Long before Sir John returned, or, indeed, long before we had any word
from him, I was dressed and making hourly essays at walking, first in
the house, then through the door-yard to the guard-house, where I
would sit in the hot sun and breathe the full-throated October winds.
Keen and sweet as apple-wine, the air I drank warmed and excited me;
my eyes grew clear and strong, my lean cheeks filled, my wasted limbs
once more began to bear me with the old-time lightness and delight.
Too, I found myself at times nosing the wind with half-closed eyes,
like a young hound too long kennelled, or sometimes listening, yet
lost in reverie, as hounds listen on winter nights, drowsing by the
dull fire.
A hundred little zephyrs that knew me whispered to me through open
windows. At night I caught the faint echo of the breezes' laughter
under the eaves; sometimes I heard the big wind stirring the dark
pines, so far away that none but I could hear it playing with the baby
breezes.
They were little friendly breezes, the spirits of spirits, with
dainty, familiar voices, too delicate to frighten the birds they
sometimes gossiped with. Even the slate-gray deer-mouse, with his
white belly, feared not my little friends, the winds; for oft I heard
him, in the creamy October moonlight, tuning his tiny elfin song to
the night wind's fluting.
On warm, spicy days Mr. Duncan and I would seek the stone church,
sitting silent for hours in the purple and crimson rays of the stained
window, watching the golden dust-bands slanting on the tomb.
The resentment of bitter grief had died out in my heart; sorrow had
been purged of selfishness; I felt the calm presence of the dead at my
elbow where'er I went. Strength and quiet came to me in voiceless
communion; high resolve, patience, and hope were bred within me under
the serene glow of those jewelled panes. On the gray-stone slab at my
feet, dreaming, I read the story of a noble life, "Keep faith with all
men," and here, in silence, I sought to read and understand the
changeless laws which shelter souls and mark the mile-stones of a
blameless life.
When the southwest sun hung gilding the clover, over miles of upland I
passed, as I had roamed with him, twisting the bronzing sweet-fern
from its woody stem, touching the silken milk-weed to set free its
floss, halting, breast-deep in crimsoning sumach, to mark the
headlong, whirling covey drive through the thorns into the purple
dusk.
His hounds bayed from their kennels; there was no one to cast them
free; and the red fox throttled the fowls by moonlight; and the lynx
squalled in the swamp. His horses trampled the stables till the oak
floors, reverberating, hummed thunder; there was no one to bit and
bridle them; the moorland clover swayed untrodden in the wind, and the
dun stag stamped the crag.
Night and day the river rushed to the sea; night and day the brooks
prattled to their pebbles, the slim salmon lay in the pools, the lithe
trout stemmed the gravel-rifts; but never a line whistled in the
silence, and never a scarlet feather-fly sailed on the waters among
the autumn leaves.
Yet, though land and water were lonely without him, I was not lonely,
for he walked with me always over the land he had known, and his voice
was in the soft, mild winds he loved so well.
With the memory of Silver Heels it was different. Every scented stem
of sweet-fern was redolent of her; every grass-blade quivered for her;
the winds called her all day long; the brooks whispered, "Where is
Silver Heels?"
Through our old play-grounds, in the orchard, on the stairs, through
the darkened school-room I followed, haunting the vanished
footsteps--gay, light, flying feet of the child I had loved so long,
unknowing.
Her stocks stood outside the nursery door; the brass key was on the
nail. In her dim chamber hung the scent of lavender, while through the
half-closed shutters a faint freshness crept, stirring the ghostly
curtains of her bed.
Wistfulness, doubt, tenderness, and sadness came and went like
sun-spots on an April day. I waited with delicious dread for her
return; I fretted, doubted, hoped, all in the same quick heart-beat,
which was not all pain. Only that ghost of happiness which men call
hope I knew in those long autumn days alone among the haunts of varied
yesterdays.
When the golden month drew near its end, amid the dropping glory of
the maple-leaves, one sun-drenched morning I awoke to hear the drums
and pipes skirling the march of "Tryon County Men":
"Hark to the horn in the dawn o' the morn!
Rally, whoever ye be;
For it's down Derry Down, and it's over the lea,
And it's saddle and bridle as sure as you're born!
Scattered and trampled and torn is the corn
As we ride to the war in the morning;
Down Derry Down!
Down Derry Down!
For we ride to the war in the morning!"
"Officer o' the guard! Turn out the guard!" bawled the sentry under my
window. As I looked out the drums came crashing past, and behind them
tramped the Highlanders, kilts and sporrans swinging, firelocks aslant
and claymore blades shining in the sun.
It was the new regiment organized by Sir John, picked men all, and
fierce partisans of the King, weeded from the militia regiment lately
disbanded at Johnstown by order of Governor Tryon.
Behind them, fifes squealing the "Huron," came the reorganized
battalion of yeomanry, now stripped clean of rebel suspects, and
rechristened "Johnson's Greens;" stout, brawny yokels with hats askew
and the green cockade veiled in crape, their hunting-shirts caped
triple and fringed deep in green wool, their powder-horns tasselled
and chased in silver gilt.
I watched them swinging north into the purple hills for their month's
training, the new order having arrived some eight days since from
Governor Tryon.
Leaning there in the casement, wrapped in my dressing-gown, I saw
Colonel Guy Johnson ride up to the block-house, dismount, and call
out Mr. Duncan. Then began a great bustle among the soldiers, for what
reason I did not understand, until a knocking at my door brought a
gillie with Colonel Guy Johnson's compliments, and would I dress in my
uniform to receive Sir John, who was expected for breakfast.
My heart began to beat madly; could it be possible that Sir John had
brought Silver Heels, after all? Doctor Pierson had said that she
would remain for the present in Boston; but perhaps Doctor Pierson did
not know everything that went on in the world.
To crush back hope from sheer dread of disappointment was a thankless
task and too much for me. I dressed in my red uniform, tied my silver
gorget, hung my sword, and drew on my spurred boots. Standing by the
mirror, pensive, I thought of my delight in these same clothes when
first I wore them for Sir William. Alas! alas! The gilt lace dulled
under my eyes as I looked; the gorget tarnished; the spurs rang sadly
in the silence. I twisted a strip of crape in my hilt, shook out the
black badge on my sleeve, and went down-stairs, very soberly, in the
livery of the King I must one day desert. Perhaps I was now wearing it
for the last time. Well, such things matter nothing now; true hearts
can beat as freely under a buckskin shirt as beneath the jewelled
sashes of the great.
As I reached the porch Mr. Duncan came hurrying past, buttoning his
gloves.
"Sir John is in the village," he said, returning my salute, "and he
has an escort of your regiment at his back. My varlets yonder need
pipe-clay, but I dare not risk delay."
"Where is Colonel Guy?" I asked, but at that moment he came out of the
stable in full uniform, and Mr. Duncan and I joined him at salute. He
barely noticed me, as usual, but gave his orders to Mr. Duncan and
then looked across the fields towards the village.
"Is Felicity with Sir John?" I inquired.
"No," he answered, without turning.
My throat swelled and my mouth quivered. Where was she, then? What did
all this mean?
"By-the-by," observed Colonel Guy, carelessly, "Sir John has chosen
another aide-de-camp in your place. You, of course, will join your
regiment at Albany."
I looked at him calmly, but he was again gazing out across the fields.
So Sir John, who had never cared about me, had rid himself of me. This
brought matters to a climax. Truly enough, I was now wearing my red
uniform for the last time.
I looked across the yellowing fields where, on the highway, a troop of
horse had come up over the hill and were now galloping hither in a
veil of sparkling dust. I watched them indifferently; the drums at the
guard-house were sounding, beating the major-general's salute of two
ruffles; the horsemen swept up past the ranks of presented firelocks
and halted before the Hall.
And now I saw Sir John in full uniform of his rank, badged with
mourning, yet all a-glitter with medals and orders, slowly dismount,
while gillie Bareshanks held his stirrup. Alas! alas! that he must be
known by men as the son of his great father!--this cold, slow man,
with distrustful eyes and a mouth which to see was to watch. His very
voice seemed to sound a warning in its emotionless monotony; his lips
said, "On guard, lest we trick you unawares."
Sir John greeted Colonel Guy, holding his hand and dropping into low
conversation for a few moments. Then, as I gave him the officers'
salute, he rendered it and offered his hand, asking me how I did.
I had the honour to report myself quite recovered, and in turn
inquired concerning his own health, the health of Aunt Molly, and of
Silver Heels; to which he replied that Mistress Molly with Esk and
Peter was in Quebec; that Felicity was well; that he himself suffered
somewhat from indigestion, but was otherwise in possession of perfect
health.
He then presented me to several officers of my own regiment, among
them a very young cornet, who smiled at me in such friendly fashion
that my lonely heart was warm towards him. His name was Rodman
Girdwood, and he swaggered when he walked; but so frankly did he
ruffle it that I could not choose but like him and smile indulgence on
his guileless self-satisfaction.
"They don't like me," he said, confidentially, as I took him to my own
chamber so that he might remove the stains of travel. "They don't
like me because I talk too much at mess. I say what I think, and I say
it loud, sir."
"What do you say--loud?" I asked, smiling.
"Oh, everything. I say it's a damned shame to send British troops into
Boston; I say it's a doubly damned shame to close the port and starve
the poor; I say that Tommy Gage is in a dirty business, and I, for
one, hope the Boston people will hold on until the British Parliament
find their senses. Oh, I don't care who hears me!" he said, throwing
off his coat and sword and plunging into the water-basin.
His servant came to the door for orders, but Girdwood bade him let him
alone and seek a pot o' beer in the kitchen.
"I trust I have not shocked your loyalty, Mr. Cardigan," he said,
using a towel vigorously.
"Oh no," I laughed.
"I don't mean to be discourteous," he added, smoothing his ruffled
lace; "but sometimes I feel as though I must stand up on a hill and
shout across the ocean to Parliament, 'Don't make fools of
yourselves'!"
I was laughing so heartily that he turned around in humorous surprise.
"I'm afraid you are one of those disrespectful patriots," he said. "I
never heard a Tory laugh at anything I said. Come, sir, pray repeat
'God save the King'!"
"God save"--we began together, then ended--"our country!"
I looked at him gravely. He, too, had grown serious. Presently he held
out his hand. I took it in silence.
"Well, well," he said, "I had little thought of finding a comrade in
our new cornet."
"Nor I in the Border Horse," said I, quietly.
He turned to the mirror and began retying his queue ribbon. After a
twist or two the smile came back to his lips and the jauntiness to his
carriage.
"It's all in a lifetime," he said. "Lord, but I'm hungry, Cardigan!
Honest Abraham, I haven't broken a crust since we left Schenectady!"
"Come on, then," I said; "we subalterns must not keep our superiors,
you know."
"They wouldn't wait for us, anyway," he said, following me
down-stairs to the breakfast-room, into which already Sir John and his
suite were crowding.
The breakfast was short and dreary. Sir John's unsympathetic presence
had never yet warmed even his familiars to gayety. Those who were
under his orders found him severe and unbending; his equals, I think,
distrusted him; but his superiors saw in him a latent energy which
they believed might be worth their control some day, and so studied
him carefully, prepared for anything from fidelity to indifference,
and even, perhaps, treachery.
Benning, major in the Border Horse, strove indeed to liven the
breakfast with liberal libations and jests, neither of which were
particularly encouraged by Sir John. As for Colonel Guy Johnson, he
brooded in his dish, a strange, dark, silent man who had never, to my
knowledge, shown a single human impulse for either good or evil. He
was a faultless executor of duty intrusted, obeying to the letter, yet
never offering suggestions; a scrupulously clean man in speech and
habit; a blameless husband, and an inoffensive neighbour. But that was
all, and I had sooner had a stone idol as neighbour than Colonel Guy
Johnson.
The living Johnsons seemed to be alike in nature. I do not even now
understand why I thought so, but I sometimes believed that they had,
deep in them, something of that sombre ferocity which burned in the
Butlers. Yet to me they had exhibited nothing but the most passionless
reserve.
When the gloomy breakfast was ended, Colonel Guy Johnson conducted his
guests to the porch, where they made ready for the inspection of our
two stone block-houses and the new artillery in the barracks, sent
recently by Governor Tryon at Sir John's request.
Supposing I was to follow, as I no longer remained aide-de-camp to the
major-general, I started off with Rodman Girdwood, but was recalled by
a soldier, who reported that Sir John awaited me in the library.
Sir John was sitting at the great oak table as I entered, and he
motioned me to a seat opposite. He held in his hands a bundle of
papers, which he slowly turned over and over in his fingers.
He first informed me that he had selected another aide-de camp, not
because he expected to find me unsatisfactory, but because it was most
desirable that young, inexperienced officers should join the colours
as soon as possible. He said that the times were troublous and
uncertain; that sedition was abroad in the land; that young men needed
the counsel of loyal authority, and the example and discipline of
military life. He expected me, he said, to return to Albany with the
squadron which had served him as escort.
To which I made no reply.
He then spoke of the death of his father, of the responsibilities of
his own position, and of his claim on me for obedience. He spoke of my
mission to Cresap and the Cayugas as a mistake in policy; and I burned
to hear him criticise Sir William's acts. He asked me for my report,
and I gave it to him, relating every circumstance of my meeting with
the Cayugas, my peril, my rescue, the fight at Cresap's fort, the
treachery of Dunmore, Greathouse, Connolly, and the others.
He frowned, listening with lowered eyes.
I told him of the insult offered our family by Dunmore; I told how
Silver Heels escaped. Then I related every circumstance in my
relations with Walter Butler, from my first open quarrel with him here
at the Hall to his deadly assault on me while in discharge of my
mission, and finally how he had fallen under my fury in Dunmore's
presence.
Sir John's face was expressionless. He deplored the matters mentioned,
saying that loyal men must stand together and not exterminate each
other. He pointed out that Dunmore was the royal Governor of Virginia;
that an alliance with Felicity was an honour we were most unwise to
refuse; he regretted the quarrel between such a zealous loyalist as
Walter Butler and myself, but coolly informed me that he had heard
from Butler, and that he was recovering slowly from the breaking of an
arm, collar-bone, and many ribs.
This calm acknowledgment that Sir John and my deadly enemy were in
such intimacy set my blood boiling. His amazing complacency towards
these men after the insults offered his own kin took my breath.
He said that his policy in regard to the Cayuga rising was not the
policy of Sir William. His efforts were directed towards the solid
assembling of all men, so that the loyal might in the hour of danger
present an unbroken front to rebellion and discontent. It was, he
said, my duty to lay aside all rancour against Lord Dunmore and
Captain Butler. This was not the time to settle personal differences.
Later, he could see no objection to my calling out Walter Butler or
demanding reparation from Lord Dunmore, if I found it necessary.
I was slowly beginning to hate Sir John.
I therefore told him how we had done to death the wretch Greathouse;
how I had shot the driver of the coach, who was the unknown man who
had tasted his own hatchet in the forest.
Sir John informed me that I and my party had also slain Wraxall and
Toby Tice, and that Captain Murdy alone had escaped our fury.
I was contented to hear it; contented to hear, too, that Walter Butler
lived; for, though no man on earth deserved death more than he, I had
not wished to slay any man in such a manner. I could wait, for I never
doubted that he must one day die by my hand, though not the kind of
death that he had escaped so narrowly.
Sir John now spoke of the will left by Sir William. He held a copy in
his hand and opened it.
"You know," he said, "that your fortune is not considerable, though my
father has invested it most fortunately. The income is ample for a
young man, and on the decease of your uncle, Sir Terence, you will
come into his title and estate in Ireland. This should make you
wealthy. However, Sir William saw fit to provide for you further."
He turned the pages of the document slowly, frowning.
"Where is my own money?" I asked.
Sir John passed me a letter, sealed, which he said would recommend me
to the lawyer in Albany who administered my fortune until I became of
legal age. Then he resumed his study of the will.
"Read from the beginning," I said. I had a curious feeling that it was
indecent to ignore anything Sir William had written, in order to hurry
to that clause relating only to my own selfish profit.
Sir John glanced at me across the table, then read aloud, in his cold,
passionless voice:
"In the name of God, Amen! I, Sir William Johnson, of Johnson
Hall, in the County of Tryon and Province of New York, Bart.,
being of sound and disposing mind, memory, and understanding,
do make, publish, and declare this to be my last Will and
Testament in manner and form following:
"First and principally, I resign my soul to the great and
merciful God who made it, in hopes, through the merits alone
of my blessed Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ, to have a joyful
resurrection to life eternal--"
He stopped abruptly, saying that he saw no necessity for reading all
that, and turned directly to the clause concerning me. Then he read:
"And as to the worldly and temporal estate which God was
pleased to endow me with, I devise, bequeath, and dispose of
in the following manner: Imprimis. I will, order and direct
that all such just debts as I may owe, at the time of my
decease, to be paid by my son Sir John Johnson, Baronet....
"Item. To my dearly beloved kinsman and ward, Michael
Cardigan, I give and bequeath the sum of three thousand
pounds, York currency, to him or the survivor of him. Also my
own horse Warlock."
Sir John turned several pages, found another clause, and read:
"To the aforesaid Michael Cardigan I devise and bequeath that
lot of land which I purchased from Jelles Fonda, in the
Kennyetto Patent; also two hundred acres of land adjoining
thereto, being part of the Perth Patent, to be laid out in a
compact body between the sugar bush and the Kennyetto Creek;
also four thousand acres in the Royal Grant, now called
Kingsland, next to the Mohawk River, where is the best place
for salmon fishing; also that strip of land from the falls or
carrying-place to Lot No. 1, opposite to the hunting-lodge of
Colonel John Butler, where woodcocks, snipes, and wild ducks
are accustomed to be shot by me, within the limits and
including all the game-land I bought from Peter Weaver."
Sir John folded the paper and handed it to me, saying, "It is strange
that Sir William thought fit to bequeath you such a vast property."
"What provision was made for Felicity?" I asked, quietly.
"She might have had three thousand pounds and a thousand acres
adjoining yours in the Kennyetto Patent," replied Sir John, coldly.
"But under present circumstances--ahem--she receives nothing."
I thought a moment. In the hallway I heard the officers returning with
Colonel Guy Johnson from their inspection.
"Where is Felicity?" I asked, suddenly.
He looked up in displeasure at my brusqueness, but did not reply. I
repeated the question.
"She is near Boston," he said, with a frown of annoyance. "Her lawyer
is Thomas Foxcroft in Queen Street."
"When will she return here?"
"She will not return."
"What!" I cried, springing to my feet.
Sir John eyed me sullenly.
"I beg you will conduct in moderation," he said.
"Then tell me what you have done with my cousin Felicity!"
"She is not your cousin, or any kin to you or to us," he said, coldly.
"I have had some correspondence with Sir Peter Warren, which, I may
say, does not concern you. Enough that Felicity is not his niece, nor
the daughter of his dead brother, nor any kin whatever to him, to us,
or to you. Further than that I have nothing to say, except that the
young woman is now with her own kin, and will remain there, because it
is her proper legal residence. Better for you," he added, grimly, "and
better for us if you had not meddled with what did not concern you,
and had allowed Lord Dunmore to take her--"
"Dunmore! Wed Felicity!" I burst out.
"Wed? Who said he meant to wed her? He did not; he knew from Sir Peter
Warren who Felicity is; he knew it before we did, and informed Sir
Peter. Wed her? Ay, with the left hand, perhaps."
I rose, trembling in every limb.
"The damned scoundrel!" I stammered. "The damned, foul-fleshed
scoundrel! God! Had I known--had I dreamed--"
"You will control your temper here at least," he said, pointing to the
card-room, where Colonel Guy Johnson and the Border officers were
staring at us through the open doors.
"No, I will not!" I cried. "I care not who hears me! And I say shame
on you for your indecency! Shame on you for your callous, merciless
judgment, when you, God knows, require the mercy you refuse to others,
you damned hypocrite!"
"Silence!" he said, turning livid. "You leave this house to-night for
your regiment."
"I leave it in no service which tolerates such blackguards as Dunmore
or such bloodless criminals as you!" I retorted, tearing my sword from
my belt. Then I stepped forward, and, looking him straight in the
eyes, slammed my sheathed sword down on the table before him.
"You, your Governors, and your King are too poor to buy the sword I
would wear," I said, between my teeth.
"Are you mad?" he muttered, staring.
I laughed.
"Not I," I said, gayly, "but the pack o' fools who curse my country
with their folly, like that withered, half-witted Governor of
Virginia, like that pompous ass in Boston, like you yourself, sir,
though God knows it chokes to say it of your father's son!"
"Major Benning," cried Sir John, "you will place that lunatic under
arrest!"
My major started, then took a step towards me.
"Try it!" said I, all the evil in me on fire. "Go to the devil,
sir!--where your own business is doubtless stewing. Hands off,
sir!--or I throw you through the window!"
"Good Gad!" muttered Benning. "The lad's gone stark!"
"But I still shoot straight," I said, picking up Sir William's
favourite rifle and handling it most carelessly.
"Mind what you are about!" cried Sir John, furiously. "That piece is
charged!"
"I am happy to know it," I replied, dropping it into the hollow of my
arm so he could look down the black muzzle.
And I walked out of the room and up the stairs to my own little
chamber, there to remove from my body the livery of my King, never
again to resume it.
I spent the day in packing together all articles which were rightly
mine, bought with my own money or given me by Sir William: my books,
my prints, some flutes which I could not play, my rods and
fowling-pieces, all my clothing, my paper and Faber pencil--all gifts
from Sir William.
I wished also for a memento from his room, something the more valuable
to me because valueless to others, and I found his ivory cane to take
and his leather book, the same being a treatise on fishing by a
certain Isaac Walton, who, if he tells the truth, knew little about
the habits of trout and salmon, and did write much foolishness in a
pretty manner.
However, Sir William loved to read from Isaac Walton his book, and I
have oft heard him singing lustily the catches and ballads which do
abound in that same book--and to its detriment, in my opinion.
Laden with these, and also with a scrap of sleeve-ribbon, all I could
find in Silver Heels's chamber, I did make two bundles of my property,
done neatly in blankets. Then, to empty my purse and strong-box and
fill my money-belt, placing there also my letter of recommendation to
the lawyer, Peter Weaver, Esquire, who administered my investments.
Gillie Bareshanks I hailed from the orchard, bidding him saddle
Warlock with a dragoon's saddle, and place forage for three days in
the saddle-bags, dropping at the same time my riding-coat from the
window, to be rolled and buckled across the pommel.
I dressed me once more in new buckskins, with Mohawk moccasins and
leggings, this to save the wear of travel on my better clothing, of
which I did take but one suit, the same being my silver-gray velvet,
cut with French elegance, and hat to match.
Now, as I looked from the windows, I could see Sir John, Colonel Guy,
and their guests, mounting to ride to the village, doubtless in order
that they should be shown Sir William's last resting-place. So I,
being free of the house, wandered through it from cellar to attic,
because it was to be my last hour in the only home I had ever known.
Mercifully, though the heart be full to breaking, youth can never
fully realize that the old order has ended forever; else why, even in
bitterest sorrow, glimmers that thread of light through darkness which
we call the last ray of hope? It never leaves us; men say it flees,
but it goes out only with the life that nourished it.
Deep, deep in my heart I felt that I should look upon these familiar
walls once more, when, in happier days, my dear love and I should
return to the hills we must always love for Sir William's sake.
And so I strayed through the silent, sunny rooms, touching the walls
with aching heart, and bidding each threshold adieu. Ghosts walked
with me through the dimmed sunbeams; far in the house, faintest
familiar sounds seemed to stir, half-heard whispers, the echo of
laughter, a dear voice calling from above. Over these floors Silver
Heels's light feet had passed, brushing every plank, perhaps the very
spot I stood on. Hark! Over and over again that fading echo filled my
ears for an instant, as though somebody had just spoken in a distant
room.
Passing the stocks where Silver Heels had so often sat to pout and
embroider, or battle with us to protect her helpless feet from
torment, I came to the school-room once more.
Apparently nobody had entered it since I had written my verses on
Eurydice--so long, so long ago. There were traces of the verses
still--smeared from my struggle with Silver Heels when I had written:
"Silver Heels toes in like ducks."
Heaven save the libel!
And here on a bench was my tattered mythology, thumbed and bitten, and
the fly-leaf soaked with ink where Peter had made a scene of battle in
Indian fashion, the English being scalped on all sides by himself,
Esk, and Joseph Brant, all labelled.
I took the book, turning to where I had written my bequest to Silver
Heels on the inside cover, and then carried it to my chamber, there to
add this last link of childhood to the others in my packets.
I do not exactly understand why, but I also carried with me the flag I
had taken from Cresap's fort, and rolled it up in my uniform which was
given me by Sir William.
Neither flag nor uniform were any longer mine, yet I ever have found
it impossible to neglect that which I once loved. So I rolled the
bunting and my scarlet clothes with my best silver-gray velvet, and
tied all together.
When young Bareshanks came to announce that Warlock waited, I bade him
carry my two packets down, following, myself, with Sir William's long
rifle, and otherwise completely equipped with hatchet, knife, powder
and ball, flint and tinder, and a small stew-pan.
With these Warlock was laden like a pack-horse, leaving room in the
saddle for me. Bareshanks held my stirrup; I mounted, shook hands with
him, not daring to attempt a word, and, with tears blinding me, turned
my horse's head south on the Albany post-road.
Mr. Duncan, standing near the stables, gazed at me in astonishment.
"Ho!" he called out. "More wood-running, Mr. Cardigan? Faith, the
scalp-trade must be paying in these humming days of peace!"
I tried to smile and gave him my hand.
"It's good-bye forever," I said, choking. "I cannot use the same roof
that shelters my kinsman, Sir John Johnson."
He looked at me very gravely, asking me where I meant to go.
"To Boston," I replied. "I have affairs with one Thomas Foxcroft."
There was a silence, he still holding my hand as though to draw me
back.
"Why to Boston?" he repeated, gently.
"To wed Miss Warren," I replied, looking him in the eyes.
He stared, then caught my hand in both of his.
"God bless her!" he said, again and again. "I give you joy, lad! She's
the sweetest of them all in County Tryon!"
"And in all the world beside!" I muttered, huskily.
And so rode on.