CHAPTER 22
"Bot.--Abibl we all met? Qui.--Pat--pat; and here's a marvelous convenient place for our rehearsal." --Midsummer Night's Dream
The reader may better imagine, than we describe the surprise of Heyward.His lurking Indians were suddenly converted into four-footed beasts; hislake into a beaver pond; his cataract into a dam, constructed by thoseindustrious and ingenious quadrupeds; and a suspected enemy into histried friend, David Gamut, the master of psalmody. The presence of thelatter created so many unexpected hopes relative to the sisters that,without a moment's hesitation, the young man broke out of his ambush,and sprang forward to join the two principal actors in the scene.
The merriment of Hawkeye was not easily appeased. Without ceremony, andwith a rough hand, he twirled the supple Gamut around on his heel, andmore than once affirmed that the Hurons had done themselves great creditin the fashion of his costume. Then, seizing the hand of the other, hesqueezed it with a grip that brought tears into the eyes of the placidDavid, and wished him joy of his new condition.
"You were about opening your throat-practisings among the beavers, wereye?" he said. "The cunning devils know half the trade already, for theybeat the time with their tails, as you heard just now; and in good timeit was, too, or 'killdeer' might have sounded the first note amongthem. I have known greater fools, who could read and write, than anexperienced old beaver; but as for squalling, the animals are born dumb!What think you of such a song as this?"
David shut his sensitive ears, and even Heyward apprised as he was ofthe nature of the cry, looked upward in quest of the bird, as the cawingof a crow rang in the air about them.
"See!" continued the laughing scout, as he pointed toward the remainderof the party, who, in obedience to the signal, were already approaching;"this is music which has its natural virtues; it brings two good riflesto my elbow, to say nothing of the knives and tomahawks. But we see thatyou are safe; now tell us what has become of the maidens."
"They are captives to the heathen," said David; "and, though greatlytroubled in spirit, enjoying comfort and safety in the body."
"Both!" demanded the breathless Heyward.
"Even so. Though our wayfaring has been sore and our sustenance scanty,we have had little other cause for complaint, except the violence doneour feelings, by being thus led in captivity into a far land."
"Bless ye for these very words!" exclaimed the trembling Munro; "I shallthen receive my babes, spotless and angel-like, as I lost them!"
"I know not that their delivery is at hand," returned the doubtingDavid; "the leader of these savages is possessed of an evil spirit thatno power short of Omnipotence can tame. I have tried him sleeping andwaking, but neither sounds nor language seem to touch his soul."
"Where is the knave?" bluntly interrupted the scout.
"He hunts the moose to-day, with his young men; and tomorrow, as I hear,they pass further into the forests, and nigher to the borders of Canada.The elder maiden is conveyed to a neighboring people, whose lodgesare situate beyond yonder black pinnacle of rock; while the youngeris detained among the women of the Hurons, whose dwellings are but twoshort miles hence, on a table-land, where the fire had done the officeof the axe, and prepared the place for their reception."
"Alice, my gentle Alice!" murmured Heyward; "she has lost theconsolation of her sister's presence!"
"Even so. But so far as praise and thanksgiving in psalmody can temperthe spirit in affliction, she has not suffered."
"Has she then a heart for music?"
"Of the graver and more solemn character; though it must be acknowledgedthat, in spite of all my endeavors, the maiden weeps oftener than shesmiles. At such moments I forbear to press the holy songs; but there aremany sweet and comfortable periods of satisfactory communication,when the ears of the savages are astounded with the upliftings of ourvoices."
"And why are you permitted to go at large, unwatched?"
David composed his features into what he intended should express an airof modest humility, before he meekly replied:
"Little be the praise to such a worm as I. But, though the power ofpsalmody was suspended in the terrible business of that field of bloodthrough which we have passed, it has recovered its influence even overthe souls of the heathen, and I am suffered to go and come at will."
The scout laughed, and, tapping his own forehead significantly, heperhaps explained the singular indulgence more satisfactorily when hesaid:
"The Indians never harm a non-composser. But why, when the path lay openbefore your eyes, did you not strike back on your own trail (it is notso blind as that which a squirrel would make), and bring in the tidingsto Edward?"
The scout, remembering only his own sturdy and iron nature, had probablyexacted a task that David, under no circumstances, could have performed.But, without entirely losing the meekness of his air, the latter wascontent to answer:
"Though my soul would rejoice to visit the habitations of Christendomonce more, my feet would rather follow the tender spirits intrusted tomy keeping, even into the idolatrous province of the Jesuits, than takeone step backward, while they pined in captivity and sorrow."
Though the figurative language of David was not very intelligible, thesincere and steady expression of his eye, and the glow of his honestcountenance, were not easily mistaken. Uncas pressed closer to his side,and regarded the speaker with a look of commendation, while hisfather expressed his satisfaction by the ordinary pithy exclamation ofapprobation. The scout shook his head as he rejoined:
"The Lord never intended that the man should place all his endeavors inhis throat, to the neglect of other and better gifts! But he has falleninto the hands of some silly woman, when he should have been gatheringhis education under a blue sky, among the beauties of the forest. Here,friend; I did intend to kindle a fire with this tooting-whistle ofthine; but, as you value the thing, take it, and blow your best on it."
Gamut received his pitch-pipe with as strong an expression of pleasureas he believed compatible with the grave functions he exercised. Afteressaying its virtues repeatedly, in contrast with his own voice, and,satisfying himself that none of its melody was lost, he made a veryserious demonstration toward achieving a few stanzas of one of thelongest effusions in the little volume so often mentioned.
Heyward, however, hastily interrupted his pious purpose by continuingquestions concerning the past and present condition of his fellowcaptives, and in a manner more methodical than had been permitted by hisfeelings in the opening of their interview. David, though he regardedhis treasure with longing eyes, was constrained to answer, especiallyas the venerable father took a part in the interrogatories, with aninterest too imposing to be denied. Nor did the scout fail to throw ina pertinent inquiry, whenever a fitting occasion presented. In thismanner, though with frequent interruptions which were filled withcertain threatening sounds from the recovered instrument, the pursuerswere put in possession of such leading circumstances as were likely toprove useful in accomplishing their great and engrossing object--therecovery of the sisters. The narrative of David was simple, and thefacts but few.
Magua had waited on the mountain until a safe moment to retire presenteditself, when he had descended, and taken the route along the westernside of the Horican in direction of the Canadas. As the subtle Huron wasfamiliar with the paths, and well knew there was no immediate danger ofpursuit, their progress had been moderate, and far from fatiguing.It appeared from the unembellished statement of David, that his ownpresence had been rather endured than desired; though even Magua had notbeen entirely exempt from that veneration with which the Indians regardthose whom the Great Spirit had visited in their intellects. At night,the utmost care had been taken of the captives, both to prevent injuryfrom the damps of the woods and to guard against an escape. Atthe spring, the horses were turned loose, as has been seen; and,notwithstanding the remoteness and length of their trail, the artificesalready named were resorted to, in order to cut off every clue to theirplace of r
etreat. On their arrival at the encampment of his people,Magua, in obedience to a policy seldom departed from, separated hisprisoners. Cora had been sent to a tribe that temporarily occupied anadjacent valley, though David was far too ignorant of the customs andhistory of the natives, to be able to declare anything satisfactoryconcerning their name or character. He only knew that they had notengaged in the late expedition against William Henry; that, like theHurons themselves they were allies of Montcalm; and that they maintainedan amicable, though a watchful intercourse with the warlike andsavage people whom chance had, for a time, brought in such close anddisagreeable contact with themselves.
The Mohicans and the scout listened to his interrupted and imperfectnarrative, with an interest that obviously increased as he proceeded;and it was while attempting to explain the pursuits of the community inwhich Cora was detained, that the latter abruptly demanded:
"Did you see the fashion of their knives? were they of English or Frenchformation?"
"My thoughts were bent on no such vanities, but rather mingled inconsolation with those of the maidens."
"The time may come when you will not consider the knife of a savage sucha despicable vanity," returned the scout, with a strong expression ofcontempt for the other's dullness. "Had they held their corn feast--orcan you say anything of the totems of the tribe?"
"Of corn, we had many and plentiful feasts; for the grain, being inthe milk is both sweet to the mouth and comfortable to the stomach. Oftotem, I know not the meaning; but if it appertaineth in any wise to theart of Indian music, it need not be inquired after at their hands. Theynever join their voices in praise, and it would seem that they are amongthe profanest of the idolatrous."
"Therein you belie the natur' of an Indian. Even the Mingo adores butthe true and loving God. 'Tis wicked fabrication of the whites, and Isay it to the shame of my color that would make the warrior bow downbefore images of his own creation. It is true, they endeavor to maketruces to the wicked one--as who would not with an enemy he cannotconquer! but they look up for favor and assistance to the Great and GoodSpirit only."
"It may be so," said David; "but I have seen strange and fantasticimages drawn in their paint, of which their admiration and care savoredof spiritual pride; especially one, and that, too, a foul and loathsomeobject."
"Was it a sarpent?" quickly demanded the scout.
"Much the same. It was in the likeness of an abject and creepingtortoise."
"Hugh!" exclaimed both the attentive Mohicans in a breath; while thescout shook his head with the air of one who had made an important butby no means a pleasing discovery. Then the father spoke, in the languageof the Delawares, and with a calmness and dignity that instantlyarrested the attention even of those to whom his words wereunintelligible. His gestures were impressive, and at times energetic.Once he lifted his arm on high; and, as it descended, the action threwaside the folds of his light mantle, a finger resting on his breast, asif he would enforce his meaning by the attitude. Duncan's eyes followedthe movement, and he perceived that the animal just mentioned wasbeautifully, though faintly, worked in blue tint, on the swarthy breastof the chief. All that he had ever heard of the violent separation ofthe vast tribes of the Delawares rushed across his mind, and he awaitedthe proper moment to speak, with a suspense that was rendered nearlyintolerable by his interest in the stake. His wish, however, wasanticipated by the scout who turned from his red friend, saying:
"We have found that which may be good or evil to us, as heaven disposes.The Sagamore is of the high blood of the Delawares, and is the greatchief of their Tortoises! That some of this stock are among the peopleof whom the singer tells us, is plain by his words; and, had he butspent half the breath in prudent questions that he has blown away inmaking a trumpet of his throat, we might have known how many warriorsthey numbered. It is, altogether, a dangerous path we move in; for afriend whose face is turned from you often bears a bloodier mind thanthe enemy who seeks your scalp."
"Explain," said Duncan.
"'Tis a long and melancholy tradition, and one I little like to thinkof; for it is not to be denied that the evil has been mainly done by menwith white skins. But it has ended in turning the tomahawk of brotheragainst brother, and brought the Mingo and the Delaware to travel in thesame path."
"You, then, suspect it is a portion of that people among whom Coraresides?"
The scout nodded his head in assent, though he seemed anxious to waivethe further discussion of a subject that appeared painful. The impatientDuncan now made several hasty and desperate propositions to attemptthe release of the sisters. Munro seemed to shake off his apathy, andlistened to the wild schemes of the young man with a deference that hisgray hairs and reverend years should have denied. But the scout, aftersuffering the ardor of the lover to expend itself a little, found meansto convince him of the folly of precipitation, in a manner that wouldrequire their coolest judgment and utmost fortitude.
"It would be well," he added, "to let this man go in again, as usual,and for him to tarry in the lodges, giving notice to the gentle ones ofour approach, until we call him out, by signal, to consult. You know thecry of a crow, friend, from the whistle of the whip-poor-will?"
"'Tis a pleasing bird," returned David, "and has a soft and melancholynote! though the time is rather quick and ill-measured."
"He speaks of the wish-ton-wish," said the scout; "well, since you likehis whistle, it shall be your signal. Remember, then, when you hear thewhip-poor-will's call three times repeated, you are to come into thebushes where the bird might be supposed--"
"Stop," interrupted Heyward; "I will accompany him."
"You!" exclaimed the astonished Hawkeye; "are you tired of seeing thesun rise and set?"
"David is a living proof that the Hurons can be merciful."
"Ay, but David can use his throat, as no man in his senses would pervartthe gift."
"I too can play the madman, the fool, the hero; in short, any oreverything to rescue her I love. Name your objections no longer: I amresolved."
Hawkeye regarded the young man a moment in speechless amazement.But Duncan, who, in deference to the other's skill and services, hadhitherto submitted somewhat implicitly to his dictation, now assumed thesuperior, with a manner that was not easily resisted. He waved his hand,in sign of his dislike to all remonstrance, and then, in more temperedlanguage, he continued:
"You have the means of disguise; change me; paint me, too, if you will;in short, alter me to anything--a fool."
"It is not for one like me to say that he who is already formed by sopowerful a hand as Providence, stands in need of a change," muttered thediscontented scout. "When you send your parties abroad in war, you findit prudent, at least, to arrange the marks and places of encampment, inorder that they who fight on your side may know when and where to expecta friend."
"Listen," interrupted Duncan; "you have heard from this faithfulfollower of the captives, that the Indians are of two tribes, if notof different nations. With one, whom you think to be a branch of theDelawares, is she you call the 'dark-hair'; the other, and younger,of the ladies, is undeniably with our declared enemies, the Hurons. Itbecomes my youth and rank to attempt the latter adventure. While you,therefore, are negotiating with your friends for the release of one ofthe sisters, I will effect that of the other, or die."
The awakened spirit of the young soldier gleamed in his eyes, and hisform became imposing under its influence. Hawkeye, though too muchaccustomed to Indian artifices not to foresee the danger of theexperiment, knew not well how to combat this sudden resolution.
Perhaps there was something in the proposal that suited his own hardynature, and that secret love of desperate adventure, which had increasedwith his experience, until hazard and danger had become, in somemeasure, necessary to the enjoyment of his existence. Instead ofcontinuing to oppose the scheme of Duncan, his humor suddenly altered,and he lent himself to its execution.
"Come," he said, with a good-humored smile; "the buck that will taketo the wat
er must be headed, and not followed. Chingachgook has as manydifferent paints as the engineer officer's wife, who takes down natur'on scraps of paper, making the mountains look like cocks of rusty hay,and placing the blue sky in reach of your hand. The Sagamore can usethem, too. Seat yourself on the log; and my life on it, he can soon makea natural fool of you, and that well to your liking."
Duncan complied; and the Mohican, who had been an attentive listener tothe discourse, readily undertook the office. Long practised in all thesubtle arts of his race, he drew, with great dexterity and quickness,the fantastic shadow that the natives were accustomed to consider as theevidence of a friendly and jocular disposition. Every line that couldpossibly be interpreted into a secret inclination for war, was carefullyavoided; while, on the other hand, he studied those conceits that mightbe construed into amity.
In short, he entirely sacrificed every appearance of the warrior to themasquerade of a buffoon. Such exhibitions were not uncommon among theIndians, and as Duncan was already sufficiently disguised in his dress,there certainly did exist some reason for believing that, with hisknowledge of French, he might pass for a juggler from Ticonderoga,straggling among the allied and friendly tribes.
When he was thought to be sufficiently painted, the scout gave him muchfriendly advice; concerted signals, and appointed the place where theyshould meet, in the event of mutual success. The parting between Munroand his young friend was more melancholy; still, the former submittedto the separation with an indifference that his warm and honest naturewould never have permitted in a more healthful state of mind. The scoutled Heyward aside, and acquainted him with his intention to leave theveteran in some safe encampment, in charge of Chingachgook, while he andUncas pursued their inquires among the people they had reason to believewere Delawares. Then, renewing his cautions and advice, he concluded bysaying, with a solemnity and warmth of feeling, with which Duncan wasdeeply touched:
"And, now, God bless you! You have shown a spirit that I like; for it isthe gift of youth, more especially one of warm blood and a stout heart.But believe the warning of a man who has reason to know all he says tobe true. You will have occasion for your best manhood, and for a sharperwit than what is to be gathered in books, afore you outdo the cunning orget the better of the courage of a Mingo. God bless you! if the Huronsmaster your scalp, rely on the promise of one who has two stout warriorsto back him. They shall pay for their victory, with a life for everyhair it holds. I say, young gentleman, may Providence bless yourundertaking, which is altogether for good; and, remember, that to outwitthe knaves it is lawful to practise things that may not be naturally thegift of a white-skin."
Duncan shook his worthy and reluctant associate warmly by the hand, oncemore recommended his aged friend to his care, and returning his goodwishes, he motioned to David to proceed. Hawkeye gazed after thehigh-spirited and adventurous young man for several moments, in openadmiration; then, shaking his head doubtingly, he turned, and led hisown division of the party into the concealment of the forest.
The route taken by Duncan and David lay directly across the clearing ofthe beavers, and along the margin of their pond.
When the former found himself alone with one so simple, and so littlequalified to render any assistance in desperate emergencies, he firstbegan to be sensible of the difficulties of the task he had undertaken.The fading light increased the gloominess of the bleak and savagewilderness that stretched so far on every side of him, and there waseven a fearful character in the stillness of those little huts, thathe knew were so abundantly peopled. It struck him, as he gazed at theadmirable structures and the wonderful precautions of their sagaciousinmates, that even the brutes of these vast wilds were possessed ofan instinct nearly commensurate with his own reason; and he could notreflect, without anxiety, on the unequal contest that he had so rashlycourted. Then came the glowing image of Alice; her distress; her actualdanger; and all the peril of his situation was forgotten. CheeringDavid, he moved on with the light and vigorous step of youth andenterprise.
After making nearly a semicircle around the pond, they diverged from thewater-course, and began to ascend to the level of a slight elevation inthat bottom land, over which they journeyed. Within half an hour theygained the margin of another opening that bore all the signs of havingbeen also made by the beavers, and which those sagacious animals hadprobably been induced, by some accident, to abandon, for the moreeligible position they now occupied. A very natural sensation causedDuncan to hesitate a moment, unwilling to leave the cover of theirbushy path, as a man pauses to collect his energies before he essays anyhazardous experiment, in which he is secretly conscious they will all beneeded. He profited by the halt, to gather such information as might beobtained from his short and hasty glances.
On the opposite side of the clearing, and near the point where the brooktumbled over some rocks, from a still higher level, some fifty or sixtylodges, rudely fabricated of logs brush, and earth intermingled, wereto be discovered. They were arranged without any order, and seemed to beconstructed with very little attention to neatness or beauty. Indeed,so very inferior were they in the two latter particulars to the villageDuncan had just seen, that he began to expect a second surprise, noless astonishing that the former. This expectation was in no degreediminished, when, by the doubtful twilight, he beheld twenty or thirtyforms rising alternately from the cover of the tall, coarse grass, infront of the lodges, and then sinking again from the sight, as it wereto burrow in the earth. By the sudden and hasty glimpses that he caughtof these figures, they seemed more like dark, glancing specters, or someother unearthly beings, than creatures fashioned with the ordinary andvulgar materials of flesh and blood. A gaunt, naked form was seen, for asingle instant, tossing its arms wildly in the air, and then the spot ithad filled was vacant; the figure appearing suddenly in some otherand distant place, or being succeeded by another, possessing the samemysterious character. David, observing that his companion lingered,pursued the direction of his gaze, and in some measure recalled therecollection of Heyward, by speaking.
"There is much fruitful soil uncultivated here," he said; "and, I mayadd, without the sinful leaven of self-commendation, that, since myshort sojourn in these heathenish abodes, much good seed has beenscattered by the wayside."
"The tribes are fonder of the chase than of the arts of men of labor,"returned the unconscious Duncan, still gazing at the objects of hiswonder.
"It is rather joy than labor to the spirit, to lift up the voice inpraise; but sadly do these boys abuse their gifts. Rarely have I foundany of their age, on whom nature has so freely bestowed the elementsof psalmody; and surely, surely, there are none who neglect them more.Three nights have I now tarried here, and three several times have Iassembled the urchins to join in sacred song; and as often have theyresponded to my efforts with whoopings and howlings that have chilled mysoul!"
"Of whom speak you?"
"Of those children of the devil, who waste the precious moments inyonder idle antics. Ah! the wholesome restraint of discipline is butlittle known among this self-abandoned people. In a country of birches,a rod is never seen, and it ought not to appear a marvel in my eyes,that the choicest blessings of Providence are wasted in such cries asthese."
David closed his ears against the juvenile pack, whose yell just thenrang shrilly through the forest; and Duncan, suffering his lip to curl,as in mockery of his own superstition, said firmly:
"We will proceed."
Without removing the safeguards form his ears, the master of songcomplied, and together they pursued their way toward what David wassometimes wont to call the "tents of the Philistines."