"Now fur the sled!" exclaimed the Trapper, as he rose from the table.
"It be a good many years since I've straddled one, but nothin' settles
a dinner quicker, or suits the leetle folks better. I conceit the
crust be thick enough to bear us up, and, ef it is, we can fetch a
course from the upper edge of the clearin' fifty rods into the lake.
Come, childun, git on yer mittens and yer tippets, and h'ist along to
the big pine, and ye shall have some fun ye won't forgit ontil yer
heads be whiter than mine."
It is needless to record that the children hailed with delight the
proposition of the Trapper, or that they were at the appointed spot
long before the speaker and his companion reached it with the sled.
"Wild Bill," said the Trapper, as they stood on the crest of the slope
down which they were to glide, "the crust be smooth as glass, and the
hill be a steep un. I sartinly doubt ef mortal man ever rode faster
than this sled'll be goin' by the time it gits to where the bank
pitches into the lake; and ef ye should git a leetle careless in yer
steerin', Bill, and hit a stump, I conceit that nothin' but the help
of the Lord or the rottenness of the stump would save ye from
etarnity."
Now, Wild Bill was blessed with a sanguine temperament. To him no
obstacle seemed serious if bravely faced. Indeed, his natural
confidence in himself bordered on recklessness, to which the drinking
habits of his life had, perhaps, contributed.
When the Trapper had finished speaking, Bill ran his eye carelessly
down the steep hillside, smooth and shiny as polished steel, and said,
"Oh, this isn't anything extry for a hill. I've steered a good many
steeper ones, and in nights when the moon was at the half, and the
sled overloaded at that. It don't make any difference how fast you
go," he added, "if you only keep in the path, and don't hit anything."
"That's it, that's it," replied the Trapper. "But the trouble here be
to keep in the path, fur, in the fust place, there isn't any path, and
the stumps be pretty thick, and I doubt ef ye can line a trail from
here to the bank by the lake without one or more sudden twists in it,
and a twist in the trail, goin' as fast as we'll be goin', has got to
be taken jediciously, or somethin' will happen. I say, Bill, what
p'int will ye steer fur?"
Wild Bill, thus addressed, proceeded to give his opinion touching the
proper direction of the flight they were to make. Indeed, he had been
closely examining the ground while the Trapper was speaking, and
therefore gave his opinion promptly and with confidence.
"Ye have chosen the course with jedgment," said the old man
approvingly, after he had studied the line his companion pointed out
critically for a moment. "Yis, Bill, ye have a nateral eye for the
business, and I sartinly have more confidence in ye than I had a minit
ago, when ye was talkin' about a steeper hill than this; fur this hill
drops mighty sudden in the pitches, and the crust be smooth as ice,
and the sled'll go like a streak when it gits started. But the course
ye've p'inted out be a good un, fur there be only one bad turn in it,
and good steerin' orter put a sled round that. I say," continued the
old man, turning toward his companion, and pointing out the crook in
the course at the bottom of the second dip, "can ye swing around that
big stump there without upsettin', when ye come to it?"
"Swing around? Of course I can," retorted Wild Bill, positively.
"There's plenty room to the left, and--"
"Ay, ay; there be plenty of room, as ye say, ef ye don't take too much
of it," interrupted the Trapper. "But--"
"I tell you," broke in the other, "I'll turn my back to no man in
steering a sled; and I can put this sled, and you on it, around that
stump a hundred times, and never lift a runner."
"Well, well," responded the Trapper, "have it yer own way. I dare say
ye be good at steerin', and I sartinly know I'm good at ridin'; and I
can ride as fast as ye can steer, ef ye hit every stump in the
clearin'. Now, childun," continued the old man, turning to the little
group, "we be goin' to try the course; and ef the crust holds up, and
Wild Bill keeps clear of the stumps, and nothin' onusual happens, ye
shall have all the slidin' ye want afore ye go in. Come, Bill, git yer
sled p'inted right, and I'll be gittin' on, and we'll see ef ye can
steer an old man round a stump as handily as ye say ye can."
The directions of the Trapper were promptly obeyed, and in an instant
the sled was in the right position, and the Trapper proceeded to seat
himself with the carefulness of one who feels he is embarking on a
somewhat uncertain venture, and has grave misgivings as to what will
be the upshot of the undertaking. The sled was large and strongly
built; and it added not a little to his comfort to feel that he could
put entire confidence in the structure beneath them.
"The sled'll hold," he said to himself, "ef the loadin' goes to the
jedgment."
The Trapper was no sooner seated than Wild Bill threw himself upon the
sled, with one leg under him and the other stretched at full length
behind. This was a method of steering that had come into vogue since
the Trapper's boyhood, for in his day the steersman sat astride the
sled, with his feet thrust forward, and steered by the pressure of
either heel upon the snow.
"Hold on, Bill!" exclaimed the Trapper, whose eye this novel method of
steering had not escaped. "Hold on, and hold up a minit. Heavens and
'arth! ye don't mean to steer this sled with one toe, do ye, and that,
too, the length of a rifle-barrel astarn? Wheel round, and spread yer
legs out as ye orter, and steer this sled in an honest fashion, or
there'll be trouble aboard afore ye git to the bottom."
"Sit round!" retorted Bill. "How could I see to steer if I was sitting
right back of you? For you're nigh a foot taller then I be, and your
shoulders are as broad as the sled."
"Yer p'ints be well taken, fur sartin," replied the Trapper; "fur it
be no more than reasonable that the man that steers should see where
he be goin', and I am as anxious as ye be that ye should. Yis, I
sartinly want ye to see where ye be goin' on this trip, anyhow, fur
the crew be a fresh un, and the channel be a leetle crooked. But be ye
sartin, Bill, that ye can fetch round that stump there as it orter be
did, with nothin' but yer toe out behind? It may be the best way, as
ye say, but it don't look like honest steerin' to a man of my years."
"I have used both ways," answered Bill, "and I give you my word, old
man, that this is the best one. You can get a big swing with your foot
stretched out in this fashion, and the sled feels the least pressure
of the toe. Yes, it's all right. John Norton, are you ready?"
"Yis, yis, as ready as I ever shall be," answered the Trapper, in a
voice in which doubt and resignation were equally mingled. "It may be
as ye say," he continued; "but the rudder be too fur behind to suit
me, and ef anything happens on this cruise, jest remember, Wild Bill,
that my jedgment--"
The sentence the Trapper was uttering was abruptly cut short at this
point; for Bill had started the sled with a sudden push, and leaped to
his seat behind the Trapper as it glided downward and away. In an
instant the sled was under full headway, for the dip was a sharp one,
and the crust smooth as ice. Scarce had it gone ten rods from the
point where it started before it was in full flight, and was gliding
downward with what would have been, to any but a man of the steadiest
nerve, a frightful velocity. But the Trapper was of too cool and
courageous temperament to be disturbed even by actual danger. Indeed,
the swiftness of their downward career, as the sled with a buzz and a
roar swept along over the resounding crust, stirred the old man's
blood with a tingle of excitement; while the splendid manner with
which Wild Bill was keeping it to the course settled upon filled him
with admiration, and was fast making him a convert to the new method
of steering.
Downward they flashed. The Trapper's cap had been blown from his head;
and as the old man sat bolt-upright on his sled, his feet bravely
planted on the round, his face flushed, and his white hair streaming,
he looked the very picture of hearty enjoyment. Above his head the
face of Wild Bill looked actually sharpened by the pressure of the air
on either cheek as it clove through it; but his lips were bravely set,
and his eyes were fastened without winking on the big stump ahead,
toward which they were rushing.
It was at this point that Wild Bill vindicated his ability as a
steersman, and at the same time barely escaped shipwreck. At the
proper moment he swept his foot to the left, and the sled, in
obedience to the pressure, swooped in that direction. But in his
anxiety to give the stump a wide berth, Bill overdid the pressure that
was needed a trifle; for in calculating the curve required he had
failed to allow for the sidewise motion of the sled, and, instead of
hitting one stump, it looked for an instant as if he would be
precipitated among a dozen.
"Heave her starn up, Wild Bill! up with her starn, I say," yelled the
Trapper, "or there won't be a stump left in the clearin'."
With a quickness and courage that would have done credit to
any steersman,--for the speed at which they were going was
terrific,--Bill swept his foot to the right, leaning his body well
over at the same instant. The Trapper instinctively seconded his
endeavors, and with hands that gripped either side of the sled he hung
over that side which was upon the point of going into the air. For
several rods the sled glided along on a single runner, and then,
righting itself with a lurch, jumped the summit of the last dip, and
raced away, like a swallow in full flight, toward the lake.
Now, at the edge of the clearing that bounded the shore was a bank of
considerable size. Shrubs and stunted bushes fringed the crest of it.
These had been buried beneath the snow, and the crust had formed
smoothly over them; and as it was upheld by no stronger support than
such as the hidden shrubbery furnished, it was incapable of sustaining
any considerable pressure.
Certainly no sled was ever moving faster than was Wild Bill's when it
came to this point; and certainly no sled ever stopped quicker, for
the treacherous crust dropped suddenly under it, and the sled was left
with nothing but the hind part of one of the runners sticking up in
sight. But though the sled was suddenly checked in its career, the
Trapper and Wild Bill continued their flight. The former slid from the
sled without meeting any obstruction, and with the same velocity with
which he had been moving. Indeed, so little was his position changed,
that one might almost fancy that no accident had happened, and that
the old man was gliding forward to the end of the course with an
adequate structure under him. But with the latter it was far
different; for, as the sled stopped, he was projected sharply upward
into the air, and, after turning several somersaults, he actually
landed in front of the Trapper, and glided along on the slippery
surface ahead of him. And so the two men shot onward, one after the
other, while the children cackled from the hill-top, and the woman
swung her bonnet over her head, and laughed from her position in the
doorway.
"Bill," called the Trapper, when by dint of much effort they had
managed to check their motion somewhat, "Bill, ef the cruise be about
over, I conceit we'd better anchor hereabouts. But I shipped fur the
voyage, and ye be capt'in, and as ye've finally got the right way to
steer, I feel pretty safe techin' the futur'."
It was not until they had come to a full stop, and looked around them,
that they realized the distance they had come; for they had in truth
slid nearly across the bay.
"I've boated a good many times on these waters, and under
sarcumstances that called fur 'arnest motion, but I sartinly never
went across this bay as fast as I've did it to-day. How do ye feel,
Bill, how do ye feel?"
"A good deal shaken up," was the answer, "a good deal shaken up."
"I conceit as much," answered the Trapper, "I conceit as much, fur ye
left the sled with mighty leetle deliberation; and when I saw yer legs
comin' through the air, I sartinly doubted ef the ice would hold ye.
But ye steered with jedgment; yis, ye steered with jedgment, Bill; and
I'd said it ef we'd gone to the bottom."
The sun was already set when they returned to the cabin; for,
selecting a safer course, they had given the children an hour's happy
sliding. The woman had prepared some fresh tea and a lunch, which they
ate with lessened appetites, but with humor that never flagged. When
it was ended, the Old Trapper rose to depart, and with a dignity and
tenderness peculiarly his own, thus spoke:--
"My good woman," he said, "the moon will soon be up, and the time has
come fur me to be goin'. I've had a happy day with ye and the leetle
uns; and the trail over the mountain will seem shorter, as the pups
and me go home, thinkin' on't. Wild Bill will stay a few days, and put
things a leetle more to rights, and git up a wood-pile that will keep
ye from choppin' fur a good while. It's his own thought, and ye can
thank him accordin'ly." Then, having kissed each of the children, and
spoken a few words to Wild Bill, he took the woman's hand, and said:--
"The sorrers of life be many, but the Lord never forgits. I've lived
until my head be whitenin', and I've noted that though He moves
slowly, He fetches most things round about the time we need 'em; and
the things that be late in comin', I conceit we shall git somewhere
furder on. Ye didn't kill the big buck this mornin', but the meat ye
needed hangs at yer door, nevertheless." And shaking the woman
heartily by the hand, he whistled to the hounds, and passed out of the
door. The inmates of the cabin stood and watched him, until, having
climbed the slope of the clearing, he disappeared in the shadows of
the forest; and then they closed the door. But more than once Wild
Bill noted that as the woman stood wiping her dishes, she wiped her
eyes as well; and more than once he heard her say softly to herself,
"God bless the dear old man!"
Ay, ay, poor woman, we join thee in thy prayer. God bless the dear old
man! and not only him, but all who do the deeds he did. God bless them
one and all!
Over the crusted snow the Trapper held his course, until he came, with
a happy heart, to his cabin. Soon a fire was burning on his own
hearthstone, and the hounds were in their accustomed place. He drew
the table in front, where the fire's fine light fell on his work, and,
taking some green vines and branches from the basket, began to twine a
wreath. One he twined, and then he began another; and often, as he
twined the fadeless branches in, he paused, and long and lovingly
looked at the two pictures hanging on the wall; and when the wreaths
were twined, he hung them on the frames, and, standing in front of the
dumb reminders of his absent ones, he said, "_I miss them so!_"
Ah! friend, dear friend, when life's glad day with you and me is
passed, when the sweet Christmas chimes are rung for other ears than
ours, when other hands set the green branches up, and other feet glide
down the polished floor, may there be those still left behind to twine
us wreaths, and say, "_We miss them so!_"
And this is the way John Norton the Trapper kept his Christmas.
[Illustration: THE MOUNTAIN TORRENT.]
[Illustration: THE VAGABOND'S ROCK.]