CHAPTER XVIII
A HARD DAY'S MARCH
The dawn came with rosy promise of a fair day, a frost lying white overthe grass-land, sufficient nip in the air to stir the blood. Beforethe others were aroused I examined the boat, which rested high in themud where we had heaved it the evening previous. The cruel rent in thesolid planking was such as to afford little hope of our ever being ableto repair it. How the accident occurred I did not rightly comprehend,but we had been cast ashore on the western bank of that swiftmaelstrom. In the light of dawn, I gazed forth upon the whirlpoolextending between the rock against which we had struck and the bankwhere I stood, in speechless wonder at the miracle of our rescue.Standing there in silence broken only by the wild tumult of the waters,I thought of Eloise tossed helpless in their merciless grip, and bowedmy head humbly above the shattered boat, offering up a heartfeltpetition. I was not in those days a man of prayer, yet the germ of myfather's robust faith was ever in my blood, and love teaches many agood lesson. Certainly I felt better within my own heart for thatinstant of communion under the paling stars.
My head was yet bowed over the gunwale when the heavy footsteps of thePuritan sounded close at hand. I could not fail to remark a softnessin his deep voice as he spoke, resting one hand upon my shoulder.
"Thou knowest not, friend Benteen, how it gladdens my old heart to findthee before the throne of grace. I fear thou art not greatlyaccustomed to look up unto God in time of trouble, yet doing so cannever weaken thy arm for the moment of trial. Acknowledge the Lord ofHosts, nor dream thou wilt ever prove less of a man because thy heartresponds to His many mercies."
"You speak truly," I returned soberly, feeling a new respect for him inthat hour. "There is no better way in which to start the day; and,unless my eyes deceive me, this bids fair to prove a day of sore trial.Have you looked to the damage done the boat?"
"Nay," he returned earnestly, bending low to examine the rent. "Islept like a man in drink, and even now am scarcely well awakened. 'Tis, indeed, a serious break, friend; one, I fear, which will provebeyond our remedying."
"Have you skill with tools?"
"It is one of my gifts; yet of what use in the wilderness where toolsare not to be found? However, I will see what may be done, after webreak our fast--there is little accomplished working on an emptystomach."
It was a morning of sorrowful labor; from the beginning a perfectlyhopeless one. The planking had been so badly crushed that a portionwas actually ground into powder, leaving a great gaping hole. To patchthis we possessed no tool to shape the wood properly, or, indeed, anywood to shape, except the seats of the oarsmen. Nor did we possessnails. More than one expedient was resorted to with bits of canvas,wooden pegs, or whatsoever else we could lay hands upon, but ourefforts resulted each time in sickening failure. At last, long beforethe sun had attained the zenith, the old preacher looked up,disappointment written on every line of his rough face, to say grimly:
"We waste toil, friends; the boat floats no more for all our labors.Nor do I deem it the will of the Lord we longer continue to wearourselves out in vain effort to undo His work."
He wiped the beads of perspiration from his low forehead, pushing hishand through his matted hair.
"Were it not for the woman," he added more cheerfully, "the accidentwould not be so bad either. I am cramped by long boat service, andwould welcome a stiff tramp to loosen out the joints of my legs."
I glanced across uneasily at Madame, for we were all seated on thegrass in the sunshine, but could perceive nothing except encouragementin the clear depths of her brave eyes.
"Fear nothing on my account," she said quietly, instantly reading mythoughts as if my face were an open book. "I am strong, and shall notgreatly mind the walking."
"At least you are strong of heart," I returned gravely. "But such atrip as now lies before us will test your power of endurance greatly.Yet what must be done is best done quickly, and there are unpleasantmemories clustering about this spot, making me anxious to leave itbefore another night. Let each one speak frankly his thought as to ourfuture course, so we may choose the route aright. De Noyan, you are asoldier, accustomed to places of difficulty and peril. What would yousuggest?"
He was lying flat upon his back, hands clasped beneath his head, puffsof white smoke from his pipe curling lazily up into the blue sky; nordid he remove the stem from between his lips as he made easy answer.
"Faith, man, my service on campaign has ever been with the horse; noram I fond of using my own limbs for travelling. It would be fareasier, I think, to knock up the old boat here; then, with whatsoeverelse we might find in this God-forsaken wilderness, construct some sortof raft to upbear our company, and so drift down with the stream._Parbleu_! it would be a relief from those cursed oars. If the load betoo heavy, the preacher can be left behind; 't would be small loss."
"Your plan sounds bravely in words, Chevalier, but were we to attemptit, we should soon find ourselves in more serious stress than now,--ay!before we had covered the first day's journey. My Calvinistic friend,what advice have you for our guidance?"
The sectary's eyes were fastened upon the ragged line of hills at ourback, and for the moment he made no response, his seamed face gravewith thought.
"How far, Master Benteen," he queried finally, "do you make it fromhere to the mouth of this river?"
"Not much short of sixty leagues," I answered, after a bit of thinking."The stream bends and twists so it is difficult to judge the truedistance."
"It was a grievous journey," he admitted with a groan, "one I care notto travel again, unless it be revealed plainly to me as the will of theLord. I name the distance full seventy leagues. What has been themain direction of our course?"
"To north of west."
"Ay! Are we, think you, thirty leagues to northward of where we leftthe Spaniards?"
"I should say yes, maybe ten leagues more."
"I doubt the extra ten, but even at thirty it would be foolishness toretrace all that hard-won distance merely for the sake of keeping insight of this muddy stream, the very water of which is unfit forChristian stomach, and of no value otherwise. 'Tis my vote we strikedirectly east and north, following as straight a trail as possibleuntil we find the great river. It should be as easy travelling asalong this bank, and will bring us out above the Spanish lines ofguard."
I know not how long I sat there gazing silently into his impassiveleathern face, turning over within my own mind the argument of hiswords. He was neither woodsman nor mountaineer, yet possessed somejudgment. Thus considering, I saw but one possible objection to hisplan--lack of water or of game along the unknown route to be traversed.But serious scarcity of either was hardly to be expected at this seasonamong the mountains, while the weary leagues of southing thus savedwould make no small difference in the length and time of our journey.
"It appears to me our best hope," I admitted candidly. "It willinvolve clambering over rocks, yet yonder range does not appear high,nor of a width to keep us long in its shadow; besides, the lowerreaches of this river are marshy leagues upon leagues, and to my mindwalking will be easier if we take higher ground. It is all guessworkat the best. We know how impassable the trail will be below, and, evenif we retrace our steps down the river, we shall have to make a widedetour to cross this mad stream. But wait; we have heard no word fromMadame de Noyan."
She also was looking upon those cool, blue hills, apparently close athand, but turned instantly at my addressing her, making quick andconfident answer.
"My word is only this, Geoffrey Benteen: you are a woodsman, bettercapable of such decision than any woman whose life has been livedwithin the town. I go cheerfully wheresoever your choice lies."
It has ever been a source of strength to me to be thoroughly trusted bysome other, and I instantly arose to my feet, feeling a new man underthe inspiration of these heartsome words.
"Then that matter is decided," I announced, a ring of confidence in myvoice. "We will bre
ak bread once more, and then commence our journey."
"_Sacre_!" ejaculated the Captain, yet lolling upon his back, "if it belike that same biscuit I had an hour since, breaking it will prove nosmall matter."
The blazing sun stood an hour low in the west when we divided our smallstock of necessaries so as to transport them, and, with merely a lastregretful glance at the damaged boat which had been our home so long,turned our faces hopefully toward those northern hills, commencing ajourney destined to prove for more than one a trip unto death. God'sway is best, and there is a noble purpose in it all; for had we thatday been enabled to view the future, not a single step would we havetaken, nor should I have had in my memory a tale worthy of beingwritten down.
I led the little company, bearing rifle in hand, keeping vigilantoutlook for game; De Noyan followed, where he might easily afford aidto his wife if she required the strength of his arm along the roughpath; while the old Puritan, grumbling ever to himself, lumbered alongwell in the rear, although we were careful to keep within speakingdistance of each other. We traversed a gently rising slope of grassland, with numerous rocks scattered over its surface, keeping as closeas possible along the bank of the brawling stream, that we might makeuse of its narrow valley through the rocky bluffs, which threatened tobar our passage. These were no great distance away, so a steadygait--I set the pace slow not to distress Madame, who was cramped fromlong sitting within the boat--brought us in an hour to where ournarrowing path was overhung and darkened by the closing in of gloomymountain heights upon either side. It had an awesome look, like theyawning mouth of a cave, opening to intense darkness and mysteriousdanger. I saw a look almost of terror in Madame's eyes as she gazed,yet her lips uttered no protest, and I flung aside a desire to shrinkback, with a muttered curse at my own folly. Saint Andrew! it is oddhow superstition grips the best of us. Those rock walls, binding uswithin their scant confines as in a prison, were not particularlyprecipitous or high, yet our way was sufficiently perilous, leadingalong a contracted defile, the merest chasm, indeed, steep cliffsrising sheer on either side, merely the raging stream and a ribbonlikepath between. The slight expanse of sky above was blue and clear, butit was sombre and gloomy enough down in that black hollow, where wemade difficult progress amid loose bowlders.
Where this snake-like ravine widened out slightly we made choice forour first camp. We reached there near the sunset hour, although thesun itself had utterly vanished from our view long before, and we movedforward amid a semi-darkness most depressing. On the spot selected thetowering wall of rock on our side of the little river overhungsufficiently to form a comfortable shelter at its base. I had a goodlysupply of fresh pine boughs strewn so as to form a soft bed, while thePuritan busied himself gathering together ample materials for a fire,the reflected light of which caused the deep chasm where we rested toappear more gloomy than before, while scurrying night clouds closed usin as if imprisoned within a grave.
That evening was not devoted to much conversation. We were alikewearied from our long tramp, heavy-hearted, and strangely depressed bythe desolate gloom of the rock cavern in which we lay. Even De Noyanyielded to this spirit of brooding and, after a faint effort at forcedgayety, crept silently to his sleeping-place. The other two were notlong in following him. I was thus left alone to keep the first watchof the night. Four lonelier, more miserable hours I do not rememberserving at the call of duty. The round moon crept slowly through theblack sky, until its soft, silvery beams rested, brighter than daylighthad been in that gorge, in glowing radiance along the surface of thesmooth, gleaming wall opposite, yet merely succeeded in rendering moreweird and uncanny the sombre desolation. The night wind arose, causingthe shadows of clinging pines to sway back and forth like spectralfigures, while a solemn silence, awesome in its intensity, brooded overall, broken only by the noise of tumbling water, with occasionalrasping of boughs against the face of the cliff. The fire died awayinto a few red embers, occasionally fanned into uncertain flame bybreaths of air sucked up the gorge. By the time my guard ended I wasso thoroughly unstrung that each flitting glimpse of deeper shadowtempted me to fire.
It was at midnight, or as close to that hour as I was capable ofjudging, when I aroused De Noyan and crawled into his place on the bedof boughs. I lay there watching him a brief space, as he walked overto the stream and plunged his face into the cool water. The last Irecall previous to dropping off into deep slumber was how large hisshadow loomed, silhouetted in the bright moonshine against a huge blackbowlder directly in my front.
I know not the hour, yet I noted, even in awakening, that the moon hadalready passed from out the narrow ribbon of sky above, although stillfringing in silver beauty the sharp summit of the crest, when a quick,nervous pressure upon my arm awoke me with a start of alarm. Lying atfull length, his head uplifted, was De Noyan.
"Keep still, Benteen," he whispered, his voice vibrant with excitement,"and look yonder. In the name of all the fiends, what is that?"