majesty s do 
 minions who really deserves such a death, it is Pathfinder ! * 
 
 " We never know, sergeant," returned Lundie, with a 
 countenance that was grave with thought, " and the less wa 
 say about it, perhaps, the better. But will your daughter 
 Mabel, I think you call her will Mabel be as willing to 
 accept one, who, after all, is a mere hanger-on of the army, 
 as to take one from the service itself? There is no hope 
 of promotion for the guide, sergeant ! " 
 
 " He is at the head of his corps already, your honor 
 
148 THE PATHFINDER. 
 
 In short, Mabel has made up her mind on this subject, and, 
 as your honor has had the condescension to speak to me 
 about Mr. Muir, I trust you will be kind enough to say that 
 the girl is as good as billeted for life." 
 
 " Well, well, this is your own matter, and now Se** 
 geant Dunham ! " 
 
 " Your honor," said the other, rising, and giving the cus 
 tomary salute. 
 
 " You have been told it is my intention to send you down 
 among the Thousand Islands, for the next month. All the 
 old subalterns have had their tours of duty in that quarter 
 ill that I like to trust, at least and it has, at length, come 
 to your turn. Lieutenant Muir, it is true, claims his right, 
 but being quartermaster, I do not like to break up well- 
 established arrangements. Are the men drafted ? " 
 
 " Everything is ready, your honor. The draft is made, 
 and I understood that the canoe which got in last night, 
 Drought a message, to say that the party already below is 
 looking out for the relief." 
 
 " It did, and you must sail the day after to-morrow, if not 
 to-morrow night. It will be wise, perhaps, to sail in the 
 dark." 
 
 " So Jasper thinks, Major Duncan, and I know no one 
 more to be depended on, in such an affair, than young Jasper 
 Western." 
 
 " Young Jasper Eau-douce ! " said Lundie, a slight smile 
 gathering around his usually stern mouth. " Will that lad 
 be of your party, sergeant ? " 
 
 " Your honor will remember that the Scud never quits 
 port without him." 
 
 "True, but all general rules have their exceptions. Have 
 I not seen a seafaring person about the fort within the last 
 fow days ? " 
 
 " No doubt, your honor ; it is Master Cap, a brother-in 
 law of mine, who brought my daughter from below." 
 
 " Why not put him in the Scud for this cruise, sergeant, 
 and leave Jasper behind ? Your brother-in-law would like 
 the variety of a fresh-water cruise, and you would enjoy 
 more of his company. * 
 
THE PATHFINDER. 149 
 
 " I intended to ask your honor s permission to take him 
 along, but he must go as a volunteer. Jasper is too brave 
 a lad to be turned out of his command without a reason, 
 Major Duncan ; and I m afraid brother Cap despises fresh 
 water too much to do duty on it." 
 
 " Quite right, sergeant, and I leave all this to your own 
 discretion. Eau-douce must retain his command, on second 
 thoughts. You intend that Pathfinder shall also be of the 
 party ? " 
 
 " If your honor approves of it. There will be service for 
 both the guides, the Indian as well as the white man." 
 
 " I think you are right. Well, sergeant, I wish you good 
 luck in the enterprise ; and remember, the post is to be de 
 stroyed and abandoned when your command is withdrawn. 
 It will have done its work by that time, or we shall have 
 failed entirely, and it is too ticklish a position to be main 
 tained unnecessarily. You can retire." 
 
 Sergeant Dunham gave the customary salute, turned on 
 his heels as if they had been pivots, and had got the door 
 nearly drawn-to after him, when he was suddenly recalled. 
 
 " I had forgotten, sergeant, the younger officers have 
 begged for a shooting match, and to-morrow has been named 
 for the day. All competitors will be admitted, and the 
 prizes will be a silver-mounted powder-horn, a leathern flask 
 ditto," reading from a piece of paper, " as I see by the pro 
 fessional jargon of this bill, and a silk calash for a lady. 
 The latter is to enable the victor to show his gallantry, by 
 making an offering of it to her he best loves." 
 
 " All very agreeable, your honor, at least to him that 
 succeeds. Is the Pathfinder to be permitted to enter ? " 
 
 " I do not well see how he can be excluded, if he choose 
 to come forward. Latterly, I have observed that he takes 
 uo share in these sports, probably from a conviction of his 
 twn unequaled skill." 
 
 " That s it, Major Duncan ; the honest fellow knows then 
 is not a man on the frontier who can equal him, and ho 
 does not wish to spoil the pleasure of others. I think we 
 may trust to his delicacy in anything, sir. Perhaps it may 
 be as well to let him have h^ own way " 
 
150 THE PATHFINDER. 
 
 " In this instance we must, sergeant. Whether he will 
 be as successful in all others, remains to be seen. I wish 
 you good evening, Dunham," 
 
 The sergeant now withdrew, leaving Duncan of Lundifl 
 to his own thoughts. That they were not altogether dis 
 agreeable, was to be inferred from the smiles which occa 
 sionally covered a countenance that was hard and martial in 
 its usual expression, though there were moments in which 
 all its severe sobriety prevailed. Half an hour might have 
 passed, when a tap at the door was answered by a direction 
 to enter. A middle-aged man, in the dress of an officer, 
 but whose uniform wanted the usual smartness of the pro 
 fession, made his appearance, and was saluted as " Mr. 
 Muir." 
 
 " I have come, sir, at your bidding, to know my fortune," 
 said the quartermaster, in a strong Scotch accent, as soon 
 as he had taken the seat which was proffered to him. " To 
 say the truth to you, Major Duncan, this girl is making as 
 much havoc in the garrison as the French did before Ty ; I 
 never witnessed so general a rout, in so short a time ! " 
 
 " Surely, Davy, you don t mean to persuade me that your 
 young and unsophisticated heart is in such a flame, after 
 one week s ignition ! Why, man, this is worse than the 
 affair in Scotland, where it was said the heat within was so 
 intense that it just burnt a hole through your own precious 
 body, and left a place for all the lassies to peer in at, to see 
 what the combustible material was worth." 
 
 " Ye ll have your own way, Major Duncan, and your 
 father and mother would have theirs before ye, even if the 
 enemy were in the camp. I see nothing so extraordinar 
 in young people s following the bent of their inclinations 
 and wishes. 
 
 " But you ve followed yours so often, Davy, that I should 
 iliink, by this time, it had lost the edge of novelty. Includ 
 ing that informal affair in Scotland, when you were a lad. 
 you ve been married four times already." 
 
 " Only three, major, as I hope to get another wife ! I ve 
 not yet had my number ; no, no only three." 
 
 " I m thinking, Davy, you don t include the first affair I 
 mentioned ; that in which there was no parson." 
 
THE PATHFINDER. 161 
 
 " And why should I, major ? The courts decided that it 
 was no marriage, and what more could a man want 1 The 
 woman took advantage of a slight amorous .propensity, that 
 may be a weakness in my disposition, perhaps, and inveigled 
 me into a contract that was found to be illegal." 
 
 " If I remember right, Muir, there were thought to bo 
 two sides to that question, in the time of it ! " 
 
 " It would be but an indifferent question, my dear major, 
 that hadn t two sides to it ; and I ve known many that had 
 thres. But the poor woman s dead, and there was no issuo, 
 so nothing came of it, after all. Then I was particularly 
 unfortunate with my second wife I say second, major, 
 out of deference to you, and on the mere supposition that 
 the first was a marriage at all but first or second, I was 
 particularly unfortunate with Jeannie Graham, who died in 
 the first lustrum, leaving neither chick nor chiel behind her. 
 I do think if Jeannie had survived I never should have 
 turned my thoughts towards another wife." 
 
 " But as she did not, you married twice after her death, 
 and are desirous of doing so a third time." 
 
 " The truth can never justly be gainsaid. Major Duncan, 
 and I am always ready to avow it. I m thinking, Lundie, 
 you are melancholar , this fine evening ? " 
 
 " No, Muir, not melancholy absolutely, but a little 
 thoughtful, I confess. I was looking back to my boyish 
 days, when I, the laird s son, and you the parson s, roamed 
 about our native hills, happy and careless boys, taking little 
 heed to the future ; and then have followed some thoughts, 
 that may be a little painful, concerning that future, as it has 
 turned out to be." 
 
 " Surely, Lundie, ye do not complain of your portion of 
 it? You ve risen to be a major, and will soon be a lieu 
 tenant-colonel, if letters tell the truth; while I am just one 
 step higher than when your honored father gave me my 
 first commission, and a poor deevil of a quartermaster. * 
 
 " And the four wives ? " 
 
 " Three, Lundie ; three only that were legal, even under 
 our own liberal and sanctified laws." 
 
 then, let it be three, ^e know, Davy," said 
 
152 THE PATHFINDER. 
 
 Major Duncan, insensibly dropping into the pronunciation 
 and dialect of his youth, as is much the practice with 
 educated Scotchmen, as they warm with a subject that cornea 
 near the heart, " ye know, Davy, that my own choice has 
 long been made, and in how anxious and hope-wearied a 
 manner I ve waited for that happy hour when I can call the 
 woman I ve so long loved a wife ; and here have you with 
 out fortune, name, birth, or merit I mean particular 
 merit " 
 
 " Na, na ; dinna say that, Lundie the Muirs are of 
 gude bluid." 
 
 " Well, then, without aught but bluid ye ve wived four 
 times " 
 
 " I tall ye but thrice, Lundie. Ye ll weaken auld friend 
 ship if ye call it four." 
 
 " Put it at ye r own number, Davy, and it s far more 
 than ye r share. Our lives have been very different on the 
 Bcore of matrimony, at least ; you must allow that, my old 
 friend." 
 
 " And which do you think has been the gainer, major, 
 speaking as frankly the gither as we did when lads." 
 
 " Nay, I ve nothing to conceal. My days have passed in 
 hope deferred, while yours have passed in " 
 
 " Not in hope realized, I give you mine honor, Major 
 Duncan," interrupted the quartermaster. "Each new 
 experiment I have thought might prove an advantage, but 
 disappointment seems the lot of man ! Ah ! this is a vain 
 world of ours, Lundie, it must be owned ; and hi nothing 
 vainer than in matrimony." 
 
 " And yet you are ready to put your neck into the noose 
 for the fifth time ? " 
 
 " I desire to say it will be but the fourth, Major Duncan," 
 said the quartermaster positively ; then instantly changing 
 the expression of his face to one of boyish rapture, he 
 added, " But this Mabel Dunham is a rara avis ! Our 
 Scotch lassies are fair and pleasant, but it must be owned 
 these colonials are of surpassing comeliness." 
 
 " You will do well to recollect your commission and 
 Wood, Davy ; I believe all four of your wives " 
 
THE PATHFINDER 158 
 
 " I wish, my dear Lundie, ye d be more accurate in your 
 arithmetic ; three times one make three." 
 
 "All three, then were what might be termed gentle- 
 women." 
 
 " That s just it, major. Three were gentlewomen, as you 
 gay, and the connections were suitable." 
 
 "And the fourth, being the daughter of my father s 
 gardener, the connection was unsuitable. But have you no 
 fear that marrying the child of a non-commissioned officer 
 who is in the same corps with yourself, will have the effect 
 to lessen your consequence in the regiment ? " 
 
 " That s just been my weakness through life, Major 
 Duncan ; for I ve always married without regard to conse 
 quences. Every man has his besetting sin, and matrimony, 
 I fear, is mine. And now that we have discussed what may 
 be called the principles of the connection, I will just ask if 
 you did me the favor to speak to the sergeant on the trifling 
 affair?" 
 
 " I did, David, and am sorry to say for your hopes that I 
 see no great chance of your succeeding." 
 
 " Not succeeding ! An officer, and a quartermaster into 
 the bargain, and not succeed with a sergeant s daughter ! " 
 
 " It s just that, Davy." 
 
 " And why not, Lundie ? will you have the goodness 
 to answer just that ? " 
 
 "The girl is betrothed. Hand plighted, word passed, 
 love pledged no, hang me if I believe that either ; but 
 she is betrothed." 
 
 " Well, that s an obstacle, it must be avowed, major ; 
 though it counts for little if the heart is free." 
 
 " Quite true ; and I think it probable the heart is free in 
 this case, for the intended husband appears to be the choice 
 of the father rather than of the daughter." 
 
 " And who may it be, major ? " asked the quartermas 
 ter, who viewed the whole matter with the philosophy and 
 coolness that are acquired by use. " I do not recollect any 
 plausible suitor that is likely to stand in my way." 
 
 " No, you are the only plausible suitor on the frontier 
 Davy The happy man is Pathfinder." 
 
L5 i THE PATHFINDER. 
 
 * Pathfinder, Major Duncan ? " 
 
 " No more, nor any less, David Muir. Pathfinder is th 
 man ; but it may relieve your jealousy a little to know that, 
 in my judgment at least, it is a match of the father s, rather 
 than of the daughter s seeking." 
 
 " I thought as much ! " exclaimed the quartermaster, 
 drawing a long breath, like one who felt relieved ; " it s 
 .qaite impossible, that with my experience in human na 
 ture " 
 
 " Particularly hu-woman s nature, David ! " 
 
 " Ye will have ye r joke, Lundie, let who will suffer ! 
 But I did not think it possible I could be deceived as to the 
 young woman s inclinations, which I think I may boldly 
 pronounce to be altogether above the condition of Path 
 finder. As for the individual himself why, time will 
 show." 
 
 " Now, tell me frankly, Davy Muir," said Lundie, stop 
 ping short in his walk, and looking the other earnestly in 
 the face, with a comical expression of surprise, that ren 
 dered the veteran s countenance ridiculously earnest, "do 
 you really suppose a girl like the daughter of Sergeant 
 Dunham can take a serious fancy to a man of your years, 
 and appearance, and experience, I might add ? " 
 
 " Hout, awa , Lundie, ye dinna know the sax, and that s 
 the reason ye r unmarried in ye r forty-fifth year. It s a 
 fearfu time ye ve been a bachelor, major ! " 
 
 " And what may be your age, Lieutenant Muir, if I may 
 presume to ask so delicate a question ? " 
 
 " Forty-seven ; I ll no deny it, Lundie ; and if I get Ma 
 bel, there ll be just a wife for every twa lustrums ! But I 
 didna think Sergeant Dunham would be so humble-minded, 
 a-s to dream of giving that sweet lass of his to one like the 
 Pathfinder ! " 
 
 " There s no dream about it, Davy ; the man is as serioua 
 as a soldier about to be flogged." 
 
 " Well, well, major, we are auld friends," both ran into 
 the Scotch, or avoided it, as they approached or drew away 
 from their younger days, in the dialogue, " and ought to 
 kiiow how to take and give a joke, off duty. It is possible 
 
THE PATHFINDER. 155 
 
 the worthy man has not understood my hints, or he never 
 would have thought of such a thing. The difference be 
 tween an officer s consort and a guide s woman is as vast as 
 that between the antiquity of Scotland and the antiquity of 
 America. I m auld bluid, too, Lundie." 
 
 " Take my word for it, Davy, your antiquity will do you 
 no good, in this affair ; and as for your blood, it is not older 
 than your bones. Well, well, man, ye know the sergeant s 
 answer, and so you perceive that my influence, on which 
 you counted so much, can do naught for ye. Let us take a 
 glass the gither, Davy, for auld acquaintance sake, and then 
 ye ll be doing well to remember the party that marches the 
 morrow, and to forget Mabel Dunham as fast as ever yov 
 can." 
 
 " Ah ! major, I have always found it easier to forget 
 wife than to forget a sweetheart ! When a couple are fairly 
 married, all is settled but the death, as one may say, which 
 must finally part us all ; and it seems to me awfu irrever 
 ent to disturb the departed ; whereas, there is so much anx- 
 ety, and hope, and felicity, in expectation like, with the las- 
 rie, that it keeps thought alive." 
 
 " That is just my idea of your situation, Davy, for I 
 never supposed you expected any more felicity with either 
 of your wives. Now, I ve heard of fellows who were so 
 stupid as to look forward to happiness with their wives, even 
 beyond the grave. I drink to your success, or to your 
 speedy recovery from this attack, lieutenant ; and I admon 
 ish you to be more cautious in future, as some of these vio 
 lent cases may yet carry you off." 
 
 " Many thanks, dear major ; and a speedy termination to 
 an old courtship, of which I know something. This is real 
 mountain-dew, Lundie, and it warms the heart like a gleam 
 of bonny Scotland. As for the men you ve just mentioned, 
 they could have had but one wife apiece, for where there 
 *re several, the deeds of the women themselves may carry 
 them different ways. I think a reasonable husband ought 
 to be satisfied with passing his allotted time with any par 
 ticular wife, in this world, and not to go about moping for 
 tilings unattainable. I m infinitely obliged to you, Major 
 
156 THE PATHFINDER. 
 
 Duncan, for this and all your other acts of friendship ; and 
 if you could but add another, I should think you had not 
 altogether forgotten the playfellow of your boyhood." 
 
 " Well, Davy, if the request be reasonable, and such as a 
 superior ought to grant, out with it, man." 
 
 " If ye could only contrive a little service for me down 
 among the Thousand Isles for a fortnight or so, I think thw 
 matter might be settled to the satisfaction of all parties. 
 Just remember, Lundie, the lassie is the only marriageable 
 white female on this frontier ! " 
 
 " There is always duty for one in your line at a post, 
 however small ; but this below can be done by the sergeant 
 as well as by the quartermaster general, and better too." 
 
 " But not better than by a regimental officer. There is 
 great waste, in common, among the orderlies." 
 
 " I ll think of it, Muir," said the major, laughing, " and 
 you shall have my answer in the morning. Here will be a 
 fine occasion, man, the morrow, to show yourself off before 
 the lady ; you are expert with the rifle, and prizes are to 
 be won. Make up your mind to display your skill, and 
 who knows what may yet happen before the Scud sails." 
 
 " I m thinking most of the young men will try their 
 hands hi this sport, major ? " 
 
 " That will they, and some of the old ones, too, if you 
 appear. To keep you in countenance I ll try a shot or 
 two myself, Davy ; and you know I have some name that 
 way." 
 
 " It might, indeed, do good ! The female heart, Major 
 Duncan, is susceptible in many different modes, and some 
 times in a way that the rules of philosophy might reject. 
 Some require a suitor to sit down before them, as it might 
 be, in a regular siege, and only capitulate when the place 
 can hold out no longer ; others again like to be carried by 
 storm ; while there are hussies who can only fee caught by 
 leading them into an ambush. The former is the most 
 creditable and officer-like process, perhaps ; but I must say I 
 think the last the most pleasing." 
 
 " An opinion formed from experience, out of all question 
 And what of the storming parties ? " 
 
THE PATHFINDER. 157 
 
 " They may do for younger men, Lundie," returned the 
 quartermaster, rising and winking, a liberty that he often 
 took with his commanding officer on the score of a long 
 intimacy ; " every period of life has its necessities, and at 
 forty-seven it s just as well to trust a little to the head. I 
 wish you a very good even, Major Duncan, and freedom 
 from gout, with a sweet and refreshing sleep." 
 
 " The same to yourself, Mr. Muir, with many thanks. 
 Remember the passage of arms for the morrow." 
 
 The quartermaster withdrew, leaving Lundie in his 
 library to reflect on what had just passed. Use had so 
 accustomed Major Duncan to Lieutenant Muir and ail his 
 traits and humors, that the conduct of the latter did not 
 strike the former with the same force as it will probablj 
 strike the reader. In truth, while all men act under one 
 common law that is termed nature, the varieties in their 
 dispositions, modes of judging, feelings, and selfishness are 
 infinite* 
 
158 THE TATHFINDEB. 
 
 CHAPTER XL 
 
 Compel the hawke to sit that is unmann d, 
 Or make the hound, untaught, to draw the deere, 
 Or bring the free against his will in band, 
 Or move the sad a pleasant tale to heere, 
 Your time is lost, and you no whit the neere! 
 So love ne learnes, of force the heart to knit: 
 She serves but those that feel sweet fancies fit. 
 
 MIRROR FOR MAGISTRATES. 
 
 IT is not often that hope is rewarded by fruition as 
 completely as the wishes of the young men of the garrison 
 were met by the state of the weather on the succeeding day. 
 It may be no more than the ordinary waywardness of man, 
 but the Americans are a little accustomed to taking pride 
 in things that the means of intelligent comparisons would 
 probably show were, in reality, of a very inferior quality, 
 while they overlook or undervalue advantages that place 
 them certainly on a level with, if not above, most of their 
 fellow-creatures. Among the latter is the climate, which, 
 as a whole, though far from perfect, is infinitely more 
 agreeable, and quite as healthy as those of most of the 
 countries which are loudest in their denunciations of it. 
 
 The heats of summer were little felt at Oswego, at the 
 period of which we are writing ; for the shade of the forest, 
 added to the refreshing breezes from the lake, so far re 
 duced the influence of the sun, as to render the nights 
 always cool, and the days seldom oppressive 
 
 It was now September, a month in which the strong 
 gales of the coast often appear to force themselves across 
 the country as far as the Great Lakes, where the inland 
 sailor sometimes feels that genial influence which charac 
 terizes the winds of the ocean; invigorating his frame, 
 cheering his spirits, and arousing his moral force. Such a 
 lay was that on which tho garrison of Oswego assemble^ 
 
THE PATHFINDER. 159 
 
 to witness what its commander had jocularly called a 
 " passage of arms." Lundie was a scholar, in military 
 matters at least, and it was one of his sources of honest 
 pride to direct the reading and thoughts of the young men 
 under his orders, to the more intellectual parts of their 
 profession. For one in his situation, his library was both 
 good and extensive, and its books were freely lent to all 
 who desired to use them. Among other whims that had 
 found their way into the garrison, through these means, 
 was a relish for the sort of amusement in which it was now 
 about to indulge ; and around which some chronicles of the 
 days of chivalry had induced them to throw a parade and 
 romance, that were not unsuited to the characters and habits 
 of soldiers, or to the insulated and wild post occupied by 
 this particular garrison, j While so earnestly bent on pleas 
 ure, however, they on whom that duty devolved did not neg 
 lect the safety of the garrison. One standing on the ram 
 parts of the fort, and gazing on the waste of glittering water 
 that bounded the view all along the northern horizon, and 
 on the slumbering and seemingly boundless forest, that filled 
 the other half of the panorama, would have fancied the spot 
 the very abode of peacefulness and security ; but Duncan 
 of Lundie too well knew that the woods might at any 
 moment give up their hundreds, bent on the destruction of 
 the fort and all it contained, and that even the treacherous 
 lake offered a highway of easy approach, by which his more 
 civilized and scarcely less wily foes, the French, could come 
 upon him at an unwelcome and unguarded moment. Parties 
 were sent out, under old and vigilant officers, men who 
 cared little for the sports of the day, to scour the forest ; 
 and one entire company held the fort, under arms, with 
 Drders to maintain a vigilance as strict as if an enemy of 
 superior force was known to be near. With these precau 
 tions, the remainder of the officers and men abandoned 
 themselves, without apprehension, to the business of the 
 morning. 
 
 The spot selected for the sports was a sort of esplanade, 
 a little west of the fort, and on the immediate bank of the 
 lake. It had been cleared of its trees and stumps, that it 
 
160 THE PATHFINDER. 
 
 might answer the purpose of a parade ground, as it po- 
 sessed the advantages of having its rear protected by the 
 water, and one of its flanks by the works. Men drilling on 
 it could be attacked, consequently, on two sides only ; and 
 AS the cleared space beyond it, in the direction cf the west 
 and south, was large, any assailants would be compelled to 
 quit the cover of the woods, before they could rnaka an 
 if proach sufficiently near to render them dangerous. 
 
 Although the regular arms of the regiment were muskets, 
 some fifty rifles were produced on the present occasion, 
 Every officer had one, as a part of his private provision for 
 amusement ; many belonged to the scouts and friendly 
 Indians, of whom more or less were always hanging about 
 the fort ; and there was a public provision of them, for the 
 use of those who followed the game with .the express object 
 of obtaining supplies. Among those who carried the 
 weapon, were some five or six, who had reputations for 
 knowing how to use it particularly well so well, indeed, 
 as to have given them a celebrity on the frontier ; twice 
 that number who were believed to be much better than 
 common ; and many who would have been thought expert, 
 in almost any situation, but the precise one in which they 
 now happened to be placed. 
 
 The distance was a hundred yards, and the weapon was 
 to be used without a rest ; the target, a board, with the 
 customary circular ILoes in white paint, having the bull s- 
 eye in the centre. The first trials in skill commenced with 
 challenges among the more ignoble of the competitors, to 
 display their steadiness and dexterity in idle competition. 
 None but the common men engaged in this strife, which 
 had little to interest the spectators, among whom no officer 
 had yet appeared. 
 
 Most of the soldiers were Scotch, the regiment having 
 been raised at Stirling and its vicinity, not many years 
 oofore ; though, as in the case of Sergeant Dunham, many 
 Americans had joined it, since its arrival in the colonies. 
 A.S a matter of course, the provincials were generally the 
 most expert maiksmen ; and after a desultory trial of half 
 an hour, it was necessarily conceded, that a youth, who had 
 
THE PA/HFINDEB. 161 
 
 been born in the colony of New York, and who, coming of 
 Dutch extraction, bore the euphonious name of Van Valk- 
 enburg, but was familiarly called FoLlock, was the most 
 expert of all who had yet tried their skill. It was just as 
 this opinion prevailed, that the oldest captain, accompanied 
 by most of the gentlemen and ladies of the fort, appeared 
 on the parade. /A train of some twenty females of humbler 
 condition followed, among whom was seen the well-turned 
 form, intelligent, blooming, animated countenance, and neat, 
 becoming attire of Mabel Dunham. 
 
 Of females who were officially recognized as belonging to 
 the class of ladies, there were but three in the fort, all of 
 whom were officers wives ; staid matronly women, with the 
 simplicity of the habits of middle life singularly mixed in 
 their deportment with their notions of professional superior 
 ity, the rights and duties of caste, and the etiquette of rank. 
 The other women were the wives of non-commissioned 
 officers and privates ; Mabel being strictly, as had been 
 stated by the quartermaster, the only real candidate for 
 matrimony among her sex. There were a dozen other girls, 
 it is true, but they were still classed among the children, 
 none of them being yet of an age to elevate them into ob 
 jects of legitimate admiration. 
 
 Some little preparation had been made for the proper re ^ 
 eeption of the females, who were placed on a low staging 
 of planks, near the immediate bank of the lake. In this 
 vicinity the prizes were suspended from a post. Great care ^ 
 was taken to reserve the front seat of the stage for the three . 
 iadies and their children ; while Mabel, and those who be- v^ 
 longed to the non-commissioned officers of the regiment, oc 
 cupied the second. The wives and daughters of the pri 
 vates were huddled together in the rear, some standing, and ^ 
 some sitting, as they could find room. Mabel, who had 
 alreardy been admitted to the society of the officers wives, 
 oo the footing of an humble companion, was a good deal 
 noticed by the ladies in front, whc had a proper apprecia 
 tion of modest self-respect and gentle refinement, though 
 they were all fully aware of the value of rank, more pai- 
 ticularly in a garrison. 
 11 
 
162 THE PATHFINDEK. 
 
 As soon as this important portion of the spectators had 
 got into their places, Lundie gave orders for the trial of 
 skill to proceed, in the manner that had been prescribed in 
 his previous orders. Some eight or ten of the best marks 
 men of the garrison now took possession of the stand, and 
 began to fire in succession. Among them were officers and 
 men indiscriminately placed, nor were the casual visitors in 
 the fort excluded from the competition. As might have been 
 expected of men whose amusements and comfortable sub 
 sistence equally depended on skill in the use of their weap 
 ons, it was soon found that they were all sufficiently expert 
 to hit the bull s-eye, or the white spot in the centre of the 
 target. Others, who succeeded them, it is true, were less 
 sure, their bullets striking in the different circles that sur 
 rounded the centre of the target, without touching it. 
 
 According to the rules of the day, none could proceed to 
 the second trial who had failed in the first ; and the adju 
 tant of the place, who acted as master of the ceremonies, or 
 marshal of the day, called upon the successful adventurers 
 by name, to get ready for the next effort, while he gave no 
 tice that those who failed to present themselves for the 
 shot at the bull s-eye would necessarily be excluded from all 
 the higher trials. Just at this moment, Lundie, the quar 
 termaster, and Jasper Eau-douce appeared in the group at 
 the stand, while the Pathfinder walked leisurely on the 
 ground, without his beloved rifle ; for him, a measure so 
 unusual as to be understood by all present as a proof that 
 ne did not consider himself a competitor for the honors of 
 the day. All made way for Major Duncan, who, as he ap 
 proached the stand, in a good-humored way took his station, 
 leveled his rifle carelessly, and fired. The bullet missed 
 the required mark by several inches. 
 
 * Major Duncan is excluded from the other trials ! " pro- 
 cJaimed the adjutant, in a voice so strong and confident, that 
 all the elder officers and the sergeants well understood that 
 this failure was preconcerted, while the younger gentlemen 
 and the privates felt new encouragement to proceed, on ac 
 count of the evident impartiality with which the laws of the 
 loorta were administered, nothing being so attractive to tha 
 
THE PATHFINDER. 163 
 
 unsophisticated as the appearance of rigorous justice, and 
 nothing so rare as its actual administration. 
 
 " Now, Master Eau-douce, comes your turn," said Muir 
 " and if you do not beat the major, I shall say that your 
 hand is better skilled with the oar than with the rifle." 
 
 Jasper s handsome face flushed, he stepped upon the stand, 
 cast a hasty glance at Mabel, whose pretty form he ascer 
 tained was bending eagerly forward, as if to note the result, 
 dropped the barrel of his rifle, with but little apparent care, 
 into the palm of his left hand, raised the muzzle for a single 
 instant, with exceeding steadiness, and fired. The bullef 
 passed directly through the centre of the bull s-eye, much 
 the best shot of the morning, since the others had merely 
 touched the paint. 
 
 " Well performed, Master Jasper," said Muir, as soon as 
 the result was declared ; " and a shot that might have done 
 credit to an older head and a more experienced eye. I m 
 thinking, notwithstanding, there was some of a youngster s 
 luck hi it, for ye were no partic lar in the aim ye took. Ye 
 may be quick, Eau-douce, in the movement, but ye r not 
 philosophic nor scientific in ye r management of the weapon. 
 Now, Sergeant Dunham, I ll thank you to request the ladies 
 to give a closer attention than common, for I m about to 
 make that use of the rifle which may be called the intellect 
 ual. Jasper would have killed, I allow ; but then there 
 would not have been half the satisfaction hi receiving such 
 t shot, as hi receiving one that is discharged scientifically." 
 
 All this time the quartermaster was preparing himself 
 for the scientific trial ; but he delayed his aim until he saw 
 that the eye of Mabel, in common with those of her com 
 panions, was fastened on him in curiosity. As the others 
 left him room, out of respect to his rank, no one stood near 
 the competitor but his commanding officer, to whom he now 
 aid in bis familiar manner, 
 
 " You see, Lundie, that something is to be gained by 
 exciting a female s curiosity. It s an active sentiment, ia 
 curiosity, aud properly improved may lead to gentler in- 
 tlinations in the end." 
 
 ** Very true, Davy ; but ye keep us all waiting wliile ye 
 
164 THE PATHFINDER. 
 
 make your preparations ; and here is Pathfinder drawing 
 near to catch a lesson from your greater experience." 
 
 " "Well, Pathfinder, and so you have come to get an idea 
 too, concerning the philosophy of shooting ! I do not wish 
 to hide my light under a bushel, and ye re welcome to all 
 ye ll learn. Do ye no mean to try a shot yerseP, man ? " 
 
 " Why should I, quartermaster why should I ? I 
 want none of the prizes ; and as for honor, I have had 
 enough of that, if it s any honor to shoot better than your 
 self. I m not a woman, to wear a calash." 
 
 " Very true ; but ye might find a woman that is precious 
 in your eyes to wear it for ye, as " 
 
 " Come, Davy," interrupted the major, " your shot, or a 
 retreat. The adjutant is getting to be impatient." 
 
 " The quartermaster s department, and the adjutant s 
 department, are seldom compilable, Lundie ; but I m ready ; 
 stand a little aside, Pathfinder, and give the ladies an op 
 portunity." 
 
 Lieutenant Muir now took his attitude with A good deal 
 of studied elegance, raised his rifle slowly, lowered it, raised 
 it again, repeated the manrauvres, and fired. 
 
 " Missed the target altogether ! " shouted the man whose 
 duty it was to mark the bullets, and who had little relish for 
 the quartermaster s tedious science. "Missed the target!" 
 
 " It cannot be ! " cried Muir, his face flushing equally 
 with indignation and shame ; " it cannot be, adjutant ; for I 
 never did so awkward a thing in my life. I appeal to the 
 ladies for a juster judgment." 
 
 " The ladies shut their eyes when you fired," exclaimed 
 the regimental wags. " Your preparations alarmed them." 
 
 " I will na believe such a calumny of the leddies, njr sic 
 w reproach on my own skill," returned the quartermaster, 
 growing more and more Scotch, as he warmed with his feel 
 ings ; " it s a conspiracy to rob a meritorious man of his 
 
 " It s a dead miss, Muir," said the laughing Lundie, a and 
 ye U jist sit down quietly with the disgrace." 
 
 " No, no, major," Pathfinder at length observed, " the 
 quartermaster is a good shot, for a slow one, and a meaa 
 
THE PATHFINDER. 165 
 
 ured distance ; though nothing extr ornary, for raal sar- 
 vice. He has covered Jasper s bullet, as will be seen, if 
 any one will take the trouble to examine the target." 
 
 The respect for Pathfinder s skill, and for his quickness 
 and accuracy of sight, was so profound and general, that 
 the instant he made this declaration, the spectators began to 
 distrust their own opinions, and a dozen rushed to the tar 
 get, in order to ascertain the fact. There, sure enough, 
 it was found that the quartermaster s bullet had gone 
 through the hole made by Jasper s, and that, too, so accu 
 rately as to require a minute examination to be certain of 
 the circumstance ; which, however, was soon clearly estab 
 lished, by discovering one bullet over the other, in the 
 stump against which the target was placed. 
 
 " I told ye, ladies, ye were about to witness the influence 
 of science on gunnery," said the quartermaster, advancing 
 towards the staging occupied by the females. " Major 
 Duncan derides the idea of mathematics entering into tar 
 get shooting ; but I tell him philosophy colors, and enlarges, 
 and improves, and dilates, and explains, everything that be 
 longs to human life, whether it be a shooting match or a 
 sermon. In a word, philosophy is philosophy, and that is 
 saying all that the subject requires." 
 
 " I trust you exclude love from the catalogue," observed 
 the wife of a captain, who knew the history of the quarter 
 master s marriages, and who had a woman s malice against 
 the monopolizer of her sex ; " it seems that philosophy 
 las little in common with love." 
 
 " You wouldn t say that, madam, if your heart had expe 
 rienced many trials. It s the man or the woman that has 
 had many occasions to improve the affections that can best 
 ipeak of such matters ; and, believe me, of all love, philo- 
 tophical is the most lasting, as it is the most rational." 
 
 u You would then recommend experience as an improve 
 ment on the passion ? " 
 
 " Your quick mind has conceived the idea at a glance. 
 The happiest marriages are those in which youth, and 
 oeauty, and confidence on one side, rely on the sagacity, 
 moderation, and prudence of years middle age, I meaa. 
 
166 THE PATHFINDER. 
 
 madam, for I ll no deny that there is such a thing &s a hus 
 band s being too old for a wife. Here is Sergeant Dun 
 ham s charming daughter, now, to approve of such senti 
 meiits, I m certain, her character for discretion being 
 already well established in the garrison, ihort as has been 
 her residence among us." 
 
 " Sergeant Dunham s daughter is scarcely a fitting inter 
 locutor in a discourse between you and me, Lieutenant 
 Muir," rejoined the captain s lady, with careful respect foi 
 her own dignity ; " and yonder is the Pathfinder about to 
 take his chance, by way of changing the subject." 
 
 " I protest, Major Duncan, I protest " cried Muir, hur 
 rying back towards the stand, with both arms elevated by 
 way of enforcing his words "I protest, in the strongest 
 terms, gentlemen, against Pathfinder s being admitted into 
 these sports with Killdeer, which is a piece, to say nothing 
 of long habit, that is altogether out of proportion, for a 
 trial of skill against government rifles." 
 
 " Killdeer is taking its rest, quartermaster," returned 
 Pathfinder, calmly, " and no one here thinks of disturbing 
 it. I did not think myself of pulling a trigger to-day ; but 
 Sergeant Dunham has been persuading me that I shall not 
 do proper honor to his handsome daughter, who came under 
 my care, if I am backward on such an occasion. I m using 
 Jasper s rifle, quartermaster, ,as you may see, and that is 
 no better than your own." 
 
 Lieutenant Muir was now obliged to acquiesce, and every 
 eye turned towards the Pathfinder, as he took the required 
 station. The air and attitude of this celebrated guide and 
 hunter were extremely fine, as he raised his tall form and 
 leveled the piece, showing perfect self-command, and a thor- 
 otgh knowledge of the power of the human frame, as well 
 %s of the weapon. Pathfinder was not what is usually 
 termed a handsome man, though his appearance excited so 
 much confidence, and commanded respect. Tall, and even 
 muscular, his frame might have been esteemed nearly per 
 fect, were it not for the total absence of everything like 
 flesh. Whip-cord was scarcely -jaore rigid than his arms and 
 legs, or, at need, more pliable ; but the outlines of his per- 
 
THE PATHFINDER. 167 
 
 BOD were rather too angular for the proportion that the eye 
 most approves. Still, his motions being natural, were 
 graceful ; and being calm and regulated, they gave him an 
 air of dignity that associated well with the idea that was sr 
 prevalent of his services and peculiar merits. His honesti 
 open features \^ere burnt to a bright red, that comported 
 with the notion of exposure and hardships, while his sinewy 
 hands denoted force, and a species of use that was removed 
 from the stiffening and deforming effects of labor. Although 
 no one perceived any of those gentler or more insinuating 
 qualities which are apt to win upon a woman s affections, as 
 he raised his rifle, not a female eye was fastened on him, with 
 out a silent approbation of the freedom of his movements, 
 and the manliness of his air. Thought was scarcely quicker 
 than his aim, and, as the smoke floated above his head, the 
 breech of the rifle was seen on the ground, the hand of the 
 Pathfinder was leaning on the barrel, and his honest coun 
 tenance was illuminated by his usual silent, hearty laugh. 
 
 " If one dared to hint at such a thing," cried Major Dun 
 can, " I should say that the Pathfinder had also missed the 
 target ! " 
 
 " No, no, major," returned the guide, confidently, " that 
 would be a risky declaration. I didn t load the piece, 
 and can t say what was in it ; but if it was lead, you will 
 find the bullet driving down those of the quartermaster s 
 and Jasper s ; else is not my name Pathfinder." 
 
 A shout from the target announced the truth of this as 
 sertion. 
 
 : That s not all that s not all, boys," called out the 
 guide who was now slowly advancing towards the stage 
 occupied by the females ; " if you find the target touched 
 at all, I ll own to a miss. The quartermaster cut the wood, 
 but you ll find no wood cut by that last messenger." 
 
 " Very true, Pathfinder, very true," answered Muir, who 
 was lingering near Mabel, though ashamed to address her 
 particularly, in the presence of the officers wives. " The 
 quartermaster did cut the wood, and by that means he 
 opened a passage for your bullet, which weut through the 
 hole he had made, " 
 
168 THE PATHFINDEK. 
 
 " Well, quartermaster, there goes the nail, and we ll see 
 who can drive it closest, you or I ; for, though I did not 
 think of showing what a rifle can do to-day, now my 
 hand is in, I ll turn my back to no man that carries King 
 George s commission. Chingachgook is outlying, or he 
 might force me into some of the niceties of the art; but 
 as for you, quartermaster, if the nail don t stop you, the 
 potato will." 
 
 " You re over boastful this morning, Pathfinder ; bnt 
 you ll find you ve no green boy, fresh from the settlements 
 and the towns, to deal with, I will assure ye ! " 
 
 " I know that well, quartermaster ; I know that well, 
 and shall not deny your experience. You ve lived many 
 years on "Jie frontiers, and I ve heard of you in the colo 
 nies, and ah*ong the Injins, too, quite a human life ago." 
 
 " Na, na," interrupted Muir, in his broadest Scotch, " this 
 is injustice, man. I ve no lived so very long, neither." 
 
 " I ll do you justice, lieutenant, even if you get the best 
 in the potato trial. I say you ve passed a good human life, 
 for a soldier, in places where the rifle is daily used, and I 
 know you are a creditable and ingenious marksman; but 
 then you are not a true rifle-shooter. As for boasting, I 
 hope I m not a vain talker about my own exploits ; but a 
 man s gifts are his gifts, and it s flying in the face of Provi 
 dence to deny them. The sergeant s daughter, here, shall 
 judge atween us, if you have the stomach to submit to so 
 pretty a judge." 
 
 The Pathfinder had named Mabel as the arbiter, because 
 he admired her, and because, in his eyes, rank had little or 
 no value ; but Lieutenant Muir shrank at such a reference 
 n the presence of the wives of the officers. He would 
 gladly keep himself constantly before the eyes and the imag 
 ination of the object of his wishes ; but he was still too much 
 under the influence of old prejudices, and perhaps too wary, 
 to appear openly as her suitor, unless he saw something 
 very like a certainty of success. On the discretion of Ma 
 jor Duncan he had a full reliance, and he apprehended no 
 betrayal from that quarter ; but he was quite aware, should 
 it ever get abroad that he had been refused by the child of 
 
THE PATHFINDER. 169 
 
 * non -commissioned officer, he would find great difficulty in 
 making his approaches to any other woman of a condition 
 to which he might reasonably aspire. Notwithstanding 
 these doubts and misgivings, Mabel looked so prettily, 
 blushed so charmingly, smiled so sweetly, and altogether 
 presented so winning a picture of youth, spirit, modesty, 
 and beauty, that he found it exceedingly tempting to be 
 kept so prominently before her imagination, and to bo abl 
 to address her freely. 
 
 " You shall have it your own way, Pathfinder, he an 
 swered, as soon as his doubts had settled down into deter 
 mination ; " let the sergeant s daughter his charming 
 daughter, I should have termed her be the umpire then ; 
 and to her we will both dedicate the prize, that one or the 
 other must certainly win. Pathfinder must be humored, 
 ladies, as you perceive, else, no doubt, we should have had 
 the honor to submit ourselves to one of your charming 
 society." 
 
 A call for the competitors now drew the quartermaster 
 and his adversary away ; and in a few moments the second 
 trial of skill commenced. A common wrought nail was 
 driven lightly into the target, its head having been first 
 touched with paint, and the marksman was required to hit 
 it, or he lost his chances in the succeeding trials. No one 
 was permitted to enter on this occasion who had already 
 failed in the essay against the bull s-eye. 
 
 There might have been half a dozen aspirants for the 
 honors of this trial ; one or two who had barely succeeded 
 in touching the spot of paint, in the previous strife, prefer 
 ring to rest their reputations there ; feeling certain that they 
 could not succeed in the greater effort that was now exacted 
 tf them. The three first adventurers failed, all coming 
 quite near the mark, but neither touching it. The fourth 
 person who presented himself was the quartermaster, who, 
 after going through his usual attitudes, so far succeeded as 
 to carry away a small portion of the head of the nail, plant 
 ing his bullet by the side of its point. This was not consid 
 ered an extraordinary shot, though it brought the adventurer 
 rithin the category. 
 
170 THE PATHFINDER. 
 
 " You ve saved your bacon, quartermaster, as they saj 
 in the settlements of their creatur s," cried Pathfinder 
 laughing, "but it would take along time to build a house 
 with a hammer no better than your n. Jasper, here, will 
 show you how a nail is to be started, or the lad has lost 
 some of his steadiness of hand and sartainty of eye. You 
 would have done better yourself, lieutenant, had you no 4 
 been so much bent on sogerizing your figure. Shooting is 
 a nat ral gift, and is to be exercised in a nat ral way." 
 
 " We shall see, Pathfinder ; I call that a pretty attempt 
 at a nail ; and I doubt if the 55th has another hammer, as 
 you call it, that can do just that same thing over again." 
 
 " Jasper is not in the 55th but there goes his rap ! " 
 
 As the Pathfinder spoke, the ballet of Eau-douce hit the 
 nail square, and drove it into the target, within an inch of 
 the head. 
 
 u Be all ready to clench it, boys," cried out Pathfinder, 
 stepping into his friend s tracks the instant they were 
 vacant. " Never mind a new nail ; I can see that, though 
 the paint is gone, and what I can see, I can hit at a hun 
 dred yards, though it were only a mosquito s eye. Be 
 ready to clench ! " 
 
 The rifle cracked, the bullet sped its way, and the head 
 of the nail was buried in the wood, covered by the piece of 
 flattened lead. 
 
 " "Well, Jasper, lad," continued Pathfinder, dropping the 
 breech of his rifle to the ground, and resuming the discourse, 
 as if he thought nothing of his own exploit, " you improve 
 3aily. A few more tramps on laud, in my company, and 
 the best marksman on the frontiers will have occasion to 
 look keenly, when he takes his stand agin you. The 
 quartermaster is respectable, but he will never get anj 
 further ; whereas you, Jasper, have the gift, and may one 
 isy defy any who pull trigger." 
 
 " Hoot hoot ! " exclaimed Muir, "do you call hitting 
 the head of the nail respectable only, when it s the perfec- -, 
 tion of the art ? Any one, in the least refined and elevated 
 in sentiment, knows that the delicate touches denote the 
 master ; whereas your sledge-hammer blows come from th< 
 
THE PATHFINDER. 171 
 
 Aide ani uninstructed. If l a miss is as good a mile, a hit 
 ought to be better, Pathfinder, whether it wound or kill." 
 
 " The surest way of settling this rivalry will be to make 
 another trial," observed Lundie, " and that will be of the 
 potato. You re Scotch, Mr. Muir, and might fare better 
 were it a cake or a thistle ; but frontier law has declared 
 for the American fruit, and the potato it shall be." 
 
 As Major Duncan manifested some impatience of manner, 
 Muir had too much tact to delay the sports any longer with 
 his discursive remarks, but judiciously prepared himself for 
 the next appe-al. To say the truth, the quartermaster had 
 little or no faith in his own success in the trial of skill that 
 was to follow, nor would he have been so free in presenting 
 himself as a competitor at all, had he anticipated it would 
 have been made. But Major Duncan, who was somewhat 
 of a humorist, in his own quiet Scotch way, had secretly or 
 dered it to be introduced, expressly to mortify him ; for, a 
 laird himself, Lundie did not relish the notion that one who 
 might claim to be a gentleman, should bring discredit on his 
 caste by forming an unequal alliance. As soon as every 
 thing was prepared, Muir was summoned to the stand, and 
 the potato was held in readiness to be thrown. As the 
 sort of feat we are about to offer to the reader, however, 
 may be new to him, a word in explanation will render the 
 matter more clear. A potato of large size was selected, 
 and given to one, who stood at the distance of twenty yards 
 from the stand. At the word " Heave," which was given by 
 the marksman, the vegetable was thrown with a gentle toss 
 into the air, and it was the business of the adventurer to 
 e&uae a ball to pass through it, before it reached the ground. 
 
 The quai ermaster, in a hundred experiments, had once 
 succeeded in accomplishing this difficult feat, but he now es 
 sayed to perform it again, with a sort of blind hope, that 
 was fated to be disappointed. The potato was thrown in tho 
 usual manner, the rifle was discharged, but the flying target 
 was untouched. 
 
 " To the right about, and fall out, quartermaster," said 
 Landie, smiling at the success of his own artifice ; " the 
 honor of the silken calash will lie between Jasper Eau- 
 douce ami l j atli!iti<k r." 
 
172 THE PATHFINDER. 
 
 "And how is the trial to end, major?" inquired the lat 
 ter. " Are we to have the two-potato trial, or is it to be 
 settled by centre and skin ? " 
 
 " By centre and skin, if there is any perceptible differ 
 ence ; otherwise the double shot must follow." 
 
 " This is an awful moment to me, Pathfinder," observed 
 Jasper, as he moved towards the stand, his face actually 
 losing its color in intensity of feeling. 
 
 Pathfinder gazed earnestly at the young man, and then 
 begging Major Duncan to have patience for a moment, he 
 led his friend out of the hearing of all near him, before he 
 spoke. 
 
 " You seem to take this matter to heart, Jasper ? " the 
 hunter remarked, keeping his eyes fastened on those of the 
 youth. 
 
 " I must own, Pathfinder, that my feelings were never 
 before so much bound up in success." 
 
 " And do you so much crave to outdo me, an old and 
 tried friend ? and that, as it might be, in my own way ? 
 Shooting is my gift, boy, and no common hand can equal 
 mine ! " 
 
 " I know it I know it, Pathfinder ; but yet " 
 
 " But what, Jasper, boy ? speak freely ; you talk |to a 
 friend." 
 
 The young man compressed his lips, dashed a hand across 
 his eye, and flushed and paled alternately, like a girl con 
 fessing her love. Then squeezing the other s hand, he said 
 calmly, like one whose manhood has overcome all other sen 
 sations, 
 
 " I would lose an arm, Pathfinder, to be able to make an 
 offering of that calash to Mabel Dunham." 
 
 The hunter dropped his eyes to the ground, ancj as he 
 walked slowly back towards the stand, he seemed to ponder 
 leeply on what he had just heard. 
 
 " You never could succeed in the double trial, Jasper ! " 
 fte suddenly remarked. 
 
 " Of that I am certain, and it troubles me." 
 
 " What a creature is mortal man ! He pines for things 
 which are not of his gift, and treats the bounties of Prov 
 
THE PATHFINDER. ITS 
 
 idence lightly. No matter no matter. Take your sta 
 tion, Jasper, for the major is waiting ; and, harkee, lad, I 
 must touch the skin, for I could not show my face in the 
 garrison with less than that." 
 
 " I suppose I must submit to my fate>" returned Jasper^ 
 flushing and losing his color, as before ; " but I will make 
 the effort, if I die." 
 
 " What a thing is mortal man ! " repeated Pathfinder 
 falling back to allow his friend room to take his aim ; " ho 
 overlooks his own gifts, and craves them of another ! " 
 
 The potato was thrown, Jasper fired, and the shout that 
 followed preceded the announcement of the fact, that he had 
 driven his bullet through its centre, or so nearly so as to 
 merit that award. 
 
 " Here is a competitor worthy of you, Pathfinder," cried 
 Major Duncan, with delight, as the former took his station, 
 " and we may look to some fine shooting, in the double 
 trial." 
 
 " What a thing is mortal man ! " repeated the hunter, 
 scarce seeming to notice what was passing around him, so 
 much were his thoughts absorbed in his own reflections. 
 "Toss!" 
 
 The potato was tossed, the rifle cracked it was re 
 marked just as the little black ball seemed stationary in the 
 air, for the marksman evidently took unusual heed to his 
 aim and then a look of disappointment and wonder suc 
 ceeded among those who caught the falling target. 
 
 " Two holes in one ? " called out the^major. 
 
 " The skin the skin ! " was the answer : " only the skin ! " 
 
 " How s this, Pathfinder ! Is Jasper Eau-douce to carry 
 off the honors of the day ! " 
 
 " The calash is his," returned the other, shaking his head, 
 and walking quietly away from the stand. "What a crea 
 ture is a mortal man ! Never satisfied w ; .th his own gifts, 
 but forever craving that which Providence denies ! " 
 
 As Pathfinder had not buried his bullet in the potato, 
 but had cut through the skin, the prize was immediately 
 adjudged to Jasper. The calash was in the hands of the 
 Utter, when the quartermaster approached, and with a pol- 
 
174 THE PATHFINDER 
 
 itic air of cordiality, he wished his successful rival joy of his 
 victory. 
 
 " But now you ve got the calash, lad, it s of no use to 
 you," he added ; " it will never make a sail, nor even an 
 ensign. I m thinking, Eau-douce, you d no be sorry to see 
 its value in good silver of the king ? " 
 
 "Money cannot buy it, lieutenant," returned Jasper 
 whose eye lighted up with all the fire of success and joy, 
 "I would rather have won this calash than have obtained 
 iifty new suits of sails for the Scud ! " 
 
 " Hoot, hoot, lad ! you are going mad like all the rest 
 of them. I d even venture to offer half a guinea for the 
 trifle, rather than it should lie kicking about in the cabin 
 of your cutter, and, in the end, become an ornament for 
 the head of a squaw." 
 
 Although Jasper did not know that the wary quarter 
 master had not offered half the actual cost of the prize, he 
 heard the proposition with indifference. Shaking his head 
 in the negative, he advanced towards the stage, where his 
 approach excited a little commotion, the officers ladies, one 
 and all, having determined to accept the present, should the 
 gallantry of the young sailor induce him to offer it. But 
 Jasper s diffidence, no less than admiration for another, 
 would have prevented him from aspiring to the honor of 
 complimenting any whom he thought so much his superiors. 
 
 " Mabel," he said, " this prize is for you, unless " 
 
 "Unless what, Jasper?" answered the girl, losing her 
 own bashfulness in the natural and generous wish to relieve 
 his embarrassment, though both reddened in a way to betray 
 strong feeling. 
 
 " Unless you may think too indifferently of it, because it 
 U offered by one who may have np right to believe his gift 
 will be accepted/ 
 
 " I do accept it, Jasper ; and it shall be a sign of the 
 danger I have passed in your comp iny, and of the gratitude 
 I feel for your care of me your care, and that of the 
 Pathfinder." 
 
 " Never mind me, never mind me," exclaimed the latter 
 * this is Jasper s luck and Jasper s gift ; gi <j him fu!l credit 
 
THE PATHFI1 >EK. 175 
 
 for both. My turn may come another day ; mine and the 
 quartermaster s, who seems to grudge the boy the calash, 
 though what he can want of it, I cannot understand, for he 
 has no wife." 
 
 u And has Jasper Eau-douce a wife? Or have you a 
 wife yoursel , Pathfinder? I may want it to help to get a 
 wife, or as a memorial that I have had a wife, or as proof 
 bow much I admire the sex, or because it is a female gar 
 ment, or for some other equally respectable motive. It s 
 not the unreflecting that are the most prized by the thought 
 ful, and there is no surer sign that a man made a gooi 
 husband to his first consort, let me tell you all, than to see 
 him speedily looking around for a competent successor. 
 The affections are good gifts from Providence, and they 
 that have loved one faithfully, prove how much of this 
 bounty has been lavished upon them, by loving anothev as 
 soon as possible." 
 
 " It may be so it may be so. I am no practitioner in 
 such things, and cannot gainsay it. But Mabel, here, the 
 sergeant s daughter, will give you full credit for the words. 
 Come, Jasper, although our hands are out, let us see what 
 the other lads can do with the rifle." 
 
 Pathfinder and his companions retired, for the sports 
 were about to proceed. The ladies, however, were not so 
 much engrossed with rifle-shooting as to neglect the calash. 
 It passed from hand to hand ; the silk was felt, the fashion 
 criticised, and the work examined, and divers opinions were 
 privately ventured concerning the fitness of so handsome a 
 tiling s passing into the possession of a non-commissioned 
 officer s child. 
 
 " Perhaps you will be disposed to sell that calash, Mabel, 
 when it has been a short time in your possession ? " inquired 
 the captain s lady. " Wear it, I should think, y ou nevei 
 can." 
 
 " 1 may not wear it, madam," returned our heroine mod 
 estly, " but I should not like to part with it, either." 
 
 "I dare say Sergeant Dunham keeps you above tht 
 necessity of selling your clothes, child; but, at the sajue 
 time, it is money thrown away to keep an article of dresi 
 you can never wear." 
 
If6 THE PATHFINDER. 
 
 " I should be unwilling to part with the gift of a friend." 
 
 " But the young man himself will think all the better of 
 you, for your prudence, after the triumph of the day is 
 forgotten. It is a pretty and a becoming calash, and ought 
 not to be thrown away." 
 
 " I ve no intention to throw it away, ma am, and, it you 
 please, would rather keep it." 
 
 " As you will, child ; girls of your age often overlook 
 their real advantages. Remember, however, if you do deter 
 mine to dispose of the thing, that it is bespoke, and that I 
 will not take it, if you ever even put it on your own head." 
 
 " Yes, ma am," said Mabel, in the meekest voice imagina 
 ble, though her eyes looked like diamonds, and her cheeks 
 reddened to the tints of two roses, as she placed the for 
 bidden garmen^ over her well-turned shoulders, where she 
 kept it a minute, as if to try its fitness, and then quietly 
 removed it again. 
 
 The remainder of the sports offered nothing of interest. 
 The shooting was reasonably good, but the trials were all 
 of a scale lower than those related, and the competitors 
 were soon left to themselves. The ladies and most of the 
 officers withdrew, and the remainder of the females soon 
 followed their example. Mabel was returning along the 
 low flat rocks that line the shore of the lake, dangling her 
 pretty calash from a prettier finger, when Pathfinder met 
 her. He carried the rifle which he had used that day, but 
 his manner had less of the frank ease of the hunter about 
 it than usual, while his eye seemed roving and uneasy. 
 After a few unmeaning words concerning the noble sheet 
 of water before them, he turned towards his companion 
 with strong interest in his countenance, and said, 
 
 " Jasper earned that calash for you, Mabel, without much 
 irial of his gifts." 
 
 It was fairly done, Pathfinder." 
 
 " No doubt, no doubt. The bullet passed neatly through 
 the potato, and no man could have done more; though 
 others might have done as much." 
 
 * But no one did as much ! " exclaimed Mabel, with ac 
 animation that she instantly regretted, for she saw by th 
 
^ 
 
 :TT 
 
" Here, where they cross each other, in sailing about, he added, cocking 
 ,rt raisina his rifle : the two the two : now look ! Page 177- 
 
 and raising his rifle ; the two the two 
 
THE PATHFINDER. 177 
 
 pained look of the guide, that he was mortified equally In 
 the remark, and by the feeling with which it was uttered. 
 
 " It is true it is true, Mabel, no one did as much ftien, 
 but yet, there is no reason I should deny my gifts which 
 come from Providence ; yes, yes no one did as much there, 
 but you shall know what can be done here. Do you ob 
 serve the gulls that are flying over our heads ? " 
 
 " Certainly, Pathfinder ; there are too many to escape 
 notice." 
 
 " Here, where they cross each other, in sailing about," he 
 added, cocking and raising his rifle; "the two the two ; 
 now look ! " 
 
 The piece was presented quick as thought, as two of the 
 birds came in a line, though distant from each other many 
 yards ; the report followed, and the bullet passed through 
 the bodies of both the victims. No sooner had the gulls 
 fallen into the lake, than Pathfinder dropped the breech of 
 the rifle, and laughed in his own peculiar manner, every 
 shade of dissatisfaction and mortified pride having left his 
 honest face. 
 
 " That is something, Mabel, that is something ; although 
 I ve no calash to give you ! But ask Jasper himself; I ll 
 leave it all to Jasper, for a truer tongue and heart are not 
 in America." 
 
 "Then it was not Jasper s fault that he gained the 
 prize ! " 
 
 " Not it. He did his best, and he did well. For one 
 that has water gifts, rather than land gifts, Jasper is oncom- 
 monly expart, and a better backer no one need wish, ashore 
 or afloat. But it was my fault, Mabel, that he got the 
 calash; though it makes no difference it makes no differ 
 ence, for the thing has gone to the right person." 
 
 " I believe I understand you, Pathfinder," said MabeL 
 blushing in spite of herself, " and I look upon the calash as 
 the joint gift of yourself and Jasper." 
 
 " That would not be doing justice to the lad, neither. He 
 won the garment, and had a right to give it away. The 
 most you may think, Mabel, is to believe that had I won it, 
 t would have gone to the same person." 
 19 
 
178 THE PATHFINDER. 
 
 " I will remember that, Pathfinder, and take care that 
 others know your skill, as it has been proved upon the poor 
 gulls, in my presence." 
 
 " Lord bless you, Mabel, there is no more need of your 
 talking in favor of my shooting, on this frontier, than of 
 your talking about the water in the lake, or the sun in the 
 heavens. Everybody knows what I can do in that way, and 
 your worda would be thrown away, as much as French wouW 
 be thrown away on an American bear." 
 
 " Then you think that Jasper knew you were giving him 
 this advantage, of which he has so unhandsomely availed 
 himself?" said Mabel, the color which had imparted so 
 much lustre to her eyes gradually leaving her face, which 
 became grave and thoughtful. 
 
 " I do not say that, but very far from it. We all forget 
 things that we have known, when eager after our wishes. 
 Jasper is satisfied that I can pass one bullet through two 
 potatoes, as I sent my bullet though the gulls ; and he knows 
 no other man on the frontier can do the same thing. But 
 with the calash before his eyes, and the hope of giving it 
 to you, the lad was inclined to think better of himself, just 
 at that moment, perhaps, than he ought. No, no ; there s 
 nothing mean or distrustful about Jasper Eau-douce, though 
 it is a gift, nat ral to all young men, to wish to appear well 
 in the eyes of handsome young women." 
 
 " I ll try to forget all, but the kindness you ve both shown 
 to a poor motherless girl," said Mabel, struggling to keep 
 down emotions that she scarcely knew how to account for 
 herself. " Believe me, Pathfinder, I can never forget all 
 you have already done for me you and Jasper and this 
 new proof of your regard is not thrown away. Here 
 here is a brooch that is of silver ; I offer it as a token that 
 I owe you life or liberty." 
 
 "What shall I do with this, Mabel ?" asked the bewil 
 dered hunter, holding the simple trinket in his hand. " I 
 have neither buckle nor button about me, for I wear nothing 
 but leathern strings, and them of good deer-skins. It s 
 pretty to the eye, but it is prettier far on the spot it cam* 
 than it can be about m&" 
 
THE PATHFINDER. 179 
 
 " Nay, put it is your hunting-shirt ; it will become it 
 well. Remember, Pathfinder, that it is a token of friend 
 ship between us, and a sign that I can never forget you or 
 your services." 
 
 Mabel then smiled an adieu, and, bounding up the bank, 
 he was soon lost to view behind the mound of the fort 
 
180 THE PATHFINDER. 
 
 CHAPTER XH. 
 
 Lo ! dusky masses steal in dubious sight, 
 Along the leaguered wall, and bristling bank 
 Of the armed river; while with straggling light, 
 The stars peep through the vapor, dim and dank. 
 
 BTBOB. 
 
 A FEW hours later, Mabel Dunham was on the bastion 
 that overlooked the river and the lake, seemingly in deep 
 thought. The evening was calm and soft, and the question 
 had arisen whether the party for the Thousand Islands 
 would be able to get out that night or not, on account of 
 the total absence of wind. The stores, arms, and ammuni 
 tion were already shipped, and even Mabel s effects were on 
 board ; but the small draft of men that was to go was still 
 ashore, there being no apparent prospect of the cutter s 
 getting under way. Jasper had warped the Scud out of the 
 cove, and so far up the stream as to enable him to pass 
 through the outlet of the river whenever he chose ; but 
 there he still lay, riding at single anchor. The drafted men 
 were lounging about the shore of the cove, undecided 
 whether ->r not to pull off. 
 
 The sports of the morning had left a quiet in the garrison 
 that was in harmony with the whole of the beautiful scene, 
 and Mabel felt its influence on her feelings, though probably 
 too little accustomed to speculate on such sensations, to be 
 aware of the cause. Everything near appeared lovely and 
 soothing, while the solemn grandeur of the silent forest and 
 [ !acid expanse of the lake lent a sublimity that other scenes 
 might have wanted. For the first time, Mabel felt the hold 
 that the towns and civilization had gained on her habita 
 sensibly weakened, and the warm-hearted girl began to think 
 that a life passed amid objects such as these around her 
 might be happy. How far the experience of the last ten 
 
THE PATHFINDER. 181 
 
 days came in aid of the calm and holy even-tide, and con 
 tributed towards producing that young conviction, may be 
 suspected, rather than affirmed, in this early portion of our 
 legend. 
 
 " A charming sunset, Mabel," said the hearty voice of her 
 uncle, so close to the ear of our heroine as to cause her to 
 start ; " a charming sunset, girl, for a fresh-water concern, 
 though we should think but little of it at sea." 
 
 " And is not nature the same, on shore, or at sea ; on a 
 lake like this, or on the ocean ? Does not the sun shine on 
 all alike, dear uncle, and can we not feel gratitude fcr the 
 blessings of Providence as strongly on this remote frontier 
 as in our own Manhattan ? " 
 
 " The girl has fallen in with some of her mother s books ! 
 though I should think the sergeant would scarcely make 
 a second march with such trumpery among his baggage. la 
 not nature the same, indeed ! Now, Mabel, do you imagine 
 that the nature of a soldier is the same as that of a seafar 
 ing man ? You ve relations in both callings, and ought to 
 be able to answer." 
 
 " But, uncle, I mean human nature " 
 
 " So do I, girl ; the human nature of a seaman, and the 
 human nature of one of these fellows of the 55th, not even 
 excepting your own father. Here have they had a shoot 
 ing match target firing I should call it this day, and 
 what a different thing has it been from a target firing afloat ! 
 There we should have sprung our broadside, sported with 
 round shot, at an object half a mile off at the very nearest; 
 and the potatoes, if there happened to be any on board, aa 
 quite likely would not have been the case, would have been 
 left in the cook s coppers. It may be an honorable callingj, 
 that of a soldier, Mabel, but an experienced hand sees many 
 follies and weaknesses in one of these forts. As for that 
 bit of a lake, you know my opinion of it already, and I wish 
 to disparage nothing. No real seafarer disparages any 
 thing ; but d e if I regard this here Ontario, as they 
 
 call it, as more than so much water in a ship s scuttle-butt. 
 Now, look you here, Mabel, if you wish to understand the 
 difference between the ocean and a lake, I can make you 
 
182 THE PATHFINDER. 
 
 comprehend it with a single look: this is what one may 
 call a calm, seeing that there is no wind; though, to own 
 the truth, I do not think the calms are as calm as them we 
 get outside " 
 
 " Uncle, there is not a breath of air ! I do not think it 
 possible for the leaves to be more immovably still than 
 those of the entire forest are at this very moment." 
 
 " Leaves ! what are leaves, child ? there are no leaves at 
 sea. If you wish to know whether it is a dead calm or not, 
 try a mould candle your dips flaring too much and 
 then you may be certain whether there is or is not any 
 wind. If you were in a latitude where the air was so still 
 that you found a difficulty in stirring it to draw it in, in 
 breathing, you might fancy it a calm. People are often on 
 a short allowance of air in the calm latitudes. Here, again, 
 look at that water ! It is like milk in a pan, with no more 
 motion now than there is in a full hogshead before the bung 
 is started. On the ocean the water is never still, let the 
 air be as quiet as it may." 
 
 " The water of the ocean never still, uncle Cap I not 
 even in a calm ? * 
 
 " Bless your heart, no, child. The ocean breathes like a 
 living being, and its bosom is always heaving, as the poet- 
 izers call it, though there be no more air than is to be found 
 in a siphon. No man ever saw the ocean still like this 
 lake ; but it heaves and sets as if it had lungs." 
 
 " And this lake is not absolutely still, for you perceive 
 there is a little ripple on the shore, and you may even hear 
 the surf plunging, at moments, against the rocks." 
 
 " All d d poetry ! One may call a bubble a ripple, 
 
 if he will, and washing decks a surf; but Lake Ontario is 
 no more the Atlantic than a Powles Hook periagua is a 
 first-rate. That Jasper, notwithstanding, is a fine lad, and 
 wrants instruction only to make a man of him ! " 
 
 " Do you think him ignorant, uncle ? " answered Mabel, 
 prettily adjusting her hair, in order to do which Bhe was 
 obliged, or fancied she was obliged, to turn away her face. 
 * To me, Jasper Eau-douce appears to know more than most 
 of the young men of his class. He has read but little, fo* 
 
THE PATHFINDER. 183 
 
 books are riot plenty in this part of the world but he has 
 thought much ; at least so it seems to me, for one so 
 young." ^ 
 
 " He is ignorant he is ignorant, as all must be who 
 navigate an inland water like this. He can make a flat 
 knot and a timber hitch, it is true ; but he has no more 
 notion of crowning a cable, now, or of a carrick bend, than 
 you have of catting an anchor. No, no, Mabel ; we both 
 owe something to Jasper and the Pathfinder, and I have 
 been thinking how I can best serve them, for I hold ingrat 
 itude to be the vice of a hog. Some people say it is the 
 vice of a king ; but I say it is the failing of a hog ; for treat 
 the animal to your own dinner, and he would eat you for 
 the dessert." 
 
 " Very true, dear uncle, and we ought indeed to do all 
 we can to express our proper sense of the services of both 
 these brave men." 
 
 " Spoken like your mother s daughter, girl, and in a way 
 to do credit to the Cap family. Now, I ve hit upon a trav 
 erse that will just suit all parties, and as soon as we get 
 back from this little expedition down the lake, among them 
 there Thousand Islands, ] and I am ready to return, it is my 
 intention to propose it." 
 
 " Dearest uncle ! this is so considerate in you, and will 
 be so just ! May I ask what your intentions are ? " 
 
 " I see no reason for keeping them a secret from you, 
 Mabel, though nothing need be said to your father about 
 them, for the sergeant has his prejudices, and might throw 
 difficulties in the way. Neither Jasper, nor his friend, 
 Pathfinder, can ever make anything here-abouts, and I pro 
 pose to take both with me down to the coast, and get them 
 fairly afloat. Jasper would find his sea-legs in a fortnight, 
 and a twelvemonth s v y ge would make him a man. Al 
 though Pathfinder might take more time, or never get to bo 
 rated able, yet one could make something of him, too, par 
 ticularly as a lookout, for he has unusually good eyes*" 
 
 u Uncle, do you think eUher would consent to this?** 
 laid Mabel, smiling. 
 
 u Do I suppose them simpletons ? What rational being 
 
 l See Appendix, Note J. 
 
184 THE PATHFINDER. 
 
 would neglect his own advancement ? Let Jasper alone to 
 push his way, and the lad may yet die the master of 
 som,3 square-rigged craft." 
 
 " And would he be any the happier for it, dear uncle ? 
 How much better is it to be the master of a square-rigged 
 craft, than to be the master of a round-rigged craft ?" 
 
 " Pooh pooh, Magnet, you are just fit to read lectures 
 about ships before some hysterical society ; you don t know 
 what you are talking about; leave these things to ras, and 
 they ll be properly managed. Ah ! here is the Pathfinder 
 himself, and I may just as well drop him a hint of my be 
 nevolent intentions as regards himself. Hope is a great 
 encourager of our exertions." 
 
 Cap nodded his head, and then ceased to speak, while 
 the hunter approached, not with his usual frank and easy 
 manner, but hi a way to show that he was slightly embar 
 rassed, if not distrustful of his reception. 
 
 "Uncle and niece make a family party," said Pathfinder, 
 when near the two, " and a stranger may not prove a wel 
 come companion ? " 
 
 " You are no stranger, Master Pathfinder," returned Cap, 
 "and no one can be more welcome than yourself. We 
 were talking of you but a moment ago ; and when friends 
 speak of an absent man, he can guess what they have said." 
 
 " I ask no secrets I ask no secrets. Every man has 
 his enemies, and I have mine, though I count neither you, 
 Master Cap, nor pretty Mabel, here, among the number. 
 As for the Mingos, I will say nothing ; though they have 
 iio just cause to hate me." 
 
 "That I ll answer for, Pathfinder, for you strike my 
 fancy as being well disposed and upright. There is a 
 method, however, of getting away from the enmity of even 
 tk 3se Mingos, and if you choose to take it, no one will 
 more willingly point it out than myself, without a charge 
 for my advice either." 
 
 " I wish no inimies, Salt-water," for so the Pathfinder had 
 -jegun to call Cap, having, insensibly to himself, adopted the 
 term by translating the name given him by the Indians in. 
 and about the fort, " I wish no inimies. I m as ready t 
 
THE PATHFINDER. 185 
 
 bury the hatchet with the Mingos as with the French, 
 though you know that it depends on one greater than either 
 of us so to turn the heart as to leave a man without inimifts." 
 
 " By lifting your anchor, and accompanying me down to 
 the coast, friend Pathfinder, when we get back from this 
 short cruise on which we are bound, you will find yourself 
 beyond the sound of the war-whoop, and safe enough from 
 fhe Indian bullet." 
 
 w And what should I do on the salt water ? Hunt in 
 your towns ! Follow the trails of people going and coming 
 from market, and ambush dogs and poultry ! You are no 
 friend to my happiness, Master Cap, if you would lead me 
 out of the shade of the woods, to put me in the sun of the 
 clearin s ! " 
 
 " I did not propose to leave you in the settlements, Path 
 finder, but to carry you out to sea, where only a man can 
 be said to breathe freely. Mabel will tell you that such 
 was my intention, before a word was said on the subject." 
 
 " And what does Mabel think would come of such a 
 change ? She knows that a man has his gifts, and that it is 
 as useless to pretend to others, as to withstand them that 
 rome from Providence. I am a hunter, and a scout, or a 
 guide, Salt-water, and it is not in me to fly so much in the 
 face of Heaven as to try to become anything else. Am I 
 right, Mabel, or are you so much of a woman as to wish to 
 see a natur altered ? " 
 
 " I would wish to see no change in you, Pathfinder," Ma 
 bel answered, with a cordial sincerity and frankness that 
 went directly to the hunter s heart ; " and much as my uncle 
 Kdraires the sea, and great as is all the good that he thinks 
 uaay come of it, I could not wish to see the best and noblest 
 hunter of the woods transformed into an admiral. Remain 
 what you are, my brave friend, and you need fear nothing, 
 yhort of the anger of God." 
 
 " Do you hear this, Salt-water? Do you hear what the 
 bergeant s daughter is saying ? And she is much too upright, 
 and fair-minded, and pretty, not to think what she says. 
 .Ho long as she is satisfied with me as I am, I shall not fly in 
 the face of the gifts of Providence, by striving to become 
 
186 THE PATHFINDER. 
 
 anything else. I may seem useless here, in n garrison, but 
 when we get down among the Thousand Islands, there may 
 be an opportunity to prove that a sure rifle is sometimes a 
 God-send." 
 
 " You are then to be of our party ? " said Mabel, smiling 
 so frankly and so sweetly on the guide, that he would havo 
 followed her to the end of the earth. " I shall be the only 
 fens/lie, with the exception of one soldier s wife, and shall 
 feel nons the less secure, Pathfinder, because you will l*e 
 among our protectors." 
 
 "The sergeant would do that, Mabel, the sergeant would 
 do that, though you were not of his kin. No one will over 
 look you. I should think your uncle, here, would like an 
 expedition of this sort, where we shall go with sails, and have 
 a look at an inland sea ? " 
 
 " Your inland sea is no great matter, Master Pathfinder, 
 and I expect nothing from it. I confess, however, I should 
 like to know the object of the cruise, for one does not wish 
 to be idle, and my brother-in-law, the sergeant, is as close- 
 mouthed as a freemason. Do you know, Mabel, what all 
 this means ? " 
 
 " Not in the least, uncle. I dare not ask my father any 
 questions about his duty, for he thinks it is not a woman s 
 business ; and all I can say is, that we are to sail as soon 
 as the wind will permit, and that we are to be absent a 
 month." 
 
 " Perhaps Master Pathfinder can give me a useful hint, 
 lor a v y ge without an object is never pleasant to an old 
 Bailor." 
 
 " There is no great secret, Salt-water, concerning our port 
 %pd object, though it is forbidden to talk much about either 
 in the garrison. I am no soldier, however, and can use my 
 tongue as I please, though as little given as another to idle 
 uonversation, T hope ; still, as we sail so soon, and you are 
 toth to be of the party, you may as well be told where you 
 Are to be carried. You know that there are such things as 
 f he Thousand Islands, I suppose, Master Cap ? " 
 
 " Aye, what are so called here-away, though I take it foi 
 granted that they are not real islands, such as we fall in 
 
THE PATHFINDER. 187 
 
 mth on the ocean ; and that the thousand means some sach 
 matter as two or three, like the killed and wounded of a 
 great battle." 
 
 " My eyes are good, yet have I often been foiled in try 
 ing to count them very islands." 
 
 " Aye, aye ; I ve known people who couldn t count be 
 yond a certain number. Your real land-birds never kno^f 
 their own roosts, even in a land-fall at sea ; they are what 
 I call all things to all men. How many times have I seen 
 the beach, and houses and churches, when the passengeri 
 have not been able to see anything but water ! I have no 
 idea that a man can get fairly out of sight of land on fresh 
 water. The thing appears to me to be irrational and im 
 possible." 
 
 " You don t know the lakes, Master Cap, or you would 
 not say that. Before we get to the Thousand Islands, you 
 will have other notions of what natur has done in this 
 wilderness." 
 
 " I have my doubts whether you have such a thing as a 
 real island in all this region. To my notion, fresh water 
 can t make a bony fidy island ; not what / call an island." 
 
 " We ll show you hundreds of them not exactly a 
 thousand, perhaps, but so many that eye cannot see them 
 all, or tongue count them." 
 
 " And what sort of things may they be ? " 
 
 " Land, with water entirely around them." 
 
 " Aye, but what sort of land, and what sort of water ? 
 I ll engage, when the truth comes to be known, they ll turn 
 out to be nothing but peninsulas, or promontories, or conti 
 nents ; though these are matters, I dare say, of which you 
 know little or nothing. But islands or no islands, what ia 
 the object of the cruise, Master Pathfinder ? " 
 
 " Why, as you are the sergeant s brother, and pretty Ma 
 bel, here, is his da hter, and we are all to be of the party 
 there can be no harm in giving you some idea of what we 
 are going to do. Being so old a sailor, Master Cap, you ve 
 beard, no doubt, of such a port as Fronteuac ? " 
 
 " Who hasn t ? I will not say I ve ever been inside kbn 
 uarhor, but I ve frequently been off the place." 
 
188 THE PATHFINDER. 
 
 " Then you are about to go upon ground with which you 
 Are acquainted, though how you could ever have got there 
 from the ocean, I do not understand. These Great Lakes, 
 you must know, make a chain, the fvater passing out of one 
 into the other, until it reaches Erie, which is a sheet off 
 here to the westward, as large as Ontario itself. Well, out 
 of Erie the water comes, until it reaches a low mountain 
 like, over the edge of which it passes " 
 
 " I should like to know how the devil it can do that ? " 
 
 " Why, easy enough, Master Cap," returned Pathfinder, 
 laughing, " seeing that it has only to fall down hill. Had I 
 said the water went up the mountain, there would have been 
 natur agin it ; but we hold it no matter for water to run 
 down hill that is, fresh water." 
 
 " Aye, aye ; but you speak of the water of a lake s com 
 ing down the side of a mountain ; it s in the teeth of reason, 
 if reason has any teeth." 
 
 " Well, well ; we will not dispute the point ; but what 
 I ve seen I ve seen : as for reason s having any teeth, I ll 
 say nothing ; but conscience has, and sharp ones too. After 
 getting into Ontario, all the water of all the lakes passes 
 down into the sea by a river ; and in the narrow part of the 
 sheet, where it is neither river nor lake, lie the islands 
 spoken of. Now, Frontenac is a post of the Frenchers 
 above these same islands ; and as they hold the garrison be 
 low, their stores and ammunition are sent up the river to 
 Frontenac, to be forwarded along the shores of this and 
 the other lakes, in order to enable the enemy to play his 
 deviltries among the savages, and to take Christian scalps." 
 
 " And will our presence prevent these horrible acts ? " 
 demanded Mabel, with interest. 
 
 " It may, or it may not, as Providence wills. Lundie, as 
 they call him, he who commands this garrison, sent a party 
 down to take a station among the islands, to cut off some 
 of the French boats ; and this expedition of ours will be 
 jhe second relief. As yet they ve not done much, though 
 two batteaux loaded with Indian goods have been taken ; 
 but a runner came in, last week, and brought such tidings 
 that the major is about to make a last effort to sarcumvent 
 
THE PATHFINDER. 189 
 
 the knaves. Jasper knows the way, and we shall be in 
 good hands, for the sergeant is prudent, and of the first 
 quality at an ambushment yes, he is both prudent and 
 alert." 
 
 " Is this all ? " said Cap, contemptuously ; " by the 
 preparations and equipments, I had thought there was a 
 forced trade in the wind, and that an honest pennj might 
 be turned, by taking an adventure. I suppose there are no 
 shares hi your fresh- water prize-money ? " 
 
 Anan ? " 
 
 " I take it for granted the king gets all in these sogering 
 parties and ambushments, as you call them ? " 
 
 " I know nothing about that, Master Cap. I take my 
 share of the lead and powder, if any falls into our hands, 
 and say nothing to the king about it. If any one faro* 
 better, it is not I ; though it is time I did begin to think 
 of a house and furniture, and a home." 
 
 Although the Pathfinder did not dare to look at Mabel 
 while he made this direct allusion to his change of life, he 
 would have given the world to know wkether she were 
 listening, and what was the expression of her countenance. 
 Mabel little suspected the nature of the allusion, however ; 
 and her countenance was perfectly unembarrassed, as she 
 turned her eyes towards the river, where the appearance of 
 some movement on board the Scud began to be visible. 
 
 " Jasper is bringing the cutter out," observed the guide, 
 whose look was drawn in the same direction, by the fall of 
 some heavy article on the deck. " The lad sees the signs 
 of wind, no doubt, and wishes to be ready for it." 
 
 " Aye, and now we shall have an opportuning of learning 
 seamanship," returned Cap, with a sneer. " There is a 
 nicety in getting a craft under her canvas, that shows the 
 thcrough-bred mariner as much as anything else. It s like 
 * soger buttoning his coat, and one can see whether he 
 begins at the top or the bottom." 
 
 " I will not say that Jasper is equal to your seafarers be 
 low," observed Pathfinder, across whose upright mind an 
 unworthy feeling of envy or jealousy never passed ; " but 
 be is a bold boy, and manages his cutter as skillfully as ai)j 
 
190 THE PATHFINDER. 
 
 man can desire, on this lake at least. You didn t find him 
 backward at the Oswego Falls, Master Cap, where fresh 
 water contrives to tumble down hill with little difficulty." 
 
 Cap made no other answer than a dissatisfied ejaculation, 
 and then a general silence followed, all on the bastion study 
 ing the movements of the cutter with the interest that waa 
 natural to their own future connection with the vessel. It 
 was still a dead calm, the surface of the lake literally glitter 
 ing with the last rays of the sun. The Scud had beei 
 warped up to a kedge that lay a hundred yards above the 
 points of the outlet, where she had room to manoeuvre in 
 the river, which then formed the harbor of Oswego. But 
 the total want of air prevented any such attempt, and it 
 was soon evident that the light vessel was to be taken 
 through the passage under her sweeps. Not a sail was 
 loosened, but as soon as the kedge was tripped, the heavy 
 fall of the sweeps was heard, when the cutter, with her 
 head up stream, began to sheer towards the centre of the 
 current ; on reaching which, the efforts of the men ceased, 
 and she drifted towards the outlet. In the narrow pass 
 itself, her movement was rapid, and in less than five minutes 
 the Scud was floating outside of the two low gravelly points 
 that intercepted the waves of the lake. No anchor was let 
 go, but the vessel continued to set off from the land, until 
 her dark hull was seen resting on the glassy surface of the 
 lake, fully a quarter of a mile beyond the low bluff which 
 formed the eastern extremity of what might be called the 
 outer harbor, or roadstead. Here the influence of the 
 river current ceased, and she became virtually stationary. 
 
 " She seems very beautiful to me, uncle," said Mabel, 
 whose gaze had not been averted from the cutter for a 
 single moment, while it had been thus changing its position ; 
 " 1 dare say you can find faults in her appearance, and in 
 the way she is managed ; but to my ignorance both ai e 
 perfect ! " 
 
 " Aye aye ; she drops down with the current well 
 enough, girl, and so would a chip. But when you come 
 to niceties, au old tar like myself has no need of spectacles, 
 to find fault." 
 
THE PATHFINDER. 191 
 
 "Well, Master Cap," put in the guide, who beldcm 
 lieard anything to Jasper s prejudice without manifesting a 
 disposition to interfere, "I ve heard old and experienced 
 salt-water mariners confess, that the Scud is as pretty a 
 craft as floats. I know nothing of such matters myself, buc 
 one may have his own notions about a ship, even though 
 they be wrong notions ; and it would take more than one 
 wi nes* to persuade me Jasper does not keep his boat in 
 good order." 
 
 " I do not say the cutter is downright lubberly, Master 
 Pathfinder; but she has faults, and great faults." 
 
 " And what are they, uncle ? if he knew them, Jasper 
 would be glad to mend them." 
 
 " What are they ? Why, fifty ; aye, for that matter, a 
 hundred. Very material and manifest faults." 
 
 " Do name them, sir, and Pathfinder will mention them 
 to his friend." 
 
 " Name them ? it is no easy matter to call off the stars 
 for the simple reason that they are so numerous. Name 
 them, indeed ! Why my pretty niece, Miss Magnet, what 
 do you think of that main-boom now ? To my ignorant 
 eyes, it is topped at least a foot too high ; and then the 
 
 pennant is foul; and and aye, d e, if there isn c 
 
 a topsail gasket adrift ; and it wouldn t surprise me at all if 
 there should prove to be a round turn in that hawser, if the 
 kedge were to be let go this instant ! Faults, indeed ! No 
 seaman could look at her a moment, without seeing that 
 bhe is as full of faults as a servant that has asked for his 
 discharge." 
 
 " This may be very true, uncle, though I much question 
 L f Jasper knows of them. I do not think he would suffer 
 these things, Pathfinder, if they were pointed out to him." 
 
 " Let Jasper manage his own cutter, Mabel ; let him 
 manage his own cutter. His gifts lie that-away, and I ll 
 answer for it, no one can teach him how to keep the Scud 
 out of the hands of the Froritenackers, or their devilish 
 Mingo friends. Who cares for round turns in kedges, and 
 for hawsers that are topped too high, Master Cap, so long 
 & the craft sails well, and keeps clear <vf the Frenchers? 
 
192 THE PATHFINDER. 
 
 I will trust Jasper against all the seafaiers of the *;oast up 
 here on the lakes, but I do not say he has aiy gift for the 
 ocean, for there he has never been tried." 
 
 Cap smiled condescendingly, but he did not think it 
 necessary to push his criticisms any further just at that 
 moment. His air and manner gradually became more 
 supercilious and lofty, though he now wished to seem 
 indifferent to any discussions on points of which one of the 
 parties was entirely ignorant. By this time the cutter had 
 begun to drift at the mercy of the currents of the lake, hei 
 head turning in all directions, though slowly, and not in a 
 wfy to attract particular attention. Just at this moment 
 the jib was loosened and hoisted, and presently the canvas 
 swelled towards the land, though no evidences of air were 
 yet to be seen on the surface of the water. Slight, how 
 ever, as was the impulsion, the light hull yielded, and in 
 another minute the Scud was seen standing across the 
 current of the river, with a movement so easy and moderate 
 as to be scarcely perceptible. When out of the stream, she 
 struck an eddy, and shot up towards the land, under the 
 eminence where the fort stood, when Jasper dropped his 
 kedge. 
 
 " Not lubberly done ! " muttered Cap, in a sort of solil 
 oquy, " not over-lubberly, though he should have put his 
 helm a-starboard instead of a-port, for the vessel ought 
 always to come- to with her head off-shore, whether she is a 
 league from the land or only a cable s length, since it has a 
 careful look ; and looks are something in this world." 
 
 " Jasper is a handy lad," suddenly observed Sergeant 
 Dunham at his brother-in-law s elbow ; " and we place 
 great reliance on his skill in our expeditions. But come, 
 one and all ; we have but half an hour more of daylight to 
 PDi^ark in, and the boats will be ready for us by the time 
 * a arc ready for them." 
 
 On this intimation the whole party separated, each to 
 fmd those trifles which had not been shipped already. A 
 few taps of the drum gave the necessary signal to the iol 
 diers, and in a minute all were in motion. 
 
THE PATHFINDER. 193 
 
 CHAPTER XIII. 
 
 The goblin now the fool alarms, 
 Hags meet to mumble o er their charms, 
 The night-mare rides the dreaming ass, 
 And fairies trip it on the grass. 
 
 COTTON. 
 
 THE embarkation of so small a party was a matter of no 
 great delay or embarrassment. The whole force confided 
 to the care of Sergeant Dunham consisted of but ten pri 
 vates and two non-commissioned officers, though it was soon 
 positively known that Mr. Muir was to accompany the 
 expedition. The quartermaster, however, went as a vol 
 unteer, while some duty connected with his own depart 
 ment, as had been arranged between him and his commander, 
 was the avowed object. To these must be added the 
 Pathfinder and Cap, with Jasper and his subordinates, one 
 of whom was a boy. The males of the entire party, con 
 sequently, consisted of less than twenty men, and a lad of 
 fourteen. Mabel and the wife of a common soldier were 
 the only females. 
 
 Sergeant Dunham carried off his command in a large 
 batteau, and then returned for his final orders, and to see 
 that his brother-in-law and daughter were properly attended 
 to. Having pointed out to Cap the boat that he and 
 Mabel were to use, he ascended the hill, to seek hiu A ast 
 interview with Lundie. The major was on the bastion so 
 often mentioned : leaving him and the sergeant together 
 for a short time, we will return to the beach. 
 
 It was nearly dark when Mabel found herself in the boat 
 that was to carry her off to the cutter. So very smooth 
 was the surface of the lake, that it was not found necessarj 
 lo bring the batteaux into the river to receive their freights, 
 out the beach outside being totally without surf, and th 
 
194 THE PATHFINDER. 
 
 water as tranquil as that of a pond, everybody embarked 
 there. As Cap had said, there was no heaving and setting, 
 no working of vast lungs, nor any respiration of an ocean 
 for, on Ontario, unlike the Atlantic, gales were not agital 
 ing the element at one point, while calms prevailed a 
 another. This the distances did not permit ; and it is the 
 usual remark of mariners, that the sea gets up faster and 
 goes down sooner, on all the great lakes of the west, than 
 on the different seas of their acquaintance. When the boat 
 left the land, therefore, Mabel would not have known that 
 she was afloat on so broad a sheet of water, by any move 
 ment that is usual to such circumstances. The oars had 
 barely time to give a dozen strokes, when the boat lay at 
 the cutter s side. 
 
 Jasper was in readiness to receive his passengers, and, as 
 the deck of the Scud was but two or three feet above the 
 water, no difficulty was experienced in getting on board her. 
 As soon as this was effected, the young man pointed out to 
 Mabel and her companion, the accommodations prepared for 
 their reception, and they took possession of them. The lit 
 tle vessel contained four apartments below, all between 
 decks having been expressly constructed with a view to the 
 transportation of officers and men, with their wives and 
 families. First in rank was what was called the after-cabin, 
 a small apartment that contained four berths, and which en 
 joyed the advantage of possessing small windows, for the 
 admission of air and light. This was uniformly devoted to 
 females, whenever any were on board ; and as Mabel and 
 her companion were alone, they had ample space and ac 
 commodation. The main-cabin was larger, and lighted from 
 above. It was now appropriated to the uses of the quarter- 
 mastei the sergeant, Cap, and Jasper ; the Pathfinder 
 roamiig through any part of the cutter he pleased, the 
 female apartment excepted. The corporals and common 
 soldiers occupied the space beneath the main hatch, which 
 had a deck for such a purpose ; while the crew were 
 berthed, as usual, in the forecastle. Although the cuttei 
 did not measure quite fifty tons, the draft of officers and 
 men was so light, that there was ample room for all ^u 
 
THE PATHFINDER. 195 
 
 board, there being space enough to accommodate treble the 
 number, if necessary. 
 
 As soon as Mabel had taken possession of her own really 
 ,nnfortable and pretty cabin, m doing which she could not 
 {jstain from indulging in the pleasant reflection that somo 
 uf Jasper s favor had been especially manifested in her be 
 half, she went on deck again. Here all was momentarily in 
 motion ; the men were roving to and fro, in quest of their 
 knapsacks and other effects ; but method and habit soon re 
 duced things to order, when the stillness on board became 
 even imposing, for it was connected with the idea of future 
 adventure, and ominous preparation. 
 
 Darkness was now beginning to render objects on shore 
 indistinct, the whole of the land forming one shapeless black 
 outline, of even forest summits, that was to be distinguished 
 from the impending heavens only by the greater light of 
 the sky. The stars, however, soon began to appear in the 
 latter, one after another, in their usual mild, placid lustre, 
 bringing with them that sense of quiet which ordinarily ac 
 companies night. There was something soothing as well as 
 exciting in such a scene ; and Mabel, who was seated on 
 the quarter-deck, sensibly felt both influences. The Path 
 finder was standing near her, leaning, as usual, on his long 
 rifle, and she fancied that, through the glowing darkness of 
 the hour, she could trace even stronger lines of thought 
 than usual, in his rugged countenance. 
 
 " To you, Pathfinder, expeditions like this can be no 
 great novelty," she said, " though I am surprised to find 
 how silent and thoughtful the men appear to be." 
 
 "We Tarn this, by making war agin Injins. Y^ur 
 militia are great talkers, and little doers, in gin rai ; but 
 the soger who has often met the Mingos, Tarns to know the 
 value of a prudent tongue. A silent army, in the woods, is 
 doubly strong ; and a noisy one, doubly weak. If tongues 
 made sogers, the women of a camp would generally carry 
 *he day." 
 
 " But we are neither an army, nor in the woods. There 
 can be no danger of Miiigos in the Scud." 
 
 \Ask Jasper how he got to be master of this cutter, and 
 
196 THE PATHFINDER. 
 
 you will find yourself answered as to that opinion ! No one 
 is safe from a Mingo who doesn t understand his very natur* 
 and even then he must act up to his own knowledge, and 
 that closely. Ask Jasper how he got command of this very 
 cutter ! " 
 
 " And how did he get the command ? " inquired Mabel, 
 with an earnestness and interest that delighted her simple- 
 minded and true-hearted companion, who was never better 
 pleased than when he had an opportunity of saying aught 
 in favor of a friend. " It is honorable to him that he has 
 reached this station while yet so young." 
 
 " That, is it ; but he deserved it all, and more. A frig 
 ate wouldn t have been too much to pay for so much spirit 
 and coolness, had there been such a thing on Ontario, as 
 there is not, howsever, or likely to be." 
 
 " But Jasper you have not yet told me how he got 
 the command of the schooner ? " 
 
 " It is a long story, Mabel, and one your father, the ser 
 geant, can tell much better than I, for he was present, while 
 I was off on a distant scoutin . Jasper is not good at a 
 story, I will own that ; I ve heard him questioned about 
 this affair, and he never made a good tale of it, although 
 everybody knows it was a good thing. No, no ; Jasper is 
 not good at a story, as his best friends must own. The 
 Scud had near fallen into the hands of the French and the 
 Mingos, when Jasper saved her, in a way that none but a 
 quick-witted mind and a bold heart would have attempted. 
 The sergeant will tell the tale better than I can, and I wish 
 you to question him some day, when nothing better offers. 
 As for Jasper himself, there will be no use in worrying the 
 lad, since he will make a bungling matter of it, for he don t 
 know how to give a history at all." 
 
 Mabel determined to ask her father to repeat the inci 
 dents of the affair that very night, for it struck her young 
 fancy that nothing better could well offer than to listen to 
 the praises of one who was a bad historian of his own ex 
 ploits. 
 
 " Will the Scud remain with us when we reach the 
 island ? " she asked, after a little hesitation about the pro 
 priety of the question, " or shall we be left to ourselves ? " 
 
THE PATHFINDER. 197 
 
 "That s as may be. Jasper does not often keep the 
 cutter idle, when anything is to be done, and we may expect 
 activity on his part. My gifts, however, run so little to 
 wards the water, and vessels gin rally, unless it be among 
 rapids and falls, and in canoes, that I pretend to know noth 
 ing about it. We shall have all right, under Jaspei I make 
 no doubt, who can find a trail on Ontario as well as a Dela 
 ware can find one on the land." 
 
 " And our own Delaware, Pathfinder the Big Serpent 
 why i? he not with us to-night ? " 
 
 Youi question would have been more nat ral had you 
 aid, why are you here, Pathfinder ? The Sarpent is in his 
 place, while I am not in mine. He is out with two or three 
 more scouting the lake shores, and will join us down among 
 the islands with the tidings he may gather. The sergeant 
 is too good a soldier to forget his rear, while he is facing 
 the enemy in front ! It s a thousand pities, Mabel, your 
 father wasn t born a gin ral, as some of the English are 
 who come among us, for I feel sartain he wouldn t leave a 
 Frencher in the Canadas a week could he have his own way 
 with them." 
 
 " Shall we have enemies to face in front ? " asked Mabel, 
 smiling, and for the first time feeling a slight apprehension 
 about the dangers of the expedition. " Are we likely to 
 have an engagement ? " 
 
 " If we have, Mabel, there will be men enough ready and 
 willing to stand atween you and harm. But you are a sol 
 dier s daughter, and we all know have the spirit of one. 
 Don t let the fear of a battle keep your pretty eyes LTODH 
 sleeping." 
 
 " I do feel braver out here in the woods, Pathfinder J 
 than I ever felt before, amid the weaknesses of the towns/] 
 although I have always tried to remember what I owe to 
 my dear father." 
 
 " Aye, your mother was so before you ! You will find 
 Mabel like her mother, no screamer, or a faint-hearted girl 
 to trouble a, man in his need, but one who would encourage 
 her mate, and help to keep his heart up when sorest 
 pressed by danger said the sergeant to me, before I 
 
198 THE PATHFINDER. 
 
 jver laid eyes on that sweet countenance of yours he 
 did!" 
 
 " And why should my father have told you this, Path 
 finder ? " the girl demanded, a little earnestly. " Perhaps 
 he fancied you would think the better of me, if you did 
 not believe me a silly coward, as so many of my sex love 
 to make themselves appear." 
 
 Deception, unless it were at the expense of his enemies 
 :r_ the field, nay, concealment of even a thought, was so 
 little in accordance with the Pathfinder s very nature, that 
 he was not a little embarrassed by this simple question. 
 To own the truth openly, he felt, by a sort of instinct, for 
 which it would have puzzled him to account, would not be 
 proper ; and to hide it, agreed with neither his sense of 
 right nor his habits. In such a strait he involuntarily took 
 refuge in the middle course, not revealing that which he 
 fancied ought not to be told, nor yet absolutely conceal 
 ing it. 
 
 " You must know, Mabel," he said, " that the sergeant 
 and I are old friends, and have stood side by side or if 
 not actually side by side, I a little in advance, as became a 
 scout, and your father, with his own men, as better suited 
 a soldier of the king on many a hard-fought and bloody 
 day. It s the way of us skirmishers to think little of the 
 fight, when the rifle has done cracking ; and at night, 
 around our fires, or on our marches, we talk of the things 
 we love, just as you young women convarse about your fan 
 cies and opinions, when you get together to laugh over your 
 dees. Now it was natural that the sergeant, having such a 
 daughter as you, should love her better than anything else, 
 and that he should talk of her often er than of anything else, 
 while I, having neither daughter, nor sister, nor mother, 
 acr kith nor kin, nor anything but the Delawares to love, I 
 Laturally chimed in, as it were, and got to love you, Mabel, 
 before I ever saw you yes, I did just by talking about 
 you so much." 
 
 " And now you have seen me," returned the smiling girl, 
 whose unmoved and natural manner proved how little sh$ 
 was thinking of anything more than parental or fraternal 
 
THE PATHFINDER. 199 
 
 regard, ** you are beginning to see the folly of forming 
 friendships for people before you know anything about them, 
 except by hearsay." 
 
 " It wasn t friendship it isn t friendship, Mabel, that I 
 feel for you. I am the friend of the Delawares, and have 
 been so from boyhood ; but my feelings for them, or for the 
 best of them, are not the same as them I got from the ser 
 geant for you ; and especially now that I begin to know 
 you better. I m sometimes afeard it isn t wholesome for 
 one who is much occupied in a very manly calling, like 
 that of a guide, or a scout, or a soldier even, to form friend- 
 fihipt for women, young women in particular, as they 
 Beem to me to lessen the love of enterprise, and to turn 
 the feelings away from their gifts and natural occupa 
 tions." 
 
 " You surely do not mean, Pathfinder, that a friendship 
 for a girl like me would make you less bold, and more UP 
 willing to meet the French, than you were before ? " 
 
 " Not so not so. With you in danger, for instance, I 
 fear I might become foolhardy ; but before we became s^ 
 intimate, as I may say, I loved to think of my scoutin s, 
 and of my marches, and outlyings, and fights, and other 
 adventures ; but now my mind cares less about them ; I 
 think more of the barracks and of evenings passed in dis 
 course, of feelings in which there are no wranglings and 
 bloodshed, and of young women, and of their laughs, and 
 their cheerful soft voices, their pleasant looks, and their 
 winning ways ! I sometimes tell the sergeant, that he and 
 uifl daughter will be the spoiling of one of the best and 
 most experienced scouts on the lines ! " 
 
 ij Not they, Pathfinder ; they will try to make that which 
 Ife already so excellent, perfect. You do not know us, if 
 you think that either wishes to see you in the least changed. 
 Remain, as at present, the same honest, upright, conscien- 
 tio is, fearless, intelligent, trustworthy guide> that you are, 
 and neither my dear father nor myself can ever think of 
 you differently from what we now do." 
 
 It was too dark for Mabel to note the workings of tho 
 uouut^ance of her listener, but her own sweet face wai 
 
200 THE PATHFINDER. 
 
 turned towards him, as she spoke with an energy equal to 
 her frankness, in a way to show how little embarrassed were 
 her thoughts, and how sincere were her words. Her coun 
 tenance was a little flushed, it is true, but it was with ear 
 nestness and truth of feeling ; though no nerve thrilled, no 
 limb trembled, no pulsation quickened. In short, her man 
 ner and appearance were those of a sincere-minded and 
 frank girl, making such a declaration of good-will and re 
 gard for one of the other sex, as she felt that his service! 
 and good qualities merited, without any of the emotion tha* 
 invariably accompanies the consciousness of an inclination 
 which might lead to softer disclosures. 
 
 The Pathfinder was too unpracticed, however, to enter 
 into distinctions of this kind, and his humble nature was 
 encouraged by the directness and strength of the words he 
 had just heard. Unwilling, if not unable to say any more, 
 he walked away, and stood leaning on his rifle, and looking 
 up at the stars, for quite ten minutes, in profound silence. 
 
 In the mean while, the interview on the bastion, to which 
 we have already alluded, took place between Lundie and 
 the sergeant. 
 
 " Have the men s knapsacks been examined ? " demanded 
 Major Duncan, after he had cast his eye at a written re 
 port, handed to him by the sergeant, but which it was too 
 dark too read. 
 
 " All, your honor ; and all are right." 
 
 " The ammunition arms ? " 
 
 " All in order, Major Duncan, and fit for any service." 
 
 "You have the men named in my own draft, Dun 
 ham?" 
 
 " Without an exception, sir. Better men could not be 
 wind in the regiment." 
 
 " You have need of the best of our men, sergeant. This 
 experiment has now been tried three times ; always under 
 me of the ensigns, who have flattered me with success, bat 
 have as often failed. After so much preparation an* 3 ex 
 pense, I do not like to abandon the project entirely , but 
 this will be the last effort: and the result will mainly de 
 pend on you and on the Pathfinder." 
 
THE PATHFINDER. 201 
 
 " You may count on us both, Major Duncan. The duty 
 you have given us is not above our habits and experience, 
 and I think it will be well done. I know that the Path 
 finder will not be wanting." 
 
 " On that, indeed, it will be safe to rely. He is a most 
 extraordinary man, Dunham one who long puzzled me ; 
 but who, now that I understand him, commands as much of 
 my respect as any general in his Majesty s Bervice." 
 
 " I was in hopes, sir, that you would come to look at the 
 propose I marriage with Mabel, as a thing I ought to wish 
 and forward." 
 
 " As for that, sergeant, tune will show," returned Lundie, 
 smiling, though here, too, the obscurity concealed the nicer 
 shades of expression ; " one woman is sometimes more 
 difficult to manage than a whole regiment of men. By the 
 way, you know that your would-be son-in-law, the quarter 
 master, will be of the party ; and I trust you will at least 
 give him an equal chance in the trial for your daughter s 
 smiles." 
 
 " If respect for his rank, sir, did not cause me to do 
 l his, your honor s wish would be sufficient." 
 
 " I thank you, sergeant. We have served much to 
 gether, and ought to value each other in our several sta 
 tions. Understand me, however : I ask no more for Davy 
 Muir than a clear field and no favor. In love, as in war, 
 each man must gain his own victories. Are you certain 
 that the rations have been properly calculated ? " 
 
 " I ll answer for it, Major Duncan ; but if they were not, 
 we cannot suffer with two such hunters as Pathfinder and 
 the Serpent in company." 
 
 " That will never do, Dunham," interrupted Lundie, 
 aharply, "and it comes of your American birth and Ameri 
 can training ! No thorough soldier ever relies on anything 
 out his commissary for supplies ; and 1 beg no part of my 
 -egimeiit may be the first to set an example to the con- 
 -rary." 
 
 " You have only to command, Major Duncan, to be 
 obeyed ; and yet, if I might presume, sir " 
 
 * Sp^ak freely, sergeant, you are talking with a friend." 
 
202 THE PATHFINDER. 
 
 " I was merely about to say, that I find even the Scotch 
 soldiers like venisou and birds quite as well as pork, when 
 they are difficult to be had." 
 
 " That may be very true ; but likes and dislikes have 
 nothing to do with system. An army can rely on nothing 
 but its commissaries. The irregularity of the provincials 
 has played the devil with *Jke king s service too long to be 
 winked at any longer." 
 
 " General Braddock, your honor, might have been acL 
 vised by Colonel Washington." 
 
 " Out upon your Washington ! You re all provincials 
 together, man, and uphold each other as if you were of a 
 sworn confederacy." 
 
 " I believe his Majesty has no more loyal subjects than 
 the Americans, your honor." 
 
 "In that, Dunham, I m thinking you re right; and I 
 have been a little too warm, perhaps. I do not consider 
 you a provincial, however, sergeant; for, though born in 
 America, a better soldier never shouldered a musket." 
 
 u And Colonel Washington, your honor ? " 
 
 " Well ; and Colonel Washington may be a useful sub 
 ject, too. He is the American prodigy ; and I suppose I 
 may as well give him all the credit you ask. You have no 
 doubt of the skill of this Jasper Eau-douce ? " 
 
 " The boy has been tried, sir ; and found equal to all that 
 can be required of him." 
 
 " He has a French name, and has passed much of his 
 boyhood hi the French colonies : has he French blood in 
 his veins, sergeant ? " 
 
 " Not a drop, your honor. Jasper s father was an old 
 comrade of my own, and his mother came of an honest and 
 loyal family, in this very province." 
 
 " How came he then so much among the French, and 
 whence his name? He speaks the language of the Caiia- 
 das, too, I find ! " 
 
 " That is easily explained, Major Duncan. The boy was 
 left under the care of one of our mariners in the old war, 
 and he took to the water like a duck. Your honor knows 
 that we have no ports on Ontario, that can be named ai 
 
THE PATHFINDER. 203 
 
 k,uch, and he naturally passed most of his time on the othei 
 side of the lake, where the French have had & few -vessels 
 these fifty years. He learned to speak their language, as 
 a matter of course, and got his name from the Indians arid 
 Canadians, who are fond of calling men by their qualities, 
 fts it might be." 
 
 " A French master is but a poor instructor for a Britisn 
 sailor, notwithstanding ! " 
 
 " I beg your pardon, sir ; Jasper Eau-douce was brought 
 up ui^der a real English seaman ; one that had sailed under 
 the king s pennant, and may be called a thorough-bred : 
 that is to say, a subject born in the colonies, but none the 
 worse at his trade, I hope, Major Duncan, for that." 
 
 " Perhaps not, sergeant ; perhaps not ; nor any better. 
 This Jasper behaved well, too, when I gave him the com 
 mand of the Scud ; no lad could have conducted himself 
 more loyally, or better." 
 
 " Or more bravely, Major Duncan. I am sorry to see, 
 sir, that you have doubts as to the fidelity of Jasper." 
 
 " It is the duty of the soldier who is intrusted with the 
 care of a distant and important post like this, Dunham, 
 never to relax in his vigilance. We have two of the most 
 artful enemies that the world has ever produced, in their 
 several ways, to contend with the Indians and the 
 French ; and nothing should be overlooked that can lead 
 to injury." 
 
 " I hope your honor considers me fit to be intrusted with 
 any particular reason that may exist for doubting Jasper, 
 since you have seen fit to intrust me with this command." 
 
 " It is not that I doubt you, Dunham, that I hesitate to 
 reveal all I may happen to know, but from a strong reluctance 
 to circulate an evil report concerning one of whom I have 
 hitherto thought well. You must think well of the Path- 
 Quder, or you would not wish to give him your daughter ? " 
 
 " For the Pathfinder s honesty, I will answer with my life, 
 sir," returned the sergeant firmly, and not without a dig 
 nity of manner that struck his superior. " Such a man 
 doesn t know how to be false." 
 
 " I believe you are right, Dunham, and yet this last infor- 
 
204 THE PATHHNDEK. 
 
 mation has unsettled all my old opinions. I have 
 an anonymous communication, sergeant, advising me to be on 
 my guard against Jasper Western, or Jasper Eau-douce, asi 
 he is called ; who, it alleges, has been bought by the enemy, 
 and giving me reason to expect that further and more pre 
 cise information will soon be sent." 
 
 " Letters without signatures to them, sir, are scarcely to 
 be regarded in war." 
 
 " Or in peace, Dunham. No one can entertain a lower 
 opinion of the writer of an anonymous letter, in ordinary 
 matters, than myself. The very act denotes cowardice, 
 meanness, and baseness ; and it usually is a token of false 
 hood, as well as of other vices. But, in matters of war, it 
 is not exactly the same thing. Besides, several suspicious 
 circumstances have been pointed out to me " 
 
 " Such as is fit for an orderly to hear, your honor ? " 
 
 " Certainly, one in whom I confide as much as in yourself, 
 Dunham. It is said, for instance, that your daughter and 
 her party were permitted to escape the Iroquois, when they 
 came in, merely to give Jasper credit with me. I am told 
 that the gentry at Frontenac will care more for the capture 
 of the Scud, with Sergeant Dunham and a party of men, 
 together with the defeat of our favorite plan, than for the 
 capture of a girl, and the scalp of her uncle." 
 
 " I understand the hint, sir, but I do not give it credit. 
 Jasper can hardly be true, and Pathfinder false ; and as for 
 the last, I would as soon distrust your honor, as distrust 
 him!" 
 
 " It would seem so, sergeant ; it would indeed seem so. 
 But Jasper is not the Pathfinder after all, and I will own, 
 Dunham, I should put more faith in the lad, if he didn t 
 speak French ! " 
 
 " It s no recommendation in my eyes, I assure your honor ; 
 but the boy learned it by compulsion, as it were, and ought 
 uot to be condemned too hastily, for the circumstance, by 
 your honor s leave. If he does speak French, it s because 
 he can t well help it." 
 
 u It s a d d lingo, and never did any one good at 
 
 no British subject ; for I suppose the French then* 
 
THE PATHFINDER. 205 
 
 solves must talk together in some language or other. I 
 should have much more faith in this Jasper did he know 
 nothing of their language. This letter has made me uneasy ; 
 and, were there another to whom I could trust the cutter, I 
 would devise some means to detain him here. I have spokeu 
 to you already of a brother-in-law who goes with you, ser 
 geant, and who is a sailor?" 
 
 " A real seafaring man, your honor, and somewhat preju 
 diced against fresh water. I doubt if he could be induced 
 to risk his character on a lake, and I m certain he neve* 
 could find the station." 
 
 " The last is probably true, and then, the man cannot 
 know enough of this treacherous lake to bc> fit for the em 
 ployment ! You will have to be doubly vigilant, Dunham. 
 I give you full powers, and should you detect this Jasper 
 in any treachery, make him a sacrifice at once to offended 
 justice." 
 
 " Being in the service of the crown, your honor, he ia 
 amenable to martial law " 
 
 " Very true ; then iron him, from his head to his heels, 
 and send him up here, in his own cutter. That brother-in- 
 law of yours must be able to find the way back, after he has 
 once travelled the road." 
 
 " I make no doubt, Major Duncan, we shall be able to 
 do all that will be necessary, should Jasper turn out as you 
 seem to anticipate; though I think I would risk my life on 
 his truth." 
 
 " I like your confidence ; it speaks well for the fellow ; 
 but that infernal letter ! There is such an air of truth 
 about it nay, there is se much truth in it, touching other 
 matters " 
 
 " I think your honor said it wanted the name at the bot 
 tom ; a great omission for an honest man to make." 
 
 " Quite right, Dunham, and no one but a rascal, and a 
 cowardly rascal into the bargain, would write an anony 
 mous letter, on private affairs. It is different, however, in 
 war. Despatches are feigned, and artifice is generally 
 allowed to be justifiable." 
 
 * Military, manly artifices, sir, if you will ; uch a? anv 
 
206 THE PATHFINDER. 
 
 bushes, surprises, feints, false attacks, and even spies ; but 1 
 never heard of a true soldier who could wish to undermine 
 the character of an honest young man, by such means aa 
 these ! " 
 
 " I have met with many strange events, and some stranger 
 people, in the course of my experience. But fkre-you-well, 
 sergeant ; I must detain you no longer. You are now on 
 your guard, and I recommend to you untiring vigilance. I 
 think Muir means shortly to retire, and should you fully 
 succeed in this enterprise, my influence will not be wanting 
 in endeavoring to put you into the vacancy, to which you 
 have many claims ! " 
 
 " I humbly thank your honor," coolly returned the ser 
 geant, who had been encouraged in this manner, any time 
 for the preceding twenty years, " and hope I shall never dis 
 grace my station, whatever it may be. I am what nature 
 and Providence have made me, and I hope I m satisfied." 
 
 " You have not forgotten the howitzer ? " 
 
 " Jasper took it on board this morning, sir." 
 
 "Be wary, and do not trust that man unnecessarily. 
 Make a confidant of Pathfinder at once ; he may be of ser 
 vice in detecting any villainy that may be stirring. His 
 simple honesty will favor his observation, by concealing it 
 He must be true." 
 
 " For him, sir, my own head shall answer, or even my 
 rank in the regiment. I have seen him too often tried to 
 doubt him." 
 
 " Of all wretched sensations, Dunham, distrust, where 
 one is compelled to confide, is the most painful. You have 
 bethought you of the spare flints ? " 
 
 " A sergeant is a safe commander for all such details, 
 your honor." 
 
 " Well, then, give me your hand, Dunham. God blesa 
 you, and may you be successful. Muir means to retire 
 by the way, let the man have an equal chance with your 
 daughter, for \\ may facilitate future operations about the 
 promotion. One would retire more cheerfully with such a 
 companion as Mabel, than hi cheerless widowerhood, and 
 with nothing but ono s self to love, and such a self, too, 01 
 
THE PATHFINDER. 207 
 
 " I hope, sir, my child will make a prudent choice, and I 
 t hink her mind is already pretty much made up in favor of 
 Pathfinder. Still, she shall have fair play, though disobe 
 dience is the next crime to mutiny." 
 
 " Have all the ammunition carefully examined and Iried, 
 as soon as you arrive ; the damp of the lake may affect it ; 
 and now, once more, farewell, sergeant. Beware of that 
 Jasper, and consult with Muir in any difficulty. I shall 
 expect you to return triumphant, this day month." 
 
 " God bless your honor ! if anything should happen to 
 me, I trust to you, Major Duncan, to care for an old sol 
 dier s character." 
 
 " Rely on me, Dunham ; you will rely on a friend. Be 
 vigilant ; remember you will be in the very jaws of the lion 
 pshaw ! of no lion, neither ; but of treacherous tigers : 
 in their very jaws, and beyond support. Have the flints 
 counted and examined in the morning and farewell, 
 Dunham, farewell." 
 
 The sergeant took the extended hand of his superior with 
 proper respect, and they finally parted ; Lundie hastening 
 into his own movable abode, while the other left the fort, 
 descended to the beach, and got into a boat. 
 
 Duncan of Lundie had said no more than the truth, when 
 he spoke of the painful nature of distrust. Of all the feel 
 ings of the human mind, it is that which is the most treach 
 erous in its workings, the most insidious in its approaches, 
 and the least at the command of a generous temperament. 
 While doubt exists, everything may be suspected, the 
 thoughts having no definite facts to set bounds to their wan 
 derings ; and distrust once admitted, it is impossible to say 
 to what extent conjecture may lead, or whither credulity 
 may follow. That which had previously seemed innoceiit, 
 assumes the hue of guilt, as soon as this uneasy tenant has 
 taken possession of the thoughts ; and nothing is said or 
 done, without being subjected to the colorings and disfigu 
 rations of jealousy and apprehension. If this is true in or 
 dinary affairs, it is doubly true when any heavy responsibil 
 ity, involving life or death, weighs on the unsettled mind 
 of its subject ; as in the case of the military commander, OF 
 
208 THE PATHFINDER. 
 
 the agent in the management of any great political interest 
 It is not to be supposed, then, that Sergeant Dunham, aftef 
 he had parted from his commanding officer, was likely to 
 forget the injunctions he had received. He thought highly 
 of Jasper, in general ; but distrust had been insinuated be 
 tween his former confidence and the obligations of duty ; 
 i^d, <ts he now felt that everything depended on his own 
 vigilance, by the time the boat reached the side of the Scud, 
 he was in a proper humor to let no suspicious circumstance 
 ^p unheeded, or any unusual movement in the young sailoi 
 pass without its comment. As a matter of course, he 
 viewed things in the light suited to his peculiar mood ; and 
 his precautions, as well as his distrust, partook of the habits, 
 opinions, and education of the man. 
 
 The Scud s kedge was lifted as soon as the boat, with the 
 sergeant, who was the last person expected, was seen to quit 
 the shore, and the head of the cutter was cast to the east 
 ward by means of the sweeps. A few vigorous strokes of 
 the latter, in which the soldiers aided, sent the light craft 
 into the line of the current that flowed from the river, when 
 she was suffered to drift into the offing again. As yet, 
 there was no wind, the light and almost imperceptible aii 
 from the lake, that had existed previously to the setting of 
 the sun, having entirely failed. 
 
 All this time, an unusual quiet prevailed in the cutter. 
 It appeared as if those on board of her felt that they were 
 entering upon an uncertain enterprise, in the obscurity of 
 night ; and that their duty, the hour, and the manner of 
 their departure, lent a solemnity to their movements. Dis 
 cipline also came in aid of these feelings. Most were silent; 
 and those whc said anything, spoke seldom and in low 
 voices. In this manner, the cutter set slowly out into the 
 lake, until she had got as far as the river current would 
 carry her, when she became stationary, waiting for the usual 
 Lmd breeze. An interval of half an hour followed, during 
 the whole of which time the Scud lay as motionless as a 
 log, floating on the water. While the little changes jus* 
 mentioned were occurring in the situation of the vessel, not 
 withstanding the general quiet that prevailed, all converse 
 
THE PATHFINDER. 209 
 
 tion had not been repressed ; for Sergeant Dunham, Laving 
 first ascertained that both his daughter and her female com 
 panion were on the quarter-deck, led the Pathfinder to the 
 after-cabin, where, closing the door with great cauticn, and 
 otherwise making certain he was beyond the reach of eaves 
 droppers, he commenced as follows : 
 
 " It is now many years, my friend, since you began to 
 experience the hardships and dangers of the woods in my 
 company." 
 
 " It is, sergeant ; yes, it is. I sometx.nes fear I am too 
 >ld for Mabel, who was not born until yofc and I had fou t 
 the Frenchers as comrades." 
 
 " No fear on that account, Pathfinder. I was near your 
 age before I prevailed on the mind of her mother ; and 
 Mabel is a steady, thoughtful girl, one that will regard char 
 acter more than anything else. A lad like Jasper Eau- 
 douce, for instance, will have no chance with her, though he 
 is both young and comely." 
 
 " Does Jasper think of marrying ? " inquired the guide, 
 simply, but earnestly. 
 
 " I should hope not at least not until he has satisfied 
 every one of his fitness to possess a wife." 
 
 " Jasper is a gallant boy, and one of great gifts in his 
 way ; he may claim a wife as well as another." 
 
 " To be frank with you, Pathfinder, I brought you here to 
 talk about this very youngster. Major Duncan has received 
 some information which has led him to suspect that Eau- 
 douce is false, and in the pay of the enemy ; I wish to hear 
 your opinion on the subject." 
 
 " Anan ! " 
 
 " I say the major suspects Jasper of being a traitor a 
 French spy or what is worse, of being bought to betray 
 as. He has received a letter to this effect, and has been 
 charging me to keep an eye on the boy s movements, for he 
 fears we shall meet with enemies when we least expect it, 
 iud by his means." 
 
 " Duncan of Luiidie has told you this, Sergeant Dun 
 ham ? " 
 
 " lie has, indeed, Pathfinder ; and though I have been 
 14 
 
210 THE PATHFINDER. 
 
 loath to believe anything to the injury of Jasper, I have 
 feeling which tells me I ought to distrust him. Do yon 
 believe in presentiments, my friend ? " 
 
 ** In what, sergeant ? " 
 
 ; Presentiments a sort of secret foreknowledge of 
 events that are about to happen. The Scotch of our regi 
 ment are great sticklers for such things ; and my opinion of 
 Jasper is changing so fast that I begin to fear there must be 
 ome truth in their doctrines." 
 
 " But you ve been talking with Duncan of Lundie con- 
 saining Jasper, and his words have raised misgivin s." 
 
 Not it not so in the least. For while conversing 
 with the major, my feelings were altogether the other way ; 
 and I endeavored to convince him all I could that he did 
 the boy injustice. But there is no use hi holding out against 
 a presentiment, I find ; and I fear there is something in the 
 suspicion after all." 
 
 " I know nothing of presentiments, sergeant, but I have 
 known Jasper Eau-douce since he was a boy, and I have as 
 much faith in his honesty as I have in my own, or that of 
 the Sarpent himself." 
 
 " But the Serpent, Pathfinder, has his tricks and am 
 bushes in war, as well as another ! " 
 
 " Aye, them are his nat ral gifts, and such as belong to 
 his people. Neither red-skin nor pale-face can deny natur ; 
 but Chingachgook is not a man to feel a presentiment 
 agin." 
 
 " That I believe ; nor should I have thought ill of Jasper 
 this very morning. It seems to me, Pathfinder, since I ve 
 taken up this presentiment, that the lad dees not bustle 
 abou . his deck, naturally, as he used to do ; but that he is 
 silent, and moody, and thoughtful, like a man who has a 
 bad on his conscience." 
 
 " Jasper is never noisy, and he tells me noisy ships are 
 generally ill-worked ships. Master Cap agrees in this, too. 
 No. no ; I will believe naught against Jasper until I see 
 it. Send for your brother, sergeant, and let us question 
 him in this matter ; for to sleep tvith distrust of oue s fri nd 
 in the heart, is like sleeping with lead there. I have 110 
 faith in your presentiments." 
 
THE PATHFINDER. 211 
 
 The seigeant, although he scarce knew, himself, with 
 what object, complied, and Cap was summoned to join in 
 the consultation. As Pathfinder was more collected than 
 his companion, and felt so strong a conviction of the good 
 faith of the party accused, he assumed the office of spokes 
 man. 
 
 " We have asked you to come down, Master Cap," he 
 commenced, " in order to inquire if you have remarked any 
 thing out of the common way, in the movements of Eau- 
 douce, this evening." 
 
 " His movements are common enough, I dare say, for 
 fresh water, Master Pathfinder, though we should think 
 most of his proceedings irregular, down on the coast." 
 
 " Yes, yes ; we know you will never agree with the lad 
 about the manner the cutter ought to be managed ; but it 
 is on another p int we wish your opinion." 
 
 The Pathfinder then explained to Cap the nature of the 
 suspicions which the sergeant entertained, and the reasons 
 why they had been excited, so far as the latter had been 
 communicated by Major Duncan. 
 
 " The youngster talks French, does he ? " 
 
 " They say he speaks it better than common," returned 
 the sergeant, gravely. " Pathfinder knows this to be true." 
 
 " I ll not gainsay it I ll not gainsay it," answered the 
 guide, "at least they tell me such is the fact. But this 
 would prove nothing agin a Mississagua, and least of all 
 agin one like Jasper. I speak the Mingo dialect myself, 
 having 1 arnt it while a prisoner among the riptyles; but 
 who will say I am their friend ! Not that I am an inimy, 
 either, according to Injin notions ; though I am their inimy, 
 I will admit, agreeable to Christianity." 
 
 " Aye, Pathfinder, but Jasper did not get his French as a 
 prsouer : he took it in, in boyhood, when the mind is easily 
 impressed, and gets its permanent notions ; when nature has 
 a presentiment, as it were, which way the character is likely 
 to incline." 
 
 " A very just remark," added Cap, " for that is the time 
 of life when we all learn the catechism, and other moral 
 improvements The sergeant s observation shows that he 
 
212 THE PATHFINDER. 
 
 understands human nature, and I agree with him perfectly 
 it is a damnable thing for a youngster, up here on this bit 
 of fresh water, to talk French. If it were down on the At 
 lantic now, where a seafaring man has occasion sometimes 
 to converse with a pilot, or a linguister, in that language, I 
 should not think so much of it, though we always look with 
 suspicion, even there, at a shipmate who knows too much of 
 the tongue ; but up here on Ontario, I hold it to be a most 
 suspicious circumstance. 1 
 
 " But Jasper must talk in French to the people on the 
 other shore," said Pathfinder, "or hold his tongue, as there 
 are none but French to speak to." 
 
 " You don t mean to tell me, Pathfinder, that France lies 
 here-away on the opposite coast ? " cried Cap, jerking a 
 thumb over his shoulder, in the direction of the Canadas ; 
 " that one side of this bit of fresh water is York, and the 
 other France ! " 
 
 " I mean to tell you this is York, and that is Upper Can 
 ada ; and that English and Dutch and Indian are spoken in 
 the first, and French and Indian in the last. Even the 
 Mingos have got many of the French words in their dialect, 
 and it is no improvement, neither." 
 
 " Very true ; and what sort of people are the Mingos, 
 my friend ? " inquired the sergeant, touching the other on 
 a shoulder, by way of enforcing a remark, the inherent truth 
 of which sensibly increased its value in the eyes of the 
 speaker ; " no one knows them better than yourself, and I 
 ask you what sort of a tribe are they ? " 
 
 " Jasper is no Mingo, sergeant." 
 
 " He speaks French, and he might as well be, in that 
 particular. Brother Cap, can you recollect no movement 
 of this unfortunate young man, in the way of his calling, 
 tha . would seem to denote treachery ? " 
 
 " Not distinctly, sergeant, though he has gone to work 
 wrong end foremost, half his time. It is true that one of his 
 hands coiled a rope against the sun, and he called it curling 
 a rope, too, when I asked him what he was about ; but 1 
 am not certain that anything was meant by it ; though I 
 dare say the French coil half their running rigging th 
 
TIIE PATHFINDER. 21o 
 
 wrong way, and may call it * curling it down, too, for that 
 matter. Then Jasper, himself, belayed the end of the jib- 
 halyards to a stretcher in the rigging, instead of bringing 
 them in to the mast, where they belong, at least among 
 British sailors." 
 
 " I dare say Jasper may have got some Canada notions, 
 about working his craft, from being so much on the other 
 side," Pathfinder interposed, " but catching an idee or a 
 word isn t treachery and bad faith. I sometimes get swi 
 idee from the Mingos themselves ; but my heart has always 
 been with the Delawares. No, no, Jasper is true ; and 
 the king might trust him with his crown, just as he would 
 trust his eldest son, who, as he is to wear it one day, ought 
 to be the last man to wish to steal it." 
 
 " Fine talking fine talking," said Cap, rising to spit 
 out of the cabin-window, as is customary with men when 
 they most feel their own great moral strength and happen 
 to chew tobacco, " all fine talking, Master Pathfinder, but 
 
 d d little logic. In the first place, the king s Majesty 
 
 cannot lend his crown, it being contrary to the laws of the 
 realm, which require him to wear it at all times, in order 
 that his sacred person may be known, just as the silver oar 
 w necessary to a sheriff s officer afloat. In the next place 
 it s high treason by law, for the eldest son of his Majesty 
 ever to covet the crown or to have a child, except in lawful 
 Wedlock, as either would derange the succession. Thus you 
 Bee, friend Pathfinder, that in order to reason truly, one 
 must get under way, as it might be, on the right tack. 
 Law is reason, and reason is philosophy, and philosophy is a 
 steady drag ; whence it follows that crowns are regulated 
 by law, reason, and philosophy." 
 
 " I know little of all this, Master Cap ; but nothing short 
 
 of seeing and feeling will make me think Jasper Western a 
 
 traitor." 
 
 "There you are wrong again, Pathfinder, for there is a 
 
 way of proving a thing much more conclusively than by 
 
 either seeing or feeling, or by both together : and that is by 
 
 a circumstance." 
 
 " It may be s<i in the settlements ; but it is not so here, 
 
 Dn the lines." 
 
214 THE PATHFINDER. 
 
 " It is so in nature, which is monarch over all. Now 
 according to our senses, young Eau-douce is this moment 
 on deck, and by going up there either of us might see and 
 feel him ; but, should it afterwards appear that a fact waa 
 communicated to the French at this precise moment, which 
 fact no one but Jasper could communicate ; why, we should 
 be bound to believe that the circumstance was true, and that 
 our eyes and fingers deceived us. Any lawyer will tell you 
 that." 
 
 " This is hardly right," said Pathfinder ; " nor is it possi 
 ble, seein that it is agin fact." 
 
 " It is much more than possible, my worthy guide ; it ia 
 law; absolute, king s law of the realm, and as such, to be 
 respected and obeyed. I d hang my own brother on such 
 testimony; no reflections on the family being meant, ser 
 geant." 
 
 " God knows how far all this applies to Jasper ; though 
 I do believe Mr. Cap is right as to the law, Pathfinder; 
 circumstances being much stronger than the senses on such 
 occasions. We must all of us be watchful, and nothing sus 
 picious should be overlooked." 
 
 "Now I recollect me," continued Cap, again using the 
 window, " there was a circumstance just after we came on 
 board this evening, that is extremely suspicious, and which 
 may be set down at once as a make-weight against this lad. 
 Jasper bent on the king s ensign with his own hands, and 
 while he pretended to be looking at Mabel and the soldier s 
 wife, giving directions about showing them below, here, and 
 all that, he got the flag union down." 
 
 " That might have been accident," returned the sergeant, 
 " for such a thing has happened to myself ; besides, the hal 
 yards lead to a pulley, and the flag would have come right 
 or not, according to the manner in which the lad hoisted it." 
 
 " A pulley " exclaimed Cap, with strong disgust, * I 
 wish, Sergeant jt)unham, I could prevail on you to use 
 propei terms. An ensign-halyard-block is no more a pul 
 ley than your halbert is a boarding-pike. It is true, that 
 by hoisting on one part another part would go uppermost 
 but I look upon that affair of the ensign, now you have 
 
THE PATHFINDER. 215 
 
 mentioned your suspicions, as a circumstance, and shall bear 
 it in mind. I trust supper is not to be overlooked, however, 
 even if we have a hold full of traitors." 
 
 "It will be duly attended to, brother Cap; but I shall 
 count on you for aid in managing the Scud, should anything 
 occur to induce me to arrest Jasper." 
 
 " I ll not fail you, sergeant ; and in such an event you 11 
 probably learn what this cutter can really perform ; for aa 
 yet, I fancy it is pretty much matter of guess-work." 
 
 " Well, for my part," said Pathfinder, drawing a heavy 
 sigh, " I shall cling to the hope of Jasper s innocence, and 
 recommend plain dealing, by asking the lad, himself, with 
 out further delay, whether he is or not a traitor. I ll put 
 Jasper Western agin all the presentiments and circum 
 stances in the colony." 
 
 " That will never do," rejoined the sergeant. " The re 
 sponsibility of this affair rests with me, and I request and 
 enjoin that nothing be said to any one, without my knowl 
 edge. We will all keep watchful eyes about us, and take 
 proper note of circumstances." 
 
 " Aye, aye ; circumstances are the things after all," re 
 turned Cap. " One circumstance is worth fifty facts. 
 That I know to be the law of the realm. Many a man has 
 been hanged on circumstances." 
 
 The conversation now ceased, and after a short delay, the 
 whole party returned to the deck, each individual disposed 
 to view the conduct of the suspected Jasper in the 
 moat suited to his own habits and character. 
 
216 THE PATHFINDKB 
 
 CHAPTER XIV. 
 
 such a man, so faint, so spiritless, 
 So dull, so dead in look, so woe-begone, 
 Drew Priam s curtain in the dead of night, 
 And would have told him, half his Troy was burned. 
 
 SHAKE 
 
 ALL this time, matters were elsewhere passing in their 
 usual train. Jasper, like the weather, and his vessel, 
 seemed to be waiting for the land breeze ; while the sol 
 diers, accustomed to early rising, had, to a man, sought their 
 pullets hi the main hold. None remained on deck but the 
 people of the cutter, Mr. Muir, and the two females. The 
 quartermaster was endeavoring to render himself agreeable 
 to Mabel, while our heroine herself, little affected by his 
 assiduities, which she ascribed partly to the habitual gal 
 lantry of a soldier, and partly, perhaps, to her own pretty 
 face, was enjoying the peculiarities of a scone and situation, 
 that to her were full of the charms of novelty. 
 
 The sails had been hoisted, but as yet not a breath of air 
 was hi motion, and so still and placid was the lake, that not 
 the smallest motion was perceptible in the cutter. She had 
 drifted in the river current to a distance a little exceeding a 
 quarter of a mile frpm the land, and there she lay, beautiful 
 in her symmetry and form, but like a fixture. Young Jas 
 per was on the quarter-deck, near enough to hear occasion 
 ally the conversation which passed, but too diffident of his 
 own claim, and too intent on his duties, to attempt to min 
 gle m it. The fine blue eyes of Mabel followed his motions 
 in curious expectation, and more than once the quartermas- 
 "er had to repeat his compliments, ere she heard them, so 
 jntent was she on the little occurrences of the vessel, and, 
 we might add, so indifferent to the eloquence of her com 
 panion. At length even Mr. Muir became silent, and ther 
 
THE PA7.1FINDER. 217 
 
 was a deep stillness on the water. Presently an oar-blade 
 fell in a boat, beneath the fort, and the sound reached tho 
 cutter as distinctly as if it had been produced on her deck- 
 Then came a murmur, like a sigh of the night, a fluttering 
 of the canvas, the creaking of the boom, and the flap of the 
 jib. These well-known sounds were followed by a slight 
 heel in the cutter, and by the bellying of all the sails. 
 
 " Here s the wind, Anderson," called out Jasper to the 
 oldest of his sailors ; " take the helm." 
 
 This brief order was obeyed ; the helm was put up, th 
 cutter s bows fell off", and in a few minutes the water was 
 beard murmuring under her head, as the Scud glanced 
 through the lake at the rate of five miles in the hour. All 
 this passed in profound silence, when Jasper again gave the 
 order to " Ease off the sheets a little, and keep her along 
 the land." 
 
 It was at this instant that the party from the after-cabin 
 reappeared on the quarter-deck. 
 
 " You ve no inclination, Jasper, lad, to trust yourself toe 
 near our neighbors the French," observed Muir, who took 
 that occasion to recommence the discourse. " Well, well, 
 your prudence will never be questioned by me, for I like 
 the Canadas as little as you can possibly like them your 
 self!" 
 
 " I hug this shore, Mr. Muir, on account of the wind. 
 The land breeze is always freshest close in, provided you 
 are not so near as to make a lee of the trees. We have 
 Mexico Bay to cross, and that, on the present course, will 
 give us quite offing enough." 
 
 " I m right glad it s not the Bay of Mexico," put in Cap, 
 " which is a part of the world I would rather not visit in 
 one of your inland craft. Does your cutter bear a weather 
 helm, Master Oh-the-Deuce ? " 
 
 " She is easy on her rudder. Master Cap, but likes look 
 iug up at the breeze as well as another, when in lively mo 
 tion." 
 
 " I suppose you have such things as reefs, though you can 
 hardly have occasion to use them ? " 
 
 Mabel s bright eye detected the smile that gleamed for an 
 
218 THE PATHFINDER. 
 
 instant on Jasper s handsome face, but no one else saw tliat 
 momentary exhibition of surprise and contempt. 
 
 " We have reefs, and often have occasion to use them,* 1 
 quietly returned the young man. " Before we get in, 
 Master Cap, an opportunity may offer to show you the 
 manner in which we do so, for there is easterly weathex 
 brewing, and the wind cannot chop, even on the ocean 
 itself, more readily than it flies round on Lake Ontario." 
 
 "So mudi for knowing no better! I have seen the wind 
 in the Atlantic fly round like a coach-wheel, in a way tc 
 keep your sails shaking for au hour, and the ship would be 
 come perfectly motionless from not knowing which way to 
 turn." 
 
 " We have no such sudden changes here, certainly," Jas 
 per mildly answered ; " though we think ourselves liable 
 to unexpected shifts of wind. I hope, however, to carry 
 this land-breeze as far as the first islands ; after which, there 
 will be less danger of our being seen and followed by any 
 of the lookout boats from Frontenac." 
 
 " Do you think the French keep spies out on the broad 
 lake, Jasper ? " inquired the Pathfinder. 
 
 " We know they do ; one was off Oswego, during the 
 night of Monday last. A bark canoe came close in with 
 the eastern point, and landed an Indian and an officer. 
 Had you been outlying that night, as usual, we should have 
 secured one, if not both of them." 
 
 It was too dark to betray the color that deepened on the 
 weather-burnt features of the guide, for he felt the con 
 sciousness of having lingered in the fort that night, listening 
 to the sweet tones of Mabel s voice, as she sang ballads to 
 her father, and gazing at a countenance that, to him, was 
 radiant ttith charms. Probity, in thought and deed, being 
 the distinguishing quality of this extraordinary man s mind* 
 while he felt that a sort of disgrace ought to attach to hip 
 idleness, on the occasion mentioned, the last thought that 
 could occur would be to attempt to palliate, or deny, his 
 negligence. 
 
 " I confess it, Jasper, I confess it," he said, humbly 
 * Had I been out that night, and I now remnmber no sulft 
 
THE PATHFINDER. 219 
 
 dent reason why I was not, it might, indeed, have turned 
 out as you say." 
 
 "It was the evening you passed with us, Pathfinder, * 
 Mabel innocently remarked ; " surely one who lives so much 
 of his time in the forest, in front of the enemy, may be 
 excused for giving a few hours of his time to an old friend 
 and his daughter." 
 
 " Nay, nay, I ve done little else but idle since we reached 
 the garrison," returned the other, sighing ; " and it is well 
 that the lad should tell me of it ; the idler needs a scoldin 
 yes, he needs a scoldin V 
 
 " Scolding, Pathfinder ! I never dreamed of saving any 
 thing disagreeable, and least of all would I think of rebuk 
 ing you, because a solitary spy, and an Indian or two, have 
 escaped us ! Now I know where you were, I think your 
 absence the most natural thing in the world." 
 
 " I think nothing of it, Jasper, I think nothing of what 
 you said, since it was desarved. We are all human, and all 
 do wrong." 
 
 " This is unkind, Pathfinder." 
 
 " Give me your hand, lad, give me your hand. It wasn t 
 you that gave the lesson ; it was conscience." 
 
 "Well, well," interrupted Cap, "now this latter matter is 
 settled to the satisfaction of all parties, perhaps you will tell 
 us how it happened to be known that there were spies near 
 us so lately. This looks amazingly like a circumstance ! " 
 
 As the mariner uttered the last sentence, he pressed a 
 foot slyly on that of the sergeant, and nudged the guide 
 with his elbow, winking, at the same time, though this sign 
 was lost in the obscurity. 
 
 " It is known, because their trail was found next day by 
 the Serpent, and it was that of a military boot and a moc 
 casin. One of our hunters, moreover, saw the canoe cross 
 ing towards Frontenac next morning." 
 
 " Did the trail lead near the garrison, Jasper ? " Path 
 finder asked, in a manner so meek and subdued, that it 
 resembled the tone of a rebuked schoolboy. " Did the trail 
 lead near the garrison, lad ? " 
 
 a We thought not ; though, of course, it did not cross ths 
 
220 THE PATHFINDER. 
 
 rher It was followed down to the eastern point, at tLe 
 river*s mouth, where what was doing in port might be seen ; 
 but it did not cross, as we could discover." 
 
 "And why didn t you get under way, Master Jasper/" 
 Cap demanded, " and give chase ? On Tuesday morning it 
 blew a good breeze ; one in which this cutter might have 
 run nine knots." 
 
 u That may do on the ocean, Master Cap," put in Path 
 finder, " but it would not do here. Water leaves no trail, 
 and a Mingo and a Frenchman are a match for the devil in 
 a pursuit." 
 
 " Who wants a trail, when the chase can be seen from 
 the deck, as Jasper, hers, said was the case with this canoe ? 
 and it mattered nothing if there were twenty of your 
 Mingos and Frenchmen, with a good British built bottom 
 in their wake. I ll engage, Master Oh-the-Deuce, had you 
 given me a call, that said Tuesday morning, that we should 
 have overhauled the blackguards." 
 
 " I dare say, Master Cap, that the advice of as old a sea 
 man as you might have done no harm to as young a sailor 
 as myself, but it is a long and a hopeless chase that has a 
 bark canoe in it." 
 
 " You would have had only to press it hard to drive it 
 ashore." 
 
 " Ashore, Master Cap ! You do not understand our lake 
 navigation at all, if you suppose it an easy matter to force 
 a bark canoe ashore. As soon as they find themselves 
 pressed, these bubbles paddle right into the wind s eye, and 
 before you know it you find yourself a mile or two dead 
 under their lee." 
 
 " You don t wish me to believe, Master Jasper, that any 
 dne is so heedless of drowning, as to put off into this lake, 
 in one of them egg-shells, when there is any wind ? " 
 
 " 1 have often crossed Ontario in a bark canoe, even 
 when there has been a good deal of sea on. Well managed, 
 they are the driest boats of which we have any knowledge." 
 
 Cap now led his brother-in-law and Pathfinder aside, 
 when he assured him that the admission of Jasper concern 
 ing the spies was a " circumstance," and " a strong circum- 
 
THE PATHFINDER. 221 
 
 stance," and a,s such, deserved his deliberate investigation ; 
 while his account of the canoes was so improbable, as to 
 wear the appearance of browbeating the listeners. Jasper 
 spoke confidently of the character of the two individuals 
 who had landed, and this Cap deemed pretty strong proof 
 that he knew more about them than was to be gathered 
 ftom a mere trail. As for moccasins, he said that they 
 were worn, in that part of the world, by white men, as wol j 
 as by Indians; he had purchased a pair himself; and boota 
 it was notorious, did not particularly make a soldier. Al 
 though much of this logic was thrown away on the sergeant, 
 still it produced some effect. He thought it a little singular 
 himself that there should have been spies detected so near 
 the fort, and he know nothing of it ; nor did he believe that 
 this was a branch of knowledge that fell particularly within 
 the sphere of Jasper. It was true that the Scud had once 
 or twice been sent across the lake to land men of this char 
 acter, or to bring them off; but then the part played by 
 Jasper, to his own certain knowledge, was very secondary, 
 the master of the cutter remaining as ignorant as any one 
 else, of the purport of the visits of those whom he had 
 carried to and fro ; nor did he see why he, alone, of all 
 present, should know anything of the late visit. Pathfinder 
 viewed the matter differently. With his habitual diffidence 
 he reproached himself with a neglect of duty, and that 
 knowledge of which the want struck him as a fault in one 
 whose business it was to possess it, appeared a merit in the 
 young man. He saw nothing extraordinary in Jasper s 
 knowing the facts he had related; while he did feel it was 
 unusual, not to say disgraceful, that he himself now heard 
 of them for the first time. 
 
 " As for moccasins, Master Cap," he said, when a short 
 pause invited him to speak, " they may be worn by pale 
 faces as well as by red-skins, it is true, though they never 
 leave the same trail on the foot of one as on the foot of 
 the other. Any one who is used to the woods can tell the 
 footstep of an Injin from the footstep of a white man, 
 whether it be made by a boot or a moccasin. It will need 
 better evidence than this to make me believe that Jasper is 
 false." 
 
222 THE PATHFINDER. 
 
 "You will allow, Pathfinder, that there are such things 
 in the world as traitors," put in Cap, logically. 
 
 " I never knew an honest-minded Mingo ; one that you 
 could put your faith in, if he had a temptation to de 
 ceive you. Cheatin seems to be their gift, and I sometimes 
 think they ought to be pitied for it, rather than parse- 
 cuted." 
 
 " Then why not believe that this Jasper may have the 
 burne weakness? A man is a man, and human nature is 
 sometimes but a poor concern, as I know by experience ; I 
 may say, well know by experience ; at least I speak for my 
 own human nature." 
 
 This was the opening of another long and desultory 
 conversation, in which the probability of Jasper s guilt or 
 innocence was argued, pro and con, until both the sergeant 
 and his brother-in-law had nearly reasoned themselves into 
 settled convictions in favor of the first, while their compan 
 ion grew sturdier and sturdier in his defense of the accused, 
 and still more fixed in his opinion of his being unjustly 
 charged with treachery. In this there was nothing out of 
 the common course of things, for there is no more certain 
 way of arriving at any particular notion, than by undertak 
 ing to defend it ; and amongst the most obstinate of our 
 opinions may be classed those which are derived from dis 
 cussions in which we affect to search for truth, while in 
 reality we are only fortifying prejudice. By this time, the 
 sergeant had reached a state of mind that disposed him to 
 view every act of the young sailor with distrust, and he 
 soon got to coincide with his relative in deeming the pecul 
 iar knowledge of Jasper, in reference to the spies, a branch 
 of information that certainly did not come within the ciicle 
 of his regular duties, as a " circumstance." 
 
 While this matter was thus discussed near the tanrail, 
 Mabel sat silent by the companion-way ; Mr. Muir having 
 gone below, to look after his personal comforts, and Jaspei 
 standing a little aloof, with his arms crossed, and his eyea 
 wandering from the sails to the clouds, and the clouds to 
 the dusky outline of the shore, from the shore to the lake 
 and from the lake back again to the sails. Our heroine 
 
THE PATHFINDER. 223 
 
 too, began to commune with her own thoughts. The ex. 
 citeinent of the late journey, the incidents which marked the 
 day of her arrival at the fort, the meeting with a father 
 who was virtuall) a stranger to her, the novelty of her late 
 situation in the garrison, and her present voyage, formed a 
 vi&ta for the mind s eye to look back through, that seemed 
 lengthened into months. She could with difficulty beliovd 
 that she had so recently left the town, with all the usages 
 of civilized life ; and she wondered, in particular, that the 
 incidents which had occurred during the descent of the 
 Oswego, had made so little impression on her mind. Too 
 inexperienced to know that events, when crowded, have 
 the effect of time, or that the quick succession of novelties 
 that pass before us in travelling, elevates objects, in a mea 
 ore, to the dignity of events, she drew upon her memory 
 for days and dates, in order to make certain that she had 
 known Jasper, and the Pathfinder, and her own father, but 
 little more than a fortnight. Mabel was a girl of heart, 
 rather than of imagination, though by no means deficient hi 
 the last, and she could not easily account for the strength 
 of her feelings in connection with those who were lately 
 strangers to her ; for she was not sufficiently accustomed to 
 analyze her sensations, to understand the nature of the in 
 fluences that have just been mentioned. As yet, however, 
 her pure mind was free from the blight of distrust, and she 
 had no suspicion of the views of either of her suitors ; and 
 one of the last thoughts that could have voluntarily dis 
 turbed her confidence, would have been to suppose it possi 
 ble either of her companions was a traitor to his king ind 
 country. 
 
 America, at the time of which we are writing, was re 
 markable for its attachment to the German family that then 
 Hat on the British thiv ue ; for, as is the fact with all 
 piovinces, the virtues and qualities that are proclaimed near 
 the centre of power, as incense and policy, get to be a part 
 of political faith with the credulous and ignorant, at a dis 
 tance. This truth is just as apparent to-day, in connection 
 with the prodigies of the republic, as it then was in cor. 
 nectiou with those distant rulers whose merits it was alwayi 
 
224 THE PATHFINDER. 
 
 safe to applaud, and whose demerits it was treason to re 
 veal. It is a consequence of this mental dependence, that 
 public opinion is so much placed at the mercy of the design 
 ing ; and the world, in the midst of its idle boasts of knowl 
 edge and improvement, is left to receive its truths, on all 
 such points as touch the interests of the powerful and 
 managing, through such a medium, and such a medium only, 
 as may serve the particular views of those who pull thj 
 wires. Pressed upon by the subjects of France, who were 
 then encircling the British colonies with a belt of forts and 
 settlements that completely secured the savages for allies, 
 it would have been difficult to say whether the Americans 
 loved the English more than they hated the French ; and 
 those who then lived probably would have considered the 
 alliance which took place between the cis-Atlantic subjects 
 and the ancient rivals of the British crown, some twenty 
 years later, as an event entirely without the circle of prob 
 abilities. In a word, as fashions are exaggerated in a 
 province, so are opinions : and the loyalty that at London 
 merely formed a part of the political scheme, at New York 
 was magnified into a faith that might almost have moved 
 mountains. Disaffection was, consequently, a rare offense ; 
 and, most of all, would treason, that should favor France or 
 Frenchmen, have been odious in the eyes of the provincials. 
 The last thing that Mabel would suspect of Jasper, was the 
 very crime with which he now stood secretly charged ; and, 
 if others near her endured the pains of distrust, ehe, at least, 
 was filled with the generous confidence of a woman. As 
 yet, no whisper had reached her ear to disturb the feeling 
 of reliance with which she had early regarded the young 
 sa lor, and her own mind would have been the last to sug 
 gest such a thought, of itself. The pictures of the past 
 and of the present, therefore, that exhibited themselves so 
 rapidly to her active imagination, were unclouded with a 
 shade that might affect any in whom she felt an interest; 
 and ere she had mused, in the manner related, a quarter of 
 an hour, the whole scene around her was filled with un 
 alloyed satisfaction. 
 
 The season and the night, to represent them truly, wer 
 
THE PATHFINDER. 226 
 
 of a nature to stimulate the sensations which youth, health, 
 and happiness are wont to associate with novelty. The 
 weather was warm, as is not always the case in that region 
 even in summer, while the air that came off the land hi 
 breathing currents, brought with it the coolness and fra 
 grance of the forest. The wind was far from being fresh , 
 though there was enough of it to drive the Scud merrilv 
 ahead, and perhaps to keep attention alive, in the uncer 
 tainty that, more or less, accompanies darkness. Jasper, 
 however, appeared to regard it with complacency, as was 
 apparent by what he said in a short dialogue that now 
 occurred between him and Mabel. 
 
 " At this rate, Eau-douce " (for so Mabel had already 
 learned to style the young sailor), said our heroine, " we 
 cannot be long in reaching our place of destination." 
 
 " Has your father told you what that is, Mabel ? " 
 
 " He has told me nothing ; my father is too much of a 
 soldier, and too little used to have a family around him, to 
 talk of such matters. Is it forbidden to say whither we 
 are bound ? " 
 
 " It cannot be far while we steer in this direction, for 
 sixty or seventy miles will take us into the St. Lawrence, 
 which the French might make too hot for us ; and no voy 
 age on this lake can be very long." 
 
 " So says my uncle Cap ; but to me, Jasper, Ontario and 
 the ocean appear very much the same." 
 
 " You have then been on the ocean, while I, who pretend 
 to be a sailor, have never yet seen salt water ! You must 
 have a great contempt for such a mariner as myself in your 
 beart, Mabel Dunham ! " 
 
 ** Then I have no such thing in my heart, Jasper Eau- 
 douce. What right have I, a girl without experience 01 
 knowledge, to despise any, much less one like you, who are 
 trusted by the major, and who command a vessel like this ! 
 [ have never been on the ocean, though I have seen it ; 
 and, I repeat, I see no difference between this lake and tha 
 Atlantic." 
 
 " Nor in them that sail on both ? I was afraid, Mabel, 
 your uncle has said so much against us fresh-w:ter sailors 
 
 15 
 
226 THE PATHFINDER. 
 
 that you had begun to look upon us as little better than 
 pretenders." 
 
 " Give yourself no uneasiness on that account, Jasper 
 for I know my uncle, and he says as many things against 
 those who live ashore when at York, as he now says against 
 those who sail on fresh water. No, no ; neither my father 
 nor myself think anything of such opinions ! My uncle 
 Cap, if he spoke openly, would be found to have even a 
 worse notion of a soldier than of a sailor who never saw the 
 sen." 
 
 " But your father, Mabel, has a better opinion of soldiers 
 than of any one else ; he wishes you to be the wife of a 
 soldier." 
 
 " Jasper Eau-douce ! I, the wife of a soldier ! My father 
 wishes it ! Why should he wish any such thing ; what sol 
 dier is there in the garrison that I could marry that he 
 could wish me to marry ? " 
 
 " One may love a calling so well, as to fancy it will cover 
 a thousand imperfections." 
 
 " But one is not likely to love his own calling so well, aa 
 to cause him to overlook everything else. You say my 
 father wishes me to marry a soldier, and yet there is no 
 soldier, at Oswego, that he would be likely to give me to. 
 I am in an awkward position, for while I am not good 
 enough to be the wife of one of the gentlemen of the 
 garrison, I think even you will admit, Jasper, I am too 
 good to be the wife of one of the common soldiers." 
 
 As Mabel spoke thus frankly, she blushed, she knew not 
 why, though the obscurity concealed the fact from her com 
 panion ; and she laughed faintly, like one who felt that the 
 subject, however embarrassing it might be, deserved to be 
 treated fairly. Jasper, it would seem, viewed her position 
 differently from herself. 
 
 " It is true, Mabel," he said, " you are not what is called 
 a lady, in the common meaning of the word " 
 
 " Not in any meaning, Jasper," the generous girl eagerly 
 interrupted ; " on that head I have no vanities, I hope. 
 Providence has made me the daughter of a sergeant, and J 
 am content to remain in the station in which I was born." 
 
THE PATHFWDER. 227 
 
 u But all do not remain in the statioi s in which they 
 were born, Mabel, for some rise above them, and some fall 
 below them. Many sergeants have become officers even 
 generals; and why may not sergeants daughters become 
 officers ladies ? " 
 
 " In the case of Sergeant Dunham s daughter, I know no 
 better reason than the fact that no officer is likely to wish 
 io make her his wife," returned Mabel, laughing. 
 
 " You may think so ; but there are some in the 55th that 
 know better. There is certainly one officer in that regi 
 ment, Mabel, who does wish to make you his wife." 
 
 Quick as the flashing lightning, the rapid thoughts of 
 Mabel Dunham glanced over the five or six subalterns of 
 the corps, who, by age and inclinations, would be the most 
 likely to form such a wish ; and we should do injustice to 
 her habits, perhaps, were we not to say that a lively sensa 
 tion of pleasure rose momentarily in her bosom, at the 
 thought of being raised above a station which, whatever 
 might be her professions of contentment, she felt that she 
 had been too well educated to fill with perfect satisfaction. 
 But this emotion was as transient as it was sudden, for 
 Mabel Dunham was a girl of too much pure and womanly 
 feeling, to view the marriage tie through anything so 
 worldly as the mere advantages of station. The passing 
 emotion was a thrill produced by habit, while the more 
 settled opinion which remained, was the offspring of nature 
 and principles. 
 
 " I know no officer in the 55th, or any other regiment, 
 who would be likely to do so foolish a thing; nor do I 
 think I myself would do so foolish a thing as to marry an 
 officer." 
 
 Foolish, Mabel ! " 
 
 "Yes, foolish, Jasper. You know, as well as I can 
 know, what the world would think of such matters, and I 
 should be sorry, very sorry, to find that my husband ever 
 regretted that he had so far yielded to a fancy for a face or 
 n figure, as to have married the daughter of one so much 
 his inferior as a sergeant." 
 
 " Your husband, Mabel, will not be so likely to think of 
 tbe father, as to think of the daughter." 
 
228 THE PATHFINDEB. 
 
 The girl was talking with spirit, though feeling evidently 
 entered into her part of the discourse ; but she paused for 
 near a minute after Jasper had made the last observation, 
 before she uttered another word. Then she continued in a 
 manner less playful, and one critically attentive might have 
 fancied in a manner that was slightly melancholy : 
 
 " Parent and child ought so to live as not to have two 
 hearts, or two modes of feeling and thinking. A common 
 interest in all things, I should think as necessary to happi 
 ness in man and wife, as between the other members of the 
 same family. Most of all, ought neither the man nor the 
 woman to have any unusual cause for unhappiness, the 
 world furnishing so many of itself." 
 
 " Am I to understand, then, Mabel, you would refuse to 
 marry an officer merely because he was an officer ? " 
 
 " Have you a right to ask such a question, Jasper ? " 
 said Mabel, smiling. 
 
 " No other right than what a strong desire to see you 
 happy can give, which, after all, may be very little. My 
 anxiety has been increased from happening to know that it 
 is your father s intention to persuade you to marry Lieu 
 tenant Muir." 
 
 " My dear, dear father can entertain no notion so ridic 
 ulous ; no notion so cruel ! " 
 
 " Would it, then, be cruel to wish you the wife of a 
 quartermaster ? " 
 
 " I have told you what I think on that subject, and can 
 not make my words stronger. Having answered you so 
 frankly, Jasper, I have a right to ask how you know that 
 DV father thinks of any such thing ? " 
 
 " That he has chosen a husband for you, I know from his 
 own mouth; for he has told me this much during our 
 fre juent conversations, while he has been superintending 
 the shipment of the stores : and that Mr. Muir is to offer 
 for you, I know from the officer himself; who has told me 
 as much. By putting the two things together, I have come 
 to the opinion mentioned." 
 
 u May not my dear father, Jasper," Mabel s face glowed 
 like fire while she spoke, though her words escaped her 
 
THE PATHFINDER 22U 
 
 slowly, and by a sort of involuntary impulse, "may not 
 my dear father have been thinking of another ? It does 
 not follow, from what you say, that Mr. Muir was in his 
 mind." 
 
 " Is it not probable, Mabel, from all that has passed ? 
 What brings the quartermaster here ? He has never found 
 it necessary before, to accompany the parties that have 
 gone below he thinks of you for his wife ; and your father 
 has made up his own mind that you shall be so. Yen must 
 *3e, Mabel, that Mr. Muir follows you ? " 
 
 Mabel made no answer. Her feminine instinct had, 
 indeed, told her that she was an object of admiration with 
 the quartermaster, though she had hardly supposed to the 
 extent that Jasper believed ; and she, too, had even gath 
 ered from the discourse of her father, that he thought 
 seriously of having her disposed of in marriage ; but by no 
 process of reasoning could she ever have arrived at the 
 inference that Mr. Muir was to be the man. She did not 
 believe it now, though she was far from suspecting the 
 truth. Indeed, it was her opinion that the casual remarks 
 of her father which had struck j,ier, had proceeded from a 
 general wish to have her settled, rather than from any 
 desire to see her united to any particular individual. These 
 thoughts, however, she kept secret ; for self-respect and 
 feminine reserve showed her the impropriety of making 
 them the subject of discussion with her present companion. 
 By way of changing the conversation, therefore, after the 
 pause had lasted long enough to be embarrassing to both 
 parties, she said, 
 
 " Of one thing you may be certain, Jasper ; and that it ^ 
 is all I wish to say on the subject : Lieutenant Muir, 
 though he were a colonel, will never be the husband of ptr-/ 
 Mabel Dunham. And now, tell me of your voyage ; wheii / . . 
 will it end r> " 
 
 " That is uncertain. Once afloat, we are at the mercy 
 cf the winds and waves. Pathfinder will tell you, that be 
 who begins to chase the deer in the morning, cannot tell 
 where he will sleep at night." 
 
 * But we are not chasing a deer; nor is it moiuing: to 
 Pathfiuder s moral is throwu away." 
 
230 THE PATHFINDER. 
 
 " Although we are not chasing a deer, we are after that 
 which may be as hard to catch. I can tell yoi no more 
 than I have said already ; for it is our duty to be close- 
 mouthed, whether anything depends on it or not. I am 
 afraid, however, I shall not keep you long enough in the 
 Scud, to show you what she can do in fair and foul." 
 
 " I think a woman unwise who ever marries a sailor,"" 
 said Mabel, abruptly, and almost involuntarily. 
 
 u This is a strange opinion ; why do you hold it ? " 
 
 " Because a sailor s wife is certain to have a rival in hit 
 vessel. My uncle Cap, too, says that a sailor should never 
 marry." 
 
 " He means salt-water sailors," returned Jasper, laugh 
 ing. " If he thinks wives not good enough for those who 
 sail on the ocean, he will fancy them just suited to those 
 who sail on the lakes. I hope, Mabel, you do not take 
 your opinions of us fresh-water mariners from all that 
 Master Cap says." 
 
 " Sail, ho ! " exclaimed the very individual of whom 
 they were conversing ; " or boat, ho ! would be nearer the 
 truth." 
 
 Jasper ran forward; and, sure enough, a small object 
 was discernible about a hundred yards ahead of the cutter, 
 and nearly on her lee bow. At the first glance, he saw it 
 was a bark canoe ; for though the darkness prevented hues 
 from being distinguished, the eye that had got to be accus 
 tomed to the night, might discern forms at some little 
 distance ; and the eye which, like Jasper s, had long been 
 familiar with things aquatic, could not be at a loss in dig- 
 covering the outlines necessary to come to the conclusion 
 he did. 
 
 "This may be an enemy," the young man remarked s 
 * and it may be well to overhaul him." 
 
 " He is paddling with all his might, lad," observed the 
 Pathfinder, " and means to cross your bows and get to 
 windward, when you might as well chase a full-grown buck 
 on snow-shoes ! " 
 
 " Let her luff ! " cried Jasper, to the man at the helm. 
 ** Luff up, till she shakes, there, steady, and hold aL 
 that" 
 
THE PATHFINDER. 281 
 
 The helmsman complied, and as the Scud was now dash 
 ing the water aside merrily, a minute or two put the canoe 
 so far to leeward as to render escape impracticable. Jasper 
 now sprang to the helm himself, and by judicious and care 
 ful handling, he got so near his chase that it was secured by 
 a boat-hook. On receiving an order, the two persons who 
 were in the canoe, left it, and no sooner had they reached 
 the deck of the cutter, than they were found to be Arrow 
 kfl*d and b ia wife. 
 
282 THE PATHflNDEB 
 
 CHAPTER XV. 
 
 What pearl is it that rich men cannot buy, 
 That learning is too proud to gather up ; 
 But which the poor and the despised of all 
 Seek and obtain, and often find unsought? 
 Tell me and I will tell thee what is truth. 
 
 COWPKB. 
 
 THE meeting with the Indian and his wife excited no 
 surprise in the majority of those who witnessed the occur 
 rence ; but Mabel, and all who knew of the manner in 
 which this chief had been separated from the party of Cap, 
 simultaneously entertained suspicions, which it was far easier 
 io feel, than to follow out by any plausible clue to cer 
 tainty. Pathfinder, who alone could converse freely with 
 the prisoners, for such they might now be considered, 
 took Arrowhead aside, and held a long conversation with 
 him, concerning the reasons of the latter for having de 
 serted* his charge, and the manner in which he had been 
 since employed. 
 
 The Tuscarora met these inquiries, and he gave his an 
 swers with the stoicism of an Indian. As respects the 
 separation, his excuses were very simply made, and they 
 seemed to be sufficiently plausible. When he found that 
 the party was discovered in its place of concealment, ha 
 naturally sought his own safety, which he secured by plung 
 ing : nto the woods, for he made no doubt that all who 
 could not effect this much, would be massacred on the spot. 
 In a word. ; he had run away, in order to save his life. 
 
 " This is well," returned Pathfinder, affecting to believe 
 the other s apologies ; " my brother did very wisely ; but 
 his woman followed ? " 
 
 " Do not the pale-faces women follow their husbands 
 Would not Pathfinder have looked back to see if one ho 
 ioved was coming ? " 
 
THE PATHFINDER. 288 
 
 This appeal was made to the guide while he was in A most 
 fortunate frame of mind to admit its force ; for Mabel, and 
 her blandishments and constancy, were getting to be image? 
 familiar to his thoughts. The Tuscarora, though he could 
 not trace the reason, saw that his excuse was admitted, and 
 he stood, with quiet dignity, awaiting the next inquiry. 
 
 " This is reasonable and natural," returned Pathfinder, in 
 English, passing from one language to the other, insensibly 
 to himself, as his feelings or habits dictated ; " this is nat 
 ural, and may be so. A woman would be likely to follow 
 the man to whom she had plighted faith, and husband and 
 wife are one flesh. Mabel, herself, would have been likely 
 to follow the sergeant, had he been presvmt, and retreated 
 in this manner ; and, no doubt, no doubt, f .he warm-hearted 
 girl would have followed her husband Your words are 
 honest, Tuscarora," changing the language to the dialect 
 of the other. " Your words are honest, and very pleasant, 
 and just. But why has my brother been so long from the 
 fort ? his friends have thought of him often, but have never 
 seen him ! " 
 
 " If the doe follows the buck, ought not the buck to fol 
 low the doe ? " answered the Tuscarora, smiling, and laying 
 a finger significantly on the shoulder of his interrogator. 
 " Arrowhead s wife followed Arrowhead ; it was right in 
 Arrowhead to follow his wife. She lost her way, and they 
 made her cook in a strange wigwam." 
 
 " I understand you, Tuscarora. The woman fell into the 
 hands of the Mingos, and you kept upn their trail." 
 
 " Pathfinder can see a reason as easily as he can see the 
 moss on the trees. It is so." 
 
 " And how long have you got the woman back, and in 
 what manner has it been done ? " 
 
 " Two suns. The Dew-of-June was not long in coming, 
 wrhen her husband whispered to her the path." 
 
 " Well, well, all this seems nat ral and according to mat 
 rimony. But, Tuscarora, how did you get that canoe, and 
 why are you paddling towards the St. Lawrence instead of 
 che garrison ? " 
 
 Arrowhead can tell his own from that of another. 
 
234 THE PATHFINDER. 
 
 This canoe is mine ; I found it on the shore, near the 
 fort." 
 
 " That sounds reasonable, too, for the canoe does belong 
 to the man, and an Injin would make few words about tak 
 ing it. Still, it is extr ornary that we saw nothing of the 
 fsllow and his wife, for the canoe must have left the river 
 before we did ourselves." 
 
 This idea, which passed rapidly through the mind of the 
 guide, was now put to the Indian in the shape of a ques 
 tion. 
 
 " Pathfinder knows that a warrior can have shame. The 
 father would have asked me for his daughter, and I could 
 not give him to her. I sent the Dew-of-June for the 
 canoe, and no one spoke to the woman. A Tuscarora 
 woman would not be free in speaking to strange men. 
 
 All this, too, was plausible, and in conformity with In 
 dian character and Indian customs. As was usual, Arrow 
 head had received one half of his compensation previously 
 to quitting the Mohawk ; and his refraining to demand the 
 residue was a proof of that conscientious consideration of 
 mutual rights that quite as often distinguishes the morality of 
 a savage as that of a Christian. To one as upright as 
 Pathfinder, Arrowhead had conducted himself with delicacy 
 and propriety, though it would have been more in accord 
 ance with his own frank nature, to have met the father, and 
 abided by the simple truth. Still, accustomed to the ways 
 of the Indians, he saw nothing out of the ordinary track 
 of things in the course the other had taken. 
 
 " This runs like water flowing down the hill, Arrowhead," 
 he answered, after a little reflection, " and truth obliges me 
 to own it. It was the gift of a red-skin to act in thig way, 
 though I do not think it was the gift of a pale-face. You 
 would not look upon the grief of the girl s father ? " 
 
 Arrowhead made a quiet inclination of the body, as if to 
 Absent. 
 
 " One thing more my brother will tell me," continued 
 Pathfinder, u and there will be no cloud between his wig 
 wam and the strong-house of the Yengeese. If he can blow 
 away this hit of fog, his friends will look at him, as he sits 
 
THE PATHFINDER. 235 
 
 by hi8 OWD fire, and he can look at them, as they lay aside 
 their arms, and forget that they are warriors. "Why was the 
 heid of Arrowhead s canoe looking towards the St. Law 
 jence, where there are none but enemies to be found ? " 
 
 " Why were the Pathfinder and his friends looking the 
 same way ? " asked the Tuscarora, calmly. " A Tuscai ora 
 may look in the same direction as a Yengeese." 
 
 " Wliy, to own the truth, Arrowhead, we are out scouting k 
 like ; i^.t is sailin in other words, we are on the king s 
 business, a*id we have a right to be here, though we may 
 not have a right to say why we are here." 
 
 " Arrowneaa saw the big canoe, and he loves to look on 
 ihe face of Eau <icuce. He was going towards the sun at 
 evening, in order to 3t>ek his wigwam ; but finding that the 
 young sailor was going iHe other way, he turned that he 
 might look in the same clii action. Eau-douce and Arrow 
 head were together on the last trail." 
 
 " This may all be true, Tuscarora, and you are welcome. 
 You shall eat of our venison, and then we must separate. 
 The setting sun is behind us, and both of us move quick : 
 my brother will get too far from that which he seeks, unless 
 he turns round." 
 
 Pathfinder now returned to the others, and repeated the 
 result of his examination. He appeared himself to believe 
 that the. account of Arrowhead might be true, though he 
 admitted that caution would be prudent with one he disliked } 
 but his auditors, Jasper excepted, seemed less disposed to 
 put faith in the explanations. 
 
 u This chap must be ironed at once, brother Dunham," 
 sai 1 Cap, as soon as Pathfinder finished his narration ; * he 
 must be turned ovei to the master-at-arms, if there is any 
 such officer on fresh water, and a court-martial ought to be 
 )rderod as soon as we ^each port." 
 
 " I think it wisest tc detain the fellow," the sergeant an- 
 ..wered, " but irons are unnecessary so long as he remains 
 hi the cutter . In the morning the tcatier shall be inquired 
 ii\to." 
 
 Arrowhead was now summoned and told the decision. 
 The Indian listened gravely, and made no objections. On 
 
236 THE PATHFINDER. 
 
 die contrai y, he submitted with the calm and reserved dig 
 nity with which the American aborigines are known to yield 
 to fate ; and he stood apart, an attentive but calm observer 
 of what was passing. Jasper caused the cutter s sails to be 
 tilled, and the Scud resumed her course. 
 
 It was now getting towards the hour to set the watch, and 
 when it was usual to retire for the night. Most of the 
 party went below, leaving no one on deck but Cap> the ser 
 geant, Jasper, and two of the crew. Arrowhead and his 
 wife also remained, the former standing aloof in proud 
 reserve, and the latter exhibiting, by her attitude and pas- 
 siveness, the meek humility that characterizes an Indian 
 woman. 
 
 " You will find a place for your wife below, Arrowhead, 
 where my daughter will attend to her wants," said the ser 
 geant, kindly, who was himself on the point of quitting 
 the deck ; " yonder is a sail, where you may sleep your 
 self." 
 
 " I thank my father. The Tuscaroras are not poor. The 
 woman will look for my blankets in the canoe." 
 
 " As you wish, my friend. We think it necessary to de 
 tain you, but not necessary to confine, or to maltreat you. 
 Send your squaw into the canoe for the blankets, and you 
 may follow her yourself, and hand us up the paddles. As 
 there may be some sleepy heads in the Scud, Eau-douce," 
 added the sergeant, in a lower tone, " it may be well to 
 secure the paddles." 
 
 Jasper assented, and Arrowhead and his wife, with whom 
 resistance appeared to be out of the question, silently com- 
 plisd with the directions. A few expressions of sharp 
 rebuke passed from the Indian to his wife, while both were 
 employed in the canoe, which the latter received with sub 
 missive quiet, immediately repairing an error she had made, 
 by laying aside the blanket she had taken, and searching 
 another that was more to her tyrant s mind. 
 
 " Come, bear a hand, Arrowhead," said the sergeant, who 
 stood on the gunwale, overlooking the movements of the 
 two, which were proceeding too slowly for the impatience 
 of a drowsy man ; " it is getting late ; and we soldiera 
 
THE PATHFINDER. 237 
 
 have such a thing as reveille early to bed and early to 
 rise." 
 
 " Arrowhead is coming," was the answer, as the Tucarora 
 stopped towards the head of his canoe. 
 
 One blow of his keen knife severed the rope which held 
 the boat, when the cutter glanced ahead, leaving the light 
 bubble of bark, which instantly lost its way, almost station 
 ary. So suddenly and dexterously was this manoeuvre per 
 formed, that the canoe was on the lee quarter of the Scud, 
 before the sergeant was aware of the artifice, and quite in 
 her wake, ere he had time to announce it to his compan 
 ions. 
 
 " Hard-a-lee ! " shouted Jasper, letting fly the jib-sheet 
 with his own hands, when the cutter came swiftly up to the 
 breeze, with all her canvas flapping, or was running into the 
 wind s eye, as seamen term it, until the light craft was a 
 hundred feet to windward of her former position. Quick 
 and dexterous as was this movement, and ready as had been 
 the expedient, it was not quicker or more ready than that 
 of the Tuscarora. With an intelligence that denoted some 
 familiarity with vessels, he had seized his paddle, and was 
 already skimming the water, aided by the efforts of his wife. 
 The direction he took was southwesterly, or on a line that 
 led him equally towards the wind and the shore, while it 
 also kept him so far aloof from the cutter, as to avoid the 
 danger of the latter s falling on board of him, when she 
 filled on the other tack. Swiftly as the Scud had shot into 
 the wind, and far as she had forged ahead, Jasper knew it 
 was necessary to cast her, ere she had lost all her way ; and 
 it was not two minutes from the time the helm had been 
 put down, before the lively little craft was aback forward, 
 and rapidly falling off, in order to allow her sails to fill on 
 the opposite tack. 
 
 : He will escape ! " said Jasper, the instant he caught a 
 glimpse of the relative bearings of the cutter and the canoe 
 " The cunning knave is paddling dead to windward, and the 
 Scud can never overtake him ! " 
 
 " You have a canoe 1 " exclaimed the sergeant, manifest 
 ing the eagerness of a boy to join in the pursuit, " let ui 
 launch it, and give chase 1 " 
 
238 THE PATHFINDER. 
 
 " Twill be useless. If Pathfinder had been on leek, there 
 might have been a chance, but there is none now. To 
 launch the canoe would have taken three or four minutes, 
 and the time lost would have been sufficient for the purposes 
 of Arrowhead." 
 
 Both Cap and the sergeant saw the truth of this, which 
 wovld have been nearly self-evident even to one unaccus 
 tomed to vessels. The shore was distant less than half a 
 mile, and the canoe was already glancing into its shadows 
 at a rate to show that it would reach the land ere its pur 
 suers could probably get half the distance. The canoe, 
 itself, might have been seized, but it would have been a use 
 less prize ; for Arrowhead in the woods would be more 
 likely to reach the other shore without detection, than if 
 he still possessed the means to venture on the lake again ; 
 though it might be, and probably would be, a greater bodily 
 labor to himself. The helm of the Scud was reluctantly 
 put up again, and the cutter wore short round on her heel, 
 coming up to her course on the other tack, as if acting on 
 instinct. All this was done by Jasper in profound silence, 
 his assistants understanding what was necessary, and lending 
 their aid in a sort of mechanical imitation. While these 
 manoeuvres were in the course of execution, Cap took the 
 sergeant by a button and led him towards the cabin-door, 
 where he was out of ear-shot, and began to unlock his stores 
 of thought. 
 
 " Harkee, brother Dunham," he said, with an ominous 
 face, " this is a matter that requires mature .thought, and 
 vrach circumspection." 
 
 " The life of a soldier, brother Cap, is one of constant 
 thought and circumspection. On this frontier were we to 
 overlook either, our scalps might be taken from our heads 
 in the first nap." 
 
 " But I consider this capture of Arrowhead as a circum 
 stance ; and I might add his escape as another. This Jas 
 per Fresh- water must look to it ! " 
 
 " They are both circumstances, truly, brother ; but they 
 tell different ways. If it is a circumstance against the lad, 
 that the Indian has escaped, it is a circumstance in his favoi 
 that he was first taken." 
 
THE PATHFINDER. 239 
 
 44 Aye, aye, but two circumstances do not contradict each 
 other like two negatives. If you will follow the advice of 
 an old seaman, sergeant, not a moment is to be lost in tak 
 ing the steps necessary for the security of the vessel and all 
 on board of her. The cutter is now slipping through the 
 rater at the rate of six knots, and as the distances are so 
 short on this bit of a pond, we may all find ourselves in a 
 French port before morning, and in a French prison before 
 night." 
 
 " This may be true enough ; what would you advise me 
 to do, brother ? " 
 
 " In my opinion you should put this Master Fresh-water 
 under arrest on the spot, send him below under the charge 
 of a sentinel, and transfer the command of the cutter to me. 
 All this you have power to perform, the craft belonging to 
 the army, and you being the commanding officer of the 
 troops present." 
 
 Sergeant Dunham deliberated more than an hour on the 
 propriety of this proposal ; for, though sufficiently prompt 
 when his mind was really made up, he was habitually 
 thoughtful and wary. The habit of superintending the per 
 sonal police of the garrison had made him acquainted with 
 character, and he had long been disposed to think well of 
 Jasper. Still, that subtle poison, suspicion, had entered his 
 soul, and so much were the artifices and intrigues of the 
 French dreaded, that, especially warned as he had been by 
 his commander, it is not to be wondered the recollection of 
 years of good conduct should vanish under the influence of a 
 distrust so keen, and seemingly so plausible. In this em 
 barrassment the sergeant consulted the quartermaster, whoso 
 opinion, as his superior, he felt bound to respect, though, at 
 the moment, independent of his control. It is an unfortu 
 nate occurrence for one who is in a dilemma, to ask advice 
 of another who is desirous of standing well in his favor, the 
 party consulted being almost certain to try to think in tho 
 manner which will be the most agreeable to the party con- 
 gulting. In the present instance it was equally unfortunate 
 as respects a candid consideration of the subject, that Cap, 
 instead of the sergeant himself, made the statement of the 
 
240 THE PATHFINDER. 
 
 case ; for the earnest old sailor was not backward in letting 
 his listener perceive to which side he was desirous that the 
 quartermaster should lean. Lieutenant Muir was much too 
 politic to offend the uncle and father of the woman he hoped 
 and expected to win, had he really thought the case ad 
 mitted of doubt ; but in the manner in which the facts were 
 submitted to him, he was seriously inclined to think thai 
 it would be well to put the control of the Scud tempora 
 rily into the management of Cap, as a precaution against 
 treachery. This opinion then decided the sergeant, who 
 forthwith set about the execution of the necessary measures. 
 
 Without entering into any explanations, Sergeant Dun 
 ham simply informed Jasper that he felt it to be his duty to 
 deprive him, temporarily, of the command of the cutter, and 
 to confer it on his own brother-in-law. A natural and in 
 voluntary burst of surprise, which escaped the young man, 
 was met by a quiet remark reminding him that military 
 service was often of a nature that required concealment, and 
 a declaration that the present duty was of such a character 
 that this particular arrangement had become indispensable. 
 Although Jasper s astonishment remained undiminished, the 
 sergeant cautiously abstaining from making any allusion to 
 his suspicions, the young man was accustomed to obey 
 with military submission ; and he quietly acquiesced, with 
 his own mouth directing the little crew to receive their 
 further orders from Cap until another change should be 
 effected. When, however, he was told the case required 
 that not only he himself, but his principal assistant, who, on 
 account of his long acquaintance with the lake, was usually 
 termed the pilot, were to remain below, there was an alter 
 ation in his countenance and manner that denoted deep 
 jiortification, though it was so well mastered as to ieave 
 even the distrustful Cap in doubt as to its meaning. As 9 
 matter of course, however, when distrust exists, it was not 
 long before the worst construction was put upon it. 
 
 As soon as Jasper and the pilot were below, the sentinel 
 at the hatch received private orders to pay particular atten 
 tion to both ; to allow neither to conie on deck again with- 
 out giving instant notice to the person who might then be 
 
THE PATHFINDER. 241 
 
 in charge of the cutter, and to insist on his return below as 
 soon as possible. This precaution, however, was uncalled 
 for, Jasper and his assistant both throwing themselves 
 silently on their pallets, which neither quitted again that 
 night. 
 
 * And now, sergeant," said Cap, as soon as he found him 
 self master of the deck, " you will just have the goodness to 
 give me the courses and distances, that I may see the bi*< 
 keeps her head the right way." 
 
 " I know nothing of either, brother Cap," returned Dun 
 ham, not a little embarrassed at the question. " We must 
 make the best of our way to the station among the Thou 
 sand Islands, where we shall land, relieve the party that 
 is already out, and get information for our future govern 
 ment. That s it, nearly word for word, as it stands in the 
 written orders." 
 
 " But you can muster a chart something in the way 
 of bearings and distances, that I may sec the road ? " 
 
 " I do not think Jasper ever had anything of the sort to 
 
 go by-" 
 
 " No chart, Sergeant Dunham ! " 
 
 " Not a scrap of a pen, even. Our sailors navigate this 
 lake without any aid from maps." 
 
 " The devil they do ! They must be regular Yahoos. 
 And do you suppose, Sergeant Dunham, that I can find one 
 sland out of a thousand, without knowing its name or its 
 position without even a course or a distance ? " 
 
 " As for the name, brother Cap, you need not be particu 
 lar, for not one of the whole thousand has a name, and so a 
 mistake can never be made on that score. As for the posi 
 tion, never having been there myself, I can tell you nothing 
 about it, nor do I think its position of any particular conse 
 quence, provided we find the spot. Perhaps one of the 
 hands on deck can tell us the way." 
 
 "Hold on, sergeant hold on, a moment, if you please, 
 Sergeant Dunham. If I am to command this craft, it must 
 be done, if you please, without holding any councils of war 
 *rith the cook and cabin-boy. A shipmaster is a ship 
 master, and he must have an opinion of his own, even if it b 
 16 
 
212 THE PATHFINDER. 
 
 a wrong one. I suppose you know service well enough to 
 understand that it is better in a commander to go wrong, 
 than to go nowhere. At all events, the Lord High Admi 
 ral couldn t command a yawl with dignity, if he consulted 
 the coxswain every time he wished to go ashore. No, sir, 
 
 if I sink, I sink ; but d e, I ll go down ship-shape and 
 
 with dignity." 
 
 " But, brother Cap, I have no wish to go dcwn anywhere, 
 anless it be to the station among the Thousand Islands, 
 whither we are bound." 
 
 " Well, well, sergeant, rather than ask advice, that is, 
 direct, barefaced advice, of a foremast hand, or any other 
 than a quarter-deck officer, I would go round to the whole 
 thousand and examine them one by one, until we got the 
 right haven. But, there is such a thing as coming at an 
 opinion without manifesting ignorance, and I wih 1 manage 
 to rowse all there is, out of these hands, and make them 
 think, all the while, that I am cramming them with my own 
 experience. We are sometimes obliged to use the glass at 
 sea when there is nothing in sight, or to heave the lead 
 long before we strike soundings. I suppose you know in 
 the army, sergeant, that the next thing to knowing that 
 which is desirable, is to seem to know all about it. When 
 a youngster, I sailed two v y ges with a man who navigated 
 his ship pretty much by the latter sort of information, which 
 sometimes answers." 
 
 " I know we are steering in the right direction, at pres 
 ent," returned the sergeant, " but in the course of a few 
 hours we shall be up with a headland, where we must feel 
 our way with more caution." 
 
 " Leave me to pump the man at the wheel, brother, and 
 you shall see that I will make him suck, in a very few 
 minutes." 
 
 Cap and the sergeant now walked aft, until they stood 
 bj the sailor who was at the helm, Cap maintaining an ah 
 of security and tranquillity, like one who was entirely con 
 fident of his own powers. 
 
 " This is a wholesome air, my lad," Cap observed, as it 
 might be incidentally, and in the manner that a superior <n 
 
THE PATHFINDER. 243 
 
 board a vessel sometimes condescends to use to a favored 
 inferior. " Of course you have it in this fashion, off the 
 land, every night ? " 
 
 " At this season of the year, sir," the man returned, touch 
 ing his hat, out of respect to his new commander and Ser 
 geant Dunham s connection. 
 
 " The same thing, I take it, among the Thousand Islands ? 
 The wind will stand of course, though we shall then have 
 land on every side of us." 
 
 " When we get further east, sir, the wind will probably 
 shift, for there can then be no particular land breeze." 
 
 " Aye, aye so much for your fresh water ! It has 
 always some trick that is opposed to nature. Now, down 
 among the West India Islands, one is just as certain of hav 
 ing a land breeze as he is of having a sea breeze. In that 
 respect there is no difference, though it s quite in rule it 
 should be different up here, on this bit of fresh water. Of 
 course, my lad, you know all about these said Thousand 
 Islands ? " 
 
 " Lord bless you, Master Cap, nobody knows all about 
 them, or anything about them. They are a puzzle to the 
 oldest sailor on the lake, and we don t pretend to know 
 even their names. For that matter, most of them have no 
 more names than a child that dies before it is christened." 
 
 " Are you a Roman Catholic ? " demanded the sergeant, 
 sharply. 
 
 " No, sir ; nor anything else. I m a generalizer about 
 religion, never troubling that which don t trouble me." 
 
 " Hum ! a generalizer ; that is, no doubt, one of the new 
 vscts that afflict the country ! " muttered Mr. Dunham, 
 whose grandfather had been a New Jersey Quaker, his 
 father a Presbyterian, and who had joined the Church if 
 England himself, after he entered the army. 
 
 " I take it, John," resumed Cap /our name is Jack, I 
 talieve ? " 
 
 " No, sir ; I am called Robert." 
 
 " Aye, Robert ; it s very much the same thing Jack 
 or Bob we use the two indifferently. I say, Bob, it s 
 good holding-ground, is it. down at this same station fof 
 which \vo arc bound ? " 
 
244 THE PATHFINDER. 
 
 " Bless you, sir, I kmw no more about it than one of th* 
 Mohawks, or a soldier of the 55th." 
 
 " Did you never anchor tohere ? " 
 
 " Never, sir. Master Eau-douce always makes fast to th* 
 shore." 
 
 " But in running in for the town, you kept the lead going, 
 out of question, and must have tallowed as usual ? " 
 
 " TVJlow ! and town, too ! Bless your heart, Master 
 Cap, there is no more town than there is on your chin, and 
 L 9t half as much tallow." 
 
 The sergeant smiled grimly, but his brother-in-law did 
 mi detect this proof of facetiousuess. 
 
 " No church-tower, nor light, nor fort, ba ! There is a 
 garrison, as you call it here-away, at least." 
 
 " Ask Sergeant Dunham, sir, if you wisb to know that. 
 All the garrison is on board the Scud." 
 
 " But, in running in, Bob, which of the channels do you 
 think the best, the one you went last, or or or aye, 
 or the other ? " 
 
 " I can t say, sir. I know nothing of either " 
 
 " You didn t go to sleep, fellow, at the wheel, did you ? * 
 
 " Not at the wheel, sir, but down in the for^ peak, in my 
 oerth. Eau-douce sent us below, sogers and all, with the 
 exception of the pilot, and we know no more of the road 
 than if we had never been over it. This h-i has always 
 done, in going in and coming out ; and, for the life of me, 
 I could tell you nothing of the channel or o r the course, 
 after we are once fairly up with the islands. N ", one knows 
 anything of either, but Jasper and the pilot." 
 
 " Here is a circumstance for you, sergeant ! said Cap, 
 leading his brother-in-law a little aside ; " there is no one 
 on board to pump, for they all suck from ignorance, at the 
 firs* stroke of the brake. How the devil am I to find the 
 way to this station ? " 
 
 " Sure enough, brother Cap ; your question is mort, 
 easily put than answered. Is there no such thinft as figur 
 ing it out by navigation ? I thought you salt-water mariners 
 were able to do as small a thing as that ! I have often read 
 of their discovering islands, surely." 
 
THE PATHFINDER. 246 
 
 " That you have, brother ; that you hai e ; and this dis 
 covery would be the greatest of them all, for it would not 
 only be discovering one island, but one island out of a thou 
 sand. I might make out to pick up a single needle on this 
 deck, old as I am, but I much doubt if I could pick one out 
 of a haystack." 
 
 " Still, the sailors of the lake have a method of finding 
 tl > places they wish to go to." 
 
 " If I have understood you, sergeant, this station, ot 
 block-house, is particularly private ? " 
 
 " It is, indeed ; the utmost care having been taken to 
 prevent a knowledge of its position from reaching the 
 enemy." 
 
 " And you expect me, a stranger on your lake, to find 
 this place without chr.rt, course, distance, latitude, longitude, 
 
 or soundings aye, d e, or tallow ! Allow me to ask 
 
 if you think a mariner runs by his nose, like one of Path 
 finder s hounds ? " 
 
 " Well, brother, you may yet learn something by ques 
 tioning the young man at the helm ; I can hardly think that 
 he is as ignorant as he pretends to be." 
 
 " Hum this looks like another circumstance ! For 
 that matter, the case is getting to be so full of circumstances, 
 that one hardly knows how to foot up the evidence. But 
 we will soon see how much the lad knows." 
 
 Cap and the sergeant now returned to their station near 
 the helm, and the former renewed his inquiries. 
 
 " Do you happen to know what may be the latitude and 
 longitude of this said island, my lad ? " he asked. 
 
 " The what, sir ? " 
 
 " Why the latitude or longitude ; one or both ; I m noi 
 particular which, as I merely inquire in order to see how 
 ihoy bring up young men on this bit of fresh water." 
 
 u I m not particular about either, myself, sir, and so I do 
 not happen to know what you mean." 
 
 " Not what I mean ! You know what latitude is ? " 
 
 " Not I, sir," returned the man, hesitating, " though I 
 believe it is French for the upper lakes." 
 
 " Whe-e-e-w ! " whistled Cap, drawing out his breath, lik* 
 
THE PATHFINDER. 
 
 rZ$V^i 
 
 the broken stop of an organ ; " latitude, French for upper 
 lakes ! Harkee, young man ; do you know what longitude 
 means ? " 
 
 " I believe I do, sir ; that is five feet six, the regulation 
 height for soldiers in the king s service." 
 
 " There s the longitude found out for you, sergeant> in 
 the rattling of a brace-block ! You have some notion about 
 a degree, and minutes, and seconds, I hope ? " 
 
 " Yes, sir ; degree means my betters, and minutes and 
 seconds are for the short or long log-lines. We all know 
 these things as well as the salt-water people." 
 
 " D e, brother Dunham, if I think even Faith can get 
 
 along on this lake, much as they say it can do with moun 
 tains. I m sure character is in no security. Well, my lad, 
 you understand the azimuth, and measuring distances, and 
 how to box the compass." 
 
 " As for the first, sir, I can t say I do. The distances we 
 all know, as we measure them from point to point ; and as 
 for boxing the compass, I will turn my back to no admiral 
 in his Majesty s fleet. Nothe-nothe and by east, nothe- 
 nothe-east, nothe-east and nothe, nothe-east ; nothe-east and 
 by east, east-nothe-east, east-and-by-nothe, east " 
 
 " That will do that will do. You ll bring about a shift 
 of wind, if you go on in this manner. I see very plainly, 
 sergeant," walking away again, and dropping his voice, 
 " we ve nothing to hope for from that chap. I ll stand on 
 two hours longer on this tack, when we ll heave-to, and get 
 the soundings ; after which we will be governed by circum 
 stances." 
 
 To this the sergeant, who, to coin a word, was very much 
 of an idiosyncratist, made no objections ; and, as the wind 
 grew lighter, as usual with the advance of night, and there 
 were no immediate obstacles to the navigation, he made a 
 bed of a sail, on deck, andVas soon lost in the sound sleep 
 of a soldier. Cap continued to walk the deck, for he was 
 one whose iron frame set fatigue at defiance, and not once 
 that night did he close his eyes. 
 
 It was broad daylight when Sergeant Dunham awoke, 
 and the exclamation of surprise that escaped him, as he rose 
 
THE PATHFINDER. 247 
 
 to his feet, and began to look about him, was stronger than 
 it was usual for one so drilled to suffer to be heard. He 
 found the weather entirely changed ; the view bounded by 
 driving mist, that limited the visible horizon to a circle of 
 about a mile in diameter, the lake raging and covered with 
 foam, and the Scud lying-to. A brief conversation with 
 his brother-in-law let him into the secrets of all these sud 
 den changes. 
 
 According to the account of Master Cap, the wind had 
 died away to a calm about midnight, or just as he was 
 thinking of heaving-to, to sound, for islands ahead were be 
 ginning to be seen. At one A. M. it began to blow from the 
 northeast, accompanied by a drizzle, and he stood off to the 
 northward and westward, knowing that the coast of New 
 York lay in the opposite direction. At half-past one, he 
 stowed the stay-sail, reefed the mainsail, and took the bon 
 net off the jib. At two he was compelled to get a second 
 reef aft ; and by half-past two he had put a balance reef in 
 the sail, and was lying-to. 
 
 " I can t say but the boat behaves well, sergeant," the 
 old sailor added ; " but it blows forty-two pounders ! I had 
 no idee there were any such currents of air up here on this 
 bit of fresh water, though I care not the knotting of a yarn 
 for it, as your lake has now somewhat of a natural look, 
 and " spitting from his mouth, with distaste, a dash 
 of the spray that had just wetted his face "and if this 
 d d water had a savor of salt about it, one might be 
 comfortable." 
 
 " How long have you been heading in this direction, 
 brother Cap ?" inquired the prudent soldier; "and at what 
 rate may we be going through the water ? " 
 
 " Why, two or three hours, mayhap, and she went like a 
 dorse for the first pair of them. O! we ve a fine offing 
 now, for, to own the truth, little relishing the neighborhood 
 of them said islands, although they are to windward, I took 
 the helm myself, and run her off free, for some league or two. 
 We are well to leeward of them, I ll engage. I say to lee 
 ward, for though one might wish to be well to windward of 
 one island, or even half a dozen, when it comes to a thon 
 
248 THE PATHFINDER. 
 
 Band, the better way is to give it up at once, and to slide 
 down under their lee as fast as possible. No, no ; there 
 they are, up yonder in the drizzle, and there they may 
 stay, for anything Charles Cap cares." 
 
 " As the north shore lies only some five or six leagues 
 from us, brother, and I know there is a large bay in that 
 quarter, might it not be well to consult some of the crew 
 coucerning our position, if indeed we do not call up Jasper 
 Eau-douce, and tell him to carry us back to Oswego ? It 
 is quite impossible we should ever reach the station with 
 this wind directly in our teeth." 
 
 " There are several serious professional reasons, sergeant, 
 against all your propositions. In the first place, an admis 
 sion of ignorance on the part of a commander would destroy 
 discipline. No matter, brother, I understand your shake of 
 the head, but nothing capsizes discipline so much, as to con 
 fess ignorance. I once knew a master of a vessel who went 
 a week on a wrong course, rather than allow he had made 
 a mistake ; and it was surprising how much he rose in the 
 opinions of his people, just because they could not under 
 stand him." 
 
 " That may do on salt water, brother Cap ; but it will 
 hardly do on fresh. Rather than wreck my command on 
 the Canada shore, I shall feel it my duty to take Jasper out 
 of arrest." 
 
 " And make a haven in Frontenac ! No, sergeant, the 
 Scud is in good hands, and will now learn something of 
 seamanship. We have a fine offing, and no one but a mad 
 man would think of going upon a coast in a gale like this. 
 I shall wear every watch, and then we shall be safe against 
 all dangers but those of the drift, which, in a light, low craft 
 like this, without top-hamper, .will be next to nothing. 
 Leave it all to me, sergeant, and I pledge you the character 
 cf Charles Cap, that it will all go well." 
 
 Sergeant Dunham was fain to yiold. He had great con 
 fidence in his connection s professional skill, and hoped that 
 he would take such care of the cutter as would amply jus 
 tify his good opinion. On the other hand, as distrust, like 
 love, grows by what it feeds on, he entertained so much 
 
THE PATHFINDER. 249 
 
 apprehension of treachery, that he was quite willing any 
 one but Jasper should, just then, have the control of the fate 
 of the whole party. Truth, moreover, compels us to admit 
 another motive. The particular duty on which he was now 
 sent should have been confided to a commissioned officer, of 
 right ; and Major Duncan had excited a good deal of dis 
 content among the subalterns of the garrison, by having 
 confided it to one of the sergeant s humble station. To re 
 turn without having even reached the point of destination, 
 therefore, the latter felt would be a failure from which he 
 was not likely soon to recover ; and the measure would, aA 
 once, be the means of placing a superior in his shoes. 
 
260 THE PATHFINDER. 
 
 CHAPTER XVI. 
 
 Thou glorious mirror, wherr the Almighty s form 
 
 Glasses itself in tempests; in all time, 
 
 Calm or convulsed in breeze, or gale, or storm, 
 
 Icing the pole, or in the torrid clime 
 
 Dark heaving ; boundless, endless, and sublime 
 
 The image of Eternity : the throne 
 
 Of the Invisible ; even from out thy slime 
 
 The monsters of the deep are made ; each zone 
 
 Obeys thee ; thou goest forth, dread, fathomless, aJooe. 
 
 BTBOM. 
 
 As the day advanced, that portion of the inmates of the 
 yessel which had the liberty of doing so, appeared on deck. 
 As yet, the sea was not very high, from which it was in 
 ferred that the cutter was still under the lee of the islands ; 
 but it was apparent to all who understood the lake, that they 
 were about to experience one of the heavy autumnal gales 
 of that region, f Land was nowhere visible ; and the hori 
 zon, on every side, exhibited that gloomy void which lends 
 to all views, on vast bodies of water, the sublimity of mys 
 tery, ll The swells, or as landsmen term them, the waves, 
 were short and curling, breaking of necessity sooner than 
 the longer seas of the ocean ; while the element itself, in 
 stead of presenting that beautiful hue which rivals the deep 
 tint of the southern sky, looked green and angry, though 
 wanting in the lustre that is derived from the rays of the 
 sun. 
 
 The soldiers were soon satisfied with the prospect, and 
 one by one they disappeared, until none were left on deck 
 but the crew, the sergeant, Cap, Pathfinder, the quarter* 
 master, and Mabel. There was a shade on the broAv of the 
 latter, who had been made acquainted with the real state of 
 things, and who had fruitlessly ventured an appeal in favor 
 of Jasper s restoration to the command. A night s rest and 
 
THE PATHFINDER 251 
 
 ft night s reflection appeared also to have confirmed the Path 
 finder in his opinion of the young man s innocence, and he, 
 too, had made a warm appeal in behalf of his friend, though 
 with the same want of success. 
 
 Several hours passed away, the wind gradually getting 
 to be heavier, and the sea rising, until the motion of the 
 cutter compelled Mabel and the quartermaster to retreat 
 also. Cap wore several times ; and it was now evident 
 that the Scud was drifting into the broader and deeper parts 
 of the lake, the seas raging down upon her in a way that 
 none but a vessel of superior mould and build could have 
 long ridden and withstood. All this, however, gave Cap 
 no uneasiness ; but like the hunter that pricks his ears at 
 the sound of the horn, or the war-horse that paws and snorts 
 with pleasure at the roll of the drum, the whole scene 
 awakened all that was man within him ; and instead of the 
 captious, supercilious, and dogmatic critic, quarreling with 
 trifles, and exaggerating immaterial things, he began to ex 
 hibit the qualities of the hardy and experienced seaman that 
 he truly was. The hands soon imbibed a respect for his 
 skill ; and though they wondered at the disappearance of 
 their old commander and the pilot, for which no reason had 
 been publicly given, they soon yielded an implicit and cheer 
 ful obedience to the new one. 
 
 " This bit of fresh water, after all, brother Dunham, has 
 some spirit, I find," cried Cap, about noon, rubbing his 
 hands in pure satisfaction at finding himself once more 
 wrestling with the elements. " The wind seems to bean 
 honest old-fashioned gale, and the seas have a fanciful re 
 semblance to those of the Gulf Stream. I like this, ser 
 geant, I like this ; and shall get to respect your lake if it 
 hold out twenty-four hours longer in the fashion in which it 
 has begun." 
 
 " Land, ho ! " shouted the man who was stationed on tho 
 forecastle. 
 
 Cap hurried forward ; and there, sure enough, the land 
 was visible through the drizzle, at a distance of about half a 
 mile, the cutter heading directly towards it. The first im 
 pulse of the old seaman was to give an order to " Stand by 
 
252 THE PATHFINDER. 
 
 to wear off shore ; " but the cool-headed soldior restrained 
 him. 
 
 * By going a little nearer," said the sergeant, " some of 
 as may recognize the place. Most of us know the Ameri 
 can shore, in this part of the lake ; and it will be something 
 gained to learn our position." 
 
 <: Very true very true ; if, indeed, there is anj chance 
 of that, we will hold on. What is this off here, a little on 
 our weather bow ? It looks like a low headland." 
 
 " The garrison, by Jove ! " exclaimed the other, whos 
 trained eye sooner recognized the military outlines than the 
 less instructed senses of his connection. 
 
 The sergeant was not mistaken. There was the fort, 
 sure enough, though it looked dim and indistinct through 
 the fine rain, as if it were seen in the dusk of evening, or 
 the haze of morning. The low-sodded, and verdant ram 
 parts, the sombre palisades, now darker than ever with 
 water, the roof of a house or two, the tall, solitary flag-staff, 
 with its halyards blown steadily out, into a curve that ap 
 peared traced in immovable lines in the air, were all soon to 
 be seen, though no sign of animated life could be discovered. 
 Even the sentinel was housed ; and, at first, it was believed 
 that no eye would detect the presence of their own vessel. 
 But the unceasing vigilance of a border garrison did not 
 slumber. One of the lookouts probably made the interesting 
 discovery ; a man or two were seen on some elevated stands, 
 and then the entire ramparts, next the lake, were dotted 
 with human beings. 
 
 The whole scene was one in which sublimity was singu 
 larly relieved by the picturesque. The raging of the tem 
 pest had a character of duration that rendered it easy to im 
 agine it might be a permanent feature of the spot. The 
 roar of the wind was without intermission, and the raging 
 water answered to its dull but grand strains with hissing 
 spray, a menacing wash, and sullen surges. The drizzle 
 made a medium for the eye which closely resembled that of a 
 thin mist, softening and rendering mysterious the images it 
 .evealed, while the genial feeling that is apt to accompany a 
 gale of wind on water, contributed to aid the milder innV 
 
THE PATHFINDER, 253 
 
 ences of the moment. The dark, interminable forest hove 
 up out of the obscurity, grand, sombre, and impressive 
 while the solitary, peculiar, and picturesque glimpses of life 
 that were caught in and about the fort, formed a refuge for 
 the eye to retreat to, when oppressed with the more impos : ng 
 objects of nature. 
 
 " They see us," said the sergeant, " and think we have 
 returned on account of the gale, and have fallen to leeward 
 of the port Yes, there is Major Duncan himself, on the 
 northeastern bastion ; I know him by his height, and bj 
 the officers around him ! " 
 
 " Sergeant, it would be worth standing a little jeering, A 
 we could fetch into the river, and come safely to an anchor ! 
 In that case, too, we might land this Master Oh-the-Deuce, 
 and purify the boat." 
 
 " It would indeed ; but poor a sailor as I am, I well 
 know it cannot be done. Nothing that sails the lake can 
 turn to windward against this gale ; and there is no anchor 
 age outside, in weather like this." 
 
 " I know it, I see it, sergeant, and pleasant as is that 
 sight to you landsmen, we must leave it. For myself, I am 
 never as happy, in heavy weather, as when I am certain 
 that the land is behind me." 
 
 The Scud had now forged so near in, that it became indis 
 pensable to lay her head off shore again, and the necessary 
 orders were given. The storm-staysail was set forward, 
 the gaff lowered, the helm put up, and the light craft, that 
 seemed to sport with the elements like a duck, fell off a lit 
 tle, drew ahead swiftly, obeyed her rudder, and was soon 
 flying away on the top of the surges, dead before the gale. 
 
 While making this rapid flight, though the land still re 
 mained in view on her larboard beam, the fort, and the 
 groups of anxious spectators on its rampart, were swallowed 
 up in the mist. Then followed the evolutions necessary to 
 bring the head of the cutter up to the wind, when she again 
 began to wallow her weary way towards the north shore. 
 
 Hours now passed before any further change was made, 
 the wind increasing in force, until even the dogmatical Cap 
 fairly admitted it was blowing a thorough gale of wind 
 
254 THE PATHFINDER. 
 
 About sunset the Scud wore again, to keep her off the 
 north shore during the hours of darkness ; and at midnight 
 her temporary master, who, by questioning the crew in an 
 indirect manner, had obtained some general knowledge of 
 the size and shape of the lake, believed himself to be about 
 midway between the two shores. The height and length 
 of the seas aided this impression ; and it must be added that 
 Cap, by this time, began to feel a respect for fresh wa.er 
 that twenty-four hours earlier he would have derided as 
 impossible. Just as the night turned, the fury of the wind 
 became so great that he found it impossible to bear up 
 against it, the water falling on the deck of the little craft in 
 such masses as to cause her to shake to the centre, and, 
 though a vessel of singularly lively qualities, to threaten to 
 bury her beneath its weight. The people of the Scud 
 averred that never before had they been out in such a tem 
 pest ; which was true ; for, possessing a perfect knowledge 
 of all the rivers and headlands and havens, Jasper would 
 have carried the cutter in shore, long ere this, and placed 
 her in safety, in some secure anchorage. But Cap still dis 
 dained to consult the young master, who continued below, 
 ietermining to act like a manner of the broad ocean. 
 
 It was one in the morning when the storm-staysail was 
 igain got on the Scud, the head of the mainsail lowered, 
 and the cutter put before the wind. Although the canvas 
 now exposed was merely a rag in surface, the little craft 
 nobly justified the use of the name she bore. For eight 
 hours did she scud, in truth ; and it was almost with the ve 
 locity of the gulls that wheeled wildly over her in the tem 
 pest, apparently afraid to alight in the boiling caldron of the 
 lake. The dawn of day brought little change ; for no other 
 horizon became visible than the narrow circle of drizzling 
 sky and water already described, in which it seemed as if 
 the elements were rioting in chaotic confusion. During this 
 time the crew and passengers of the cutter were of necessity 
 passive. Jasper and the pilot remained below; but the 
 motion of the vessel having become easier, nearly all the 
 rest were on deck. The morning meal had been taken in 
 Hence, and eye met eye as if their owners asked each other 
 
THE PATHFINDER. 255 
 
 in dumb show, what was to be the end of this strife in the 
 elements. Cap, however, was perfectly composed, and his 
 face brightened, his step grew firmer, and his whole air 
 more assured as the storm increased, making larger demands 
 on his professional skill and personal spirit. He stood oil 
 the forecastle, his arms crossed, balancing his body with , a 
 seaman s instinct, while his eyes watched the caps of the 
 seas as they broke and glanced past the reeling cutter, itself 
 ill such s\v ift motion as if they were the scud flying athwart 
 the sky. At this sublime instant one of the hands gave the 
 unexpected cry of " A sail ! " 
 
 There was so much of the wild and solitary character of 
 the wilderness about Ontario that one scarcely expected to 
 meet with a vessel on its waters. The Scud herself, to 
 those who were in her, resembled a man threading the for- 
 ist alone, and the meeting was like that of two solitary 
 hunters beneath the broad canopy of leaves that then cov 
 ered so many millions of acres on the continent of America. 
 The peculiar state of the weather served to increase the 
 romantic, almost supernatural, appearance of the passage. 
 Cap alone regarded it with practiced eyes, and even he 
 felt his iron nerves thrill under the sensations that were 
 awakened by the wild features of the scene. 
 
 The strange vessel was about two cables length ahead 
 of the Scud, standing by the wind athwart her bows, and 
 steering a course to render it probable that the latter would 
 pass within a few yards of her. She was a full-rigged 
 ship ; and seen through the misty medium of the tempest, 
 the most experienced eye could detect no imperfection in 
 her gear or construction. The only canvas she had set was a 
 dose-reefed main-topsail and two small storm-staysails, one 
 forward and the other aft. Still, the power of the wind 
 pressed so hard upon her as to bear her down nearly to her 
 beam-ends, whenever the hull was not righted by the buoy 
 ancy of some wave under her lee. Her spars were all in 
 their places, and by her motion through the water, which 
 might have equaled four knots in the hour, it was apparent 
 that she steered a little free. 
 
 " The fellow must know his position well," said Cap, 
 
256 THE PATHFINDER. 
 
 as the cutter flew down towards the ship with a velocity 
 almost equaling that of the gale, " for he is standing boldly 
 to the southward, where he expects to find anchorage or a 
 haven. No man in his senses would run off free in that 
 fashion, that was not driven to scudding like ourselves, who 
 did not perfectly understand where he was going." 
 
 " We have made an awful run, captain," returned the 
 man to whom this remark had been addressed. " That is 
 the French king s ship, Lee-My-calm (Le Montcalm), aud 
 she is standing in for the Niagara, where her owner has a 
 garrison and a port. We ve made an awful run of it ! " 
 
 " Aye, bad luck to him ! Frenchman-like, he skulks 
 into port the moment he sees an English bottom." 
 
 " It might be well for us if we could follow him," returned 
 the man, shaking his head despondingly, " for we are getting 
 into the end of a bay up here at the head of the lake, 
 and it is uncertain whether we ever get out of it again ! " 
 
 " Poh ! man, poh ! We have plenty of sea room, and a 
 good English hull beneath us. We are no Johnny Cra- 
 pauds to hide ourselves behind a point or a fort, on account 
 of a puff of wind. Mind your helm, sir ! " 
 
 The order was given on account of the menacing appear 
 ance of the approaching passage. The Scud was now head 
 ing directly for the fore-foot of the Frenchman ; and, the 
 distance between the two vessels having diminished to a 
 hundred yards, it was momentarily questionable if there 
 was room to pass. 
 
 " Port, sir port ! " shouted Cap. " Port your helm 
 and pass astern ! " 
 
 The crew of the Frenchman were seen assembling to 
 windward, and a few muskets were pointed, as if to 
 order the people of the Scud to keep off. Gesticulations 
 were observed, but the sea was too wild and menacing to 
 idmit of the ordinary expedients of war. The water was 
 dripping from the muzzles of two or three light guns on 
 board the ship, but no one thought of loosening them for 
 service in such a tempest. Her black sides, as they 
 emerged from the wave, glistened and seemed to frown, but 
 the wind howled through her rigging, whistling the thoi* 
 
THE PATHFINDER. 257 
 
 sand notes of a ship ; and the hails and cries that escape a 
 Frenchman with so much readiness, were inaudible. 
 
 " Let him halloo himself hoarse ! " growled Cap. " This 
 is no weather to whisper secrets in. Port, sir, port I " 
 
 The man at the helm obeyed, and the next send of tho 
 sea drove the Scud down upon the quarter of the ship, so 
 near her that the old mariner himself recoiled a step, in a 
 7 ague expectation that, at the next surge ahead, she would 
 Irive bows foremost into the planks of the other vessel. 
 But this was not to be. Rising from the crouching posture 
 she had taken, like a panther about to leap, the cutter 
 dashed onward, and, at the next instant, she was glancing 
 past the stern of her enemy, just clearing the end of her 
 spanker-boom with her own lower yard. 
 
 The young Frenchman who commanded the Montcalm 
 leaped on the taffrail, and with that high-toned courtesy 
 which relieves the worst acts of his countrymen, he raised 
 his cap, and smiled a salutation as the Scud shot past. 
 There were bo?ihomie and good taste in this act of courtesy, 
 when circumstances allowed of no other communications ; 
 but they were lost on Cap, who, with an instinct quite as 
 true to his race, shook his fist menacingly, and muttered to 
 himself, 
 
 " Aye, aye ; it s d d lucky for you I ve no armament 
 
 on board here, or I d send you in to get new cabin-win 
 dows fitted. Sergeant, he s a humbug." 
 
 " Twas civil, brother Cap," returned the other, lowering 
 his hand from the military salute which his pride as a sol 
 dier had induced him to return, " twas civil, and that o as 
 much as you can expect from a Frenchman. What he 
 ideally meant by it, no one can say." 
 
 ;< He is not heading up to this sea without an object,, 
 niither! Well, let him run in, if he can get there; we 
 a? ill keep the lake, like hearty English mariners." 
 
 This sounded gloriously, but Cap eyed with envy the glit- 
 raring black mass of the Montcalm s hull, her waving top 
 sail, and the misty tracery of her spars, as she grew less 
 and less distinct, and finally disappeared in the drizzle, in a 
 form as shadowy as that of some unreal image. Gladly 
 17 
 
258 THE PATHFINDER. 
 
 would he have followed in her wake, had he dared ; for to 
 own the truth, the prospect of another stormy night in the 
 midst of the wild waters that were raging around him, 
 brought little consolation. Still, he had too much profes 
 sional pride to betray his uneasiness, and those under his 
 care relied on his knowledge and resources, with the 
 implicit and blind confidence that the ignorant are apt tc 
 feel. 
 
 A few hours succeeded, and darkness came again to in 
 tjrease the perils of the Scud. A lull in the gale, however, 
 had induced Cap to come by the wind once more, and 
 throughout the night the cutter was lying-to, as before, 
 head-reaching as a matter of course, and occasionally wear 
 ing to keep off the land. It is unnecessary to dwell on the 
 incidents of the night, which resembled those of any other 
 gale of wind. There were the pitching of the vessel, the 
 hissing of the waters, the dashing of spray, the shocks that 
 menaced annihilation to the little craft as she plunged into 
 the seas, the undying howling of the wind, and the fearful 
 drift. The last was the most serious danger ; for, though 
 exceeding weatherly under her canvas, and totally without 
 top-hamper, the Scud was so light, that the combing of the 
 swells would seem, at tunes, to wash her down to lee 
 ward with a velocity as great as that of the surges them 
 selves. 
 
 During this night, Cap slept soundly and for several 
 hours. The day was just dawning, when he felt himself 
 shaken by the shoulder, and arousing himself, he found the 
 Pathfinder standing at his side. During the gale, the guide 
 had appeared little on deck, for his natural modesty told 
 him that seamen alone should interfere with the manage 
 ment of the vessel ; and he was willing to show the same 
 eliance on those who had charge of the Scud, as he ex 
 pected those who followed through the forest to manifest 
 in his own skill. But he now thought himself justified in 
 interfering, which he did in his own unsophisticated and 
 peculiar manner. 
 
 " Sleep is sweet, Master Cap," he said, as soon as the 
 oyee of the latter were fairly opened, and his consciousnesi 
 
THE PATHFINDER. 259 
 
 Lad sufficiently returned, " sleep is sweet, as I know from 
 experience, but life is sweeter still. Look about you, and 
 say if this is exactly the moment for a commander to be off 
 his feet." 
 
 " How now how now, Master Pathfinder ! " growled 
 Cap, in the first moments of his awakened faculties; " are 
 you, too, getting on the side of the grumblers 9 When 
 ashore, I admired your sagacity in running through the worst 
 shoals without a compass, and since we have been afloat 
 your meekness and submission have been as pleasant as 
 your confidence on your own ground ; I little expected such 
 a summons from you." 
 
 " As for myself, Master Cap, I feel I have my gifts, and 
 I believe they ll interfere with those of no other man ; but 
 the case may be different with Mabel Dunham. She has 
 her gifts, too, it is true ; but they are not rude like ours, 
 but gentle, and womanish, as they ought to be. It s on 
 her account that I speak, and not on my own." 
 
 " Aye, aye ; I begin to understand. The girl is a good 
 girl, my worthy friend, but she is a soldier s daughter and 
 a sailor s niece, and ought not to be too tame or too ten 
 der in a gale. Does she show any fear ? " 
 
 " Not she not she. Mabel is a woman, but she is 
 reasonable and silent. Not a word have I heard from her, 
 concerning our doings ; though I think, Master Cap, she 
 would like it better if Jasper Eau-douce were put into his 
 proper place, and things were restored to their old situation, 
 like. This is human natur ." 
 
 " I ll warrant it ! Girl-like, and Dunham-like, too. Any 
 thing is better than an old uncle, and everybody knows 
 <nore than an ol<i seaman ! This is human natur , Master 
 
 Pathfinder, and d e, if I m the man to sheer a fathom, 
 
 starboard or port, for all the human natur that can be 
 found in a minx of twenty, aye, or " lowering his 
 voice a little u for all that can be paraded in his Majesty s 
 * oth regiment of foot. I ve not been at sea forty years, to 
 come up on this bit of fresh water to be taught human 
 natur . How this gale holds out ! It Llows as hard, at 
 this moment, as if Boreas had just clapped his hand upon 
 
260 THE PATHFINDER. 
 
 the bellows. And what is all this to leeward ? " rubbing 
 his eyes ; " land, as sure as my name is Cap ; and high 
 land, too ! " 
 
 The Pathfinder made no immediate answer, but shaking 
 his head, he watched the expression of his companion s face* 
 with a look of strong anxiety in his own. 
 
 " Land, as certain as this is the Scud ! " repeated Cap. 
 * a lee shore, and that, too, within a league of us, with as 
 pretty a line of breakers as one could find on the beach of 
 all Long Island ! " 
 
 " And is that encouraging, or is it disheartening ? " -de 
 manded the Pathfinder. 
 
 " Ha ! encouraging, disheartening ? Why, neither. No, 
 no ; there is nothing encouraging about it ; and, as for dis 
 heartening, nothing ought to dishearten a seaman. You 
 never get disheartened or afraid in the woods, my friend ? " 
 
 " I ll not say that I ll not say that. When the danger 
 is great, it is my gift to see it, and know it, and to try to 
 avoid it ; else would my scalp, long since, have been drying 
 in a Mingo wigwam. On this lake, however, I can see no 
 trail, and I feel it my duty to submit ; though I think we 
 ought to remember there is such a person as Mabel Dun 
 ham on board. But here comes her father, and he will 
 nat rally feel for his own child." 
 
 " We are seriously situated, I believe, brother Cap," said 
 the sergeant, when he had reached the spot, " by what I can 
 gather from the two hands on the forecastle. They tell 
 me the cutter cannot carry any more sail, and her drift is 
 BO great we shall go ashore in an hour or two. I hope 
 their fears have deceived them ? " 
 
 Cap made no reply, but he gazed at the land with a rue 
 ful face, and then looked to windward, with an expression 
 f ferocity, as if he would gladly have quarreled with the 
 leather. 
 
 " It may be well, brother," the sergeant continued, " to 
 send for Jasper and consult him as to what is to be done. 
 There are no French here to dread, and, under all circum- 
 ttances, the boy will save us from drowning, if possible." 
 
 u Aye, aye : tis these cursed circumstances that have done 
 
THE PATHFINDER. 261 
 
 all the mischief! But let the fellow come; let him come; 
 a Tew well managed questions will bring the truth out of 
 him, I ll warrant you." 
 
 This acquiescence on the part of the dogmatical Cap was 
 no sooner obtained, than Jasper was sent for. The young 
 man instantly made his appearance, his whole air, counte 
 nance, and mien, expressive of mortification, humility, and, 
 as his observers fancied, rebuked deception. When he first 
 itepped on deck, Jasper cast one hurried, anxious glance 
 around, as if curious to know the situation of the cutter ; 
 and that glance sufficed, it would seem, to let him into the 
 secret of all her perils. At first he looked to windward, as 
 is usual with every seaman ; then he turned round the 
 horizon, until his eye caught a view of the highlands to lee 
 ward, when the whole truth burst upon him at once. 
 
 " I ve sent for you, Master Jasper," said Cap, folding his 
 arms, and balancing his body with the dignity of the fore 
 castle, " in order to learn something about the haven to 
 leeward. We take it for granted, you do not bear malice 
 so hard, as to wish to drown us all, especially the women ; 
 and I suppose you will be man enough to help us to run 
 the cutter into some safe berth, until this bit of a gale has 
 done blowing?" 
 
 " I would die myself, rather than harm should come to 
 Mabel Dunham," the young man earnestly answered. 
 
 " I knew it ! I knew it ! " cried the Pathfinder, clapping 
 his hand kindly on Jasper s shoulder. " The lad is as true 
 as the best compass that ever run a boundary, or brought a 
 man off from a blind trail ! It is a moral sin to believe 
 otherwise." 
 
 " Humph ! " ejaculated Cap, " especially the women ! As 
 if they were in any particular danger. Never mind, young 
 man ; we shall understand each other by talking like two 
 plain seamen. Do you know of any port under our lee ? " 
 
 " None. There is a large bay at this end of the lake, 
 but it is unknown to us all ; and not easy of entrance." 
 
 " And this coast to leeward it has nothing particular 
 to recommend it, I suppose ? " 
 
 " it is a wilderness until you reach the mouth of the 
 
62 THE PATHFINDER. 
 
 Niagara, in one direction, and Fronteiiac in the other 
 North and west, they tell me, there is nothing but forest 
 and prairies, for a thousand miles." 
 
 " Thank God, then, there can be no French. Are there 
 many savages, here-away, on the laud ? " 
 
 " The Indians are to be found in all directions ; though 
 they are nowhere very numerous. By accident, we might 
 find a party at any point on the shore ; or we might pasi 
 months there, without seeing one." 
 
 " We must take our chance, then, as to the blackguards 
 but, to be frank with you, Master Western, if this little 
 unpleasant matter about the French had not come to pass, 
 what would you now do with the cutter ? " 
 
 " I am a much younger sailor than yourself, Master 
 Cap," said Jasper, modestly, " and am hardly fitted to advise 
 you." 
 
 " Aye, aye ; we all know that. In a common case, per 
 haps not. But this is an uncommon case, and a circuin 
 stance ; and on this bit of fresh water, it has what may 
 be called its peculiarities ; and so, everything considered, 
 you may be fitted to advise even your own father. At all 
 events, you can speak, and I can judge of your opinions, 
 agreeably to my own experience." 
 
 " I think, sir, before two hours are over, the cutter will 
 have to anchor." 
 
 " Anchor ! not out here, in the lake ? " 
 
 " No, sir ; but in yonder, near the land." 
 
 "You do not mean to say, Master Oh-the-Deuce, you 
 * ould anchor on a lee shore, in a gale of wind ! " 
 
 " If I would save my vessel, that is exactly what I would 
 ilo, Master Cap." 
 
 " Whe-e-e-w ! this is fresh water, with a vengeance. 
 Harkee, young man, I ve been a seafaring animal, boy and 
 man, forty-one years, and I never yet heard of such a thing 
 I d throw my ground-tackle overboard, before I would be 
 guilty of so lubberly an act ! " 
 
 " That is what we do on this lake," modestly replied Jas 
 per, " when we are hard pressed. I dare say we might do 
 better, had we been better taught." 
 
THE PATHFINDER. , 268 
 
 * That you might indeed ! No ; no man induces me to 
 commit such a sin against my own bringing up. I should 
 never dare show my face inside of Sandy Hook again, had I 
 sommitted so know-nothing an exploit. Why, Pathfinder, 
 here, has more seamanship in him than that comes to. You 
 can go below, again, Master Oh-the-Deuce." 
 
 Jasper quietly bowed and withdrew ; still, as he passed 
 down the ladder, the spectators observed that he cast a linger* 
 ing, anxious look at the horizon to windward, and the land 
 to leeward, and then disappeared with concern strongly ei 
 preised in evei\ lineament of his face. 
 
264 THE PATHFINDER 
 
 CHAPTER XVIL 
 
 His still refuted quirks he still repeats; 
 New raised objections with new quibbles meetr, 
 Till sinking in the quicksand he defends, 
 He dies disputing, and the contest ends. 
 
 COWFEB. 
 
 As the soldier s wife was sick in her berth, Mabel Dun* 
 ham was the only person in the outer cabin when Jasper re 
 turned to it : for, by an act of grace in the sergeant, he had 
 been permitted to resume his proper place, in this part of 
 the vessel. We should be ascribing too much simplicity of 
 character to our heroine, if we said that she had felt no dis 
 trust of the young man, in consequence of his arrest ; but 
 we should also be doing injustice to her warmth of feeling, 
 and generosity of disposition, if we did not add, that this 
 distrust was insignificant and transient. As he now took 
 his seat near her, his whole countenance clouded with the 
 uneasiness he felt concerning the situation of the cutter, 
 everything like suspicion was banished from her mind, and 
 she saw in him only an injured man. 
 
 " You let this affair weigh too heavily on your mind, 
 Jasper," she said eagerly, or with that forgetfulnpss of self, 
 with which the youthful of her sex are woni to betray their 
 feelings, when a strong and generous interest has attained 
 the ascendency ; " no one, who knows you, can or does be 
 lieve you guilty. Pathfinder says he will pledge his life 
 for you." 
 
 " Then you, Mabel," returned the youth, his eyes flashing 
 fire, " do not look upon me as the traitor that your father 
 seems to believe me to be ? " 
 
 " My dear father is a soldier, and is obliged to act as one. 
 My father s daughter is not, and will think of you as she 
 ought to think of a man who has done so much to serve 
 her already." 
 
THE PATHFINDER. 265 
 
 " Mabel, I m not used to talking with one like you, or 
 saying all I think and feel with any. I never had a sister, 
 and my mother died when I was a child, so that I know little 
 what your sex most likes to hear" 
 
 Mabel would have given the world to know what lay be 
 hind the teeming word, at which Jasper hesitated ; but the 
 indefinable and controlling sense of womanly diffidence made 
 her suppress her womanly curiosity. She waited in silence 
 for him to explain his own meaning. 
 
 " I wish to say, Mabel," the young man continued, aftar 
 a pause which he found sufficiently embarrassing, " that I 
 am unused to the ways and opinions of one like you, and 
 that you must imagine all I would add." 
 
 Mabel had imagination enough to fancy anything, but 
 there are ideas and feelings that her sex prefer to have ex 
 pressed, before they yield them all their own sympathies 
 and she had a vague consciousness that these of Jasper s 
 might properly be enumerated in the class ; with a readiness 
 that belonged to her sex, therefore, she preferred changing 
 the discourse to permitting it to proceed any further, in a 
 manner so awkward and so unsatisfactory. 
 
 " Tell me one thing, Jasper, and I shall be content," she 
 said, speaking now with a firmness that denoted confidence 
 not only in herself, but in her companion ; " you do not 
 deserve this cruel suspicion which rests upon you ? " 
 
 " I do not, Mabel," answered Jasper, looking into her full 
 blue eyes with an openness and simplicity that might have 
 shaken strong distrust. " As I hope for mercy hereafter, 1 
 do not." 
 
 . " I knew it I could have sworn it," returned the girl 
 warmly. " And yet my father means well : but do not let 
 this matter disturb you, Jasper." 
 
 " There is so much more to apprehend from another juai 
 ter, just now, that I scarce think of it." 
 
 "Jasper!" 
 
 " I do not wish to alarm you, Mabel, but if your uncle 
 could be persuaded to change his notions about handling the 
 Scud and yet, he is so much older and more experienced 
 than I am, that he ought, perhaps, to place more reliance on 
 his own judgment than on mine." 
 
266 THE PATHFINDER. 
 
 " Do you think the cutter in any danger ? " demanded 
 Mabel, quick as thought. 
 
 " I fear so at least she would have been thought in great 
 danger by us of the lake ; perhaps an old seaman of the 
 ocean may have means of his own to take care of her." 
 
 " Jasper, all agree in giving you credit for skill in manag" 
 ing the Scud ! You know the lake, yon know the cutter ; 
 you must be the best judge of our real situation ! " 
 
 " My concern for you, Mabel, may make me more cowardly 
 than common ; but, to be frank, I see but one method of 
 keeping the cutter from being wrecked in the course of the 
 next two or three hours, and that your uncle refuses to take, 
 After all, this may be my ignorance ; for, as he says, On 
 tario is merely fresh water." 
 
 " You cannot believe this will make any difference. Think 
 my dear father, Jasper ! Think of yourself, of all the 
 ives that depend on a timely word from you to save them ! " 
 
 " I think of you, Mabel, and that is more, much more, 
 than all the rest put together," returned the young man, 
 with a strength of expression and an earnestness of look, 
 that uttered infinitely more than the words themselves. 
 
 Mabel s heart beat quick, and a gleam of grateful satis 
 faction shot across her blushing features ; but the alarm was 
 too vivid and too serious to admit of much relief from hap 
 pier thoughts. She did not attempt to repress a look of 
 gratitude, and then she returned to the feeling that was 
 naturally uppermost. 
 
 "My uncle s obstinacy must not be permitted to occasion 
 this disaster. Go once more on deck, Jasper, and ask my 
 father to come into the cabin." 
 
 While the young man was complying with this request, 
 Mabel sat listening to the howling of the storm and the dash 
 ing of the water against the cutter, in a dread to which she 
 had hitherto been a stranger. Constitutionally an excellent 
 sailor, as the term is used among passengers, she had riot, 
 hitherto, bethought her of any danger, and had passed her 
 time, since the commencement of the gale, in such womanly 
 employments as her situation allowed ; but now alarm was 
 seriously awakened, she did not fail to perceive that nevei 
 
THE PATHFINDER. 267 
 
 before bad she been on the water in such a tempest. The 
 ninute or two that had elapsed ere the sergeant came ap 
 peared an hour, and she scarcely breathed when she saw 
 him and Jasper descending the ladder in company. Quick 
 as language could express her meaning, she acquainted her 
 father with Jasper s opinion of their situation, and entreated 
 him, if he loved her, or had any regard for his own life, or 
 for those of his own men, to interfere with her uncle, and to 
 induce him to yield the control of the cutter, again, to its 
 proper commander. 
 
 "Jasper is true, father," she added earnestly, "and if 
 false, no could have no motive in wrecking us in this dis 
 tant part of the lake, at the risk of all our lives, his own 
 included. I will pledge my own life for his truth." 
 
 " Aye, this is well enough for a young woman who- is 
 frightened," answered the more phlegmatic parent ; " but it 
 might not be so prudent or excusable in one in command 
 of an expedition. Jasper may think the chance of drown 
 ing in getting ashore fully repaid by the chance of escaping 
 as soon as he reaches the land." 
 
 " Sergeant Dunham ! " 
 
 " Father ! " 
 
 These exclamations were made simultaneously, but they 
 were uttered in tones expressive of different feelings. In 
 Jasper, surprise was the emotion uppermost; in Mabel, 
 reproach. The old soldier, however, was too much accus 
 tomed to deal frankly with subordinates to heed either; 
 and, after a moment s thought, he continued, as if neither 
 had spoken. 
 
 " Nor is brother Cap a man likely to submit to be taught 
 his duty on board a vessel." 
 
 " But, father, when all our lives are in the utmost 
 jeopardy ! " 
 
 " So much the worse. The fair- weather commander is 
 no great matter ; it is when things go wrong, that the best 
 officer shows himself in his true colors. Charles Cap will 
 Dot be likely to quit the helm because the ship is in danger 
 Besides, Jasper Eau-douce, he says your proposal, in itself, 
 has a suspicious air about it, and sound? more like treachery 
 .than reason." 
 
268 THE PATHFINDER. 
 
 " He may think so, but let him send for the pilot, and 
 hear his opinion. It is well known I have not seen the 
 man since yesterday evening." 
 
 "This does sound reasonably, and the experiment shall 
 be tried. Follow me on deck, then, that all may be honest 
 and above-board." 
 
 Jasper obeyed, and so keen was the interest of Mabel, 
 that she, too, ventured as far as the companion-way, where 
 her garments were sufficiently protected against the violence 
 of the wind, and her person from the spray. Here maiden 
 modesty induced her to remain, though an absorbed witness 
 of what was passing. 
 
 The pilot soon appeared, and there was no mistaking the 
 look of concern that he cast around at the scene, as soon as 
 he was in the open air. Some rumors of the situation of 
 the Scud had found their way below, it is true ; but in this 
 instance, rumor had lessened, instead of magnifying the 
 dangers. He was allowed a few minutes to look about 
 him, and then the question was put as to the course that he 
 thought it prudent to follow. 
 
 " I see no means of saving the cutter but to anchor," he 
 answered simply, and without hesitation. 
 
 " What, out here, in the lake ? " inquired Cap, as he 
 had previously done of Jasper. 
 
 " No, but closer in ; just at the outer line of the 
 breakers." 
 
 The effect of this communication was to leave no doubt 
 in the mind of Cap, that there was *a secret arrangement 
 between her commander and the pilot to cast away the 
 Scud ; most probably with the hope of effecting their 
 escape. He consequently treated the opinion of the latter 
 with the indifference he had manifested towards that of the 
 former. 
 
 " T tell you, brother Dunham," he said, in answer to the 
 remonstrances of the sergeant against his turning a deaf ear 
 to this double representation, " that no seaman would give 
 such an opinion honestly. To anchor on a lee shore, in a 
 gale of wind, would be an act of madness that I could 
 never excuse to the underwriters, under any circumstances, 
 
THE PATHFINDER. 269 
 
 aft long as a rag can be set ; but to anchor close to break 
 ers would be insanity." 
 
 " His Majesty underwrites the Scud, brother, and I am 
 responsible for the lives of my command. These men are 
 better acquainted with Lake Ontario than we can possibly 
 be, and I do think their telling the same tale entitles then) 
 to some credit." 
 
 " Uncle ! " said Mabel, earnestly, but a gesture from 
 Jasper induced the girl to restrain her feelings. 
 
 " We are drifting down upon the breakers so rapidly," 
 said the young man, " that little need be said on the sub 
 ject. Half an hour must settle the matter, one way or the 
 other ; but I warn Master Cap that the surest-footed man 
 among us will not be able to keep his feet an instant on the 
 deck of this low craft, should she fairly get within them. 
 Indeed, I make little doubt that we shall fill and founder 
 before the second line of rollers is passed ! " 
 
 " And how would anchoring help the matter ? " de 
 manded Cap furiously, as if he felt that Jasper was respon 
 sible for the effects of the gale, as well as for the opinion he 
 had just given. 
 
 "It would at least do no harm," Eau-douce mildly re 
 plied. " By bringing the cutter head to sea we should 
 lessen her drift; and even if we dragged through the 
 breakers, it would be with the least possible danger. I 
 hope, Master Cap, you will allow the pilot and myself to 
 prepare for anchoring, since the precaution may do good, 
 and can do no harm." 
 
 "Overhaul your ranges if you will, and get your anchors 
 clear, with all my heart. We are now in a situation that 
 cannot be much affected by anything of that sort. Sergeant, 
 a word with you aft here, if you please." 
 
 Cap led his brother-in-law out of ear-shot, and then,, with 
 more of human feeling in his voice and manner than he 
 was apt to exhibit, he opened his heart on the subject of 
 their real situation. 
 
 " This is a melancholy affair for poor Mabel," he *aid, 
 blowing his nose, and speaking with a slight *remor ; 
 "yon and I, sergeant, are old fellows, and used to being 
 
270 THE PATHFINDER. 
 
 near death, if not to actually dying. Our trades fit us for 
 such scenes; but poor Mabel, she is an affectionate and 
 kind-hearted girl, and I had hoped to see her comfortably 
 settled and a mother, before my time came. Well, well ; 
 we must take the bad with the good in every v y ge, and 
 the only serious objection that an old seafaring man can 
 with propriety make to such an event, is that it should 
 happen on this bit of d d fresh water." 
 
 Sergeant Dunham was a brave man, and had shown his 
 spiri* in scenes that looked much more appalling than this. 
 But on all such occasions he had been able to act his part 
 against his foes, while here he was pressed upon by an 
 enemy whom he had no means of resisting. For himself 
 he cared far less than for his daughter, feeling some of that 
 self-reliance which seldom deserts a man of firmness, who is 
 in vigorous health, and who has been accustomed to per 
 sonal exertions in moments of jeopardy. But as respects 
 Mabel he saw no means of escape, and with a father s 
 fondness he at once determined that if either was doomed 
 to perish, he and his daughter must perish together. 
 
 " Do you think this must come to pass ? " he asked of 
 Cap, firmly, but with strong feeling. 
 
 " Twenty minutes will carry us into the breakers, and 
 look for yourself, sergeant, what chance will even the 
 stoutest man among us have in that caldron to leeward ! " 
 
 The prospect was, indeed, little calculated to encourage 
 hope. By this time the Scud was within a mile of the 
 shore, on which the gale was blowing at right angles, with 
 a violence that forbade the idea of showing any additional 
 canvas with a view to claw off. The small portion of the 
 mainsail that was actually set, and which merely served to< 
 keep the head of the Scud so near the wind as to prevent 
 the waves from breaking over her, quivered under the 
 gusts as if at each moment the stout threads which held the 
 complicated fabric together were about to be torn asunder. 
 The drizzle had ceased, but the air for a hundred feet 
 ftbove the surface of the lake was filled with dazzling spray > 
 which had an appearance not unlike that of a brilliant mist 
 while, abovfc ail, the sun was shining gloriously in a cloud 
 
THE PATHFINDER. 271 
 
 less sky. Jasper had noted the omen, and had foretold 
 that it announced a speedy termination to the gale, though 
 the next hour or two must decide their fate. Between the 
 cutter and the shore the view was still more wild and 
 appalling. The breakers extended near half a mile ; while 
 the water within their line was white with foam, the ah 
 above them was so far filled with vapor and spraj as to 
 render the laud beyond hazy and indistinct. Still, it could 
 be seen that the latter was high, not a usual thing for the 
 shores of Ontario, and that it was covered with the verdant 
 mantle of the interminable forest. 
 
 While the sergeant arid Cap were gazing at this scene in 
 silence, Jasper and his people were actively engaged on the 
 forecastle. No sooner had the young man received permis 
 sion to resume his old employment, than, appealing to some 
 of the soldiers for aid, he mustered five or six assistants, 
 and set about in earnest the performance of a duty that had 
 been too long delayed. On these narrow waters anchors 
 are never stowed inboard, or cables that are intended for 
 service unbent, and Jasper was saved much of the labor that 
 would have been necessary in a vessel at sea. The two 
 bowers were soon ready to be let go, ranges of the cables 
 were overhauled, and then the party paused to look about 
 them. No changes for the better had occurred ; but the 
 cutter was falling slowly in, and each instant rendered it 
 more certain that she could not gain an inch to windward. 
 
 One long, earnest survey of the lake ended, Jasper gave 
 new orders in a manner to prove how much he thought that 
 the time pressed. Two kedges were got on deck, and 
 hawsers were bent to them ; the inner ends of the hawsers 
 *rere bent in their turns to the crowns of the anchors, and 
 everything was got ready to throw them overboard at the 
 proper moment. These preparations completed, Jasper s 
 manner changed from the excitement of exertion to a look 
 of calm but settled concern. He quitted the forecastle, 
 where the seas were dashing inboard at every plunge of the 
 vessel, the duty just mentioned having been executed with 
 V\ie bodies of the crew frequently buried in the water, and 
 to a dryer part of the deck aft. Here he was met 
 
272 THE PATHFINDER. 
 
 by the Pathfinder, who was standing near Mabel and the 
 quartermaster. Most of those on board, with the exception 
 of the individuals who have already been particularly men 
 tioned, were below, some seeking relief from physical suffer 
 ing on their pallets, and others tardily bethinking them of 
 their sins. For the first time, most probably, since her keel 
 had dipped into the limpid waters of Ontario, the voice of 
 prayer was heard on board the Scud. 
 
 " Jasper," commenced his friend the guide, " I have been 
 of no use this morning, for my gifts are of little account, as 
 you know, in a vessel like this ; but, should it please God 
 to let the sergeant s daughter reach the shore alive, my 
 acquaintance with the forest may still carry her through in 
 safety to the garrison." 
 
 " Tis a fearful distance thither, Pathfinder!" Mabel 
 rejoined, the party being so near together that all that was 
 said by one was overheard by the others. " I am afraid 
 none of us could live to reach the fort." 
 
 " It would be a risky path, Mabel, and a crooked one ; 
 though some of your sex have undergone even more than 
 that, in this wilderness. But, Jasper, either you or I, or 
 both of us, must man this bark canoe ; Mabel s only chance 
 will lie in getting through the breakers in that." 
 
 " I would willingly man anything to save Mabel," 
 answered Jasper, with a melancholy smile ; " but no human 
 hand, Pathfinder, could carry that canoe through yonder 
 breakers, in a gale like this. I have hopes from anchoring, 
 after all ; for once before have we saved the Scud in an 
 extremity nearly as great as this." 
 
 " If we are to anchor, Jasper," the sergeant inquired, 
 " why not do it at once ? Every foot we lose in drifting 
 now would come into the distance we shall probably drag, 
 whe/i the anchors are let go." 
 
 Jasper drew nearer to the sergeant, and took his hand, 
 pressing it earnestly, and in a way to denote strong, almost 
 uncontrollable feelings. 
 
 " Sergeant Dunham," he said, solemnly, " you are a good 
 man, though you have treated me harshly in this business. 
 You love your daughter? * 
 
THE PATHFINDER. 273 
 
 " That you cannot doubt, Eau-douce," returned the ser 
 geant, huskily. 
 
 " Will you give her give us all, the only chance for 
 life that is left ? " 
 
 " What would you have me to do, boy ; what would you 
 have me to do ? I have acted according to my judgment 
 hitherto ; what would you have me do ? " 
 
 " Support me against Master Cap for five minutes, and 
 all that man can do towards saving the Scud, shall V 
 done." 
 
 The sergeant hesitated, for he was too much of a disci 
 plinarian to fly in the face of regular orders. He disliked 
 the appearance of vacillation, too ; and then he had a pro 
 found respect for his kinsman s seamanship. While he was 
 deliberating, Cap came from the post he had some time 
 occupied, which was at the side of the man at the helm, and 
 drew nigh the group. 
 
 " Master Eau-douce," he said, as soon as near enough to 
 be heard, " I have come to inquire if you know any spot 
 near by, where this cutter can be beached ? The moment 
 has arrived when we are driven to this hard alternative." 
 
 That instant of indecision on the part of Cap secured the 
 triumph of Jasper. Looking at the sergeant, the young 
 man received a nod that assured him of all he asked, and he 
 lost not one of those moments that were getting to be so 
 very precious. 
 
 " Shall I take the helm ? " he inquired of Cap, " and see 
 if we can reach a creek that lies to leeward ? " 
 
 " Do so do so," said the other, hemming to clear his 
 throat, for he felt oppressed by a responsibility that weighed 
 all the heavier on his shoulders, on account of his ignorance. 
 a Do so, Oh-the-Deuce, since, to be frank with you, I can 
 see nothing better to be done. We must Deach o* 
 gwamp ! " 
 
 Jasper required no more ; springing aft, he soon had the 
 Uller in his own hands. The pilot was prepared for what 
 was to follow, and, at a sign from his young commander, the 
 rag of sail that had so long been set was taken in. At that 
 moment, Jasper, watching his time, put the helm up, the 
 It 
 
274 THE PATHFINDER. 
 
 head of a stay-sail was loosened forward, and the light 
 cutter, as if conscious she was now under the control oi 
 familiar hands, fell off, and was soon in the trough of the 
 sea. This perilous instant was passed in safety, at>d at the 
 next moment the little vessel appeared flying down towards 
 the breakers, at a rate that threatened instant destruction. 
 The distances had got to be so short, that five or six minute* 
 sufficed for all that Jasper wished, and he put the heln. 
 down again, when the bows of the Scud came up to the 
 wind, notwithstanding the turbulence of the waters, as grace 
 fully as the duck varies its line of direction on the glass} 
 pond. A sign from Jasper set all in motion on the fore 
 castle, and a kedge was thrown from each bow. The fear 
 ful nature of the drift was now apparent even to Mabel s 
 eyes, for the two hawsers ran out like towlines. As soon 
 as they straightened to a slight strain, both anchors were 
 let go, and cable was given to each, nearly to the better- 
 ends. It was not a difficult task to snub so light a craft, 
 with ground tackle of a quality better than common ; and 
 in less than ten minutes from the moment when Jasper 
 went to the helm, the Scud was riding, head to sea, with 
 the two cables stretched ahead in lines that resembled bars 
 of iron. 
 
 " This is not well done, Master Jasper ! " angrily ex 
 claimed Cap, as soon as he perceived the trick that had 
 been played him, " this is not well done, sir ; I order you 
 to cut, and to beach the cutter, without a moment s de 
 lay." 
 
 No one, however, seemed disposed to comply with thia 
 order, for so long as Eau-douce saw fit to command, his 
 own people were disposed to obey. Finding that the men 
 remained passive, Cap, who believed they were in the ut 
 most peril, turned fiercely to Jasper, and renewed his re 
 monstrances. 
 
 " You did not head for your pretended creek," he added, 
 after dealing in some objurgatory remarks that we do not 
 deem it necessary to record, " but steered for that bluff, 
 where every soul on board would have been drowned, had 
 we gone ashore ! " 
 
THE PATHFINDER. 275 
 
 " And you wish to cut, and pul every soul ashore, at 
 that very spot ! " Jasper retorted, a little dryly. 
 
 " Throw a lead-line overboard, and ascertain the drift ! " 
 Cap now roared to the people forward. A sign from Jas 
 per sustaining this order, it was instantly obeyed. All on 
 deck gathered round the spot, and watched, with nearly 
 breathless interest, the result of the experiment. The lead 
 was no sooner on the bottom than the line tended forward, 
 and in about two minutes it was seen that the cutter had 
 drifted her length, dead in towards the bluff. Jasper looked 
 grave, for he well knew nothing would hold the vessel did 
 she get within the vortex of the breakers, the first line of 
 which was appearing and disappearing about a cable s length 
 directly under their stern. 
 
 " Traitor ! " exclaimed Cap, shaking a finger at the 
 young commander, though passion choked the rest. " You 
 must answer for this with your life ! " he added, after a 
 short pause. " If I were at the head of this expedition, 
 sergeant, I would hang him at the end of the main-boom, 
 lest he escape drowning." 
 
 " Moderate your feelings, brother be more moderate, 
 I beseech you ; Jasper appears to have done all foi the 
 best, and matters may not be as bad as you believe 
 them." 
 
 " Why did he not run for the creek he mentioned ; why 
 has he brought us here, dead to windward of that bluff, and 
 to a spot where even the breakers are only of half the 
 .ordinary width, as if in a hurry to drown all on board ? 
 
 " I headed for the bluff, for the precise reason that the 
 breakers are so narrow at this spot," answered Jasper, 
 mildly, though his gorge had risen at the language the other 
 held. 
 
 " Do you mean to tell an old seaman like me, that this 
 cutter could live in those breakers ? " 
 
 " T do not, sir. I think she would fill and swamp, if 
 driven into the first line of them ; I am certain she would 
 nfcTer reach the shore on her bottom, if fairly entered I 
 bope to keep her clear of ;iiem altogether." 
 
 tt With a drift of hei length in a minute ! " 
 
276 THE PATHFINDER. 
 
 " The backing of the anchors does not yet fairly tell, nor 
 do I even hope that they will entirely bring her up." 
 
 " On what do you rely ? To mcor a 3raft, head and 
 stern, by faith, hope, and charity ? " 
 
 " No, sir ; I trust to the under-tow. I headed for the 
 bluff, because I knew that it was stronger at that point than 
 at any other, and because we could get nearer in with the 
 land without entering the breakers." 
 
 This was said with spirit, though without any particular 
 ghow of resentment. Its effect on Cap was marked, the 
 feeling that was uppermost being evidently that of surprise. 
 
 " Under-tow ! " he repeated, " who the devil ever heard 
 of saving a vessel from going ashore by the uuder-tow ! " 
 
 " This may never happen on the ocean, sir," Jasper an 
 swered, modestly, "but we have known it to happen 
 here." 
 
 " The lad is right, brother," put in the sergeant ; " for 
 though I do not well understand it, I have often heard the 
 sailors of the lake speak of such a thing. We shall do 
 well to trust to Jasper, in this strait." 
 
 Cap grumbled and swore, but as there was no remedy, 
 he was compelled to acquiesce. Jasper being now called 
 on to explain what he meant by the under-tow, gave this 
 account of the matter. The water that was driven up on 
 the shore by the gale, was necessarily compelled to find its 
 level by returning to the lake by some secret channels. 
 This could not be done on the surface, where both wind and 
 waves were constantly urging it towards the land, and it 
 necessarily formed a sort of lower eddy, by means of which 
 it flowed back again to its ancient and proper bed. Thi* 
 inferior current had received the name of the under-tow; 
 and as it would necessarily act on the bottom of a vessel 
 >.hat drew as much water as the Scud, Jasper trusted to the 
 tid of this reaction to keep his cables from parting. In 
 short, the upper and lower currents would, in a manner 
 counteract each other. 
 
 Simple and ingenious as was this theory, however, as yet 
 there was little evidence of its being reduced to practice, 
 The drift continued ; though as the kedges and hawseri 
 
THE PATHFINDER. 277 
 
 with which the anchors were backed, took the strains, it 
 became sensibly less. At length the man at the lead an 
 nounced the joyful intelligence, that the anchors had ceased 
 to drag, and that the vessel had brought up ! At this pre 
 cise moment, the first line of breakers was about a hundred 
 feet astern of the Scud, even appearing to approach much 
 nearer, as the foam vanished and returned on the raging 
 surges. Jasper sprang forward, and casting a glance over 
 the bows, he smiled in triumph, as he pointed exultingly to 
 the cables. Instead of resembling bars of iron in rigidity, 
 as before, they were curving downwards, and to a seaman s 
 senses it was evident that the cutter rose and fell on the 
 seas as they came in, with the ease of a ship in a tides-way 
 when the power of the wind is relieved by the counteract 
 ing pressure of the water. 
 
 " Tis the under-tow ! " he exclaimed with delight, fairlj 
 bounding along the deck to steady the helm, in order that 
 the cutter might ride still easier ; " Providence has placed 
 us directly hi its current, and there is no longer any dan 
 ger ! " 
 
 " Aye, aye, Providence is a good seaman," growled Cap., 
 " and often helps lubbers out of difficulty. Under-tow 01 
 upper-tow, the gale has abated, and fortunately for us all, 
 the anchors have met with good holding ground. Thet 
 this d d fresh water has an unnatural way with it." 
 
 Men are seldom inclined to quarrel with good fortune, 
 but it is in distress that they grow clamorous and critical. 
 Most on board were disposed to believe that they had beou 
 saved from shipwreck by the skill and knowledge of Jas 
 per, without regarding the opinions of Cap, whose remarks 
 were now little heeded. 
 
 There was half an hour of uncertainty and doubt, it is 
 irue, during which period the lead was anxiously watched; 
 and then a feeling of security came over all, and the weary 
 llept without dreaming of icstant death 
 
278 THE PATHFINDER. 
 
 CHAPTER XVHL 
 
 It U to be all n*xde of sighs and tears ; 
 
 It is to be all made of faith and service: 
 
 U is to be all made of fantasy, 
 
 All made of passion, and all made of wishes: 
 
 All adoration, duty, and observance; 
 
 All humbleness, all patience, and impatience, 
 
 All purity, all trial, all observance. 
 
 SHAKESPKARB. 
 
 IT was cear noon when the gale broke ; and then its force 
 abated as suddenly as its violence had arisen. In less than 
 two hours after the wind fell, the surface of the lake, though 
 still agitated, was no longer glittering with foam ; and in 
 double that time, the entire sheet presented the ordinarj 
 scene of disturbed water, that was unbroken by the violence 
 of a tempest. Still, the waves came rolling incessantly to 
 wards the shore, and the lines of breakers remained, though 
 the spray had ceased to fly ; the combing of the swells was 
 more moderate, and all that there was of violence proceeded 
 from the impulsion of wind that had abated. 
 
 As it was impossible to make head against the sea that 
 was still up, with the light opposing air that blew from the 
 eastward, all thoughts of getting under way that afternoon 
 were abandoned. Jasper, who had now quietly resumed the 
 command of the Scud, busied himself, however, in heaving 
 up to the anchors, which were lifted in succession. The 
 kedges that backed them were weighed, and everything was 
 got in readiness for a prompt departure, as soon as the state 
 of the weather would allow. In the mean time, they wno 
 had nc concern with those duties sought such means of 
 amusement as their peculiar circumstances allowed. 
 
 As is common with those who are unused to the confine 
 ment of a vessel, Mabel cast wistful eyes towards the shore 
 nor was it long before she expressed a wish that it were pos- 
 
THE PATHFINDER. 279 
 
 sible to land. The Pathfinder was near her at the time, and 
 he assured her that nothing would be easier, as they had a 
 bark canoe on deck, which was the best possible mode of 
 conveyance to go through a surf. After the usual doubts 
 and misgivings, the sergeant was appealed to ; his opinion, 
 proved to be favorable, and preparations to carry the whim 
 into effect were immediately made. 
 
 The party that was to laud consisted of Sergeant Dun 
 ham, his daughter, and the Pathfinder. Accustomed to the 
 canoe, Mabel took her seat in the centre with great steadi 
 ness, her father was placed in the bows, while the guide as 
 sumed the office of conductor, by steering in the stern. 
 There was little need of impelling the canoe by means of 
 the paddle, for the rollers sent it forward, at moments, with 
 a violence that set every effort to govern its movements at 
 defiance. More than once, ere the shore was reached, Ma 
 bel repented of her temerity, but Pathfinder encouraged her, 
 and really manifested so much self-possession, coolness, and 
 strength of arm himself, that even a female might have hesi 
 tated about owning all her apprehensions. Our heroine was 
 no coward, and while she felt the novelty of her situation, 
 she also experienced a fair proportion of its wild delight. 
 At moments, indeed, her heart was in her mouth, as the 
 bubble of a boat floated on the very crest of a foaming 
 breaker, appearing to skim the water like a swallow, and 
 then she flushed and laughed, as, left by the glancing element, 
 they appeared to linger behind, ashamed of having been out 
 done in the headlong race. A few minutes sufficed for this 
 excitement, for, though the distance between the cutter and 
 the land considerably exceeded a quarter of a mile, the in 
 termediate space was passed in a very few minutes. 
 
 On landing, the sergeant kissed his daughter kindly, for 
 ho was so much of a soldier as always to feel more at home 
 on terra firma than when afloat, and taking his gun, he an 
 nouuced his intention to pass an hour in quest of game. 
 
 " Pathfinder will remain near you, girl, and no doubt he 
 will tell you some of the traditions of this part of the world, 
 or some of his own experiences with the Mingos." 
 
 The guide laughed, promised to have a care of Mabel 
 
280 THE PATHFINDER. 
 
 and in a few minutes the father had ascended a steep ao 
 clivity, and disappeared in the forest. The others took an 
 other direction, which, after a few minutes of sharp ascent 
 also, brought them to a small naked point on the promon 
 tory, where the eye overlooked an extensive and very pe 
 culiar panorama. Here Mabel seated herself on a frag 
 ment of fallen rock, to recover her breath and strength, 
 while her companion, on whose sinews no personal exertion 
 seemed to make any impression, stood at her side, leaniug 
 in his own and not ungraceful manner on his long rifle. 
 Several minutes passed, and neither spoke ; Mabel, in par 
 ticular, being lost in admiration of the view. 
 
 The position the two had attained was sufficiently elevat 
 ed to command a wide reach of the lake, which stretched 
 away towards the northeast in a boundless sheet, glittering 
 beneath the rays of an afternoon s sun, and yet betraying 
 the remains of that agitation which it had endured while 
 tossed by the late tempest. The land set bounds to its 
 limits, in a huge crescent, disappearing in distance towards 
 the southeast and the north. Far as the eye could reach, 
 nothing but forest was visible, not even a solitary sign of 
 civilization breaking in upon the uniform and grand magnifi 
 cence of nature. The gale had driven the Scud beyond the 
 line of those forts with which the French were then endeav 
 oring to gird the English North American possessions ; for, 
 following the channels of communication between the great 
 lakes, their posts were on the banks of the Niagara, while 
 oui adventurers had reached a point many leagues westward 
 of that celebrated strait. The cutter rode at single anchor, 
 without the breakers, resembling some well imagined and 
 accurately executed toy, that was intended rather for a glass 
 case than for the struggles with the elements which she had 
 &c lately gone through ; while the canoe lay on the narrow 
 beach, just out of reach of the waves that came booming 
 upon the land, a speck upon the shingles. 
 
 " We are very far, here, from human habitations ! " ex 
 claimed Mabel, when, after a long and musing survey of the 
 s^mie, its principal peculiarities forced themselves on her 
 active and ever brilliant imagination ; " this is, indeed, be 
 ing on the frontiei . " 
 
THE PATHFINDER. 281 
 
 u Have they more sigitly scenes than this, nearer the sea, 
 and around their large towns ? " demanded Pathfinder, with 
 an interest he was apt to discover in such a subject. 
 
 " I will not say that ; there is more to remind one of his 
 fellow beings there than here ; less, perhaps, to remind one 
 of God." 
 
 " Aye, Mabel, that is what my own feelings say. I am 
 but a poor hunter, I know ; untaught and unTarued ; but 
 God is as near me, in this my home, as He is near tht king 
 in his royal palace." 
 
 " Who can doubt it ? " returned Mabel, looking from the 
 view up into the hard-featured but honest face of her com 
 panion, though not without surprise at the energy of his 
 manner ; " one feels nearer to God, in such a spot, I think, 
 than when the mind is distracted by the objects of the 
 towns." 
 
 "You say all I wish to say myself, Mabel, but in so much 
 plainer speech that you make me ashamed of wishing to let 
 others know what I feel on such matters. I have coasted 
 this kke in s arch of skins, afore the war, and have been 
 here already ; not at this very spot, for we landed yonder, 
 where you may see the blasted oak that stands above the 
 cluster of hemlocks " 
 
 " How ! Pathfinder, can you remember all these trifles so 
 accurately ! " 
 
 " These are our streets and houses ; our churches and 
 palaces. Remember them, indeed ! I once made an ap 
 pointment with the Big Sarpent, to meet at twelve o clock 
 at noon near the foot of a certain pine, at the end of six 
 months, when neither of us was within three hundred miles 
 i)f the spot. The tree stood, and stands still, unless the 
 judgment of Providence has lighted on that too, in the 
 .uidst of the forest, fifty miles from any settlement, but in a 
 nost extraordinary neighborhood for beaver." 
 
 " And did you meet at that very spot and hour ? " 
 
 " Does the sun rise and set ? When I reached the tree, 
 * found the Sarpent leaning against its trunk, with torn leg 
 gings and muddied moccasins. The Delaware had got into 
 swauap, aiid it worried him not a little to find hia way out 
 
282 THE PATHFINDER. 
 
 of it but, as the sun, which comes over the eastern hills in 
 the morning, goes down behind the western at night, so was 
 he true to time and place. No fear of Chingachgook when 
 there is either a friend or an enemy in the case. He is 
 equally sart in with each." 
 
 " And where is the Delaware now why is he not with 
 us to-day ? " 
 
 u He is scouting on the Mingo trail, where I ought to 
 have been too, but for a great human infirmity." 
 
 " You seem above, beyond, superior to all infirmity, 
 Pathfinder ; I never yet met with a man who appeared to 
 be so little liable to the weaknesses of nature." 
 
 " If you mean in the way of health and strength, Mabel, 
 Providence has been kind to me ; though I fancy the open 
 air, long hunts, active scoutings, forest fare, and the sleep of 
 a good conscience, may always keep the doctors at a dis 
 tance. But I am human a ter all ; yes, I find I m very 
 human in some of my feelin s." 
 
 Mabel looked surprised, and it would be no more than 
 delineating the character of her sex, if we added that her 
 sweet countenance expressed a good deal of curiosity, too, 
 though her tongue was more discreet. 
 
 " There is something bewitching in this wild life of yours, 
 Pathfinder," she exclaimed, a tinge of enthusiasm mantling 
 her cheeks. " I find I m fast getting to be a frontier girl, 
 and am coming to love all this grand silence of the woods. 
 The towns seem tame to me ; and, as my father will proba 
 bly pass the remainder of his days here, where he has al 
 ready lived so long, I begin to feel that I should be happy 
 to continue with him, and not return to the sea shore." 
 
 " The woods are never silent, Mabel, to such as under- 
 4 tend their meaning. Days at a time, have I travelled 
 them alone, without feeling the want of company ; and, as 
 for conversation, for such as can comprehend their language, 
 there is no want of rational and instructive discourse." 
 
 " I believe you are happier when alone, Pathfinder, than 
 when mingling with your fellow-creatures." 
 
 " I will not say that I will not say exactly that ! I 
 h*ve seen the time when I have thought that God was Buffi* 
 
THE PATHFINDER. 283 
 
 went for me in the forest, and that I craved no more than 
 his bounty, and his care. But other feelin s have got up 
 permost, and I suppose natur will have its way. All other 
 creator s mate, Mabel, and it was intended man should do 
 so, too." 
 
 " And have you never bethought you of seeking a wife, 
 Pathfinder, to share your fortunes?" inquired the girl, with 
 the directness and simplicity that the pure of heart, and the 
 undesigning, are the most apt to manifest, and with that 
 feeling of affection which is inbred in her sex. " To me, it 
 seems, you only want a home to return to, from your wan 
 derings, to render your life completely happy. Were I a 
 man, it would be my delight to roam through these forests 
 at will, or to sail over this beautiful lake." 
 
 " I understand you, Mabel ; and God bless you for think 
 ing of the welfare of men as humble as we are. We have 
 our pleasures, it is true, as well as our gifts, but we might 
 be happier ; yes, I do think we might be happier." 
 
 " Happier ! in what way, Pathfinder ? In this pure air, 
 with these cool and shaded forests to wander through, this 
 lovely lake to gaze at, and sail upon, with clear consciences, 
 and abundance for all the real wants, men ought to be noth 
 ing less than as perfectly happy as their infirmities will 
 allow." 
 
 " Every creatur has its gifts, Mabel, and men have 
 their n," answered the guide, looking stealthily at his beau 
 tiful companion, whose cheeks had flushed and eyes bright 
 ened under the ardor of feelings excited by the novelty of 
 Uer striking situation ; " and all must obey them. Do you 
 Bee yonder pigeon that is just align tin on the beech, here 
 in a line with the fallen chestnut ? " 
 
 " Certainly ; it is the only thing stirring with life in it> 
 besides ourselves, that is to be seen in this vast solitude." 
 
 " Not so, Mabel, not so ; Providence makes nothing that 
 ives, to live quite alone. Here is its mate, just rising on 
 -he vting; it has been feedin near the other beech, but it 
 vill not long be separated from its companion." 
 
 " 1 understand you, Pathfinder," returned Mibei, smiling 
 jweotly, though as calmly as if tho discourse was with her 
 
284 THE PATHFINDER. 
 
 father. " But a hunter may find a mate, even in this wild 
 region. The Indian girls are affectionate and true, I know, 
 for such was the wife of Arrowhead, to a husband who 
 oftener frowned than smiled." 
 
 " That would never do, Mabel, and good would never 
 come of it. Kind must cling to kind, and country to coun 
 try, if one would find happiness. If, indeed, I could meet 
 with one like you, who would consent to be a hunter s wife, 
 and who would not scorn my ignorance and rudeness, then, 
 indeed, would all the toil of the past appear like the sport 
 ing of the young deer, and all the future like sunshine ! " 
 
 " One like me ! A girl of my years and indiscretion 
 would hardly make a fit companion for the boldest scout and 
 surest hunter on the lines." 
 
 " Ah ! Mabel, I fear me that I have been improving a 
 red-skin s gifts, with a pale-face s natur ! Such a character 
 would insure a wife, in an Injin village." 
 
 " Surely, surely, Pathfinder, you would not think of 
 choosing one as ignorant, as frivolous, as vain, and as inex 
 perienced as I, for your wife ! " Mabel would have added, 
 " and as young/ but an instinctive feeling of delicacy re 
 pressed the words. 
 
 " And why not, Mabel ? If you are ignorant of frontier 
 usages, you know more than all of us of pleasant anecdotes 
 and town customs ; as for frivolous, I know not what it 
 means, but if it signifies beauty, ah s me ! I fear it is no 
 fault in my eyes. Vain you are not, as is seen by the kind 
 manner in which you listen to all my idle tales about scout- 
 ings and trails ; and as for experience, that will come with 
 years. Besides, Mabel, I fear men think little of these mat 
 ters, when they are about to take wives, I do." 
 
 " Pathfinder ! your words your looks surely all this is 
 meant in trifling you speak in pleasantry ! " 
 
 "To me it is always agreeable to be near you, Mabel, 
 aad I should sleep sounder this blessed night, than I have 
 dons for a week past, could I think that you find such dis 
 course, as pleasant as I do." 
 
 We shall not say that Mabel Dunham had not believe** 
 herself a favorite with the guide. This her quick, feminine 
 
THE PATHFINDER. 285 
 
 sagacity had early discovered, and perhaps she had occasion 
 ally thought there had mingled with his regard and friend 
 ship, some of that manly tenderness which the ruder sex 
 must be coarse indeed not to show, on occasions, to the 
 gentler ; but the idea that he seriously sought her for his 
 wife had never before crossed the mind of the spirited and 
 ingenuous girl. Now, however, a gleam of something liko 
 the truth broke in upon her imagination, less induced by thf 
 words of her companion, perhaps, than by his manner. 
 Looking earnestly into the rugged, honest countenance oi 
 the scout, Mabel s own features became concerned and 
 grave, and when she spoke again, it was with a gentleness 
 of manner that attracted him to her even more powerfully 
 than the words themselves were calculated to repel. 
 
 " You and I should understand each other, Pathfinder," 
 she said, with an earnest sincerity, " nor should there be 
 any cloud between us. You are too upright and frank to 
 meet with anything but sincerity and frankness in return. 
 Surely, surely, all this means nothing, has no other connec 
 tion with your feelings, than such a friendship as one of 
 your wisdom and character would naturally feel for a girl 
 like me ! " 
 
 " I believe it s all nat ral, Mabel ; yes, I do ; the ser 
 geant tells me he had such feelings towards your own 
 mother, and I think I ve seen something like it, in the 
 young people I have from time to time guided through the 
 wilderness. Yes, yes ; I dare say it s all nat ral enough, 
 and that makes it come so easy, and is a great comfort to 
 me. 
 
 " Pathfinder, your words make me uneasy ! Speak plainer, 
 oi change the subject forever. You do not cannot mean 
 that you cannot wish me to understand" even the 
 tongue of the spirited Mabel faltered, and she shrank with 
 maiden shamfe from adding what she wished so earnestly to 
 lay. Rallying her courage, however, and determined to 
 know all as soon and as plainly as possible, after a moment s 
 hesitation she continued, " I mean, Pathfinder, that you do 
 oot wish me to understand that you seriously think of me 
 as a wife ? w 
 
286 THE PATHFINDER. 
 
 " I do, Mabel ; that s it that s just it, and you have pm 
 the matter in a much better point of view than I, with my 
 forest gifts and frontier ways, would ever be able to do. 
 The sergeant and I have concluded on the matter, if it is 
 agreeable to you, as he thinks is likely will be the case, 
 though I doubt my own power to please one who deserver 
 the best husband America can produce." 
 
 Mabel s countenance changed from uneasiness to sui 
 prise, and then by a transition still quicker, from surprise to 
 pain. 
 
 " My father ! " she exclaimed. " My dear father has 
 thought of my becoming your wife, Pathfinder ! " 
 
 " Yes, he has, Mabel ; he has indeed. He has even 
 thought such a thing might be agreeable to you, and has 
 almost encouraged me to fancy it might be true." 
 
 "But you, yourself you certainly can care nothing 
 whether this singular expectation shall ever be realized or 
 not?" 
 
 Anan?" 
 
 " I mean, Pathfinder, that you have talked of this match 
 more to oblige my father than anything else ; that your 
 feelings are no way concerned, let my answer be what it 
 may ? " 
 
 The scout looked earnestly into the beautiful face of 
 Mabel, which had flushed with the ardor and novelty of 
 her sensations, and it was impossible to mistake the intense 
 admiration that betrayed itself in every lineament of his 
 ingenuous countenance. 
 
 " I have often thought myself happy, Mabel, when rang 
 ing the woods, on a successful hunt, breathing the pure au 
 f the hills, and filled with vigor and health, but I now feel 
 that it has all been idleness and vanity compared with the 
 delight it would give me to know that you thought better of 
 me than you think of most others." 
 
 " Better of you ! I do indeed think better of you, Path- 
 tinder, than of most others ; I am not certain that I do not 
 think better of you than of any other ; for your truth, hon 
 esty, simplicity, justice, and courage are scarcely equaled bj 
 any of earth." 
 
THE PATHFINDER. 287 
 
 * Ah ! Mabel ! These are sweet and encouraging words 
 from you, and the sergeant, a ter all, was not as near wrong 
 as I feared." 
 
 " Nay, Pathfinder, in the name of all that is sacred and 
 just, do not let us misunderstand each other, in a matter of 
 BO much importance. While I esteem, respect nay, rev- 
 eience you, almost as much as I reverence my own dear 
 fa-t her, it is impossible that I should ever become youi w J C 
 that I" 
 
 The change in her companion s countenance was so suvl- 
 den and so great, that the moment the effect of what she 
 had uttered became visible in the face of the Pathfinder, 
 Mabe- arrested her own words, notwithstanding her strong 
 desire to be explicit, the reluctance with which she could at 
 any time cause pain being sufficient of itself to induce the 
 pause. Neither spoke for some time, the shade of disap 
 pointment that crossed the rugged lineaments of the hunter 
 amounting so nearly to anguish, as to frighten his com 
 panion, while the sensation of choking became so strong in 
 the Pathfinder, that he fairly griped his throat, like one who 
 sought physical relief for physical suffering. The convul 
 sive manner in which his fingers worked actually struck the 
 alarmed girl with a feeling of awe. 
 
 "Nay, Pathfinder," Mabel eagerly added, the instant she 
 could command her voice, " 1 may have said more than I 
 mean, for all things of this nature are possible, and women, 
 they say, are never sure of their own minds. What I wish 
 you to understand is, that it is not likely that you and I 
 should ever think of each other, as man and wife ou^ht to 
 (link of each other." 
 
 " I do not I shall never think in that way again, Ma 
 bel," gasped forth the Pathfinder, who appeared to utter hia 
 words like one just raised above the pressure of some suf 
 focating substance. " No, no ; I shall never think of you, 
 or any one else, again, in that way." 
 
 " Pathfinder dear Pathfinder, understand me ; do not 
 attach more meaning to my words than I do myself ; a match 
 like that would be unwise unnatural, perhaps." 
 
 " Yes, unnat ral agin natur ; and so I told the sergeant^ 
 but he would have it otherwise." 
 
288 THE PATHFINDER. 
 
 " Pathfinder ! ! this is worse than I coda nave imag 
 ined ; take my hand, excellent Pathfinder, and let me see 
 that you do not hate me. For God s sake, smile upon me 
 again ! " 
 
 " Hate you, Mabel ! Smile upon you I Ah s me ! " 
 
 "Kay, give me your hand your hardy, true, and manly 
 hand ; both, both, Pathfinder, for 1 snail not be easy until I 
 feel certain that we are friends again, and that all this ha8 
 been a mistake." 
 
 " Mabel/ said the guide, looking wistfully into the face 
 of the generous and impetuous girl, as she held his two hard 
 and sunburnt hands in her own pretty and delicate fingers, 
 and laughing in his own silent and peculiar manner, while 
 anguish gleamed over lineaments which seemed incapable 
 of deception, even while agitated with emotions so conflict 
 ing, " Mabel, the sergeant was wrong ! " 
 
 The pent-up feelings could endure no more, and the tears 
 rolled down the cheeks of the scout like rain. His fingers 
 again worked convulsively at his throat, and his breast heaved, 
 as if it possessed a tenant of which it would be rid, by any 
 effort, however desperate. 
 
 " Pathfinder ! Pathfinder ! " Mabel almost shrieked, " any 
 thing but this anything but this. Speak to me, Path 
 finder ; smile again say one kind word anything to 
 prove you can forgive me." 
 
 " The sergeant was wrong ! " exclaimed the guide, laugh 
 ing amid his agony, in a -way to terrify his companion by 
 the unnatural mixture of anguish and light-heartedness. " I 
 knew it I knew it, and said it ; yes, the sergeant was 
 wrong, a ter all." 
 
 u We can be friends, though we cannot be man and wife," 
 continued Mabel, almost as much disturbed as her compan 
 ion, scarce knowing what she said ; " we can always be 
 friends, and always will." 
 
 I thought the sergeant was mistaken," resumed rhe 
 Pathfinder, when a great effort had enabled him to command 
 himself, " for I did not think my gifts were such as would 
 please the fancy of a town-bred gal. It would have been 
 better, Mabel, had he not over-persuaded me into a different 
 
THE PATHFINDER. 28 n 
 
 notion ; and it might have been bettei, too, had yea not 
 been so pleasant and friendly, like ; yes, it would." 
 
 " If I thought any error of mine had raised false expec 
 tations in you, Pathfinder, however unintentionally on my 
 part, I should never forgive myself ; for, believe mo, I 
 would rather endure pain in my own feelings than you should 
 tuffer." 
 
 " That s just it, Mabel ; that s just it. These speeches 
 tnd opinions, spoken in so soft a voice, and in a way I m 
 eo unused to in the woods, have done the mischief. But I 
 now see plainly, and begin to understand the difference be 
 tween us better, and will strive to keep down thought, and 
 to go abroad ag in as I used to do, looking for the game 
 and the inimy. Ah s me ! Mabel, I have indeed been on a 
 false trail since we met ! " 
 
 " But you will now travel on the true one. In a little 
 while you will forget all this, and think of me as a friend 
 who owes you her life." 
 
 " This may be the way in the towns, but I doubt if it s 
 nat ral to the woods. With us, when the eye sees a lovely 
 sight, it is apt to keep it long in view, or when the mind 
 takes in an upright and proper feeling, it is loath to part 
 with it." 
 
 " But it is not a proper feeling that you should love me, 
 nor am I a lovely sight. You will forget it all, when you 
 come seriously to recollect that I am altogether uusuited to 
 be your wife." 
 
 " So I told the sergeant ; but He would have it other 
 wise. I knew you was too young and beautiful for one of 
 middle age, like myself, and who never was comely to look 
 It, even in youth ; and then your ways have not been my 
 ways, nor would a hunter s cabin be a fitting place for one 
 who was edicated among chiefs, as it were. If I were 
 younger and comelier, though, like Jasper Eau-douce " 
 
 " Never mind Jasper Eau-douce," interrupted Mabel, im 
 patiently ; " we can talk of something eise." 
 
 " Jasper is a worthy lad, Mabel ; aye, and a comely," re 
 turned the guileless guide, looking earnestly at the girl, aa 
 If be d strusted her judgment in speaking slighting) y of hi* 
 19 
 
290 THE PATHFINDER. 
 
 friend. " Were I only half as comely as Jasper Western, 
 my misgivings in this affair would not have been so great, 
 and they might not have been so true." 
 
 " We will not talk of Jasper Western," repeated Mabel, 
 the color mounting to her temples ; " he may be good 
 enough in a gale or on the lake, but he is not good enough 
 to talk of here." 
 
 " I fear me, Mabel, he is better than the man who i 
 likely to be your husband, though the sergeant says that 
 never can take place. But the sergeant was wrong once, 
 an I he may be wrong twice." 
 
 a And who is likely to be my husband, Pathfinder ? This 
 u scarcely less strange than what has just passed between 
 us!" 
 
 " I know it is nat ral for like to seek like, and for them 
 that have consorted much with officers ladies, to wish to be 
 officers ladies themselves. But, Mabel, I may speak plainly 
 to you, I know, and I hope my words will not give you 
 pain, for, now I understand what it is to be disappointed in 
 such feelings, I wouldn t wish to cause even a Mingo sor 
 row, on this head. But happiness is not always to be found 
 in a marquee, any more than in a tent; and though the 
 officers quarters may look more tempting than the rest of 
 the barracks, there is often great misery between husband 
 >nd wife, inside of their doors." 
 
 " I do not doubt it in the least, Pathfinder ; and did it 
 rest with me to decide, I would sooner follow you to some 
 cabin in the woods, and share your fortune, whether it might 
 be better or worse, than go inside the door of any officer 
 I know, with an intention of remaining there as its master s 
 
 " Mabel, this is not what Lundie hopes, or Lundie 
 thinks ! " 
 
 " And what care I for Lundie ? He is major of the 55th, 
 an.l may command his men to wheel and march about as he 
 pleases, but he cannot compel me to wed the greatest or 
 the meanest of his mess: besides, what can you know of 
 Lundie s wishes on such a subject : " 
 
 " From Lundie s own mouth. The sergeant had told 
 
THE PATHFINDER. 291 
 
 him that he wished me for a sou-in-law ; and the major 
 being an old and a true friend, conversed with me on the 
 subject ; he put it to me plainly, whether it would not be 
 more ginerous in me to let an officer succeed, than to strive 
 to make you share a hunter s fortune. I owned the truth, 
 I did ; and that was, that I thought it might ; but when he 
 told me that the quartermaster would be his choice, I would 
 not abide by the conditions. No, no, Mabel ; I know Davy 
 Muir well, and though he may make you a lady, he can 
 never make you a happy woman, or himself a gentleman. 
 I say this honestly, I do ; for I now plainly see that the 
 sergeant has been wrong." 
 
 " My father has been very wrong if he has said or done 
 aught to cause you sorrow, Pathfinder ; and so great is my 
 respect for you, so sincere my friendship, that were it not for 
 one I mean that no person need fear Lieutenant Muir s 
 influence with me. I would rather remain as I am to my 
 dying day, than become a lady at the cost of being his wife." 
 
 " I do not think you would say that which you do not 
 feel, Mabel," returned Pathfinder, earnestly. 
 
 " Not at such a moment, on such a subject, and least ol 
 all to you. No ; Lieutenant Muir may find wives where 
 he can my name shall never be on his catalogue." 
 
 " Thank you thank you for that, Mabel ; for though 
 there is no longer any hope for me, I could never be happy 
 were you to take to the quartermaster. I feared the com 
 mission might count for something, I did, and I know the 
 man. It is not jealousy that makes me speak in this 
 manner, but truth, for I know the man. Now, were you 
 to fancy a desarving youth, one like Jasper Western, for in 
 stance " 
 
 " Why always mention Jasper Eau-douce, Pathfinder ? 
 he can have no concern with our friendship ; let us talk of 
 yourself, and of the manner in which you intend o jass 
 the winter." 
 
 " Ah s me ! I m little worth at the best, Mabel, unless 
 it may be on a trail, or with the rifle ; and less worth now 
 that I ve discovered the sergeant s mistake. There is no 
 ueed, therefore, of talking of me. It has been very pleasant 
 
292 THE PATHFINDER. 
 
 to me to be near you so long, and even to fancy that the 
 sergeant was right ; but that is all over now. I shall go 
 down the lake with Jasper, and then there will be business 
 to occupy us, and that will keep useless thoughts out of the 
 mind." 
 
 " And you will forget this forget me no, not forget 
 me either, Pathfinder ; but you will resume your old pur 
 suits, and cease to think a girl of sufficient importance to 
 disturb your peace ? " 
 
 " I never know d it afore, Mabel, but girls, as you 2all 
 them, though gals is the name I ve been taught to use, are 
 of more account in this life than I could have believed. 
 Now, afore I know d you, the new-born babe did not sleep 
 more sweetly than I used to could ; my head was no sooner 
 on the root, or the stone, or mayhap on the skin, than all 
 was lost to the senses, unless it might be to go over, in the 
 night, the business of the day, in a dream, like ; and there 
 I lay till the moment came to be stirring, and the swallows 
 were not more certain to be on the wing with the light, than 
 I to be afoot at the moment I wished to be. AJ1 this 
 seemed a gift, and might be calculated on, even in the midst 
 of a Mingo camp ; for I ve been outlying, in my time, in 
 the very villages of the vagabonds." 
 
 " And all this will return to you, Pathfinder ; for one so 
 upright and sincere will never waste his happiness on a mere 
 fancy. You will dream again of your hunts, of the deer 
 you have slain, and of the beaver you have taken." 
 
 " Ah s me, Mabel, I wish never to dream again ! Before 
 #e met I had a sort of pleasure in following up the hounds, 
 in fancy, as it might be ; and even in striking a trail of the 
 Iroquois ; nay, I ve been in skrimmages and ambushments 
 in thought, like, and found satisfaction in it according to my 
 gifts ; but all those things have lost their charms since I ve 
 made acquaintance with you. Now, I think no longer of 
 anything rude in my dreams, but the very last night we 
 stayed in the garrison, I imagined I had a cabin in a grove 
 of sugar maples, and at the root of every tree was a Mabel 
 Dunham, while the birds that were among the branches 
 gang ballads, instead of the notes that natur* gave, and eveo 
 
THE PATHFINDER. 293 
 
 the deer stopped to listen. I tried to shoot a fa an, but 
 Killdeer missed fire, and the creatur laughed in my face. 
 as pleasantly as a young girl laughs in her merriment, and 
 then it bounded away, looking back as if expecting me to 
 follow." 
 
 " No more of this, Pathfinder we ll talk no more of 
 these things," said Mabel, dashing the tears from her eyes ; 
 for the simple, earnest manner in which this hardy woods 
 man betrayed the deep hold she had taken of his feelings, 
 nearly proved too much for her own generous heart. " Now 
 let us look for my father ; he cannot be distant, as I heard 
 Ms gun quite near." 
 
 " The sergeant was wrong yes, he was wrong, and it s 
 of no use to attempt to make the dove consort with the 
 wolf." 
 
 " Here comes my dear father," interrupted Mabel ; " let 
 us look cheerful and happy, Pathfinder, as such good friends 
 ought to look, and keep each other s secrets." 
 
 A pause succeeded ; the sergeant s foot was heard crush 
 ing the dried twigs hard by, and then his form appeared 
 shoving aside the bushes of a copse quite near. As he 
 issued into the open ground the old soldier scrutinized his 
 daughter and her companion, and speaking good-naturedly, 
 he said : 
 
 " Mabel, child, you are young and light of foot look 
 for a bird I ve shot that fell just beyond the thicket of 
 young hemlocks on the shore ; and as Jasper is showing 
 signs of an intention of getting under way you need not 
 take the trouble to clamber up this hill again, but we will 
 roset you on the beach in a few minutes." 
 
 Mabel obeyed, bounding down the hill with the elastic 
 *>^p of youth and health. But, notwithstanding the light 
 ness of her steps, the heart of the girl was heavy, and no 
 gooner was she hid from observation by the thicket, than 
 she threw herself on the root of a tree and wept as if her 
 heart would break. The sergeant watched her imtil slw 
 disappeared, with a father s pride, and then turned to hi? 
 companion with a smile as kind and as familiar as his habiti 
 would allow him to use towards any. 
 
294 THE PATHFINDER. 
 
 " She has her mother s lightness and activity, my frieiid, 
 with somewhat of her father s force," he said. " Her 
 mother was not quite as handsome, I think myself ; but the 
 Dunhams were always thought comely, whether men or 
 women. Well, Pathfinder, I take it for granted you ve not 
 overlooked the opportunity, but have spoken plainly to the 
 girl ? Women like frankness in matters of this sort." 
 
 " I believe Mabel and I understand each other, at last, 
 sergeant," returned the other, looking another way to avoid 
 the soldier s face. 
 
 " So much the better. Some people fancy that a little 
 doubt and uncertainty make love all the livelier, but I am 
 one of those who think the plainer the tongue speaks, 
 the easier the mind will comprehend. Was Mabel sur 
 prised?" 
 
 " I fear she was, sergeant ; I fear she was taken quite by 
 surprise yes, I do." 
 
 " Well, well, surprises in love are like an ambush in war, 
 and quite as lawful ; though it is not as easy to tell when a 
 woman is surprised, as to tell when it happens to an enemy. 
 Mabel did not run away, my worthy friend, did she ? " 
 
 " No, sergeant, Mabel did not try to escape ; that I can 
 say with a clear conscience." 
 
 " I hope the girl was not too willing, neither ! Her 
 mother was shy and coy for a month, at least but frank 
 ness, after all, is a recommendation in man or woman." 
 
 " That it is that it is and judgment, too." 
 
 " You are not to look for too much judgment in a young 
 creature of twenty, Pathfinder, but it will come with expe 
 rience. A mistake in you, or in me, for instance, might 
 not be so easily overlooked, but in a girl of Mabel s years 
 one is not to strain at a gnat lest they swallow a camel." 
 
 The muscles of the listener s face twitched as the sergeant 
 ivas thus delivering his sentiments, though the former had 
 now recovered a portion of that stoicism which formed so 
 large a part of his character, and which he had probably 
 imbibed from long association with the Indians. His eyea 
 rose and fell, and once a gleam shot athwart his hard fea 
 tures, as if he were about to indulge in his peculiar laugh 
 
THE PATHFINDER. 295 
 
 but the joyous feeling, if it really existed, was as quicklj 
 lost in a look allied to anguish. It was this unusual mixture 
 of wild and keen mental agony, with native, simple joyous- 
 ness, that had most struck Mabel, who, in the interview just 
 related, had a dozen times been on the point of believing 
 that her suitor s heart was only lightly touched, as image a 
 of happiness and humor gleamed over a mind that was 
 almost infantine in its simplicity and nature ; an impression, 
 however, that was soon driven away by the discovery of 
 emotions so painful and so deep that they seemed to harrow 
 the very soul. Indeed, in this respect, the Pathfinder was 
 a mere child : unpracticed in the ways of the world, he had 
 no idea of concealing a thought of any kind, and his mind 
 received and reflected each emotion with the pliability and 
 readiness of that period of life ; the infant scarcely yield 
 ing its wayward imagination to the passing impression with 
 greater facility than this man, so simple in all his personal 
 feelings, so stern, stoical, masculine, and severe, in all that 
 touched his ordinary pursuits. 
 
 " You say true, sergeant," Pathfinder answered ; " a mis 
 take in one like you is a more serious matter." 
 
 " You will find Mabel sincere and honest in the end, give 
 her but a little time." 
 
 " Ah s me, sergeant ! " 
 
 " A man of your merits would make an impression on a 
 rock, give him time, Pathfinder." 
 
 " Sergeant Dunham, we are old fellow campaigners, that 
 is, as campaigns are carried on here in the wilderness ; and 
 we have done so many kind acts to each other that we can 
 afford to be candid ; what has caused you to believe that 
 a girl like Mabel could ever fancy one as rude as I am ? " 
 
 " What ? why, a variety of reasons, and good reasons, 
 too, my friend/ Those same acts of kindness, perhaps, and 
 the campaigns you mention ; moreover, you are my swort 
 and tried comrade." 
 
 " All this sounds well, so far as you and I be consarned, 
 but they do not touch the case of your pretty da hter. 
 She may think these very campaigns have destroyed the 
 little comeliness I may once have had and I am not quite 
 
296 THE PATHFINDER. 
 
 sartain that being an old friend of her father would lead 
 any young maiden s mind into a particular affection for a 
 suitor. Like loves like, I tell you, sergeant, and my gifts 
 are not altogether the gifts of Mabel Dunham." 
 
 " These are some of your old modest qualms, Pathfinder, 
 and will do you no credit with the girl. Women distrust 
 men who distrust themselves, and take to men who distrust 
 nothing. Modesty is a capital thing in a recruit, I grant 
 you, or in a young subaltern who has just joined, for it 
 prevents his railing at the non-commissioned officers before 
 he knows what to rail at ; I m not sure it is out of place in 
 a commissary or a parson, but it s the devil and all when it 
 gets possession of either a real soldier or a lover. Have as 
 little to do with it as possible, if you would win a woman s 
 heart. As for your doctrine that like loves like, it is as 
 wrong as possible in matters of this sort. If like loved 
 like, women would love one another, and men also. No, 
 no, like loves dislike," the sergeant was merely a scholar 
 of the camp, " and you have nothing to fear from Mabel 
 on that score. Look at Lieutenant Muir ; the man has 
 had five wives already, they tell me, and there is no more 
 modesty in him than there is in a cat-o -nine-tails." 
 
 " Lieutenant Muir will never be the husband of Mabel 
 Dunham, let him ruffle his feathers as much as he may." 
 
 " That is a sensible remark of yours, Pathfinder, for my 
 mind is made up that you shall be my son-in-law. If I 
 were an officer myself, Mr. Muir might have some chance ; 
 but time has placed one door between my child and my 
 self, and I don t intend there shall be that of a marquee 
 also." 
 
 " Sergeant, we must let Mabel follow her own fancy ; 
 she is young and light of heart, and God forlrd that any 
 wish of mine should lay the weight of a feather on a mind 
 that is all gayety now, or take one note of happiness from 
 Her laughter." 
 
 " Have you conversed freely with the girl ? " the ser 
 geant demanded quickly, and with some asperity of man 
 ner. 
 
 Pathfinder was too honest to deny a truth plain as thai 
 
THE PATHFINDER. 297 
 
 Which the answer required, and yet too honorable to betray 
 Mabel, and expose her to the resentment of one whom he 
 well knew to be stern in his anger. 
 
 " We have laid open our minds," he said, " and though 
 Mabel s is one that any man might love to look at, I find 
 little there, sergeant, to make me think any better of my- 
 self." 
 
 " The girl has not dared to refuse you to refuse hoi 
 fether s best friend?" 
 
 Pathfinder turned his face away to conceal the look of 
 anguish that consciousness told him was passing athwart it, 
 but he continued the discourse in his own quiet, nanly 
 tones. 
 
 " Mabel is too kind to refuse anything, or to utter harsh 
 words to a dog. I have not put the question in a way to 
 be downright refused, sergeant." 
 
 "And did you expect my daughter to jump into your 
 arms before you asked her ? She would not have been her 
 mother s child had she done any such thing, nor do I think 
 she would have been mine. The Dunhams like plain deal 
 ing as well as the king s Majesty, but they are no jumpers. 
 Leave me to manage this matter for you, Pathfinder, and 
 there shall be no unnecessary delay. I ll speak to Mabel 
 myself this very evening, using your name as principal in 
 the affair." 
 
 " I d rather not I d rather not, sergeant. Leave the 
 matter to Mabel and me, and I think all will come right in 
 the ind. Young gals be like timorsome birds, they do not 
 over-relish being hurried or spoken harshly to, neither. 
 Leave the matter to Mabel and me." 
 
 " On one condition I will, my friend ; and that is, that you 
 promise me on the honor of a scout, that you will put the 
 matter plainly to Mabel, the first suitable opportunity, and 
 no mincing of words." 
 
 " I will ask her, sergeant yes, I will ask her, on condi 
 tion that you promise not to meddle in the affair ; yes, I 
 will promise to ask Mabel the question whether she will 
 marry me, even though she laugh in my face at my doirg 
 so, Or that condition." 
 
298 THE PATHFINDER. 
 
 Sergeant Dunham gave the desired promise very cheer 
 fully, for he had completely wrought himself up into the be 
 lief that the man he so much esteemed and respected him- 
 self, must be acceptable to his daughter. He had married a 
 woman much younger than himself, and he saw no unfitness 
 in the respective years of the intended couple. Mabel was 
 educated so much above him, too, that he was not aware of 
 the difference which actually existed between the parent and 
 child, in this respect ; for it is one of the most unpleasant 
 features in the intercourse between knowledge and ignorance, 
 taste and unsophistication, refinement and vulgarity, that the 
 higher qualities are often necessarily subjected to the judg 
 ments of those who have absolutely no perception of their 
 existence. It followed that Sergeant Dunham was not alto 
 gether qualified to appreciate his daughter s tastes, or to form 
 a very probable conjecture of the direction taken by those 
 feelings, which oftener depend on impulses and passion than 
 on reason. Still, the worthy soldier was not so wrong in 
 his estimate of the Pathfinder s chances, as might at first 
 appear. Knowing, as he well did, all the sterling qualities 
 of the man, his truth, integrity of purpose, courage, self- 
 devotion, disinterestedness, it was far from unreasonable to 
 suppose that qualities like these would produce a deep im 
 pression on any female heart, where there was an oppor 
 tunity to acquire a knowledge of their existence ; and the 
 father erred principally in fancying that the daughter might 
 know, as it might be, by intuition, what he himself had ac 
 quired by years of intercourse and adventure. 
 
 As Pathfinder and his military friend descended the hill 
 to the shore of the lake, the discourse did not flag. The 
 latter continued to persuade the former that his diffidence 
 alone prevented complete success with Mabel, and that he 
 had only to persevere in order to prevail. Pathfinder wa* 
 much too modest by nature, and had been too plainly 
 though so delicately, discouraged, in the recent interview, k 
 believe all he heard ; still the father used so many argumenti 
 that seemed plausible, and it was so grateful to fancy that 
 the daughter might yet be his, the reader is not to be sur 
 prised when he is told that tMs unsophisticated being did not 
 
THE PATHFINDER. 299 
 
 view Mabel s recent conduct in precisely the light in which 
 he may be inclined to view it himself. He did not credit all 
 thut the sergeant told him, it is true ; but he began to think 
 virgin coyness, and ignorance of her own feelings, might 
 have induced Mabel to use the language she had. 
 
 "The quartermaster is no favorite," said Pathfinder, in 
 answer to one of his companion s remarks. "Mabel will 
 never look on him as more than one who has had four or 
 Sve wives already." 
 
 " Which is more than his share. A man may marry 
 twice, without offense to good morals and decency, I allow, 
 but four times is an aggravation." 
 
 " I should think even marrying once, what Master Cap 
 calls a circumstance ! " put in Pathfinder, laughing in his 
 quiet way, for by this time, his spirits had recovered some 
 of their buoyancy. 
 
 " It is indeed, my friend, and a most solemn circumstance 
 toa. If it were not that Mabel is to be your wife, I would 
 advise you to remain single. But here is the girl herself 
 and discretion is the word." 
 
 * Ah s me ! sergeant, I fear you are mistaken 1 " 
 
800 THE PATHFINDER 
 
 CHAPTER XIX. 
 
 Thus was this place 
 A happy rural seat of various view. 
 
 MlLTOB. 
 
 MABEL was in waiting on the beach, and the canoe waa 
 soon launched. Pathfinder carried the party out through 
 the surf in the same skillful manner he had brought it in; 
 and, though Mabel s color heightened with excitement, and 
 her heart seemed often ready to leap out of her mouth again, 
 they reached the side of the Scud without having received 
 even a drop of spray. 
 
 Ontario is like a quick-tempered man, sudden to be an 
 gered, and as soon appeased. The sea had already fallen, 
 and though the breakers bounded the shore far as the eye 
 could reach, it was merely in lines of brightness, that ap 
 peared and vanished like the returning waves produced by 
 a stone that has been dropped into a pool. The cable of 
 the Scud was scarce seen above the water, and Jasper had 
 already hoisted his sails, in readiness to depart, as soon as 
 the expected breeze from the shore should fill the canvas. 
 
 It was just sunset as the cutter s mainsail flapped, and its 
 stem began to sever the water. The air was light and 
 southerly, and the head of the vessel was kept looking up 
 along the south shore, it being the intention to get to the 
 eastward again, as fast as possible. The night that suc- 
 jceded was quiet, and the rest of those who slept, deep and 
 tranquil. 
 
 Some difficulty occurred concerning the command of the 
 vessel, but the matter had been finally settled by an ami 
 cable compromise. As the distrust of Jasper was far from 
 being appeased, Cap retained a supervisory power, while 
 the young man was allowed to work the craft, subject at all 
 
THE PATHFINDER. 301 
 
 times to the control and interference of the old seaman. 
 To this Jasper consented, in preference to exposing Mabel 
 any longer to the dangers of their present situation ; for, 
 now that the violence of the elements had ceased, he well 
 knew that the Montcalm would be in search of them. He 
 had the discretion, however, not to reveal his apprehensions 
 on this head, for it happened that the very means he deemed 
 the best to escape the enemy, were those which would be 
 most likely to awaken new suspicions of his honesty, in the 
 minds of those who held the power to defeat his intentions. 
 In other words, Jasper believed that the gallant young 
 Frenchman who commanded the ship of the enemy, would 
 quit his anchorage under the fort at Niagara, and stand up 
 the lake, as soon as the wind abated, in order to ascertaio 
 the fate of the Scud ; keeping midway between the two 
 shores, as the best means of commanding a broad view; 
 and that, on his part, it would be expedient to hug one coast 
 or the other, not only to avoid a meeting, but as affording 
 a chance of passing without detection, by blending his sails 
 and spars with objects on the land. He preferred the south, 
 because it was the weather shore, and because he thought 
 it was that which the enemy would the least expect him to 
 take, though it necessarily led near his settlements, and in 
 front of one of the strongest posts he held in that part of 
 th? world. 
 
 Of all this, however, Cap was happily ignorant, and the 
 sergeant s mind was too much occupied with the details of 
 his military trust to enter into these niceties, which so 
 properly belonged to another profession. No opposition 
 was made, therefore, and, ere morning, Jasper had appar 
 ently dropped quietly into all his former authority, issuing 
 his orders freely, and meeting with obedience without hesita 
 tion or cavil. 
 
 The appearance of day brought all on board on deck 
 again, and, as is usual with adventurers on the water, the 
 opening horizon was curiously examined, as objects started 
 out of the obscurity, and the panorama brightened under 
 ihe growing light. East, west, and north, nothing wa 
 but water, glittering in the rising sun ; but south- 
 
802 THE PATHFINDER. 
 
 ward, stretched the endless belt of woods that then held 
 Ontario in a setting of forest verdure. Suddenly an open 
 ing appeared ahead, and then the massive walls of a chateau- 
 looking house, with outworks, bastions, block-houses, and 
 palisadoes, frowned on a headland that bordered the outlet 
 of a broad stream. Just as the fort became visible, a little 
 cloud rose over it, and the white ensign of France was seen 
 fluttering from a lofty flagstaff. 
 
 Cap gave an ejaculation as he witnessed this ungrateful 
 exhibition, and he cast a quick, suspicious glance at his 
 brother-in-law. 
 
 " The dirty tablecloth hung up to the air, as my name is 
 
 Charles Cap ! " he muttered, " and we hugging this d d 
 
 shore, as it were our wife and children, met on the return 
 from an India v y ge ! Harkee, Jasper, are you in search 
 of a cargo of frogs, that you keep so near in to this New 
 France ? " 
 
 " I hug the land, sir, in the hope of passing the enemy s 
 ship without being seen, for I think she must be somewhere 
 down here to leeward." 
 
 " Aye, aye ; this sounds well, and I hope it may turn out 
 as you say. I trust there is no under-tow here ? " 
 
 " We are on a weather shore, now," said Jasper, smiling ; 
 " and I think you will admit, Master Cap, that a strong 
 under-tow makes an easy cable : we owe all our lives to thd 
 under-tow of this very lake." 
 
 " French flummery ! " growled Cap, though he did not 
 care to be heard by Jasper. " Give me a fair, honest, Eng 
 lish- Yankee-American tow, above board, and above water 
 too, if I must have a tow at all, and none of your sneaking 
 drift that is below the surface, where one can neither see 
 nor feel. I dare say, if the truth could be come at, that 
 this late escape of ours was all a contrived affair." 
 
 " We have now a good opportunity, at least, to recon 
 noitre the enemy s post at Niagara, brother, for such I take 
 this fort to be," put in the sergeant. " Let us be all eyea 
 in passing, and remember that we are almost in the face of 
 the enemy." 
 
 This advice of the sergeant s needed nothing to enforce 
 
THE PATHFINDLu. 303 
 
 it, for the interest and novelty of passing a spot occupied 
 by human beings, were of themselves sufficient to attract 
 deep attention in that scene of a vast but deserted nature. 
 The wind was now fresh enough to urge the Scud through 
 the water with considerable velocity, and Jasper eased her 
 helm as she opened the river, and luffed nearly into the 
 mouth of that noble strait, or river, as it is termed. A dull, 
 distant, heavy roar came down through the opening in the 
 banks, swelling on the currents c? the air, like the deeper 
 notes of some immense organ, and occasionally seeming to 
 cause the earth itself to tremble. 
 
 " That sounds like surf on some long, unbroken coast ! " 
 exclaimed Cap, as a swell deeper than common c&me to mV 
 
 " Aye, that is such surf as we have in this quarter of the 
 world," Pathfinder answered. " There is no uuder-to\v 
 there, Master Cap, but all the water that strikes the rocks 
 stays there, so far as going back ag in is consarned. That 
 is old Niagara that you hear, or this noble stream tumbling 
 down a mountain ! " 
 
 " No one will have the impudence to pretend that thip 
 fine, broad river falls over yonder hills ? " 
 
 " It does, Master Cap, it does ; and all for the want of 
 stairs, or a road, to come down by. This is natur , as we 
 have it up here-away, though I dare say you beat us down 
 on the ocean. All s me ! Mabel ; a pleasant hour it would 
 be if we could walk on the shore some ten or fifteen miles 
 ap this stream, and gaze on all that God has done there ! " 
 
 " You have, then, seen these renowned falls, Pathfinder ? " 
 the girl eagerly inquired. 
 
 " I have yes. I have ; and an awful sight I witnessed 
 at that same time. The Sarpent and I were cut, scouting 
 about the garrison there, when he told me that the tradi 
 tions of his people gave an account of a mighty cataract in 
 this neighborhood, and he asked me to fary from the line 
 of march a little to look at the w )nder. I had heard some 
 marvels consarning the spot, frond the soldiers of the 60th, 
 which is my nat ral corps like, and not the 55th, with which 
 I have sojourned so much of late ; but there are so many 
 
304 THE JPATHFINDER. 
 
 terrible liars in all rijiinents, that I hardly believed half 
 they told rne. Well, we went ; and though tve expected to 
 be led by our ears, and to hear some of that awful roaring 
 that we hear to-day, we were disapp inted, for natur waa 
 iiot then speaking in thunder, as she is this morning. Thus 
 it is, in the forest, Master Cap ; there being moments when 
 God seems to be walking abroad in power, and then, again, 
 there is a calm over all, as if his spirit lay in quiet along 
 the arth. Well, we came suddenly upon the stream, 
 thort distance above the fall, and a young Delaware, who 
 was in our company, found a bark canoe, and he would push 
 into the current, to reach an island that lies in the very 
 centre of the confusion and strife. We told him of his folly, 
 we did, and we reasoned with him on the wickedness of 
 tempting Providence by seeking danger that led to no ind ; 
 but the youth among the Delawares are very much the sanvs 
 as the youth among the soldiers, risky and vain. All we 
 could say did not change his mind, and the lad had his way. 
 To me it seems, Mabel, that whenever a thing is really 
 grand and potent, it has a quiet majesty about it, that is 
 altogether unlike the frothy and flustering manner of smaller 
 matters, and so it was with them rapids. The canoe was no 
 sooner fairly in them, than down it went, as it might be, as 
 one sails through the air on the arth, and no skill of the 
 young Delaware couid resist the stream. And yet he strug 
 gled manfully for life, using the paddle to the last, like the 
 deer that is swimming to cast the hounds. At first, he shot 
 across the current so swiftly that we thought he would r*-e. 
 vail, but he had miscalculated his distance, and whei the 
 truth really struck him, he turned the bead up stream, and 
 struggled in a way that was fearful to look at. I could have 
 pitied him even had he been a Mingo ! For a few momenta 
 his efforts were o frantic, that he actually prevailed over 
 tLe power of the cataract ; but natur has its limits, and one 
 faltering stroke of the paddle set him back, and then he lost 
 ground, foot by foot, inch by inch, until he got near the spot 
 where the river looked even and green, and as if it were 
 made of millions of threads of water, all bent over some hug* 
 rock, when he shot backwards like an arrow and disappeared 
 
THE PATHFINDER. 805 
 
 the bow of the canoe tipping just enough to let us see what 
 had become of him. I met a Mohawk, some years later, 
 who had witnessed the whole affair from the bed of the 
 stream below, and he told me that the Delaware continued 
 to paddle in the air, until he was lost in the mists of the 
 falls ! " 
 
 " And what became of the poor wretch ? " demanded Ala* 
 bel, who had been strongly interested by the natural elt- 
 queuce of the speaker. 
 
 44 He went to the happy hunting-grounds of his people, iio 
 doubt ; for though he was risky and vain, he was also just 
 and brave. Yes, he died foolishly, but the Manitou of the 
 red-skins has compassion on his creatur s as well as the God 
 of a Christian ! " 
 
 A gun at this moment was discharged from a block-house 
 near the fort, and the shot, one of little weight, came whis 
 tling over the cutter s mast, an admonition to approach no" 
 nearer. Jasper was at the helm, and he kept away, smiling 
 at the same time as if he felt no anger at the rudeness o/ 
 the salutation. The Scud was now in the current, and her 
 outward set soon carried her far enough to leeward to avoid 
 .he danger of a repetition of the shot, and then she quietly 
 continued her course along the land. As soon as the river 
 was fairly opened, Jasper ascertained that the Montcalm wa 
 not at anchor in it ; and a man sent aloft came down with the 
 report that the horizon showed no sail. The hope was now 
 strong that the artifice of Jasper had succeeded, and that 
 the French commander had missed them by keeping the 
 middle of the lake as he steered towards its head. 
 
 All that day the wind hung to the southward, an the 
 cutter continued her course about a league from the land, 
 running six or eight knots an hour in perfectly smooth 
 water. Although the scene had one feature of monotony, 
 die outline of unbroken forest, it was not without its interest 
 .iid pleasures. Various headlands presented themselves, and 
 the cutter, in running from one to another, stretched across 
 bays so deep as almost to deserve the name of gulfs, but no 
 where did the eye meet with the evidences of civilization. 
 Rivers occasionally poured their tribute into the great 
 10 
 
806 THE PATHFINDER. 
 
 voir of the lake, but their banks could be traced inland fbi 
 miles by the same outlines of trees ; and even large b;\yg 
 that lay embosomed in woods, communicating with Ontario 
 ouly by narrow outlets, appeared and disappeared without 
 bringing with them a single trace of a human habitation. 
 
 Of all on board, the Pathfinder viewed the scene with the 
 most unmiugled delight. His eyes feasted on the endles? 
 line of forest, and more than once that day, notwithstanding 
 he found it so grateful to be near Mabel, listening to her 
 pleasant voice, and echoing, in feelings at least, her joyous 
 laugh, did his soul pine to be wandering beneath the high 
 arches of the maples, oaks, and lindens, where his habits 
 had induced him to fancy lasting and true joys were only to 
 be found. Cap viewed the prospect differently. More than 
 once he expressed his disgust at there being no light-houses, 
 church-towers, beacons, or roadsteads with their shipping. 
 Such another coast, he protested, the world did not contain ; 
 and taking the sergeant aside, he gravely assured him that 
 the region could never come to anything, as the havens were 
 neglected, the rivers had a deserted and useless look, and 
 that even the breeze had a smell of the forest about it, which 
 spoke ill of its properties. 
 
 But the humors of the different individuals in her did not 
 stay the speed of the Scud. When the sun was setting, she 
 was al -eady a hundred miles on her route towards Oswego, 
 into which river Sergeant Dunham now thought it his duty 
 to go, in order to receive any communications tLtt Major 
 Duncan might please to make. With a view to effect this 
 purpose, Jasper continued to hug the shore all night ; and 
 though the wind began to fail him towards morning, it lasted 
 long enough to carry the cutter up to a point that was 
 known to be but a league or two from the fort. Here the 
 breeze came out light at the northward, and the cutter 
 hauled a little from the land in order to obtain a safe offing 
 should it come on to blow, or should the weather again get 
 to be easterly. 
 
 When the day dawned, the cutter had the mouth of the 
 Oswego well under her lee, distant about two miles, and jus* 
 is the morning gun from the fort was fired, Jasper gave the 
 
THE PATHFINDER. 807 
 
 order to ease jff the sheets, and to bear up foi his port. 
 At that moment a cry from the forecastle drew all eyes 
 towards the point on the eastern side of the outlet, and 
 there, just without the range of shot from the light guns of 
 the works, with her canvas reduced to barely enough to 
 keep her stationary, lay the Montcalm, evidently in waiting 
 for their appearance. To pass her was impossible, for, by 
 lilling her sails, the French ship could have intercepted them 
 in a few minutes; and the circumstances called for a prompt 
 decision. After a short consultation, the sergeant again 
 changed his plan, determining to make the best of his way 
 towards the station for which he had been originally des 
 tined, trusting to the speed of the Scud to throw the enemy 
 so far astern, as to leave no clue to her movements. 
 
 The cutter, accordingly, hauled upon a wind, with the 
 least possible delay, with everything set that would draw. 
 Guns were fired from the fort, ensigns shown, and the ram 
 parts were again crowded. But sympathy was all the aid 
 that Lundie could lend to his party ; and the Montcalm, 
 also firing four or five guns of defiance, and throwing abroad 
 several of the banners of France, was soon in chase, under a 
 cloud of canvas. 
 
 For several hours the two vessels were pressing through 
 the water as fast as possible, making short stretches to wind 
 ward, apparently with a view to keep the port under their 
 lee, the one to enter it, if possible, and the other to inter 
 cept it in the attempt. 
 
 At meridian, the French ship was hull-down dead to lee 
 ward, the disparity of sailing on a wind being very great, 
 and some islands were near by, behind which Jasper said it 
 vould be possible for the cutter to conceal her future move 
 ments. Although Cap and the sergeant, and particularly 
 Lieutenant Muir, to judge by his language, still felt a good 
 leal of distrust of the young man, and Frentenac was not 
 distant, this advice was followed, for time pressed, and the 
 quartermaster discreetly observed that Jasper could not well 
 betray them, without running openly into the enemy s har- 
 hor ; a step they could at any time prevent, since the only 
 cruiser of force the French possessed, at the moment wa* 
 
808 THE PATHFINDER. 
 
 under their lee, and not in a situation to do them any imme 
 ^iate injury. 
 
 Left to himself, Jasper Western soon proved how much 
 was really in him. He weathered upon the islands, passed 
 them, and, on coming out to the eastward, kept broad away. 
 with nothing in sight in his wake or to leeward. By 
 sunset, again, the cutter was up with the first of the islands 
 that lie in the outlet of the lake, and ere it was dark she 
 was running through the narrow channels on her way to the 
 long sought station. At nine o clock, however, Cap insisted 
 that they should anchor, for the maze of islands became so 
 complicated and obscure, that he feared, at every opening 
 the party would find themselves under the guns of a French 
 fort. Jasper consented cheerfully, it being a part of his 
 standing instructions to approach the station under such 
 circumstances as would prevent the men from obtaining any 
 very accurate notions of its position, lest a deserter might 
 betray the little garrison to the enemy. 
 
 The Scud was brought-to in a small, retired bay, where 
 it would have been difficult to find her by daylight, and 
 where she was perfectly concealed at night, when all but a 
 solitary sentinel on deck sought their rest. Cap had been 
 so harassed during the previous eight-and-forty hours, that 
 his slumbers were long and deep, nor did he awake from his 
 first nap until the day was just beginning to dawn. His 
 eyes were scarcely open, however, when his nautical instinct 
 told him that the cutter was under way. Springing up, he 
 found the Scud threading the islands again, with no one on 
 deck but Jasper and the pilot, unless the sentinel be ex- 
 cepted, who had not in the least interfered with movements 
 *.hat he had every reason to believe were as regular as they 
 ^ere necessary. 
 
 " How s this, Master Western ? " demanded Cap, with 
 sufficient fierceness for the occasion ; " are you running us 
 into Frontenac at last, and we all asleep below, like so 
 many marines waiting for the sentry go ? " 
 
 " This is according to orders, Master Cap, Major Duncan 
 having commanded me never to approach the station unlesa 
 at a moment when the people were below ; for he does not 
 
THE PATHFINDER. 309 
 
 wish there should be more pilots in these waters than the 
 king has need of." 
 
 " Whe-e-w ! a pretty job I should have made of running 
 down among these bushes and rocks, with no one on deck ! 
 Why a regular York branch could make nothing of such a 
 channel." 
 
 " I always thought, sir," said Jasper, smiling, " you would 
 have done better had you left the cutter in my hands until 
 ghe had safely reached her place of destination." 
 
 " We should have done it, Jasper ; we should have done 
 it, had it not been for a circumstance ; these circumstances 
 are serious matters, and no prudent man will overlook 
 them." 
 
 " Well, sir, I hope there is now an end of them. Wo 
 shall arrive in less than an hour, if the wind hold, and 
 then you ll be safe from any circumstances that I can con 
 trive." 
 
 " Humph ! " 
 
 Cap was obliged to acquiesce, and as everything around 
 him had the appearance of Jasper s being sincere, there was 
 not much difficulty in making up his mind to submit. It 
 would not have been easy, indeed, for a person the most 
 sensitive on the subject of circumstances to fancy that the 
 Scud was anywhere in the vicinity of a port as long estab 
 lished, and as well known on the frontiers, as Frontenac. 
 The islands might not have been literally a thousand in 
 number, but they were so numerous and small as to baffle 
 calculation, though occasionally one of larger size than com 
 mon was passed. Jasper had quitted what might have been 
 termed the main channel, and was winding his way with a 
 good stiff breeze, and a favorable current, through passes 
 that were sometimes so narrow that there appeared to be 
 barely room sufficient for the Scud s spars to clear the trees, 
 while at other moments he shot across little bays, and bur 
 ied the cutter again amid rocks, forests, and bushes. The 
 water was so transparent that there was no occasion for the 
 lead, and being of equal depth little risk was actually run, 
 though Cap, with his maritime habits, was in a constant 
 fever lest they should strike. 
 
810 THE PATHFINDER. 
 
 " I give it up ! I give it up, Pathfinder ! " the old seaman 
 at length exclaimed, when the little vessel emerged in safety 
 from the twentieth of these narrow inlets, through which she 
 had been so boldly carried ; " this is defying the very na 
 ture of seamanship, and sending all its laws and rules to tha 
 d 1 ! " 
 
 * Nay, nay, Salt-water ; tis the parfection of the art. 
 You perceive that Jasper never falters, but, like a hound 
 with a true nose, he runs with his head high, as if he had a 
 strong scent. My life on it the lad brings us out right in 
 the ind, as he would have done in the beginning had we 
 given him leave." 
 
 " No pilot, no lead, no beacons, buoys, or light-houses, 
 no" 
 
 " Trail ! " interrupted Pathfinder, " for that to me is the 
 most mysterious part of the business. Water leaves no 
 trail, as every one knows, and yet here is Jasper moving 
 ahead as boldly as if he had before his eyes the prints of 
 moccasins on leaves as plainly as we can see the sun in the 
 heaven." 
 
 " D e if J believe there is even any compass ! " 
 
 " Stand by to haul down the jib," called out Jasper, who 
 merely smiled at the remarks of his companion. " Haul 
 down ! starboard your helm starboard hard so ; meet 
 her gently there with the helm touch her lightly ; now 
 jump ashore with the fast, lad no, heave ; there are some 
 of our people ready to take it." 
 
 All this passed so quickly as barely to allow the specta 
 tors time to note the different evolutions, ere the Scud had 
 been thrown into the wind until her mainsail shivered, next 
 cast a little by the use of the rudder only, and then she set 
 bodily alongside of a natural rocky quay, where she was im 
 mediately secured by good fasts run to the shore. In a 
 word, the station was reached, and the men of the 55th 
 were greeted by their expecting comrades with the satisfac 
 tion that a relief usually brings. 
 
 Mabel spiang upon the shore with a delight which she 
 did not care to express, and her father led his men after her 
 with an alacrity which proved how wearied he had become 
 
THE lATHFINDEB. 31 J 
 
 of the cutter. The station, as the place was familiarly 
 termed by the soldiers of the 55th, was indeed a spot to 
 raise expectations of enjoyment among those who had been 
 cooped up so long in a vessel of the dimensions of the Scud. 
 None of the islands were high, though all lay at a sufficient 
 elevation above the water to render them perfectly healthy 
 and secure. Each had more or less of wood, and the 
 greater number at that distant day were clothed with the 
 virgin forest. The one selected by the troops for their pur 
 pose was small, containing about twenty acres of land, and 
 by some of the accidents of the wilderness it liad been 
 partly stripped of its trees, probably centuries before the 
 period of which we are writing, and a little grassy glado 
 covered nearly half its surface. It was the opinion of the 
 officer who had made the selection of this spot for a mili 
 tary post, that a sparkling spring near by had early caught 
 the attention of the Indians, and that they had long fre 
 quented this particular place, in their hunts, or when fishing 
 for salmon a circumstance that had kept down the second 
 growth, and given time for the natural grasses to take root, 
 and to gain dominion over the soil. Let the cause be what 
 it might, the effect was to render this island far more beau 
 tiful than most of those around it, and to lend it an air of 
 civilization that was then wanting in so much of that vast 
 region of country. 
 
 The shores of Station Island were completely fringed 
 with bushes, and great care had been taken to preserve 
 them, as they answered as a screen to conceal the persons 
 and things collected within their circle. Favored by this 
 shelter, as well as by that of several thickets of trees and 
 different copses, some six or eight low huts had been 
 erected, to be used as quarters for the officer and his men. 
 co contain stores, and to serve the purposes of kitchen, hos 
 pital, etc. These huts were built of logs, in the usual man- 
 ler, had been roofed by bark brought from a distance, lest 
 the signs of labor should attract attention, and as they had 
 now been inhabited some months, were as comfortable ai 
 Iwellings of that description usually ever get to be. 
 
 At the eastern extremitv o *hc island, however, wv a 
 
312 THE PATHFINDER. 
 
 small, densely wooded peninsula, with a thicket of under 
 brush so closely matted as nearly to prevent the possibility 
 of seeing across it so long as the leaves remained on the 
 branches. Near the narrow neck that connected this acre 
 with the rest of the island, a small block-house had beer 
 erected with some attention to its means of resistance. The 
 logs were bullet-proof, squared and jointed with a care to 
 lea 76 no defenseless points ; the windows were loop-holes : 
 the door massive and small ; and the roof, like the rest of 
 the structure, was framed of hewn timber, covered properly 
 with bark to exclude the rain. The lower apartment, as 
 usual, contained stores and provisions; here, indeed, the 
 party kept all their supplies ; the second story was intended 
 for a dwelling as well as for the citadel **nd a low garret 
 was subdivided into two or three rooms, And could hold the 
 pallets of some ten or fifteen persons. All the arrangements 
 were exceedingly simple and cheap, but they were sufficient 
 to protect the soldiers against the effects of a surprise. As 
 the whole building was considerably less than forty feet high, 
 its summit was concealed by the tops of the trees, except 
 from the eyes of those who had reached the interior of the 
 island. On that side the view was open from the upper 
 loops, though bushes, even there, more or less concealed the 
 base of the wooden tower. 
 
 The object being purely defense, care had been taken to 
 place the block-house so near r TI opening in the limestone 
 rock that formed the base of the island, as to admit of a 
 bucket s being dropped into the water in order to obtain 
 that great essential in the event of a siege. In order to fa 
 cilitate this operation, and to enfilade the base of the building, 
 the upper stories projected several fee f beyond the lower .in 
 the manner usual to block-houses, and pieces of wood filled 
 the aperturss cut in the log flooring, which were intended as 
 loops and traps. The communications between the different 
 stories were by means of ladders. If we add that these 
 block-houses were inten \d as citadels, for garrisons or set 
 tlements to retreat to in cases of attack, the general reader 
 will obtain a sufficiently correct idea of the arrangement* it 
 & our wish to explain. 
 
THE PATHFINDER. 313 
 
 But the situation of the island itself formed its principal 
 merit as a military position. Lying in the midst of twenty 
 others, U was not an easy matter to find it, since boats 
 might pass quite near, and, by the glimpses caught through 
 the openings, this particular island would be taken for a 
 part of some other. Indeed, the channels between the 
 *slands that lay around the one we have been describing, 
 were so narrow, that it was even difficult to say which 
 portions of the land were connected, or which separated, 
 even at one stood in their centre, with the express desire 
 of ascertaining the truth. The little bay in particular, that 
 Jasper used as a harbor, was so embowered with bushes 
 and shut in with islands, that, the sails of the cutter being 
 lowered, her own people, on one occasion, had searched for 
 hours before they could find the Scud, in their return from 
 a short excursion among the adjacent channels, in quest of 
 fish. In short, the place was admirably adapted to its 
 present uses, and its natural advantages had been as in 
 geniously improved as economy and the limited means of a 
 frontier post would very well allow. 
 
 The hour that succeeded the arrival of the Scud was one 
 of hurried excitement. The party in possession had done 
 nothing worthy of being mentioned, and wearied with their 
 seclusion, they were all eager to return to Oswego. The 
 sergeant and the officer he came to relieve had no soonei 
 gone through the little ceremonies of transferring the com 
 mand, than the latter hurried on board the Scud with hia 
 whole party ; and Jasper, who would gladly have passed 
 die day on the island, was required to get under way forth 
 with, the wind promising a quick passage up the river, and 
 across the lake. Before separating, however. Lieutenant 
 Muir, Cap, and the sergeant had a private conference with 
 *he ensign who had been relieved, in which the latter was 
 made acquainted with the suspicions that existed against 
 the fidelity of the young sailor. Promising due caution, 
 .he officer embarked, arid ic less than three hours from the 
 dme when she had arrived, the cutter was again in motion. 
 
 Mabel had taken possession of a hut, and with female 
 "aadiness arid skill she made all the simple little domestic 
 
b!4 THE PATHFINDER. 
 
 arrangements of which the circumstances would Admit, not 
 only for her own comfort, but for that of her father. To 
 save labor, a mess table was prepared in a hut set apart for 
 that purpose, where all the heads of the detachment were to 
 eat, the soldier s wife performing the necessary labor. The 
 hut of the sergeant, which was the best on the island, being 
 thus freed from any of the vulgar offices of a household, 
 admitted of such a display of womanly taste, that for the 
 first time since her arrival on the frontier, the girl felt 
 proud of her home. As soon as these important duties 
 were discharged, she strolled out on the island, taking a 
 path that led through the pretty glade, and which conducted 
 to the only point that was not covered with bushes. Here 
 she stood gazing at the limpid water, which lay with 
 scarcely a ruffle on it at her feet, musing on the novel 
 situation in which she was placed, and permitting a pleas 
 ing and deep excitement to steal over her feelings, as she 
 remembered the scenes through which she had so lately 
 passed, and conjectured those which still lay veiled in the 
 future. 
 
 " You re a beautiful fixture, in a beautiful spot, Mistress 
 Mabel," said David Muir, suddenly appearing at her elbow 
 "and I ll no engage you re not just the handsomest of the 
 two." 
 
 " I will not say, Mr. Muir, that compliments on my per 
 son are altogether unwelcome, for I should not gain credit 
 for speaking the truth, perhaps," answered Mabel, with 
 spirit, k but I will say that if you will condescend to address 
 to me some remarks of a different nature, I may be led to 
 believe you think I have sufficient faculties to understand 
 
 * Hoot ! your mind, beautiful Mabel, is polished just like 
 the barrel of a soldier s musket, and your conversation is 
 only too discreet and wise for a poor d - 1 who has been 
 chewing birch up here these four years on the lines, instead 
 of receiving it in an application that has the virtue of im 
 parting knowledge. But you are no sorrv T take it, young 
 lady, that you ve got your pretty foot on rerra firma cno 
 more." 
 
TEE PATHFINDER. 316 
 
 * I thought so, two hours since, Mr. Muir but the Scud 
 looks so beautiful, as she sails through these vistas of trees, 
 ihat I almost regret I am no longer one of her passengers." 
 
 As Mabel ceased speaking, she waved her hankerchief in 
 return to a salutation from Jasper, who kept his eyes 
 fastened on her form, until the white sails of the cutter had 
 swept round a point, and were nearly lost behind its greeu 
 fringe of leaves. 
 
 " There there go, and I ll no say Joy go with them, but 
 roay they have the luck to return safely, for without them 
 we shall be in danger of passing the winter on this island ; 
 unless, indeed, we have the alternative of the castle at 
 Quebec. Yon Jasper Eau-douce is a vagrant sort of a lad, 
 and they have reports of him in the garrison that it pains 
 my very heart to hear. Your worthy father, and almost 
 as worthy uncle, have none of the best opinion of him." 
 
 " I am sorry to hear it, Mr. Muir ; I doubt not that time 
 will remove all their distrust." 
 
 " If time would only remove mine, pretty Mabel," re 
 joined the quartermaster, in a wheedling tone, " I should 
 feel no envy of the commander-in-chief. I think if I were 
 in a condition to retire, the sergeant would just step into 
 my shoes." 
 
 "If my dear father is worthy to step into your shoes, 
 Mr. Muir," returned the girl, with malicious pleasure, " I m 
 sure that the qualification is mutual, and that you are every 
 57 ay worthy to step into his." 
 
 " The deuce is in the child ! you would not reduce mu 
 to the rank of a non-commissioned officer, Mabel ! " 
 
 "No, indeed, sir, I was not thinking of the army at all, 
 as you spoke of retiring. My thoughts were more egotist 
 leal, and 1 was thinking how much you reminded me of m^ 
 dear father, by your experience, wisdom, and suitableness 
 to take his place as the head of a family." 
 
 " As its bridegroom, pretty Mabel, but not as its parent 
 or natural chief. I see how it is with you, loving your 
 repartee, and brilliant with wit Well, I like spirit in a 
 young woman, so it be not the spirit of a scold. This 
 Pathfinder is an extraordinair, Mabel, if truth may e sattf 
 of the man." 
 
316 THE PATHFINDER. 
 
 " Truth should be said of him, or nothing. Pathfinder 
 is my friend my very particular friend, Mr. Muir, and no 
 evil can be said of him, in my presence, that I shall not 
 deny." 
 
 I shall say nothing evil of him, I can assure you, 
 Mabel ; but, at the same time, I doubt if much good can be 
 said in his favor." 
 
 " He is at least expert with the rifle," returned Mabel, 
 smiling. " That you cannot deny." 
 
 " Let him have all the credit of his exploits in that way, 
 if you please ; but he is illiterate as a Mohawk." 
 
 " He may not understand Latin, but his knowledge of 
 Iroquois is greater than that of most men, and it is the 
 more useful language of the two, in this part of the world." 
 
 " If Lundie himself were to call on me for an opinion 
 which I admired most, your person or your wit, beautiful 
 and caustic Mabel, I should be at a loss to answer. My 
 admiration is so nearly divided between them, that I often 
 fancy this is the one that bears off the palm, and then the 
 other ! Ah ! the late Mrs. Muir was a paragon in that 
 way, also ! " 
 
 " The latest Mrs. Muir, did you say, sir ? " asked Mabel, 
 looking up innocently at her companion. 
 
 " Hoot hoot ! That is some of Pathfinder s scandal. 
 Now, I dare say that the fellow has been trying to persuade 
 you, Mabel, that I have had more than one wife already." 
 
 " In that case, his time would have been thrown away, 
 sir, as everybody knows that you have been so unfortunate 
 as to have had four." 
 
 " Only three, as sure as my name is David Muir. The 
 fourth is pure scandal or, rather, pretty Mabel, she is yet 
 in petto, as they say at Rome ; and that means in matters 
 of love, in the heart, my dear." 
 
 " Well, I m glad I m not that fourth person, in petto, or in 
 anything else, as I should not like to be a scandal ! " 
 
 "No fea" of that, charming Mabel; for were you the 
 fourth, all tht others would be forgotten, and your wonder 
 ful beauty and mer .t would at once elevate you to the first 
 No fear of yot^ Iwvug the fourth in anything." 
 
THE PATHFINDER. 317 
 
 " There is consolation in that assurance, Mr. Muir," said 
 Mabel, laughing, " whatever there may be in your other 
 assurance ; for I confess I should prefer being even a fourth 
 rate beauty to being a fourth wife." 
 
 So saying, she tripped away, leaving the quartermaster to 
 meditate on his want of success. Mabel had been induced 
 to use her female means of defense thus freely, partly be 
 cause her suitor had of late been so pointed as to stand in 
 need of a pretty strong repulse, and partly on account of 
 his innuendoes against Jasper and the Pathfinder. Though 
 full of spirit and quick of intellect, she was not naturally 
 pert ; but, on the present occasion, she thought circumstances 
 called for more than usual decision. When she left her 
 companion, therefore, she believed she was now finally re 
 leased from attentions that she thought as ill bestowed as 
 they were certainly disagreeable. Not so, however, with 
 David Muir ; accustomed to rebuffs, and familiar with the 
 virtue of perseverance, he saw no reason to despair, though 
 the half menacing, half self-satisfied manner in which he 
 shook his head towards the retreating girl, might have be 
 trayed designs as sinister as they were determined. White 
 he was thus occupied, the Pathfinder approached, and gol 
 within a few feet of him, unseen. 
 
 " Twill never do, quartermaster, twill never do ! " com 
 menced the latter, laughing in his noiseless way ; " she is 
 young and actyve, and none but a quick foot can overtake 
 her. They tell me you are her suitor, if you re not her 
 follower." 
 
 " And I hear the same of yourself, man, though the jre- 
 sumption would be so great that I scarce can think it true." 
 
 " I fear you re right, I do ; yes, I fear you re right ! 
 when I consider myself what I am how little I know, 
 and how rude my life has been, I altogether distrust my 
 claim, even to think a moment, of one so tutored, and gay, 
 %nd light of heart, and delicate " 
 
 " You forget handsome," coarsely interrupted Muir. 
 
 " And handsome, too., I fear," returned the meek and self- 
 abased guide ; " I might have said handsome, at once, among 
 her other qualities, for the young fa an, just it leanas to 
 
818 THE PATHFINDhiu 
 
 bound, is not more pleasant to the eye of the hunter thin 
 Mabel is lovely in mine. I do indeed fear that all th 
 thoughts I have harbored about her are vain and presump 
 tuous." 
 
 " If you think this, my friend, of your own accord, and 
 natural modesty, as it might be, my duty to you as an old 
 fellow-campaigner compels me to say " 
 
 " Quartermaster," interrupted the other, regarding hit 
 companion keenly, " you and I have lived together much be 
 lli nd the ramparts of forts, but very little in the open woods, 
 or in front of the inimy." 
 
 " Garrison or tent, it all passes for part of the same cam 
 paign, you know, Pathfinder ; and then my duty keeps me 
 much within sight of the store-houses, greatly contrary to 
 my inclinations, as ye may well suppose, having yourself the 
 ardor of battle in your temperament. But had ye heard 
 what Mabel has just been saying of you, ye d no think 
 another minute of making yourself agreeable to the saucy 
 and uncompromising hussy." 
 
 Pathfinder looked earnestly at the lieutenant, for it was 
 impossible he should not feel an interest in what might be 
 Mabel s opinion ; but he had too much of the innate and true 
 feeling of a gentleman, to ask to hear what another had 
 said of him. Muir, however, was not to be foiled by this 
 self-denial and self-respect ; for, believing he had a man of 
 great truth and simplicity to deal with, he determined to 
 practice on his credulity, as one means of getting rid of his 
 rivalry. He, therefore, pursued the subject, as soon as ko 
 perceived that his companion s self-denial was stronger than 
 his curiosity. 
 
 " You ought to know her opinion, Pathfinder," he con 
 tinued ; " and I think every man ought to hear what his 
 friends and acquaintances say of him ; and so, by way of 
 proving my own regard for your character arid feelings, IT 
 just tell you, in as few words as possible. You know that 
 Mabel has a wicked, malicious way with those eyes of her 
 own, when she has a mind to be hard upon one s feelings." 
 
 " To me her eyes, Lieutenant Muir, have always seemed 
 winning and soft, though I will acknowledge that they some- 
 
THE PATHFINDER. 319 
 
 Hmes iaugh yes, I have known them to laugh ; and that 
 right heartily, and with downright good-will." 
 
 " Well, it was just that, then ; her eyes were laughing 
 with all their might, as it were, and in the midst of all her 
 fun, she broke out with an exclamation to this effect I 
 hope twill no hurt your sensibility, Pathfinder ? " 
 
 * { 1 will not say, quartermaster, I will not say ; Mabel s 
 opinion of me is of more account than that of most others." 
 
 " Then I ll no tell ye, but just keep discretion on the sub 
 ject; and why should a man be telling another what hii 
 friends say of him, especially when they happen to say that 
 which may not be pleasant to hear ? I ll not add another 
 word to this present communication." 
 
 " I cannot make you speak, quartermaster, if you are n* t 
 so minded, and perhaps it is better for me not to know Ma 
 bel s opinion, as you seem to think it is not in my favor. 
 Ah s me ! if we could be what we wished to be, instead ol 
 being only what we are, there would be a great difference 
 in our characters, and knowledge, and appearance. One 
 may be rude, and coarse, and ignorant, and yet happy, if he 
 does not know it ; but it is hard to see our own failings in 
 the strongest light, just as we wish to hear the least aboui 
 them." 
 
 " That s just the rationale, as the French say, of the mat 
 ter ; and so I was telling Mabel, when she ran away and left 
 me. You noticed the manner in which she skipped off, aa 
 you approached ? " 
 
 " It was very observable," answered Pathfinder, drawing 
 a lc:ig breath, and clenching the barrel of his rifle, as if th* 
 fingers would bury themselves in the iron. 
 
 * It was more than observable, it was flagrant that s 
 just the word, and the dictionary wouldn t supply a hotter 
 after an hour s search. Well, you must know, Pathfinder, 
 for I cannot reasonably deny you the gratification of hearing 
 *his so you must know, the minx bounded off in that 
 unanner, in preference to hearing what I had to say in your 
 justification." 
 
 " And what could you find to say in my behalf, quarter 
 master ? " 
 
320 THE PATHFINDER. 
 
 " Why, d ye understand, my friend, I was ruled by cir 
 cumstances, and no ventured indiscreetly into generalities 
 but was preparing to meet particulars, as it might be, witl 
 particulars. If you were thought wild, and half-savage, or of 
 a frontier formation, I could tell her, ye know, that it came 
 of the frontier, wild, half-savage life ye d led ; and all her 
 objections must cease at once, or there would be a sort 
 if a misunderstanding with Providence." 
 
 " And did you tell her this, quartermaster ? " 
 
 " I ll no swear to the exact words, but the idea was preva 
 lent in my mind, ye ll understand. The girl was impatient, 
 and would not hear the half I had to say ; but away she 
 skipped, as ye saw with your own eyes, Pathfinder, as if her 
 opinion were fully made up, and she cared to listen no 
 longer. I fear her mind may be said to have come to its 
 conclusion." 
 
 " I fear it has, indeed, quartermaster, and her father, after 
 all, is mistaken. Yes, yes ; the sergeant has fallen into a 
 grievous error." 
 
 " Well, man, why need ye lament, and undo all the grand 
 reputation ye ve been so many years making ? Shoulder 
 the rifle that ye use so well, and off into the woods with ye, 
 for there s not the female breathing that is worth the heavy 
 heart for a minute, as I know from experience. Tak the 
 word of one who knows the sax, and has had two wives, 
 that women, after all, are very much the sort of creatures 
 we do not imagine them to be. Now, if you would really 
 mortify Mabel, here is as glorious an occasion as any re- 
 : <5cted lover could desire." 
 
 " The last wish I have, lieutenant, would be to mortify 
 
 Well, ye ll come to that in the end, notwithstanding 
 for it s human nature to desire to give unpleasant feelings 
 to them that give unpleasant feelings to us. But a better 
 occasion never offered to make your friends love you, thau 
 is to be had at this very moment, and that is the certain 
 means ot causing one s enemies to envy us." 
 
 " Quartermaster, Mabel is not my inimy ; anc 7 ;f she was. 
 fche last thing I could desire would be to give her an uneasy 
 moment." 
 
THE FATHF1NDKK. 821 
 
 "Ye say so, Pathfinder ye say so, and I dare say ye 
 think so ; but reason and nature are both against you, as 
 ye ll find in the end. Ye ve heard the saying of * Love me, 
 love my dog : well, now, that means, read backwards, 
 Don t love me, don t love my dog. Now, listen to what is 
 in your power to do. You know we occupy an exceedingly 
 precarious and uncertain position here, almost hi the jawr 
 of Jhe lion, as it were ? " 
 
 " Do you mean the Frenchers, by the lion, and this island 
 as his jaws, lieutenant ? " 
 
 " Metaphorically only, my friend, for the French are no 
 lions, and this island is not a jaw unless, indeed, it may 
 prove to be, what I greatly fear may come true, the jaw 
 bone of an ass ! " 
 
 Here the quartermaster indulged in a sneering laugh that 
 proclaimed anything but respect and admiration for his 
 friend Lundie s sagacity in selecting that particular spot for 
 his operations. 
 
 " The post is as well chosen as any I ever put foot in," 
 said Pathfinder, looking around him as one surveys a picture. 
 
 "Ill no deny it I ll no deny it. Luudie is a great 
 soldier, in a small way ; and his father was a great la vd, 
 with the same qualification. I was born on the estate, and 
 have followed the major so long, that I ve got to reverence 
 all he says and does. That s just my weakness ye ll know, 
 Pathfinder. Well, this post may be the post of an ass, or 
 of a Solomon, as men fancy ; but it s most critically placed, 
 as is apparent by all Lundie s precautions and injunctions. 
 There are savages out, scouting through these thousand 
 islands, and over the forest, searching for this very spot, as 
 is known to Lundie himself, on certain information ; and 
 the greatest service you can render the 55th, is to discover 
 their trails, and lead them off on a false scent. Unhappily, 
 Sergeant Dunham has taken up the notion, that the danger 
 is to be apprehended from up stream, because Frontenac 
 lies above us ; whereas, all experience tells us, that Indians 
 come on the side that is most contrary to reason, and, con 
 sequently, are to be expe< ted from below Take your canoe, 
 therefore, and go down stream, among the islands, that *ve 
 91 
 
322 iIIE PATHFINLER. 
 
 may havt notice if any clanger approaches from that quarter 
 If you should look a few miles on the main, especially on 
 the York side, the information you d bring in would be all 
 the more accurate, and, consequently, the more valuable." 
 
 " The Big Sarpent is on the lookout in that quarter, and 
 as he knows the station well, no doubt he will give us timely 
 notice, should any wish to sarcumvent us in that direction. 
 
 u He is but an Indian, ifter all, Pathfinder, and this is an 
 affair that calls for the knowledge of a white man. Lundie 
 will be eternally grateful to the man that shall help his 
 little enterprise to come off with flying colors. To tell you 
 the truth, my friend, he is conscious it should never have 
 been attempted, but he has too much of the old laird s ob 
 stinacy about him to own an error, though it be as manifest 
 as the morning star." 
 
 The quartermaster then continued to reason with his 
 companion, in order to induce him to quit the island without 
 felay, using such arguments as first suggested themselves, 
 sometimes contradicting himself, and not unfrequently urg 
 ing at one moment a motive that at the next was directly 
 opposed by another. The Pathfinder, simple as he was, 
 detected these flaws in the lieutenant s philosophy, though 
 he was far from suspecting that they proceeded from a 
 desire to clear the coast of Mabel s suitor. He met bad 
 reasons by good ones, resisted every inducement that was 
 not legitimate, by his intimate acquaintance with his peculiar 
 duties, and was blind, as usual, to the influence of every 
 incentive that could not stand the test of integrity. Ho 
 did not exactly suspect the secret objects of Muir, but ho 
 was far from being blind to his sophistry. The result was 
 that the two parted, after a long dialogue, unconvinced an I 
 listrustful of each other s motives, though the distrust of the 
 uido, iike all that was connected with the man, partook of 
 his owi. upright, disinterested, and ingenuous nature. 
 
 A conference that took place, soon after, between Ser 
 L eanl Dunham and the lieutenant, led to more consequences- 
 When it was ended, secret orders were issued to the men, 
 the block-house was taken possession of, the huts werf 
 occupied, and one accustomed o the movements of soldien 
 
THE PATHFINDER. 823 
 
 might have detected that an expedition was in the wind, 
 lu faci, just as the sun was setting, the sergeant, who had 
 >een much occupied at what was called the harbcr, oame 
 into his own hut, followed by Pathfinder and Cap, anl as 
 he took his seat at the neat table that Mabel had piejxired 
 p or him, he opened the budget of his intelligence. 
 
 " You are likely to be of some use here, my child," the old 
 3idier commenced, " as this tidy and well ordered supper 
 can testify ; and, I trust, when the proper moment arrives, 
 you will show yourself to be the descendant of those wio 
 kno w how to face their enemies." 
 
 "You do not expect me, dear father, to play Joan of Aie, 
 and to lead the men to battle ? " 
 
 " Play whom, child ? did you ever hear of the person 
 Mabel mentions, Pathfinder ? " 
 
 "Not I, sergeant; but what of that? I am ignorant 
 and unedicated, and it is too great a pleasure to me to listen 
 to her voice, and take in her words, to be particular about 
 persons/ 
 
 " I know her," said Cap, decidedly ; " she sailed a priva 
 teer out of Morlaix, in the last war ; and good cruises she 
 made of them." 
 
 Mabel blushed at having inadvertently made an allusion 
 that went beyond her father s reading, to say nothing of her 
 uncle s dogmatism ; and, perhaps, a little at the Pathfinder s 
 simple, ingenuous earnestness ; but she did not forbear the 
 \ess to smile. 
 
 " Why, father, I am not expected to fall in with the mer 
 md to help defend the island ? " 
 
 * And yet, women often have done such things, in this 
 quarter of the world, girl, as our friend, the Pathfinder 
 here, will tell you. But, lest you should be surprised at 
 Uot seeing us, when you awake in the morning, it is propel 
 that I now tell you we intend to march hi the course of 
 this very night." 
 
 " We, father and leave me and Jennie on this island 
 done ! " 
 
 * No, my daughter, not quite as unmilitary as that W 
 nhall leave Lieutenant Muir brother Cap, Corporal Me Nab, 
 
324 THE PATHFINDER. 
 
 And three men, to compose the garrison during our absence, 
 Jennie will remain with you in this hut, and brother Cap 
 will occupy my place." 
 
 " And Mr. Muir ? " said Mabel, half unconscious of what 
 ghe uttered, though she foresaw a great . deal of unpleasant 
 persecution in the arrangement. 
 
 " Why, he can make love to you, if you like it, girl ; for 
 ho is an amorous youth, and having already disposed of 
 four wives, is impatient to show how much he honors their 
 memories, by taking a fifth." 
 
 " The quartermaster tells me," said Pathfinder, innocently, 
 " that when a man s feelings have been harrowed by so 
 many losses, there is no wiser way to soothe them, than by 
 ploughing up the soil anew, in such a manner as to leave no 
 traces of what have gone over it before." 
 
 "Aye, that is just the difference between ploughing and 
 harrowing," returned the sergeant, with a grim smile. " But 
 let him tell Mabel his mind, and there will be an end of his 
 suit. I very well know that my daughter will never be the 
 wife of Lieutenant Muir." 
 
 This was said in a way that was tantamount to declar 
 ing that no daughter of his ever should become the wife of 
 the person in question. Mabel had colored, trembled, half 
 laughed, and looked uneasy ; but, rallying her spirit, she 
 said in a voice so cheerful as completely to conceal her 
 agitation, 
 
 " But, father, we might better wait until Mr. Muir mani 
 fests a wish that your daughter would have him, or rather a 
 wish to have your daughter, lest we get the fable of sour 
 grapes thrown into our faces." 
 
 " And what is that fable, Mabel ? " eagerly demanded 
 Pathfinder, who was anything but learned in the ordinary 
 lore of white men ; " tell it to us in your own pretty way , 
 1 dare say the sergeant never heard it." 
 
 Mabel repeated the well-known fable, and, as her suitor 
 ,iad desired, in her own pretty way, which was a way to 
 Keep his eyes riveted on her face, and .the whole of his 
 honest corjitenance covered with a smile. 
 
 was like a fox !" cried Pathfinder, when she hud 
 
THE PATHFINDER 
 
 /.eased, " aye, and like a Mingo, too, cunning and cruel ; that 
 is the way with both the riptyles. As to grapes, they f.re 
 vour enough ik this part of the country, even to them that 
 ,;an get at them, thougli I dare say there are seasons, and 
 "\nes, and places, where they are sourer to them that can t. 
 . sh3uld judge, now, my scalp is very sour hi Mingo eyes/ 
 
 " Tke sour grapes will be the other way, child, and it ii 
 Mr. Muir who will make the complaint. You would never 
 marry that man, Mabel ? " 
 
 " Not she," put in Cap ; " a fellow who is only half * sol 
 dier, after all ! The story af them there grapes is quite 44 
 circumstance." 
 
 " I think little of marrying any one, dear father, and 
 dear uncle, and would rather talk about it less, if you please. 
 But, did I think of marrying at all, I do believe a man 
 whose affections have already been tried by three or four 
 wives would scarcely be my choice." 
 
 The sergeant nodded at the guide, as much as to say, 
 You see how the laud lies ; and then he had sufficient con 
 sideration for his daughter s feelings to change the subject. 
 
 " Neither you nor Mabel, brother Cap," he resumed, " can 
 have any legal authority with the garrison I leave behind, 
 on the island ; but you may counsel and influence. Strictly 
 speaking, Corporal McNab will be the commanding officer, 
 and I have endeavored to impress him with a sense of his 
 dignity, lest he might give way too much to the superior 
 rank of Lieutenant Muir, who, being a volunteer, can have 
 no right to interfere with the duty. I wish you to sustain 
 the corporal, brother Cap, for should the quartermaster once 
 break through the regulations of the expedition, he may 
 pretend to command me as well as McNab." 
 
 " More particularly, should Mabel really cut him adrift 
 while you are absent. Of course, sergeant, you ll leave 
 everything that is afloat under my care ? The most 
 
 i le confusion has grown out of misunderstandings 
 
 between corninanders-in-chief ashore and afloat." 
 
 "In one sense, brother, though in a general way, the 
 curpon.1 is Commander-in-chief. History does indeed tell 
 as that a division of command leads to difficultier, and J 
 
32t> THE PATHFINDER. 
 
 shall avoid that danger. The corporal must command, but 
 you can counsel freely, particularly in all matters relating 
 to the boats, of which I shall leave one behind, to secure 
 your retreat should there be occasion. I know the corporal 
 well ; he is a brave man, and a good soldier ; and one that 
 mAj be relied on, if the Santa Cruz can be kept from him. 
 But then he is a Scotchman, and will be liable to the 
 quartermaster s influence, against which I desire both you 
 and Mabel to be on your guard." 
 
 " But why leave us behind, dear father ? I have come 
 thus far to be a comfort to you, and why not go further ? " 
 
 u You are a good girl, Mabel, and very like the Dun 
 hams ! But you must halt here. We shall leave the 
 island to-morrow before the day dawns, in order not to be 
 seen by any prying eyes coming from under cover, and we 
 shall take the two largest boats, leaving you the other and 
 one bark canoe. We are about to go into the channel used 
 by the French, where we shall lie in wait perhaps a week to 
 intercept their supply-boats that are about to pass up, on 
 their way to Frontenac, loaded in particular with a heavy 
 amount of Indian goods." 
 
 " Have you looked well to your papers, brother ? " Cap 
 anxiously demanded. " Of course you know a capture on 
 the high seas is piracy, unless your boat is regularly com 
 missioned either as a public or a private armed cruiser." 
 
 " I have the honor to hold the colonel s appointment as 
 sergeant-major of the 55th," returned the other, drawing 
 himself up with dignity, " and that will be sufficient even 
 for the French king. If not, I have Major Duncan s 
 written orders." 
 
 " No papers them, for a warlike cruiser." 
 
 " They must suffice, brother, as I have no other. It i& 
 sf vast importance to his Majesty s interests in this part of 
 lUe world, that the boats in question should be captured and 
 :*nied into Oswego They contain the blankets, trinkets, 
 rifles, ammunition in short, all the stores with which the 
 French bribe their accursed savage allies to commit their 
 unholy acts, setting at naught our holy religion and its 
 precepts, the laws of humanity, and all that is sacred and 
 
THE PATHFINDER 327 
 
 dear among men. By cutting off these supplies we shall 
 derange their plans, and gain time on them; for the articles 
 cannot be sent across the ocean again this autumn." 
 
 " But, father, does not his Majesty employ Indians also ? " 
 asked Mabel, with some curiosity. 
 
 " Certainly, girl, and he has a right to employ them 
 God bless him! It s a very different thing whether an 
 Englishman or a Frenchman employs a savage, as every 
 body can understand." 
 
 " That is plain enough, brother Dunham ; but I do not 
 see my way so clear in the matter of the ship s papers." 
 
 " An English colonel s appointment ought to satisfy any 
 Frenchman of my authority ; and what is more, brother, it 
 shall." 
 
 " But I do not see the difference, father, between an Eng 
 lishman s and a Frenchman s employing savages in war." 
 
 " All the odds in the world, child, though you may not 
 be able to see it. In the first place, an Englishman is 
 naturally humane and considerate, while a Frenchman is 
 naturally ferocious and timid." 
 
 " And you may add, brother, that he will dance from 
 morning till night, if you ll let him." 
 
 ** Very true," gravely returned the sergeant. 
 
 " But, father, I cannot see that all this alters the case. If 
 it be wrong in a Frenchman to hire savages to fight his 
 enemies, it would seem to be equally wrong hi an English 
 man. You will admit this, Pathfinder ? " 
 
 " It s reasonable it s reasonable, and I have never been 
 one of them that has raised a cry agin the Frenchers for 
 doing the very thing we do ourselves. Still, it is worse 
 to consort with a Mingo than to consort with a Delaware. 
 If any of that just tribe were left, I should think it no sin to 
 send them out agin the foe." 
 
 " And yet they scalp and slay young and old women 
 rod children ! " 
 
 " They have their gifts, Mabel, and are not to be blamed 
 for following them. Natur is natur , though the different 
 tribes have different ways of showing it. For my part, I 
 am white, and endeavor to maintain white feelings." 
 
828 THE PATHFINDER. 
 
 44 ITiis is all unintelligible to me," answered Habei. 
 * What is right in King George, it would seem, ought to be 
 right in King Louis." 
 
 "The King of France s real name is Caput," observed 
 Cap, with his mouth full of venison. " I once carried a 
 great scholar as a passenger, and he told me that these 
 Lewises thirteenth, fourteenth, and fifteenth, were all hum 
 bugs, and that the men s real name was Caput ; which is 
 French for head ; meaning that they ought to be put at 
 the foot of the ladder, until ready to go up to be hanged." 
 
 " Well, this does look like being given to scalping, as a 
 nat ral gift," Pathfinder remarked, with the air of surprise 
 with which one receives a novel idea, " and I shall have 
 less compunction than ever in sarving agin the miscreants, 
 though I can t say I ever yet felt any worth naming." 
 
 As all parties, Mabel excepted, seemed satisfied with the 
 course the discussion had taken, no one appeared to think 
 it necessary to pursue the subject. The trio of men, in 
 deed, in this particular, so much resembled the great mass 
 of their fellow-creatures, who usually judge of character 
 equally without knowledge and without justice, that we 
 might not have thought it necessary to record the discourse, 
 had it not some bearing in its facts on the incidents of the 
 legend, and in its opinions on the motives of the charac 
 ters. 
 
 Supper was no sooner ended than the sergeant dismissed 
 his guests, aad then held a long and confidential dialogue 
 with his daughter. He was little addicted to giving way to 
 die gentler emotions, but the novelty of his present situa 
 tion awakened feelings that he was unused to experience. 
 The soldier, or the sailor, so long as he a cts under the im 
 mediate supervision of a superior, thinks little of the risks 
 ae runs ; but the moment he feels the responsibility of 
 .jommand, all the hazards of his undertaking begin to as 
 sociate themselves in his mind with the chances of success 
 or failure. While he dwells less on his own personal dan 
 ger, perhaps, than when that is the principal consideration, 
 he has more lively general perceptions of all the risks, and 
 submits more to the influence of the feelings which douUf 
 
THE PATHFINDER. 329 
 
 creates. Such was now the case with Sergeant Dunham, 
 who, instead of looking forward to victory as certain, ac 
 cording to his usual habits, began to feel the possibility that 
 he might be parting with his child forever. 
 
 Never before had Mabel struck him as so beautiful as 
 she appeared that night. Possibly she never had displayed 
 so many engaging qualities to her father ; for concern on 
 his account had begun to be active in her breast, and then 
 her sympathies met with unusual encouragement through 
 those which had been stirred up in the sterner besom of 
 the veteran. She had never been entirely at her ease with 
 her parent, the great superiority of her education, creating 
 a_sdrt of chasm, which had been widened by the military 
 severity of manner he had acquired by dealing so long and 
 intimately with beings who could only be kept in subjection 
 by an unremitted discipline. On the present occasion, how 
 ever, or after they were left alone, the conversation between 
 the father and daughter became more confidential than 
 usual, until Mabel rejoiced to find that it was gradually be 
 coming endearing ; a state of feeling that the warm-hearted 
 girl had silently pined for in vain, ever since her arrival. 
 
 " Then, mother was about my height ? " Mabel said, as 
 she held one of her father s hands in both her own, looking 
 up into his face with humid eyes. " I had thought hei 
 taller." 
 
 " This is the way with most children, who get a habit of 
 thinking of their parents with respect, until they fancy 
 them larger and more commanding than they actually are. 
 Your mother, Mabel, was as near your height as one wom^n 
 could be to another." 
 
 " And her eyes, father ? " 
 
 " Her eyes were like thine, child, too blue and soft, 
 iiul inviting like ; though hardly so laughing." 
 
 " Mine will never laugh again, dearest father, if you do 
 not take care of yourself in this expedition." 
 
 " Thank you, Mabel hem thank you, child ; but J 
 >ttust do my duty. I wish I had seen you comfortably 
 married before we left Oswego ! my mind would b 
 
330 THE PATHFINDER. 
 
 " Married ! to whom, father ? " 
 
 " You know the man I wish you to love. You may 
 meet with many gayer, and many dressed in finer clothes 
 but with none with so true a heart and just a mind." 
 
 - None, father ? " 
 
 " I know of none ; in these particulars Pathfinder has 
 few equals, at least." 
 
 " But I neecf not marry at all. You are single, and I 
 can remain to take care of you." 
 
 " God bless you, Mabel ! I know you would, and I do 
 not say that the feeling is not right, for I suppose it is ; and 
 yet I believe there is another that is more so." 
 
 " What can be more right than to honor one s par 
 ents?" 
 
 "It is just as right to honor one s husband, my dear 
 child." 
 
 " But I have no husband, father." 
 
 " Then take one as soon as possible, that you may have 
 a husband to honor. I cannot live forever, Mabel, but 
 must drop off in the course of nature ere long, if I am not 
 carried off in the course of war. You are young, and may 
 yet live long ; and it is proper that you should have a male 
 protector, who can see you safe through life, and take caro 
 of you in age as you now wish to take care of me." 
 
 " And do you think, father " said Mabel, playing with 
 his sinewy fingers with her own little hands, and looking 
 down at them as if they were subjects of intense interest, 
 though her lips curled in a slight smile as the words came 
 from them " and do you think, father, that Pathfinder is 
 just the man to do this ? Is he not within ten or twelve 
 years as old as yourself ? " 
 
 * What of that ? His life had been one of moderation 
 and exercise, and years are less to be counted, girl, than 
 constitution. Do you know another more likely to be your 
 protector ? " 
 
 Mabel did not ; at least another who had expressed a de- 
 tire to that effect, whatever might have been her hopes and 
 her wishes. 
 
 " Nay, father, we are not talking of another, but of th 
 
THE PATHFINDER. 331 
 
 Pathfinder," she answered evasively. " If he we? a(younge> 
 I think it would be more natural for me to think ofEm for 
 a husband." 
 
 " Tis all in the constitution, I tell you child : Pathfinder 
 is a younger man than half our subalterns." 
 
 " He is certainly younger than one, sir Lieuteaant 
 Muir." 
 
 Mabel s laugh was joyous aiid light-hearted, as if jusv 
 then she felt no care. 
 
 " That he is young enough to be his grandson ; he 
 is younger in years, too. God forbid, Mabel, that you 
 should ever become an officer s lady, at least until you are 
 an officer s daughter." 
 
 " There will be little fear of that, father, if I marry 
 Pathfinder ! " returned the girl, looking up archly in the 
 sergeant s face again. 
 
 " Not by the king s commission, perhaps, though the 
 man is even now the friend and companion of generals. I 
 think I could die happy, Mabel, if you were his wife." 
 
 Father ! " 
 
 " Tis a sad thing to go into battle with the weight of an 
 unprotected daughter laid upon the heart." 
 
 " I would give the world to lighten yours of its load, my 
 dear sir ! " 
 
 " It might be done," said the sergeant, looking fondly at 
 his child, "though I could not wish to put a burden on 
 yours in order to do so." 
 
 The voice was deep and tremulous, and never before had 
 Mabel witnessed such a show of affection in her parent, 
 fhe habitual sternness of *he man lent an interest to his 
 emotions that they might otherwise have wanted, and the 
 Daughter s heart yearned to relieve the father s mind. 
 
 " Father, speak plainly," she cried, almost convulsively. 
 
 * Nay, Mabel, it might not be right your wishes and 
 mine may be very different." 
 
 " I have no wishes know nothing of what you mean ; 
 would you speak of my future marriage ? " 
 
 " If I could see you promised to Pathfinder know that 
 fou **ere pledged to become his wife, let my own fate be 
 
832 THE PATHFINDER. 
 
 what it might, I think I could die happy. But I will ask 
 no pledge of you, my child I will not force you to do 
 tvhat you might repent. Kiss me, Mabel, and go to your 
 oed." 
 
 Had Sergeant Dunham exacted of Mabel the pledge that 
 he really so much desired, he would have encountered a re 
 sistance that he might have found difficult to overcome. 
 but, by letting nature have its course, he enlisted a power 
 ful ally on his side, and the warm-hearted, generous-minded 
 Mabel was ready to concede to her affections, much more 
 than she would ever have yielded to menace. At that 
 touching moment she thought only of her parent, who was 
 about to quit her, perhaps forever ; and all of that ardent 
 love for him, which had possibly been as much fed by the 
 imagination as by anything else, but which had received a 
 little check by the restrained intercourse of the last fort 
 night, now returned with a force that was increased by pure 
 and intense feeling. Her father seemed all in all to her ; 
 and to render him happy, there was no proper sacrifice that 
 she was not ready to make. One painful, rapid, almost 
 wild gleam of thought shot across the brain of the girl, 
 and her resolution wavered ; but endeavoring to trace the 
 foundation of the pleasing hope on which it was based, 
 she found nothing positive to support it. Trained like a 
 woman, to subdue her most ardent feelings, her thoughts 
 reverted to her father, and to the blessings that awaited 
 the child who yielded to a parent s wishes. 
 
 " Father," she said quietly, almost with a holy calm, 
 " God blesses the dutiful daughter I " 
 
 " He will, Mabel ; we have the Good Book for that" 
 
 " I will marry whomsoever you desire. 
 
 "Nay, nay, Mabel you may have a choice of your 
 
 " I have no choice that is none have asked me to 
 have a choice, but Pathfinder and Mr. Muir ; and between 
 ikem^ neither of us would hesitate. No, father i I will marry 
 whomsoever you may choose." 
 
 " Thou knowest my choice, beloved girl ; none other can 
 make thee as happy as the noble-hearted guide" 
 
THE PATHFINDER. 88u 
 
 " Well, then, if he wish it if he ask me again for, 
 fatner, you would not have me offer myself, or that any one 
 should do that office for me," and the blood stole across 
 the pallid cheeks of Mabel, as she spoke, for high and gen 
 erous resolutions had driven back the stream of lile to her 
 heart, " no one must speak to him of it ; but if he seek 
 me igain, and, knowing all that a true girl ought to tell the 
 mat. she marries, and he then wishes to make me his wife. 
 I will be his." 
 
 " Bless you, my Mabel God in heaven bless you, am] 
 reward you as a pious daughter deserves to be rewarded." 
 
 " Yes, father, put your mind at peace j go on this expedi 
 tion with a light heart, and trust in God. For me, you will 
 have now no care. In the spring I must have a little 
 time, father but, in the spring, I will marry Pathfinder, 
 if that noble hearted hunter shall then desire it." 
 
 " Mabel, he loves you as I loved your mother. I have 
 seen him weep like a child, when speaking of his feelings 
 towards you." 
 
 " Yes, I believe it ; I ve seen enough to satisfy me that 
 he thinks better of me than I deserve ; and certainly the 
 man is not living for whom I have more respect than for 
 Pathfinder ; not even for you, dear father." 
 
 " That is as it should be, child, and the union will be 
 blessed. May I not tell Pathfinder this?" 
 
 " I would rather you would not, father. Let it come of 
 itself come naturally; the man should seek the woman, 
 and not the woman the man " The smile that illuminated 
 Mabel s handsome face was angelic, as even her parent 
 thought, though one better practiced in detecting the pass 
 ing emotions, as they betray themselves in the countenanc^ 
 might have traced something wild and unnatural in it. " No, 
 no, we must let things take their course ; father, you have 
 iny solemn promise." 
 
 "That will do that will do, Mabel; now kiss me; 
 God bless and protect you, girl ; you are a good daughter. * 
 
 Mabel threw herself into her father s arms, it was the 
 ilrst time in her life, and sobbed on his bosom like an 
 infant The stern old soldier s heart was melted, and th* 
 
834 THE PATHFINDER. 
 
 tears of the two mingled; but Sergeant Dunham soon 
 started, as if ashamed of himself, and gently forcing his 
 daughter from him, he bade her good night, and sought his 
 pallet. Mabel went sobbing to the rude corner that had 
 been prepared for her reception, and in a few minutes the 
 hut was undisturbed by any sound, save the heavy breathing 
 f the veteran 
 
THE PATHFINDER. 835 
 
 CHAPTER XX- 
 
 Wandering, I found on my ruinous walk 
 By the dial stone, aged and green, 
 One rose of the wilderness left on its stalk, 
 To mark where a garden had been. 
 
 C AMI BELL 
 
 IT was not only broad daylight when Mabel awoke, but 
 the sun had actually been up some time. Her sleep had 
 been tranquil, for she rested on an approving conscience, 
 and fatigue contributed to render it sweet ; and no sound 
 of those who had been so early in motion had interfered 
 with her rest. Springing to her feet, and rapidly dressing 
 herself, the girl was soon breathing the fragrance of the 
 morning, in the open air. For the first time she was 
 sensibly struck with the singular beauties as well as with 
 the profound retirement of her present situation. The day 
 proved to be one of those of the autumnal glory so common 
 to a climate that is more abused than appreciated, and its 
 Jifluence was in every way inspiriting and genial. Mabel 
 was benefited by this circumstance, for, as she fancied, her 
 heart was heavy on account of the dangers to which a 
 father, whom she now began to love, as women love when 
 confidence is created, was about to be exposed. 
 
 But the island seemed absolutely deserted. The previous 
 night, the bustle of the arrival had given the spot an ap 
 pearance of life that was now entirely gone ; and our 
 heroine had turned her eyes nearly around on every object 
 in sight, before she caught a view of a single human being 
 to remove the sense of utter solitude. Then, indeed, she 
 beheld all who were left behind, collected in a group, 
 around a fire which might be said to belong to the camp. 
 The person of her uncle, to whom she was so much accus 
 tomed, reassured the girl, and she examined the remaindoT 
 
8-1.6 THE PATHFINDER. 
 
 with a curiosity natural to her situation. Besides Cap and 
 the quartermaster, there were the corporal, the tnree sol 
 diers, and the woman who was cooking. The huts were 
 silent and empty, and the low, but tower-like summit of the 
 block-house rose above the bushes, by which it was half 
 concealed, in picturesque beauty. The sun was just casting 
 its brightness into the open places of the glade, anl the 
 vault, over her head, was impending in the soft subLmity 
 of the blue void. Not a cloud was visible, and she secretly 
 fancied the circumstance might be taken as a harbinger of 
 peace and security. 
 
 Perceiving that all the others were occupied with that 
 great concern of human nature, a breakfast, Mabel walked 
 unobserved towards an end of the island, where she was 
 completely shut out of view by the trees and bushes. Here 
 she got a stand on the very edge of the water, by forcing 
 aside the low branches, and stood watching the barely 
 perceptible flow and re-flow of the miniature waves that 
 laved the shore ; a sort of physical echo to the agitation 
 that prevailed on the lake fifty miles above her. The 
 glimpses of natural scenery that offered, were very soft and 
 pleasing ; and our heroine, who had a quick and true eye 
 for all that was lovely in nature, was not slow in selecting 
 the most striking bits of landscape. She gazed through the 
 different vistas formed by the openings between the islands, 
 and thought she had never looked on aught more lovely. 
 
 While thus occupied, Mabel was suddenly alarmed by 
 fancying that she caught a glimpse of a human form among 
 the bushes that lined the shore of the island that lay 
 directly before her. The distance across the water was not 
 a hundred yards ; and though she might be mistaken, and 
 her fancy was wandering when the form passed before her 
 sight, still she did not think she could be deceived. Aware 
 vhat her sex would be no protection against a rifle-bullet, 
 ihould an Iroquois get a view of her, the girl instinctively 
 drew back, taking care to conceal her person as much as 
 possible by the leaves, while she kept her own look riveted 
 on the opposite shore, vainly waiting for some time in the 
 fixpectation of the stranger. She was about to quit ho/ 
 
THE PATHFINDER 837 
 
 post in the bushes, and hasten to her uncle in order to 
 acquaint him of her suspicions, when she saw the branch of 
 an alder thrust beyond the bushes, on the other island, and 
 waved towards her significantly, and, as she fancied, in 
 token of amity. This was a breathless and a trying mo 
 ment, to one as inexperienced in frontier warfare as our 
 heroine, and yet she felt the great necessity that existed foi 
 preserving her recollection, and of acting with steadiness and 
 discretion. 
 
 It was one of the peculiarities of the exposure to vhisb 
 those who dwelt on the frontiers of America were liable to 
 bring out the moral qualities of the women to a degree that 
 they must themselves, under other circumstances, have 
 believed they were incapable of manifesting; and Mabel 
 well knew that the borderers loved to dwell, in their 
 legends, on the presence of mind, fortitude, and spirit, that 
 their wives and sisters had displayed, under circumstances 
 the most trying. Her emulation had been awakened by 
 what she had heard on such subjects ; and it at once struck 
 her, that now was the moment for her to show that she was 
 truly Sergeant Dunham s child. The motion of the branch 
 was such as, she believed, indicated amity ; and, after a 
 moment s hesitation, she broke off a twig, fastened it to a 
 stick, and, thrusting it through an opening, waved it in re 
 turn, imitating, as closely as possible, the manner of the 
 other. 
 
 This dumb show lasted two or three minutes on both 
 sides, when Mabel perceived that the bushes opposite were 
 cautiously pushed aside, and a human face appeared at an 
 opening. A glance sufficed to let Mabel see that it was the 
 countenance of a red-skin, as well as that of a woman. A 
 second and a better look satisfied her that it was the face of 
 the Dew-of-June, the wife of Arrowhead. During the tiino 
 she had travelled in company with this woman, Mabel had 
 been won by the gentleness of manner, the meek simplicity, 
 and the mingled awe and affection with which she regarded 
 her husband. Once or twice, in the course of the journey, 
 she fancied the Tuscarora had manifested towards herself 
 %n unpleasant degree of attention ; and on those ocoaeioni 
 
888 THE PATHFINDER. 
 
 it had struck her that his wife exhibited soirow *nd mortifi 
 cation. As Mabel, however, had more than compensated 
 for any pain she might, in this way, unintentionally have 
 caused her companion, by her own kindness of manner and 
 attentions, the woman had shown much attachment to her, 
 and they had parted, with a deep conviction on the mind 
 of our heroine, that in the Dew-of-June she had lost > 
 friend. 
 
 It is useless to attempt to analyze all the ways by which 
 the human heart is led into confidence. Such a feeling, 
 however, had the young Tuscarora woman awakened in the 
 breast of our heroine ; and the latter, under the impression 
 that this extraordinary visit was intended for her own good, 
 felt every disposition to have a closer communication. She 
 no longer hesitated about showing herself clear of the 
 bushes, and was not sorry to see the Dew-of-June imitate 
 her confidence, by stepping fearlessly out of her own cover. 
 The two girls, for the Tuscarora, though married, was even 
 younger than Mabel, now openly exchanged signs of friend 
 ship, and the latter beckoned to her friend to approach, 
 though she knew not the manner, herself, in which this 
 object could be effected. But the Dew-of-June was not 
 slow hi letting it be seen that it was in her power ; for, 
 disappearing a moment, she soon showed herself again in 
 the end of a bark canoe, the bows of which she had drawn 
 to the edge of the bushes, and of which the body still lay 
 in a sort of covered creek. Mabel was about to invite her 
 to cross, when her own name was called aloud, hi the sten 
 torian voice of her uncle. Making a hurried gesture for the 
 Tuscarora girl to conceal herself, Mabel sprang from the 
 bushes, and tripped up the glade towards the sounds, and 
 perceived that the whole party had just seated themselves 
 at breakfast; Cap having barely put his appetite under 
 sufficient restraint to summon her to join them. That this 
 was the most favorable instant for the interview flashed on 
 the mind of Mabel ; and, excusing herself on the plea of 
 not being prepared for the meal, she bounded back to the 
 thicket, and soon renewed he^ communications with the 
 young Indian woman. 
 
THE PATHFINDER. 389 
 
 Dew-of-June was quick of comprehension ; and with 
 half a dozen noiseless strokes of the paddles, her canoe was 
 concealed in the bushes of Station Island. In another 
 minute, Mabel held her hand, and was leading her through 
 the grove towards her own hut. Fortunately, the latter 
 was so placed as to be completely hidden from the sight of 
 those at the fire, and they both entered it unseen. Hastily 
 explaining to her guest, in the best manner she could, the 
 necessity of quitting her for a short time, Mabel, first plac 
 ing the Dew-of-June in her own room, with a full certainty 
 that she would not quit it until told to do so, went to tho 
 fire, and took her seat among the rest, with all the com 
 posure it was in her power to command. 
 
 " Late come, late served, Mabel," said her uncle, between 
 two mouthfuls of broiled salmon, for though the cookery 
 might be very unsophisticated on that remote frontier, the 
 viands were generally delicious ; " late come, late served : 
 it is a good rule, and keeps laggards up to their work." 
 
 " I am no laggard, uncle, for I have been stirring near 
 an hour, and exploring our island." 
 
 " It s little you ll make o that, Mistress Mabel," put in 
 Muir, " that s little by nature. Lundie, or it might be 
 better to style him Major Duncan in this presence " this 
 was said in consideration of the corporal and the common 
 men, though they were taking their meal a little apart 
 " it might be better to style him Major Duncan in this 
 presence, has not added an empire to his Majesty s domin 
 ions in getting possession of this island, which is likely to 
 equal that of the celebrated Sancho, in revenues and profits 
 Sancho of whom, doubtless, Master Cap, you ll often have 
 been reading in your leisure hours, more especially in calms, 
 and moments of inactivity." 
 
 " I know the spot you mean, quartermaster ; tencho s 
 Island coral rock, of new formation, and as bad a land 
 fell, in a dark night and blowing weather, as a sinner could 
 wish to keep clear of. It s a famous place for cocoa-nuts 
 and bitter water, that Sancho s Island ! " 
 
 " It s no very famous for dinners," returned Muir, repress 
 ing the smile that was struggling to his lips, out of respec* 
 
340 THE PATHFINDER. 
 
 to Mabel, " nor do I think there ll be much to choose be 
 tween its revenue and that of this spot. In my judgment, 
 Master Cap, this is a very unrnilitary position, and I look 
 to some calamity s befalling it, sooner or later." 
 
 " It is to be hoped not until our turn of duty is over," 
 observed Mabel. " I have no wish to study the French 
 language." 
 
 4< We might think ourselves happy, did it not prove to be 
 the Iroquois I have reasoned with Major Puncan on the 
 occupation ot this position, but A willfu man maun ha his 
 way. My first object, in accompanying this party, was to 
 endeavor to make myself acceptable and useful to your 
 beautiful niece, Master Cap ; and the second was to take 
 such an account of the stores that belong to my particular 
 department, as shall leave no question open to controversy, 
 concerning the manner of expenditure, when they shall have 
 disappeared by means of the enemy." 
 
 " Do you look upon matters as so serious ? " demanded 
 Cap, actually suspending his mastication of a bit of venison, 
 for he passed alternately, like a modern elegant, from fish 
 to flesh and back again, in the interest he took in the answer. 
 " Is the danger pressing ? " 
 
 " I ll no say just that ; and I ll no say just the contrary. 
 There is always danger in war, and there is more of it 
 at the advanced posts than at the main encampment. It 
 ought, therefore, to occasion no surprise were we to be 
 visited by the French at any moment." 
 
 " And what the devil is to be done in that case ? Sir 
 *nen and two women would make but a poor job in defend 
 ing such a place as this, should the enemy invade us, as no 
 doubt, Frenchman-like, they would take very good care to 
 come strong-handed." 
 
 " That we may depend on. Some very formidable force, 
 at the very lowest. A military disposition might be made, 
 iu defense of the island, out of all question, and according 
 to the art of war, though we would probably fail in the force 
 necessary to carry out the design, in any very creditable 
 manner. In the first place, a detachment should be sent 
 ^S to the store, with orders to annoy the enemy in landing 
 
THE PATHFINDER 341 
 
 A strong party ought instantly to be thrown into the block 
 house, as the citadel, for on that all the different detach 
 ments would naturally fall back for support, as the Frenc 
 advanced; and an entrenched camp might be laid cu 
 around the stronghold, as it would be very unmilitary indeed 
 to let the foe get near enough to the foot of the walls to 
 mine them. Chevaux-de-frise would keep the cayalry in 
 check, and as for the artillery, redoubts should be thrown 
 up, under cover of yon woods. Strong skirmishing parties, 
 moreover, would be exceedingly serviceable in retarding the 
 march of the enemy ; and these different huts, if properly 
 picketed and ditched, would be converted into very eligible 
 positions for that object." 
 
 " Whe-e-w ! quartermaster. And who the d 1 is to 
 
 find all the men to carry out such a plan ? " 
 
 " The king, out of all question, Master Cap. It is his 
 quarrel, and it s just he should bear the burden o it." 
 
 " And we are only six ! This is fine talking, with a 
 vengeance. You could be sent down to the shore to oppose 
 the landing, Mabel might skirmish with her tongue at least, 
 the soldier s wife might act chevaux-de-frise, to entangle the 
 cavalry, the corporal should command the entrenched camp, 
 his three men could occupy the five huts, and I would take 
 the block-house. Whe-e-e-w, you describe well, lieutenant, 
 and should have been a limner instead of a soldier ! " 
 
 " Na I ve been very literal and upright In my exposi 
 tion of matters. That there is no greater force here to 
 carr} out the plan is a fault of his Majesty s ministers, and 
 none of mine." 
 
 " But should our enemy really appear," asked Mabel, with 
 more interest than she might have shown had she not 
 remembered the guest in the hut, " what course ought we to 
 pursue ? " 
 
 " My advice would be to attempt to achieve that, pretty 
 Mabel, which rendered Xenophon so justly celebrated." 
 
 " I think you mean a retreat, though I half guess at your 
 allusion." 
 
 " You ve imagined my meaning from the possession of a 
 itrong native sense, young lady. I am aware that your 
 
342 THE PATHFINDER. 
 
 worthy fa,ther has pointed out to the corporal certain mode* 
 and methods by which he fancies this island could be held 
 in case the French should discover its position ; but the 
 excellent sergeant, though your father, and as good a man 
 in his duties as ever wielded a spontoon, is not the great 
 Lord Stair, or even the Duke of Marlborough. I ll no deny 
 the sergeant s merits in his particular sphere, though I can 
 not exaggerate qualities, however excellent, into those of 
 men who may be, in some trifling degree, his superiors. 
 Sergeant Dunham has taken counsel of his heart instead of 
 his head, in resolving to issue such orders ; but if the fort 
 fall the blame will lie on him that ordered it to be occupied, 
 and not on him whose duty it was to defend it. Whatever 
 may be the determination of the latter, should the French 
 and their allies land, a good commander never neglects the 
 preparations necessary to effect a retreat; and I would 
 advise Master Cap, who is the admiral of our navy, to have 
 a boat in readiness to evacuate the island if need comes to 
 need. The largest boat that we have left carries a very 
 ample sail, and by hauling it round here and mooring it 
 under those bushes there will be a convenient place for a 
 hurried embarkation, and then you ll perceive, pretty Mabel, 
 that it is scarce fifty yards before we shall be in a channel 
 between two other islands, and hid from the sight of those 
 who may happen to be on this." 
 
 " All that you say is very true, Mr. Muir ; but may not 
 the French come from that quarter themselves ? If it is so 
 good for a retreat, it is equally good for an advance." 
 
 " They ll no have the sense to do so discreet a thing," 
 returned Muir, looking furtively and a little uneasily around 
 him ; " they ll no have sufficient discretion. Your French 
 are a head-over-heels nation, and usually come forward in a 
 random way ; so we may look for them, if they come at all, 
 on the other side of the island." 
 
 The discourse now became exceeding desultory, touching 
 principally, however, on the probabilities of an invasion and 
 the best means of meeting it. 
 
 To most of this Mabel paid but little attention, though 
 ihe felt some surprise that Lieutenant Muir, an officei whose 
 
THE PATHFINDER. 343 
 
 character for courage stood well, should openly recommend 
 an abandonment of what appeared to her to be doubly 
 a duty, her father s character being connected with th. 
 defense of the island. Her mind, however, was so Erich 
 occupied with her guest that, seizing the first favorable mo 
 ment, she left the table and was soon in her own hut again. 
 Carefully fastening the door, and seeing that the simple cur 
 tain was drawn before the single little window, Mabel next 
 led the Dew-of-June, or June, as she was familiarly termed 
 by those who spoke to her in English, into the outer room, 
 making signs of affection and confidence. 
 
 " I am glad to see you, June," said Mabel, with one of 
 her sweetest smiles, and in her own winning voice ; " very 
 glad to see you what has brought you hither, and how did 
 you discover the island ? " 
 
 " Talk slow," said June, returning smile for smile, and 
 pressing the little hand she held with one of her own, that 
 was scarcely larger, though it had been hardened by labor, 
 " more slow too quick." 
 
 Mabel repeated her questions, endeavoring to repress the 
 impetuosity of her feelings, and she succeeded in speaking so 
 distinctly as to be understood. 
 
 " June, friend," returned the Indian woman. 
 
 " I believe you, June : from my soul I believe you ; 
 what has this to do with your visit ? " 
 
 " Friend come to see friend," answered June, again smil 
 ing openly in the other s face. 
 
 " There is some other reason, June ; else would you 
 never run this risk, and alone ; you are alone, June ? " 
 
 " June wid you no one else. June come alone, paddle 
 
 aoe." 
 
 " I hope so I think so nay, I know so. You would 
 not be treacherous with me, June ? " 
 
 " What treacherous ? " 
 
 " You would not betray me would not give me to the 
 French to the Iroquois to Arrowhead " June shook 
 her head earnestly " you would not sell my scalp ? " 
 
 Here June passed her arm fondly around the slender 
 of Mabel, and pressed her to her heart, with a tender- 
 
344 THE PATHFINDER. 
 
 ness and affection that brought tears into the eyes of our 
 heroine. It was done in the fond, caressing manner of a 
 woman, and it was scarcely possible that it should not ob 
 tain credit for sincerity, with a young and ingenuous person 
 of the same sex. Mabel returned the* pressure, and then 
 held the other off at the length of her arm, looking her 
 steadily in the face, and continued her inquiries. 
 
 If June has something to tell her friend, let her speak 
 plainly," she said. " My ears are open." 
 
 " June fraid Arrowhead kill her." 
 
 " But Arrowhead will never know it." Mabel s blood 
 mounted to her temples, as she said this ; for she felt that 
 she was urging a wife to be treacherous to her husband. 
 " That is, Mabel will not tell him." 
 
 " He bury tomahawk in June s head." 
 
 " That must never be, dear June ; I would rather you 
 should say no more than run this risk." 
 
 " Block-house good place to sleep good place to stay." 
 
 " Do you mean that I may save my life by keeping in the 
 block-house, June ? Surely, surely, Arrowhead will not 
 hurt you for telling me that. He cannot wish me any great 
 harm, for I never injured him." 
 
 " Arrowhead wish no harm to handsome pale-face," re 
 turned June, averting her face, and, though she always spoke 
 in the soft, gentle voice of an Indian girl, permitting its 
 notes to fall so low as to cause them to sound melancholy 
 and timid ; " Arrowhead love pale-face girl." 
 
 Mabel blushed, she knew not why, and, for a moment, 
 her questions were repressed by a feeling of inherent deli 
 cacy. But it was necessary to know more, for her appre 
 hensions had been keenly awakened, and she resumed her 
 inquiries. 
 
 " Arrowhead can have no reason to love or to hate vie? 
 she said. " Is he near you ? " 
 
 " Husband always near wife, here," said June, laying her 
 hand on her neart. 
 
 " Excellent creature ! But, tell me, June, ought I to 
 keep in the block-house to-day this morning now ? " 
 
 " Block-house very good ; good for squaw. Block-housi 
 got no scalp." 
 
 i 
 
THE PATHFINDER. 845 
 
 " I fear I understand you only too well. Do you wish to 
 ee my father ? " 
 
 " No here ; gone away." 
 
 " You cannot know that, June ; you see the island Is full 
 of his soldiers." 
 
 " No full ; gone away," here June held up four of her 
 fingers ; " so many red-coats." 
 
 " And Pathfinder would you not like to see the Path 
 finder ? he can talk to you in the Iroquois tongue." 
 
 " Tongue gone wid him," said June, laughing ; " keej 
 tongue in his moutV 
 
 There was something so sweet and contagious in the in 
 fantile laugh of an Indian girl, that Mabel could not refrain 
 from joining in it, much as her fears were aroused by all 
 that had passed. 
 
 " You appear to know, or to think you know, all about 
 us, June. But, if Pathfinder be gone, Eau-douce can speak 
 French too. You know Eau-douce ; shall I run and 
 bring him to talk with you ? " 
 
 " Eau-douce gone, too, all but heart ; that there." As 
 June said this, she laughed again, looked in different direc 
 tions, as if unwilling to confuse the other, and laid her hand 
 on Mabel s bosom. 
 
 Our heroine had often heard of the wonderful sagacity of 
 the Indians, and of the surprising manner in which they 
 noted all things, while they appeared to regard none, but 
 she was scarce prepared for the direction the discourse had 
 so singularly taken. Willing to change it, and, at the same 
 time, truly anxious to learn how great the danger that im- 
 )ended over them might really be, she rose from the camp- 
 otcol on which she had been seated, and, by assuming an 
 ^attitude of less affectionate confidence, she hoped to hear 
 more of that she really desired to learn, and to avoid allu 
 sions to that which she found so embarrassing. 
 
 " You know how much or how little you ought to tell me, 
 June," she said, " and I hope you love me well enough to 
 give me the information I ought to hear. My dear uncle, 
 coo, is on the island, and you are, or ought to be, his friend, 
 as well as mine ; and both of us will remember your conduct 
 when wo get back to Oswego. " 
 
846 THE PATHFINDER. 
 
 " Maybe never get back who know ? " This was said 
 doubtingly, or as one lays down an uncertain proposition, 
 and not with a taunt, or desire to alarm. 
 
 " No one knows what will happen, but God. Our lives 
 are in his hands. Still I think you are to be his instrument 
 m saving us." 
 
 This passed June s comprehension, and she only looked 
 her ignorance, for it was evident she wished to be of use. 
 
 " Block-house very good," she repeated, as soon as her 
 countenance ceased to express uncertainty, laying strong 
 emphasis on the two last words. 
 
 " Well, I understand this, June, and will sleep in it to 
 night. Of course I am to tell my uncle what you have 
 said." 
 
 The Dew-of-June started, and she discovered a very 
 manifest uneasiness at the interrogatory. 
 
 " No, no no, no," she answered, with a volubility 
 and vehemence that was imitated from the French of the 
 Canadas, " no good to tell Salt-water. He much talk and 
 long tongue. Think woods all water ; understand not ing. 
 Tell Arrowhead, and June die." 
 
 " You do my dear uncle injustice, for he would be as lit 
 tle likely to betray you as any one." 
 
 " No understand. Salt-water got tongue, but no eye, uo 
 ear, no nose, not ing but tongue, tongue, tongue/ 
 
 Although Mabel did not exactly coincide in this opinion, 
 she saw that Cap had not the confidence of the young In 
 dian woman, and that it was idle to expect she would con 
 sent to his being admitted to their interview. 
 
 " You appear to think you know our situation pretty well, 
 June," Mabel continued, " have you been on the island be 
 fore this visit ? " 
 
 " Just come." 
 
 * How, then, do you know that what you say is true ; 
 my father, the Pathfinder, and Eau-douce, may all be here 
 within the sound of my voice, if I choose to call them." 
 
 " All gone," said June, positively, sinHing good-humorediy 
 %t the same time. 
 
 " Nay, this is more than you can say certainly, not h*v 
 ing been over the island to examine it." 
 
THE PATHFINDER. 847 
 
 * Got good eyes ; see boat with men go away see ship 
 with Eau-douce." 
 
 " Then you have been some time watching us ; I think, 
 however, you have not counted them that remain." 
 
 June laughed, held up her four fingers again, and then 
 pointed to her two thumbs ; passing a finger over the first, 
 she repeated the words " Red-coats," and touching the last, 
 she added, " Salt-water," " Quartermaster." All this was 
 being very accurate, and Mabel began to entertain serious 
 doubts of the propriety of her permitting her visitor to de 
 part without her becoming more explicit. Still it was so 
 repugnant to her feelings to abuse the confidence this gentle 
 and affectionate creature had evidently reposed in her, that 
 Mabel had no sooner admitted the thought of summoning 
 her uncle than she rejected it, as unworthy of herself, and 
 unjust to her friend. To aid this good resolution, too, there 
 was the certainty that June would reveal nothing, but take 
 refuge in a stubborn silence, if any attempt were made to 
 coerce her. 
 
 " You think, then, June," Mabel continued, as soon as 
 these thoughts had passed through her mind, " that I had 
 better live in the block-house ? " 
 
 " Good place for squaw. Block-house got no scalp. 
 Logs t ick." 
 
 " You speak confidently, June, as if you had been in it, 
 and had measured its walls." 
 
 June laughed, and she looked knowing, though she said 
 nothing. 
 
 " Does any one but yourself know how to find this island ? 
 have any of the Iroquois seen it ? " 
 
 June looked sad, and she cast her eyes warily about her> 
 as if distrusting a listener. 
 
 " Tuscarora everywhere Oswego, here, Frontenac. 
 Mohawk everywhere. If he see June, kill her." 
 
 " But we thought that no one knew of this island, and 
 that we had no reason to fear our enemies while on it." 
 
 " Much eye, Iroquois." 
 
 " Eyes will not always do, June. This spot is hid from 
 urdinary sight, and few of even our OWE people know how 
 to find it." 
 
348 THE PATHFINDER. 
 
 "One man can tell some Yengeese talk .Preach." 
 
 Mabel felt a chill at her heart. All the suspiciors 
 against Jasper, which she had hitherto disdained entertain 
 ing, crowded in a body on her thoughts, and the sensation 
 that they brought was so sickening, that for an instant she 
 imagined she was about to faint. Arousing herself, and re 
 membering her promise to her father, she arose and walked 
 up and down the hut for a minute, fancying that Jasper s 
 delinquencies were naught to her, though her inmost heart 
 yearned with the desire to think him innocent. 
 
 16 1 understand your meaning, June," she then said ; " you 
 wish me to know that some one has treacherously told your 
 people where and how to find the island." 
 
 June laughed, for in her eyes artifice in war was oftener 
 a merit than a crime ; but she was too true to her tribe her 
 self, to say more than the occasion required. Her object 
 was to save Mabel, and Mabel only, and she saw no suffi 
 cient reason for " travelling out of the record," as the law 
 yers express it, in order to do anything else. 
 
 " Pale-face know now," she added ; " block-house good 
 for girl no matter for men and warriors." 
 
 " But it is much matter with me, June, for one of these 
 men is my uncle, whom I love, and the others are my 
 countrymen and friends. I must tell them what has passed." 
 
 " Then June be kill," returned the young Indian quietly, 
 though she spoke with concern. 
 
 " No they shall not know that you have been here. 
 Still, they must be on their guard, and we can all go into 
 the block-house." 
 
 " Arrowhead know see everything, and June be kill ; 
 June come to tell young pale-face friend, not to tell men. 
 Every warrior watch his own scalp. June squaw, and tell 
 squaw ; no tell men." 
 
 Mabel was greatly distressed at this declaration of her 
 wild friend, for it was now evident the young creature un 
 derstood that her communication was to go no further. 
 She was ignorant how far these pec pie considered the point 
 of honor interested in her keeping the secret ; and, most o/ 
 all, was she unable to say how far any indiscretion of hei 
 
THE PATHFINDER. 
 
 awn might actually commit June, and endanger her life. 
 All these considerations flashed on her mind, and reflection 
 only rendered their influence more painful. June, too, man 
 ifestly viewed the matter gravely, for she began to gaAer 
 up the different little articles she had dropped, in taking 
 Mabel s hand, and was preparing to depart. To attempt 
 detaining her was out of the question, and to part from her, 
 after all she had hazarded to serve her, was repugnant to 
 all the just and kind feelings of our heroine s nature. 
 
 " June," she said eagerly, folding her arms round the gen 
 tle, but uneducated being, " we are friends. From me you 
 have nothing to fear, for no one shall know of your visit. 
 If you could give me some signal just before the danger 
 comes, some sign by which to know when to go into the 
 block-house how to take care of myself " 
 
 June paused, for she had been in earnest in her intention 
 to depart ; and then she said quietly, 
 
 " Bring June pigeon." 
 
 " A pigeon ! Where shall I find a pigeon to bring you ? " 
 
 " Next hut bring old one June go to canoe." 
 
 " I think I understand you, June ; but had I not better 
 lead you back to the bushes, lest you meet some of the 
 men?" 
 
 " Go out first count men one, two, t ree, four, five, 
 six ; " here June held up her fingers and laughed ; " all out 
 of way good ; all but one call him one side. Then sing, 
 and fetch pigeon." 
 
 Mabel smiled at the readiness and ingenuity of the girl, 
 and prepared to execute her requests. At the door, how 
 ever, she stopped, and looked back entreatingly at the In 
 dian woman. 
 
 " Is there no hope of your telling me more, June ? " she 
 said. 
 
 " Know all now ; block-house good pigeon tell , Arrow 
 head kill." 
 
 The last words sufficed ; for Mabel could not urge fur 
 ther communications, when her companion herself told her 
 that the penalty of her revelations might be death by the 
 hand of her husband. Throwing open the door, she made a 
 
850 THE PATHFINDER. 
 
 sign of adieu to June, and went out of the hut. Mabel re 
 sorted to the simple expedient of the young Indian girl, to 
 ascertain the situation of the different individuals on the isl 
 and. Instead of looking about her with the intention of 
 recognizing faces and dresses, she merely counted them; 
 and found that three still remained at the fire, while two had 
 gone to the boat, one of whom was Mr. Muir. The sixth 
 man was her uncle ; and he was coolly arranging some fish 
 ing tackle, at no great distance from the fire. The woman 
 was just entering her own hut ; and this accounted for the 
 whole party. Mabel now, affecting to have dropped some 
 thing, returned nearly to the hut she had left, warbling an 
 ah", stooped as if to pick up some object from the ground, 
 and hurried towards the hut June had mentioned. This 
 was a dilapidated structure, and it had been converted by 
 the soldiers of the last detachment into a sort of store-house 
 for their live stock. Among other things, it contained a 
 few dozen pigeons, which were regaling on a pile of wheat 
 that had been brought off from one of the farms plundered 
 on the Canada shore. Mabel had not much difficulty in 
 catching one of these pigeons, although they fluttered and 
 flew about the hut, with a noise like that of drums ; and, 
 concealing it in her dress, she stole back towards her owa 
 hut with the prize. It was empty ; and, without doing 
 more than cast a glance in at the door, the eager girl hur 
 ried down to the shore. She had no difficulty in escaping 
 observation, for the trees and bushes made a complete cover 
 to her person. At the canoe she found June, who took the 
 pigeon, placed it in a basket of her own manufacturing, and 
 repeating the words, " Block-house good," she glided out of 
 the bushes and across the narrow passage as noiselessly as 
 she had come. Mabel waited some time to catch a signal 
 of leave-taking or amity, after her friend had landed, but 
 none was given. The adjacent islands, without exception, 
 were as quiet as if no one had ever disturbed the sublime 
 repose of nature ; and nowhere could any sign or symptom 
 be discovered, as Mabel then thought, that might denote the 
 proximity of the sort of danger of which June had given 
 notioe. 
 
THE PATHFINDER. 351 
 
 On returning, however, from the shore, Mabel was struck 
 with a little circumstance, that, in an ordinary situation, 
 would have attracted no attention, but which, now that her 
 (suspicions had been aroused, did not pass before her uneasy 
 eye unnoticed. A small piece of red bunting, such as is 
 used in the ensigns of ships, was fluttering at the lower 
 branch of a small tree, fastened in a way to permit it to blow 
 out, or to droop like a vessel s pennant. 
 
 Now that Mabel s fears were awakened, June herself could 
 not have manifested greater quickness in analyzing facts that 
 she believed might affect the safety of the party. She saw 
 at a glance that this bit of cloth could be observed from an 
 adjacent island ; that it lay so near the line between her 
 own hut and the canoe, as to leave no doubt that June had 
 passed near it, if not directly under it ; and that it might be 
 a signal to communicate some important fact connected with 
 the mode of attack, to those who were probably lying in 
 ambush near them. Tearing the little strip of bunting from 
 the tree, Mabel hastened on, scarce knowing what duty next 
 required. June might be false to her ; but her manner, her 
 looks, her affection, and her disposition as Mabel had known 
 it in the journey, forbade the idea. Then t came the allusion 
 to Arrowhead s admiration of the pale-face beauties, some 
 dim recollections of the looks of the Tuscarora, and a pain 
 ful consciousness that few wives could view with kindness 
 one who had estranged a husband s affections. None of 
 these images were distinct and clear, but they rather gleamed 
 over the mind of our heroine than rested in it, and they 
 quickened her pulses, as they did her step, without bringing 
 with them the prompt and clear decisions that usually fol 
 lowed her reflections. She had hurried onwards towards 
 the hut occupied by the soldier s wife, intending to remove 
 at once to the block-house with the woman, though she could 
 persuade no other to follow, when her impatient walk was 
 interrupted by the voice of Muir. 
 
 " Whither so fast, pretty Mabel," he cried, " and why so 
 given to solitude? the worthy sergeant will deride my 
 breeding, if he hear that his daughter passes the mornings 
 alone and unattended to, though he well knows that it is my 
 
 
352 THE PATHFINDER. 
 
 ardent wish to be her slave and companion, from the begin 
 ning of the year to its end." 
 
 " Surely, Mr. Muir, you must have some authority here,* 
 Mabel suddenly arrested her steps to say. " One of youi 
 rank would be listened to, at least, by a corporal." 
 
 I don t know that - I don t know that," interrupted 
 Muir, with an impatience and appearance of alarm that 
 ] night have excited Mabel s attention at another moment 
 Command is command, discipline, discipline, and authority, 
 authority. Your good father would be sore grieved did he 
 find me interfering to sully, or carry off the laurels he is 
 about to win ; and I cannot command the corporal, without 
 equally commanding the sergeant. The wisest way will bo 
 for me to remain in the obscurity of a private individual in 
 this enterprise ; and it is so that all parties, from Lundio 
 down, understand the transaction." 
 
 " This I know, and it may be well ; nor would I give my 
 dear father any cause of complaint, but you may influence 
 the corporal to his own good." 
 
 " I ll no say that," returned Muir, in his sly Scotch way ; 
 " it would be far safer to promise to influence him to his 
 injury. Mankind, pretty Mabel, have their peculiarities, 
 and to influence a fellow-being to his own good, is one of the 
 most difficult tasks of human nature, while the opposite is 
 just the easiest. You ll no forget this, my dear ; but bear 
 it in mind for your edification and government ; but what 
 is that you re twisting round your slender finger, as you may 
 be said to twist hearts ? " 
 
 " It is nothing but a bit of cloth a sort ot flag a 
 trifle that is hardly worth our attention at this grave mo 
 ment if" 
 
 " A trifle ! It s no so trifling as ye may imagine, Mistress 
 Mabel," taking the bit of bunting from her, and stretching 
 h at rail length with both his arms extended, while his face 
 grew grave, and his eye watchful. " Ye ll no ha been find- 
 vng this, Mabel Dunham, in the breakfast ? " 
 
 Mabel simply acquainted him with the spot where, and 
 the manner in which she had found the bit of cloth. While 
 he was speaking, the eye of the quartermaster was noli 
 
THE PATHFINDER. 353 
 
 quiet for a moment, glancing from the rag to the face of our 
 heroine, then back again to the rag. That his suspicions 
 were awakened was easy to be seen, nor was he long in let 
 ting it be known what direction they had taken. 
 
 " We are not in a part of the world where our ensigns 
 and gauds ought to be spread abroad to the wind, Mabel 
 Dunham ! " he said, with an ominous shake of the head. 
 
 " I thought as much myself, Mr. Muir, and brought away 
 the little flag, lest it might be the means of betraying our 
 presence here to the enemy, even though nothing is intended 
 by its display. Ought not my uncle to be made acquainted 
 with the circumstance ? " 
 
 " I no see the necessity for that, pretty Mabel, for as you 
 justly say it is a circumstance, and circumstances sometimes 
 worry the worthy mariner. But this flag, if flag it can be 
 called, belongs to a seaman s craft. You may perceive that 
 it is made of what is called bunting, and that is a description 
 of cloth used only by vessels for such purposes, our colors 
 being of silk, as you may understand, or painted canvas. 
 It s surprisingly like the fly of the Scud s ensign ! And now 
 I recollect me to have observed that a piece had been cut 
 from that very flag ! " 
 
 Mabel felt her heart sink, but she had sufficient self-com 
 mand not to attempt an answer. 
 
 " It must be looked to," Muir continued, " and after all, I 
 think it may be well to hold a short consultation with Mas 
 ter Cap, than whom a more loyal subject does not exist ID 
 the British empire." 
 
 " I have thought the warning so serious," Mabel rejoined 
 * that I am about to remove to the block-house, and to take 
 the woman with me." 
 
 " I do not see the prudence of that, Mabel. The block 
 house will be the first spot assailed, should there really be au 
 attack ; and it s no well provided for a siege, that must be 
 ill owed. If I might advise in so delicate a contingency, I 
 i?ould recommend your taking refuge in the boat, which, as 
 you may now perceive, is most favorably placed to retreat 
 by that channel opposite, where all in it would be hid by 
 the islands, iu one or two minutes. Water leaves no trail, 
 S3 
 
354 THE PATHFINDER. 
 
 as Pathfinder well expresses it, and there appear to be so 
 many different passages in that quarter, that escape would 
 be more probable. I ve always been of opinion that Lira 
 die hazarded too much, in occupying a post as far advanced, 
 and as much exposed, as this." 
 
 " It s too late to regret it now, Mr. Muir, and we have 
 only to consult our own security." 
 
 " And the king s honor, pretty Mabel. Yes, his Maj 
 esty s arms, and his glorious name, are not to be overlooked 
 01. any occasion." 
 
 " Then I think it might be better, if we all turned our eyes 
 towards the place that has been built to maintain them, in 
 stead of the boat," said Mabel, smiling ; " and so, Mr. Muir, 
 I am for the block-house, with a disposition to await there 
 the return of my father and his party. He would be sadly 
 grieved at finding we had fled, when he got back, successful 
 himself, and filled with the confidence of our having been 
 as faithful to our duties as he has been to his own." 
 
 " Nay, nay, for Heaven s sake, do not misunderstand me, 
 Mabel," Muir interrupted with some alarm of manner, " I 
 am far from intimating that any but you females ought to 
 take refuge in the boat. The duty of us men is sufficiently 
 plain, no doubt, and my resolution has been formed from 
 the first, to stand or fall by the block-house." 
 
 " And did you imagine, Mr. Muir, that two females could 
 row that heavy boat in a way to escape the bark canoe of 
 an Indian ? " 
 
 " Ah ! my pretty Mabel, love is seldom logical, and its 
 fears and misgivings are apt to warp the faculties. I only 
 ,aw your sweet person in possession of the means of safety, 
 and overlooked the want of ability to use them. But you ll 
 no be so cruel, lovely creature, as to impute to me as a 
 fault my intense anxiety on your own account S " 
 
 Mabel had heard enough. Her mind was too much oc- 
 . u pied with what had passed that morning, and with her 
 fears, to wish to linger further to listen to love speeches, 
 hat, in her most joyous and buoyant moments, she would 
 have found unpleasant. She took a hasty leave of her 
 companion, and was about to trip away towards the hut of 
 
THE PATHFINDER. 355 
 
 the other woman, when Muir arrested the movement, by 
 laying a hand on her arm. 
 
 "One word, Mabel," he said, "before you leave me. 
 This little flag may, or it may not, have a particular mean 
 ing ; if it has, now that we are aware of its being shown, 
 may it not be better to put it back again, while we watch 
 vigilantly for some answer, that may betray the conspiracy ; 
 and if it mean nothing, why nothing will follow." 
 
 " This may be all right, Mr. Muir, though if the whole is 
 accidental, the flag might be the occasion of the fort s being 
 discovered." 
 
 Mabel stayed to utter no more, but she was soon out of 
 sight, running into the hut towards which she had been first 
 proceeding. The quartermaster remained on the very spot, 
 and in the precise attitude in which she had left him, for 
 quite a minute, first looking at the bounding figure of the 
 girl, and then at the bit of bunting, which he still held be 
 fore him, in a way to denote indecision. His irresolution 
 lasted but for this minute, however, for he was soon beneath 
 tne tree, where he fastened the mimic flag to a branch again ; 
 though from his ignorance of the precise spot from which it 
 had been taken by Mabel, he left it fluttering from a part 
 of the oak where it was still more exposed than before, to 
 the eyes of any passenger on the river, though less in view 
 from the island itself. 
 
856 THE PATHFINDER 
 
 CHAPTER XXI. 
 
 one has had his supping mean 
 The cheese is put iuto the press, 
 The pans and howls clean scalded all, 
 Reared up against the milk-house wall. 
 
 COTTOH. 
 
 IT seemed strange to Mabel Dunham, as she passed aloug 
 on her way to find her female companion, that others should 
 be so composed, while she herself felt as if the respon 
 sibilities of life and death rested on her shoulders. It is 
 true, that distrust of June s motives mingled with her fore 
 bodings ; but when she came to recall the affectionate and 
 natural manner of the young Indian girl, and all the evi 
 dences of good faith and sincerity that she had seen in her 
 conduct, daring the familiar intercourse of their journey, she 
 rejected the idea, with the unwillingness of a generous dis 
 position to believe ill of others. She saw, however, that 
 she could not put her companions properly on their guard, 
 without letting them into the secret of her conference with 
 Tune ; and she found herself compelled to act cautiously 
 iind with a forethought to which she was unaccustomed 
 more especially in a matter of so much moment. 
 
 The soldier s wife was told to transport the necessaries 
 into the block-house, and admonished not to be far from it, 
 at any time during the day. Mabel did not explain her 
 reasons. She merely stated that she had detected some 
 signs in walking about the island, that induced her to appre 
 hend that the enemy had more knowledge of its position 
 than had been previously believed, and that they two, at 
 least, would do well to be in readiness to seek a refuge at 
 the shortest notice. It was not difficult to arouse the appre 
 hension of this person, who, though a stout-hearted Scotch 
 woman, was ready enough to listen to anything that con 
 
THE PATHFINDER. 857 
 
 firmed her dread of Indian cruelties. As soon as Mabel 
 believed that her companion was sufficiently frightened to 
 make her wary, she threw out some hints, touching the in 
 expediency of letting the soldiers know the extent of their 
 own fears. This was done with a view to prevent dis 
 cussions and inquiries that might embarrass our heroine ; 
 she determining to render her uncle, the corporal, and hia 
 men, more cautious, by adopting a different course. Un 
 fortunately, the British army could not have furnished a 
 worse person for the particular duty that he was now re 
 quired to discharge, than Corporal McNab, the individual 
 who had been left in command during the absence of Ser 
 geant Dunham. On the one hand he was resolute, prompt, 
 familiar with all the details of a soldier s life, and used to 
 war ; on the other, he was supercilious as regards the pro 
 vincials, opinionated on every subject connected with the 
 narrow limits of his professional practice, much disposed to 
 fancy the British empire the centre of all that is excellent 
 in the world, and Scotland the focus of, at least, all moral 
 excellence in that empire. In short, he was an epitome, 
 though in a scale suited to his rank, of those very qualities 
 which were so peculiar to the servants of the crown that 
 were sent into the colonies, as these servants estimated 
 themselves in comparison with the natives of the country ; 
 or, in other words, he considered the American as an 
 animal inferior to the parent stock, and viewed all his 
 notions of military service, in particular, as undigested and 
 absurd. Braddock, himself, was not less disposed to take 
 advice from a provincial, than his humble imitator ; and he 
 had been known, on more than one occasion, to demur 
 to the directions and orders of two or three commissioned 
 officers of the corps, who happened to be bora in America, 
 dmply for that reason ; taking care, at the same time, with 
 true Scottish wariness, to protect himself from the pains and 
 penalties of positive disobedience. A more impracticable 
 subject, therefore, could not well have offered for the pur 
 pose of Mabel, and yet she felt obliged to lose no time io 
 cutting her plan in execution. 
 
 " My father has left you a responsible command, corporal, 
 
858 THE PATHFINDER. 
 
 she said, as soon as she could catch McNab a little apart 
 from the rest of the soldiers ; " for should the island fall 
 into the hands of the enemy, not only would we be 
 captured, but the party that is now out would in all prob 
 ability become their prisoners also." 
 
 v It needs no journey from Scotland to this place, to 
 know the facts needful to be o that way of thinking," re 
 turned McNab, dryly. 
 
 " I do not doubt your understanding it, as well as myself, 
 Mr. McNab ; but I m fearful that you veterans, accustomed 
 as you are to dangers and battles, are a little apt to over 
 look some of the precautions that may be necessary in a 
 situation as peculiar as ours." 
 
 " They say Scotland is no conquered country, young 
 woman, but I m thinking there must be some mistak in 
 the matter, as we, her children, are so drowsy-headed, and 
 apt to be o ertaken when we least expect it." 
 
 " Nay, my good friend, you mistake my meaning. In the 
 first place, I m not thinking of Scotland at all, but of this 
 island; and then I am far from doubting your vigilance 
 when you think it necessary to practice it ; but my great 
 fear is that there may be danger to which your courage will 
 make you indifferent." 
 
 " My courage, Mistress Dunham, is doubtless of a very 
 poor quality, being nothing but Scottish courage; your 
 father s is Yankee, and were he here amang us, we should 
 see different preparations beyond a doubt. Well, times are 
 getting wrang, when foreigners hold commissions and carry 
 halberds in Scottish corps ; and I no wonder that battles 
 are lost, and campaigns go wrang end foremost." 
 
 Mabel was almost in despair, but the quiet warning of 
 June was still too vividly impressed on her mind to allow 
 her to yield the matter. She changed her mode of operat 
 ing, therefore, still clinging to the hope of getting the whole 
 p>irty within the block-house, without being compelled to 
 betray the source whence she obtained her notices of the 
 necessity of vigilance. 
 
 " I lare say you are right, Corporal McNab," she ob 
 served, " for I ve often heard of the heroes of your country 
 
THE PATHFINDER. 359 
 
 who have been among the first of the civilized world, if 
 v hat they tell me of them is true." 
 
 " Have you read the history of Scotland, Mistress Dun 
 ham?" demanded the corporal, looking up at his pretty 
 companion, for the first time, with something like a smile 
 on his hard, repulsive countenance. 
 
 " I have read a little of it, corporal, but I ve heard much 
 more. The lady who brought me up had Scottish blood ? n 
 her veins, and was fond of the subject ! " 
 
 " I ll warrant ye, the sergeant no troubled himself .0 
 eij^tiate on the renown of the country where his regiment 
 was raised ? " 
 
 " My father has other things to think of, and the little I 
 know, was got from the lady I have mentioned." 
 
 She ll no be forgetting to tall ye o Wallace ? " 
 
 " Of him I ve even read a good deal." 
 
 " And o Bruce and the affair o Bannock-burn ? " 
 
 " Of that, too, as well as of Culloden-muir." 
 
 The last of these battles was then a recent event, it hav 
 ing actually been fought within the recollection of our 
 heroine ; whose notions of it, however, were so confused 
 that she scarcely appreciated the effect her allusion might 
 produce on her companion. She knew it had been a 
 victory, and had often heard the guests of her patroness 
 mention it with triumph ; and she fancied their feelings 
 would find a sympathetic chord in those of every British 
 soldier. Unfortunately, McNab had fought throughout that 
 luckless day, on the side of the Pretender ; and a deep scar 
 that garnished his face, had been left there by the sabre of 
 a German soldier, in the service of the House of Hanover. 
 He fancied that his wound bled afresh at Mabel ? alluwou ; 
 ind it is certain that the blood rushed to his ace : A 
 .orrent, as if it would pour out of his skin at the cicatrix. 
 
 " Hoot ! hoot awa ! " he fairly shouted, " with your Cul* 
 oden and Sherif-muirs, young woman ; ye ll no be ur der- 
 standing the subject at all, and will manifest not only 
 wisdom, but modesty, in speaking o your ain country and 
 i:s many failings. King George has some loyal subjects in 
 the colonies, na doubt ; but twill be a lang time bafore he 
 or hears any guid of them." 
 
860 THE PATHFINDER. 
 
 Mabel was surprised at the corporal s heat, for she had 
 not the smallest idea where the shoe pinched ; but she was 
 determined not to give up the point. 
 
 " I ve always heard that the Scotch had two of the good 
 qualities of soldiers/ she said, "courage and circumspec 
 tion ; and I feel persuaded that Corporal McNab will sus 
 tain the national renown." 
 
 " Ask ye r own father, Mistress Dunham : he is acquaint 
 with Corporal McNab, and will no be backward to point 
 out his demerits. We have been in battle the gither, and 
 He is my superior officei, and has a sort o official right to 
 give the characters of his subordinates." 
 
 " My father thinks well of you, McNab, or he would not 
 have left you in charge of this island and all it contains, 
 his own daughter included. Among other things I well know 
 that he calculates largely on your prudence. He expects 
 the block-house, in particular, to be strictly attended to." 
 
 " If he wishes to defend the honor of the 55th behind 
 logs, he ought to have remained in command himsal ; for, 
 to speak frankly, it goes against a Scotsman s bluid and 
 opinions, to be beaten out of the field even before he is at 
 tacked. We are broadsword men, and love to stand foot 
 to foot with the foe. This American mode of fighting, that 
 is getting into so much favor, will destroy the reputation of 
 his Majesty s army, if it no destroy its spirit." 
 
 " No true soldier despises caution. Even Major Duncan 
 himself, than whom there is none braver, is celebrated for 
 his care of his men." 
 
 " Lundie has his weakness, and is fast forgetting the 
 broadsword and open heaths, in his tree and rifle practice. 
 But, Mistress Mabel, tak the word of an old soldier, who 
 has seen his fifty -fifth year, when he tails ye, that there is 
 DC Hurer method to encourage your enemy than to seein to 
 fr,ar him ; and that there is no danger in this Indian warfare, 
 that the fancies and imaginations of your Americans have 
 iiot augmented and enlarged upon, until they see a savage 
 in every bush. We Scots come from a naked region, and 
 have no need, and less relish for covers, and so yell be see* 
 ing, Mistress Dunham " 
 
THE PATHFINDER. . 361 
 
 The corporal gave a spring into the air, fell forward on 
 his face, and rolled over on his back the whole passing so 
 suddenly, that Mabel had scarcely heard the sharp crack of 
 the rifle that sent a bullet through his body. Our heiX)ine 
 did not shriek did not even tremble ; the occurrence was 
 too sudden, too awful, and too unexpected for that exhibition 
 of weakness : on the contrary, she stepped hastily forward, 
 with a natural impulse to aid her companion. There was 
 just enough of life left in McNab to betray his entire con 
 sciousuess of all that had passed. His countenance had the 
 wild look of one who had been overtaken by death, by sur 
 prise ; and Mabel, in her cooler moments, fancied that he 
 showed the tardy repentance of a willful and obstinate sinner. 
 
 " Yell be getting into the block-house as fast as possi 
 ble," McNab whispered, as Mabel leaned over him, to catch 
 his dying words. 
 
 Then came over our heroine the full consciousness of her 
 situation, and of the necessity of exertion. She cast a 
 rapid glance at the body at her feet, saw that it had ceased 
 to breathe, and fled. It was but a few minutes run to the 
 block-house, the door of which Mabel had barely gained, 
 when it was closed violently in her face by Jennie, the sol 
 dier s wife, who, in blind terror, thought only of her own 
 safety. The reports of five or six rifles were heard while 
 Mabel was calling out for admittance ; and the additional 
 terror they produced, prevented the woman within from 
 undoing quickly the very fastenings she had been so ex 
 pert in applying. After a minute s delay, however, Mabel 
 found the door reluctantly yielding to her constant pressure, 
 -d she forced her slender body through the opening, the 
 Distant it was large enough to allow of its passage. By 
 this time, Mabel s heart ceased to beat tumultuously, and 
 she gained sufficient self-command to act collectedly. In 
 stead of yielding to the almost convulsive efforts of her 
 companion to close the door again, she held it open long 
 enough to ascertain that none of her own party was in 
 b ght, or likely, on the instant, to endeavor to gain admis 
 sion ; she then allowed the opening to be shut. Her orders 
 ind proceedings now became more calm and rational. But 
 
862 THE PATHFINDER. 
 
 a single bar was crossed, and Jennie was directed to stimj 
 in readiness to remove even that, at any application from a 
 friend. She then ascended the ladder to the room above, 
 where, by means of loop-holes, she was enabled to get as 
 good a view of the island as the surrounding bushes would 
 allow. Admonishing her associate below to be firm and 
 steady, she made as careful examination of the environs as 
 her situation permitted. 
 
 To her great surprise, Mabel could not, at first, see a liv 
 ing soul on the island, friend or enemy. Neither French 
 man nor Indian was visible, though a small straggling white 
 cloud that was floating before the wind, told her in which 
 quarter she ought to look for them. The rifles had been 
 discharged from the direction of the island whence June 
 had come, though whether the enemy were on that island, 
 or had actually landed on her own, Mabel could not say. 
 Going to the loop that commanded a view of the spot 
 where McNab lay, her blood curdled at percehing all three 
 of his soldiers lying apparently lifeless at his side. These 
 men had rushed to a common centre at the first alarm, and 
 had been shot down almost simultaneously by the invisible 
 foe, whom the corporal had affected to despise. 
 
 Neither Cap nor Lieutenant Muir was to be seen. With 
 a beating heart, Mabel examined every opening through the 
 trees, and ascended even to the upper story or garret of the 
 block-house, where she got a full view of the whole island, 
 BO far as its covers would allow ; but with no better suc 
 cess. She had expected to see the body of her uncle lying 
 on the grass, like those of the soldiers, but it was nowhere 
 visible. Turning towards the spot where the boat lay, Ma 
 bel saw that it was still fastened to the shore ; and then she 
 supposed that, by some accident, Muir had been prevented 
 from effecting his retreat in that quarter. In short, the 
 island lay in the quiet of the grave, the bodies of the sol 
 diers rendering the scene as fearful as it was extraordinary. 
 
 " For God s holy sake, Mistress Mabel," called out the 
 woman from below, for, though her fear had got to be too 
 ungovernable to allow her to keep silence, our , heroine s 
 superior refinement, more than the rp.gitno.nf.q] gfafinp nf U ei 
 
THE PATHFINDER. 868 
 
 still controlled her mode of address ; " foi his holy 
 sake, Mistress Mabel, tell me if any of our friends are liv 
 ing ! I think I hear groans that grow fainter and fainte^ 
 and fear that they will all be tomahawked ! " 
 
 Mabel now remembered that one of the soldiers was this 
 woman s husband, and she trembled at what might be the 
 immediate effect of her sorrow, should his death become 
 suddenly known to her. The groans, too, gave a little 
 hope, though she feared they might come from her uncle, 
 who lay out of view. 
 
 " We are in his holy keeping, Jennie," she answered, 
 u We must trust in Providence, while we neglect none of its 
 benevolent means of protecting ourselves. Be careful 
 with the door ; on no account open it, without my direc 
 tions." 
 
 " O ! tell me, Mistress Mabel, if you can anywhere see 
 Sandy ? If I could only let him know that I m in safety, 
 the guid man would be easier in his mind, whether free or a 
 prisoner ! " 
 
 Sandy was Jennie s husband, and he lay dead in plain 
 view of the loop, from which our heroine was then look 
 ing. 
 
 " You no tell me if you re seeing of Sandy," the woman 
 repeated from below, impatient at Mabel s silence. 
 
 " There are some of our people gathered about the body 
 of McNab," was the answer, for it seemed sacrilegious in 
 her eyes to tell a direct untruth, under the awful circum 
 stances in which she was placed. 
 
 " Is Sandy amang them ? " demanded the woman, in * 
 voice that sounded appalling by its hoarseness and energy. 
 
 " He may be certainly for I see one, two, three, four, 
 and all in the scarlet coats of the regiment." 
 
 " Sandy ! " called out the woman frantically ; " why d ye 
 no care for yoursal , Sandy ? Come hither the instant man, 
 and share your wife s fortunes, in weal or woe. It s no a 
 moment for your silly discipline, and vain-glorious notions 
 of honor ! Sandy ! Sandy ! " 
 
 Mabel heard the bar turn, and then the door creaked on 
 ita hinges. Expectation, not to say terror, held her in 
 
364 THE PATHFINDER. 
 
 suspense at the loop, and she soon beheld Jennie rushing 
 through the bushes, in the direction of the cluster of dead. 
 It took the woman but an instant to reach the fatal spot. 
 So sudden and unexpected had been the blow, that she, in 
 her terror, did not appear to comprehend its weight. Some 
 wild and half-frantic notion of a deception troubled her 
 fancy, and she imagined that the men were trifling with her 
 fears. She took her husband s hand, and it was still warm, 
 while she thought a covert smile was struggling on his lip. 
 
 " Why will ye fool life away, Sandy ? " she cried, pulling 
 at the arm. " Ye ll all be murdered by these accursed 
 Indians, and you no takin to the block like trusty soldiers ! 
 Awa ! awa , and no be losing the precious moments." 
 
 In her desperate efforts, the woman pulled the body of 
 her husband in a way to cause the head to turn completely 
 over, when the small hole in the temple, caused by the 
 entrance of a rifle bullet, and a few drops of blood trickling 
 over the skin, revealed the meaning of her husband s silence. 
 As the horrid truth flashed, in its full extent, on her mind, 
 the woman clasped her hands, gave a shriek that pierced 
 the glades of every island near, and fell at length on the 
 dead body of the soldier. Thrilling, heart-reaching, appall 
 ing as was that shriek, it was melody to the cry that fol 
 lowed it so quickly as to blend the sounds. The terrific 
 war-whoop arose out of the covers of the island, and some 
 twenty savages, horrible in their paint and the other devices 
 of Indian ingenuity, rushed forward, eager to secure the 
 coveted scalps. Arrowhead was foremost, and it was his 
 tomahawk that brained the insensible Jennie, and her reek 
 ing hair was hanging at his girdle as a trophy, in less than 
 two minutes after she had quitted the block-house. His 
 companions were equally active, and McNab and his soldiers 
 no longer presented the quiet aspect of men who slumbered. 
 They were left in their gore, unequivocally butchered 
 aorpsos. 
 
 All this passed in much less time than has been required 
 to relate it, and all this did Mabel witness. She had stood 
 riveted to the spot, gazing on the whole horrible scene, ai 
 if enchained by some charm, nor did the idea of self, or of 
 
THE PATHFINDER. 36 
 
 her own danger, once obtrude itself on her thoughts. But 
 no sooner did she perceive the place where the men had 
 fallen, covered with savages, exulting in the success of theii 
 surprise, than it occurred to her that Jennie had left the 
 block -house door unbarred. Her heart beat violently, for 
 that defense alone stood between her and immediate death, 
 and she sprang towards the ladder, with the intention of de 
 scending to make sure of it. Her foot had not yet reached 
 the floor of the second story, however, when she heard the 
 door grating on its hinges, and she gave herself up for lost. 
 Sinking on her knees, the terrified but courageous girl en 
 deavored to prepare herself for death, and to raise her 
 thoughts to God. The instinct of life, however, was too 
 strong for prayer, and while her lips moved, the jealous 
 senses watched every sound beneath. When her ears heard 
 the bars, which went on pivots secured to the centre of the 
 door, turning into their fastenings, not one, as she herself 
 had directed, with a view to admit her uncle, should he 
 apply, but all three, she started again to her feet, all spirit 
 ual contemplations vanishing hi her actual temporal condi 
 tion, and it seemed as if all her faculties were absorbed in 
 the sense of hearing. 
 
 The thoughts are active, in a moment so fearful. At first 
 Mabel fancied that her uncle had entered the block-house, 
 and she was about to descend the ladder and throw herself 
 into his arms ; then the idea that it might be an Indian, 
 who had barred the door to shut out intruders, while he 
 plundered at leisure, arrested the movement. The profound 
 stillness below was unlike the bold, restless movements of 
 Cap, and it seemed to savor more of the artifices of an 
 enemy ; if a friend at all, it could only be her uncle or the 
 quartermaster ; for the horrible conviction now presented 
 itself to our heroine, that to these two, and herself, were 
 the whole party suddenly reduced, if, indeed, the two latter 
 survived. This consideration held Mabel in check, and foi 
 quite two minutes more, a breathless silence reigned in the 
 building. During this time, the girl stood at the foot of 
 the upper ladder, the trap which led to the lower opening 
 on the opposite side of the floor ; the eyes of Mabel were 
 riveted on this spot, for she now began to expect to sec at 
 
866 THE PATHFINDER. 
 
 each instant, the horrible sight of a savage face at the hole. 
 This apprehension soon became so intense, that she looked 
 about her for a place of concealment. The procrastination 
 of the catastrophe she now fully expected, though it were 
 only for a moment, afforded a relief. The room contained 
 several barrels, and behind two of these Mabel crouched, 
 placing her eyes at an opening by which she could still 
 watch the trap. She made another effort to pray, but the 
 moment was too horrible for that relief. She thought, too, 
 that she heard a low rustling, as if one were ascending the 
 lower ladder, with an effort at caution so great as to betray 
 itself by its own excess ; then followed a creaking, that she 
 was certain came from one of the steps of the ladder, which 
 had made the same noise under her own light weight, as 
 she ascended. This was one of those instants, into which 
 are compressed the sensations of years of ordinary existence. 
 Life, death, eternity, and extreme bodily pain, were all 
 standing out in bold relief, from the plane of every-day 
 occurrences ; and she might have been taken, at that mo 
 ment, for a beautiful, pallid representation of herself, equally 
 without motion, and without vitality. But, while such was 
 the outward appearance of the form, never had there been a 
 time in her brief career, when Mabel heard more acutely, 
 saw more clearly, or felt more vividly. As yet, nothing 
 was visible at the trap ; but her ears, rendered exquisitely 
 sensitive by intense feeling, distinctly acquainted her that 
 some one was within a few inches of the opening of the 
 floor ; next followed the evidence of her eyes, which beheld 
 the dark hair of an Indian rising so slowly through the 
 passage, that the movements of the head might be likened 
 to that of the minute-hand of a clock ; then came the dark 
 skin and wild features, until the whole of the swarthy face 
 had risen above the floor. The human countenance seldom 
 appears to advantage when partially concealed, and Mabel 
 imagined many additional horrors as she first saw the black, 
 roving eyes, and the expression of wildness, as the savage 
 countenance was revealed, as it might be, inch by inch ; bull 
 when the entire head was raised above the floor, a second I 
 and better look assured our heroine that she saw the gentlft . 
 anxious, and even handsome face, of June. 
 
THE PATHFINDEB. 867 
 
 CHAPTER XXn. 
 
 Spectre though I be, 
 I am not sent to scare thee or deceive; 
 But in reward of thy fidelity. 
 
 WORDSWO: 
 
 IT would be difficult to say which evinced the most satis* 
 faction, when Mabel sprang to her feet and appeared in the 
 centre of the room our heroine on finding that her visitor 
 was the wife of Arrowhead, and not Arrowhead himself, or 
 June, at discovering that her advice had been followed, and 
 that the block-house contained the person she had so anx 
 iously and almost hopelessly sought. They embraced each 
 other, and the unsophisticated Tuscarora woman laughed in 
 her sweet accents, as she held her friend at arm s length, 
 and made certain of her presence. 
 
 " Block-house good," said the young Indian ; " got no 
 scalp." 
 
 " It is indeed good, June," Mabel answered with a shud 
 der, veiling her eyes at the same time, as if to shut out a 
 view of the horrors she had so lately witnessed. " Tell me, 
 for God s sake ! if you know what has become of my dear 
 uncle ? I have looked in all directions without being able 
 to see him." 
 
 " No here, in block-house ? " June asked, with some cu 
 riosity. 
 
 " Indeed he is not I am quite alone in thia place 
 Jsnnie, the woman who was with me, having rushed out to 
 join her husband, and perishing for her imprudence." 
 
 ** June know June see, very bad ; Arrowhead no fee 
 for any wife no feel for his own." 
 
 " Ah ! June, your life, at least, is safe ! " 
 
 " Don t know Arrowhead kill me if he know all." 
 
 " God bless and protect you June ; He will bless and 
 
368 THE PATHFINDER. 
 
 protect you for your humanity. Tell me what is to be done, 
 and if my poor uncle is still living ? " 
 
 " Don t know. Salt-water has boat ; maybe he go on 
 river." 
 
 " The boat is still on the shore, but neither my uncle nor 
 the quartermaster is anywhere to be seen." 
 
 " No kill, or June would see. Hide away. Red-man 
 hide ; no shame for pale-face." 
 
 It is not the shame that I fear for them, but the oppor 
 tunity. Your attack was awfully sudden, June ! " 
 
 " Tuscarora ! " returned the other, smiling with exulta 
 tion at the dexterity of her husband. " Arrowhead great 
 warrior ! " 
 
 " You are too good and gentle for this sort of life, June 
 you cannot be happy in such scenes ! " 
 
 June s countenance grew clouded, and Mabel fancied there 
 was some of the savage fire of a chief in her brow as she 
 answered : 
 
 " Yengeese too greedy take away all hunting-grounds 
 
 chase Six Nation from morning to night ; wicked king 
 
 wicked people. Pale-face very bad." 
 
 Mabel knew that, even in that distant day, there was much 
 truth in this opinion, though she was too well instructed not 
 to understand that the monarch, in this as in a thousand 
 other cases, was blamed for acts of which he was most 
 probably ignorant. She felt the justice of the rebuke, 
 therefore, too much to attempt an answer, and her thoughts 
 naturally reverted to her own situation. 
 
 " And what am I to do, June ? " she demanded. " It 
 cannot be long before your people will assault this build 
 ing. 
 
 <r Block-house good got no scalp." 
 
 u But they will soon discover that it has got no garrison, 
 too, if they do not know it already. You yourself told me 
 the number of people that were on the island, and doubtiesi 
 you learned it from Arrowhead." 
 
 " Arrowhead know," answered June, holding up six fin 
 gers to indicate the number of the men. " All led-men 
 know. Four lose scalp already two got em yet I " 
 
THE PATHFINDER. 369 
 
 " Do not speak of it, June ; the horrid thought curdles 
 n.y blood. Your people cannot know that I am alone in 
 the block-house, but may fancy my uncle and the quarter 
 master with me, and may set fire to the building, in order 
 to dislodge them. They tell me that fire is the great dan 
 ger to such places." 
 
 " No burn block-house," said June, quietly. 
 
 " You cannot know that, my good June, and I ha^e no 
 means to keep them off." 
 
 " No burn block-house. Block-house good got no 
 scalp." 
 
 " But tell me why, June ; I fear they will burn it ! " 
 
 " Block-house wet much rain logs green no burn 
 easy. Red-man know it fine t ing ; then no burn it to 
 tell Yengeese that Iroquois been there. Fader come back, 
 miss block-house, no found. No, no ; Injin too much cun 
 ning ; no touch anything." 
 
 " I understand you, June, and hope your prediction may 
 be true ; for as regards niy dear father, should he escape 
 perhaps he is already dead or captured, June ? " 
 
 " No touch fader don t know where he gone ; water 
 got no trail red-man can t follow. No burn block-house 
 block-house good got no scalp." 
 
 " Do you think it possible for me to remain here safely 
 until my father returns ? " 
 
 " Don t know daughter tell best, when fader come 
 back." 
 
 Mabel felt uneasy at the glance of June s dark eye, as she 
 uttered this, for the unpleasant surmise arose that her com 
 panion was endeavoring to discover a fact that might be use 
 ful to her own people, while it would lead to the destruction 
 of her parent and his party. She was about to make an 
 evasive answer, when a heavy push at the outer door sud- 
 lauly drew all her thoughts to the immediate danger. 
 
 " They come ! " she exclaimed ; " perhaps, June, it is my 
 incle, or the quartermaster. I cannot keep jut even Mr 
 Muir at a moment like this." 
 
 " Why no look ? plenty loop-bole made purpose." 
 
 Mabel took the hint, and going to one of the downward 
 24 
 
370 THE PATHFINDER. 
 
 loops that had been cut through the logs in the part that 
 overhung the basement, she cautiously raised the little block 
 that ordinarily filled the small hole, and caught a glance at 
 what was passing at the door. The start and changing 
 countenance told her companion that some of her own peo 
 ple were below. 
 
 " Red-man," said June, lifting a finger in admonition to 
 be prudent. 
 
 Four ; and horrible in their paint and bloody trophies. 
 Arrowhead is among them." 
 
 June had moved to a corner where several spare rifles 
 were deposited, and had already taken one into her hand, 
 when the name of her husband appeared to arrest her move 
 ments. It was but for an instant, however, for she imme 
 diately went to the loop, and was about to thrust the muzzle 
 of the piece through it, when a feeling of natural aversion 
 induced Mabel to seize her arm. 
 
 " No, no, no, June," said the latter ; " not against your 
 own husband, though my life be the penalty." 
 
 " No hurt Arrowhead," returned June, with a slight 
 shudder ; " no hurt red-man at all. No fire at em 
 only scare." 
 
 Mabel now comprehended the intention of June, and no 
 longer opposed it. The latter thrust the muzzle of the rifle 
 through the loop-hole, and taking care to make noise enough 
 to attract attention, she pulled the trigger. The piece had 
 no sooner been discharged than Mabel reproached her friend 
 for the very act that was intended to serve her. 
 
 " You declared it was not your intention to fire," she 
 said, " and you may have destroyed your own husband." 
 
 " All run away before I fire," returned June laughing^ 
 and going to another loop to watch the movements of her 
 friends, laughing still heartier. " See get cover every 
 warrior. Think Salt-water and quartermaster here. Take 
 good care now." 
 
 " Heaven be praised ! And now, June, I may hope for a 
 little time to compose my thoughts to prayer, that I may not 
 die like Jennie, thinking only of life and the things of the 
 world." 
 
THE PATHFINDER. 371 
 
 June laid aside the rifle, and came and seated herself 
 near the box on which Mabel had sunk, under that physical 
 reaction which accompanies joy as well as sorrow. Sho 
 looked steadily in our heroine s face, and the latter thought 
 Uiat her countenance had an expression of severity ningled 
 with its concern. 
 
 "Arrowhead great warrior," said the Tuscarora s wife 
 "All the gals of tribe look at him much. The pale face 
 beauty has eyes too ? " 
 
 " June ! what do these words that look imply ? what 
 would you say ? " 
 
 " Why you so fraid June shoot Arrowhead ? " 
 
 " Would it not have been horrible to see a wife destroy 
 her own husband ! No, June ; rather would I have died 
 myself." 
 
 " Very sure, dat all ! " 
 
 " That was all, June, as God is my judge ; and surely 
 that was enough. No, no ; there have been sufficient 
 horrors to-day, without increasing them by an act like this. 
 What other motive can you suspect ? " 
 
 " Don t know. Poor Tuscarora gal very foolish. Arrow 
 head great chief, and look all around him. Talk of pale 
 face beauty hi his sleep. Great chief like many wives." 
 
 " Can a chief possess more than one wife, June, among 
 your people ? " 
 
 " Have as many as he can keep great hunter marry 
 often. Arrowhead got only June now, but he look too 
 much see too much talk too much of pale-face gal ! " 
 
 Mabel was conscious of this fact, which had distressed her 
 not a little in the course of their journey ; but it shocked her 
 to hear this allusion, coming, as it did, from the mouth of 
 the wife herself. She knew that habit and opinions made 
 great differences in such matters, but, in addition to the 
 pain and mortification she experienced at being the unwill 
 ing rival of a wife, she felt an apprehension that jealousy 
 would be but an equivocal guarantee for her personal safety, 
 in her present situation. A closer look at June, however, 
 reassured her ; for while it was easy to trace in the un- 
 pacticed Matures of this unsophisticated being, the pain of 
 
872 THE PATHFINDER. 
 
 blighted affections, no distrust could have tortured the ear* 
 nest expression of her honest countenance into that of 
 treachery or hate. 
 
 " You will not betray me, June ? " Mabel said, pressing 
 the other s hand, and yielding to an impulse of generous 
 confidence. " You will not give up one of your own sex to 
 the tomahawk t 
 
 " No tomahawk touch you. Arrowhead no let em. If 
 June must have sister-wife, love to have you." 
 
 " No, June ; my religion, my feelings, both forbid it ; 
 and, if I could be the wife of an Indian at all, I would 
 never take the place that is yours, in a wigwam." 
 
 June made no answer, but she looked gratified, even 
 grateful. She knew that few, perhaps no Indian girl, within 
 the circle of Arrowhead s acquaintance, could compare with 
 herself in personal attractions ; and though it might suit her 
 husband to marry a dozen wives, she knew of no one, be 
 sides Mabel, whose influence she could really dread. So 
 keen an interest, however, had she taken in the beauty, 
 winning mariners, kindness, and feminine gentleness of our 
 heroine, that when jealousy came to chill these feelings, it 
 had rather lent strength to that interest, and, under its way 
 ward influence, had actually been one of the strongest of 
 the incentives that had induced her to risk so much, in 
 order to save her imaginary rival from the consequences of 
 the attack that she so well knew was about to take place. 
 In a word, June, with a wife s keenness of perception, had 
 detected Arrowhead s admiration of Mabel ; and instead of 
 feeling that harrowing jealousy that might have rendered 
 her rival hateful, as would have been apt to be the case 
 with a woman unaccustomed to defer to the superior rights 
 of the lordly sex, she had studied the looks and character 
 of the pale-face beauty, until, meeting with nothing to repel 
 her own feelings, but everything to encourage them, she had 
 got to entertain an admiration and love for her, which, 
 though certainly very different, was scarcely less strong 
 than that of hei husband. Arrowhead himself had sent 
 her to warn Mabel of the coming danger, though he wai 
 ignorant that she had stolen upon the island hi the rear of 
 
THE PATHFINDER. 373 
 
 the assailants, and was now intrenched in the citadel along 
 with the object of their jo^nt care. On the contrary, he 
 supposed, as his wife had said, that Cap and Muir were in 
 the block-house with Mabel, and that the attempt to repel 
 him and his companions had been made by the men. 
 
 " June sorry the Lily " for so the Indian, in her poet 
 ical language, had named our heroine "June sorry the 
 Lily no marry Arrowhead. His wigwam big, and a great 
 chief must get enough wifes to fill it." 
 
 "I thank you, June, for this preference, which is not 
 according to the notions of us white women," returned 
 Mabel, smiling in spite of the fearful situation in which she 
 was placed ; " but I may not, probably never shall, marry 
 at all." 
 
 " Must have good husband," said June ; " marry Eau- 
 douce, if don t like Arrowhead." 
 
 " June ! this is not a fit subject for a girl who scarce 
 knows if she is to live another hour or not. I would ob 
 tain some signs of my dear uncle s being alive and safe, if 
 possible." 
 
 " June go see." 
 
 " Can you ? will you ? would it be safe for you to 
 be seen on the island ? is your presence known to the 
 warriors ? and would they be pleased to find a woman on 
 the war-path with them ? " 
 
 All this Mabel asked in rapid connection, fearing that 
 the answer might not be as she wished. She had thought 
 it extraordinary that June should be of the party, and, 
 improbable as it seemed, she had fancied that the woman 
 had covertly followed the Iroquois in her own canoe, and 
 had got in their advance, merely to give her the notice 
 which had probably saved her life. But in all this she wa* 
 mistaken, as June, in her imperfect manner, now found 
 means to let her know. 
 
 Arrowhead, though a chief, was hi disgrace with his own 
 peop?e. ; and was acting with the Iroquois temporarily, 
 though with a perfect understanding. He had a wigwam, 
 it is true, but was seldom in it ; feigning friendship for the 
 he had passed the summer ostensibly in their 
 
874 THE PATHFINDER. 
 
 service, while he was, in truth, acting for the French, and 
 his wife journeyed with him in his many migrations, most 
 of the distances being passed over in canoes. In a word, 
 her presence was no secret, her husband seldom moving 
 without her. Enough of this to embolden Mabel to wish 
 that her friend might go out, to ascertain the fate of her 
 uncle, did June succeed in letting the other know ; and it 
 was soon settled between them, that the Indian woman 
 should quit the block-house with that object, the moment 
 a favorable opportunity offered. 
 
 They first examined the island, as thoroughly as their 
 position would allow, from the different loops, and found 
 that its conquerors were preparing for a feast, having seized 
 upon the provisions of the English, and rifled the huts. 
 Most of the stores were in the block-house, but enough 
 were found outside to reward the Indians for an attack 
 attended by so little risk. A party had already removed 
 the dead bodies, and Mabel saw that their arms were 
 collected in a pile, near the spot chosen for the banquet. 
 June suggested that, by some signs she understood, the 
 dead themselves were carried into a thicket, and either 
 buried, or concealed from view. None of the mora promi 
 nent objects on the island, however, were disturbed, it 
 being the desire of the conquerors to lure the party of the 
 sergeant into an ambush, on its return. June made her 
 companion observe a man in a tree, a lookout, as she said, 
 to give timely notice of the approach of any bqat, although 
 the departure of the expedition being so recent, nothing but 
 some unexpected event would be likely to bring it back sg 
 soon. There did not appear to be any design to attack the 
 block-house immediately ; but every indication, as under 
 stood by June, rather showed that it was the intention of 
 the Indians to keep it besieged until the return of the 
 sergeant s party, lest the signs of an assault should give a 
 warning to eyes as practiced as those of Pathfinder. The 
 boat, however, had been secured, and was removed to the 
 spot where the canoes of the Indians were hid in the 
 bushes. 
 
 June now announced her intention of joining her frienda, 
 
PATHFINDER. 375 
 
 the moment being particularly favorable for her to <juit the 
 block-house. Mabel felt some distrust as they descended 
 the ladder ; but, at the next instant, she was ashamed of 
 the feeling as unjust to her companion, and unworthy of 
 hersalf : and by the time they both stood on the ground, 
 her confidence was restored. The process of unbarring the 
 door was conducted with the utmost caution ; and when the 
 last bar was ready to be turned, June took her station neai 
 the spot where the opening must necessarily he. The bar 
 was just turned free of the brackets the door was opened 
 merely wide enough to allow her body to pass, and June 
 glided through the space. Mabel closed the door again, 
 with a convulsive movement; and, as the bar turned into 
 its place, her heart beat audibly. She then felt secure , 
 and the two other bars were turned down in a more delib 
 erate manner. When all was fast again, she ascended to 
 the first floor, where alone she could get a glimpse of what 
 was going on without. 
 
 Long and painfully melancholy hours passed, during which 
 Mabel had no intelligence from June. She heard the yells 
 of the savages, for liquor had carried them beyond the 
 bounds of precaution ; occasionally caught glimpses of their 
 mad orgies through the loops, and at all times was conscious 
 of their fearful presence, by sounds and sights that would 
 have chilled the blood of one who had not so lately witnessed 
 scenes so much more terrible. Towards the middle of the 
 day, she fancied she saw a white man on the island, though 
 his dress and wild appearance at first made her take him 
 for a newly arrived savage. A view of his face, although 
 it was swarthy naturally, and much darkened by exposure, 
 left no loubt that her conjecture was true ; and she felt as 
 if there was now one of a species more like her own present, 
 and one to whom she might appeal for succor in the last 
 emergency. Mabel lithe knew, alas ! how small was the 
 Influence exercised by the whites over their savage allies, 
 when the latter had begun to taste of bloo; or how slight, 
 indeed, was the disposition to divert them from their cruel 
 ties. 
 
 The daj seemed a mouth, by Mabel s computation ; and 
 
876 THE PATHFINDER. 
 
 the only part of it that did not drag were the minutes spent 
 ui prayer. She had recourse to this relief from time to time ; 
 and at each effort she found her spirit firmer, her mind more 
 tranquil, and her tendency to resignation more confirmed, 
 She understood the reasoning of June, and believed it highly 
 probable that the block-house would be left unmolested until 
 the return of her father, in order to entice him into an am 
 buscade ; and she felt much less apprehension of immediate 
 danger, in consequence. But the future offered little ground 
 of hope ; and her thoughts had already begun to calculate 
 the chances of her captivity. At such moments, Arrowhead, 
 and his offensive admiration, filled a prominent place ifi the 
 background ; for our heroine well knew that the Indians 
 usually carried off to their villages, for the purposes of 
 adoption, such captives as they did not slay ; and that many 
 instances had occurred, in which individuals of her sex had 
 passed the remainder of their lives in the wigwams of their 
 conquerors. Such thoughts as these invariably drove her 
 to her knees, and to her prayers. 
 
 While the light lasted, the situation of our heroine was 
 sufficiently alarming ; but as the shades of evening gradually 
 gathered over the island, it became fearfully appalling. By 
 .this time, the savages had wrought themselves up to the 
 point of fury, for they had possessed themselves of all the 
 liquor of the English, and their outcries and gesticulations 
 were those of men truly possessed of evil spirits. All the 
 efforts of their French leader to restrain them were entirely 
 fruitless, and he had wisely withdrawn to an adjacent island, 
 where he had a sort of bivouac, that he might keep at a safe 
 distance from friends so apt to run into excesses. Before 
 quitting the spot, however, this officer, at great risk to 
 A is own life, succeeded in extinguishing the fire, and in se 
 curing the ordinary means to relight it. This precaution 
 lie took, lest the Indians should burn the block-house, the 
 m cservation of which was necessary to the success of hia 
 future plans. He would gladly have removed all the arms 
 also, but this he found impracticable, the warriors clinging 
 to their knives and tomahawks with the tenacity of met 
 irho regarded a point of honor, as long a^ a faculty was left 
 
THE PATHFINDER. ST l 
 
 and to carry off the rifles, and leave behind him the verj 
 weapons that were generally used on such occasions, wouk 
 have been an idle expedient. The extinguishing of the fire 
 proved to be the most prudent measure, for no sooner was 
 the olficer s back turned, than one of the warriors, in fact 
 proposed to fire the block-house. Arrowhead had also with 
 drawn from the group of drunkards, as soon as he found 
 that they were losing their senses, and had taken possession 
 of a hut, where he had thrown himself on the straw, and 
 sought the rest that two wakeful and watchful nights ren 
 dered necessary. It followed that no one was left among 
 the Indians to care for Mabel, if indeed any knew of her ex 
 istence at all ; and the proposal of the drunkard was re 
 ceived with yells of delight by eight or ten more, as much 
 intoxicated and habitually as brutal as himself. 
 
 This was the fearful moment for Mabel. The Indians, 
 in their present condition, were reckless of any rifles that 
 the block-house might hold ; though they did retain dim 
 recollections of its containing living beings, an additional 
 incentive to their enterprise, and they approached its base 
 whooping and leaping like demons. As yet they were ex 
 cited, not overcome by the liquor they had drunk. The 
 first attempt was made at the door, against which they ran 
 in a body ; but the solid structure, which was built entirely 
 of logs, defied their efforts. The rush of a hundred men, 
 with the same object, would have been useless. This Ma 
 bel, however, did not know, and her heart seemed to leap 
 into her mouth, as she heard the heavy shock, at each re 
 uewed effort. At length, when she found that the door re 
 sisted these assaults as if it were of stone, neither trembling 
 nor yielding, and only betraying its not being a part of the 
 wrall by rattling a little on its heavy hinges, her courage re 
 vived, and she seized the first moment of a cessation, to look 
 lown through the loop, in order, if possible, to learn the ex- 
 lent of her danger. A silence, for which it was not easy to 
 Account, stimulated her curiosity, for nothing is so alarming 
 to those who are conscious of the presence of imminent 
 iauger, as to be unable to trace its approach. 
 
 Mabel found that two or three of the I"oquois had been 
 
578 THE PATHFINDER. 
 
 raking the t^nbers, where they had found a few small coal*, 
 aud with these they were endeavoring to light a fire. The 
 interest with which they labored, the hope of destroying, 
 and the force of habit, enabled them to act intelligently and 
 in unison, so long as their fell object was kept in view. A 
 white man would have abandoned the attempt to light a fire 
 in despair, with coals that came out of the ashes resembling 
 sparks; but these children of the forests had many expedi 
 ents that were unknown to civilization. By the aid of a 
 few dry leaves, which they alone knew where to seek, a 
 blaze was finally kindled, and then the addition of a few 
 light sticks made sure of the advantage that had been ob 
 tained. When Mabel stooped down over the loop, the In 
 dians were making a pile of brush against the door, and as 
 she remained gazing at their proceedings, she saw the twigs 
 ignite, the flame dart from branch to branch, until the whole 
 pile was cracking and snapping under a bright blaze. The 
 Indians now gave a yell of triumph, and returned to their 
 companions, well assured that the work of destruction was 
 commenced. Mabel remained looking down, scarcely able 
 to tear herself away from the spot, so intense and engrossing 
 was the interest she felt in the progress of the lire. As the 
 pile kindled throughout, however, the flames mounted, until 
 they flashed so near her eyes as to compel her to retreat. 
 Just as she reached the opposite side of the room, to which 
 she had retired in her alarm, a forked stream shot up through 
 the loop-hole, the lid of which she had left open, and illu 
 minated the rude apartment, with Mabel and her desolation. 
 Our heroine now naturally enough supposed that her hour 
 <vas come, for the door, the only means of retreat, had been 
 Mocked up by the brush and fire, with hellish ingenuity, and 
 he addressed herself, as she believed for the last time, to 
 her Maker in prayer. Pier eyes were closed, and for more 
 than a minute her spirit was abstracted ; but the interests 
 uf the world too strongly divided her feelings to be alto 
 gether suppressed ; and when they involuntarily opened 
 again, ahe perceived that the streak of Harm* was no longer 
 , Wring in the room, though the wood around the little aper 
 ture had kindled, and the blaze was slowly mounting undei 
 
THE PATHFINDER. 379 
 
 the impulsion of a current of air that sucked inward. A 
 Darrel of water stood in a corner, and Mabel, acting more 
 by instinct than by reason, caught up a vessel, filled it, and 
 pouring it on the wood with a trembling hand, succeeded in 
 extinguishing the fire at that particular spot. TLe smoke 
 prevented her from looking down again, for a couple of min 
 utes ; but when she did, her heart beat hign with delight 
 and hope, at finding that the pile of blazing brush had been 
 overturned and scattered, and that water had been thrown 
 on the logs of the door, which were still smoking, though no 
 longer burning. 
 
 " Who is there ? " said Mabel, with her mouth at the 
 loop. " What friendly hand has a merciful Providence sent 
 to my succor ? " 
 
 A light footstep was audible below, and one of those gen- 
 *Je pushes at the door was heard, which just moved the mas 
 sive beams on the hinges. 
 
 u Who wishes to enter ? Is it you, dear, dear uncle ? " 
 
 " Salt-water no here. St. Lawrence sweet water," was 
 ;he answer. " Open quick want to come in." 
 
 The step of Mabel was never lighter, or her movements 
 more quick and natural, than while she was descending ihe 
 ladder and turning the bars, for all her motions were ear 
 nest and active. This time she thought only of her escape, 
 and she opened the door with a rapidity that did not admit 
 of caution. Her first impulse was to rush into the open 
 air, in the blind hope of quitting the block-house, but June 
 repulsed the attempt, and entering, she coolly barred the 
 door again, before she would notice Mabel s eager efforts to 
 embrace her. 
 
 " Bless you bless you, June! " cried our heroine most 
 fervently ; " you are sent by Providence to be my guar 
 dian angel ! " 
 
 " No hug so tight," answered the Tuscarora Troman. 
 Pule-face woman all cry, or all laugh. Let June fasten 
 aoor." 
 
 Mabel became more rational, and in a few moments the 
 lwi> were again in the upper room, seated as before, hand in 
 Uand, all feeling of distrust or rivalry between them being 
 
880 THE PATHFINDER. 
 
 banished, on the one side by the consciousness of favors re 
 ceived, and on the other by the consciousness of favors con 
 ferred. 
 
 " Now tell me, June," Mabel commenced, as soon as she 
 had given and received one warm embrace, " have you seen 
 or heard aught of my poor uncle ? " 
 
 " Don t know. No one see him ; no one hear him ; no 
 one know auyt ing. Salt-water run into river, I t ink, fo? 
 I no find him. Quartermaster gone too. I look, and look, 
 and look ; but no see em, one, t other, nowhere." 
 
 Blessed be God ! They must have escaped, though the 
 means are not known to us. I thought I saw a Frenchman 
 on the island, June ? " 
 
 Li Yes ; French captain come, but he go away, too. 
 Plenty of Injin on island." 
 
 " O ! June, June, are there no means to prevent my 
 beloved father from falling into the hands of his enemies ? " 
 
 " Don t know ; t ink dat warriors wait in ambush, and 
 Yengeese must lose scalp." 
 
 " Surely, surely, June, you, who have done so much for 
 the Daughter, will not refuse to help the father ! " 
 
 " Don t know fader don t love fader. June help her 
 own people, help Arrowhead ; husband love scalp." 
 
 "June, this is not yourself! I cannot, will not believe 
 that you wish to see our men murdered ! " 
 
 June turned her dark eyes quietly on Mabel, and, for a 
 moment, her look was stern, though it soon changed into 
 04ie of melancholy compassion. 
 
 " Lily Yengeese gal ? " she said, as one asks a question. 
 
 " Certainly, and as a Yengeese girl, I would save my 
 countrymen from slaughter/ 
 
 " Very good if can. June no Yengeese ; June Tus- 
 ^arora got Tuscarora husband Tuscarora heart Fus 
 carora feeling all over Tuscarora. Lily wouldn t run 
 and tell French dat her fader was coming to gain victory ? 
 
 " .Perhaps not," returned Mabel, pressing a hand on a 
 braifl that felt bewildered, "perhaps not; but you serve 
 jae, aid ine, have saved me, June ! Why have you done 
 this, if you only feel as a Tuscarora ? " 
 
THE PATHFINDER. 381 
 
 u Don t only feel as Tuscarora feel as a gal - feel aa 
 iquaw. Love pretty Lily, and put it in my bosom." 
 
 Mabel melted into tears, and she pressed the affectionate 
 creature to her heart. It was near a minute before she 
 could renew the discourse, but then she succeeded in speak 
 ing more calmly and with greater coherence. 
 
 " Let me know the worst, June," she said. " To-niglit, 
 j our people are feasting - what do they intend to do to- 
 fliorrow ? " 
 
 " Don t know afraid to see Arrowhead afraid to ask 
 question ; t ink hide away, till Yengeese come back." 
 
 " Will they not attempt anything against the block-house? 
 You have seen what they can threaten if they will? " 
 
 " Too much rum. Arrowhead sleep, or no dare ; French 
 captain gone away, or no dare. All go to sleep, now." 
 
 " And you think I am safe for this night, at least ? " 
 
 " Too much rum. If Lily like June, might do much for 
 her people/ 
 
 " I am like you, June, if a wish to serve my countrymen 
 can make a resemblance with one as courageous as your 
 self." 
 
 " No, no, no," muttered June, in a low voice ; " no got 
 heart, and June no let you, if had. June s moder prisoner 
 once, and warriors got drunk ; moder tomahawk d em all. 
 Such the way red-skin women do, when people in danger 
 and want scalp." 
 
 " You say what is true," returned Mabel, shuddering, and 
 unconsciously dropping June s hand. " I cannot do that. I 
 have neither the strength, the courage, nor the will, to dip 
 piy hands in blood." 
 
 " T ink that too ; then stay where you be block-house 
 good got no scalp." 
 
 " You believe, then, that I am safe here, at least untij 
 uiy father and his people return ? " 
 
 * Know so. No dare touch block-house in morning. 
 Hark ! all still now drink rum till head fall down, and 
 sleep like log." 
 
 " Might I not escape ? Are there not several canoes on 
 the island? might I not get one, and go and give my 
 father notice of what has happened ? " 
 
882 THE PATHFINDER. 
 
 " Know how to paddle ? " demanded June, glancing he* 
 eye furtively at her companion. 
 
 " Not so well as yourself, perhaps ; but enough to get 
 out of sight before morning." 
 
 " What do then ? couldn t paddle six ten eight 
 mile ! " 
 
 " J do not know ; I would do much to warn my father, 
 and the excellent Pathfinder, and all the rest, of the dange* 
 they are in." 
 
 " Like Pathfinder ? " 
 
 " All like him who know him ; you would like him, nay 
 love him, if you only knew his heart ! " 
 
 " No like him at all. Too good rifle too good eye 
 too much shoot Iroquois, and June s people. Must get his 
 scalp if can." 
 
 " And I must save it if I can, June. In this respect, 
 then, we are opposed to each other. I will go and find a 
 canoe the instant they are all asleep, and quit the island." 
 
 " No can June won t let you. Call Arrowhead." 
 
 "June! you could not betray me ; you would not give 
 me up, after all you have done for me ? " 
 
 " Just so," returned June, making a backward gesture 
 with her hand, and speaking with a warmth and earnestness 
 Mabel had never witnessed in her before. " Call Arrow 
 head in loud voice. One call from wife wake a warrior up. 
 June no let Lily help enemy no let Injin hurt Lily." 
 
 " I understand you, June, and feel the nature and justice 
 of your sentiments ; and after all, it were better that I 
 should remain here, for I have most probably overrated my 
 strength. But tell me one thing ; if my uncle come in the 
 night and ask to be admitted, you will let me open the door 
 of the block-house that he may enter ? " 
 
 " Sai tain ; he prisoner here, and June like prisoner bei 
 ter than scalp ; scalp good for honor, prisoner good foi 
 Reeling. But Salt-water hide so close, ne don t know where 
 he be himself." 
 
 Here June laughed in her girlish, mirthful way, for to her 
 scenes of violence were too familiar to leave impressions 
 iutficiently deep to change ner natural character. A long 
 
THi) PATHFINDKR. 383 
 
 and discursive dialogue now followed, in which Mabel 
 endeavored to obtain clearer notions of her actual situation, 
 under a faint hope that she might possibly be enabled to 
 turn some of the facts she thus learned to advantage. June 
 answered all her interrogatories simply, but with a rmition 
 which showed she fully distinguished between that \\ hich 
 was immaterial, and that which might endanger the safety 
 or embarrass the future operations of her friends. On 
 heroine was incapable of making an attempt to entrap her 
 companion, though she plainly perceived that, could she have 
 been guilty of the meanness, she would have found the 
 undertaking one of extreme difficulty. June, however, was 
 not required to exercise more than a discreet discrimination 
 about what she revealed ; and the substance of the iiiforma 
 tion she gave may be summed up as follows. 
 
 Arrowhead had long been in communication with the 
 French, though this was the first occasion on which he had 
 ever entirely thrown aside the mask. lie no longer 
 intended to trust himself among the English, for he had 
 discovered traces of distrust, jTarticularly in Pathfinder ; 
 and with Indian bravado, he now rather wished to blazon 
 than to conceal his teachery. Pie had led the party of war 
 riors, in the attack on the island, subject, however, to the 
 supervision of the Frenchman who has been mentioned, 
 though June declined saying whether he had been the means 
 of discovering the position of a place that had been thought 
 to be so concealed from the eyes of the enemy or not. On 
 this point she would say nothing ; but she admitted that she 
 and her husband had been watching the departure of the 
 Scjd, at the time they were overtaken and captured by the 
 cutter The French had obtained their information of the 
 precise position of the station, but very recently ; and Mabel 
 felt a pang like that of some sharp instrument piercing hei 
 heart, when she thought that there were covert allusions of 
 the Indian woman, which would convey the meaning that 
 the intelligence had come from a pale-face in the employ- 
 oent of Duncan of Lundie. This was intimated, however, 
 ather than said ; and when Mabel had time to reflect on 
 ier companion s words, a ld to remember how sententioui 
 
384 THE PATIIFIIsbER. 
 
 and brief her periods were, she found room to hope that sht 
 had misunderstood her, and that Jasper Western would yet 
 come out of the affair freed from every injurious imputation. 
 
 June did not hesitate to confess that she had been sent 
 10 the island to ascertain the precise number, and the occu 
 pations of those who had been left on it ; though she also 
 betiayed, in her naive way, that the wish to serve Mabel 
 Lad induced her principally to consent to come. In conse 
 quence of her report, and information otherwise obtained, 
 the enemy was aware of precisely the force that could be 
 brought against them ; they also knew the number of men 
 that had gone with Sergeant Dunham, and were acquainted 
 with the object he had in view, though they were ignorant 
 of the spot where he expected to meet the French boats. 
 It would have been a pleasant sight to witness the eager 
 desire of each of these two sincere females to ascertain all 
 that might be of consequence to their respective friends, and 
 yet the native delicacy with which each refrained from 
 pressing the other to make revelations that would have been 
 improper, as well as the sensitive, almost intuitive feeling, 
 with which each avoided saying aught that might prove 
 injurious to her own nation : as respects each other, there 
 was perfect confidence ; as regarded their respective people, 
 entire fidelity. June was quite as anxious as Mabel could 
 be on any other point, to know where the sergeant had 
 gone, and when he was expected to return ; but she 
 abstained from putting the question, wjth a delicacy that 
 WjOuld havedone honor to the highest civilization ; nor did 
 she once frame any otner inquiry "in a way to Tead^inclirectly, 
 to a betrayal of the much desired information, on that par 
 ticular point ; though, when Mabel, of her own accord, 
 touched on any matter that might, by possibility, throw a 
 light 01 the subject, she listened with an intentness thai 
 almost suspended respiration. 
 
 In this manner, the hours passed away unheeded ; for 
 both were too much interested to think of rest. Nature as 
 serted her rights, however, towards morning ; and Mabel 
 was persuaded to lie down on one of the straw beds pro 
 vided for the soldiers, where she soon fell into a deep sleep 
 
THE PATHFINDER. 885 
 
 Juno lay near her ; aiid a quiet reigned on the whole island, 
 as profound as if the dominion of the forest had never been 
 invaded by man. 
 
 When Mabel awoke, the light of the sun was streaming 
 in through the loop-holes ; and she found that the day was 
 considerably advanced. June still lay near her, sleeping as 
 tranquilly as if she reposed on we will not say down, for 
 the superior civilization of our own times repudiates the 
 simile but on a French mattress ; and as profoundly as 
 if she had never experienced concern. The movements of 
 Mabel, notwithstanding, soon awakened one so accustomed 
 to vigilance ; and then the two took a survey of what waa 
 passing around them, by means of the friendly aperture*. 
 
386 THE PATHFINDER. 
 
 CHAPTER XXIII. 
 
 What had the Eternall Maker need of thee, 
 The world in his continuall course to keepe, 
 That doest all things deface ? ue lettest see 
 The bsautie of his worke? ludeede in sleepe, 
 The slouthfull body that doth love to steepe 
 His lustlesse limbs, and drowne his baser mind, 
 Ooth praise thee oft. and oft from Stygian deepe, 
 Calles thee his goddesse, in his errour blind, 
 And great dame Nature s hand-maide, chearing every kind. 
 
 FAEKIK Qux*. 
 
 THE tranquillity of the previous night was not contra- 
 dieted by the movements of the day. Although Mabel and 
 June went to every loop-hole, not a sign of the presence oi 
 a living being on the island was at first to be seen, them 
 selves excepted. There was a smothered fire on the spot 
 where McNab and his comrades had cooked, as if the smoke 
 that curled upwards from it was intended as a lure to the 
 absent ; and all around the huts had been restored to former 
 order and arrangement. Mabel started involuntarily, when 
 her eye at length fell on a group of three men, dressed in 
 the scarlet of the 55th, seated on the grass, in lounging at 
 titudes, as if they chatted in listless security ; and her blood 
 curdled, as, on a second look, she traced the bloodless faces 
 and glassy eyes of the dead. They were quite near the 
 block-house; so near, indeed, as to have been overlooked at 
 the h rst eager inquiry; and there was a mocking levity in 
 the : r postures and gestures, for their limbs were stiffening in 
 different attitudes, intended to resemble life, at which the 
 soul revolted. Still, horrible as these objects were to those 
 near enough to discover the frightful discrepancy between 
 their assumed and their real characters, the arrangement had 
 been made with an art that would have deceived a negligent 
 observer, at the distance of a hundred yards. After care- 
 
THE PATH KIND ETC. 387 
 
 fally examining the shores ot the island, June pointed out 
 to her companion the fourth soldier, seated with his feet 
 hanging over the water, his back fastened to a sapling, and 
 holding a fishing-rod in his hand. The scalpless heads were 
 covered with the caps, and all appearance of blood had been 
 carefully washed from each countenance. 
 
 Mabel sickened at this sight, which not only did so much 
 violence to all her notions of propriety, but which was in 
 itself so revolting, and so opposed to natural feeling. She 
 withdrew to a seat, and hid her face in her apron for sev 
 eral minutes, until a low call from June again drew her to a 
 loop-hole. The latter then pointed out the body of Jennie, 
 seemingly standing in the door of a hut, leaning forward as 
 if to look at the group of men, her cap fluttering in the 
 wind, and her hand grasping a broom. The distance was 
 too great to distinguish the features very accurately ; but 
 Mabel fancied that the jaw had been depressed, as if to dis 
 tort the mouth into a sort of horrible laugh. 
 
 " June ! June ! " she exclaimed, " this exceeds all I have 
 ever heard or imagined as possible, in the treachery and ar 
 tifices of your people." 
 
 " Tuscarora very cunning," said June, in a way to show 
 ,hat she rather approved of than condemned the uses to 
 which the dead bodies had been applied. " Do soldier no 
 harm now ; do Iroquois good ; got the scalp, first ; now 
 make bodies work. By and by, burn em." 
 
 This speech told Mabel how far she was separated from 
 her friend in character ; and it W 7 as several minutes before 
 she could again address her. But this temporary aversion 
 was lost on June, who set about preparing their simple 
 breakfast, in a way to show how insensible she was to feel 
 ings in others, that her ow r n habits taught her to discard. 
 Mabel ate sparingly, and her companion as if nothing had 
 happened. Then they had leisure again for their thoughts, 
 and for further surveys of the island. Our heroine, though 
 devoured with a feverish desire to be always at the loops, 
 seldom went that she did not immediately quit Jiein in dis 
 gust, though compelled by her apprehensions tr, return again 
 in a few minutes, called by the rustling of leaves, or thfl 
 
888 THE PATHFINDER 
 
 sighing of the wind. It was, indeed, a solemn thing to look 
 out upon that deserted spot, peopled by the dead in the pan 
 oply of the living, and thrown into the attitudes and acts of 
 careless merriment and rude enjoyment. The effect on our 
 heroine was much as if she had found herself an observer of 
 the revelries of demons. 
 
 Throughout the livelong day not an Indian nor a French 
 man -was to be seen, and night closed over the frightful but 
 silent masquerade with the steady and unalterable progress 
 with which earth obeys her laws, indifferent to the petty 
 actors and petty scenes that are in daily bustle and daily 
 occurrence on her bosom. The night was far more quiet 
 than that which had preceded it, and Mabel slept with an in 
 creasing confidence, for she now felt satisfied that her own 
 fate would not be decided until the return of her father. 
 The following day he was expected, however, and when our 
 heroine awoke, she ran eagerly to the loops in order to as 
 certain the state of the weather and the aspect of the skies, 
 as well as the condition of the island. There lounged the 
 fearful group on the grass ; the fisherman still hung over 
 the water, seemingly intent on his sport ; and the distorted 
 countenance of Jennie glared from out the hut in horrible 
 contortions. But the weather had changed. The wind 
 blew fresh from the southward, and though the air was 
 bland, it was filled with the elements of storm. 
 
 " This grows more and more difficult to bear, June," Ma 
 bel said, when she left the window. " I could even prefer 
 to see the enemy than to look any longer on this fearful 
 array of the dead." 
 
 " Hush ! here they come. June thought hear a cry, like 
 a warrior s shout when he take a scalp." 
 
 " What mean you ! There is no more butchery I 
 Thure can be no more." 
 
 " Salt-water ! " exclaimed June, laughing, as she stood 
 peeping through a loop-hole. JL 
 
 " My dear uncle ! Thank God, he then lives. O ! June 
 June, you will not let them harm him ? " 
 
 " June poor squaw. What warrior t ink of what she 
 ay ? Arrowhead bring him here." 
 
THE PATHFINDER. 389 
 
 By this time Mabel was at a loop, and sure enough there 
 were Cap and the quartermaster in the hands of the In 
 dians, eight or ten of whom were conducting them to the 
 foot of the block ; for by his capture the enemy now wel 1 
 knew that there could be no man in the building. Mabel 
 scarcely breathed until the whole party stood ranged di 
 rectly J>e?;/re ^<3 door, when she was rejoiced to see that 
 the French officer was among them. A low conversation 
 followed, in which both the white leader and Arrowhead 
 spoke earnestly to their captives, when the quartermaster 
 na led out to her, in a voice loud enough to be heard. 
 
 " Pretty Mabel ! Pretty Mabel ! " he said ; " look out 
 of one of the loop-holes, and pity our condition. We are 
 threatened with instant death, unless you open the door to 
 the conquerors. Relent then, or we ll no be wearing our 
 scalps half an hour from this blessed moment ! " 
 
 Mabel thought there were mockery and levity in this 
 appeal, and its manner rather fortified than weakened her 
 resolution to hold the place as long as possible. 
 
 " Speak to me, uncle," she said, with her mouth at a 
 loop, " and tell me what I ought to do ? " 
 
 "Thank God! thank God!" ejaculated Jap ; "the 
 sound of your sweet voice, Magnet, lightens my heart of a 
 heavy load, for I feared you had shared the fate of poor 
 Jennie. My breast has felt the last four-and-twenty hours 
 as if a ton of kentledge had been stowed in it. You ask 
 me what you ought to do, child, and I do not know how to 
 advise you, though you are my own sister s daughter ! The 
 most I can say just now, my poor girl, is most heartily to 
 curse the day you or I ever saw this bit of fresh water." 
 
 " But, uncle, is your life in danger do you think I 
 ought to open the door ? " 
 
 " A round turn and two half-hitches make a fast belay ; 
 and I would counsel no ^ne who is out of the hands of 
 these rl, -\ to unbar or unfasten anything, in order to fall 
 .~._ .V^. As to the quartermaster and myself, we are 
 both elderly men, and not of much account to mankind in 
 general, as honest Pathfinder would say ; and it can mako 
 no great odds to him whether he balances the purser s booki 
 
390 THE TATRFINDKR, 
 
 this year or th next ; and as for myself, why if I were on 
 the seaboard I should know what to do but up here ID 
 This watery wilderness, I can only say that if I were behind 
 that bit of a bulwark, it would take a good deal cf Indian 
 logic to rowse me out of it." 
 
 " You ll no be minding all your uncle says, pretty M.* 
 bel," put in Muir, " for distress is obviously fast unsettling 
 his faculties, and he is far from calculating all the necosn 
 ties of the emergency. We are in the hands here of vei 3 
 considerate and gentlemanly pairsons, it must be ackriowl 
 edged, and one has little occasion to apprehend disagreeable 
 violence. The casualties that have occurred are the com 
 mon incidents of war, and can no change our sentiments of 
 the enemy, for they are far from indicating that any injus 
 tice will be done the prisoners. I m sure that neither Mas 
 ter Cap nor myself has any cause of complaint since we 
 have given ourselves up to Master Arrowhead, who reminds 
 me of a Roman, or a Spartan, by his virtues and modera 
 tion ; but ye ll be remembering that usages differ, and that 
 our scalps may be lawful sacrifices to appease the manes of 
 fallen foes, unless you save them by capitulation." 
 
 " I shall do wiser to keep within the block-house until 
 the fate of the island is settled," returned Mabel. " Our 
 enemies can feel no concern on account of one like me, 
 knowing that I can do them no harm ; and I greatly prefer 
 to remain here, as more befitting my sex and years." 
 
 " If nothing but your convenience were concerned, Ma 
 bel, we should all cheerfully acquiesce in your wishes ; but 
 these gentlemen fancy that the work will aid their opera 
 tions, and they have a strong desire to possess it. To be 
 .Tt\nk with you, finding myself and your uncle in a very 
 peculiar situation, I acknowledge that, to avert consequences, 
 I Hive assumed the power that belongs to his Majesty s com 
 mission, and entered into a verbal capitulation, by which 1 
 have engaged to give up the block-house and the whole 
 .si and. It is the fortune of war, and must be submitted to ; 
 BO open the door, pretty Mabel, forthwith, and confide your- 
 Belf to the care of those who know how to treat beauty and 
 virtue in distress. There s no courtier in Scotland mor 
 
THE PATHFINDER. 391 
 
 complaisant than this chief, or who is more familiar with 
 the laws of decorum." 
 
 " No leave block-house," muttered June, who stood at 
 Mabel s side, attentive to all that passed. " Block-house 
 good ; got no scalp." 
 
 Our heroine might have yielded, but for this appeal ; for 
 it began to appear to her, that the wisest course would be 
 to conciliate the enemy by concessions, instead of exasper 
 ating them by resistance. They must know that Muir and 
 her uncle were in their power ; that there was no man in 
 the building ; and she fancied they might proceed to batter 
 down the door, or to cut their way through the log% with 
 axes, if she obstinately refused to give them peaceable ad 
 mission, since there was no longer any reason to dread the 
 rifle. But the words of June induced her to hesitate ; and 
 the earnest pressure of the hand, and entreating looks of 
 her companion, strengthened a resolution that was faltering. 
 
 " No prisoner yet," whispered June ; " let em make 
 prisoner, before ey take prisoner talk big ; June mau- 
 
 e em." 
 
 Mabel now began to parley more resolutely with Muir, 
 for her uncle seemed disposed to quiet his conscience by 
 holding his tongue ; and she plainly intimated that it was 
 not her intention to yield the building. 
 
 " You forget the capitulation, Mistress Mabel," said 
 Muir ; " the honor of one of his Majesty s servants is con 
 cerned ; and the honor of his Majesty, through his servant 
 You will remember the finesse and delicacy that belong to 
 military honor ? " 
 
 " I know enough, Mr. Muir, to understand that you have 
 no command in this expedition, and, therefore, can have no 
 right to yield the block -house ; and I remember, moreover, 
 Jo have heard my father say, that a prisoner loses all bis 
 authority, for the time being." 
 
 " Rank sophistry, pretty Mabel, and treason to the King, 
 as well as dishonoring his commission, and discrediting hii 
 name. You ll no be persevering in your intentions, when 
 your better judgment has had leisure to reflect, and to 
 make conclusions on matters and circumstances " 
 
392 THE PATHFINDER. 
 
 "Aye," put in Cap, "this is a circumstance, and ta 
 d d to it ! " 
 
 " No mind what e uncle say," ejaculated June, who wag 
 occupied in a far corner of the room. " Block-house good ; 
 got no scalp." 
 
 " I shall remain as I am, Mr. Muir, until I get some tid 
 ings of my father. He will return in the course of the 
 next ten days." 
 
 " Ah ! Mabel, this artifice will no deceive the enemy, 
 who, by means that would be unintelligible, did not our 
 suspicions rest on an unhappy young man with too much 
 plausibility, are familiar with all our doings and plans, and 
 well know that the sun will not set before the worthy ser 
 geant and his companions will be in their power. Aweel ! 
 Submission to Providence is truly a Christian virtue ! " 
 
 " Mr. Muir, you appear to be deceived in the strength 
 of this work, and to fancy it weaker than it is. Do you 
 desire to see what I can do in the way of defense, if so 
 disposed ? " 
 
 " I dinna mind if I do," answered the quartermaster, 
 who always grew Scotch as he grew interested. 
 
 " What do you think of that, then ? Look at the loop 
 of the upper story." 
 
 As soon as Mabel had spoken, all eyes were turned up 
 wards and beheld the muzzle of a rifle cautiously thrust 
 through a hole June having resorted again to a ruse 
 that had already proved so successful. The result did not 
 disappoint expectation. No sooner did the Indians catch 
 a sight of the fatal weapon, than they leaped aside ; and 
 in less than a minute every man among them had sought a 
 cover. The French officer kept his eye on the barrel of 
 ths piece, in order to ascertain that it was not pointed ir 
 hU particular direction, and he coolly took a pinch of snuff 
 As r either Muir nor Cap had anything to apprehend from 
 the quarter in which the others were menaced, they kept 
 their ground. 
 
 " Be wise, my pretty Mabel, be wise," exclaimed the for 
 mer, " and no be provoking useless contention. In the 
 Dame of all the kings of Albin, whom have .ye closeted with 
 
THE PATHFINDER. 393 
 
 you In that wooden tower, that seemcth so bloody-minded ? 
 There is necromancy about this matter, and all oiir char 
 acters may be involved in the explanation." 
 
 " What do ye think of the Pathfinder, Master Muir, for 
 a garrison to so strong a post ! " cried Mabel, resorting to 
 an equivocation that the circumstances rendered very ex 
 cusable. "What will your French and Indian ccmpaniona 
 think of the aim of the Pathfinder s rifle ? " 
 
 " Bear gently on the unfortunate, pretty Mabel, and do 
 not confound the king s servants may Heaven bless him 
 and all his royal lineage ! with the king s enemies. If 
 Pathfinder be indeed in the block-house, let him speak, and 
 we will hold our negotiations directly with him. He knows us 
 as friends, and we fear no evil at his hands, and least of all 
 to myself; for a generous mind is apt to render rivalry in 
 a certain interest a sure ground of respect and amity ; since 
 admiration of the same woman proves a community of feel 
 ing and tastes." 
 
 The reliance on Pathfinder s friendship did not extend 
 beyond the quartermaster and Cap, however, for even the 
 French officer, who had hitherto stood his ground so well, 
 shrank back at the sound of the terrible name. So un 
 willing indeed did this individual, a man of iron nerves, and 
 one long accustomed to the dangers of the peculiar warfare 
 in which he was engaged, appear to be to remain exposed 
 to the assaults of Killdeer, whose reputation throughout all 
 that frontier was as well established as that of Marlborough 
 in Europe, that he did not disdain to seek a cover, insisting 
 that his two prisoners should follow him. Mabel was too 
 glad tc be rid of her enemies to lament the departure of her 
 friends, though she kissed her hand to Cap, through the 
 loop, and called out to him in terms of affection as he moved 
 glowly and unwillingly away. 
 
 The enemy now seemed disposed to abandon all attempts 
 on the block-house for the present; and June, who had 
 ascended to a trap in the roof, whenor the best view was to 
 be obtained, reported that the whole party had assembled 
 to eat, on a distant and sheltered part of the island, where 
 Muir and Cap were quietly sharing .in the good things that 
 
THE PATHFINDER. 
 
 were going, as if they had no concern on their minds. This 
 information greatly relieved Mabel, and shel)egan to turn hei 
 thoughts again to the means of effecting her own escape, or 
 at least of letting her father know of the danger that awaited 
 him. The sergeant was expected to return that afternoon, 
 and she knew that a moment gained or lost might decide 
 big fkte. 
 
 Three or four hours flew by. The island was again 
 buried in a profound quiet, the day was wearing away, and 
 yet Mabel had decided on nothing. June was in the base 
 ment preparing their frugal meal, and Mabel herself had 
 ascended to the roof, which was provided with a trap that 
 allowed her to go out (*i the top of the building, whence 
 she commanded the best view of surrounding objects thai 
 the island possessed. Still it was limited, and much ob 
 structed by the tops of trees. The anxious girl did not 
 dare to trust her person in sight, knowing well that the 
 unrestrained passions of some savage might induce him to 
 send a bullet through her brain. She merely kept her head 
 out of the trap, therefore, whence, in the course of the 
 afternoon, she made as many surveys of the different 
 channels about the island, as " Anne, sister Anne," took of 
 the environs of the castle of Blue Beard. 
 
 The sun had actually set, no intelligence had been re 
 ceived from the boats, and Mabel ascended to the roof, to 
 take a last look, hoping that the party would arrive in the 
 darkness ; which would at least prevent the Indians from 
 rendering their ambuscade as fatal as it might otherwise 
 prove, and which possibly might enable her to give some 
 more intelligible signal by means of fire, than it would other 
 wise be in her power to do. Her eye had turned carefully 
 round the whole horizon, and she was just on the point of 
 drawing in her person, when an object that struck her aa 
 new caught her attention. The islands lay grouped so closely, 
 that six 01 eight different channels or passages between 
 them were in view ; and in one of the most covered, con 
 cealed in a great measure by the bushes of the shore, lay 
 what a second look assured her, was a bark canoe. It con 
 tained a human being beyond a question. Confident that, 
 
THE PATHFINDER 395 
 
 Lf an enemy, her signal could do no harm, and, if a friend, 
 that it might do good, the eager girl waved a little flag to 
 wards the stranger, which she had prepared for her father, 
 taking cure that it should not be seen from the island 
 
 Mabel had i ipeated her signal eight or ten times in vaia 
 and she began to despair of its being noticed, when a sign 
 is.*s given in return, by the wave of a paddle, and the inai] 
 so far discovered himself, as to let her see it was Chingach- 
 gook. Here, then, at last, was a friend ; one, too, who was 
 able, and she doubted not would be willing to aid her! 
 From that instant her courage and her spirits revived. Tho 
 Mohican had seen her ; must have recognized her, as he knew 
 that she was of the party ; and no doubt, as soon as it was 
 sufficiently dark, he would take the steps necessary to re 
 lease her. That he was aware of the presence of the 
 enemy was apparent by the great caution he observed, and 
 she had every reliance on his prudence and address. The 
 principal difficulty now existed with June, for Mabel had 
 seen too much of her fidelity to her own people, relieved as 
 it was by sympathy for herself, to believe she would con- 
 sent to a hostile Indian s entering the block-house, or indeed 
 to her leaving it, with a view to defeat Arrowhead s plans. 
 The half hour that succeeded the discovery of the presence 
 of the Great Serpent, was the most painful of Mabel Dun 
 ham s life. She saw the means of effecting all she wished, 
 as it might be within reach of her hand, and yet it eluded 
 her grasp. She knew June s decision and coolness, not 
 withstanding all her gentleness and womanly feeling, and at 
 last she came reluctantly to the concision that there was 
 no other way of attaining her end, than by deceiving her 
 tried companion and protector. It was revolting to one as 
 sincere and natural, as pure of heart, and as much disposed 
 to ingenuousness as Mabel Dunham, to practice deception 
 on a friend like June ; but her own father s life was at 
 stake, her companion would* receive no positive injury, and 
 she had feelings and interests directly touching herself, that 
 would have removed greater scruples. 
 
 As soon as it was dark, Mabel s heart began to beat with 
 violence ; and she adopted and changed her plan of pro- 
 
390 THE PATHFINDER. 
 
 ceedinga at least a dozen times in the course of a single 
 hour. June was always the source of her greatest em 
 barrassment ; for she did not well see, firstly, how she was 
 to ascertain when Chingachgook was at the door, where she 
 doubted not he would soon appear ; and, secondly, how she 
 was to admit him without giving the alarm to her watch 
 ful companion. Time pressed, however ; for the Mohicau 
 might come and go away again, unless she were ready to 
 receive him. It would be too hazardous to the Delaware 
 to remain long on the island ; and it became absolutely 
 necessary to determine on some course, even at the risk of 
 choosing one that was indiscreet. After running over 
 various projects in her mind, therefore, Mabel came to 
 her companion and said, with as much calmness as she could 
 assume : 
 
 " Are you not afraid, June, now your people believe 
 Pathfinder is in the block-house, that they will come and 
 try to set it on fire ? " 
 
 " No t ink such t ing. No burn block-house. Block 
 house good ; got no scalp." 
 
 " June, we cannot know. They hid because they believed 
 what I told them of Pathfinder s being with us." 
 
 " Believe fear. Fear come quick, go quick. Fear make 
 run away ; wit make come back. Fear make warrior fool, 
 as well as young girl." 
 
 Here June laughed, as her sex is apt to laugh, when any 
 thing particularly ludicrous crosses their youthful fancies. 
 
 " I feel uneasy, June ; and wish you yourself would go 
 up again to the roof and look out upon the island to make 
 rnrtain that nothing is plotting against us ; you know the 
 signs of what your people intend to do better than I." 
 
 " June go, Lily wish ; but very well know that Indian 
 sleep ; wait for fader. Warrior eat, drink, sleep, all time, 
 when don t fight, and go on war-trail. Den never sleep, eat, 
 drink never feel. Warrior sleep, now." 
 
 " God send it may be so ; but go up, dtur June, and 
 look well about you. Danger may come when we least 
 iipect it," 
 
 June arose and prepared to ascend to the roof; but alit 
 
THE PATHFINDER. 397 
 
 paused, with her foot on the first round of the ladder. Ma 
 bel s heart beat so violently that she was fearful its throbs 
 would be heard ; and she fancied that some glearuings of 
 her real intentions had crossed the mind of her friend. She 
 was right, in part; the Indian woman having actually 
 stopped to consider whether there was any indiscretion iu 
 what she was about to do. At first, the suspicion that Ma 
 bel intended to escape flashed across her mind ; then she re 
 jected it, on the ground that the pale-face had no means of 
 getting off the island, and that the block-house was much 
 the most secure place she could find. The next thought 
 was, that Mabel had detected some sign of the near ap 
 proach of her father. This idea, too, lasted but an instant ; 
 for June entertained some such opinion of her companion s 
 ability to understand symptoms of this sort symptoms 
 that had escaped her own sagacity as a woman of high 
 fashion entertains of the accomplishments of her maid. 
 Nothing else in the same way offering, she began slowly to 
 mount the ladder. 
 
 Just as she reached the upper floor, a lucky thought sug 
 gested itself to our heroine ; and, by expressing it in a hur 
 ried, but natural manner, she gained a great advantage in 
 executing her projected scheme. 
 
 " I will go down," she said, " and listen by the door, June, 
 while you are on the roof; and we will thus be 011 our 
 guard, at the same time, above and below." 
 
 Though June thought this savored of unnecessary caution, 
 well knowing no one could enter the building unless aided 
 from within, nor any serious danger menace them from tho 
 exterior, without giving sufficient warning, she attributed 
 vhe proposition to Mabel s ignorance and alarm ; and as it 
 was made apparently with frankness, it was received with 
 out listrust. By these means our heroine was enabled to 
 descend to the door, as her friend ascended to the roof; 
 and June felt no unusual inducement to watch her. The 
 distance between the two was now too great to admit of con 
 versa tion ; and for three or four minutes, one was occupied 
 iu looking about her as weh as the darkness would allow, 
 mid the other in listening at the door, with ad much intent- 
 
398 THE PATHFINDLR. 
 
 ness as if all her senses were absorbed in the single faculty 
 of hearing. 
 
 June discovered nothing from her elevated stand ; the 
 obscurity, indeed, almost forbade the hope of such a result 
 but it would not be easy to describe the sensation with which 
 Mabel thought she perceived a slight and guarded push 
 against the door. Fearful that all might not be as she 
 wished, and anxious to let Chingachgook know that she was 
 near, she began, though in tremulous and low notes, to sing. 
 So profound was the stillness at the moment, that the sound 
 of the unsteady warbling ascended to the roof, ami in a min 
 ute June began to descend. A slight tap at the door was 
 heard immediately after. Mabel was bewildered, for there 
 was no time to lose. Hope proved stronger than fear, and 
 with unsteady hands she commenced unbarring the door. 
 The moccasin of June was heard on the floor above her, 
 when only a single bar was turned. The second was re 
 leased as her form reached half-way down the lower ladder. 
 
 " What you do ! " exclaimed June, angrily. " RUE 
 away mad leave block-house ? Block-house good " 
 The hands of both were on the last bar, and it would have 
 been cleared from the fastenings, but for a vigorous shove 
 from without, which jammed the wood. A short struggle 
 ensued, though both were disinclined to violence. June 
 would probably have prevailed, had not another and a more 
 vigorous push from without forced the bar past the trifling 
 impediment that held it, when the door opened. The form 
 of a man was seen to enter, and both the females rushed up 
 the ladder, as if equally afraid of the consequences. The 
 stranger secured the door, and first examining the lower 
 room with great care, he cautiously ascended the ladder. 
 June, as soon as it became dark, had closed the loops of the 
 principal floor, and lighted a candle. By means of this dim 
 taper, then, the two females stood in expectation, waiting to 
 ascertain the person of their visitor, whose wary ascent of 
 the ladder was distinctly audible, though sufficiently deliber 
 ate. It would not be easy to say which was the most as 
 tonished on finding, when the stranger had got through the 
 trap, that Pathfinder stood before them. 
 
THE PATHFINDER. 399 
 
 * God be praised ! " Mabel exclaimed, ijr the idea that 
 the block-house would be impregnable with such a garrison, 
 at once crossed her mind. " ! Pathfinder, what has be 
 come of my father ? " 
 
 " The sergeant is safe as yet, and victorious, though it is 
 not. in the gift of man to say what will be the ind of it. Is 
 not that the wife of Arrowhead, skulking in the comer 
 iJhore?" 
 
 " Speak not of her reproachfully, Pathfinder ; I owe her 
 my life - my present security ; tell me what has happened 
 to my father s party, why you are here, and I will relate all 
 the horrible events that have passed upon this island." 
 
 " Few words will do the last, Mabel ; for one used to 
 Indian deviltries needs but little explanations on such a 
 subject. Everything turned out as we had hoped with the 
 expedition, for the Sarpent was on the lookout, and he met 
 us with all the information heart could desire. We am 
 bushed three boats, druv the Frenchers out of them, got 
 possession and sunk them, according to orders, in the deep 
 est part of the channel ; and the savages of Upper Canada 
 will fare badly for Indian goods this winter. Both powder 
 and ball too, will be scarcer among them than keen hunters 
 and actyve warriors may relish. We did not lose a man, or 
 have even a skin barked ; nor do 1 think the inimy suffered 
 to speak of. In short, Mabel, it has been just such an ex 
 pedition as Lundie likes ; much harm to the foe, and little 
 harm to ourselves." 
 
 " Ah ! Pathfinder, I fear when Major Duncan comes to 
 ear the whole of the sad tale, he will find reason to regret 
 je ever undertook the affair ! " 
 
 " I know what you mean I know what you mean; but 
 by telling my story straight you will understand it better. 
 As soon as the sergeant found himself successful, he sent me 
 and the Sarpeut off in canoes to tell you how matters had 
 turned out, and he is following with the two boats ; which 
 being so much heavier, cannot arrive before morning. I 
 pin ted from Chingachgook this forenoon, it being agreed 
 that he should come up one set of channels, and I another, 
 to see that the path was clear. I ve not seen the chief 
 iince." 
 
400 THE PATHFINDER. 
 
 Mabel now explained the manner in which she hud dis 
 covered the Mohican, arid her expectation that he would yet 
 come to the block-house. 
 
 " Not he not he ! A regular scout will never get be 
 hind walls or logs, so long as he can keep the open air and 
 find useful employment. I should not have come my sell, 
 ftiabel, but J promised the sergeant to comfort you, and (o 
 look a ter your safety. Ah s me 1 I recounoitered the (al 
 and with a heavy heart this forenoon ; and there was a bit 
 ter hour when I fancied you might be among the slain." 
 
 ** By what lucky accident were you prevented from pad- 
 dling up boldly to the island, and from falling into the hands 
 of the enemy ? " 
 
 kt By such an accident, Mabel, as Providence employs to 
 ;ell the hound where to find the deer, and the deer how to 
 throw off the hound. No, no ; these artifices and deviltries 
 with dead bodies may deceive the soldiers of the 55th, and 
 the king s officers ; but they are all lost upon men who have 
 passed their days in the forest. I came down the channel 
 in face of the pretended fisherman, and, though the riptyles 
 have set up the poor wretch with art, it was not ingenious 
 enough to take in a practysed eye. The rod was held too 
 high ; for the 55th have learned to fish at Oswego, if they 
 never knew how before ; and then the man was too quiet 
 for one who got neither prey nor bite. But we never come 
 in upon a post blindly ; and I have lain outside a garrison a 
 whole night, because they had changed their sentries and 
 their mode of standing guard. Neither the Sarpent nor my- 
 belf would be likely to be taken in by these contrivances, 
 jvhieh were most probably intended for the Scotch, who are 
 cunning enough in some particulars, though anything but 
 vritches when Indian sarcumventioiis are in the wind." 
 
 " Do you think my father and his men may yet be de 
 ceive- 1 ? " said Mabel, quickly. 
 
 " Not if I can prevent it, Mabel. You say the Sarpent 
 ii on the lookout too ; so there is a double chance of our 
 succeeding in letting him know his danger ; though k is by 
 \o means sartaiu by which channel the party may come." 
 
 " Pathfinder," said our heroine solemnly, for die irightfu. 
 
THE PATHFINDER. 401 
 
 icenes she had witnessed had clothed death with unusual 
 horrors, " Pathfinder, you have professed love for me a 
 wish to make me your wife ! " 
 
 " I did veiitur to speak on that subject, Mabel, and the 
 sergeant has even lately said that you are kindly disposed ; 
 but I am not a man to parsecute the thing I love." 
 
 " Hear me, Pathfinder ! I respect you honor you 
 revere you ; save my father from this dreadful death, ;md I 
 can worship you. Here is my hand as a solemn pledge for 
 my faith, when you come to claim it." 
 
 " Bless you bless you, Mabel ; this is more than I de- 
 sarve ; more, I fear, than I shall know how to profit by, as 
 I ought. It was not wanting, however, to make me sarve 
 the sergeant. We are old comrades, and owe each other a 
 life ; though I fear me, Mabel, being a father s comrade is 
 not always the best recommendation with the daughter ! " 
 
 " You want no other recommendation than your OWL. 
 acts your courage your fidelity; all that you do and 
 say, Pathfinder, my reason approves, and the heart will, 
 nay, it shall follow." 
 
 " This is a happiness I little expected this night; but we 
 are in God s hands, and He will protect us in his own way. 
 These are sweet words, Mabel, but they were not wanting 
 to make me do all that man can do, in the present sarcuin 
 stances ; they will not lessen my endeavors neither." 
 
 " Now we understand each other, Pathfinder," Mabel 
 added hoarsely, " let us not lose one of the precious mo 
 ments, which may be of incalculable value. Can we not 
 get into your canoe, and go and meet my father ? " 
 
 * That is not the course I advise. I don t know by which 
 channel the sergeant will come, and there are twenty ; rely 
 n it, the Sarpent will be winding his way through then 
 ail. No, no, my advice is to remain here. The logs of 
 this block-house are still green, and it will not be easy to 
 sr.t them on fire ; and I can make good the place, bating a 
 buining, agin a tribe. The Iroquois nation cannot dislodge 
 me from this fortress, so long as we can keep the flames 
 off it. The sergeant is now camped on some island, and 
 will not come in until morning. If we hold the block, we 
 M 
 
402 THE PATIIFINDO. 
 
 can give him timely warning, by firing rifles for instance 
 and should he determine to attack the savages, as a man 
 of his temper will be very likely to do, the possession of 
 this building will be of great account in the affair. No, no ; 
 my judgment says remain, if the object be to sarve tht? 
 sergeant ; though escape for our two selves will be no very 
 difficult matter." 
 
 " Stay," murmured Mabel, " stay, for God s sake, Path 
 finder. Anything everything, to save my father ! " 
 
 " Yes, that is natur . I am glad to hear you say t-hisj 
 Mabel, for I own a wish to see the sergeant fairly sup 
 ported. As the matter now stands, he has gained himself 
 credit ; and could he once drive off these miscreants, and 
 make an honorable retreat, laying the huts and block in 
 ashes, no doubt, no doubt, Lundie would remember it, and 
 sarve him accordingly. Yes, yes, Mabel, we must not only 
 save the sergeant s life, but we must save his ripitation." 
 
 " No blame can rest on my father, on account of the 
 surprise of this island ! " 
 
 " There s no telling there s no telling ; military glory 
 is a most unsartain thing. I ve seen the Delawares routed, 
 when they desarved more credit than at other times when 
 they ve carried the day. A man is wrong to set his head 
 on success of any sort, and worst of all, on success in war. 
 I know little of the settlements, or of the notions that men 
 nold in them ; but, up here-away, even the Indians rate a 
 warrior s character according to his luck. The principal 
 \hirig with a soldier is, never to be whipt ; nor do I think 
 mankind stops long to consider how the day was won or 
 (ost. For my part, Mabel, I make it a rule when facing 
 the inirny, to give him as good as I can send, and to try to 
 be moderate as I can, when we get the better ; as for- feel- 
 jig moderate after a defeat, little need be said on that score 
 as a flogging is one of the most humblir/g things in natur 
 The parsons preach about humility, in the garrisons ; but 
 if humility would make Christians, the king s troops ought 
 to be saints, for they ve done little, as yet, this war, but 
 akii lessons from the French, beginning at- Fort du Quesue^ 
 %nd ending at Ty ! " 
 
THE PATHFINDER. 403 
 
 " My father could not have suspected that the position 
 of the island was known to the enemy," resumed Mabel, 
 whose thoughts were running on the probable effect of the 
 recent events, on the sergeant. 
 
 "That is tru^ ; ror do I well see how the Frenchers 
 found it out. TLe spot is well chosen, and it ia not an 
 easy matter, even for one who has travelled the road to 
 aid from it, to find it again. There has been treachery, I 
 fear ; yes, yes, there must have been treachery ! " 
 
 " O ! Pathfinder, can this be ? " 
 
 " Nothing is easier, Mabel, for treachery comes as nat ral 
 to some men, as eating. Now, when I find a man all fair 
 words, I look close to his deeds ; for when the heart a 
 right, and raally intends to do good, it is generally satisfied 
 to let the conduct speak, instead of the tongue." 
 
 " Jasper Western is not one of these," said Mabel, im 
 petuously. " No youth can be more sincere in his manner, 
 or less apt to make the tongue act for the head." 
 
 " Jasper Western ! tongue and heart are both right with 
 that lad, depend on it, Mabel ; and the notion taken up by 
 Lundie, and the quartermaster, and tYie sergeant, and your 
 ancle, too, is as wrong, as it would be to think that the sun 
 shone by night, and the stars shone by day. No, no ; I ll 
 answer for Eau-douce s honesty with my own scalp, or, at 
 need, with my own rifle." 
 
 " Bless you bless you, Path.lnder ! " exclaimed Mabel, 
 extending her own hand, and pressing the iron fingers of her 
 companion, under a state of feeling that far surpassed her 
 iwn consciousness of its strength. " You are all that is 
 generous all that is noble ; God will reward you for it." 
 
 "Ah ! Mabel, I fear me, if this be true, I should not 
 tovet such a wife as yourself, but would leave you to be 
 *ued for. by some gentleman of the garrison, as your de 
 jurts require! " 
 
 "We will not talk of this any more to-night," Mabel 
 answered, in a voice so smothered as to seem nearly choked. 
 w We must think less of ourselves, just now, Pathfinder, and 
 more of our friends.- Rut I rejoice from my soul that you 
 believe Jasper innocent. Now let us talk of other things 
 ought we not to release June? * 
 
404 THE PATHFINDER. 
 
 " I ve been thinking about the woman, for it will not bf 
 safe to shut our eyes and leave hers open, on this side of 
 the block-house door. If we put her in the upper room 
 and take away the ladder, she ll be a prisoner at least." 
 
 " I cannot treat one thus who has saved my life. It would 
 be better to let her depart ; I think she is to< much my 
 friend to do anything to harm me." 
 
 4 You do not know the race, Mabel ; you do not know 
 the race. It s true she s not full-blooded Mingo, but she 
 consorts with the vagabonds, and must have 1 arned some of 
 their tricks. What is that ? " 
 
 " It sounds like oars some boat is passing through the 
 channel ! " 
 
 Pathfinder closed the trap that led to the lower room, to 
 prevent June from escaping, extinguished the candle, and went 
 hastily to a loop, Mabel looking over his shoulder in breath 
 less curiosity. These several movements consumed a min 
 ute or two ; and by the time the eye of the scout had got a 
 dim view of things without, two boats had swept past, and 
 eh*t up to the shore, at a spot some fifty yards beyond the 
 block, where there was a regular landing. The obscurity 
 prevented more from being seen ; and Pathfinder whispered 
 to Mabel, that the new comers were as likely to be foes as 
 friends, for he did not think her father could possibly have 
 arrived so soon. A number of men were now seen to quit 
 the boats, and then followed three hearty English cheers, 
 leaving no further doubts of the character of the party. 
 Pathfinder sprang to the trap, raised it, glided down the lad 
 der, and began to unbar the door with an earnestness that 
 proved how critical he deemed the moment. Mabel had 
 followed, but she rather impeded than aided his exertions, 
 and but a single bar was turned when a heavy discharge of 
 rifles was heard. They were still standing in breathless sus- 
 l>ense, as the war-whoop rang in all the surrounding thickets* 
 The door now opened, and both Pathfinder arid Mabel 
 rushed into the open air. All human sounds had ceased. 
 After listening half a minute, however, Pathfinder thought 
 he heard a few stifled groans near the boats ; but the wind 
 blew so fresh, and the rustling of the leaves mingled BO much 
 
THE PATHFINDER. 405 
 
 with tne murmurs of the passing air, that he was far from 
 certain. But Mabel was borne away by her feelings, aiid 
 she rushed by him, taking the way towards the boats. 
 
 " This will not do, Mabel," said the scout in an earnest 
 but low voice, seizing her by an arm, " this will never do. 
 Sartain death would follow, and that without sarving any 
 one. We must return to the block." 
 
 " Father ! my poor, dear, murdered father ! " said the 
 girl wildly, though habitual caution, even at that trying mo 
 ment, induced her to speak low. " Pathfinder, if you lo\ 
 me, let me go to my dear father ! " 
 
 " This will not do, Mabel. It is singular that no one 
 speaks ; no one returns the fire from the boats and I have 
 ieft Killdeer in the block ! But of what use would a rifle 
 kSe when no one is to be seen ! " 
 
 At that moment the quick eye of Pathfinder, which, while 
 he held Mabel firmly in his grasp, had never ceased to roam 
 over the dim scene, caught an indistinct view of five or six 
 dark, crouching forms, endeavoring to steal past him, doubt 
 less with the intention of intercepting their retreat to the 
 block-house. Catching up Mabel, and putting her under an 
 arm as if she were an infant, the sinewy frame of the woods 
 man was exerted to the utmost, and he succeeded in entering 
 the building. The tramp of his pursuers seemed immediately 
 at his heels. Dropping his burden, he turned, closed the 
 door, and had fastened one bar, as a rush against the solid 
 mass threatened to force it from the hinges. To secure the 
 other bar was the work of an instant. 
 
 Mabel now ascended to the first floor, while Pathfinder 
 remained as a sentinel below. Our heroine was in that state 
 in which the body exerts itself apparently without the con 
 trol of the mind. She relighted the candle mechanically, 
 as her companion had desired, and returned with it below, 
 fcrhere he was waiting her reappearance. No sooner was 
 Pathfinder in possession of the light than he examined the 
 place carefully, to make certain no one was concealed in the 
 fortress, ascending to each floor in succession, after assuring 
 himself that he left no enemy *n his rear. The result was 
 the conviction that the block-house now contained no one 
 
406 THE PATHFINDER. 
 
 but Mabel and himself, June having escaped. When per- 
 fectly convinced on this material point, Pathfinder rejoined 
 our heroine in the principal apartment, setting down the 
 light, and examining the priming of Killdeer before he 
 seated himself. 
 
 " Our worst fears are realized," said Mabel, to whom the 
 hurry and excitement of the last five minutes appeared to 
 contain the emotions of a life. " My beloved father, and 
 all his party, are slain or captured ! " 
 
 " We don t know that morning will tell us all. I do 
 not think the affair as settled as that, or we should hear the 
 vagabond Mingos yelling out their triumph around the block- 
 hou&a. Of one thing we may be sartain ; if the inimy has 
 really got the better, he will not be long in calling upon us 
 to surrender. The squaw will let him into the secret of 
 our situation, and, as they well know the place cannot bo 
 fired by daylight so long as Killdeer continues todesarve his 
 reputation, you may depend on it, that they will not be 
 backward in making their attempt while darkness helps 
 them." 
 
 " Surely, I hear a groan ! " 
 
 " Tis fancy, Mabel, when the mind gets to be skeary, 
 especially a woman s mind, she often consaits things that 
 have no reality. I ve known them that imagined there was 
 truth in dreams " 
 
 " Nay, I am not deceived ; there is surely one below, and 
 
 in pain ! " 
 
 Pathfinder was compelled to own that the quick senses of 
 Mabel had not deceived her. He cautioned her, however, 
 to repress her feelings ; and reminded her that the savages 
 were in the practice of resorting to every artifice to attain 
 their ends, and that nothing was more likely than that the 
 groans were feigned with a view to lure them from the block- 
 house, or at least to induce them to open the door. 
 
 " No, no, no," said Mabel, hurriedly, " there is no artifice 
 in those sounds, arid they come from Anguish of body, if uot 
 of spirit. They are fearfully natural." 
 
 " Well, we shall soon know whether a friend is there or 
 not. Hide the light again, Mabel, and I will speak the per 
 son from a loop." 
 
THE PATHFINDEtt. 407 
 
 Not a little precaution was necessary, according to Path 
 finder s judgment and experience, in performing even this 
 simple act, for he had known the careless slain by their want 
 of proper attention to what might have seemed to the igno 
 rant, supererogatory means of safety. He did not place his 
 month to the loop itself, but so near it that he could be heard 
 without raising his voice, and the same precaution was 
 observed as regards his ear. 
 
 "Who is below?" Pathfinder demanded, when his ar 
 rangements were made to his mind. " Is any one in suffer 
 ing? If a friend, speak boldly, and depend on our aid " 
 
 " Pathfinder ! " answered a voice that both Mabel and 
 the person addressed at once knew to be the sergeant s, 
 w Pathfinder, in the name of God, tell me what has become 
 of my daughter ? " 
 
 "Father, I am here ! unhurt safe; and O! that I could 
 think the same of you ! " 
 
 The ejaculation of thanksgiving that followed was dis 
 tinctly audible to the two, but it was clearly mingled with a 
 groan of pain. 
 
 "Mj worst forebodings are realized !" said Mabel, with a 
 sort of desperate calmness. " Pathfinder, my father must 
 be brought within the block, though we hazard everything 
 Lo do it." 
 
 " This is natur , and it is the law of God. But, Mabel, 
 be calm, and endivor to be cool. All that can be effected 
 for the sergeant by human invention, shall be done. I only 
 ask you to be cool." 
 
 " I am I am, Pathfinder. Never in my life was I 
 more calm, more collected, than at this moment. But re 
 member how perilous may be every instant; for Heaven s 
 take, what we do, let us do without delay." 
 
 Pathfinder was struck with the firmness of Mabel s tones, 
 und perhaps he was a little deceived by the forced tranquil 
 lity and self-possession she had assumed. At all events he 
 did not deem any further explanations necessary, but de 
 scended forthwith, and began to unbar the door. This deli 
 cate process was conducted with the usual caution, but as 
 tto warily permitted the mass of timber to swing back on 
 
408 THE PATHFINDER. 
 
 the hiiigcs, he felt a pressure against it that had Ros.fl? in 
 duced him to close it again. But catching a glimpse of (.he 
 cause through the crack, the door was permitted to swing 
 back, when the body of Sergeant Dunham, which wus 
 propped against it, fell partly within the block. To drr,w 
 in the legs and secure the fastenings, occupied the Path- 
 tinder but a moment. Then there existed no obstacle to 
 their giving their undivided care to the wounded man. 
 
 Mabel, in this trying scene, conducted herself with the 
 sort of unnatural energy that her sex, when aroused, is apt 
 to manifest. She got the light, administered water to the 
 parched lips of her father, and assisted Pathfinder in form 
 ing a bed of straw for his body, and a pillow of clothes for 
 his head. All this was done earnestly, and almost without 
 speaking ; nor did Mabel shed a tear until she heard the 
 blessings of her father murmured on her head, for this ten 
 derness and care. All this time, Mabel had merely con 
 jectured the condition of her parent. Pathfinder, however, 
 showed greater attention to the physical danger of the ser 
 geant. He ascertained that a rifle ball had passed through 
 the body of the wounded man; and he was sufficiently 
 familiar with injuries of this nature, to be certain that the 
 chances of his surviving the hurt were very trifling, if any 
 
" When the body of Sergeant Dunham, whirh xv:is propped against it, fell partly 
 within the block. To draw in the legs and secure the fastenings, occupied 
 Pathfinder but a moment." Page 228. 
 
TJHIVEKSIT7 
 
THE PATHFINLEB. 409 
 
 CHAPTER XXIV. 
 
 Then drink my tears, while yet they fall ; 
 Would that my bosom s blood were balm ; 
 And well thou knowest I d shed it all, 
 To give thy brow one minute s calm. 
 
 MOORE., 
 
 THE eyes of Sergeant Dunham had not ceased to follow 
 the form of his beautiful daughter from the moment that the 
 light appeared. He next examined the door of the block, 
 to ascertain its security ; for he was left on the ground be 
 low, there being no available means of raising him to the 
 upper floor. Then he sought the face of Mabel ; for as life 
 wanes fast, the affections resume their force, and we begin 
 to value that most which we feel we are about to lose for 
 ever. 
 
 " God be praised, my child, you at least have escaped 
 their murderous rifles ! " he said ; for he spoke with 
 strength, and seemingly with no additional pain. " Give 
 ine the history of this sad business, Pathfinder." 
 
 " All s me, sergeant ! it has been sad, as you say. That 
 I there has been treachery, and the position of the island has 
 been betrayed, is now as sartain, in my judgment, as that 
 we still hold the block. But" 
 
 " Major Duncan was right," interrupted Dunham, laying 
 u hand on the other s arm. 
 
 " Not in the sense you mean, sergeant no, not in that 
 p int of view ; never. At least, not in my opinion. I know 
 that natur is weak human natur , I mean and that we 
 should none of us vaunt of our gifts, whether red or white ; 
 but I do riot think a truer hearted lad lives on the lines 
 than Jasper Western." 
 
 " Bless you bless you for that, Pathfinder ! " burat 
 forth from Mabel s very soul, while a flood of tears gave 
 
410 THE PATHFINDER. 
 
 vent to emotions that were so varied, while they were so 
 violent: " O, bless you, Pathfinder, bless you! The brave 
 should never desert the brave the honest should sustain 
 the honest." 
 
 The father s eyes were fastened anxiously on the face of 
 his daughter, until the latter hid her countenance in hei 
 apron to conceal her tears ; and then they turned with in 
 quiry to the hard features of the guide. The latter merely 
 wore their usual expression of frankness, sincerity, and up 
 rightness ; and the sergeant motioned to him to proceed. 
 
 "You know the spot where the Sarpent and I left you, 
 sergeant," Pathfinder resumed ; " and I need say nothing of 
 all that happened afore. It is now too late to lament what 
 is gone and passed; but I do think if I had stayed with 
 the boats, this would not have come to pass ! Other men 
 may be as good guides ; I make no doubt they are : but 
 then natur bestows its gifts, and some must be better than 
 other some. I dare say poor Gilbert, who took my place, 
 has suffered for his mistake." 
 
 " He fell at my elbow," the sergeant answered, in a low, 
 melancholy tone. " We have, indeed, all suffered for our 
 mistakes ! " 
 
 " No, no, sergeant, I meant no condemnation on you ; for 
 men were never better commanded than your n, in this 
 very expedition. I never beheld a prettier flanking ; and 
 the way in which you carried your own boat up agin their 
 howitzer might have teache^l Lundie himself a lesson." 
 
 The eyes of the sergeant brightened ; his face even wore 
 an expression of military triumph, though it was of a de 
 gree that suited the humble sphere in which he had been 
 an actor. 
 
 " Twas not badly done, my friend," he said ; " we carried 
 th^ir log breast-work by storm ! " 
 
 " Tvvas nobly done, sergeant ; though I fear when all the 
 truth comes to be known, it will be found that these va <T a- 
 
 O 
 
 bonds have got their howitzer back ag in. Well, well, put 
 a stout heart upon it, and try to forget all that is disagree 
 able, and to remember only the pleasant part of the matter 
 That is your truest philosophy ; aye, and truest religion 
 
THE PATHFINDER. 411 
 
 too. If the inimy has got the howitzer ag in, they ve only 
 got what belonged to them afore, and what we couldn t 
 help. They haven t got the block-house yet, nor are they 
 likely to get it, unless they fire it in the dark. Well, ser 
 geant, the Sarpent and I separated about ten miles down 
 the river ; for we thought it wisest not to come upon ever 
 a friendly camp without the usual caution. What has be 
 oome of Chingachgook, I cannot say ; though Mabel tells 
 ine he is not far off; and I make no question the noble 
 hearted Delaware is doing his duty, although he is not now 
 visible to our eyes. Mark my word, sergeant ; before this 
 matter is over, we shall hear of him at some critical time, 
 and that in a discreet and creditable manner. Ah ! the 
 Sarpent is, indeed, a wise and virtuous chief; and any white 
 man might covet his gifts, though his rifle is not quite as 
 sure as Killdeer, it must be owned. Well, as I came neai 
 the island, I missed the smoke, and that put me on my 
 guard ; for I knew that the men of the 55th were not cun 
 ning enough to conceal that sign, notwithstanding all that 
 has been told them of its danger. This made me more 
 careful, until I came in sight of this mock-fisherman, as I ve 
 just told Mabel ; and then the whole of their infernal arts 
 was as plain before me, as if I saw it on a map. I need not 
 tell you, sergeant, that my first thoughts were of Mabel , 
 and that, finding she was in the block, I came here, in 
 order to live or die in her company." 
 
 The father turned a gratified look upon his child, and 
 Mabel felt a sinking of the heart that, at such a moment, 
 he could not have thought possible, when she wished to 
 lx?]ieve all her concern centered in the situation of her par 
 ent. As the latter held out his hand she took it in her 
 own, and kissed it. Then kneeling at his side, she wept as 
 if her heart would break. 
 
 " Mabel," he said, steadily, " the will of God must bo 
 done. It is useless to attempt deceiving either you or-my 
 self ; my time has come, and it is a consolation to me to 
 die like a soldier. Lundie will do me justice, for our good 
 friend Pathfinder will tell him what has been done, aud 
 how all came to pass. You do not forget our last conver 
 sation ?" 
 
412 THE PATHFINDER. 
 
 " Nay, father, my time has probably come, too," exclaimed 
 Mabel, who felt just then as if it would be a relief to die. 
 " I cannot hope to escape ; and Pathfinder would do well 
 to leave us, and return to the garrison, with the sad news, 
 while he can." 
 
 " Mabel Dunham," said Pathfinder, reproachfully, though 
 he took her hand with kindness. "I have not desarved 
 (his; I know I am wild, and uncouth, and ungainly" 
 
 " Pathfinder ! " 
 
 " Well well, well forget it ; you did not mean it ; you 
 could not think it. It is useless, now, to talk of escaping, 
 for the sergeant cannot be moved ; and the block-house 
 must be defended, cost what it will. Maybe Lundie will 
 get the tidings of our disaster, and send a party to raise the 
 siege." 
 
 " Pathfinder Mabel ! " said the sergeant, who had been 
 writhing with pain, until the cold sweat stood on his fore 
 head, " come both to my side. You understand each other, 
 I hope ? " 
 
 " Father, say nothing of that it is all as you wish." 
 
 " Thank God ! Give me your hand, Mabel here, 
 Pathfinder, take it. I can do no more than give you the 
 girl in this way. I know you will make her a kind hus 
 band. Do not wait on account of my death; there will be 
 a chaplain in the fort, before the season closes ; let him 
 marry you at once. My brother, if living, will wish to go 
 back to his vessel, and then the child will have no protector. 
 Mabel, your husband will have been my friend, and that will 
 be some consolation to you, I hope." 
 
 " Trust this matter to me, sergeant," put in Pathfinder ; 
 fi leave it all in my hands, as your dying request ; and de - 
 peud on it, all will go as it should." 
 
 " I do I do put all confidence in you, my trusty friend, 
 and empower you to act, as I could act myself, in ever} 
 particular. Mabel, child hand me the water you will 
 never repent this night. Bless you, my daughter God 
 bless and have you in his holy keeping ! " 
 
 This tenderness was inexpressibly touching to one oi 
 Mabel s feelings ; aid she felt at that moment, as if he" 
 
THE PATHFINDER. 41 b 
 
 future union with Pathfinder had leceived a solemnization 
 that no ceremony of the Church could render more holy. 
 Still, a weight, as that of a moiiiitajiijjay upon her heart 
 jand_she thl^ghT^Tlvaul^^ to die. Then fol 
 
 lowed a short pause, when the sergeant, in broken sentences 
 briefly related what had passed since he parted with Path 
 finder and the Delaware. The wind had come more favor 
 able, and instead of encamping on an island, agreeably t< 
 the original intention, he had determined to continue, and 
 reach the station that night. Their approach would have 
 been unseen, and a portion of the calamity avoided, he 
 thought, had they not grounded on the point of a neighbor 
 ing island, where, no doubt, the noise made by the men, in 
 getting off the boat, gave notice of their approach, and 
 enabled the enemy to be in readiness to receive them. 
 They had landed without the slightest suspicion of danger, 
 though surprised at not finding a sentinel, and had actually 
 left their arms in the boat, with the intention of first secur 
 ing their knapsacks and provisions. The fire had been so 
 close, that notwithstanding the obscurity, it was very deadly 
 Every man had fallen ; two or three, however, subsequently 
 arose, and disappeared. Four or five of the soldiers had 
 been killed, or so nearly so as to survive but a few minutes ; 
 though, for some unknown reason, the enemy did not make 
 the usual rush for the scalps. Sergeant Dunham fell with 
 others ; and he had heard the voice of Mabel, as she rushed 
 from the block-house. This frantic appeal aroused all his 
 parental feelings, and had enabled him to crawl as far as 
 the door of the building, where he had raised himself against 
 the logs, in the manner already mentioned. 
 
 After this simple explanation was made, the sergeant wai 
 so weak as to need repose ; and his companions, while they 
 ministered to his wants, suffered some time to pass in silence. 
 Pathfinder took the occasion to reconnoitre from the loopa 
 and the roof, and he examined the condition of the rifles, of 
 which there were a dozen kept in the building, the soldiers 
 having used their regimental muskets in the expedition. 
 But Mabel never left her father s siie for an instant, and 
 when, by his breathing, she fancied he slept, she bent her 
 knees and prayed. 
 
414 THE PATHFINDER. 
 
 The half hour that succeeded was awfully solemn ^i<l 
 still. The moccasin of Pathfinder was barely heard over 
 head, and occasionally the sound of the breech of a rifle fell 
 upon the floor, for he was busied in examining the pieces, 
 with a view to ascertain the state of their charges, and their 
 primings. Beyond this nothing was so loud as the biealh 
 ing of the wounded man Mabel s heart yearned to be ii : 
 communication with the father she was so soon to lose, and 
 yet she would not disturb his apparent repose. But Dunham 
 slept not ; he was in that state when the world sudden Ij 
 loses its attractions, its illusions, and its power ; and the 
 unknown future fills the mind with its conjectures, its reve 
 lations, and its immensity. He had been a moral man for 
 one of his mode of life, but he had thought little of this alb 
 important moment. Had the din of battle been ringing in 
 his ears, his martial ardor might have endured to the end ; 
 but there, in the silence of that nearly untenauted block 
 house, with no sound to enliven him, no appeal to keep 
 alive factitious sentiment, no hope of victory to impel, things 
 began to appear in their true colors, and this state of being 
 to be estimated at its just value. He would have given 
 treasures for religious consolation, yet he knew not where 
 to turn to seek it. He thought of Pathfinder, but he dis 
 trusted his knowledge. He thought of Mabel ; for the 
 parent to appeal to the child for such succor, appeared like 
 reversing the order of nature. Then it was that he felt 
 the full responsibility of the parental character, and had 
 some clear glimpses of the manner in which he himself had 
 discharged the trust towards an orphan child. While 
 thoughts like these were rising in his mind, Mabel, who 
 watched the slightest change in his breathing, heard a 
 guarded knock at the door. Supposing it might" be Cbin 
 ijachgook, she rose, undid two of the bars, and held the 
 third in her hand, as she asked who was there. The an 
 swer was in her uncle s voice, and he implored her to give 
 him immediate admission. Without an instant of hesita 
 tion, she turned the bar, and Cap entered. He had barely 
 passed the opening, when Mabel closed the door again, and 
 secured it as before, for practice had rendered her expert in 
 this portion of her duties. 
 
THE PATHFINDER. 415 
 
 Tlie sturdy seaman, when he had made sure of the state 
 of his brother-in-law, and that Mabel as well as himself 
 was safe, was softened nearly to tears. His own appearance 
 he explained by saying that he had been carelessly guarded, 
 under the impression that he and the quartermaster were 
 sleeping under the fumes of liquor with which they had 
 been plied, with a view to keep them quiet in the expected 
 engagement. Muir had been left asleep, or seeming to 
 sleep ; but Cap had run into the bushes, on the alarm of 
 the attack, and having found Pathfinder s canoe, had only 
 succeeded, at that moment, in getting to the block-house, 
 whither he had come with the kind intent of escaping with 
 his niece by water. It is scarcely necessary to say, that he 
 changed his plan when he ascertained the state of the ser 
 geant, and the apparent security of his present quarters. 
 
 "If the worst comes to the worst, Master Pathfinder," he 
 said, " we must strike, and that will entitle us to quarter. 
 We owe it to our manhood to hold out a reasonable time, 
 and to ourselves to haul down the ensign in season to make 
 saving conditions. I wished Master Muir to do the same 
 thing, when we were captured by these chaps you call vag 
 abonds, and rightly are they named, for viler vagabonds 
 do not walk the earth " 
 
 " You ve found out their characters ! " interrupted Path 
 finder, who was always as ready to chime in with abuse of 
 the Mingos, as with the praises of his friends. " Now, had 
 you fallen into the hands of the Delawares, you would have 
 Famed the difference." 
 
 " Well, to me they seem much of a muchness ; blackguards 
 fore ai .d aft, always excepting our friend the Serpent, who 
 ia a gentleman, for an Injin. But, when these savages made 
 tV=-3 assault on us, killing Corporal McNab and his men, aa 
 if they had been so many rabbits, Lieutenant Muir and 
 myself took refuge in one of the holes of this here island, 
 of which there are so many among the rocks, regular 
 geological underground burrows made by the water, as tho 
 lieutenant says, and there we remained stowed away 
 like two leaguers in a ship s hold, until we gave out for 
 want of grub. A man may say that grub is the foundation 
 
416 THE PATHFINDER. 
 
 of human nature. I desired the quartermaster to make 
 terms, for we could have defended ourselves for an hour or 
 two in the place, bad as it was ; but he declined, on the 
 ground that the knaves wouldn t keep faith if any of them 
 were hurt, and so there was no use in asking them to. T 
 consented to strike, on two principles ; one, that we might 
 be said to have struck already, for running below is gen 
 erally thought to be giving up the ship ; and the other, 
 that we had an enemy in our stomachs that was more for 
 midable in his attacks than the enemy on deck. Hunger is 
 
 d d ble circumstance, as any man who lias lived on it 
 
 eight-and-forty hours will acknowledge." 
 
 " Uncle ! " said Mabel, in a mournful voice, and with an 
 expostulatory manner, "my poor father is sadly, sadly 
 hurt ! " 
 
 " True, Magnet, true ; I will sit by him, and do my best 
 at consolation. Are the bars well fastened, girl ? on such 
 an occasion, the mind should be tranquil and undisturbed." 
 
 " We are safe, I believe, from all but this heavy blow of 
 Providence." 
 
 " Well, then, Magnet, do you go up to the deck above, 
 and try to compose yourself, while Pathfinder runs aloft and 
 takes a lookout from the cross-trees. Your father may 
 wish to say something to me, in private, and it may be well 
 to leave us alone. These are solemn scenes, and inexperi 
 enced people, like myself, do not always wish what they say- 
 to be overheard." 
 
 Although the idea of her uncle s affording religious con 
 solation by the side of a death-bed, certainly never obtruded 
 itself on the imagination of Mabel, she thought there might 
 be a propriety in the request with which she was unac 
 quainted ; and* she complied accordingly. Pathfinder had 
 already ascended to the roof to make his survey, and the 
 brothers-in-law were left alone. Cap took a seat by the 
 Bide of the sergeant, and bethought him seriously of the 
 grave duty he had before him. A silence of several minutes 
 succeeded, during which brief space the mariner was digest- 
 ing the substance of his intended discourse. 
 
 " I must say, Sergeant Dunham," Cap at length co*o 
 
THE PATHFINDER. 417 
 
 menced, in his peculiar manner, "that there has been mis 
 management somewhere in this unhappy expedition, and, 
 the present being an occasion when truth ought to be 
 spoken, and nothing but the truth, I feel it my duty to say 
 as much in plain language. In short, sergeant, on this point 
 there cannot well be two opinions ; for, seaman as I am, 
 and no soldier, I can see several errors myself, that it need/ 
 no grea 4 education to detect." 
 
 " What would you have, brother Cap ? " returned tha 
 other, in a feeble voice; "what is done is doie ; it is now 
 too late to remedy it." 
 
 " Very true, brother Dunham, but not to repent of it ; 
 the Good Book tells us it is never too late to repent; and 
 I ve always heard that this is the precious moment. If 
 you ve anything on your mind, sergeant, hoist it out freely, 
 for you know you trust it to a friend. You were my own 
 sister s husband, and poor little Magnet is my own sister s 
 daughter ; and, living or dead, I shall always look upon you 
 as a brother. It s a thousand pities that you didn t lie off 
 and on with the boats, and send a canoe ahead to recon 
 noitre ; in which case your command would have been 
 saved, and this disaster would not have befallen us all. 
 Well, sergeant, we are nil mortal ; that is some consolation, 
 [ make no doubt ; and if you go before a little, why, we 
 must follow. Yes, that must give him consolation." 
 
 " I know all this, brother Cap ; and hope I m prepared 
 to meet a soldier s fate ; there is poor Mabel " 
 
 " Aye, aye that s a heavy drag, I know ; but you 
 wouldn t take her with you, if you could, sergeant ; and sc 
 the better way is to make as light of the separation as you 
 car. Mabel is a good girl, and so was her mother bt.fore 
 her she was my sister, and it shall be my care to see f hat 
 her daughter gets a good husband, if our lives and sca!pa 
 are spared ; for I suppose no one would care about entering 
 into a family that has no scalps." 
 
 " Brother, my child is betrothed she will oecome the 
 wile of Pathfinder." 
 
 " Well, brother Dunham, every man has his opinions, and 
 hii manner of viewing things ; and to my notion this in%*cb 
 27 
 
418 TIIK PATHFINDER. 
 
 will be anything but agreeable to Mabel; I have no objec 
 tions to the age of the man; I m not one of them that 
 thinks it necessary to be a boy to make a girl happy, but 
 on the whole I prefer a man of about fifty for a husband ; 
 still, there ought not to be any circumstance between the 
 parties to make them unhappy. Circumstances play .the 
 devil with matrimony ; and I set it down as one, that Path 
 finder don t know as much as my niece. You ve seen bu1 
 little of the girl, sergoant, and have not got the run of her 
 knowledge ; but let her pay it out freely, as she will do 
 when she gets to be thoroughly acquainted ; and you ll fall 
 in with but few schoolmasters that can keep their lufTs in 
 her company." 
 
 " She s a good child a dear, good child," muttered the 
 sergeant, his eyes filling with tears ; " it is my misfortune 
 that I have seen so little of her." 
 
 " She is, indeed, a good girl, and knows altogether too 
 much for poor Pathfinder, who is a reasonable man, and an 
 experienced man in his own way ; but who has no more 
 idea of the main chance than you have of spherical trigo 
 nometry, sergeant." 
 
 " Ah ! brother Cap, had Pathfinder been with us in the 
 boats, this sad affair might not have happened ! " 
 
 " That is quite likely ; his worst enemy will allow that 
 the man is a good guide ; but, sergeant, if the truth must be 
 spoken, you have managed this expedition in a loose way, 
 altogether : you should have hove-to off your haven and 
 sent in si boat to reconnoitre, as I told you before. That is 
 a matter to be repented of; and I tell it to you because 
 truth, in such a case, ought to be spoken." 
 
 " My errors are dearly paid for, brother ; and poor 
 Mabel, I fear, will be the sufferer. I think, however, that 
 the calamity would not have happened had there not been 
 \reason. I fear me, brother, that Jasper Eau-douce haa 
 played us false ! " 
 
 ki That is just my notion ; this fresh-writer life must 
 sooner or later, undermine any man s morals. Lieutenant 
 Muir and myself talked this matter over, while we lay in a 
 bit oi a hole, out here, on this island ; and we both cani to 
 
THE PATHFINDER. 419 
 
 the conclusion that .lothing short of Jasper s treacher/ could 
 have brought MS all into this infernal scrape. Well, ser 
 geant, you had better compose your mind, and think of other 
 matters ; when a vessel is about to enter a strange port, it 
 is more prudent to think of the anchorage inside than to be 
 under-running all the events that have turned up during 
 the v y ge ; there s the log-book, expressly to note all these 
 matters in ; and what stands there must form the column 
 of figures that s to be posted up, for or Hgainst us. How^ 
 now, Pathfinder ! is there anything in the wind, that you 
 come down the ladder like an Indian in the wake of a 
 scalp ? " 
 
 The guide raised a linger for silence, then beckoned to 
 Cap to ascend the first ladder, and to allow Mabel to tako 
 nis place at the side of the sergeant. 
 
 " We must be prudent, and we must be bold, too," he 
 said, in a low voice. " The riptyles are in earnest in their 
 intention to fire the block, for they know there is now 
 nothing to be gained by letting it stand. I hear the voice 
 of that vagabond Arrowhead, among them, and he is urging 
 them to set about their diviltry this very night. We must 
 be stirring, Salt-water, and doing too. Luckily, there are 
 four or five barrels of water in the block, and these are 
 something towards a siege. My reckoning is wrong, too, 
 or we shall yet reap some advantage from that honest fellow ) 
 the Sarpent, being at liberty." 
 
 Cap did not wait for a second invitation, but stealing 
 away, he was soon in the upper room with Pathfinder, 
 while Mabel took his post at the side of her father s humble 
 bed. Pathfinder had opened a loop, having so far concealec 
 the light that it would not expose him to a treacherous shot, 
 and, expecting a summons, he stood with his face near the 
 hole, ready to answer. The stillness that succeeded,, wa& 
 at length broken by the voice of Muir. 
 
 " Master Pathfinder," called out the Scotchman, " a friend 
 summons you to a parley. Come freely to me of the loops, 
 for you ve nothing to fear so long as you are in converse 
 with an officer of the 55th." 
 
 u What is your will, quartermaster what is y ur will ? 
 
420 THE PATHFINDKR. 
 
 I know the 55th, and believe it to be a brave regiment, 
 though I rather incline to the 60th, as my favorite, and to 
 the Delawares more than to either. But what would you 
 have, quartermaster ? It must be a pressing errand that 
 brings you under the loops of a block-house, at this hour 
 of the night, with the sartainty of Killdeer s being inside 
 of it." 
 
 O ! you ll no harm a friend, Pathfinder, I m certain, 
 and that s my security. You re a man of judgment, an-.J 
 have gained too great a name on this frontier for bravery, 
 to feel the necessity of foolhardiness to obtain a character. 
 You ll very well understand, my good friend, there is as 
 much credit to be gained by submitting gracefully, when re 
 sistance becomes impossible, as by obstinately holding out 
 contrary to the rules of war. The enemy is too strong for 
 us, my brave comrade, and I come to counsel you to give 
 up the block, on condition of being treated as a prisoner 
 of war." 
 
 " 1 thank you for this advice, quartermaster, which is the 
 more acceptable, as it costs nothing. But I do not think it 
 belongs to my gifts to yield a place like this, while food and 
 water last." 
 
 " Well, I d be the last, Pathfinder, to recommend any 
 thing against so brave a resolution, did I see the means of 
 maintaining it. But ye ll remember that Master Cap has 
 fallen " 
 
 " Not he not he ! " roared the individual in question 
 through another loop; " so far from that, lieutenant, he has 
 risen to the height of this here fortification, and has no mind 
 to put his head of hair into the hands of such barbers again, 
 so long as he can help it. I look upon this block-house as 
 a circumstance, and have no mind to throw it away." 
 
 " If that is a living voice," returned Muir, " I am glad to 
 hear it, for we all thought the man had fallen in the late 
 tearful confusion ! But, Master Pathfinder, although ye ro 
 enjoying the society of your friend Cap, and a great pleasure 
 do I know it to be, by the experience of two days and a 
 uight passed in a hole in the earth, we ve lost that of Ser 
 geant Duuham, who has fallen, with aU the brava men h 
 
THE PATHFINDEK 421 
 
 lod hi the late expedition. Lundie would have it so, though 
 it would have been more discreet and becoming to send a 
 commissioned officer in command. Dunham was a brave 
 man, notwithstanding, and shall have justice done his mem 
 ory. In short, we have all acted for the best, and that is as 
 much as could be said in favor of Prince Eugene, the Duke 
 of Marlborough, or the great Earl of Stair himself." 
 
 " You re wrong ag in, quartermaster you re wicng 
 agfiii," answered Pathfinder, resorting to a ruse to magnify 
 his force. " The sergeant is safe in the block too, where 
 one might say the whole family is collected." 
 
 " Well, I rejoice to hear it, for we had certainly counted 
 the sergeant among the slain. If pretty Mabel is in the 
 block still, let her not delay an instant, for Heaven s sake, 
 in quitting it, for the enemy is about to put it to the trial 
 by fire. Ye know the potency of that dread element, and 
 will be acting more like the discreet and experienced war 
 rior ye re universally allowed to be, in yielding a place you 
 canna defend, than in drawing down ruin on yourself and 
 companions." 
 
 " 1 know the potency of fire, as you call it, quartermaster, 
 and am not to be told, at this late hour, that it can be used 
 for something else besides cooking a dinner. But I make, 
 no doubt you ve heard of the potency of Killdeer, and the 
 man who attempts to lay a pile of brush agin these logs will 
 get a taste of his powder. As for arrows, it is not in their 
 gift to set this building on fire, for we ve no shingles on our 
 roof, but good solid logs and green bark, and plenty of water 
 besides. The roof is so flat, too, as you know yourself, 
 quartermaster, that we can walk on it, and so no danger oil 
 Jiat score while water lasts. I m peaceable enough if let 
 alone, but he who endivers to burn this block over my head 
 ivill find the fire squiuched in his own blood." 
 
 " This is idle and romantic talk, Pathfinder, and ye ll no 
 maintain it yourself when ye come to meditate on the reali 
 ties. I hope ye ll no gainsay the loyalty or the courage of 
 the 55th, and I feel convinced that a council of war would 
 decide on the propriety of a suiTender forthwith. Na, na, 
 Pathfinder, foolhardiness is na inair like the braverj jf 
 
422 THE rATHHNDEB. 
 
 Wallace or Bruce, than Albany on the Hudson is like the 
 town of Edinbro ." 
 
 " As each of us seems to have made up his mind, quarter 
 master, more words are useless. If the riptyles near you 
 are disposed to set about their hellish job, let them begin at 
 once. They can burn wood, and I ll burn powder. If I 
 were an Injiu at the stake, I suppose I could brag as well 
 as the rest of them, but my gifts and natur being both whito, 
 my turn is rather for doing than talking. You ve said quit) 
 enough, considering you carry the king s commission ; ami 
 should we all be consumed, none of us will bear you aiiy 
 malice." 
 
 tf Pathfinder, you ll no be exposing Mabel, pretty Mabc I 
 Dunham, to sic a calamity ! " 
 
 " Mabel Dunham is by the side of her wounded fathe , 
 and God will care for the safety of a pious child. Not a 
 hair of her head shall fall, while my arm and sight remain 
 true ; and though you may trust the Mirigos, Master Muir, 
 I put no faith in them. You ve a knavish Tuscarora in 
 your company there, who has art and malice enough to spoil 
 the character of any tribe with which he consorts, though 
 he found the Mingos ready ruined to his hands, I fear. 
 But, enough said ; let each party go to the use of his means 
 and gifts." 
 
 Throughout this dialogue Pathfinder kept his body cov 
 ered, lest a treacherous shot should be aimed at the loop 
 and he now directed Cap to ascend to the roof in order to 
 be in readiness to meet the first assault. Although the lat 
 ter used sufficient diligence, he found no less than ten blaz 
 ing arrows sticking to the bark, while the air was filled with 
 the yells and whoops of the enemy. A rapid discharge of 
 rifles followed, and the bullets came pattering against th< 
 logs, in a way to show that the struggle had indeed seriously 
 commenced. 
 
 These were sounds, however, that appalled neither Path 
 finder nor Cap, while Mabel was too much absorbed in her 
 affliction to feel alarm. She had good sense enough, too, 
 to understand the nature of the defenses, and fully to ap 
 preciate then- importance As for her father, the familiar 
 
 
THE PATHFINDER. 423 
 
 noises revived him, and it pained his child, at such a moment, 
 to see that his glassy eye began to kindle, and that the 
 blood returned to a cheek it had deserted, as he listened to 
 the uproar. It was now Mabel first perceived that his reason 
 began slightly to wander. 
 
 4 Order up the light companies," he muttered, " and let 
 the grenadiers charge ! Do they dare to attack us in our 
 fcn t ? Why does not the artillery open 011 them ? " 
 
 At that instant, the heavy report of a gun burst on the 
 night ; and the crashing of rending wood was heard, as a 
 heavy shot tore the logs in the room above, arid the whole 
 block shook with the force of a shell that lodged in the work. 
 The Pathfinder narrowly escaped the passage of this for 
 midable missile, as it entered ; but when it exploded, Mabel 
 could not suppress a shriek ; for she supposed all over her 
 head, whether animate or inanimate, destroyed. To in 
 crease her horror, her father shouted, in a frantic voice, to 
 Charge ! " 
 
 " Mabel," said Pathfinder, with his head at the trap, " thi 
 is true Miugo work more noise than injury. The vaga 
 bonds have got the howitzer we took from the French, and 
 have discharged it agin the block ; but, fortunately, they 
 have fired off the only shell we had, and there is an ind of 
 its use, for the present. There is some confusion among the 
 stores up in this loft, but no one is hurt. Your uncle is 
 still on the roof; and as for myself, I ve rim the gauntlet 
 of too many rifles to be skeary about such a thing as a how 
 itzer, and that in Injin hands." 
 
 Mabel murmured her thanks, and tried to give all her at 
 tention to her father, whose efforts to rise were only coun 
 teracted by his debility. During the fearful minutes that 
 succeeded, she was so much occupied with the care of the 
 invalid, that she scarce heeded the clamor that reigned 
 around her. Indeed, the uproar was so greut that, had not 
 hor thoughts been otherwise employed, confusion of faculties, 
 rather than alarm, would probably have been the conse 
 quence. 
 
 Cap preserved his coolness admirably. He had a pro 
 found and increasing respect for the power of the savages. 
 
424 THE PATHFINDER, 
 
 and even for the majesty of fresh water, it is trut but hii 
 apprehensions of the former proceeded more from his dread 
 of being scalped and tortured, than from any unmanly fear 
 of death : and as he was now on the deck of a house, if not 
 on the deck of a ship, and knew th.it there was little danger 
 of boarders, he moved about with a, fearlessness and a rash 
 exposure of his person that Pathfmuer, had he been aware 
 rf the fact, would have been the first to condemn. Instead 
 of keeping his body covered, agreeably to the usages of In 
 dian warfare, he was seen on every part of the roof, dashing 
 the water right and left, with the apparent steadiness and 
 unconcern he would have manifested had he been a sail- 
 trimmer exercising his art in a battle afloat. His appear 
 ance was one of the causes of the extraordinary clamoi 
 among the assailants, who, unused to see their enemies so 
 reckless, opened upon him with their tongues like the pack 
 that has the fox in view. Still he appeared to possess a 
 charmed life; for, though the bullets whistled around him 
 on every side, and his clothes were several times torn, noth 
 ing cut his skin. When the shell passed through the logs 
 below, the old sailor dropped his bucket, waved his hat, and 
 gave three cheers ; in which heroic act he was employed as 
 the dangerous missile exploded. This characteristic feat 
 probably saved his life ; for from that instant the Indians 
 ceased to fire at him, and even to shoot their naming arrows 
 at the block having taken up the notion simultaneously, 
 and by common consent, that the " Salt-water was mad ; " 
 and it was a singular effect of their magnanimity, never to lift 
 a. hand against those whom they imagined devoid of reason, 
 The conduct of Pathfinder was very different. Every* 
 thing he did was regulated by the most exact calculation*, 
 the result of long experience and habitual thoughtful ness.. 
 His person was kept carefully out of a line with the loops, 
 and the spot that he selected for his lookout was one that 
 was quite removed from danger. This celebrated guide had 
 often been known to lead forlorn hopes ; he had once stood 
 at the stake, suffering under the cruelties and taunts of sav 
 age ingenuity and savage ferocity, without quailing; and 
 legends of his exploits, coolness, and daring, were to be 
 
THE PATHFINDER. 425 
 
 heard all along that extensive frontier, or wherever men 
 dwelt and men contended. But on this occasion, one who 
 did not know his history and character, might have thought 
 his exceeding care and studied attention to self-preservation 
 proceeded from an unworthy motive. But such a judge 
 would not have understood his subject. The Pathfinder be- 
 thought him of Mabel, and of what might possibly be the 
 consequences to that poor girl, should any casualty befall 
 himself. But the recollection rather quickened his intel 
 lect than changed his customary prudence. He was, ir 
 fact, one of those who was so accustomed to fear, that h 
 never bethought him of the constructions others might put 
 upon his conduct. But while, in moments of danger, he 
 acted with the wisdom of the serpent, it was also with the 
 simplicity of a child. 
 
 For the first ten minutes of the assault, Pathfinder never 
 raised the breech of his rifle from the floor, except when he 
 changed his own position for he well knew that the bul 
 lets of the enemy were thrown away npovi the massive logs 
 of the work ; and, as he had been at the capture of the 
 howitzer, he felt certain that the savages had no other shell 
 than the one found in it when the piece was taken. There 
 existed no reason, therefore, to dread the fire of the assail 
 ants, except as a casual bullet might find a passage through 
 a loophole. One or two of these accidents did occur, but 
 the balls entered at an angle that deprived them of all 
 chance of doing any injury, so long as the Indians kept near 
 the block ; and if discharged from a distance, there was 
 scarcely the possibility of one in a hundred s striking the 
 apertures. But when Pathfinder heard the sound of nioc- 
 zasined feet, and the rustling of brush at the foot of the 
 building, he knew that the attempt to build a fire against 
 die logs was about to be renewed. He now summoned Cap 
 from the roof, where indeed all the danger had ceased, and 
 directed him to stand in readiness with his water at a hole 
 immediately over the spot assailed. 
 
 One less trained than our hero would have been in a 
 uurry to repel this dangerous attempt also, and might have 
 esorted to his means prematurely ; not so with Pathfinder 
 
426 TUE PATHFINDER. 
 
 His aim was not only to extinguish the fire, about which he 
 felt kittle apprehension, but to give the enemy a lesson that 
 would render him wary during the remainder of the night. 
 In order to effect the latter purpose, it became necessary to 
 wait until the light of the intended conflagration should di 
 rect his aim, when he well knew that a very slight effort of 
 his skill would suffice. The Iroquois were permitted to 
 collect their heap of dried brush, to pile it against the block. 
 to light it, and to return to their covers, without molestation 
 All that Pathfinder would suffer Cap to do was, to roll a 
 barrel tilled with water to the hole immediately over the 
 spot, in readiness to be used at the proper instant. That 
 moment, however, did not arrive, in his judgment, until the 
 blaze illuminated the sin-rounding bushes, and there had been 
 time for his quick and practiced eye to detect the forms of 
 three or four lurking savages, who were watching the prog 
 ress of the names, with the cool indifference of men accus 
 tomed to look on human misery with apathy. Then indeed 
 he spoke. 
 
 u Are you ready, friend Cap ? " he asked. " The heat 
 begins to strike through the crevices, and, although these 
 green logs are not of the fiery natur of an ill-tempered man, 
 they may be kindled into a blaze if one provokes them too 
 much. Are you ready with the barrel ? See that it has the 
 right cut, and that none of the water is wasted." 
 
 * All ready ! " answered Cap, in the manner in which a 
 Beaman replies to such a demand. 
 
 " Then wait for the word. Never be over impatient in a 
 Critical time, nor fool-risky in a battle. Wait for the word." 
 
 While the Pathfinder was giving these directions, he was 
 rtlao making his own preparations, for he saw it was time to 
 act. Killdeer was deliberately raised, pointed, and dis 
 charged. The whole process occupied about half a minute, 
 find, as the rifie was drawn in, the eye of the marksman was 
 applied to the hole. 
 
 ** There is one riptyle the less ! " Pathfinder muttered 
 lo himself; " I ve seen that vagabond afore, and know him 
 jo be a marciless devil. Well, well ; the man acted accord 
 ing to his gifts, and lie has been rewarded according to nil 
 
THE PATHFINDER. 427 
 
 gifts. One more of the knaves, and that will sarve the 
 turn for to-night When daylight appears, we may have 
 hotter work." 
 
 All this time, another rifle was getting ready; and as 
 Pathfinder ceased, a second savage fell. This, indeed, suf 
 ficed ; for, indisposed to wait for a third visitation from the 
 same hand, the whole band, which had been crouching in 
 the bushes around the block, ignorant of who was and who 
 was not exposed to view, leaped from their covers, and fled 
 to different places for safety. 
 
 " Now, pour away, Master Cap," said Pathfinder ; " I ve 
 made my mark on the blackguards, and we shall have no 
 more fires lighted to-night. 
 
 " Scaldings ! " cried Cap, upsetting the barrel with a care 
 that at once and completely extinguished the flames. 
 
 This ended the singular conflict ; and the remainder of 
 the night passed in peace. Pathfindei and Cap watched al 
 ternately, though neither can be said to have slept. Sleep, 
 indeed, scarcely seemed necessary to them, for both were 
 accustomed to protracted watchings ; and there were seasons 
 and times when the former appeared to be literally insensi 
 ble to the demands of hunger and thirst, and callous to the 
 effects of fatigue. 
 
 Mabel watched by her father s pallet, and began to feel 
 how much our happiness, in this world, depends even or 
 things that are imaginary. Hitherto, she had virtually 
 lived without a father, the connection with her remaining 
 parent being ideal, rather than positive ; but, now that she 
 was about to lose him, she thought, for the moment, that 
 the world would be a void after his death, and that *be 
 could never be acquainted with happiness again. 
 
428 THE PATHFINDOL 
 
 CHAPTER XXV. 
 
 There was a roaring in the wind all night; 
 The rain came heavily, and fell in floods; 
 But now the sun is rising calm and bright; 
 The birds are singing in the distant woods. 
 
 WORDSWORTH. 
 
 AS the light returned, Pathfinder and Cap ascended agaii* 
 to the roof, with a view once more to reconnoitre the state 
 of things on the island. This part of the block-house had 
 a low battlement around it, which afforded a considerable 
 protection to those who stood in its centre ; the intention 
 having been to enable marksmen to lie behind it, and to fire 
 over its top. By making proper use, therefore, of these 
 slight defenses slight as to height, though abundantly 
 ample as far as thoy went the two lookouts commanded 
 a pretty good view of the island, its covers excepted ; and 
 of most of the channels that led to the spot. 
 
 The gale was still blowing very fresh at south; and 
 there were places in the river where its surface looked 
 green and angry, though the wind had hardly sweep enough 
 to raise the water into foam. The shape of the little island 
 was generally oval, and its greatest length was from east 
 to west. By keeping in the channels that washed it, in 
 consequence of their several courses, and of the direction of 
 the gale, it would have been possible for a vessel to range 
 past the island on either of its principal sides, and always 
 to keep the wind very nearly abeam. These were the facts 
 first noticed by Cap, and explained to his companion ; for 
 the hopes of both now rested on the chances of relief sent 
 from Oswego. At this instant, while they stood gazing 
 anxiously about them, Cap cried out in his lusty, hearty 
 manner, 
 
 Sail, ho ! " 
 
THE PATHFINDER. 4 29 
 
 Pathfinder turned quickly in the direction of his com 
 panion s face, and there, sure enough, was just visible tb*a 
 object of the. old sailor s exclamation. The elevation en 
 abled the two to overlook the low land of several of the 
 adjacent islands; and the canvas of a vessel was seeu 
 through the bushes that fringed the shore of one that lay 
 to the southward and westward. The stranger was under 
 what seamen call low sail : but so great was the power of 
 the wind, that her white outlines were seen flying past the 
 openings of the verdure with the velocity of a fast-travel 
 ling horse ; resembling a cloud driving in the heavens. 
 
 " That cannot be Jasper ! " said Pathfinder, in disappoint 
 ment : for he did not recognize the cutter of his friend, in 
 the swift passing object. " No, no ; the lad is behind the 
 hour ; that is some craft that the Frenchers have sent to 
 aid their friends, the accursed Mingos." 
 
 " This time you are out in your reckoning, friend Path 
 finder, if you never were before," returned Cap, in a man 
 ner that had lost none of its dogmatism by the critical cir 
 cumstances in which they were placed. " Fresh water or 
 Bait, that is the head of the Scud s mainsail, for it is cut 
 with a smaller gore than common ; and then you see that 
 the gaff has been fished quite neatly done, I admit, but 
 fished." 
 
 " I can see none of this, I confess," answered Pathfinder, 
 to whom even the terms of his companion were Greek. 
 
 No ! Well, I own that surprises me ; for I thought 
 your eyes could see anything ! Now, to me, nothing is 
 plainer than that gore and that fish ; and I must say, my 
 honest friend, that, in your place, I should apprehend that 
 my sight was beginning to fail." 
 
 " If Jasper is truly coming, I shall apprehend but little. 
 We can make good the block against the whole Mingo 
 aation, for the next eight or ten hours; and, with Eau-douce 
 to cover the retreat, I shall despair of nothing. God sent 
 ;*Mit the lad may not run alongside of the bank, and fall 
 into an ambushment, as befell the sergeant ! " 
 
 u Aye ; there s the danger. There ought to have been 
 signals concerted, and an anchorage-ground buoyed out, and 
 
430 THE PATHFINDER. 
 
 even a quarantine station, or a lazaretto, would have been 
 useful, could we have made these Minks-ho respect the 
 laws. If the lad fetches up, as you say, anywhere in the 
 neighborhood of this island, we may look upon the cutter 
 as lost. And, after all, Master Pathfinder, ought we not 
 to set down this same Jasper as a secret ally of the French, 
 rather than as a friend of our own ? T know the sergeant 
 views the matter in that light, and I must say this whole 
 affair looks like treason ! " 
 
 " We shall soon know we shall soon know, Master Cap, 
 for there indeed comes the cutter, clear of the other island, 
 and five minutes must settle the matter. It would be no 
 more than fair, however, if we could give the boy some sign 
 in the way of warning. It is not right that he should fall 
 into the trap, without a notice that it has been laid." 
 
 Anxiety and suspense, notwithstanding, prevented either 
 from attempting to make any signal. It was not easy, truly, 
 to see how it could be done ; for the Scud came foaming 
 through the channel, on the weather side of the island, at a 
 rate that scarce admitted of the necessary time. Nor was 
 any one visible on her deck to make signs to ; even her 
 helm seemed deserted, though her course was as steady as 
 ker progress was rapid. 
 
 Cap stood in silent admiration of a spectacle so unusual. 
 But, as the Scud drew nearer, his practiced eye detected the 
 helm in play, by means of tiller-ropes, though the person 
 who steered was concealed. As the cutter had weather 
 boards of some little height, the mystery was explained ; no 
 doubt remaining that her people lay behind the latter, in 
 order \o be protected from the rifles of the enemy. As this 
 fact showed that no force, beyond that of the small crew 
 could be on board, Pathfinder received his companion s ex 
 planation with an ominous shake of the head. 
 
 " This proves that the Sarpent has not reached Oswego," 
 he said, " and that we are not to expect succor from the 
 garrison. I hope Lundie has not taken it into his head to 
 displace the lad, for Jasper Western would be a host of 
 himself, in such a strait. We three, Master Cap, ought to 
 make a manful warfare : you, as a seaman, to keep up the 
 
THE PATHFINDER. 431 
 
 Intercourse witli the cutter ; Jasper, as a laker, who knows 
 all that is necessary to be done on the water ; and I, with 
 gifts that are as good as anv among the Minxes, let me be 
 what I may in other particulars. I say, we ought to make 
 a manful fight in Mabel s behalf." 
 
 "That we ought, and that we will," answered Cap, 
 heartily, for he began to have more confidence in the secu 
 rity of his scalp, now that he saw the sun again ; f set 
 clown the arrival of the Scud as one circumstance, ami the 
 chances of Eau-<iouce s honesty as another. This Jasper i? 
 a young man of prudence, you find, for he keep=; a good 
 offing, and seems determined to know how matters stand 
 on the island, before he ventures to bring up." 
 
 " I have it I have it ! " exclaimed Pathfinder with ex 
 altation ; there lies the canoe of the Sarpent on the cut 
 ter s deck, and the chief has got 01^ board, aiul no doubt has 
 given a true account of our condition ; unlike a Mingo, a 
 Delaware is sartain to get a story right, or to hold his 
 tongue." 
 
 Pathfinder s disposition to think well of the Delawares, 
 and to think ill of the Mingos, must, by this time, be very 
 apparent to the reader. Of the veracity of the former he 
 entertained the highest respect, while of the latter he 
 thought, as the more observant and intelligent classes of 
 this country are getting pretty generally to think of certain 
 scribblers among ourselves, who are known to have been so 
 long in the habits of mendacity, that it is thought they can 
 uo longer tell the truth, even when they seriously make the 
 effort. 
 
 "That canoe may belong to the cutter," said the captious 
 eeaman ; " Oh-the-Deuce had one on board when we sailed." 
 
 " Very true, friend Cap ; but, if you know your sails and 
 masts by your gores and fishes, I know my canoes and iry 
 paths by frontier knowledge. If you can see new cloth in 
 a sail, I can see new bark in a canoe. That is the boat of 
 the Sarpent, and the noble fellow has struck off for the gar 
 rison, as soon as he found the block besieged, has fallen in 
 with the Scud, and after telling his story, has brought the 
 cutter down here to see what can be done. The Lord grant 
 that Jasper Western be still on board her I " 
 
432 THE PATHFINDER. 
 
 " Yes, yes ; it might not be amiss ; for, traitor or loyal 
 the lad has a handy way with him in a gale, it must be 
 owned." 
 
 " And in coming over water-falls ! " said Pathfinder 
 nudging the ribs of his companion with an elbow, and 
 laughing in his silent but hearty manner. " We will give 
 the boy his due, though he scalps us all with his own 
 hand ! " 
 
 The Scud was now so near that Cap made no reply. 
 The scene, just at that instant, was so peculiar that it 
 merits a particular description : which may also aid the 
 reader in forming a more accurate idea of the picture we 
 wish to draw. 
 
 The gale was still blowing violently : many of the smaller 
 trees bowed their tops, as if ready to descend to the earth, 
 while the rushing of the wind through the branches of the 
 groves resembled the roar of distant chariots. 
 
 The air was filled with leaves which, at that late season, 
 were readily driven from their stems, and flew from island to 
 island like flights of birds. With this exception, the spot 
 seemed silent as the grave. That the savages still remained, 
 was to be inferred from the fact that their canoes, together 
 with the boats of the 55th, lay in a group in the little cove 
 that had been selected as a harbor. Otherwise not a sign 
 of their presence was to be detected. Though taken en 
 tirely by surprise by the cutter, the sudden return of which 
 was altogether unlocked for, so uniform and inbred were 
 their habits of caution while on the war-path, that the in 
 stant an alarm was given every man had taken to his cover, 
 with the instinct and cunning of a fox seeking his hole. 
 The same stillness reigned in the block-house, for though 
 Pathfinder and Cap could command a view of the channel, 
 the) took the precaution necessary to lie concealed. The 
 unusual absence of anything like animal life on board the 
 Scud, too, was still more remarkable. As the Indians wit 
 nessed her apparently undirected movements, a feeling of 
 awe gained a footing among them, and some of the boldest 
 of their party began to distrust the issue of an expedition 
 that had commenced so prosperously. Even Arrowhead, 
 
THE PATHFINDER. 433 
 
 accustomed as lie was to intercourse with the whites on both 
 Bides of the lakes, fancied there was something ominous in 
 the appearance of this unmanned vessel, and he would gladly 
 at that moment have been landed a^ain on the main. 
 
 O 
 
 In the mean time the progress of the cutter was steady 
 and rapid. She held her way mid-channel, now inclining 
 to the gusts, and now rising again, like the philosopher that 
 bends to the calamities of life to resume his erect attitude as 
 they pass away, but always piling the water beneath her 
 bows in foam. Although she was under so very short can 
 vas, her velocity was great, and there could not have elapsed 
 ten minutes between the time when her sails were first seen 
 glancing past the trees and bushes in the distance, and the 
 moment when she was abreast of the block-house. Cap 
 and Pathfinder leaned forward as the cutter came beneath 
 their eyrie, eager to get a better view of her deck, when, to 
 the delight of both, Jasper Eau-douce sprang upon his feet 
 and gave three hearty cheers. Regardless of all risk, 
 Cap leaped upon the rampart of logs, and returned the 
 greeting, cheer for cheer. Happily, the policy of the 
 enemy saved the latter, for they still lay quiet, net a rifle 
 being discharged. On the other hand, Pathfindei kept in 
 view the useful, utterly disregarding the mere dramatic part 
 of warfare. The moment he beheld his friend -Jasper, he 
 called out to him with stentorian lungs, 
 
 " Stand by us, lad, and the day s our own ! Give em 
 a grist in yonder bushes, and you ll put em up like par 
 tridges." 
 
 Part of this reached Jasper s ears, but most was borne off 
 to leeward on the wings of the wind. By the time this was 
 said the Scud had driven past, and in the next moment she 
 was liid from view by the grove in which the block-house 
 was partially concealed. 
 
 Two anxious minutes succeeded, but at the expiration of 
 that brief space, the sails were again gleaming thror gh the 
 trees, Jasper having wore, jibed, and hauled up under the 
 kee of the island, on the other task. The wind was free 
 enough, as has been already explained, to admit of this 
 manoeuvre ; and the cutter, catching the current under her 
 88 
 
434 THE PATHFINDER. 
 
 lee bow, was breasted up to her course in a way thai showed 
 she would come out to windward of the island again, with 
 out any difficulty. This whole evolution was made with the 
 greatest facility, not a sheet being touched, the sails trim 
 ming themselves, the rudder alone controlling the admirable 
 machine. The object appeared to be a reconnoissance. 
 When, however, the Scud had made the circuit of the entire 
 island, and had again got her weatherly position in the 
 channel by which she had first approached, her helm was put 
 down, and she tacked. The noise of the mainsail flapping 
 when it filled, close rerfed as it was, sounded like the report 
 of a gun, and Cap trembled lest the seams should open. 
 
 " His Majesty gives good canvas, it must be owned," 
 muttered the old seaman ; " and it must be owned, too, 
 that boy handles his boat as if he were thoroughly bred ! 
 
 D e, Master Pathfinder, if I believe, after all that has 
 
 been reported in the matter, that this Mister Oh-the-Deuc* 1 
 got his trade on this bit of fresh water." 
 
 " He did ; yes, he did. He never saw the ocean, and 
 has come by his calling altogether up here on Ontario. I 
 have often thought he has a nat ral gift, in the way of 
 schooners and sloops, and have respected him accordingly. 
 As for treason, and lying, and black-hearted vices, friend 
 Cap, Jasper Western is as free as the most virtuousest of 
 the Delaware warriors ; and if you crave to see a truly hon 
 est man, you must go among that tribe to discover him." 
 
 " There he comes round ! " exclaimed the delighted Cap, 
 the Scud at this moment filling on her original tack, " and 
 now we shall see what the boy would be at ; he cannot 
 mean to keep running up and down these passages like a 
 girl footing it through a country dance ! " 
 
 The Scud now kept so much away that, for a moment, 
 the two observers on the block-house feared Jasper meant 
 to come-to ; and the savages in their lairs gleamed out upon 
 her with the sort of exultation that the crouching tiger may 
 be supposed to feel, as he sees his unconscious victim ap 
 proach his bed. But Jasper had no such intention. Fa 
 miliar with the shore, and acquainted with the depth of 
 water on every part of the island, he well knew that th 
 
THK PATHFINDKR. 435 
 
 Scud miglit be run against the bank with impunity, and he 
 ventured fearlessly so near that us he passed through the 
 little cove, he swept the two boats of the soldiers from their 
 fastenings, and forced thorn out into the channel, towing 
 them with the cutter. As all the canoes were fastened to 
 the two Dunham boats, by this bold and successful attempt 
 the savages were at once deprived of the means of quitting 
 the island, unless by swimming, and they appeared to be 
 instantly aware of the very important fact. Rising in a 
 body, they filled the air with yells, and poured in a harm 
 less fire. While up in this unguarded manner, two rifles 
 were discharged by their adversaries. One came from the 
 summit of the block, and an Iroquois fell dead in his tracks, 
 shot through the brain. The other came from the Scud. 
 The last was the piece of the Delaware, but, less true than 
 that of his friend, it only maimed an enemy for life. The 
 people of the Scud shouted, and the savages sank again to a 
 man, as if it might be into the earth. 
 
 " That was the Sarpent s voice," said Pathfinder as soon 
 as the second piece was discharged. " I know the crack of 
 his rifle as well as I do that of Killdeer. Tis a good bar 
 rel, though not sartain death. Well, well, with Chingach- 
 gook and Jasper on the water, and you and I in the block, 
 friend Cap, it will be hard if we don t teach thess Mingo 
 scamps the rationality of a fight ! " 
 
 All this time the Scud was in motion. As soon as she 
 had reached the end of the island, Jasper sent his prizes 
 adrift ; and they went down before the wind, until they 
 stranded on a point more than a mile to leeward. He then 
 j?ore, and came stemming the current again, through the 
 other passage. Those on the summit of the block could 
 now perceive that something was in agitation on the deck 
 of the Scud; and to their great delight, just as the cutter 
 came abreast of the principal cove, on the spot where most 
 f the enemy lay, the howitzer, which composed her sole 
 ;.rmament, was unmasked, and a shower of case-shot was 
 sent hissing into the bushes. A bevy of quail would not 
 have risen quicker than this unexpected discharge of iron 
 bail put up the Iroquois when a second savage fell by a 
 
436 THE PATHFINDER. 
 
 messenger sent from Killdeer, and another went limping 
 away, by a visit from the rifle of Chingachgook. New 
 covers were immediately found, however ; and each party 
 seemed to prepare for the renewal of the strife in another 
 form. But the appearance of June, bearing a white flag, 
 and accompanied by the French officer and Muir, stayed 
 the hands of all, and was the forerunner of another par- 
 lej. 
 
 The negotiation that followed was held beneath the 
 blocK-house ; and so near it as at once to put those who 
 were uncovered completely at the mercy of Pathfinder s un 
 erring aim. Jasper anchored directly abeam ; and the how 
 itzer, too, was kept trained upon the negotiators : so that 
 the besieged and their friends, with the exception of the man 
 who held the match, had no hesitation about exposing their 
 persons. Chingachgook alone lay in ambush ; more, how- 
 over, from habit than distrust. 
 
 " You ve triumphed, Pathfinder," called out the quarter 
 master, " and Captain Saiiglier has come himself to offer 
 terms. You ll no be denying a brave enemy an honorable 
 retreat, when he has fought ye fairly and done all the credit 
 he could to king and country. Ye are too loyal a subject 
 yourself, to visit loyalty and fidelity with a heavy judg 
 ment. I am authorized to offer on the part of the enemy 
 an evacuation of the island, a mutual exchange of prison 
 ers, and a restoration of scalps. In the absence of baggage 
 and artillery, little more can be done." 
 
 As the conversation was necessarily carried on in a high 
 key, both on account of the wind, and on account of the 
 distance, all that was said was heard equally by those in the 
 block and those in the cutter. 
 
 "What do you say to that, Jasper?" called out Path- 
 finder. " You hear the tarms : shall we let the vagabonds 
 go ; or shall we mark them, as they mark their sheep in 
 the settlements, that we may know them again ? " 
 
 " What has befallen Mabel Dunham ? " demanded the 
 young man, with a frown on his handsome face, that was 
 visible even to those in the block. " If a hair of her head 
 has been touched, it will go hard with the whole Iroquoij 
 tribe ! " 
 
THE PATHFINDER. 437 
 
 Nay, nay, she is safe below, nursing a dying parent as 
 becomes her sex. We owe no grudge on account of the 
 sergeant s hurt, which comes of lawful warfare ; and as for 
 Mabel" 
 
 " She is here," exclaimed the girl herself, who had 
 mounted to the roof the moment she found the direction 
 things were taking. " She is here ; and in the name of 
 our holy religion, and of that God whom we profess to 
 worship in common, let there be no more bloodshed! 
 Enough has been spilt already ; and if these men will go 
 away, Pathfinder if they will depart peaceably, Jaspei 
 O ! do not detain one of them. My poor father is ap 
 proaching his end, and it were better that he should draw 
 his last breath in peace with the world. Go, go, French 
 men and Indians ; we are no longer your enemies, and will 
 harm none of you." 
 
 " Tut, tut, Magnet ! " put in Cap, " this sounds religious, 
 perhaps, or like a book of poetry ; but it does not sound 
 like common sense. The enemy is just ready to strike; 
 Jasper is anchored with his broadside to bear, and no doubt 
 with springs on his cables ; Pathfinder s eye and hand are 
 as true as the needle ; and we shall get prize-money, head- 
 money, and honor in the bargain, if you will not interfere 
 for the next half-hour." 
 
 " Well," said Pathfinder, " I incline to Mabel s way of 
 thinking. There has been enough blood shed to answer our 
 purpose and to sarve the king ; and as for honor in that 
 meaning, it will do better for young ensigns and recruits, 
 than for cool-headed, obsarvant, Christian men. There is 
 honor in doing what s right, and unhonor in doing what s 
 wrong ; and I think it wrong to take the life even of a Mingo 
 without a useful ind in view, I do ; and right to hear reason 
 at all times So, Lieutenant Muir, let us know what your 
 fronds, the Frenchers and Injins, have to say for them 
 selves." 
 
 " My friends ! " said Muir, starting. " You ll no be call 
 ing the king s enemies my friends, Pathfinder, because the 
 fortune of war has thiown me into their hands ? Some of 
 ihe greatest warriors, both of ancient and modern times, 
 
438 THE PATHFINDER. 
 
 have been prisoners of war ; and yon is Master Cap, who 
 can testify whether we did not do all that men could devise 
 to escape the calamity." 
 
 " Aye, aye," dryly answered Cap, " escape is a proper 
 word. We ran below and hid ourselves, and so discreetly, 
 that we might have remained in the hole to this hour, had 
 it not been for the necessity of re-stowing the bread-lock 
 ers. You burrowed on that occasion, quartermaster, as hand 
 ily as a fox ; and how the d 1 you knew so well where 
 
 to find the spot is a matter of wonder to me. A regular 
 skulk on board ship does not tail aft more readily when the 
 jib is to be stowed, than you went into that same hole ! " 
 
 " And did ye no follow ? There are moments in a man a 
 life when reason ascends to instinct " 
 
 " And men descend into holes," interrupted Cap, laugh 
 ing in his boisterous way, while Pathfinder chimed in in his 
 peculiar manner. Even Jasper, though still filled with con 
 cern for Mabel, was obliged to smile. " They say the 
 
 d 1 wouldn t make a sailor if he didn t look aloft, and 
 
 now it seems he ll not make a soldier if he doesn t look 
 below ! " 
 
 This burst of merriment, though it was anything but 
 agreeable to Muir, contributed largely towards keeping the 
 peace. Cap fancied he had said a tiling much better than 
 common, and that disposed him to yield his own opinion on 
 the main point, so long as he got the good opinion of lus 
 companions on his novel claim to be a wit. After a short 
 liscussion, all the savages on the island were collected in a 
 body, without arms, at the distance of a hundred yards from 
 the block, arid under the gun of the Scud, while Pathfinder 
 descended to the door of the block-house, and settled the 
 terms on which the island was to be finally evacuated by 
 the enemy. Considering all the circumstances, the condi 
 tions were not very discreditable to either party. The In 
 dians wore compelled to give up all their arms, even to 
 their knives and tomahawks, as a measure of precaution, 
 their force being still quadruple that of their foes. The 
 French officer, Monsieur Sanglier, as he was usually styled, 
 and chose to call himself, remonstrated against this act a* 
 
TTTE PATHFINDER 439 
 
 ne likely to reflect more discredit on his command than 
 any other part of the affair ; but Pathfinder, who had wit 
 nessed one or two Indian massacres, and knew how value 
 less pledges became when put in opposition to interest, 
 where a savage was concerned, was obdurate. The second 
 stipulation was of nearly the same importance. It com 
 pelled Captain Sanglier to give up all his prisoners, who 
 had been kept well guarded, in the very hole or cave in 
 which Cap and Muir had taken refuge. When these men 
 were produced, four of them were found to be .unhurt ; they 
 had fallen merely to save their lives, a common artifice in 
 that species of warfare ; and of the remainder, two were so 
 slightly injured as not to be unfit for service. As they 
 brought their muskets with them, this addition to his force 
 immediately put Pathfinder at his ease, for having collected 
 all the arms of the enemy in the block-house, he directed 
 these men to take possession of the building, stationing a 
 regular sentinel at the door. The remainder of the sol 
 diers were dead, the badly wounded having been instantly 
 despatched, in order to obtain the much-coveted scalps. 
 
 As soon as Jasper was made acquainted with the terms, 
 and the preliminaries had been so far observed as to render 
 it safe for him to be absent, he got the Scud under way, 
 and running down to the point where the boats had 
 stranded, he took them in tow again, and, making a few 
 stretches, brought them into the leeward passage. Here all 
 the savages instantly embarked, when Jasper took the 
 boats in tow a third time, and running off before the wind, 
 he soon set them adrift, quite a mile to leeward of the 
 island. The Indians were furnished with but a single oar 
 in each boat, to steer with, the young sailor well knowing 
 that, by keeping before the wind, they would land on the 
 shores of Canada in the course of the morning. 
 
 Captain Sanglier, Arrowhead, and June, alone remained, 
 when this disposition had been made of the rest of the 
 party ; the former having certain papers to draw up and 
 sign with Lieutenant Muir, who, in his eyes, possessed the 
 virtues which are attached to a commission, and the latter 
 preferring, for reasons of his own, not to depart in company 
 
440 THE PATHFINDER. 
 
 with his late friends, the Iroqnois. Canoes were retained, 
 for the departure of these three, when the proper moment 
 should arrive. 
 
 In the mean time, or while the Scud was running down 
 with the boats in tow, Pathfinder and Cap, aided by proper 
 assistants, busied themselves with preparing a breakfast ; 
 most of the party not having eaten for four-and-twenty 
 hours. The brief space that passed in this manner, before 
 the Scud came-to again, was little interrupted by discourse, 
 though Pathfinder found leisure to pay a visit to the 
 sergeant, to say a few friendly words to Mabel, and to give 
 such directions as he thought might smooth the passage of 
 the dying man. As for Mabel herself, he insisted on her 
 taking some light refreshment, and there no longer existing 
 any motive for keeping it there, he had the guard removed 
 from the block, in order that the daughter might have no 
 impediment to her attentions to her father. These little 
 arrangements completed, our hero returned to the fire, 
 around which he found all the remainder of the party M- 
 embled, including Jasper. 
 
THE PATHFINDER 441 
 
 CHAPTER XXVI. 
 
 You gaw but sorrow in its waning form, 
 A working sea remaining from a storm, 
 Where now the weary waves roll o er the deep, 
 And faintly murmur ere they fall asleep. 
 
 DKYDKM. 
 
 MEN accustomed to a warfare like that we have been 
 describing, are not apt to be much under the influence of 
 the tender feelings while still in the field. Notwithstanding 
 their habits, however, more than one heart was with Mabel 
 in the block, while the incidents we are about to relate 
 were in the course of occurrence ; and even the indispensa 
 ble meal was less relished by the hardiest of the soldiers 
 than it might have been had not the sergeant been so near 
 his end. 
 
 As Pathfinder returned from the block, he was met by 
 Muir, who led him aside in order to hold a private dis 
 course. The manner of the quartermaster had that air of 
 supererogatory courtesy about it which almost invariably 
 denotes artifice; for, while physiognomy and phrenology 
 are but lame sciences at the best, and perhaps lead to as 
 many false as right conclusions, we hold that there is no 
 more infallible evidence of insincerity of purpose, short of 
 overt acts, than a face that smiles when there is no occasion, 
 and the tongue that is out of measure smooth. Muir had 
 much of this manner in common, mingled with an apparent 
 frankness, that his Scottish intonation of voice, Scottish 
 accent, and Scottish modes of expression, were singularly 
 adapted to sustain. He owed his preferment, indeed, to a 
 long-exercised deference to Lundie and his family ; for, 
 while the major himself was much too acute to be the 
 dupe of one so much his inferior in real talents and attain 
 ments, most persons are accustomed to make liberal con- 
 
412 THE PATHFINDER. 
 
 cessions to the flatterer, even while they distrust bis truth, 
 and are perfectly aware of his motives. On the present 
 occasion, the contest in skill was between two men as com 
 pletely the opposites of each other, in all the leading 
 essentials of character, as very well could be. Pathfinder 
 was as simple as the quartermaster was practiced ; he was 
 as sincere as the other was false, and as direct as the last 
 was tortuous. Both were cool and calculating, and both 
 were brave, though in different modes and degrees ; Muir 
 never exposing his person except for effect, while the guide 
 included fear among the rational passions, or as a sensation 
 to be deferred to only when good might come of it. 
 
 " My dearest friend," Muir commenced, " for ye ll be 
 dearer to us all, by seventy-and-seven fold, after your late 
 conduct, than ever ye were, ye ve just established yourself, 
 in this late transaction ! It s true that they ll no be making 
 ye a commissioned officer, for that species of prefairment is 
 not much in your line, nor much in your wishes, I m think 
 ing; but as a guide, and a counselor, and a loyal subject, 
 and an expert marksman, yer renown may be said to be 
 full. I doubt if the commander-in-chief will carry away 
 with him from America as much credit as will fall to yer 
 share, and ye ought just to sit down in content, and enjoy 
 yourself for the remainder of yer days. Get married, man, 
 without delay, and look to yer precious happiness, for ye ve 
 no occasion to look any longer to your glory. Take Mabel 
 Dunham, for Heaven s sake, to your bosom, and ye ll have 
 both a bonny bride and a bonny reputation." 
 
 " Why, quartermaster, this is a new piece of advice to 
 come from your mouth ! They ve told me I had a rival in 
 you ! " 
 
 " And ye had, man ; and a formidable one, too, I can 
 tell ye ! One that has never yet courted in vain, and yet 
 one that has courted five times. Lundie twits me with 
 four, and I deny the charge ; but he little thinks the truth 
 would outdo even his arithmetic ! Yes, yes ; ye had a 
 rival. Pathfinder, but ye ve one no longer in me. Ye ve 
 my hearty wishes for yer success with Mabel, and were 
 the honest sergeant likely to survive, ye might rely on mj 
 good word with him, too, for a certainty. " 
 
THE PATHFINDER. 443 
 
 " 1 feel your friendship, quartermaster, I feel your friend 
 ship, though I have no great need of any favor with Sergeant 
 Dunham, who has long been my friend. I believe we may 
 look upon the matter to be as sartain as most things in war 
 time ; for Mabel and her father consenting, the whole 55th 
 couldn t very well put a stop to it. Ah s me ! the poor father 
 will scarcely live to see what his heart has so long been set 
 upon ! " 
 
 " But he ll have the consolation of knowing it will come 
 to pass, in dying. O ! it s a great relief, Pathfinder, for 
 the parting spirit tt feel certain that the beloved ones left 
 behind will be well provided for, after its departure. All 
 the Mistress Muirs have duly expressed that sentiment, with 
 their dying breaths." 
 
 " All your wives, quartermaster, have been likely to feel 
 this consolation ! " 
 
 " Out upon ye, man, I d no thought ye such a wag I 
 Well, well ; pleasant words make no heart-burnings be 
 tween auld fri nds. If I cannot espouse Mabel, ye ll no ob 
 ject to my esteeming her, and speaking well of her, and of 
 yoursal , too, on all suitable occasions, and in all companies. 
 But, Pathfinder, ye ll easily uuderstan that a poor deevil, 
 who loses such a bride, will probably stand in need of some 
 consolation." 
 
 " Quite likely quite likely, quartermaster," returned 
 the simple-minded guide ; " I know the loss of Mabel would 
 be heavy to be borne by myself. It may bear hard oc 
 your feelings to see us married, but the death of the ser 
 geant will be likely to put it off, and you ll have time to 
 think more manfully of it, you will." 
 
 " I ll bear up against it yes, I ll bear up against it, 
 though my heart-strings crack ; and ye might help me, man, 
 by giving me something to do. Yell understand that this 
 expedition has been of a very peculiar nature, for here am 
 I, bearing the king s commission, just a volunteer, as ii 
 might be ; while a mere orderly has had the command. I ve 
 submitted for various reasons, though my blood has bailed 
 to be in authority, while ye war battling for the honor of 
 Hie country, and his Majesty s rights" 
 
444 THE PATHFINDER. 
 
 " Quartermaster," interrupted the guide, " you fell BO 
 early into the enemy s hands, that your conscience ought to 
 be easily satisfied on that score ; so take my advice, and 
 say nothing about it." 
 
 " That s just my opinion, Pathfinder ; we ll all say noth 
 ing about it. Sergeant Dunham is hors-de-combat " 
 
 " Anan ! " said the guide. 
 
 u Why the sergeant can command no longer, and it will 
 hardly do to leave a corporal at the head of a victorious 
 party, like this ; for flowers that will bloom in a garden will 
 d5e or a heath ; and I was just thinking I would claim the 
 authority that belongs to one who holds a lieutenant s com 
 mission. As for the men, they ll no dare to raise any 
 objaction, and as for yoursal , my dear friend, now that ye ve 
 so much honor, and Mabel, and the consciousness of having 
 done yer duty, which is more precious than all, I expect to 
 find an ally rather than one to oppose the plan." 
 
 " As for commanding the soldiers of the 55th, lieutenant, 
 it is your right, I suppose, and no one here will be likely to 
 gainsay it; though you ve been a prisoner of war, and 
 there are men who might stand out agin giving up their 
 authority to a prisoner released by their own deeds. Still, 
 no one here will be likely to say anything hostile to your 
 wishes." 
 
 " That s just it, Pathfinder ; and when I come to draw 
 up the report of our success against the boats, and the de 
 fense of the block, together with the general operations, in 
 cluding the capitulation, ye ll no find any omission of your 
 claims and merits." 
 
 " Tut, for my claims and merits, quartermaster ! Lundie 
 knows what I am in the forest, and what I am in the fort ; 
 and the general knows better than he. No fear of me ; tell 
 your own story, only taking care to do justice by Mabel s 
 father, who, in one sense, is the commanding officer at this 
 reiy moment." 
 
 Muir expressed his entire satisfaction at this arrangement, 
 as well as his determination to do justice by all, when the 
 two went to the group that was assembled round the fire 
 Here the quartermaster began, for the first time since leav 
 
THE PATHFINDER. 445 
 
 Ing Oswego, to assume some of the autnoiity that might 
 properly be supposed to belong to his rank. Taking the 
 remaining corporal aside, he distinctly told that functionary 
 that ne must in future be regarded as one holding the king s 
 commission, and directed him to acquaint his subordinates 
 with the new state of things. This change in the dynasty 
 was effected without any of the usual symptoms of a revolu 
 tion ; for as all well understood the lieutenant s legal claima 
 to command, no one felt disposed to dispute his orders. For 
 reasons best known to themselves, Lundie and the quarter 
 master had, originally, made a different disposition, and 
 now, for reasons of his own, the latter had seen fit to change 
 it. This was reasoning enough for soldiers, though the 
 hurt received by Sergeant Dunham would have sufficiently 
 explained the circumstance, had an explanation been re 
 quired. 
 
 All this time Captain Sanglier was looking after his own 
 breakfast, with the resignation of a philosopher, the coolness 
 of a veteran, the ingenuity and science of a Frenchman, and 
 the voracity of an ostrich. This person had now been in 
 the colony some thirty years, having left France in some 
 such situation in his own army, as Muir filled in the 55th. 
 An iron constitution, perfect obduracy of feeling, a certain 
 address well suited to manage savages, and an indomitable 
 coura ge, had early pointed him out to the commander-in- 
 chief as a suitable agent to be employed in directing the 
 military operations of his Indian allies. In this capacity, 
 then, he had risen to the titular rank of captain ; and with 
 his promotion, had acquired a portion of the habits and 
 opinions of his associates, with a facility and an adaptation 
 of self, that are thought, in this part of the world, to be 
 peculiar to his countrymen. He had often led parties of 
 the Iroquois in their predatory expeditions ; and his con 
 duct on such occasions exhibited the contradictory results 
 of both alleviating the misery produced by this species of 
 warfare, and of augmenting it, by the broader views and 
 greater resources of civilization. In other words, he 
 planned enterprises, that, in their importance and conse 
 quences, jiuch exceeded the usual policy of the Indiana, 
 
M6 THE PATHFINDER. 
 
 and then stepped in to lessen some of the evils of his own 
 creating. In short, he was an adventurer whom circum 
 stances had thrown into a situation where the callous 
 qualities of men of his class might readily show themselves, 
 for good or for evil ; and lie was not of a character to 
 baffle fortune by any ill-timed sqneamishness on the score 
 ol early impressions, or to trifle with her liberality, by un 
 necessarily provoking her frowns through wanton cruelty. 
 Still, as his name was unavoidably connected with many of 
 the excesses committed by his parties, he was generally con 
 sidered, in the American Provinces, a wretch who delighted 
 in bloodshed, and who found his greatest happiness in tor 
 menting the helplebs and the innocent ; and the name of 
 Sanglier, which was a sobriquet of his own adopting, or of 
 Flint Heart, as he was usually termed on the borders, had 
 got to be as terrible to the women and children of that part 
 of the country, as those of Butler and Brandt became at a 
 later day. 
 
 The meeting between Pathfinder and Sanglier bore some 
 resemblance to that celebrated interview between Welling 
 ton and Blucher, which has been so often and graphically 
 told. It took place at the fire; and the parties stood ear 
 nestly regarding each other for more than a minute without 
 speaking. Each felt that in the other he saw a formidable 
 foe ; and each felt, while he ought to treat the other* with 
 the manly liberality due to a warrior, that there was little 
 in common between them, in the way of character, as well 
 as of interests. One served for money and preferment ; the 
 other, because his life had been cast in the wilderness, and 
 the land of his birth needed his arm and experience. The 
 desire of rising above his present situation never disturbed 
 the tranquillity of Pathfinder ; nor had he ever known ai> 
 ambitious thought, as ambition usually betrays itself, until 
 he became acquainted with Mabel. Since then, indeed, dis 
 trust of himself, reverence for her, and the wish to place 
 her in a situation above that which he then filled, had 
 caused him some uneasy moments, but the directness and 
 simplicity of his character had early afforded the required 
 relief; and he soon came to feel, that the woman who would 
 
THE PATHFINDER. 447 
 
 not hesitate to accept him for her husband, would not 
 scruple to share his fortunes, however humble. He re 
 spected Sanglier as a brave warrior ; and he had far too 
 much of 4hat liberality which is the result of practical knowl 
 edge, to believe half of what he had heard to his prejudice ; 
 for the most bigoted and illiberal on every subject, are 
 usually those who know nothing about it ; but he could not 
 approve of his selfishness, cold-blooded calculations, and, 
 least of all, of the manner in which he forgot his " white 
 gifts," to adopt those that were purely " red." On the 
 other hand, Pathfinder was a riddle to Captain Sanglier. 
 The latter cou)d not comprehend the other s motives ; he 
 had often heard of his disinterestedness, justice, and truth ; 
 and, in several instances, they had led him into grave errors, 
 on that principle by which a frank and open-mouthed 
 diplomatist is said to keep his secrets better than one that 
 is close-mouthed and wily. 
 
 After the two heroes had gazed at each other, in the 
 manner mentioned, Monsieur Sanglier touched his cap ; for 
 the rudeness of a border life had not entirely destroyed the 
 courtesy of manner he had acquired in youth, nor extin 
 guished that appearance of bonhomie which seems inbred 
 in a Frenchman. 
 
 " Monsieur le Pathfindair," he said, with a very decided 
 accent, though with a friendly smile, " un militaire honor 
 le courage et la loyaute. You speak Iroquois ? " 
 
 " Aye, I understand the language of the riptyles, and can 
 get along with it, if there s occasion," returned the liberal 
 and truth-telling guide ; " but it s neither a tongue nor a 
 tribe to my taste. Wherever you find the Mingo blood, in 
 my opinion, Master Flinty-Heart, you find a knave. Well, 
 Pvt3 seen you often, though it was in battle ; and I must 
 say, it was always in the van. You must know most of our 
 hullets by sight? " 
 
 " Newair, sair, your own ; une balle from your honorable 
 hand be sairtaine deat . You kill my best warrior on some 
 island." 
 
 " That may be that may le ; though I dare say, if the 
 truth was known, they would turn out to be great rascals, 
 
448 THE PATHFINDER. 
 
 No offense to you, Master Flinty-Heart, but you keep det* 
 perate evil company." 
 
 " Yes, sair," returned the Frenchman, who, bent on say 
 ing that which was courteous himself, and comprehending 
 with difficulty, was disposed to think he received a compli 
 ment, " you too good. But, un brave always comme ca. 
 What that mean ha ! what that jeune homme do ? " 
 
 The hand and eye of Captain Sanglier directed the look 
 >f Pathfinder to the opposite side of the fire, where Jasper 
 just at that moment, had been rudely seized by two of tho 
 poldiers, who were binding his arms under the direction of 
 Muir. 
 
 " What does that mean, indeed ? " cried the guide, step 
 ping forward, and shoving the two subordinates away with 
 a power of muscle that would not be denied. " Who has 
 the heart to do this to Jasper Eau-douce ; and who has the 
 boldness to do it before my eyes ? " 
 
 " It is by my orders, Pathfinder," answered the quarter 
 master ; " and I con maud it on my own responsibility. 
 Ye ll no tak on yourself to dispute the legality of orders 
 given by one who bears the king s commission to the king s 
 soldiers ? " 
 
 " I d dispute the king s words if they came from the 
 king s own mouth, did they say that Jasper desarves this. 
 Has not the lad just saved all our scalps ? taken us from 
 defeat, and given us victory ? No, no, lieutenant ; if this 
 is the first use that you make of your authority, I for one 
 will not respect it." 
 
 " This savors a little of insubordination," answered Muir ; 
 * but we can bear much from Pathfinder. It is true this 
 Jasper has seemed to serve us in this affair ; but we ought 
 not to overlook past transactions. Did not Major Duncan 
 himself denounce him to Sergeant Dunham, before we left 
 the post? Have we not seen sufficient with our own eyes 
 to make sure of having been betrayed? And is it not 
 natural, and almost necessary to believe that this young 
 man has been the traitor ? Ah ! Pathfinder, ye ll no be 
 inakiu yourself a great statesman or a great captain, if you 
 put too much faith in appearances. Lord bless me ! Lord 
 
THE PATHFINDER. 449 
 
 bless me ! if I do not believe, could the truth be come at, as 
 you often say yourself, Pathfinder, that hypocrisy is a more 
 common -vice than even envy ; arid that s the bane o human 
 nature." 
 
 Captain Sanglier shrugged his shoulders ; theu he looked 
 earnestly from Jasper towards the quartermaster, and from 
 the quartermaster towards Jasper. 
 
 " I care not for your envy or your hypocrisy, or even for 
 your human natur ," returned Pathfinder. " Jasper Eau- 
 douce is my friend ; Jasper Eau-douce is a brave lad, and 
 an honest lad, and a loyal lad ; and no man of the 55th 
 shall lay hands on him short of Lundie s own orders, while 
 I m in the way to prevent it. You may have authority 
 over your soldiers, but you have none over Jasper or me, 
 Master Muir." 
 
 " Bon ! " ejaculated Sanglier, the sound partaking equally 
 of the energies of the throat and of the nose. 
 
 " Will ye no hearken to reason, Pathfinder ? Ye ll no be 
 forgetting our suspicions and judgments ; and here is another 
 circumstance to augment and aggravate them all. Ye can 
 see this little bit of bunting ; well, where should it be found 
 but by Mabel Dunham, on the branch of a tree, on this 
 very island, just an hour or so before the attack of the 
 enemy ; and if ye ll be at the trouble to look at the fly of 
 the Scud s ensign, ye ll just say that the cloth has been cut 
 from out it. Circumstantial evidence was never stronger." 
 
 " Ma foi, c est un peu fort, ceci," growled Sanglier, be 
 tween his teeth. 
 
 " Talk to me of no ensigns and signals, when I know the 
 Veart," continued the Pathfinder. " Jasper has the gift of 
 honesty ; and it is too rare a gift to be trifled with like a 
 Miii go s conscience No, no ; off hands, or we shall see 
 which can make the stoutest battle you, and your men 
 of the 55th, or the Sarpent here, and Killdeer, with Jasper 
 and his crew. You overrate your force, Lieutenant Muir 
 us much as you underrate Eau-douce s truth." 
 
 " Tres bon ! " 
 
 " Well, if I must speak plainly, Pathfinder, I e en must 
 Captain Sauglier here, and Arrowhead, this brave Tuscarora, 
 29 
 
50 THE PATHFINDER. 
 
 nave both infonned me that this unfortunate boy is the 
 traitor. After such testimony you can no longer oppose 
 my right to correct him, as well as the necessity of the act." 
 
 " Scelerat," muttered the Frenchman. 
 
 " Captain Sanglier is a brave soldier, and will not gain- 
 Bay the conduct of an honest sailor," put in Jasper. " Is 
 tbeio any traitor here, Captain Flinty-Heart?" 
 
 " Aye," added Muir, " let him speak out then, since ye 
 wish it, unhappy youth ; that the truth may be known. I 
 only hope that ye may escape the last punishment when a 
 court will be sitting on your misdeeds. How is it, captain, 
 do ye or do ye not see a traitor among us ? " 
 
 " Oui yes, sair bien sur." 
 
 " Too much lie ! " said Arrowhead, in a voice of thun 
 der, striking the breast of Muir, with the back of his owi\ 
 hand, in a sort of ungovernable gesture. " Where my war 
 riors ? where Yen geese scalp ? Too much lie ! " 
 
 Muir wanted not for personal courage, nor for a certain 
 sense of personal honor. The violence which had been 
 intended only for a gesture he mistook for a blow ; for con 
 science was suddenly aroused within him ; and he stepped 
 back a pace, extending a hand towards a gun. His face 
 was livid with rage ; and his countenance expressed the fell 
 intention of his heart. But Arrowhead was too quick for 
 him. With a wild glance of the eye, the Tuscarora looked 
 about him ; then thrusting a hand beneath his own girdle, 
 drew forth a concealed knife, and, in the twinkling of an 
 eye, buried it in the body of the quartermaster to the 
 handle. As the latter fell at his feet, gazing into his face 
 with the vacant stare of one surprised by death, Sanglier 
 took a pinch of snuff, and said, in a calm voice, 
 
 " Voila 1 aifaire finie ! mais " shrugging his shoulders 
 " ce n est qu un scelerat de moins." 
 
 The act was too sudden to be prevented, and when 
 Arrowhead, uttering a yell, bounded into the bushes, the 
 rhite men were too confounded to follow. Chingachgook, 
 however, was more collected ; and the bushes had scarcely 
 closed on the passing body of the Tuscarora, than they 
 were again opened by that of the Delaware in full pursuit. 
 
THK PATHFINDER. 
 
 Jasper Western spoke French fluently, and the words 
 and manner of Sanglier struck him. 
 
 " Speak, Monsieur," he said, in English, " am I the 
 traitor ? " 
 
 " Le voila ! " answered the cool Frenchman ; " dat is our 
 espion our agent our friend ; ma foi c etait uu grand 
 scelerat voici." 
 
 While speaking, Sanglier bent over the dead body, and 
 thrust a hand into a pocket of the quartermaster, out of 
 which he drew a purse. Emptying the contents on the 
 ground, several double-Louis rolled towards the soldiers, 
 who were not slow in picking them up. Casting the purse 
 from him, in contempt, the soldier of fortune turned towards 
 the soup he had been preparing with so much care, and 
 finding it to his liking, he began to break his fast, with an 
 air of indifference that the most stoical Indian warrior might 
 have envied 
 
 
452 THE PATHFINDER 
 
 CHAPTER XXVII. 
 
 The only amaranthine flower on earth 
 
 Is virtue ; th only lasting treasure, truth. 
 
 COWFKB. 
 
 THE reader must imagine some of the occurrences thai 
 followed the sudden death of Muir. While his body was in 
 the hands of his soldiers, who laid it decently aside, and 
 covered it with a great-coat, Chingachook silently resumed 
 his place at the fire, and both Sanglier and Pathfinder re 
 marked that lie carried a fresh and bleeding scalp at his 
 girdle. No one asked any questions ; and the former, 
 although perfectly satisfied that Arrowhead had fallen, man 
 ifested neither curiosity nor feeling. He continued calmly 
 eating his soup, as if the meal had been tranquil as usual. 
 There was something of pride, and of an assumed indiffer 
 ence to fate, imitated from the Indians, in all this ; but there 
 was more that really resulted from practice, habitual self- 
 command, and constitutional hard hood. With Pathfinder, 
 the case was a little different in feeling, though much the 
 eame in appes.rj?nce. He disliked Muir, whose smooth 
 tongued courtesy was little in accordance with his own 
 frank and ingenuous nature ; but he had been shocked at his 
 unexpected and violent death, though accustomed to similar 
 scenes, and he had been surprised at the exposure of his 
 treachery. With a view to ascertain the extent of the lat 
 ter, as soon as the body was removed he began to question 
 the captain on the subject. The latter having no particu- 
 ar motive for secrecy, now that his agent was dead, in the 
 course of the breakfast revealed the following circumstances, 
 which will serve to clear up some of the minor incidents of 
 our tale. 
 
 Soon after the 55th appeared on the frontiers, Muir had 
 
THE PATHFINDER. 453 
 
 volunteered his services to the enemy. In making his 
 offers he boasted of his intimacy with Lundie, and of the 
 means it afforded of furnishing more accurate and important 
 information than usual. His terms had been accepted, and 
 Monsieur Sanglier had several interviews with him in the 
 vicinity of the fort at Oswego, and had actually passed one 
 mtire night secreted in the garrison. Arrowhead, however, 
 was the usual channel of communication, and the anony 
 mous letter to Major Duncan had been originally written 
 by Muir, transmitted to Froiitenac, copied, and sent back by 
 the Tuscarora, who was returning from that errand when 
 captured by the Scud. It is scarcely necessary to add, that 
 Jasper was to be sacrificed in order to conceal the quarter 
 master s treason, and that the position of the island had 
 been betrayed to the enemy by the latter. An extraordi 
 nary compensation, that which was found in his purse, had 
 induced him to accompany the party under Sergeant Dun 
 ham, in order to give the signals that were to bring on the 
 attack. The disposition of Muir towards the sex was a nat 
 ural weakness, and he would have married Mabel or any one 
 else who would accept his hand ; but his admiration of her 
 was in a great degree feigned, in order that he might have 
 an excuse for accompanying the party, without sharing in 
 the responsibility of its defeat, or incurring the risk of hav 
 ing no other strong and seemingly sufficient motive. Much 
 of this was known to Captain Sanglier, particularly the part 
 in connection with Mabel ; and he did not fail to let his 
 auditors into the whole secret, frequently laughing in a sar 
 castic manner, as he revealed the different expedients of the 
 luckless quartermaster. 
 
 " Touchez-la," said the cool-blooded partisan, holding out 
 hie sinewy hand to Pathfinder, when he ended his explana 
 tions ; " you be honnete, and dat is beaucoup. We tak de 
 spy, as we tak la medecine, for de good; mais, je les deteste ! 
 Touchez-la." 
 
 " I ll shake your hand, captain, I will, for you re a lawful 
 *nd nat ral inimy," returned Pathfinder, " and a manful one; 
 but the body of the quartermaster snail never disgrace Eng 
 lish ground. I did intend to :arry it back to Lundie, thai 
 
454 THP; PATHFINDER. 
 
 he might play his bagpipes over it ; but now it shall he 
 here, on the spot where he acted his villainy, and have his 
 own treason for a head-stone. Captain Flinty-Heart, I 
 suppose this consorting with traitors is a part of a soldier s 
 regular business ; but I tell you honestly, it is not to my 
 liking, and I d rather it should be you than I who had this 
 affair on his conscience. What an awful sinner ! To plot 
 right and left agin country, friends, and the Lord ! Jas 
 per, boy, a word with you aside for a single minute." 
 
 Pathfinder now led the young man apart, and squeezing 
 his hand, with the tears in his own eyes, he continued, 
 
 " You know me, Eau-douce, and I know you," he said, 
 u and this news has not changed my opinion of you in any 
 manner. I never believed their tales, though it looked sol 
 emn at one minute, I will own ; yes, it did look solemn ; 
 and it made me feel solemn, too. I never suspected you 
 for a minute, for I know your gifts don t lie that-away ; but 
 I must own I didn t suspect the quartermaster neither." 
 
 " And he holding his Majesty s commission, Pathfinder ! " 
 
 " It isn t so much that, Jasper Western ; it isn t so much 
 that. He held a commission from God to act right, and to 
 deal fairly with his fellow-creatur s, and he has failed awfully 
 in his duty ! " 
 
 " To think of his pretending love for one like Mabel, too, 
 when he felt none ! " 
 
 " That was bad sartainly ; the fellow must have had 
 Mingo blood in his veins. The man that deals unfairly by 
 a woman can be but a mongrel, lad ; for the Lord has made 
 them helpless on purpose that we may gain their love by 
 kindness and sarvices. Here is the sergeant, poor man, or. 
 his dying bed ; he has given me his daughter for a wife, and 
 Mabel, dear girl, she has consented to it ; and it makes me 
 feel that I have two welfares to look after, two natur s to 
 care for, and two hearts to gladden. Ah s me ! Jasper ; I 
 sometimes feel that I m not good enough for that sweet 
 child ! 
 
 Eau-douce had nearly gasped for breath when he iirst 
 heard this intelligence ; and, though he succeeded in sup 
 pressing any other outward signs of agitation, his cheek \*aa 
 
THE PATHFINDER. 455 
 
 Wanchtd nearly to the paleness of death. Still he found 
 meuns to answer, not only with firmness, but with energy. 
 
 " Say not so, Pathfinder ; you are good enough for a 
 y-een." 
 
 " Aye, aye, boy, according to your ideas of my goodness ; 
 that is to say I can kill a deer, or even a Mingo at need, 
 with any man on the lines ; or I can follow a forest path 
 with as true an eye, or read the stars, when others do not 
 understand them. No doubt, no doubt, Mabel will hare 
 venison enough, and fish enough, and pigeons enough ; but 
 will she have knowledge enough, and will she have ideas 
 enough, and pleasant conversation enough, when life comes 
 to drag a little, and each of us begins to pass for our true 
 value?" 
 
 "If you pass for your value, Pathfinder, the greatest 
 lady in the land would be happy with you. On that head, 
 you have no reason to feel afraid." 
 
 " Now, Jasper, I dare to say you think so nay I know 
 you do ; for it is nat ral and according to friendship, for 
 people to look over favorably at them they love. Yes, 
 yes ; if I had to marry you, boy, I should give myself no 
 consarn about being well looked upon, for you have always 
 shown a disposition to see me and all I do with friendly 
 eyes. But a young gal, after all, must wish to marry a 
 man that is nearer to her own age and fancies, than to have 
 one old enough to be her father, and rude enough to frighten 
 her. I wonder, Jasper, that Mabel never took a fancy to 
 you, now, rather than setting her mind on me ! " 
 
 " Take a fancy to me, Pathfinder ! " returned the young 
 man, endeavoring to clear his voice without betraying him 
 self, " what is there about me to please such a girl aa 
 Mabel Dunham ? I have all that you find fault with in 
 yourself, with none of that excellence that makes even the 
 generals respect you." 
 
 * We , well, it s all chance, say what we will about it. 
 Here I have journeyed and guided through the woods, 
 female after female, and consorted with them in the garri 
 sons, and never have I even felt an inclination for any, un 
 til 1 saw Mabel Dunham. It s true the poor sergeant nrot 
 
456 THE PATHFINDER. 
 
 set me to thinking about his daughter ; but after we got 
 a little acquainted like, I d no need of being spoken to, to 
 think of her night and day. I m tough, Jasper ; yes, I m 
 very tough ; and I m risolute enough, as you all know ; and 
 yet I do think it would quite break me down now, to lose 
 Mabel Dunham ! " 
 
 " We will talk no more of it, Pathfinder," said Jasper, 
 returning his friend s squeeze of the hand, and moving back 
 towards the fire, though slowly, and in the manner of one 
 who cared little where he went ; " we will talk no more 
 of it. You are worthy of Mabel, and Mabel is worthy of 
 you ; you like Mabel, arid Mabel likes you ; her father has 
 chosen you for her husband, and no one has a right to in 
 terfere. As for the quartermaster, his feigning love for 
 Mabel is worse even than his treason to the king ! " 
 
 By this time they were so near the fire that it was neces 
 sary to change the conversation. Luckily, at that instant, 
 Cap, who had been in the block in company with his dying 
 brother-in-law, and who knew nothing of what had passed 
 since the capitulation, now appeared, walking with a medi 
 tative and melancholy air towards the group. Much of 
 that hearty dogmatism that imparted even to his ordinary 
 air and demeanor an appearance of something like contempt 
 for all around him, had disappeared, and he seemed thought- 
 fill, if not meek. 
 
 " This death, gentlemen," he said, when he had got suffi 
 ciently near, " is a melancholy business, make the best of 
 it. Now, here is Sergeant Dunham, a very good soldier, I 
 make no question, about to slip his cable, and yet he holds 
 on to the better-end of it, as if he was determined it should 
 never run out of the hawse-hole ; and all because he loves 
 bis daughter, it seems to me. For my part, when a friend 
 is really under the necessity of making a long jouiney J 
 alvfays wish him well and happily off." 
 
 " You wouldn t kill the sergeant before his time ? " 
 Pathfinder reproachfully answered. " Life is sweet, even 
 to the aged ; and, for that matter, I ve known some that 
 eeemed to set much store by it, when it got to be of the 
 value." 
 
THK PATHFINDER. 457 
 
 Nothing had been further from Cap s real thoughts thaa 
 the wish to hasten his brother-in-law s end. He had found 
 himself embarrassed with the duties of smoothing a death 
 bed, and all he had meant was to express a sincere desire 
 that the sergeant were happily rid of doubt and suffering. 
 A little shocked, therefore, at the interpretation that had 
 been put on his words, he rejoined, with some of the asper 
 ity of the man, though rebuked by a consciousness of not 
 having done his own wishes justice, 
 
 " You are too old and too sensible a person, Pathfinder," 
 he said, " to fetch a man up with a surge, when he is pay 
 ing out his ideas in distress, as it might be. Sergeant Dun 
 ham is both my brother-in-law and my friend, that is to 
 say, as intimate a friend as a soldier well can be with a sea 
 faring man, and I respect and honor him accordingly. I 
 make no doubt, moreover, that he has lived such a life as 
 becomes a man, and there can be no great harm, after all, 
 in wishing any one well berthed in heaven. Well ! we are 
 mortal, the best of us, that you ll not deny ; and it ought to 
 be a lesson not to feel pride in our strength and beauty. 
 Where is the quartermaster, Pathfinder ? It is proper he 
 should come and have a parting word with the poor ser 
 geant, who is only going a little before us." 
 
 u You have spoken more truth, Master Cap, than you ve 
 been knowing to, all this time ; in which there is no great 
 wonder, howsoever ; mankind as often telling biting truths 
 when they least mean it, as at any other time. You might 
 have gone further, notwithstanding, and said that we are 
 mortal, the worst of us, which is quite as true, and a good 
 deal more wholesome than saying that we are mortal, the 
 best of us. As for the quartermaster s coming to speak 
 a parting word to the sergeant, it is quite out of the 
 question, seeing that he has gone ahead, and that too with 
 little parting notice to himself, or to any one else." 
 
 u You are not quite as clear as common in your language, 
 Pathfinder. 1 know that we ought all to have soleuiu 
 thoughts on these occasions, but I see no use in speaking iu 
 parables." 
 
 " If my words are not plain, the idee is. In short, Ma* 
 
468 THE PATHFINDER. 
 
 ter Cap, while Sergeant Dunham has been preparing him 
 self for a long journey, like a conscientious a,nd honest man 
 as he is, deliberately and slowly, the quartermaster has 
 started, in a hurry, before him ; and, although it is a matter 
 on vrhich it does not become me to be very positive, I give 
 it as my opinion chat they travel such different roads that 
 they will never meet." 
 
 " Exp] ain yourself, my friend," said the bewildered sea 
 man, looking around him in search of Muir, whose absence 
 began to excite his distrust. " I see nothing of the quar 
 termaster, but I think him too much of a man to run away, 
 now that the victory is gained. If the fight were ahead, 
 instead of in our wake, the case would be altered." 
 
 " There lies all that is left of him, beneath that great 
 coat," returned the guide, who then briefly related the man 
 ner of the lieutenant s death. " The Tuscarora was as 
 venomous in his blow as a rattler, though he failed to give 
 the warning," continued Pathfinder. I ve seen many a 
 desperate fight, and several of these sudden outbreaks of 
 savage temper ; but never before did I see a human soul 
 quit the body more unexpectedly, or at a worse moment for 
 the hopes of the dying man. His breath was stopped with 
 the lie on his lips, and the spirit might be said to have passed 
 away in the very ardor of wickedness." 
 
 Cap listened with a gaping mouth, and he gave two or 
 three violent hems, as the other concluded, like one who 
 distrusted his own respiration. 
 
 " This is an uncertain and uncomfortable life of yours, 
 Muster Pathfinder, what between the fresh water and the 
 savages," he said, "and the sooner I get quit of it, the 
 higher will be my opinion of myself. Now you mention it, 
 I will say that the man ran for that Lcrth in the rocks, 
 when the enemy first bore down upon us, with a sort of in 
 stinct that I thought surprising in an officer ; but I was ic 
 loo great a hurry to follow, to log the whole matter accu 
 rately. God bless me God bless me! a traitor do you 
 ay, and ready to sell his country, and to a bloody French, 
 man, too ? " 
 
 "To sell anything country, soul, body, Mabel, and al. 
 
THE PATHFINDER. 459 
 
 our scalps ; and 110 ways particular, I ll engage, as to the 
 purchaser. The countrymen of Captain Flinty-Heart, here, 
 were the paymasters this time." 
 
 " Just like em ; ever ready to buy when they cau t 
 tbrash, and to run when they can t do neither." 
 
 Monsieur Sanglier lifted his cap with ironical gravity, 
 and acknowledged the compliment with an expression of 
 polite contempt that was altogether lost on its insensible 
 subject. But Pathfinder had too much native courtesy, and 
 was far too just-minded, to allow the attack to go unnoticed. 
 
 " Well, well," he interposed, " to my mind there is no 
 great difference atween an Englishman and a Frenchman, 
 a ter all. They talk different tongues, and live under 
 different kings, I will allow ; but both are human, and feel 
 like human beings, when there is occasion for \t. If a 
 Frenchman is sometimes skeary, so is an Englishman; and 
 as for running away, why, a man will now and then do it, 
 as well as a horse, let him come of what people he may." 
 
 Captain Flinty-Heart, as Pathfinder called him, made 
 another obeisance ; but this time the smile was friendly, and 
 not ironical, for he felt that the intention was good, what 
 ever might have been the mode of expressing it. Too 
 philosophical, however, to heed what a man like Cap might 
 say or think, he finished his breakfast without allowing his 
 attention to be again diverted from that important pursuit. 
 
 4 My business here was principally with the quarter 
 master," Cap continued, as soon as he had done regarding 
 the Frenchman s pantomime. " The sergeant must be near 
 his end; and I have thought he might wish to say some 
 thing to his successor in authority, before he finally de 
 parted. It is too late, it would seem ; and, as you say, 
 Pathfinder, the lieutenant has truly gone before." 
 
 " That he has, though on a different path. As for au- 
 jjiority, I suppose the corporal has now a right to command 
 vhat s left of the 55th, though a small and worried, not to 
 say frightened, party it is. But, if anything needs to be 
 done, the chances are greatly in favo- of my being called 
 on to do it. I suppose, however, we have only to bury 
 our dead and set fire to the block and the huts, for they 
 
460 THE PATHFINDER. 
 
 stand in the inimy s territory, by position, if not by law 
 and must not be left for their convenience. Our using 
 diem again is out of the question ; for now the Frenchers 
 know where the island is to be found, it would be like 
 thrusting the hand into a wolf-trap, with our eyes wide 
 open. This part of the work, the Sarpent and I will see 
 if ; for we are as practysed in retreats as in advances." 
 
 " All that is very well, my good friend ; and now for my 
 poor brother-in-law : though he is a soldier we cannot let 
 him slip without a word of consolation, and a leave-taking, 
 in my judgment. This has been an unlucky affair, on 
 every tack ; though I suppose it is what one had a right to 
 expect, considering the state of the times, and the nature 
 of the navigation. We must make the best of it, and try 
 to help the worthy man to unmoor, without straining his 
 messengers. Death is a circumstance, after all, Master 
 Pathfinder, and one of a very general character, too, seeing 
 that we must all submit to it, sooner or later." 
 
 " You say truth, you say truth ; and for that reason I 
 hold it to be wise to be always ready. I ve often thought, 
 Salt-water, that he is happiest who has the least to leave 
 behind him when the summons comes. Now, here am I, a 
 hunter and a scout, and a guide, although I do not own a 
 foot of land on arth, yet do I enjoy and possess more than 
 the great Albany Patroon. With the heavens over my 
 head to keep me in mind of the last great hunt, and the 
 dried leaves beneath my feet, I tramp over the ground as 
 freely as if I was its lord and owner ; and what more need 
 heart desire ? I do not say that I love nothing that belongs 
 to arth ; for I do, though not much, unless it might be 
 Mabel Dunham, that I can t carry with me. I have some 
 paps at the higher fort, that I valy considerable, though 
 they are too noisy for warfare, and so we are compelled t( 
 live separate for a while ; and then, I think, it would grieve 
 me to part with Killdeer ; but I see no reason why W6 
 should not be buried in the same grave, for we are, as near 
 as can be, of the same length six feet, to a hair s breadth 
 but, bating these, and a pipe that the Sarpeut gave mo 
 and a few tokens received from travellers, all of which 
 
THE PATHFINDER. 461 
 
 might be put in a pouch, and laid under my head, when 
 the order comes to march, I shall be ready at a minnte a 
 warning ; and, let me tell you, Master Cap, that s what I 
 call a circumstance, too ! " 
 
 " Tis just so with me^ answered the sailor, as the two 
 walked towards the block, too much occupied with their 
 respective morality to remember, at the moment, the mel 
 ancholy errand they were on, " that s just my way of c eol 
 ing and reasoning. How often have I felt, when near ship 
 wreck, the relief of not owning the craft ! If she goes/ I 
 have said to myself, * why, my life* goes with her, but not 
 my property, and there s great comfort in that. I ve 
 discovered in the course of boxing about the world, from 
 the Horn to Cape North, not to speak of this run on a bit 
 of fresh water, that if a man has a few dollars, and put* 
 them in a chest under lock and key, he is pretty certain to 
 fasten up his heart in the same till ; and so I carry pretty 
 much all I own in a" belt round ray body, in order, as I say 
 
 to keep the vitals in the right place. D e, Pathfinder, 
 
 if I think a man without a heart any better than a fish with 
 a hole in his air-bag." 
 
 / " I don t know how that may be, Master Cap, but a man 
 without a conscience is but a poor creatur , take my word 
 for it, as any one will discover who has to do with a 
 Mingo. I trouble myself but little with dollars or half-joes, 
 for these are the fuvoryte coin in this part of the world ; 
 but I can easily believe by what I ve seen of mankind, that 
 if a man has a chest filled with either, he may be said to 
 lock up his heart in the same box. I once hunted for two 
 summers during the last peace, and I collected so much 
 peltry that I found my right feelings giving way to a 
 craving after property ; and if I have consarn in marrying 
 Mahcl, it is that I may get to love such things too ^vell, in 
 order to make her comfortable."/ 
 
 " You re a philosopher, than? clear, Pathfinder ; and 1 
 don t know but you re a Christian ! " 
 
 " I should be out of humor with the man that gainsayed 
 the last, Master Cap. I have not been Christianized by 
 the Moravians, like so many of the Delawares, it is true : 
 
462 THE PATHFINDER. 
 
 but I hold to Christianity and white gifts. With me it w 
 as oiicreditable for a white man not to be a Christian, as it is 
 for a red-skin not to believe in his happy hunting-grounds ; 
 indeed, after allowing for difference in traditions, and some 
 variations about the manner in which the spirit will be 
 occupied after death, I hold that a good Delaware is a good 
 Christian, though he never saw a Moravian ; and a good 
 Christian a good Delaware, so far as natur is conjarned. 
 The Sarpeut and I talk these matters over often, for he has 
 a hankerin after Christianity " 
 
 " The d 1 he has ! " interrupted Cap. " And *rhat 
 
 does he intend to do in a church, with all the scalps he 
 takes?" 
 
 " Don t run away with a false idee, friend Cap ; don t 
 run away with a false idee. These things are only skin- 
 deep, and all depend on edication and nat ral gifts. Look 
 around you at mankind, and tell me why you see a red 
 warrior here, a black one there, and white armies in an 
 other place ? All this, and a great deal more of the same 
 kind that I could point out, has been ordered for some 
 special purpose ; and it is not for us to fly in the face of 
 facts and deny their truth. No, no ; each color has its gifts, 
 and its laws, and its traditions ; and one is not to condemn 
 another because he does not exactly comprehend it." 
 
 " You must have read a great deal, Pathfinder, to see 
 things as clear as this," returned Cap, who was not a little 
 mystified by his companion s simple creed. " It s all as 
 plain as day to me now, though I must say I never fell in 
 with these opinions before. What denomination do you 
 belong to, my friend ? " 
 
 Anan ? " 
 
 " What sect do you hold out for ? What particular 
 church do you fetch up in ? " 
 
 " Look about you, and judge for yourself. I m in church 
 r.uw ; I eat in church, drink in church, sleep in church, 
 The arth is the temple of the Lord, and I wait on IJim 
 hourly, daily, without ceasing, I humbly hope. No, no ; 
 I ll not deny my blood and color, but am Christian bora 
 iind shall die in the same faith. The Moravians tried ma 
 
THE PATHFINDER. 463 
 
 hard ; and one of the king s chaplains has had his say, too. 
 though that s a class no ways strenuous on such matters * 
 and a missionary sent from Rome talked much with me as 
 I guided him through the forest during the last peace ; but 
 I ve had one answer for them all ; I m a Christian already, 
 and want to be neither Moravian, nor Churchman, lor Pa 
 plat. No, no ; I ll not deny my birth and blood." 
 
 " I think a word from you might lighten the sergeant 
 over the shoals cf death, Master Pathfinder. He has no 
 one with him but poor Mabel, and she, you know, besides 
 being his daughter, is but a girl and a child after a I! " 
 
 " Mabel is feeble in body, friend Cap, but in matters of 
 this iiatur , I doubt if she may not be stronger than most 
 men. But Sergeant Dunham is my friend, and he is your 
 brother-in-law ; so now the press of fighting and maintain 
 ing our rights is over, it is fitting we should both go and 
 witness his departure. I ve stood by many a dying man, 
 Master Cap," continued Pathfinder, who had a besetting pro 
 pensity to enlarge on his experience, stopping and holding 
 his companion by a button ; " I ve stood by many a dying 
 man s side, and seen his last gasp, and heard his last 
 breath ; for when the hurry and tumult of the battle is 
 over, it is good to bethink us of the misfortuuate, and it is 
 remarkable to witness how differently human natur feels at 
 such solemn moments. Some go their way as stupid and 
 ignorant as if God had never given them reason, and an ac 
 countable state ; whilo others quit us rejoicing, like men who 
 leave heavy burdens behind them. I think that the mind 
 sees clearly at such moments, my friend, and that past deeds 
 stand thick before the recollection." 
 
 " I ll engage they do, Pathfinder. I have witnessed 
 something of this myself, and hope I m the better man for 
 it. I remember once that I thought my own time had come, 
 and the log was overhauled with a diligence I did not think 
 myself capable of until tl at moment. I ve not been a very 
 great shiner, friend Pathfinder ; that is to say, never on a 
 large scale ; though, I dare say, if the truth were spoken, a 
 considerable amount of small matters might be raked up 
 Hgainst me, as well as against another man ; but then IVo 
 
464 THE PATHFINDER. 
 
 never committed piracy, nor high treason, nor ar&on, no? 
 any of them sort of things. As to smuggling, and the like 
 of that, why I m a seafaring man, and I suppose all callings 
 have their weak spots. I dare say your trade is not alto 
 gether without blemish, honorable and useful as it seems to 
 be?" 
 
 " Many of the scouts and guides are desperate knaves ; 
 and, like the quartermaster here, some of them take pay of 
 both sides. I hope I m not one of them, though all occupa 
 tions lead to temptations. Thrice have I been sorely tried 
 in my life, and once yielded a little, though I hope it was 
 not in a matter to disturb a man s conscience in his last mo 
 ments. The first time was when I found in the woods a 
 pack of skins that I knowed belonged to a Frencher, who 
 was hunting on our side of the lines, where he had no busi 
 ness to be ; twenty-six as handsome beavers as ever glad 
 dened human eyes ! Well, that was a sore temptation, for 
 I thought the law would have been almost with me, although 
 it was in peace times. But then I remembered that such 
 laws wasn t made for us hunters, and bethought me that the 
 poor man might have built great expectations for the next 
 winter, on the sale of his skins ; and I left them where they 
 lay. Most of our people said I did wrong ; but the manner 
 iu which I slept that night convinced me that I had done 
 right. The next trial was when I found the rifle, that is 
 sartainly the only one in this part of the world that can be 
 calculated on as surely as Killdeer, and knowed that by tak 
 ing it, or even hiding it, I might at once rise to be the first 
 shot in all these parts. I was then young, and by no means 
 aa oxpart as I have since got to be, and youth is ambitious 
 and striving ; but, God be praised ! I mastered that feel 
 ing ; and, friend Cap, what is almost as good, I mastered 
 my rival in as fair a shooting-match as was ever witnessed 
 In a garrison ; he with his piece, and I with Killdeer, and 
 before the general in person, too ! " Here Pathfinder 
 stopped to laugh, his triumph still glittering in his eyes, 
 and glowing on his sunburnt and browned cheek. " Well, 
 the next conflict with the devil was the hardest of them all, 
 Mid that was when I came suddenly upon u camp of sia 
 
THE PATHFINDER. 46k 
 
 Mingos, asleep in the woods, with their guns and horns 
 piled in a way that enabled me to get possession of them 
 without waking a miscreant of them all. What an oppor 
 tunity that would have been for the Sarpent, who would 
 have despatched them, one after another, wiiJi his knife, 
 and had their six scalps at his girdle in about the time it 
 takes me to tell you the story. ! he s a valiant warrior, 
 that Chingachgook, and as honest as he s brave, and as good 
 as he s honest ! " 
 
 " And what may you have done in this matter, Master 
 Pathfinder ? " demanded Cap, who began to be interested 
 in the result ; " it seems to me you had made either a very 
 lucky or a very unlucky land-fall." 
 
 " Twas lucky, and twas unlucky, if you can understand 
 that. Twas unlucky, for it proved a desperate trial , and 
 yet twas lucky, all things considered, in the ind. 1 did 
 not touch a hair of their heads, for a white man has no 
 nat ral gifts to take scalps ; nor did I even make sure of one 
 of their rifles. I distrusted myself, knowing that a Mingo 
 is no favorite in my own eyes." 
 
 " As for the scalps, I think you were right enough, my 
 worthy friend ; but as for the armament and the stores, 
 they would have been Condemned by any prize-court in 
 Christendom ! " 
 
 " That they would that they would; but then the Min 
 gos would have gone clear, seeing that a white man can no 
 more attack an unarmed, than a sleeping inimy. No, no ; 
 I did myself, and my color, and my religion, too, greater 
 justice. I waited till their nap was over, and they well on 
 their war-path again ; and by ambushing them here, and 
 flanking them there, I peppered the blackguards intrinsic 
 ally, like," Pathfinder occasionally caught a fine word from 
 his associates, and used it a little vaguely, " that only one 
 ever got back to his village ; and he came into his wigwam, 
 limping. Luckily, as it turned out, the great Delaware had 
 only halted to jerk some venison, and was following on my 
 trail ; and when he got up, he had five of the scoundrel s 
 ncalps hanging where they ought to to ; so you see nothing 
 
466 T11E PATHFINDER. 
 
 was lost by doing right, either in the way of honor or in 
 that of profit." 
 
 Cap grunted an assent, though the distinction* in his com 
 panion s morality, it must be owned, were not exactly clear 
 to his understanding. The two had occasionally moved 
 towards the block as they conversed, and then stopped 
 again, as some matter of more interest than common 
 brought them to a halt. They were now so near the 
 building, however, that neither thought of pursuing the sub 
 ject any further ; but each prepared himself for the fma! 
 oene with Sergeant Dunham. 
 
THE PATHFINDER. 467 
 
 CHAPTER XXVIII. 
 
 Thou barraire ground, whom winter s wrath hath wanted, 
 
 Art made a mirror to behold my plight: 
 
 Whil ome thy fresh spring flower d ; and after hasted 
 
 Thy summer proude, with daffodillies dight; 
 
 And now is come thy winter s stormy state, 
 
 Thy mantle mar d wherein thou maskedst late. 
 
 SHDHMKB. 
 
 ALTHOUGH the soldier may regard danger, and even 
 death, with indifference, in the tumult of battle, when the 
 passage cf the soul is delayed to moments of tranquillity 
 and reflection, the change commonly brings with it the usual 
 train of solemn reflections ; of regrets for the past ; and of 
 doubts and anticipations for the future. Many a man has 
 died with an heroic expression on his lips, but with heavi 
 ness and distrust at his heart ; for, whatever may be the 
 varieties of our religious creeds let us depend on the 
 mediation of Christ, the dogmas of Mohammed, or the elab 
 orated allegories of the P^ast there is a conviction, com 
 mon to all men, that death is but the stepping-stone between 
 this and a more elevated state of being. Sergeant Dunham 
 was a brave man ; but he was departing for a country in 
 which resolution could avail him nothing : and as he felt 
 himself gradually loosened from the grasp of the woild, his 
 thoughts and feelings took the natural direction ; for, if it 
 be true that death is the great leveler, in nothing is it more 
 trae, than that it reduces all to the same views of the vanity 
 of life. 
 
 Pathfinder, though a man of quaint and peculiar ha bits 
 and opinions, was always thoughtful, and disposed to vie~tf 
 ths things around him with a shade of philosophy, as well 
 as with seriousness. In him therefore the scene in the 
 block-house awakened no very novel feelings ; but the case 
 WHJS different with Cap. Rude, opinionated, dogmatical, and 
 
408 THE PATHFINDER. 
 
 boisterous, the old sailor was little accustomed to view even 
 death, with any approach to the gravity that its importance 
 demands ; and, notwithstanding all that had passed, and hia 
 real regard for his brother-in-law, he now entered the room 
 of the dying man, with much of that callous unconcern 
 which was the fruit of long training in a school, that, while 
 it gives so many lessons in the sublimest truths, generally 
 wastes its admonitions on scholars who are little disposed to 
 profit by them. 
 
 The first proof that Cap gave of his not entering as fully 
 as those around him into the solemnity of the moment, was 
 by commencing a. narration of the events which had just 
 led to the deaths of Muir and Arrowhead. " Both tripped 
 their anchors in a hurry, brother Dunham," he concluded ; 
 "and you have the consolation of knowing that others have 
 gone before you in the great journey, and they, too, men 
 whom you ve no particular reason to love ; which to me, 
 were I placed in your situation, would be a source of very 
 great satisfaction. My mother always said, Master Path 
 finder, that dying people s spirits should not be damped, but 
 that they ought to be encouraged by all proper and prudent 
 means ; and this news will give the poor fellow a great lift 
 if he feels towards them savages any way as I feel myself." 
 
 June arose at this intelligence, and stole from the block 
 house with a noiseless step. Dunham listened with a vacant 
 stare, for life had already lost so many of its ties that he 
 had really forgotten Arrowhead, and cared nothing for 
 Muir; but he inquired in a feeble voice for Eau-douce. 
 The young man was immediately summoned, and soon made 
 his appearance. The sergeant gazed at him kindly, and 
 the expression of his eyes was that of regret for the injury 
 he had- done him in thought. The party in the block-house 
 now consisted of Pathfinder, Cap, Mabel, Jasper, and the 
 ilying man. With the exception of the daughter, all stood 
 around the sergeant s pallet in attendance on his last mo 
 ments. Mabel kneeled at his side, now pressing a clammy 
 hand to her head, now applying moisture to the parched 
 lips of her father. 
 
 " Your case will shortly be our u, sergeant," said Path 
 
THE PATHFINDER. 469 
 
 finder, who could hardly be said to be awe-struck by tho 
 scene, for he had witnessed the approach and victories of 
 death too often for that; but who felt the full difference 
 between his triumphs in the excitement of battle and in 
 the quiet of the domestic circle ; " and I make no ques 
 tion we shall meet ag in hereafter. Arrowhead has gone 
 his way, tis true ; but it can never be the way of a just 
 Indian You ve seen the last of him : for his path cannot 
 be the path of the just. Reason is agin the thought, in his 
 case, as it is also in my judgment agin it, too, in the case of 
 Lieutenant Muir. You have done your duty in life ; and 
 when a man does that, he may start on the longest journey 
 with a light heart and an actyve foot." 
 
 " I hope so, my friend ; I ve tried to do my duty." 
 
 "Aye, aye," put in Cap, "intention is half the battle; 
 and though you would have done better had you hove-to in 
 the offing and sent a craft in to feel how the land lay, 
 things might have turned out differently ; no one here 
 doubts that you meant all for the best, and no one any 
 where else I should think, from what I ve seen of this world 
 and read of t other." 
 
 " I did ; yes, I meant all for the best." 
 
 " Father ! ! my beloved father ! " 
 
 " Magnet is taken aback by this blow, Master Pathfinder, 
 and can say or do but little to carry her father over the 
 shoals ; so we must try all the harder to serve him a 
 friendly turn ourselves." 
 
 " Did you speak, Mabel ? " Dunham asked, turning hia 
 eyes in the direction of his daughter, for he was already too 
 feeble to turn his body. 
 
 ^/Yes, father ; rely on nothing you have done yourselfj 
 for mercy and salvation ; trust altogether in the blessed 
 mediation of the Son of God !^ 
 
 "The chaplain has told us something like this, brother | 
 the dear child may be right." 
 
 H Aye, aye ; that s doctrine out of question. lie will be 
 our Judge, and keeps the log-book of our acts, ind will 
 foot them all up at the last day, and then say who nas dona 
 well and who has done ill. I do believe Mabel is right, but 
 
470 THE PATHFINDER. 
 
 then you need not be concerned, as no doubt the account 
 has been fairly kept." 
 
 " Uncle ! dearest father ! This is a vain illusion. O ! 
 place all your trust in the mediation of our holy Redeemer ! 
 Have you not often felt your own insufficiency to effect 
 your own wishes in the commonest things, and how can you 
 imagine yourself, by your own acts, equal to raise up a frail 
 and sinful nature sufficiently to be received into the pres 
 ence of perfect purity ? There is no hope for any, but in 
 the mediation of Christ ! " 
 
 " This is what the Moravians used to tell us," said Pnth- 
 finder to Cap in a low voice ; " Mabel is right." 
 
 " Right enough, friend Pathfinder, in the distances, but 
 wrong in the course. I m afraid the child will get the 
 sergeant adrift, at the very moment when we had him in 
 the best of the water, and in the plainest part of the 
 channel." 
 
 " Leave it to Mabel leave it to Mabel ; she knows 
 better than any of us, and can do no harm." 
 
 "I have heard this before," Dunham at length replied. 
 " Ah ! Mabel ; it is strange for the parent to lean on the 
 child at a moment like this." 
 
 " Put your trust in God, father ; lean on his holy and 
 compassionate Son. Pray, dearest, dearest father ; pray 
 for his omnipotent support." 
 
 "I am not used to prayer; brother Pathfinder 
 Jasper, can you help me to words ? " 
 
 Cap scarce knew what prayer- meant, and he had no an 
 swer to give. Pathfinder prayed often, daily if not hourly ; 
 but it was mentaliy, in his own simple modes of thinking, 
 and without the aid of words at all. In this strait, there 
 fore, he was as useless as the mariner, and had no rcplj to 
 make. As for Jasper Eau-douce, though he would gladly 
 have endeavored to move a mountain to relieve Mabel, this 
 was asking assistance it exceeded his power to give ; and 
 he shrank back with the shame that is only too apt to over 
 come the young and vigorous, when called on to perform 
 an act that tacitly confesses their real weakness and depend 
 nce on a superior power. 
 
THE PATHFINDER. 471 
 
 44 Father," said Mabel, wiping her eyes, and endeavor- 
 Mig to compose features that were pallid, and actually quiv 
 ering with emotion, " / will pray with you for you ; for 
 myself, for us all. The petition of the feeblest and hum 
 blest is never unheeded." 
 
 There was something sublime, as well as much that was 
 supremely touching, in this act of filial piety. The quiet, 
 but earnest manner in which this young creature prepared 
 herself to perform the duty ; the self-abandonment with 
 which she fbrgot her sex s timidity and sex s shame, in 
 order to sustain her parent at that trying moment ; the 
 loftiness of purpose with which she directed all her powers 
 to the immense object before her, with a woman s devotion, 
 and a woman s superiority to trifles, when her affections 
 make the appeal ; and the holy calm into which her grief 
 was compressed, rendered her, for the moment, an object 
 of something very like awe and veneration to her compan 
 ions. 
 
 Mabel had been religiously and reasonably educated ; 
 equally without exaggeration and without self-sufficiency. 
 Her reliance on God was cheerful and full of hope, while 
 it was of the humblest and most dependent nature. She 
 had been accustomed from childhood to address herself to 
 the Deity, in prayer ; taking example from the divine 
 mandate of Christ himself, who commanded his followers 
 to abstain ^frorn vain repetitions, and who has left behind 
 Him a petition that is unequaled for sublimity and senten- 
 tiousness, as if expressly to rebuke the disposition of man 
 to set up his own loose and random thoughts as the most 
 acceptable sacrifice. The sect in which she had been 
 reared, has furnished to its followers some of the most 
 beautiful compositions of the language, as a suitable vehi 
 cle for its devotion and solicitations. Accustomed to .this 
 Diode of public and even private prayer, the mind of our 
 heroine had naturally fallen into its train of lofty thought ; 
 her taste had become improved by its study, and her lan 
 guage elevated and enriched by its phrases. In short, 
 Mabel, in this respect, was an instance of the influence and 
 familiarity with propriety of thought, fitness of language. 
 
472 THE PATHFINDER. 
 
 and decorum of manner, on the habits and expressions of 
 even those who might be supposed not to be always so 
 susceptible of receiving high impressions of this nature. 
 When she kneeled at the bedside of her father, the very 
 reverence of her attitude and manner prepared the specta 
 tors for what was to come ; and as her affectionate heart 
 prompted her tongue, and memory came in aid of both, 
 the petition and praises that she offered up were of a 
 character that might have worthily led the spirits of angels. 
 Although the words were not slavishly borrowed, the ex 
 pressions partook of the simple dignity of the liturgy to 
 which she had been accustomed, and were probably as 
 worthy of the being to whom they were addressed as they 
 could well be made by human powers. They produced 
 their full impression on the hearers ; for it is worthy of 
 remark that, notwithstanding the pernicious effects of a 
 false taste when long submitted to, real sublimity and 
 beauty are so closely allied to nature, that they generally 
 find an echo in every heart. 
 
 But when our heroine came to touch upon the situation 
 of the dying man, she became the most truly persuasive, 
 for then she was the most truly zealous and natural. The 
 beauty of the language was preserved, but it was sustained 
 by the simple power of love ; and her words were warmed 
 by a holy zeal, that approached to the grandeur of true 
 eloquence. We might record some of her expressions, but 
 doubt the propriety of subjecting such sacred themes to a 
 too familiar analysis, and refrain. 
 
 The effect of this singular but solemn scene was different 
 tin the different individuals present. Dunham himself was 
 soon lost in the subject of the prayer ; and he felt some 
 such relief as one who finds himself staggering on the edge 
 of a precipice under a burden difficult to be borne, might 
 be supposed to experience, when he unexpectedly feels the 
 weight removed, in order to be placed on the shoulders of 
 mother better able to sustain it. Cap was surprised, as 
 well as awed ; though the effects on his mind were not 
 rery deep or very lasting. He wondered a little at hia 
 own sensations, and had his doubts whether they were ai 
 
THE PATHFINDER. 478 
 
 manly and heroic as they ought to be ; but he was far too 
 sensible of the influence of truth, humility, religious sub 
 mission, and human dependency, to think of interposing 
 with any of his crude objections. Jasper knelt opposite to 
 Mabel, covered his face, and followed her words, with an 
 earnest wish to aid her prayers with his own ; though it 
 may be questioned if his thoughts did not dwell quite as 
 much on the soft, gentle accents of the petitioner, as on 
 the subject of her petition. 
 
 The effect on Pathfinder was striking and visible ; visi 
 ble, because he stood erect, also opposite to Mabel ; and 
 the workings of his countenance, as usual, betrayed the 
 workings of the spirit within. He leaned on his rifle, and, 
 at moments, the sinewy fingers grasped the barrel with a 
 force that seemed to compress the weapon ; while once or 
 twice, as Mabel s language rose in intimate association with 
 her thoughts, he lifted his eyes to the floor above him, a8 
 if he expected to find some visible evidence of the presence 
 of the dread Being to whom the words were addressed. 
 Then again his feelings reverted to the fair creature who 
 was thus pouring out her spirit, in fervent, but calm peti 
 tions, in behalf of a dying parent ; for Mabel s cheek was 
 no longer pallid, but was flushed with a holy enthusiasm, 
 while her blue eyes were upturned in the light, in a way 
 to resemble a picture by Guido. At these moments all 
 the honest and manly attachment of Pathfinder glowed in 
 his ingenuous features, and his gaze at our heroine was 
 such as the fondest parent might fasten on the child of his 
 love. 
 
 Sergeant Dunham laid his hand feebly on the head of 
 Mabel as she ceased praying, and buried her face in his 
 blanket. 
 
 * Bless you, my beloved child, bless you," he rather 
 fhispered than uttered aloud ; "this is truly consolation ; 
 would that I too could pray ! " 
 
 " Father, you know the Lord s prayer ; you taught it 
 Ui me yourself, while I was yet an infant." 
 
 The sergfvaut s face gleamed with a smile ; for he did 
 remember to have discharged that portion, at least, of the 
 
174 THE PATHFINDER. 
 
 paternal dutj ; and the consciousness of it gave him inoon* 
 ceivable gratification at that solemn moment. He was 
 then silent for several minutes, and all present believed 
 that he was communing with God. 
 
 " Mabel, my child," he at length uttered, in a voice that 
 aeemed to be reviving, " Mabel, I m quitting you " the 
 spirit, at its great and final passage, appears ever to con 
 sider the body as nothing " I m quitting you, my child , 
 where is your hand ? " 
 
 " Here, dearest father here are both ; ! take both. " 
 
 " Pathfinder," added the sergeant, feeling on the oppo 
 site side of the bed, where Jasper still knelt, and getting 
 one of the hands of the young man, by mistake, " take 
 it I leave you as her father as you and she may 
 please bless you bless you both " 
 
 At that awful instant no one would rudely apprise the 
 sergeant of his mistake ; and he died a minute or two 
 later, holding Jasper s and Mabel s hands covered by both 
 his own. Our heroine was ignorant of the fact, until an 
 exclamation of Cap s announced the death of her father ; 
 when, raising her face, she saw the eyes of Jasper riveted 
 on her own, and felt the warm pressure of his hand. But 
 a single feeling was predominant at that instant ; and 
 Mabel withdrew to weep, scarcely conscious of what had 
 occurred. The Pathfinder took the arm of Eau-douce, 
 and he left the block. 
 
 The two friends walked in silence past the fire, along 
 the glade, and nearly reached the opposite shore of the 
 .Bland, in profound silence. Here they stopped, and Path 
 finder spoke. 
 
 " Tis all over, Jasper," he said ; " tis all over. Ah s 
 me ! Poor Sergeant Dunham has finished his inarch, and 
 ihat, too, by the hand of a venomous Mingo. Well, we 
 never know what is to happen, and his luck may be your ii 
 IT mine, to-morrow, or next day ! " 
 
 " And Mabel ? What is to become of Mabel, Path 
 finder ? " 
 
 " You heard the sergeant s dying words ; he has left 
 Ilia child in my care, Jasper ; and it is a most solemn trust 
 it is; yes, it is a most solemn trust ! " 
 
THE PATHFINDER. 475 
 
 " It s a trust, Pathfinder, of which any man would be 
 glad to relieve you," returned the youth, with a bittei 
 mile. 
 
 " I ve often thought it has fallen into wrong hands. I m 
 not cousaited, Jasper I m not cousaited, I do think I m 
 not; but if Mabel Dunham is willing to overlook all my 
 imperfections and ignorances like, I should be wiong to 
 gainsay it on account of any sartainty I may have myself 
 about ray own want of merit." 
 
 k No one will blame you, Pathfinder, for marrj ing Mabel 
 Dunham, any more than they will blame you for wearing a 
 precious jewel in your bosom, that a friend had freely given 
 you." 
 
 " Do you think they ll blame Mabel, lad ? I ve had my 
 misgivings about that too ; for all persons may not be a& 
 disposed to look at me with the same eyes as you and the 
 sergeant s daughter." Jasper Eau-douce started, as a mai? 
 flinches at sudden bodily pain ; but he otherwise maintained 
 his self-command. " And mankind is envious and ill- 
 natured, more particularly in and about the garrisons. 1 
 sometimes wish, Jasper, that Mabel could have taken a 
 fancy to you, I do ; and that you had taken a fancy to her ; 
 for it often seems to me that one like you, after all, might 
 make her happier than I ever can." 
 
 " We will not talk about this, Pathfinder," interrupted 
 Jasper, hoarsely and impatiently ; " you will be Mabel s 
 husband, and it is not right to speak of any one else in that 
 character. As for me, I shall take Master Cap s advice, 
 and try and make a man of myself, by seeing what is to bo 
 done on the salt water." 
 
 " You, Jasper Western ! you quit the lakes, the forests, 
 and the lines ; and this, too, for the towns and wasty ways 
 v>f the settlements, and a little difference in the taste of the 
 water ! Haven t we the salt-licks, if salt is necessary to 
 you ? and oughtn t man to be satisfied with what contents 
 the other creatur s of God? I counted on you, Jasper 1 
 counted on you, I did and thought, now that Mabel and 
 I intend to dwell in a cabin of our own, that some day you 
 might be tempted to choose a companion too, and come 
 
476 THE PATHFINDER. 
 
 and settle in our neighborhood. There is a beautifiil spot 
 about fifty miles west of the garrison, that I had chosen in 
 my mind for my own place of abode ; and there is an ex 
 cellent harbor about ten leagues this side of it, where you 
 could run in and out with the cutter, at any leisure minute ; 
 and I d even fancied you and your wife in possession of 
 the one place, and Mabel and I in possession of t other. We 
 should be just a healthy hunt apart ; and if the Lord ever 
 intends any of his creatures to be happy on arth, none coald 
 be happier than we four." 
 
 " You forget, my friend," answered Jasper, taking the 
 guide s hand and forcing a friendly smile, " that I have no 
 fourth person to love and cherish ; and I much doubt if I 
 ever shall love any other as I love you and Mabel." 
 
 " Thank ee, boy I thank you with all my heart ; but 
 what you call love for Mabel is only friendship like, and 
 a very different thing from what I feel. Now, instead 
 of sleeping as sound as natur at midnight, as I used to 
 could, I dream nightly of Mabel Dunham. The youig does 
 sport before me ; and when I raise Killdeer in older to 
 take a little venison, the animals look back, and it seems a* 
 if they all had Mabel s sweet countenance, laughing in my 
 face, and looking as if they said, * Shoot me if you dare ! 
 Then I hear her soft voice calling out among the birds as 
 they sing; and no later than the last nap I took, I be 
 thought me in fancy of going over the Niagara, holding 
 Mabel in my arms rather than part from her. The bitter 
 est moments I ve ever known were them in which the devil 
 or some Mingo conjuror, perhaps, has just put into my head 
 to fancy in dreams that Mabel is lost to me by some un- 
 4ccountable calamity either by changefulness or by vio 
 ence." 
 
 " O ! Pathfinder, if you think this so bitter in a dream, 
 vhat must it be to one who feels its reality, and knows ii 
 11 to be true true true ! So true, as to leave no hoj^e ; 
 to leave nothing but despair ! " 
 
 These words burst from Jasper as a fluid pours from the 
 vessel that has been suddenly broken. They were uttered 
 Involuntarily, almost unconsciously, but with a truth and 
 
THE PATHFINDER. 477 
 
 feeling that carried with them the instant conviction of their 
 deep sincerity. Pathfinder started, gazed at his friend for 
 quite a minute like one bewildered ; and then it was that 
 in despite of all his simplicity the truth gleamed upon him. 
 All know how corroborating proofs crowd upon the mind 
 aa soon as it catches a direct clue to any hitherto unsus 
 pected fact ; how rapidly the thoughts flow, and premises 
 tend to their just conclusions under such circumstances. 
 Our hero was so confiding by nature, so just, and so much 
 disposed to imagine that all his friends wished him the same 
 happiness as he wished them, that, until this unfortunate 
 moment, a suspicion of Jasper s attachment for Mabel had 
 never been awakened in his bosom. He was, however, now 
 too experienced in the emotions that characterize the pas- 
 fiiori ; and the burst of feeling in his companion was too 
 violent and too natural to leave any further doubt on the 
 subject. The feeling that first followed this change of 
 opinion was one of deep humility and exquisite pain. He 
 bethought him of Jasper s youth, his higher claims to per 
 sonal appearance, and all the general probabilities that such 
 a suitor would be more agreeable to Mabel than he could 
 possibly be himself. Then the noble rectitude of mind for 
 which the man was so distinguished asserted its power ; it 
 was sustained by his rebuked manner of thinking of him 
 self, and all that habitual deference for the rights and feel 
 ings of others, which appeared to be inbred in his very na 
 ture. Taking the arm of Jasper, he led him to a log, where 
 he compelled the young man to seat himself, by a sort of 
 irresistible exercise of his iron muscles, and where he placed 
 himself at his side. 
 
 The instant his feelings had found vent, Eau-douce was 
 both alarmed at and ashamed of their violence. He would 
 have given all he possessed on earth could the last three 
 minutes be recalled, but he was too frank by disposition, 
 and too much accustomed to deal ingenuously by his friend, 
 to think a moment of attempting further concealment, or of 
 liny evasion of the explanation that he knew was about to 
 be demanded. Even while he trembled in anticipation of 
 what was about to follow, he never contemplated equivoca 
 tion. 
 
478 THE PATHFINDER. 
 
 " Jasper," Pathfinder commenced, in a tone so solemn a& 
 to thrill on every nerve in his listener s body, " this has sur 
 prised me ! You have kinder feelings towards Mabel than 
 I had thought ; and unless my own mistaken vanity and 
 consait have cruelly deceived me, I pity you, boy, from my 
 soul, I do ! Yes, I think I know how to pity any one -who 
 has set his heart on a creature like Mabel, unless he sees a 
 prospect of her regarding him as he regards her. This 
 matter must be cleared up, Eau-douce, as the Delawares 
 say, until there shall not be a cloud atween UP." 
 
 "What clearing up can it want, Pathfinder? I love 
 Mabel Dunham, and Mabel Dunham does not love me ; 
 she prefers you for a husband ; and the wisest thing I can 
 do, is to go off At once to the salt water and try to forget 
 you both." 
 
 "Forget me, Jasper! that would be a punishment I 
 don t desarve. But how do you know that Mabel prefars 
 me ? how do you know it, lad ? to me it seems impossible, 
 like!" 
 
 "Is she not to marry you, and would Mabel marry a 
 man she does not love ? " 
 
 " She has been hard urged by the sergeant, she has ; 
 and a dutiful child may have found it difficult to withstand 
 the wishes of a dying parent. Have you ever told Mabel 
 that you prefarred her, Jasper ; that you bore her these 
 feelings?" 
 
 " Never, Pathfinder ; I would not do you that wrong ! " 
 
 " I believe you, lad, I do believe you ; and I think you 
 would- now go to the salt water and let the scent die with 
 you. But this must not be. Mabel shall hear all, and 
 she shall have her own way, if my heart breaks in the 
 trial, she shall. No words have ever passed atween yon, 
 then, Jasper ? " 
 
 u Nothing of account nothing direct. Still, I will own 
 all my foolfslmess, Pathfinder, for I ought to own it to a 
 generous friend like you, and there will be an end of it. 
 You know how young people understand each other, or 
 think they understand each other, without always speaking 
 >ut in plain speech ; and get to know each other s thoughts, 
 
THE PATHFINDER. 473 
 
 or to think they know them, by means of a hundred little 
 ways ? " 
 
 "Not I, Jasper, not I," truly answered the guide; for 
 sooth to say, his advances had never been met witli any ol 
 that sweet and precious encouragement that silently mark* 
 the course of sympathy united to passion. " Not I, Jasper ; 
 I know nothing of all this. Mabel has always treated me 
 fairly, and said what she had to say in speech as plain ag 
 tongue could tell it." 
 
 " You have had the pleasure of hearing her say that she 
 loved you, Pathfinder ? " 
 
 "Why no, Jasper, not just that, in words. She has told 
 me that w never could never ought to be married ; that 
 $he was not good enough for me ; though she did say that 
 she honored me, and respected me. But then the sergeant 
 said it was always so with the youthful and timid, that her 
 mother did so, and said so, afore her ; and that I ought to be 
 satisfied if she would consent, on any terms, to marry me : 
 and, therefore, I have concluded that all was right, I have." 
 
 In spite of all his friendship for the successful wooer in 
 spite of all his honest, sincere wishes for his happiness, we 
 should be unfaithful chroniclers, did we not own that Jasper 
 felt his heart bound with an uncontrollable feeling of delight, 
 at this admission. It was not that he saw or felt any hope 
 connected with the circumstance ; but it was grateful to the 
 jealous covetousness of unlimited love, thus to learn that no 
 other ears had heard the sweet confessions that were denied 
 its own. 
 
 "Tell me more of this manner of talking without the use 
 of the tongue," continued Pathfinder, whose countenance 
 was getting to be grave, and who now questioned his com- 
 parJon, like one that seemed to anticipate evil in the reply. 
 u I can and have conversed with Chingachgook, and with 
 his son Uncas, too, in that mode, afore the latter fell ; but I 
 didn t know that young girls practysed this art ; and, least 
 of all, Mabel Dunham ! " 
 
 " Tis nothing, Pathfinder. I mean only a look, or a 
 Bmile, or a glance of the eye, or the trembling of an arm, or 
 a hand, when the young woman has had occasion to touch 
 
180 THE PATHFINDER. 
 
 me ; and because I have been weak enough to tremble even 
 at Mabel s breath, or her brushing me with her clothes, my 
 vain thoughts have misled me. I never spoke plainly to 
 Mabel, myself; and now there is no use for it, since there 
 is clearly no hope." 
 
 "Jasper," returned Pathfinder, simply, but with a dig.tity 
 that precluded further remarks at the moment, " we will 
 talk of the sergeant s funeral, and of our own departure from 
 this island. After these things are disposed of, it will be 
 time enough to say more of the sergeant s daughter. This 
 matter must be looked into ; for the father left me the care 
 of his child." 
 
 Jasper was glad enough to change the subject, and the 
 friends separated, each charged with the duty most peculiar 
 to his own station and habits. 
 
 That afternoon all the dead were interred the grave 
 of Sergeant Dunham being dug in the centre of the glade, 
 beneath the shade of a huge elm. Mabel wept bitterly at 
 the ceremony, and she found relief in thus disburdening her 
 sorrow. The night passed tranquilly, ad did the whole of 
 the following day, Jasper declaring that the gale was too 
 severe to venture on the lake. This circumstance detained 
 Captain Sanglier, also ; who did not quit the island until 
 the morning of the third, day after the death of Dunham, 
 when the weather had moderated, and the wind had become 
 fair. Then, indeed, he departed, after taking leave of the 
 Pathfinder, in the manner of one who believed he was in 
 company of a distinguished character for the last time. The 
 two separated like those who respect one another, while 
 oach felt that the other was an enigma to himself. 
 
THE PATHFINDER. 481 
 
 CHAPTER XXIX. 
 
 Playful she turned, that he might see 
 the passing smile her cheek put on; 
 
 But when she marked how mournfully 
 His eyes met hers, that smile was gone. 
 
 LALLA RCH.CH. 
 
 THE occurrences of the last few days had been too excit 
 ing, and had made too many demands on the fortitude of 
 our heroine, to leave her in the helplessness of grief. She 
 mourned for her father, and she occasionally shuddered, as 
 she recalled the sudden death of Jennie, and all the horrible 
 scenes she had witnessed ; but, on the whole, she had aroused 
 herself, and was no longer in the deep depression that usu 
 ally accompanies grief. Perhaps the overwhelming, almost 
 stupefying sorrow that crushed poor June, and left her foi 
 nearly twenty-four hours in a state of stupor, assisted Mabel 
 in conquering her own feelings, for she had felt called on to 
 administer consolation to the young Indian woman. This 
 she had done, in the quiet, soothing, insinuating way, in 
 which her sex usually exerts its influence on such occasions. 
 The morning of the third day was set for that on which 
 the Scud was to sail. Jasper had made all his preparations ; 
 Jie different effects were embarked, arid Mabel had taken 
 leave of June a painful and affectionate parting. In a 
 vord, all was ready, arid every soul had left the island but 
 he Indian woman, Pathfinder, Jasper, and our heroine. The 
 foimer had ^one into a thicket to weep, and the three last 
 were approaching the spot where three canoes lay ; one of 
 which was the property of June, and the other 1 wo were in 
 waiting to carry the others off to the Scud. Pathfinder led 
 the way, but, when he drew near the shore, instead of tak 
 ing the direction to the boats, he mo ioned to his compan 
 ions to follow, and proceeded to a fcdleu tree that lay on the 
 81 
 
482 THE FATHFINDKE. 
 
 margin of the glade, ana out ol view of those in the cutter 
 
 Seating himself on the trunk, he signed to Mabel to take her 
 place on one side of him, and to Jasper to occupy the other. 
 
 " Sit down here, Mabel ; sit down there, Eau-douce," he 
 commenced, as soon as he had taken his own seat ; " I ve 
 something that lies heavy on my mind, and now is the timo 
 to take it off, if it s ever to be done. Sit down, Mabel, and 
 iet me lighten my heart, if not my conscience, while I ve the 
 strength to do it." 
 
 The pause that succeeded lasted two or three minutes, 
 and both the young people wondered what was to come 
 next, the idea that Pathfinder could have any weight on 
 his conscience seeming equally improbable to each. 
 
 " Mabel," our hero at length resumed, " we must talk 
 plainly to each other afore we join your uncle in the cutter, 
 where the Salt-water has slept every night since the last 
 rally ; for he says it s the only place, in which a man can be 
 sure of keeping the hair on his head, he does. Ah s me ! 
 what have I to do with these follies and sayings now ? I 
 try to be pleasant, and to feel light-hearted, but the power 
 of man can t make water run up stream. Mabel, you know 
 that the sergeant, afore he left us, had settled it atween us 
 two, that we were to become man arid wife, and that we 
 were to live together, and to love one another as long as 
 the Lord was pleased to keep us both on arth; yes, and 
 afterwards, too ? " 
 
 Mabel s cheeks had regained a little of their ancient bloom 
 n the fresh air of the morning ; but at this unlooked-for 
 address they blanched again, nearly to the pallid hue which 
 grief had imprinted there. Still she looked kindly, though 
 Berioasly, at Pathfinder, and even endeavored to force a 
 smile. 
 
 "Very true, my excellent friend," she answered; "this 
 was my poor father s wish, and I feel certain that a whole 
 life devoted to your welfare and comforts could scarcely re 
 pay you for all you have done for us." 
 
 " 1 fear me, Mabel, that man and wife needs be bound to 
 gether by a stronger tie than such feelings, I do. You have 
 done nothing for me, or nothing of any account, and yet mj 
 
THE PATHFINDER. 483 
 
 very heart yearns towards you, it does ; and therefore it 
 Beems likely that those feelings come from something besides 
 saving scalps and guiding through woods." 
 
 Mabel s cheek had begun to glow again ; and though she 
 struggled hard to smile, her voice trembled a little as she 
 answered. 
 
 "Had we not better postpone this conversation, Path 
 finder ? " she said ; " we are not alone ; and nothing is so 
 unpleasant to a listener, they say, as family matters in which 
 he feels no interest." 
 
 " It s because we are not alone, Mabel, or rather because 
 Jasper is with us, that I wish to talk of this matter. The 
 sergeant believed I might make a suitable companion for 
 you ; and, though I had misgivings about it yes, I had 
 many misgivings he finally persuaded me into the idee, 
 and things came round at ween us, as you kuow. But when 
 you promised your father to marry me, Mabel, and gave me 
 your hand so modestly, but so prettily, there was one cir 
 cumstance, as your uncle called it, that you didn t know ; 
 and I ve thought it right to tell you what it is, before mat 
 ters are finally settled. I ve often taken a poor deer for 
 my dinner, whei. good venison was not to be found ; but 
 it s as nat ral not to take up with the worst when the best 
 may be had." 
 
 " You speak in a way, Pathfinder, that is difficult to be 
 understood. If this conversation is really necessary, I trust 
 A>u will be more plain." 
 
 " Well, then, Mabel, I ve been thinking it was quite likely, 
 when you gave in to the sergeant s wishes, that you did not 
 know the natur of Jasper Western s feelings towards you ? " 
 
 " Pathfinder ! " and Mabel s cheek now paled to the livid 
 hue of death; then it flushed to the tint of. crimson; and 
 her whole frame shuddered. Pathfinder, however, was too 
 intent on his own object to notice this agitation ; and Eau- 
 douce had hidden his face in his hands in time to shut out 
 its view. 
 
 " I ve been talking with the lad ; and, on comparing his 
 ireams with my dreams, his feelings with my feelings, and 
 lis wishes with my wishes, I fear we think too much alike 
 Concerning you. for both of us to be very happy." 
 
484 THE PATHFINDER. 
 
 "Pathfinder! you forget you should remember that 
 we are betrothed ! " said Mabel hastily, and in a voice so 
 low, that it required acute attention in the listeners - catch 
 the syllables. Indeed, the last word was not quite intelli 
 gible to the guide, and he confessed his ignorance by the 
 usual 
 
 "Anan?" 
 
 " You forget that we are to be married ; and such allu 
 sions are improper as well as painful." 
 
 <: Everything is proper that is right, Mabel ; and every 
 thing is right that leads to justice and fair dealing ; though 
 it & painful enough, as you say as I find on trial, I do. 
 Now, Mabel, had you known that Eau-douce thinks of you 
 in this way, maybe you never would have consented to be 
 married to one as old and as uncomely as I am." 
 
 "Why this cruel trial, Pathfinder? To what can all 
 this lead ? Jasper Western thinks no such thing : he says 
 nothing he feels nothing." 
 
 " Mabel ! " burst from out of the young man s lips, in a 
 way to betray the uncontrollable nature of his emotions, 
 though he uttered not another syllable. 
 
 Mabel buried her face in both her hands ; and the two 
 sat like a pair of guilty beings, suddenly detected in the 
 commission of some crime that involved the happiness of a 
 common patron. At that instant, perhaps, Jasper himself 
 was inclined to deny his passion, through an extreme un 
 willingness to grieve his friend ; while Mabel, on whom this 
 positive announcement of a fact, that she had rather uncon 
 sciously hoped than believed, came so unexpectedly, felt her 
 mind momentarily bewildered ; and she scarce knew whether 
 to weep or to rejoice. Still she was the first to speak; 
 ihice Eau-douce could utter naught that would be disingen 
 uous, or that would pain his friend. 
 
 ** Pathfinder," she said, " you talk wildly. Why mention 
 fliis at all ? " 
 
 " Well, Mabel, if I talk wildly, I am half wild you know ; 
 by natur , I fear, as well as by habit." As he said this, 
 he endeavored to laugh in his usual noiseless way, but the 
 effect produced a strange and discordant sound; and it 
 
THE PATHFINDER. 485 
 
 appeared nearly to choke him. "Yes, I must be wild ; I ll 
 not attempt to deny it." 
 
 " Dearest Pathfinder ! my best, almost my only friend ! 
 you cannot, do not think I intended to say that ! " interrupted 
 Mabel, almost breathless in her haste to relieve his mortl*i- 
 cation. " If courage, truth, nobleness of soul and conduct, 
 unyielding principles, and a hundred other excellent quali 
 ties can render any man respectable, esteemed, or beloved, 
 your claims are inferior to those of no other human being." 
 
 " What tender and bewitching voices they have, Jasper ! " 
 resumed the guide, now laughing freely and naturally. 
 "Yes, natur seems to have made them on purpose to sing 
 in our ears when the music of the woods is silent ! But we 
 must come to a right understanding, we must. I ask you 
 again, Mabel, if you had known that Jasper Western loves 
 you as well as I do, or better perhaps though that is 
 scarce possible ; that in his dreair s he sees your face in the 
 water of the lake ; that lie talks to you and of you in his 
 sleep ; fancies all that is beautiful like Mabel Dunham, and 
 all that is good and virtuous ; believes he never knowed 
 happiness until he knowed you ; could kiss the ground on 
 which you have trod, and forgets all the joys of his calling 
 to think of you, and of the delight of gazing at your beauty, 
 and in listening to your voice, would you then have con 
 sented to marry me ?" 
 
 Mabel could not have answered this question if she 
 would ; but, though her face was buried in her hands, the 
 tint of the rushing blood was visible between the openings, 
 and the suffusion seemed to impart itself to her very fingers. 
 Still nature asserted her power, for there was a single in 
 stant when the astonished, almost terrified girl stole a glance 
 at Jasper, as if distrusting Pathfinder s history of his reel- 
 ngs, read the truth of all lie said in that furtive look, and 
 instantly concealed her face again, as if she would hide it 
 *rom observation forever. 
 
 "Take time to think, Mabel," the guide continued, "for 
 : t is a solemn thing to accept one man for a husband, while 
 the thoughts and wishes lead to another. Jasper and I 
 have talked this matter o\ 3r, freely and like old friends, and 
 
i86 THE PATHFINDER. 
 
 though I always knowed that we viewed most things pretty 
 much alike, I couldn t have thought that we regarded any 
 particular object with the very same eyes, as it might be, 
 until we opened our minds to each other about you. Now, 
 Jasper owns that the very first time he beheld you, he 
 thought you the sweetest and winriingest creatur he had 
 er^r met ; that your voice sounded like murmuring water in 
 his ears ; that he fancied his sails were your garments, flut 
 tering in the wind ; that your laugh haunted him in his 
 sleep ; and that, ag in and ag in, has he started up affrighted, 
 because he has fancied some one wanted to force you out of 
 the Scud, where he imagined you had taken up your abode. 
 Nay, the lad has even acknowledged that he often weeps at 
 the thought that you are likely to spend your days with 
 another and not with him." 
 
 " Jasper ! " 
 
 " It s solemn truth, Mabel, and it s right you should know 
 it. Now stand up, and choose atween us. I do believe 
 Eau-douce loves you as well as I do myself; he has tried 
 to persuade me that he loves you better, but that I will not 
 allow, for I do not think it possible ; but I will own the boy 
 loves you, heart and soul, and he has a good right to be 
 heard. The sergeant left me your protector, and not your 
 tyrant. I told him that I would be a father to you, as well 
 as a husband, and it seems to me no feeling father would 
 deny his child this small privilege. Stand up, Mabel, there 
 fore, and speak your thoughts as freely as if I were the ser- 
 geaa himself, seeking your good, and nothing else." 
 
 Mabel dropped her hands, arose, and stood face to face 
 with her two suitors, though the flush that was on her 
 cheek was feverish, the evidence of excitement rather than 
 of shame. 
 
 "What would you have, Pathfinder?" she asked. 
 " Have I not already promised my poor father to do all 
 you desire?" 
 
 " Then I desire this. Here I stand, a man of the forest, 
 and of little Taming, though I fear with an ambition beyond 
 my desarts, and I ll do my endivors to do justice to both 
 sides. In the first place, it is allowed that so far as feelings 
 
THE PATHFINDER. 487 
 
 in your behalf are consarned we love you just the same 
 Jasper thinks his feelings must be the strongest, but this I 
 cannot say, in honesty, for it doesn t seem to me that it can 
 be true ; else I would frankly and freely confess it, I would. 
 So in this particular, Mabel, we are here before you on 
 equal tarms. As for myself, being the oldest, I ll first say 
 what little can be produced in my favor, as well as agin it. 
 As a hunter, I do think there is no man near the lines that 
 can outdo me. If venison or bear s meat, or even birds arid 
 fish, should ever be scarce in our cabin, it would be more 
 likely to be owing to natur and Providence, than to any 
 fault of mine. In short, it does seem to me that the woman 
 who depended on me. would never be likely to want for food. 
 But I m fearful ignorant ! It s true, I speak several tongues, 
 such as they be, while I m very far from being expart 
 at my own. Then, my years are greater than your own, 
 Mabel ; and the circumstance that I was so long the ser 
 geant s comrade can be no great merit in your eyes. I 
 wish, too, I was more comely, I do ; but we are all as natur 
 made us, and the last thing that a man ought to lament, ex 
 cept on very special occasions, is his looks. When all is 
 remembered, age, looks, Taming, and habits, Mabel, con 
 science tells me I ought to confess that I m altogether unfit 
 for you, if not downright unworthy ; and I would give up 
 the hope, this minute, I would, if I didn t feel something 
 pulling at my heart-strings which seems hard to undo." 
 
 " Pathfinder ! noble, generous Pathfinder ! " cried our 
 ieroine, seizing his hand, and kissing it with a species of 
 holy reverence, " you do yourself injustice ; you forget my 
 poor father and yeur promise ; you do not know me!" 
 
 " Now, here s Jasper," continued the guide, without allow- 
 jtng the girl s caresses to win him from his purpose ; " with 
 him, the case is different. In the way of providing, as in 
 that of loving, there s not much to choose atween us, for the 
 lad is frugal, industrious, and careful. Then he is quite a 
 scholar knows the tongue of the Frenchers reads many 
 books, and some, I know, that you like to read yourself 
 can understand you at all times, which, perhaps, is more 
 than I can say for myself/ 
 
483 THE PATHFINDER. 
 
 " What of aL this ? " interrupted Mabel, impatiently 
 " why speak of it now why speak of it at all ? " 
 
 " Then the lad has a manner of letting his thoughts be 
 known, that I fear I can never equal. If there s anything 
 on arth that would make my tongue bold and persuading, 
 Mabel, I do think it s yourself ; and yet in our late conver 
 sations Jasper has outdone me, even on this point, in a way 
 to make me ashamed of myself. He has told me how sim 
 ple you were, and how true-hearted, and kind-hearted ; and 
 how you looked down upon vanities, for though you might 
 be the wife of more than one officer, as he thinks, that you 
 cling to feeling, and would rather be true to yourself, and 
 natur than a colonel s lady. He fairly made my blood 
 warm, he did, when he spoke of your having beauty without 
 seeming ever to have looked upon it, and the manner in 
 which you moved about like a young fa an, so nat ral and 
 graceful like, without knowing it ; and the truth and justice 
 of your idees, and the warmth and generosity of your 
 heart" 
 
 " Jasper ! " interrupted Mabel, giving way to feelings 
 that had gathered an ungovernable force by being so long 
 pent, and falling into the young man s willing arms, weep 
 ing like a child, and almost as helpless. " Jasper ! Jas 
 per ! why have you kept this from me 5 " 
 
 The answer of Eau-douce was not very intelligible, nor 
 was the murmured dialogue that followed, remarkable for 
 coherency. But the language of affection is easily under 
 stood. The hour that succeeded passed like a very few 
 minutes of ordinary life, so far as a computation of time waa 
 concerned ; and when Mabel recollected herself, and be 
 thought her of the existence of others, her uncle was pacing 
 the cutter s deck in great impatience, and wondering why 
 Jasper should be losing so much of a favorable wind. Her 
 first thought was of him who was so likely to feel the recent 
 betrayal of her real emotions. 
 
 " O ! Jasper ! " she exclaimed, like one suddenly self 
 convicted, " the Pathfinder ! " 
 
 Eau-douce fairly trembled, not with unmanly apprehen 
 sion, but with the painful conviction of the pang lie had 
 
THK PATHFINDER. 489 
 
 ghen his friend ; and he looked in all directions in the ex 
 pectation of seeing his person. But Pathfinder had with 
 drawn, with a tact and a delicacy that might have done credit 
 to the sensibility and breeding of a courtier. For several 
 minutes the two lovers sat silently waiting his return, un 
 certain what properly required of them, under circumstancea 
 BO marked and so peculiar. At length they beheld theii 
 friend advancing slowly towards them, with a thoughtful 
 and even a pensive air. 
 
 " I now understand what you meant, Jasper, by speaking 
 without a tongue, and hearing without an ear," he said, 
 when close enough to the tree to be heard. " Yes, I un 
 derstand it now, I do, and a very pleasant sort of discourse 
 it is, when one can hold it with Mabel Dunham. Ah s me ! 
 I told the sergeant I wasn t fit for her ; that I was too old. 
 too ignorant, and too wild, like but he would have it 
 otherwise." 
 
 Mabel sat, resembling Milton s picture of our 
 when theconscioujsness of sin first laid-its 
 
 ^ 
 
 leadenweijiht on their souls. Neither spoke, neither even 
 moved ; though both at that moment fancied they could part 
 with their new-found happiness, in order to restore their 
 friend to his peace of mind. Jasper was pale as death ; but, 
 in Mabel, maiden modesty had caused the blood to mantle 
 on her cheeks, until their bloom was heightened to a rich 
 ness that was scarce equaled in her hours of light-hearted 
 buoyancy and joy. As the feeling, which, in her sex 
 always accompanies the security of love returned, threw its 
 softness and tenderness over her countenance, she was sin 
 gularly beautiful. Pathfinder gazed at her with an intent- 
 ness he did not endeavor to conceal, and then b.e fairly 
 laughed in his own way, and with a sort of #ild exultation. 
 as men that are untutored are wont to express their delight. 
 This momentary indulgence, however, was expiated by the 
 pang that followed the sudden consciousness that this glo 
 rious young creature was lost to him forever. It required 
 a full minute for this simple-minded being to recorer from 
 the shock of this conviction ; and then he recovered his 
 dignity of manner, speaking with gravity almost with 
 solemnity. 
 
490 THE TATHFINDKR, 
 
 " I have always known, Mabel Dunham, that men have 
 their gifts," he said ; "/but I d forgotten that it did not be 
 long to mine, to please the young, and beautiful, and 1 arned/ 
 I hope the mistake has been no very heavy sin ; and if it 
 was, I ve been heavily punished for it, I have. Nay, Mabel, 
 I know what you d say, but it s unnecessary ; I feel it all, 
 and that is as good as if I heard it all. I ve had a bittei 
 hour, Mabel I ve had \ very bitter hour, lad " 
 
 " Hour ! " echoed Mabel, as the other first used the 
 word, the tell-tale blood which had begun to ebb towards 
 her heart rushing again tumultuously to her very temples. 
 * Surely not an hour, Pathfinder ? " 
 
 " Hour ! " exclaimed Jasper at the same instant, " no, 
 no, my worthy friend, it is not ten minutes since you left 
 us!" 
 
 " Well, it may be so ; though to me it has seemed to be 
 a day. I begin to think, however, that the happy count 
 time by minutes, and the miserable count it by mouths. 
 But we will talk no more of this ; it is all over now, and 
 many words about it will make you no happier, while they 
 will only tell me what I ve lost ; and quite likely how much 
 I desarved to lose her. No, no, Mabel, tis useless to inter- 
 rupt me ; I admit it all, and your gainsaying it, though it 
 be so well meant, cannot change my mind. Well, Jasper, 
 she is yours ; and though it s hard to think it, I do believe 
 you ll make her happier than I could, for your gifts are bet 
 ter suited to do so, though I would have strived hard to do 
 as much, if I knew myself, I would. I ought to have known 
 better than to believe the sergeant ; and I ought to have 
 put faith in what Mabel told me at the head of the lake, for 
 reason and judgment might have shown me its truth; but it 
 is so pleasant to think what we wish, and mankind so easily 
 over-persuade us when we over-persuade ourselves. But 
 what s the use in talking of it, as I said afore ? It s true, 
 Mabel seemed to be consenting, though it all came from * 
 wish to please her father, and from being skcary about tbe 
 savages " 
 
 u Pathfinder ! " 
 
 u I understand you, Mabel, and have no hard feelmgs, I 
 
THE PATHFINDER. 491 
 
 haven t. I sometimes think I should like to live in your 
 neighborhood that I might look at your happiness ; but on 
 the whole it is better I should quit the 55th altogether, and 
 go back to the 60th, which is my natyve rigiment, as it 
 might be. It would have been better, perhaps, had I never 
 left it, though my sarvices were much wanted in this quarter, 
 and I d been with some of the 55th years agone Sergeant 
 Dunham, for instance, when he was in another corps. Still, 
 Jasper, I do not regret that I ve known you " 
 
 " And me, Pathfinder ! " impetuously interrupted Mabel, 
 "do you regret having known me ? could I think so, I 
 should never be at peace with myself ! " 
 
 " You, Mabel ! " returned the guide, taking the hand of 
 our heroine, and looking up into her countenance with 
 guileless simplicity but earnest affection " how could I be 
 sorry that a ray of the sun came across the gloom of a 
 cheerless day? that light has broken in upon darkness, 
 though it remained so short a time ! I do not flatter my 
 self with being able to march quite as light-hearted as I 
 once used to could, or to sleep as sound for some time to 
 come ; but I shall always remember how near I was to 
 being undesarvedly happy, I shall. So far from blaming 
 you, Mabel, I only blame myself for being so vain as to 
 think it possible I could please such a creatur ; for, sartainly 
 you told me how it was when we talked it over on the 
 mountain, and I ought to have believed you then ; for I do 
 suppose it s nat ral that young women should know their 
 own minds better than their fathers. All s me ! It s settled 
 now, and nothing remains but for me to take leave of you 
 that you may depart; I feel that Muster Cap must be 
 Impatient, and there is danger of his coming on shore to 
 look for us all." 
 
 " To take leave ! " exclaimed Mabel. 
 
 44 Leave ! " echoed Jasper ; " you do not mean to quit us, 
 Oiy friend ? 
 
 " Tis best, Mabel tis altogether best, Eau-douce ; aud 
 it s wisest. 1 could live and die in your company if I only 
 followed feeling ; but if I follow reason, I shall quit you 
 here. You will go back to Oswego, and become man and 
 
492 THE PATHFINDER. 
 
 wife as soon as you arrive ; for all that is determined with 
 Master Cap, who hankers after the sea again, and who 
 knows what is to happen ; while I shall return to the 
 wilderness and mv Maker. Come, Mabel," continued Path 
 finder, rising and drawing nearer to our heroine with grave 
 decorum, " kiss me. Jasper will not grudge me one kiss 
 then we ll part." 
 
 " O ! Pathfinder," exclaimed Mabel, falling into the arms 
 of the guide, and kissing his cheeks again and again, with a 
 freedom and warmth she had been far from manifesting 
 while held to the bosom of Jasper, " God bless you, dear 
 est Pathfinder ! You will come to us hereafter. We shall 
 see you again. When old, you will come to our dwelling 
 and let me be a daughter to you ? " 
 
 "Yes that s it," returned the guide, almost gasping 
 for breath ; " I ll try to think of it in that way. You re 
 more befitting to be my daughter than to be my wife, you 
 are. Farewell, Jasper. Now we ll go to the canoe ; it s 
 time you were on board." 
 
 The manner in which Pathfinder led the way to the shore 
 was solemn and calm. As soon as he reached the canoe, 
 he again took Mabel by the hands, held her at the length of 
 his own arms, and gazed wistfully into her face, until the 
 unbidden tears rolled out of the fountains of feeling, and 
 trickled down his rugged cheeks in streams. 
 
 " Bless me, Pathfinder," said Mabel, kneeling reverently 
 at his feet. " O ! at least bless me before we part." 
 
 That untutored, but noble-minded being, did as she 
 desired ; and, aiding her to enter the canoe, seemed to tear 
 himself away as one snaps a strong and obstinate cord. 
 Before he retired, however, he took Jasper by the arm, and 
 led him a little aside, when he spoke as follows : 
 
 " You re kind of heart, and gentle by natur , Jasper ; but 
 we are both rough and wild, in comparison with that dear 
 creatur . Be careful of her, and never show the roughness 
 of man s natur to her soft disposition. You ll get to under 
 stand her in time ; and the Lord, who governs the lake and 
 the forest alike who looks upon virtue with a smile, and 
 apon vice with a frown keep you happy, and worthy to 
 betol" 
 
THE PATHFINDER. 493 
 
 Pathfinder made a sign for his friend to depart ; and he 
 stood leaning on his rifle until the canoe had reached the 
 side of the Scud. Mabel wept as if her heart would break ; 
 nor did her eyes once turn from the open spot in the glade, 
 where the form of the Pathfinder was to be seen, until the 
 cutter had passed a point that completely shut out the island. 
 When last in view, the sinewy frame of this extraordinary 
 man was as motionless as if it were a statue 8et no in that 
 solitary place, to commemorate the scenes of v^ieh H had to 
 Utelj been the witness. 
 
494 THE PATHFINDER 
 
 CHAPTP:R xxx. 
 
 C I let n:e only breathe the air, 
 
 The blessed air that s breathed by thee; 
 
 And whether on its wings it bear 
 Healing or death, tis sweet to me! 
 
 MOOBB. 
 
 PATHFINDER was accustomed to solitude ; but, when the 
 Scud had actually disappeared, he was almost overcome 
 with a sense of his loneliness. Never before had he been 
 conscious of his isolated condition in the world; for his 
 feelings had gradually been accustoming themselves to the 
 blandishments and wants of social life ; particularly as the 
 last were connected with the domestic affections. Now, all 
 had vanished, as it might be, in one moment ; and he was 
 left equally without companions, and without hope. Even 
 Chingachgook had left him, though it was but temporarily ; 
 still his presence was missed at the precise instant which 
 might be termed the most critical in our hero s life. 
 
 Pathfinder stood leaning on his rifle, in the attitude 
 described in the last chapter, a long time after the Scud had 
 disappeared. The rigidity of his limbs seemed permanent ; 
 and none but a man accustomed to put his muscles to the 
 severest proof, could have maintained that posture, with its 
 marble-liKt, inflexibility, for so great a length of time. At 
 length he moved away from the spot ; the motion of the 
 body being preceded by a sigh that seemed to heave up from 
 the very depths of his bosom. 
 
 It was a peculiarity of this extraordinary being, that his 
 senses and his limbs, for all practical purposes, were never 
 at fault, let the mind be preoccupied with other interests as 
 much as it might. On the present occasion neither of these 
 great auxiliaries failed him ; but, though his thoughts were 
 exclusively occupied with Mabel, her beauty, her preference 
 
THE PATHFINDER. 495 
 
 of Jasper, her tears, and her departure, he moved in a direct 
 line to the spot where June still remained, which was the 
 grave of her husband. The conversation that followed 
 passed in the language of the Tuscaroras, which Pathfinder 
 spoke fluently ; but, as that tongue is understood only by 
 the extremely learned, we shall translate it freely into the 
 English ; preserving^ as far as possible, the tone of thought 
 of each interlocutor, as well as the peculiarities of manner. 
 
 June had suffered her hair to fall about her face, had 
 taken a seat on a stone that had been dug from the excava 
 tion made by the grave, and was hanging over the spot that 
 contained the body of Arrowhead, unconscious of the pres 
 ence of any other. She believed, indeed, that all had left 
 the island but herself, and the tread of the guide s mocca- 
 siiied foot was too noiseless, rudely to undeceive her. 
 
 Pathfinder stood gazing at the woman for several minutes 
 in mute attention. The contemplation of her grief, the 
 recollection of her irreparable loss, and the view of her des 
 olation, produced a healthful influence on his own feelings ; 
 his reason telling him how much deeper lay the sources of 
 grief in a young wife, who was suddenly and violently de 
 prived of her husband, than in himself. 
 
 " Dew-of-June," he said, solemnly, but with an earnest 
 ness that denoted the strength of his sympathy, "you are 
 not alone in your sorrow. Turn, and let your eyes look 
 upon a friend." 
 
 " June has no longer any friend ! " the woman answered; 
 "Arrowhead has gone to the happy hunting-grounds, and 
 there is no one left to care for June. The Tuscaroras would 
 chase her from their wigwams ; the Iroquois are hateful in 
 her eyes, and she could not look at them. No ! leave 
 June to starve over the grave of her husband." 
 
 " This will never do this will never do. Tis agin rea 
 son anc right. You believe in the Manitou, June ? " 
 
 <k He has hid his face from June, because he is angry. 
 He has left her alone to die." 
 
 " Listen to one who has had a long acquaintance with red 
 natur , though he has a white birth and white gifts. When 
 the Manitou of a pale-face wishes to produce good in a pale- 
 
496 THE PATHFINDER. 
 
 face heart, He strikes it with grief, for it is in oui sorrows, 
 June, that we look with the tr.iest eyes into ourselves, and 
 with the furthest sighted eyes too, as respects right. The 
 Great Spirit wishes you well, and He has taken away the 
 chief, lest you should be led astray by his wily tongue, and 
 get to be a Mingo in your disposition, as you were already 
 in your company." 
 
 " Arrowhead was a great chief!" returned the woman, 
 Broadly. 
 
 " He had his merits, he had ; and he had his demerits, 
 too. But, June, you re not desarted, nor will you be soon, 
 Let your grief out let it out, according to natur , and 
 when the proper time comes, I shall have more to say to 
 you." 
 
 Pathfinder now went to his own canoe, and he left the 
 island. In the course of the day, June heard the crack of 
 his rifle once or twice ; and as the sun was setting, he reap 
 peared, bringing her birds ready cooked, and of a delicacy 
 and flavor that might have tempted the appetite of an epi 
 cure. This species of intercourse lasted a month, June ob 
 stinately refusing to abandon the grave of her husband all 
 that time, though she still accepted the friendly offerings of 
 her protector. Occasionally they met and conversed, Path 
 finder sounding the state of *he woman s feelings ; but the 
 interviews were short and far from frequent. June slept 
 in one of the huts, and she laid down her head in security, 
 for she was conscious of the protection of a friend, though 
 Pathfinder invariably retired at night to an adjacent island, 
 where he had built himself a hut. 
 
 At the end of the month, however, the season was getting 
 to be too far advanced to render her situation pleasant to 
 June. The trees had lost their leaves, and the nights were 
 becoming cold and wintry. It was time to depart. 
 
 At this moment, Chingachgook reappeared. He had a 
 long and confidential interview on the island with his friend. 
 June witnessed their movements, and she saw that her 
 guardian was distressed. Stealing to his side, she endeav 
 ored to soothe his sorrow with a woman s gentleness and 
 with a woman s instinct. 
 
THE PATHFINDER. 497 
 
 " Thank you, June thank you," he said, " tis well 
 meant, though it s useless. But it is time to quit this place. 
 To-morrow we shall depart. You will go with us, for now 
 you ve got to feel reason." 
 
 June assented in the meek manner of an Indian woman, 
 and she withdrew to pass the remainder of her time near 
 the grave of Arrowhead. 1 Regardless of the hour and the 
 season, the young widow did not pillow her head during tha 
 whole of that autumnal night. She sat near the spot that 
 held the remains of her husband, and prayed in the manner 
 of her people, for his success on the endless path on which 
 he had so lately gone, and for their reunion in the land of 
 the just. Humble and degraded as she would have seemed 
 in the eyes of the sophisticated and unreflecting, the image 
 of God was on her soul, and it vindicated its divine origin 
 by aspirations and feelings that would have surprised those 
 who, feigning more, feel less. 
 
 In the morning the three departed ; Pathfinder earnest 
 and intelligent in all he did, the Great Serpent silent and 
 imitative, and June meek, resigned, but sorrowful. They 
 went in two canoes, that of the woman being abandoned. 
 Ohingachgook led the way, and Path tinder followed, the 
 course being up stream. Two days they paddled westward, 
 and as many nights they encamped on islands. Fortunately 
 the weather became mild, and when they reached the lake 
 it was found smooth and glassy as a pond. It was the In 
 dian summer, and the calm and almost the blandness of 
 June slept in the hazy atmosphere. 
 
 On the morning of the third day they passed the mouth 
 if the Oswego, where the fort and the sleeping ensign invited 
 l hem in vain to enter. Without casting a look aside, Chin- 
 gachgook paddled past the dark waters of the river, and 
 Pathfinder still followed in silent industry. The ramparts 
 were crowded with spectators ; but Lundie, who knew the 
 persons of his old friends, refused to allow them to be even 
 hailed. 
 
 It was noon when Chingachgook entered a little bay 
 where the Scud lay at anchor in a sort of roadstead. A 
 imall ancient clearing was on the shore, and near the margin 
 
 i See Appendix, Note K. 
 
498 THE PATHFINDER. 
 
 of the lake was a log dwelling, recently and completely, though 
 rudely litted up. There was an air of frontier comfort and 
 of frontier abundance around the place, though it was nec 
 essarily wild and solitary. Jasper stood on the shore ; and 
 when Pathfinder landed, he was the first to take him by the 
 hand. The meeting was simple, but very cordial. No 
 questions were asked, it being apparent that Chingachgook 
 had made the necessary explanations. Pathfinder never 
 squeezed his friend s hand more cordially than in this inter* 
 view ; and he even laughed cordially in his face as he told 
 him how happy and well he appeared. 
 
 " Where is she, Jasper where is she ? " the guide at 
 length whispered ; for at first he had seemed to be afraid to 
 trust himself with the question. 
 
 " She is waiting for us i;i the house, my dear friend, where 
 you see that June has already hastened before us." 
 
 " June may use a lighter step to meet Mabel, but she can 
 not carry a lighter heart. And so, lad, you found the chap 
 lain at the garrison, and all was soon settled ? " 
 
 " We were married withiii a week after we left you, and 
 Master Cap departed next day you have forgotten to in 
 quire about your friend, Salt-water" 
 
 " Not I not I. The Sarpent has told me all that ; and 
 then I love to hear so much of Mabel and her happiness, I 
 do. Did the child smile, or did she weep when the cere 
 mony was over?" 
 
 " She did both, my friend ; but " 
 
 " Yes, that s their natur ; tearful and cheerful. Ah s me ! 
 they are very pleasant to us of the woods ; and I do believe 
 I should think all right, whatever Mabel might do. And 
 do you think, Jasper, that she thought of me at all, on that 
 joyful occasion ? " 
 
 " I know she did, Pathfinder ; and she thinks of you 
 and talks of you daily almost hourly. None love you us 
 we do ! " 
 
 " I know few love me better than yourself, Jasper. 
 Chingachgook is, perhaps, now the only creatur of whom I 
 2ar? say that. Well, there s no use in putting it off any 
 longer ; it must be done, and may as well be done at once 
 
THE PATHFINDER. 499 
 
 0, Jasper, lead the way, and I ll endivor to look upon her 
 sweet countenance once more." 
 
 Jasper did lead the way, and they were soon in the pres 
 ence of Mabel. The latter met her late suitor with a 
 bright blush, and her limbs trembled so, she could hardly 
 etand. Still, her manner was affectionate and frank. Dur 
 ing the hour of Pathfinder s visit, for it lasted no louger, 
 though he ate in the dwelling of his friends, one who was 
 expert in tracing the workings of the human mind might 
 have seen a faithful index to the feelings of Mabel, in her 
 manner to Pathfinder and her husband. With the latter 
 she still had a little of the reserve that usually accompanies 
 young wedlock ; but the tones of her voice were kinder even 
 than common ; the glance of her eye was tender, and she 
 seldom looked at him without the glow that tinged hei 
 cheeks betraying the existence of feelings that habit and 
 time had not yet soothed into absolute tranquillity. With 
 Pathfinder, all was earnest, sincere even anxious ; but 
 the tones never trembled, the eye never fell, and if the 
 cheek flushed, it was with the emotions that are connected 
 with concern. 
 
 At length the moment came when Pathfinder must gc 
 his way. Chingachgook had already abandoned the canoes, 
 and was posted on the margin of the woods, where a path 
 led into the forest. Here he calmly waited to be joined 
 by his friend. As soon as the latter was aware of this fact, 
 he rose in a solemn manner, and took his leave. 
 
 " I ve sometimes thought that my own fate has been a 
 little hard," he said ; " but that of this woman, Mabel, has 
 shamed me into reason " 
 
 " June remains, and lives with me," eagerly interrupted 
 vmr heroine. 
 
 " So I comprehend it. If anybody can bring her back 
 from her grief, and make her wish to live, you can do it, 
 Mabel, though I ve misgivings about even your success. 
 The poor creatur is without -a tribe as well as without^ a 
 husband, and it s not easy to reconcile the feelings to both 
 losses. All s me ! what have I to do with other people * 
 niseries and marriages, as if I hadn t affliction enough of 
 
500 THE PATHFINDER. 
 
 my own ? Don t speak to me, Mabel don t speak to me, 
 Jasper let me go my way in peace, and like a man. I ve 
 Been your happiness, and that is a great deal, and I shall be 
 able to bear my own sorrow all the better for it. No 
 I ll never kiss you ag in, Mabel, I ll never kiss you ag in. 
 Here s my hand, Jasper squeeze it, boy, squeeze it ; no 
 fear of its giving w ty, for it s the hand of a man ; and 
 now, Mabel, do you take it, nay, you must not do this 
 preventing Mabel from kissing it, and bathing it with 
 her tears " you must not do this." 
 
 " Pathfinder," asked Mabel, " when shall we see you 
 again ? " 
 
 " I ve thought of that, too ; yes, I ve thought of that, I 
 have. If the time should ever come when I can look upon 
 you altogether as a sister, Mabel, or a child it might be 
 better to say a child, since you re young enough to be my 
 daughter depend on it, I ll come back ; for it would 
 lighten my very heart to witness your gladness. But if I 
 cannot farewell farewell the sergeant was wrong 
 yes, the sergeant was wrong ! " 
 
 This was the last the Pathfinder ever uttered to the ears 
 of Jasper Western and Mabel Dunham. He turned away, 
 us if the words choked him ; and was quickly at the side 
 of his friend. As soon as the latter saw him approach, he 
 shouldered his own burden, and glided in among the trees 
 without waiting to be spoken to. Mabel, her husband, and 
 June, all watched the form of the Pathfinder, in the hope 
 of receiving a parting gesture, or a stolen glance of the 
 eye ; but he did not look back. Once or twice they 
 thought they saw his head shake, as one trembles in bitter 
 ness of spirit ; and a toss of the hand was given, as if he 
 kne^ that he was watched ; but a tread whose vigor no 
 sorrow could enfeeble, soon bore him out of view, and he 
 vas lost in the depths of the forest. 
 
 Neither Jasper nor his wife ever beheld the Pathfinde* 
 again. They remained for another year on the banks of 
 Ontario ; and then the pressing solicitations of Cap induced 
 them to join him in New York, where Jasper eventually 
 became a successful and respected merchant. Thrice Ma 
 
THE PATHFINDER. 501 
 
 bel received valuable presents of furs, at intervals of years ; 
 and her feelings ^ told her whence they came, though no 
 name accompanied the gift. Later in life still, when the 
 mother of several youths, she had occasion to visit the in 
 terior, and foiwid herself on the banks of the Mohawk, ac 
 companied by her sons, the eldest of whom was capable of 
 being her protector. On that occasion she observed a man 
 in a singular guise, watching her in the distance, with an in- 
 teutness that induced her to inquire into his pursuits and 
 character. She was told he was the most renowned hunter 
 of that portion of the State it was after the Revolution 
 a being of great purity of character, and of as marked 
 peculiarities ; and that he was known in that region of 
 country by the name of the Leather-Stocking. Further 
 than this Mrs. Western could not ascertain ; though the 
 distant glimpse and singular deportment of this unknown 
 hunter gave her a sleepless night, and cast a shade of mel 
 ancholy over her still lovely face, that lasted many a day. 
 
 As for June, the double loss of husband and tribe pro 
 duced the eiFect that Pathfinder had foreseen. She died in 
 the cottage of Mabel, on the shores of the lake ; and Jas 
 per conveyed her body to the island, where he interred it 
 by the side of that of Arrowhead. 
 
 Lundie lived to marry his ancient love, and retired, a 
 war-worn and battered veteran : but his name has been 
 rendered illustrious in our own time, by the deeds of a 
 younger brother, who succeeded to his territorial title, 
 which, however, was shortly after merged in one eanMxl bj 
 his valor on the ocean. 
 

APPENDIX. 
 
 NOTB A, CHAPTER L 
 
 " Indiani of tht well-known tribe of the Tuscaroras." Pag . 
 
 Cnsick, the Tuscarora, gives the following account of his tribe . - 
 
 " According to our traditions of many centuries, the red me 
 were led by a certain man who stood highest in dignity to the Su 
 preme Being, the Holder of Heaven, called Tharonyawagon. He 
 divided the rivers and country among them, and instructed them in 
 modes of living and customs, and ceremonies. The Tuscaroras were 
 descended from the Iroquois. They wandered southward to what is 
 now North Carolina. They kept up their alliance with the Five 
 Nations. In 1712 the Tuscaroras attacked the whites on the Roanoke, 
 and killed many. Captain Barmvell then defeated them, and soon 
 after they removed northward, and joined their kindred the Five 
 Nations. The Oneidas gave them lands in their own territory." 
 
 In 1708 the Tuscaroras held the country between the Neuse and 
 Taw Kivers, and were supposed to number twelve hundred warriors, 
 in fifteen towns. In 1711 they murdered Lawson, the surveyor, whose 
 purposes they considered inimical to their rights as owners of the soil, 
 and in one day, September, 1 7 1 1 , they murdered one hundred and 
 thirty whites. They were attacked and defeated by Captain Barn- 
 well, of South Carolina, at the head of six hundred militia, and six 
 hundred friendly Indians. Six hundred Tuscaroras were made pris 
 oners. Peace followed, but was soon broken. In 1712, Colonel Moore 
 was sent against them with a force chiefly composed of southern In 
 dians. In March, 1712, he took their principal fort of Naharuke, and 
 two thirds of their warriors were made prisoners ; six hundred were 
 given as slaves to the South Carolina Indians. Peace followed, and 
 Ihe remaining third of the tribe fled to the northward, in 1 714-1 7 1 5 
 Mid were received as a sixth nation by the Iroquois Confederacy. 
 
 NOTB B, CHAPTER L 
 
 " Ontario ! repeated the Arrow-head with emphasis." Page . 
 
 The French called Ontario " The Lake of the Iroqnoia/ and at a 
 later day " Lake Frontenac," from the fort near the outlet. With th 
 Indiana it bore different names, in their different diaiecte " Cadarao 
 fni " was a name it bore among the red men for several 
 
504 APPENDIX. 
 
 after the English took possession of New York. The ^ignificatiou of 
 Ontario is said to be the beautiful lake. The original word is re 
 ported to have been Skanandario, in the Mohawk dialect, and Ontario 
 to be a derivative from this. 
 
 NOTB C, CHAPTEB I. 
 
 "Pathfinder." Page 13. 
 
 The name given to Natty, in this romance, was entirely an invention 
 of the author. But, by a singular coincidence, a title somewhat sim 
 ilar was actually borne by an Indian warrior in 1746. During that 
 year Governor Clinton invited the Five Nations to a council at Albany ; 
 only three warriors appeared ; one of these, an Oneida brave, made 
 a formal speech to the governor, and presented him with two Frenf-h 
 scalps, taken at noonday, at the gates of Crown Point. This hero 
 received in reward for his prowess, a laced hat, a laced coat, and a 
 silver gorget. The warrior then requested an additional recompense. 
 He begged that as a title of honor and as an especial reward for his 
 having been the first in this campaign to strike a blow against the 
 enemy, he might hereafter be known as the " Opener of the Path." 
 This brave, the path-opener, continued a faithful ally of the English 
 throughout the war. 
 
 NOTE D, CHAPTER HI. 
 
 * Fort Stanwix, the last military station on the Mohawk/ Page 
 SO. 
 
 It was proposed to build a fort at the carrying place between the 
 Mohawk and Wood Creek, quite early in the last century. In 1737 
 the step was considered anew, but it was not until after Oswego had 
 been taken by the French that the colonial government actually 
 built a fort on this ground. The task was intrusted to Brigadier- 
 general Stanwix, and the work received his name. It dates from the 
 oeriod of the rebuilding of Fort Oswego, by the English, hi 1758. 
 
 A city has now arisen on the same ground, to which the name of 
 Rome has been most absurdly misapplied. Stanwix would have been 
 a true and just name. There is a sort of treachery in this misappli 
 cation of grand and ancient historical names to small and new Amer 
 ican villages ; a treachery which is punished by the air of ridicule 
 thrown over every American map by this means. There is something 
 akin to historical forgery in such a course. 
 
 NOTE E, CHAPTER HI. 
 
 " One of the canoea of bark which the Indians are in the habit of 
 Xwwtructing." Page 31 . 
 Eren as late as 1 808, when Lieutenant Wolsey and hfi party wert 
 
APPENDIX. 505 
 
 at Oswego, Indian canoes were frequently seen on the rivers and 
 lakes. During the Wai f 1812 they were used in Canada by the 
 officers and soldiers of the British army. General Brock, on hearing 
 of the declaration of war, set out in a birch canoe for Lower Canada. 
 And many years later they were used by the Northwest Company 
 for the fur trade, as the boats best adapted to the waters of a fcrost 
 region. These trading-canoes were thirty feet long, and six feet wido. 
 The head and stern were pointed. The frame was made of smal 
 pieces of very light wood; the bark exterior was cut into slips 
 scarcely more than an eighth of an inch in thickness, and sewed 
 together with threads of twisted fibres from the root of the black 
 spruce. For greater strength narrow strips of bark were also added 
 inside when needed. The joints were made water-tight by vegetable 
 gum, which became very hard. Not one nail was used. Each of 
 these trading-canoes, still occasionally used, it is said, weighs about 
 five hundred pounds. The lading is made into packages, amounting 
 to about five tons burden. Each has a crew of eight or ten men 
 Until quite lately some fifty of these canoes would set out from the 
 St. Lawrence, move up the Ottawa to the Southwest Branch, thence 
 through Lake Nipissing, to French River, and into Lake Huron; along 
 the north shore of the Narrows of St. Mary s, into Lake Superior, 
 along its northern coast to Grand Portage a distance of eleven hun 
 dred miles in these frail Indian skiffs ! 
 
 NOTE F, CHAPTER IV. 
 
 " The bowl of the pipe was of soapstone." Page 45. 
 
 The oldest pipes among the Iroquois tribes were of pottery ; the 
 oetter sort were of a black pottery of so fine a polish as to look like 
 atone. Some of the bowls of these black pipes were fronted with a 
 human face, or with a wolfs or dog s head, very well shaped. At a 
 later day they cut their pipe bowls out of soapstone, carving them 
 very neatly. Reeds were generally used for stem-pieces, to which the 
 bowls were attached by strings. 
 
 They called their pipes " Ah-so-qua-ta. " 
 
 NOTE G, CHAPTER VII. 
 
 " The howl of a distant wolf." Page 100. 
 
 Wolves were abundant in the forests of New York until the close of 
 ill 8 last century. There appear to be few left in the State to-day 
 and these are confined entirely to the wildest mountain tracts. 
 
 It is remarkable how very rapidly the wild animals have disap 
 peared in this country. In Europe, even in tracts of country which 
 have been civilized and well peopled for nearly two thousand year*, 
 th wolves are still troublesome In France wolves and bears an4 
 
506 APPENDIX. 
 
 wild boars are by no means rare in the mountainous regions. Fifty 
 years of civilization seem sufficient for the entire destruction of the 
 bear and wolf in this part of the world. Can it be possible that tha 
 numbers of these creatures were originally much less in North Amer 
 ica than in Europe ? 
 The American wolf is rather larger than that of Europe 
 
 NOTE H, CHAPTER IX. 
 
 " I never yet could see any beauty in a clouded barrel." 
 " Lord Howe thought otherwise, sergeant ; and he was accounted 
 a good soldier/ Page 133. 
 
 " When Lord Howe was preparing his regiment for the attack on 
 Ticonderoga he issued some stern regulations. He forbade all dis 
 plays of gold and scarlet in the rugged march they were about to 
 undertake, and set the example by wearing himself an ammunition 
 coat; that is to say, one of the surplus soldiers coats cut short. 
 This was a necessary precaution, because in the woods the hostile 
 Indians, who started from behind the trees, usually caught at the long 
 and heavy skirts then worn by the soldiers ; and for the same reason 
 he ordered the muskets to be shortened, that they might not, as on 
 former occasions, be snatched from behind by these agile foes. To 
 prevent the march of his regiment from being descried at a distance, 
 by the glittering of their arms, the barrels of the guns were al] 
 blackened ; and to save them from the tearing of bushes, the stings 
 of insects, etc., he set them the example of wearing leggings, a kind 
 of buskin made of strong woolen cloth, a part of the Indian dress. 
 Hair well dressed, and in great quantity, was then considered as the 
 greatest possible ornament, which those who had it took the utmost 
 care to display to advantage, and to wear in a bag, or a cue. Lord 
 Howe s was fine, and very abundant ; he, however, cropped it, and 
 
 ordered every one else to do the same Another point whic*i 
 
 this Lycurgus of the camp wished to establish was, that of not car 
 rying anything that was not absolutely necessary. He invited hw 
 officers to dine in his tent. They were surprised to see no chairs 01 
 lables; there were, however, bear-skins spread like a carpet. His 
 lordship welcomed them, and sat down on a small log of wood ; they 
 followed his example ; and presently the servants set down a largo 
 dish of pork and peas. His lordship taking a sheath from his pocket, 
 out of which he produced a knife and fork, began to cut and divide 
 the meat. They sat in a kind of awkward suspense, and he finally 
 relieved them of their embarrassment by distributing to each a case 
 like his own, which he had provided for the purpose. These austere 
 regulations were patiently borne, because he was not only gentle in 
 manners, but generous and humane in a very high degree, and r 
 
APPENDIX. 607 
 
 ceedingly attentive to the health and real neceaiitiei of the soldiery. 
 Afr$. Grant of Laggan. 
 
 NOTB I, CHAFTBB X. 
 
 "Duncan of Lundie, sent for Sergeant Dunham." Page 142. 
 
 " Major Duncan was the elder brother of Lord Duncan of Camper 
 down. He was an experienced officer, possessed of considerable mil 
 itary science, learned, humane, and judicious, yet obstinate, and some 
 what of a humorist withal. Wherever he went a respectable library 
 went with him. Though not old he was gouty and war-worn. The 
 fort was a large place built entirely of earth and great logs, I mean 
 the walls and ramparts, for the barracks were of wood, cold and 
 comfortless. His house was a very singular building, divided into 
 two apartments ; one of which was a bedroom, the other a breakfast 
 ing parlor and library. There were globes, quadrants, mathematical 
 instruments, flutes, dumb-bells, and chess-boards ; here, in short, was 
 a magazine of instruction and amusement for the colonels pupils, 
 that is, for all the garrison. This Scythian dwelling was made en 
 tirely of wood, and fixed upon wheels of the same material, so that 
 it could be removed from one part of the parade to the other, as it 
 frequently was. So slight a tenement when the winters were in 
 tensely cold, was ill calculated for a gouty patient ; for this, however, 
 he found a remedy. The boards which formed the walls of his apart 
 ment being covered with deer-skins, and a most ample bear-skin spread 
 on the floor by way of carpet." Mrs, Grant of Laggan. 
 
 In winter Colonel Lundie set the young officers to read, and in 
 summer he turned them into gardeners. They became skillful hunts 
 men too. There was not a sheep or a cow within forty miles of the 
 fort. The size of the cabbages, cucumbers, and melons, produced in 
 this military garden, at Oswego, was something incredible the 
 usual result of a new soil probably. They were sent to Albany as 
 vegetable curiosities. 
 
 NOTB J, CHAPTER XII. 
 
 " Among them there Thousand Islands." Page 183. 
 
 These rocky Islands, lying, as we all know, near the outlet of Lake 
 Ontario, are generally low, and partially wooded, and vary in extent 
 from a mere isolated rock crowned with a bush or two, to others of 
 twenty or thirty acres. The channels winding among them form 
 * perfect labyrinth. It has been supposed that the number of these 
 islands had been overstated, but, in truth, they amount to more than 
 sixteen hundred. The commissioners employed in settling the bound 
 ary line between Canada and the United States counted them care 
 fully, and report them at sixteen hundred and twenty-three. Not 
 
$08 APPENDIX. 
 
 infrequently a fdw trees will be found growing on an islet whicn 
 appears nothing but rock, with no soil apparently in which the birch 
 M evergreen can possibly root itself. But there are cracks and crev 
 ices into which the roots penetrate to some depth, and the tree finds 
 sufficient nourishment in these rocky veins of soil to enable it to grow 
 and thrive for years, standing as it were on a naked rock, overlooking 
 the water. 
 
 NOTE K, CHAPTER XXX. 
 
 " Near the grave of Arrow-head." Page 497. 
 
 Those who believe the Indians devoid of all natural feeling, have 
 probably thought the passage in the last chapter of the " Pathfinder," 
 in which the widowed June is represented as lingering for several 
 weeks on the desolate island, beside her husband s grave, a mere ex 
 aggeration of romance. 
 
 But an instance very similar, and in some respects still more touch 
 ing and marked in character, is related by Bishop Whipple, of Min 
 nesota, as having come within his own personal knowledge. Wo 
 luote his account of the incident : " In company with the Rev. Dr. 
 Washburn, Rev. W. Kincherbacher, S. II. Mackay, Enmegahbowh 
 and four Indian voyageurs, we passed White Oak Point. We saw 
 an old man sitting on the bank of the river. He was clad in an old 
 blanket and ragged leggings, and his gray hairs and pinched face 
 excited our pity. We urged him to go with us, offering him food 
 and clothing. lie accepted our offer and followed us to the camp. 
 The next day I said to him, You had better go with us. We have 
 plenty of provisions, and when we leave you at Crow Wing you shall 
 have a share of our stores. He replied, My father, your heart 
 is always kind to the red man, and I thank you. I cannot go. My 
 wife is buried at White Oak Point. We had lived together a great 
 many years, and now she is dead. In a little while I shall go to her, 
 and until the Great Spirit calls me I do not like to go far from her 
 grave, for she would be lonely without me. I must go back to sit by 
 the spot where she lies. It will not be long before I shall follow on 
 the same trail to the Spirit Land. " 
 
 NOTB L. 
 
 An old ballad, relating to the siege of Oswego, may arnue* the 
 reader interested in American history. 
 
 "CHCUEGUEN. 
 
 I. 
 " Cele brons tous du Grand Vaudronil 
 
 La sagesse et la gloire, 
 Toute TAngleterre est en cieuil 
 An bruit de sa victoir*. 
 
APPENDIX. 609 
 
 Choulgnen n eat plus noa oldota 
 
 L ont force a se rendre, 
 Et MS mars ne sent plus qa an tag 
 
 De pouaaiere et de cendre. 
 
 n. 
 
 En vain London de sea guerrien 
 
 II rassemble 1 elite, 
 Montcalm, avide de laurien 
 
 N y vole que plus vite 
 Bellone lui prete son char 
 
 Et sur de la fortune 
 Dea trois chosea que fit Caesar l 
 
 H n en omet aucune. 
 
 in. 
 
 De*ja je voia de nos h^ros 
 
 Une troupe intre pide, 
 S avancer an travers dea flota 
 
 D un pcrilleux rapide. 
 Plein d ardeur, le fer a la main, 
 
 Rigaud marche & leur tete 
 L ennemi tremble et Choue guon 
 
 Devient notre conquete. 
 
 1 Enfin lea voilk dans nos fere 
 
 Cea hommes redoubtablea, 
 Cea braves qui domptent lea mere, 
 
 Sur terre aont traitablea. 
 Leur bravoure iinb(5cile 
 
 S acharne et vient dans noa priaoao 
 Demander au asile 
 
 Des le premier conp de cannon. 
 
 A. Carillon a Ton dit pourt&nt 
 
 Qu ila aurout leur revanche, 
 Autant en emporte le vent, 
 
 II aouffle dans la matiche. 
 Le Canadiens leur font peur, 
 
 Et Loudon est trop sage 
 Pour oscr centre leur valenr, 
 
 Meaurer son courage ! " 
 vidi, viol * Tioondwroc* 
 
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