“She speaks much of her father; says she hears,
There's tricks i' the world; and hems, and beats her breast;
Spurns enviously at straws; speaks things in doubt,
That carry but half sense; her speech is nothing,
Yet the unshaped use of it doth move
The hearers to collection;”
Hamlet, IV.v.4-9.
We left the occupants of the castle and the ark, buried in sleep. Once,
or twice, in the course of the night, it is true, Deerslayer or the
Delaware, arose and looked out upon the tranquil lake; when, finding
all safe, each returned to his pallet, and slept like a man who was not
easily deprived of his natural rest. At the first signs of the dawn the
former arose, however, and made his personal arrangements for the day;
though his companion, whose nights had not been tranquil or without
disturbances of late, continued on his blanket until the sun had fairly
risen; Judith, too, was later than common that morning, for the earlier
hours of the night had brought her little of either refreshment or
sleep. But ere the sun had shown himself over the eastern hills these
too were up and afoot, even the tardy in that region seldom remaining on
their pallets after the appearance of the great luminary. Chingachgook
was in the act of arranging his forest toilet, when Deerslayer entered
the cabin of the Ark and threw him a few coarse but light summer
vestments that belonged to Hutter.
“Judith hath given me them for your use, chief,” said the latter, as he
cast the jacket and trousers at the feet of the Indian, “for it's ag'in
all prudence and caution to be seen in your war dress and paint. Wash
off all them fiery streaks from your cheeks, put on these garments, and
here is a hat, such as it is, that will give you an awful oncivilized
sort of civilization, as the missionaries call it. Remember that Hist is
at hand, and what we do for the maiden must be done while we are
doing for others. I know it's ag'in your gifts and your natur' to wear
clothes, unless they are cut and carried in a red man's fashion, but
make a vartue of necessity and put these on at once, even if they do
rise a little in your throat.”
Chingachgook, or the Serpent, eyed the vestments with strong disgust;
but he saw the usefulness of the disguise, if not its absolute
necessity. Should the Iroquois discover a red man, in or about the
Castle, it might, indeed, place them more on their guard, and give
their suspicions a direction towards their female captive. Any thing was
better than a failure, as it regarded his betrothed, and, after turning
the different garments round and round, examining them with a species
of grave irony, affecting to draw them on in a way that defeated itself,
and otherwise manifesting the reluctance of a young savage to confine
his limbs in the usual appliances of civilized life, the chief submitted
to the directions of his companion, and finally stood forth, so far
as the eye could detect, a red man in colour alone. Little was to be
apprehended from this last peculiarity, however, the distance from the
shore, and the want of glasses preventing any very close scrutiny,
and Deerslayer, himself, though of a brighter and fresher tint, had a
countenance that was burnt by the sun to a hue scarcely less red than
that of his Mohican companion. The awkwardness of the Delaware in his
new attire caused his friend to smile more than once that day, but he
carefully abstained from the use of any of those jokes which would have
been bandied among white men on such an occasion, the habits of a chief,
the dignity of a warrior on his first path, and the gravity of the
circumstances in which they were placed uniting to render so much levity
out of season.
The meeting at the morning meal of the three islanders, if we may use
the term, was silent, grave and thoughtful. Judith showed by her looks
that she had passed an unquiet night, while the two men had the future
before them, with its unseen and unknown events. A few words of courtesy
passed between Deerslayer and the girl, in the course of the breakfast,
but no allusion was made to their situation. At length Judith, whose
heart was full, and whose novel feelings disposed her to entertain
sentiments more gentle and tender than common, introduced the subject,
and this in a way to show how much of her thoughts it had occupied, in
the course of the last sleepless night.
“It would be dreadful, Deerslayer,” the girl abruptly exclaimed, “should
anything serious befall my father and Hetty! We cannot remain quietly
here and leave them in the hands of the Iroquois, without bethinking us
of some means of serving them.”
“I'm ready, Judith, to sarve them, and all others who are in trouble,
could the way to do it be p'inted out. It's no trifling matter to fall
into red-skin hands, when men set out on an ar'n'd like that which took
Hutter and Hurry ashore; that I know as well as another, and I wouldn't
wish my worst inimy in such a strait, much less them with whom I've
journeyed, and eat, and slept. Have you any scheme, that you would like
to have the Sarpent and me indivour to carry out?”
“I know of no other means to release the prisoners, than by bribing
the Iroquois. They are not proof against presents, and we might offer
enough, perhaps, to make them think it better to carry away what to them
will be rich gifts, than to carry away poor prisoners; if, indeed, they
should carry them away at all!”
“This is well enough, Judith; yes, it's well enough, if the inimy is
to be bought, and we can find articles to make the purchase with. Your
father has a convenient lodge, and it is most cunningly placed, though
it doesn't seem overstock'd with riches that will be likely to buy his
ransom. There's the piece he calls Killdeer, might count for something,
and I understand there's a keg of powder about, which might be a
make-weight, sartain; and yet two able bodied men are not to be bought
off for a trifle--besides--”
“Besides what?” demanded Judith impatiently, observing that the other
hesitated to proceed, probably from a reluctance to distress her.
“Why, Judith, the Frenchers offer bounties as well as our own side, and
the price of two scalps would purchase a keg of powder, and a rifle;
though I'll not say one of the latter altogether as good as Killdeer,
there, which your father va'nts as uncommon, and unequalled, like. But
fair powder, and a pretty sartain rifle; then the red men are not the
expartest in fire arms, and don't always know the difference atwixt that
which is ra'al, and that which is seeming.”
“This is horrible!” muttered the girl, struck by the homely manner in
which her companion was accustomed to state his facts. “But you overlook
my own clothes, Deerslayer, and they, I think, might go far with the
women of the Iroquois.”
“No doubt they would; no doubt they would, Judith,” returned the other,
looking at her keenly, as if he would ascertain whether she were really
capable of making such a sacrifice. “But, are you sartain, gal, you
could find it in your heart to part with your own finery for such a
purpose? Many is the man who has thought he was valiant till danger
stared him in the face; I've known them, too, that consaited they were
kind and ready to give away all they had to the poor, when they've
been listening to other people's hard heartedness; but whose fists
have clench'd as tight as the riven hickory when it came to downright
offerings of their own. Besides, Judith, you're handsome--uncommon in
that way, one might observe and do no harm to the truth--and they that
have beauty, like to have that which will adorn it. Are you sartain you
could find it in your heart to part with your own finery?”
The soothing allusion to the personal charms of the girl was well timed,
to counteract the effect produced by the distrust that the young man
expressed of Judith's devotion to her filial duties. Had another said
as much as Deerslayer, the compliment would most probably have been
overlooked in the indignation awakened by the doubts, but even the
unpolished sincerity, that so often made this simple minded hunter bare
his thoughts, had a charm for the girl; and while she colored, and for
an instant her eyes flashed fire, she could not find it in her heart
to be really angry with one whose very soul seemed truth and manly
kindness. Look her reproaches she did, but conquering the desire to
retort, she succeeded in answering in a mild and friendly manner.
“You must keep all your favorable opinions for the Delaware girls,
Deerslayer, if you seriously think thus of those of your own colour,”
she said, affecting to laugh. “But try me; if you find that I regret
either ribbon or feather, silk or muslin, then may you think what you
please of my heart, and say what you think.”
“That's justice! The rarest thing to find on 'arth is a truly just man.
So says Tamenund, the wisest prophet of the Delawares, and so all must
think that have occasion to see, and talk, and act among Mankind. I love
a just man, Sarpent. His eyes are never covered with darkness towards
his inimies, while they are all sunshine and brightness towards his
fri'nds. He uses the reason that God has given him, and he uses it with
a feelin' of his being ordered to look at, and to consider things as
they are, and not as he wants them to be. It's easy enough to find men
who call themselves just, but it's wonderful oncommon to find them that
are the very thing, in fact. How often have I seen Indians, gal, who
believed they were lookin' into a matter agreeable to the will of the
Great Spirit, when in truth they were only striving to act up to their
own will and pleasure, and this, half the time, with a temptation to
go wrong that could no more be seen by themselves, than the stream that
runs in the next valley can be seen by us through yonder mountain',
though any looker on might have discovered it as plainly as we can
discover the parch that are swimming around this hut.”
“Very true, Deerslayer,” rejoined Judith, losing every trace of
displeasure in a bright smile--“very true, and I hope to see you act on
this love of justice in all matters in which I am concerned. Above all,
I hope you will judge for yourself, and not believe every evil story
that a prating idler like Hurry Harry may have to tell, that goes to
touch the good name of any young woman, who may not happen to have the
same opinion of his face and person that the blustering gallant has of
himself.”
“Hurry Harry's idees do not pass for gospel with me, Judith; but even
worse than he may have eyes and ears,” returned the other gravely.
“Enough of this!” exclaimed Judith, with flashing eye and a flush that
mounted to her temples, “and more of my father and his ransom. 'Tis as
you say, Deerslayer; the Indians will not be likely to give up their
prisoners without a heavier bribe than my clothes can offer, and
father's rifle and powder. There is the chest.”
“Ay, there is the chest as you say, Judith, and when the question gets
to be between a secret and a scalp, I should think most men would prefer
keeping the last. Did your father ever give you any downright commands
consarning that chist?”
“Never. He has always appeared to think its locks, and its steel bands,
and its strength, its best protection.”
“'Tis a rare chest, and altogether of curious build,” returned
Deerslayer, rising and approaching the thing in question, on which
he seated himself, with a view to examine it with greater ease.
“Chingachgook, this is no wood that comes of any forest that you or I
have ever trailed through! 'Tisn't the black walnut, and yet it's quite
as comely, if not more so, did the smoke and the treatment give it fair
play.”
The Delaware drew near, felt of the wood, examined its grain, endeavored
to indent the surface with a nail, and passed his hand curiously over
the steel bands, the heavy padlocks, and the other novel peculiarities
of the massive box.
“No--nothing like this grows in these regions,” resumed Deerslayer.
“I've seen all the oaks, both the maples, the elms, the bass woods, all
the walnuts, the butternuts, and every tree that has a substance and
colour, wrought into some form or other, but never have I before seen
such a wood as this! Judith, the chest itself would buy your father's
freedom, or Iroquois cur'osity isn't as strong as red-skin cur'osity, in
general; especially in the matter of woods.”
“The purchase might be cheaper made, perhaps, Deerslayer. The chest is
full, and it would be better to part with half than to part with the
whole. Besides, father--I know not why--but father values that chest
highly.”
“He would seem to prize what it holds more than the chest, itself,
judging by the manner in which he treats the outside, and secures the
inside. Here are three locks, Judith; is there no key?”
“I've never seen one, and yet key there must be, since Hetty told us she
had often seen the chest opened.”
“Keys no more lie in the air, or float on the water, than humans, gal;
if there is a key, there must be a place in which it is kept.”
“That is true, and it might not be difficult to find it, did we dare to
search!”
“This is for you, Judith; it is altogether for you. The chist is your'n,
or your father's; and Hutter is your father, not mine. Cur'osity is a
woman's, and not a man's failing, and there you have got all the reasons
before you. If the chist has articles for ransom, it seems to me they
would be wisely used in redeeming their owner's life, or even in saving
his scalp; but that is a matter for your judgment, and not for ourn.
When the lawful owner of a trap, or a buck, or a canoe, isn't present,
his next of kin becomes his riprisentyve by all the laws of the woods.
We therefore leave you to say whether the chist shall, or shall not be
opened.”
“I hope you do not believe I can hesitate, when my father's life's in
danger, Deerslayer!”
“Why, it's pretty much putting a scolding ag'in tears and mourning.
It's not onreasonable to foretell that old Tom may find fault with
what you've done, when he sees himself once more in his hut, here, but
there's nothing unusual in men's falling out with what has been done for
their own good; I dare to say that even the moon would seem a different
thing from what it now does, could we look at it from the other side.”
“Deerslayer, if we can find the key, I will authorize you to open
the chest, and to take such things from it as you may think will buy
father's ransom.”
“First find the key, gal; we'll talk of the rest a'terwards. Sarpent,
you've eyes like a fly, and a judgment that's seldom out. Can you help
us in calculating where Floating Tom would be apt to keep the key of a
chist that he holds to be as private as this?”
The Delaware had taken no part in the discourse until he was thus
directly appealed to, when he quitted the chest, which had continued to
attract his attention, and cast about him for the place in which a key
would be likely to be concealed under such circumstances. As Judith and
Deerslayer were not idle the while, the whole three were soon engaged in
an anxious and spirited search. As it was certain that the desired key
was not to be found in any of the common drawers or closets, of which
there were several in the building, none looked there, but all turned
their inquiries to those places that struck them as ingenious hiding
places, and more likely to be used for such a purpose. In this manner
the outer room was thoroughly but fruitlessly examined, when they
entered the sleeping apartment of Hutter. This part of the rude building
was better furnished than the rest of the structure, containing several
articles that had been especially devoted to the service of the deceased
wife of its owner, but as Judith had all the rest of the keys, it was
soon rummaged without bringing to light the particular key desired.
They now entered the bed room of the daughters. Chingachgook was
immediately struck with the contrast between the articles and the
arrangement of that side of the room that might be called Judith's, and
that which more properly belonged to Hetty. A slight exclamation escaped
him, and pointing in each direction he alluded to the fact in a low
voice, speaking to his friend in the Delaware tongue.
“'Tis as you think, Sarpent,” answered Deerslayer, whose remarks we
always translate into English, preserving as much as possible of the
peculiar phraseology and manner of the man, “'Tis just so, as any one
may see, and 'tis all founded in natur'. One sister loves finery, some
say overmuch; while t'other is as meek and lowly as God ever created
goodness and truth. Yet, after all, I dare say that Judith has her
vartues, and Hetty has her failin's.”
“And the 'Feeble-Mind' has seen the chist opened?” inquired
Chingachgook, with curiosity in his glance.
“Sartain; that much I've heard from her own lips; and, for that matter,
so have you. It seems her father doesn't misgive her discretion, though
he does that of his eldest darter.”
“Then the key is hid only from the Wild Rose?” for so Chingachgook
had begun gallantly to term Judith, in his private discourse with his
friend.
“That's it! That's just it! One he trusts, and the other he doesn't.
There's red and white in that, Sarpent, all tribes and nations agreeing
in trusting some, and refusing to trust other some. It depends on
character and judgment.”
“Where could a key be put, so little likely to be found by the Wild
Rose, as among coarse clothes?”
Deerslayer started, and turning to his friend with admiration expressed
in every lineament of his face, he fairly laughed, in his silent but
hearty manner, at the ingenuity and readiness of the conjecture.
“Your name's well bestowed, Sarpent--yes, 'tis well bestowed! Sure
enough, where would a lover of finery be so little likely to s'arch, as
among garments as coarse and onseemly as these of poor Hetty's. I dares
to say, Judith's delicate fingers haven't touched a bit of cloth
as rough and oncomely as that petticoat, now, since she first made
acquaintance with the officers! Yet, who knows? The key may be as likely
to be on the same peg, as in any other place. Take down the garment,
Delaware, and let us see if you are ra'ally a prophet.” Chingachgook
did as desired, but no key was found. A coarse pocket, apparently empty,
hung on the adjoining peg, and this was next examined. By this time,
the attention of Judith was called in that direction, and she spoke
hurriedly and like one who wished to save unnecessary trouble.
“Those are only the clothes of poor Hetty, dear simple girl!” she said,
“Nothing we seek would be likely to be there.”
The words were hardly out of the handsome mouth of the speaker, when
Chingachgook drew the desired key from the pocket. Judith was too quick
of apprehension not to understand the reason a hiding place so simple
and exposed had been used. The blood rushed to her face, as much with
resentment, perhaps, as with shame, and she bit her lip, though she
continued silent. Deerslayer and his friend now discovered the delicacy
of men of native refinement, neither smiling or even by a glance
betraying how completely he understood the motives and ingenuity of this
clever artifice. The former, who had taken the key from the Indian, led
the way into the adjoining room, and applying it to a lock ascertained
that the right instrument had actually been found. There were three
padlocks, each of which however was easily opened by this single key.
Deerslayer removed them all, loosened the hasps, raised the lid a little
to make certain it was loose, and then he drew back from the chest
several feet, signing to his friend to follow.
“This is a family chist, Judith,” he said, “and 'tis like to hold family
secrets. The Sarpent and I will go into the Ark, and look to the canoes,
and paddles, and oars, while you can examine it by yourself, and find
out whether any thing that will be a make-weight in a ransom is, or is
not, among the articles. When you've got through give us a call, and
we'll all sit in council together touching the valie of the articles.”
“Stop, Deerslayer,” exclaimed the girl, as he was about to withdraw.
“Not a single thing will I touch--I will not even raise the lid--unless
you are present. Father and Hetty have seen fit to keep the inside of
this chest a secret from me, and I am much too proud to pry into their
hidden treasures unless it were for their own good. But on no account
will I open the chest alone. Stay with me, then; I want witnesses of
what I do.”
“I rather think, Sarpent, that the gal is right! Confidence and reliance
beget security, but suspicion is like to make us all wary. Judith has a
right to ask us to be present, and should the chist hold any of Master
Hutter's secrets, they will fall into the keeping of two as close
mouthed young men as are to be found. We will stay with you, Judith--but
first let us take a look at the lake and the shore, for this chist will
not be emptied in a minute.”
The two men now went out on the platform, and Deerslayer swept the shore
with the glass, while the Indian gravely turned his eye on the water and
the woods, in quest of any sign that might betray the machinations
of their enemies. Nothing was visible, and assured of their temporary
security, the three collected around the chest again, with the avowed
object of opening it.
Judith had held this chest and its unknown contents in a species of
reverence as long as she could remember. Neither her father nor her
mother ever mentioned it in her presence, and there appeared to be a
silent convention that in naming the different objects that occasionally
stood near it, or even lay on its lid, care should be had to avoid any
allusion to the chest itself. Habit had rendered this so easy, and so
much a matter of course, that it was only quite recently the girl had
began even to muse on the singularity of the circumstance. But there had
never been sufficient intimacy between Hutter and his eldest daughter to
invite confidence. At times he was kind, but in general, with her more
especially, he was stern and morose. Least of all had his authority been
exercised in a way to embolden his child to venture on the liberty she
was about to take, without many misgivings of the consequences, although
the liberty proceeded from a desire to serve himself. Then Judith was
not altogether free from a little superstition on the subject of this
chest, which had stood a sort of tabooed relic before her eyes from
childhood to the present hour. Nevertheless the time had come when
it would seem that this mystery was to be explained, and that under
circumstances, too, which left her very little choice in the matter.
Finding that both her companions were watching her movements, in grave
silence, Judith placed a hand on the lid and endeavored to raise it. Her
strength, however, was insufficient, and it appeared to the girl, who
was fully aware that all the fastenings were removed, that she was
resisted in an unhallowed attempt by some supernatural power.
“I cannot raise the lid, Deerslayer!” she said--“Had we not better give
up the attempt, and find some other means of releasing the prisoners?”
“Not so--Judith; not so, gal. No means are as sartain and easy, as a
good bribe,” answered the other. “As for the lid, 'tis held by nothing
but its own weight, which is prodigious for so small a piece of wood,
loaded with iron as it is.”
As Deerslayer spoke, he applied his own strength to the effort, and
succeeded in raising the lid against the timbers of the house, where he
took care to secure it by a sufficient prop. Judith fairly trembled
as she cast her first glance at the interior, and she felt a temporary
relief in discovering that a piece of canvas, that was carefully tucked
in around the edges, effectually concealed all beneath it. The chest was
apparently well stored, however, the canvas lying within an inch of the
lid.
“Here's a full cargo,” said Deerslayer, eyeing the arrangement, “and
we had needs go to work leisurely and at our ease. Sarpent, bring some
stools while I spread this blanket on the floor, and then we'll begin
work orderly and in comfort.”
The Delaware complied, Deerslayer civilly placed a stool for Judith,
took one himself, and commenced the removal of the canvas covering.
This was done deliberately, and in as cautious a manner as if it were
believed that fabrics of a delicate construction lay hidden beneath.
When the canvass was removed, the first articles that came in view were
some of the habiliments of the male sex. They were of fine materials,
and, according to the fashions of the age, were gay in colours and rich
in ornaments. One coat in particular was of scarlet, and had button
holes worked in gold thread. Still it was not military, but was part of
the attire of a civilian of condition, at a period when social rank
was rigidly respected in dress. Chingachgook could not refrain from an
exclamation of pleasure, as soon as Deerslayer opened this coat and held
it up to view, for, notwithstanding all his trained self-command, the
splendor of the vestment was too much for the philosophy of an Indian.
Deerslayer turned quickly, and he regarded his friend with momentary
displeasure as this burst of weakness escaped him, and then he
soliloquized, as was his practice whenever any strong feeling suddenly
got the ascendancy.
“'Tis his gift!--yes, 'tis the gift of a red-skin to love finery, and
he is not to be blamed. This is an extr'ornary garment, too, and
extr'ornary things get up extr'ornary feelin's. I think this will do,
Judith, for the Indian heart is hardly to be found in all America that
can withstand colours like these, and glitter like that. If this coat
was ever made for your father, you've come honestly by the taste for
finery, you have.”
“That coat was never made for father,” answered the girl, quickly--“it
is much too long, while father is short and square.”
“Cloth was plenty if it was, and glitter cheap,” answered Deerslayer,
with his silent, joyous laugh. “Sarpent, this garment was made for a man
of your size, and I should like to see it on your shoulders.”
Chingachgook, nothing loath, submitted to the trial, throwing aside the
coarse and thread bare jacket of Hutter, to deck his person in a coat
that was originally intended for a gentleman. The transformation was
ludicrous, but as men are seldom struck with incongruities in their own
appearance, any more than in their own conduct, the Delaware studied
this change in a common glass, by which Hutter was in the habit of
shaving, with grave interest. At that moment he thought of Hist, and
we owe it to truth, to say, though it may militate a little against the
stern character of a warrior to avow it, that he wished he could be seen
by her in his present improved aspect.
“Off with it, Sarpent--off with it,” resumed the inflexible Deerslayer.
“Such garments as little become you as they would become me. Your gifts
are for paint, and hawk's feathers, and blankets, and wampum, and mine
are for doublets of skins, tough leggings, and sarviceable moccasins.
I say moccasins, Judith, for though white, living as I do in the woods
it's necessary to take to some of the practyces of the woods, for
comfort's sake and cheapness.”
“I see no reason, Deerslayer, why one man may not wear a scarlet coat,
as well as another,” returned the girl. “I wish I could see you in this
handsome garment.”
“See me in a coat fit for a Lord!--Well, Judith, if you wait till that
day, you'll wait until you see me beyond reason and memory. No--no--gal,
my gifts are my gifts, and I'll live and die in 'em, though I never
bring down another deer, or spear another salmon. What have I done that
you should wish to see me in such a flaunting coat, Judith?”
“Because I think, Deerslayer, that the false-tongued and false-hearted
young gallants of the garrisons, ought not alone to appear in fine
feathers, but that truth and honesty have their claims to be honored and
exalted.”
“And what exaltification”--the reader will have remarked that Deerslayer
had not very critically studied his dictionary--“and what exaltification
would it be to me, Judith, to be bedizened and bescarleted like a Mingo
chief that has just got his presents up from Quebec? No--no--I'm well as
I am; and if not, I can be no better. Lay the coat down on the blanket,
Sarpent, and let us look farther into the chist.”
The tempting garment, one surely that was never intended for Hutter, was
laid aside, and the examination proceeded. The male attire, all of which
corresponded with the coat in quality, was soon exhausted, and then
succeeded female. A beautiful dress of brocade, a little the worse
from negligent treatment, followed, and this time open exclamations of
delight escaped the lips of Judith. Much as the girl had been addicted
to dress, and favorable as had been her opportunities of seeing
some little pretension in that way among the wives of the different
commandants, and other ladies of the forts, never before had she beheld
a tissue, or tints, to equal those that were now so unexpectedly placed
before her eyes. Her rapture was almost childish, nor would she allow
the inquiry to proceed, until she had attired her person in a robe so
unsuited to her habits and her abode. With this end, she withdrew into
her own room, where with hands practised in such offices, she soon got
rid of her own neat gown of linen, and stood forth in the gay tints of
the brocade. The dress happened to fit the fine, full person of Judith,
and certainly it had never adorned a being better qualified by natural
gifts to do credit to its really rich hues and fine texture. When she
returned, both Deerslayer and Chingachgook, who had passed the brief
time of her absence in taking a second look at the male garments, arose
in surprise, each permitting exclamations of wonder and pleasure to
escape him, in a way so unequivocal as to add new lustre to the eyes
of Judith, by flushing her cheeks with a glow of triumph. Affecting,
however, not to notice the impression she had made, the girl seated
herself with the stateliness of a queen, desiring that the chest might
be looked into, further.
“I don't know a better way to treat with the Mingos, gal,” cried
Deerslayer, “than to send you ashore as you be, and to tell 'em that a
queen has arrived among 'em! They'll give up old Hutter, and Hurry, and
Hetty, too, at such a spectacle!”
“I thought your tongue too honest to flatter, Deerslayer,” returned the
girl, gratified at this admiration more than she would have cared to
own. “One of the chief reasons of my respect for you, was your love for
truth.”
“And 'tis truth, and solemn truth, Judith, and nothing else. Never did
eyes of mine gaze on as glorious a lookin' creatur' as you be yourself,
at this very moment! I've seen beauties in my time, too, both white and
red; and them that was renowned and talk'd of, far and near; but never
have I beheld one that could hold any comparison with what you are at
this blessed instant, Judith; never.”
The glance of delight which the girl bestowed on the frank-speaking
hunter in no degree lessened the effect of her charms, and as the
humid eyes blended with it a look of sensibility, perhaps Judith never
appeared more truly lovely, than at what the young man had called that
“blessed instant.” He shook his head, held it suspended a moment
over the open chest, like one in doubt, and then proceeded with the
examination.
Several of the minor articles of female dress came next, all of a
quality to correspond with the gown. These were laid at Judith's feet,
in silence, as if she had a natural claim to their possession. One or
two, such as gloves, and lace, the girl caught up, and appended to her
already rich attire in affected playfulness, but with the real design
of decorating her person as far as circumstances would allow. When
these two remarkable suits, male and female they might be termed, were
removed, another canvas covering separated the remainder of the
articles from the part of the chest which they had occupied. As soon
as Deerslayer perceived this arrangement he paused, doubtful of the
propriety of proceeding any further.
“Every man has his secrets, I suppose,” he said, “and all men have
a right to their enj'yment. We've got low enough in this chist in my
judgment to answer our wants, and it seems to me we should do well by
going no farther; and by letting Master Hutter have to himself, and his
own feelin's, all that's beneath this cover.
“Do you mean, Deerslayer, to offer these clothes to the Iroquois as
ransom?” demanded Judith, quickly.
“Sartain. What are we prying into another man's chist for, but to sarve
its owner in the best way we can. This coat, alone, would be very apt
to gain over the head chief of the riptyles, and if his wife or darter
should happen to be out with him, that there gownd would soften the
heart of any woman that is to be found atween Albany and Montreal. I do
not see that we want a larger stock in trade than them two articles.”
“To you it may seem so, Deerslayer,” returned the disappointed girl,
“but of what use could a dress like this be to any Indian woman? She
could not wear it among the branches of the trees, the dirt and smoke of
the wigwam would soon soil it, and how would a pair of red arms appear,
thrust through these short, laced sleeves!”
“All very true, gal, and you might go on and say it is altogether out of
time, and place and season, in this region at all. What is it to us how
the finery is treated, so long as it answers our wishes? I do not see
that your father can make any use of such clothes, and it's lucky he has
things that are of no valie to himself, that will bear a high price with
others. We can make no better trade for him, than to offer these duds
for his liberty. We'll throw in the light frivol'ties, and get Hurry off
in the bargain.”
“Then you think, Deerslayer, that Thomas Hutter has no one in his
family--no child--no daughter, to whom this dress may be thought
becoming, and whom you could wish to see in it, once and awhile, even
though it should be at long intervals, and only in playfulness?”
“I understand you, Judith--yes, I now understand your meaning, and I
think I can say, your wishes. That you are as glorious in that dress as
the sun when it rises or sets in a soft October day, I'm ready to allow,
and that you greatly become it is a good deal more sartain than that it
becomes you. There's gifts in clothes, as well as in other things. Now
I do not think that a warrior on his first path ought to lay on the same
awful paints as a chief that has had his virtue tried, and knows from
exper'ence he will not disgrace his pretensions. So it is with all of
us, red or white. You are Thomas Hutter's darter, and that gownd was
made for the child of some governor, or a lady of high station, and it
was intended to be worn among fine furniture, and in rich company. In
my eyes, Judith, a modest maiden never looks more becoming than when
becomingly clad, and nothing is suitable that is out of character.
Besides, gal, if there's a creatur' in the colony that can afford to
do without finery, and to trust to her own good looks and sweet
countenance, it's yourself.”
“I'll take off the rubbish this instant, Deerslayer,” cried the girl,
springing up to leave the room, “and never do I wish to see it on any
human being, again.”
“So it is with 'em, all, Sarpent,” said the other, turning to his friend
and laughing, as soon as the beauty had disappeared. “They like finery,
but they like their natyve charms most of all. I'm glad the gal has
consented to lay aside her furbelows, howsever, for it's ag'in reason
for one of her class to wear em; and then she is handsome enough, as I
call it, to go alone. Hist would show oncommon likely, too, in such a
gownd, Delaware!”
“Wah-ta-Wah is a red-skin girl, Deerslayer,” returned the Indian, “like
the young of the pigeon, she is to be known by her own feathers. I
should pass by without knowing her, were she dressed in such a skin.
It's wisest always to be so clad that our friends need not ask us for
our names. The 'Wild Rose' is very pleasant, but she is no sweeter for
so many colours.”
“That's it!--that's natur', and the true foundation for love and
protection. When a man stoops to pick a wild strawberry, he does not
expect to find a melon; and when he wishes to gather a melon, he's
disapp'inted if it proves to be a squash; though squashes be often
brighter to the eye than melons. That's it, and it means stick to your
gifts, and your gifts will stick to you.”
The two men had now a little discussion together, touching the propriety
of penetrating any farther into the chest of Hutter, when Judith
re-appeared, divested of her robes, and in her own simple linen frock
again.
“Thank you, Judith,” said Deerslayer, taking her kindly by the hand--“for
I know it went a little ag'in the nat'ral cravings of woman, to lay
aside so much finery, as it might be in a lump. But you're more pleasing
to the eye as you stand, you be, than if you had a crown on your head,
and jewels dangling from your hair. The question now is, whether to lift
this covering to see what will be ra'ally the best bargain we can make
for Master Hutter, for we must do as we think he would be willing to do,
did he stand here in our places.”
Judith looked very happy. Accustomed as she was to adulation, the homely
homage of Deerslayer had given her more true satisfaction, than she had
ever yet received from the tongue of man. It was not the terms in which
this admiration had been expressed, for they were simple enough, that
produced so strong an impression; nor yet their novelty, or their warmth
of manner, nor any of those peculiarities that usually give value to
praise; but the unflinching truth of the speaker, that carried his
words so directly to the heart of the listener. This is one of the
great advantages of plain dealing and frankness. The habitual and wily
flatterer may succeed until his practices recoil on himself, and like
other sweets his aliment cloys by its excess; but he who deals honestly,
though he often necessarily offends, possesses a power of praising that
no quality but sincerity can bestow, since his words go directly to
the heart, finding their support in the understanding. Thus it was with
Deerslayer and Judith. So soon and so deeply did this simple hunter
impress those who knew him with a conviction of his unbending honesty,
that all he uttered in commendation was as certain to please, as all he
uttered in the way of rebuke was as certain to rankle and excite enmity,
where his character had not awakened a respect and affection, that in
another sense rendered it painful. In after life, when the career of
this untutored being brought him in contact with officers of rank, and
others entrusted with the care of the interests of the state, this same
influence was exerted on a wider field, even generals listening to his
commendations with a glow of pleasure, that it was not always in the
power of their official superiors to awaken. Perhaps Judith was the
first individual of his own colour who fairly submitted to this natural
consequence of truth and fair-dealing on the part of Deerslayer. She had
actually pined for his praise, and she had now received it, and that
in the form which was most agreeable to her weaknesses and habits of
thought. The result will appear in the course of the narrative.
“If we knew all that chest holds, Deerslayer,” returned the girl, when
she had a little recovered from the immediate effect produced by his
commendations of her personal appearance, “we could better determine on
the course we ought to take.”
“That's not onreasonable, gal, though it's more a pale-face than a
red-skin gift to be prying into other people's secrets.”
“Curiosity is natural, and it is expected that all human beings should
have human failings. Whenever I've been at the garrisons, I've found
that most in and about them had a longing to learn their neighbor's
secrets.”
“Yes, and sometimes to fancy them, when they couldn't find 'em out!
That's the difference atween an Indian gentleman and a white gentleman.
The Sarpent, here, would turn his head aside if he found himself
onknowingly lookin' into another chief's wigwam, whereas in the
settlements while all pretend to be great people, most prove they've
got betters, by the manner in which they talk of their consarns. I'll be
bound, Judith, you wouldn't get the Sarpent, there, to confess there
was another in the tribe so much greater than himself, as to become the
subject of his idees, and to empl'y his tongue in conversations about
his movements, and ways, and food, and all the other little matters that
occupy a man when he's not empl'y'd in his greater duties. He who does
this is but little better than a blackguard, in the grain, and them that
encourages him is pretty much of the same kidney, let them wear coats as
fine as they may, or of what dye they please.”
“But this is not another man's wigwam; it belongs to my father, these
are his things, and they are wanted in his service.”
“That's true, gal; that's true, and it carries weight with it. Well,
when all is before us we may, indeed, best judge which to offer for the
ransom, and which to withhold.”
Judith was not altogether as disinterested in her feelings as she
affected to be. She remembered that the curiosity of Hetty had
been indulged in connection with this chest, while her own had been
disregarded, and she was not sorry to possess an opportunity of being
placed on a level with her less gifted sister in this one particular. It
appearing to be admitted all round that the enquiry into the contents of
the chest ought to be renewed, Deerslayer proceeded to remove the second
covering of canvass.
The articles that lay uppermost, when the curtain was again raised on
the secrets of the chest, were a pair of pistols, curiously inlaid with
silver. Their value would have been considerable in one of the towns,
though as weapons in the woods they were a species of arms seldom
employed; never, indeed, unless it might be by some officer from
Europe, who visited the colonies, as many were then wont to do, so much
impressed with the superiority of the usages of London as to fancy they
were not to be laid aside on the frontiers of America. What occurred on
the discovery of these weapons will appear in the succeeding chapter.