“When lo! the voice of loud alarm
His inmost soul appals:
What ho! Lord William, rise in haste!
The water saps thy walls!”
_Lord William_.
The visit to Madam Schuyler occurred of a Saturday evening; and the matter
of our adventure in company with Jack and Moses, was to be decided on the
following Monday. When I rose and looked out of my window on the Sunday
morning, however, there appeared but very little prospect of its being
effected that spring, inasmuch as it rained heavily, and there was a fresh
south wind. We had reached the 21st of March, a period of the year when a
decided thaw was not only ominous to the sleighing, but when it actually
predicted a permanent breaking up of the winter. The season had been late,
and it was thought the change could not be distant.
The rain and south wind continued all that day, and torrents of water came
rushing down the short, steep streets, effectually washing away everything
like snow. Mr. Worden preached, notwithstanding, and to a very respectable
congregation. Dirck and myself attended; but Jason preferred sitting out a
double half-hour glass sermon in the Dutch church, delivered in a language
of which he understood very little, to lending his countenance to the rites
of the English service. Both Anneke and Mary Wallace found their way up
the hill, going in a carriage; though I observed that Herman Mordaunt was
absent. Guert was in the gallery, in which we also sat; but I could not
avoid remarking that neither of the young ladies raised her eyes once,
during the whole service, as high as our pews. Guert whispered something
about this, as he hastened down stairs to hand them to their carriage,
when the congregation was dismissed, begging me, at the same time, to be
punctual to the appointment for the next day. What he meant by this last
remembrancer, I did not understand; for the hills were beginning to exhibit
their bare breasts, and it was somewhat surprising with what rapidity a
rather unusual amount of snow had disappeared. I had no opportunity to
ask an explanation, as Guert was too busy in placing the ladies in the
carriage, and the weather was not such as to admit of my remaining a moment
longer in the street than was indispensably necessary.
A change occurred in the weather during the night, the rain having ceased,
though the atmosphere continued mild, and the wind was still from the
south. It was the commencement of the spring; and, as I walked round to
Guert Ten Eyck's house, to meet him at breakfast, I observed that several
vehicles with wheels were already in motion in the streets, and that divers
persons appeared to be putting away their sleighs and sleds, as things of
no further use, until the next winter. Our springs do not certainly come
upon us as suddenly as some of which I have read, in the old world; but
when the snow and winter endure as far into March as had been the case with
that of the year 1758, the change is often nearly magical.
“Here, then, is the spring opening,” I said to Dirck, as we walked along
the well-washed streets; “and, in a few weeks, we must be off to the bush.
Our business on the Patent must be got along with, before the troops are
put in motion, or we may lose the opportunity of seeing a campaign.”
With such expectations and feelings I entered Guert's bachelor abode;
and the first words I uttered, were to sympathize in his supposed
disappointment.
“It is a great pity you did not propose the drive to the ladies for
Saturday,” I began; “for that was not only a mild day, but the sleighing
was excellent. As it is, you will have to postpone your triumph until next
winter.”
“I do not understand you!” cried Guert; “Jack and Moses never were in
better heart, or in better condition. I think they are equal to going to
Kinderhook in two hours!”
“But who will furnish the roads with snow? By looking out of the window,
you will see that the streets are nearly bare.”
“Streets and roads! Who cares for either, while we have the river? We often
use the river here, weeks at a time, when the snow has left us. The ice has
been remarkably even the whole of this winter, and, now the snow is off it,
there will be no danger from the air-holes.”
I confess I did not much like the notion of travelling twenty miles on the
ice, but was far too much of a man to offer any objections.
We breakfasted, and proceeded in a body to the residence of Herman
Mordaunt. When the ladies first heard that we had come to claim the
redemption of the half-promise given at Madam Schuyler's, their surprise
was not less than mine had been, half an hour before, while their
uneasiness was probably greater.
“Surely, Jack and Moses cannot exhibit all their noble qualities without
snow!” exclaimed Anneke, laughing, “Ten Eycks though they be!”
“We Albanians have the advantage of travelling on the ice, when the
snow fails us,” answered Guert. “Here is the river, near by, and never was
the sleighing on it, better than at this moment.”
“But, it has been many times safer, I should think. This looks very much
like the breaking up of winter!”
“That is probable enough, and so much greater the reason why we should not
delay, if you and Miss Mary ever intend to learn what the blacks can do. It
is for the honour of Holland that I desire it, else would I not presume so
far. I feel every condescension of this sort, that I receive from you two
ladies, in a way I cannot express; for no one Knows, better than myself,
how unworthy I am of your smallest notice.”
This brought the signs of yielding, at once, into the mild countenance of
Mary Wallace. Guert's self-humiliation never failed to do this. There was
so much obvious truth in his admission, so sincere a disposition to place
himself where nature and education, or a _want_ of education had placed
him, and most of all, so profound a deference for the mental superiority of
Mary herself, that the female heart found it impossible to resist. To my
surprise, Guert's mistress, contrary to her habit in such things, was the
first to join him, and to second his proposal. Herman Mordaunt entering the
room at this instant, the whole thing was referred to him, as in reason it
ought to have been.
“I remember to have travelled on the Hudson, a few years since,” returned
Herman Mordaunt, “the entire distance between Albany and Sing-Sing, and
a very good time we had of it; much better than had we gone by land, for
there was little or no snow.”
“Just our case now, Miss Anneke!” cried Guert. “Good sleighing on the
river, but none on the land.”
“Was that near the end of March, dear Papa?” asked Anneke, a little
inquiringly.
“No, certainly not, for it was early in February, But the ice, at this
moment, must be near eighteen inches thick, and strong enough to bear a
load of hay.”
“Yes, Masser Herman,” observed Cato, a grey-headed black, who had never
called his master by any other name, having known him from an infant; “yes,
Masser Herman, a load do come over dis minute.”
It appeared unreasonable to distrust the strength of the ice, after this
proof to the contrary, and Anneke submitted. The party was arranged
forthwith, and in the following manner:--The two ladies, Guert and myself,
were to be drawn by the blacks, while Herman Mordaunt, Dirck, and any one
else they could enlist, were to follow in the New York sleigh. It was hoped
that an elderly female connection, Mrs. Bogart, who resided at Albany,
would consent to be of the party, as the plan was to visit and dine with
another and a mutual connection of the Mordaunts, at Kinderhook, While the
sleighs were getting ready, Herman Mordaunt walked round to the house of
Mrs. Bogart, made his request, and was successful.
The clock in the tower of the English church struck ten, as both sleighs
drove from Herman Mordaunt's door. There was literally no snow in the
middle of the streets; but enough of it, mingled with ice, was still to be
found nearer the houses, to enable us to get down to the ferry, the point
where sleighs usually went upon the river. Here Herman Mordaunt, who was in
advance, checked his horses, and turned to speak to Guert on the propriety
of proceeding. The ice near the shore had evidently been moved, the river
having risen a foot or two, in consequence of the wind and the thaw, and
there was a sort of icy wave cast up near the land, over which it was
indispensable to pass, in order to get fairly on the river. As the top of
this ridge, or wave, was broken, it exposed a fissure that enabled us to
see the thickness of the ice, and this Guert pointed out in proof of its
strength. There was nothing unusual in a small movement of the covering of
the river, which the current often produces; but, unless the vast fields
below got in motion, it was impossible for those above materially to change
their positions. Sleighs were passing, too, still bringing to town, hay
from the flats on the eastern bank, and there was no longer any hesitation.
Herman Mordaunt's sleigh passed slowly over the ridge, having a care to the
legs of the horses, and ours followed in the same cautious manner, though
the blacks jumped across the fissure in spite of their master's exertions.
Once on the river, however, Guert gave his blacks the whip and rein, and
away we went like the wind. The smooth, icy surface of the Hudson was our
road, the thaw having left very few traces of any track. The water had
all passed beneath the ice, through cracks and fissures of one sort and
another, leaving us an even, dry, surface to trot on. The wind was still
southerly, though scarcely warm, while a bright sun contributed to render
our excursion as gay to the eye, as it certainly was to our feelings. In
a few minutes every trace of uneasiness had vanished. Away we went, the
blacks doing full credit to their owner's boasts, seeming scarcely to touch
tke ice, from which their feet appeared to rebound with a sort of elastic
force. Herman Mordaunt's bays followed on our heels, and the sleighs had
passed over the well-known shoal of the Overslaugh, within the first twenty
minutes after they touched the river.
Every northern American is familiar with the effect that the motion of a
sleigh produces on the spirits, under favourable circumstances. Had our
party been altogether composed of Albanians, there would probably have been
no drawback on the enjoyment, for use would have prevented apprehension;
but it required the few minutes I have mentioned to give Anneke and Mary
Wallace full confidence in the ice. By the time we reached the Overslaugh,
however, their fears had vanished; and Guert confirmed their sense of
security, by telling them to listen to the sounds produced by his horses'
hoofs, which certainty conveyed the impression of moving on a solid
foundation.
Mary Wallace had never before been so gay in my presence, as she appeared
to be that morning. Once, or twice, I fancied her eyes almost as bright as
those of Anneke's, and certainly her laugh was as sweet and musical. Both
the girls were full of spirits, and some little things occurred that
gave me hopes Bulstrode had no reason to fancy himself as secure, as he
sometimes seemed to be. A casual remark of Guert's had the effect to bring
out some of Anneke's private sentiments on the subject; or, at least, so
they appeared to be to me.
“I am surprised that Mr. Mordaunt forgot to invite Mr. Bulstrode to be one
of our party, to-day,” cried Guert, when we were below the Overslaugh. “The
Major loves sleighing, and he would have filled the fourth seat, in the
other sleigh, very agreeably. As for coming into this, that would be
refused him, were he even a general!”
“Mr. Bulstrode is English,” answered Anneke, with spirit, “and fancies
American amusements beneath the tastes of one who has been presented at the
Court of St. James.”
“Well, Miss Anneke, I cannot say that I agree with you at all, in this
opinion of Mr. Bulstrode,” Guert returned, innocently. “It is true, he is
English; that he fancies an advantage, as does Corny Littlepage, here; but
we must make proper allowances for home-love and foreign-dislike.”
“'Corny Littlepage, here,' is only _half_ English, and that half is
colony-born and colony-bred,” answered the laughing girl, “and he has loved
a sleigh from the time when he first slid down hill--”
“Ah! Miss Anneke--let me entreat--”
“Oh! no allusion is intended to the Dutch church and its
neighbourhood;--but, the sports of childhood are always dear to us, as are
sometimes the discomforts. Habit and prejudice are sister hand-maidens; and
I never see one of these gentlemen from home, taking extraordinary interest
in any of our peculiarly colony usages, but I distrusted an extra amount of
complaisance, or a sort of enjoyment in which we do not strictly share.”
“Is this altogether liberal to Bulstrode, Miss Anneke,” I ventured to put
in; “he seems to like us, and I am sure he has good reason so to do. That
he likes _some_ of us, is too apparent to be concealed or denied.”
“Mr. Bulstrode is a skilful actor, as all who saw his Cato must be aware,”
retorted the charming girl, compressing her pouting lips in a way that
seemed to me to be inexpressibly pleasing; “and those who saw his Scrub
must be equally convinced of the versatility of his talents. No, no; Major
Bulstrode is better where he is, or will be to-day, at four o'clock--at the
head of the mess of the ----th, instead of dining in a snug Dutch parlour,
with my cousin, worthy Mrs. van der Heyden, at a dinner got up with colony
hospitality, and colony good-will, and colony plainness. The entertainment
we shall receive to-day, sweetened, as it will be, by the welcome which
will come from the heart, can have no competitor in countries where a
messenger must be sent two days before the visit, to ask permission to
come, in order to escape cold looks and artificial surprise. I would prefer
surprising my friends from the heart, instead of from the head.”
Guert expressed his astonishment that any one should not always be glad
and willing to receive his friends; and insisted on it, that no such
inhospitable customs _could_ exist. I knew, however, that society could not
exist on the same terms, in old and in new countries--among a people that
was pressed upon by numbers, and a people that had not yet felt the evils
of a superabundant population. Americans are like dwellers in the country,
who are always glad to see their friends; and I ventured to say something
of the causes of these differences in habits.
Nothing occurred worthy of being dwelt on, in our ride to Kinderhook. Mrs.
Van der Heyden resided at a short distance from the river, and the blacks
and the bays had some little difficulty in dragging us through the mud to
her door. Once there, however, our welcome fully verified the theory of
the colony habits, which had been talked over in our drive down. Anneke's
worthy connection was not only glad to see her, as anybody might have been,
but she would have been glad to receive as many as her house would hold.
Few excuses were necessary, for we were all welcome. The visit would retard
her dinner an hour, as was frankly admitted--but that was nothing; and
cakes and wine were set before us in the interval, did we feel hungry in
consequence of a two hours' ride. Guert was desired to make free, and go to
the stables to give his own orders. In a word, our reception was just that
which every colonist has experienced, when he has gone unexpectedly to
visit a friend, or a friend's friend. Our dinner was excellent, though not
accompanied by much form. The wine was good; Mrs. van der Heyden's deceased
husband having been a judge of what was desirable in that respect.
Everybody was in good-humour; and our hostess insisted on giving us coffee
before we took our departure.
“There will be a moon, cousin Herman,” she said, “and the night will be
both light and pleasant. Guert knows the road, which cannot well be missed,
as it is the river; and if you quit me at eight, you will reach home in
good season to go to rest. It is so seldom I see you, that I have a
right to claim every minute you can spare. There remains much to be told
concerning our old friends and mutual relatives.”
When such words are accompanied by looks and acts that prove their
sincerity, it is not easy to tear ourselves away from a pleasant house. We
chatted on, laughed, listened to stories and colony anecdotes that carried
us back to the last war, and heard a great many eulogiums on beaux and
belles, that we young people had, all our lives, considered as respectable,
elderly, commonplace sort of persons.
At length the hour arrived when even Mrs. Bogart herself admitted we ought
to part. Anneke and Mary were kissed, enveloped in their furs, and kissed
again, and then we took our leave. As we left the house, I remarked that a
clock in the passage struck eight. In a few minutes every one was placed,
and the runners were striking fire from the flints of the bare ground. We
had less difficulty in descending than in ascending the bank of the river,
though there was no snow. It did not absolutely freeze, nor had it actually
frozen since the commencement of the thaw, but the earth had stiffened
since the disappearance of the sun. I was much rejoiced when the blacks
sprang upon the ice, and whirled us away, on our return road at a rate even
exceeding the speed with which they had come down it in the morning. I
thought it high time we should be in motion on our return; and in motion
we were, if flying at the rate of eleven miles in the hour could thus be
termed.
The light of the moon was not clear and bright, for there was a haze in the
atmosphere, as is apt to occur in the mild weather of March; but there was
enough to enable Guert to dash ahead with as great a velocity as was at all
desirable. We were all in high spirits; us two young men so much the more,
because each of us fancied he had seen that day evidence of a tender
interest existing in the heart of his mistress towards himself. Mary
Wallace had managed, with a woman's tact, to make her suitor appear even
respectable in female society, and had brought out in him many sentiments
that denoted a generous disposition and a manly heart, if not a cultivated
intellect; and Guert was getting confidence, and with it the means of
giving his capacity fairer play. As for Anneke, she now knew my aim, and I
had some right to construe several little symptoms of feeling, that escaped
her in the course of the day, favourably. I fancied that, gentle as it
always was, her voice grew softer, and her smile sweeter and more winning,
as she addressed herself to, or smiled on me; and she did just enough of
both not to appear distant, and just little enough to appear conscious; at
least such were the conjectures of one who I do not think could be properly
accused of too much confidence, and whose natural diffidence was much
increased by the self-distrust of the purest love.
Away we went, Guert's complicated chimes of bells jingling their merry
notes in a manner to be heard half a mile, the horses bearing hard on the
bits, for they knew that their own stables lay at the end of their journey,
and Herman Mordaunt's bays keeping so near us that, notwithstanding the
noise we made with our own bells, the sounds of his were constantly in our
ears. An hour went swiftly by, and we had already passed Coejeman's, and
had a hamlet that stretched along the strand, and which lay quite beneath
the high bank of the river, in dim distant view. This place has since been
known by the name of Monkey Town, and is a little remarkable as being the
first cluster of houses on the shores of the Hudson after quitting Albany.
I dare say it has another name in law, but Guert gave it the appellation I
have mentioned.
I have said that the night had a sombre, misty, light, the moon wading
across the heavens through a deep but thin ocean of vapour. We saw the
shores plainly enough, and we saw the houses and trees, but it was
difficult to distinguish smaller objects at any distance. In the course of
the day twenty sleighs had been met or passed, but at that hour everybody
but ourselves appeared to have deserted the river. It was getting late for
the simple habits of those who dwelt on its shores. When about half-way
between the islands opposite to Coejeman's and the hamlet just named,
Guert, who stood erect to drive, told us that some one who was out late,
like themselves, was coming down. The horses of the strangers were in a
very fast trot, and the sleigh was evidently inclining towards the west
shore, as if those it held intended to land at no great distance. As it
passed, quite swiftly, a man's voice called out something on a high key,
but our bells made so much noise that it was not easy to understand him. He
spoke in Dutch, too, and none of our ears, those of Guert excepted,
were sufficiently expert in that language to be particularly quick in
comprehending what he said. The call passed unheeded, then, such things
being quite frequent among the Dutch, who seldom passed each other on the
highway without a greeting of some sort or other. I was thinking of this
practice, and of the points that distinguished our own habits from those of
the people of this part of the colony, when sleigh-bells sounded quite near
me, and turning my head, I saw Herman Mordaunt's bays galloping close to
us, as if wishing to get alongside. At the next moment the object was
effected, and Guert pulled up.
“Did you understand the man who passed down, Guert?” demanded Herman
Mordaunt, as soon as all noises ceased.
“He called out to us, at the top of his voice, and would hardly do that
without an object.”
“These men seldom go home, after a visit to Albany, without filling their
jugs,” answered Guert, drily; “what could he have to say, more than to wish
us good-night?”
“I cannot tell, but Mrs. Bogart thought she understood something about
'Albany,' and 'the river.'”
“The ladies always fancy Albany is to sink into the river after a great
thaw,” answered Guert, good-humouredly; “but I can show either of them that
the ice is sixteen inches thick, here where we stand.”
Guert then gave me the reins, stepped out of the sleigh, went a short
distance to a large crack that he had seen while speaking, and returned
with a thumb placed on the handle of the whip, as a measure to show that
his statement was true. The ice, at that spot, was certainly nearer
eighteen than sixteen inches thick. Herman Mordaunt showed the measure
to Mrs. Bogart, whose alarm was pacified by this positive proof. Neither
Anneke nor Mary exhibited any fear; but, on the contrary, as the sleighs
separated again, each had something pleasant, but feminine, to say at the
expense of poor Mrs. Bogart's imagination.
I believe I was the only person in our own sleigh who felt any alarm, after
the occurrence of this little incident. Why uneasiness beset _me_, I cannot
precisely say. It must have been altogether on Anneke's account, and not in
the least on my own. Such accidents as sleighs breaking through, on our New
York lakes and rivers, happened almost every winter, and horses were often
drowned; though it was seldom the consequences proved so serious to their
owners. I recalled to mind the fragile nature of ice, the necessary effects
of the great thaw and the heavy rains, remembering that frozen water might
still retain most of its apparent thickness, after its consistency was
greatly impaired. But, I could do nothing! If we landed, the roads were
impassable for runners, almost for wheels, and another hour might carry
the ladies, by means of the river, to their comfortable homes. That day,
however, which, down to the moment of meeting the unknown sleigh, had been
the very happiest of my life, was entirely changed in its aspect, and I no
longer regarded it with any satisfaction. Had Anneke been at home, I could
gladly have entered into a contract to pass a week on the river myself,
as the condition of her safety, I thought but little of the others, to my
shame be it said, though I cannot do myself the injustice to imagine, had
Anneke been away, that I would have deserted even a horse, while there was
a hope of saving him.
Away we went! Guert drove rapidly, but he drove with judgment, and it
seemed as if his blacks knew what was expected of them. It was not long
before we were trotting past the hamlet I have mentioned. It would seem
that the bells of the two sleighs attracted the attention of the people on
the shore, all of whom had not yet gone to bed; for the door of a house
opened, and two men issued out of it, gazing at us as we trotted past at
a pace that defied pursuit. These men also hallooed to us, in Dutch, and
again Herman Mordaunt galloped up alongside, to speak to us.
“Did you understand these men?” he called out, for this time Guert did not
see fit to stop his horses; “they, too, had something to tell us.”
“These people always have something to tell an Albany sleigh, Mr.
Mordaunt,” answered Guert; “though it is not often that which it would do
any good to hear.”
“But Mrs. Bogart thinks they also had something to say about 'Albany,' and
the 'river.'”
“I understand Dutch as well as excellent Mrs. Bogart,” said Guert, a little
drily; “and I heard nothing; while I fancy I understand the river better.
This ice would bear a dozen loads of hay, in a close line.”
This again satisfied Herman Mordaunt and the ladies, but it did not satisfy
me. Our own bells made four times the noise of those of Herman Mordaunt;
and it was very possible that one, who understood Dutch perfectly, might
comprehend a call in that language, while seated in his own sleigh, when
the same call could not be comprehended by the same person, while seated in
Guert's. There was no pause, however; on we trotted; and another mile was
passed, before any new occurrence attracted attention.
The laugh was again heard among us, for Mary Wallace consented to sing
an air, that was rendered somewhat ludicrous by the accompaniment of the
bells. This song, or verse or two, for the singer got no further on account
of the interruption, had drawn Guert's and my attention behind us, or away
from the horses, when a whirling sound was heard, followed immediately by
a loud shout. A sleigh passed within ten yards of us, going down, and the
whirling sound was caused by its runners, while the shout came from a
solitary man, who stood erect, waving his whip and calling to us in a loud
voice, as long as he could be heard. This was but for a moment, however, as
his horses were on the run; and the last we could see of the man, through
the misty moon-light, he had turned his whip on his team, to urge it ahead
still faster. In an instant, Herman Mordaunt was at our side, for the third
time that night, and he called out to us somewhat authoritatively to stop.
“What can all this mean, Guert?” he asked. “Three times have we had
warnings about 'Albany' and the 'river.' I heard this man myself utter
those two words, and cannot be mistaken.”
“I dare say, sir, that you may have heard something of the sort,” answered
the still incredulous Guert; “for these chaps have generally some
impertinence to utter, when they pass a team that is better than their own.
These blacks of mine, Herman Mordaunt, awaken a good deal of envy, whenever
I go out with them; and a Dutchman will forgive you any other superiority,
sooner than he will overlook your having the best team. That last man had a
spur in his head, moreover, and is driving his cattle, at this moment, more
like a spook than like a humane and rational being, I dare say he asked if
we owned Albany and the river.”
Guert's allusion to his horses occasioned a general laugh; and laughter is
little favourable to cool reflection. We all looked out on the solemn and
silent night, cast our eyes along the wide and long reach of the river, in
which we happened to be, and saw nothing but the calm of nature, rendered
imposing by solitude and the stillness of the hour. Guert smilingly renewed
his assurances that all was right, and moved on. Away we went! Guert
evidently pressed his horses, as if desirous of being placed beyond this
anxiety as soon as possible. The blacks flew, rather than trotted; and we
were all beginning to submit to the exhilaration of so rapid and easy a
motion, when a sound which resembled that which one might suppose the
simultaneous explosion of a thousand rifles would produce, was heard, and
caused both drivers to pull up; the sleighs stopping quite near each other,
and at the same instant! A slight exclamation escaped old Mrs. Bogart; but
Anneke and Mary remained still as death.
“What means that sound, Guert?” inquired Herman Mordaunt; the concern he
felt being betrayed by the very tone of his voice. “Something seems wrong!”
“Something _is_ wrong,” answered Guert, coolly, but very decidedly; “and it
is something that must be seen to.”
As this was said, Guert stepped out on the ice, which he struck a hard blow
with the heel of his boot, as if to make certain of its solidity. A second
report was heard, and it evidently came from _behind_ us. Guert gazed
intently down the river; then he laid his head close to the surface of
the ice, and looked again. At the same time, three or four more of these
startling reports followed each other in quick succession. Guert instantly
rose to his feet.
“I understand it, now,” he said, “and find I have been rather too
confident. The ice, however, is safe and strong, and we have nothing to
fear from its weakness. Perhaps it would be better to quit the river
notwithstanding, though I am far from certain the better course will not be
to push on.”
“Let us know the danger at once, Mr. Ten Eyck,” said Herman Mordaunt, “that
we may decide for the best.”
“Why, sir, I am afraid that the rains and the thaw together, have thrown so
much water into the river, all at once, as it might be, as to have raised
the ice and broken it loose, in spots, from the shores. When this happens
_above_, before the ice has disappeared below, it sometimes causes dams to
form, which heap up such a weight as to break the whole plain of ice far
below it, and thus throw cakes over cakes until walls twenty or thirty
feet high are formed. This has not happened _yet_, therefore there is no
immediate danger; but by bending your heads low, you can see that such a
_break_ has just taken place about half a mile below us.”
We did as Guert directed, and saw that a mound had arisen across the river
nearer than the distance named by our companion, completely cutting off
retreat by the way we had come. The bank on the west side of the Hudson was
high at the point where we were, and looking intensely at it, I saw by the
manner in which the trees disappeared, the more distant behind those that
were nearer, that we were actually in motion! An involuntary exclamation
caused the whole party to comprehend this startling fact at the same
instant. We were certainly in motion, though very slowly, on the ice of
that swollen river, in the quiet and solitude of a night in which the moon
rather aided in making danger apparent than in assisting us to avoid it!
What was to be done? It was necessary to decide, and that promptly and
intelligently.
We waited for Herman Mordaunt to advise us, but he referred the matter at
once to Guert's greater experience.
“We cannot land here,” answered the young man, “so long as the ice is in
motion, and I think it better to push on. Every foot will bring us so much
nearer to Albany, and we shall get among the islands a mile or two higher,
where the chances of landing will be greatly increased. Besides, I have
often crossed the river on a cake, for they frequently stop, and I have
known even loaded sleighs profit by them to get over the river. As yet
there is nothing very alarming;--let us push on, and get nearer to the
islands.”
This, then, was done, though there was no longer heard the laugh or the
song among us. I could see that Herman Mordaunt was uneasy about Anneke,
though he could not bring her into his own sleigh, leaving Mary Wallace
alone; neither could he abandon his respectable connection, Mrs. Bogart.
Before we re-entered the sleighs, I took an occasion to assure him that
Anneke should be my especial care.
“God bless you, Corny, my dear boy,” Herman Mordaunt answered, squeezing
my hand with fervour. “God bless you, and enable you to protect her. I was
about to ask you to change seats with me; but, on the whole, I think my
child will be safer with you than she could be with me. We will await God's
pleasure as accident has placed us.”
“I will desert her only with life, Mr. Mordaunt. Be at ease on that
subject.”
“I know you will not--I am _sure_ you will not, Littlepage; that affair of
the lion is a pledge that you will not. Had Bulstrode come, we should have
been strong enough to----but Guert is impatient to be off. God bless you,
boy--God bless you. Do not neglect my child.”
Guert _was_ impatient, and no sooner was I in the sleigh than we were once
more in rapid motion. I said a few words to encourage the girls, and then
no sound of a human voice mingled with the gloomy scene.