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THE DUSANTES
THE DUSANTES
A SEQUEL TO "THE CASTING AWAY OF MRS. LECKS
AND MRS. ALESHINE"
BY
FRANK R. STOCKTON
NEW-YORK
THE CENTURY CO.
COPYRIGHT, 1888, BY FRANK R. STOCKTON.
ALL RIGHTS RESERVED.
THE DE VINNE PRESS.
THE DUSANTES
A SEQUEL TO "THE CASTING AWAY OF MRS. LECKS AND MRS. ALESHINE"
PART I
When the little party, consisting of Mrs. Lecks and Mrs. Aleshine, Mr.
Enderton, my newly made wife, and myself, with the red-bearded
coxswain and the two sailor men, bade farewell to that island in the
Pacific where so many happy hours had been passed, where such pleasant
friendships had been formed, and where I had met my Ruth and made her
my wife, we rowed away with a bright sky over our heads, a pleasant
wind behind us, and a smooth sea beneath us. The long-boat was
comfortable and well appointed, and there was even room enough in it
for Mr. Enderton to stretch himself out and take a noonday nap. We
gave him every advantage of this kind, for we had found by experience
that our party was happiest when my father-in-law was best contented.
Early in the forenoon the coxswain rigged a small sail in the bow of
the boat, and with this aid to our steady and systematic work at the
oars we reached, just before nightfall, the large island whither we
were bound, and to which, by means of the coxswain's pocket-compass,
we had steered a direct course. Our arrival on this island, which was
inhabited by some white traders and a moderate population of natives,
occasioned great surprise, for when the boats containing the crew and
passengers of our unfortunate steamer had reached the island, it was
found that Mrs. Lecks, Mrs. Aleshine, and myself were missing. There
were many suppositions as to our fate. Some persons thought we had
been afraid to leave the steamer, and, having secreted ourselves on
board, had gone down with her. Others conjectured that in the darkness
we had fallen overboard, either from the steamer or from one of the
boats; and there was even a surmise that we might have embarked in the
leaky small boat--in which we really did leave the steamer--and so had
been lost. At any rate, we had disappeared, and our loss was a good
deal talked about, and, in a manner, mourned. In less than a week
after their arrival the people from the steamer had been taken on
board a sailing vessel and carried westward to their destination.
We, however, were not so fortunate, for we remained on this island for
more than a month. During this time but one ship touched there, and
she was western bound and of no use to us, for we had determined to
return to America. Mrs. Lecks and Mrs. Aleshine had given up their
journey to Japan, and were anxious to reach once more their country
homes, while my dear Ruth and I were filled with a desire to found a
home on some pleasant portion of the Atlantic seaboard. What Mr.
Enderton intended to do we did not know. He was on his way to the
United States when he left the leaking ship on which he and his
daughter were passengers, and his intentions regarding his journey did
not appear to have been altered by his mishaps.
By the western-bound vessel, however, Mrs. Aleshine sent a letter to
her son.
Our life on this island was monotonous, and to the majority of the
party uninteresting; but as it was the scene of our honeymoon, Mrs.
Craig and I will always look back to it with the most pleasurable
recollections. We were comfortably lodged in a house belonging to one
of the traders, and although Mrs. Lecks and Mrs. Aleshine had no
household duties to occupy their time, they managed to supply
themselves with knitting materials from the stores on the island, and
filled up their hours of waiting with chatty industry. The pipes of
our sailor friends were always well filled, while the sands of the
island were warm and pleasant for their backs, and it was only Mr.
Enderton who showed any signs of impatient repining at our enforced
stay. He growled, he grumbled, and he inveighed against the criminal
neglect of steamship companies and the owners of sailing craft in not
making it compulsory in every one of their vessels to stop on every
voyage at this island, where, at any time, intelligent and important
personages might be stranded.
At last, however, we were taken off by a three-masted schooner bound
for San Francisco, at which city we arrived in due time and in good
health and condition.
We did not remain long in this city, but soon started on our way
across the continent, leaving behind us our three sailor companions,
who intended to ship from this port as soon as an advantageous
opportunity offered itself. These men heard no news of their vessel,
although they felt quite sure that she had reached Honolulu, where
she had probably been condemned and the crew scattered. As some
baggage belonging to my wife and my father-in-law had been left on
board this vessel, I had hopes that Mr. Enderton would remain in San
Francisco and order it forwarded to him there; or that he would even
take a trip to Honolulu to attend to the matter personally. But in
this I was disappointed. He seemed to take very little interest in his
missing trunks, and wished only to press on to the East. I wrote to
Honolulu, desiring the necessary steps to be taken to forward the
baggage in case it had arrived there; and soon afterwards our party of
five started eastward.
It was now autumn, but, although we desired to reach the end of our
journey before winter set in, we felt that we had time enough to visit
some of the natural wonders of the California country before taking up
our direct course to the East. Therefore, in spite of some petulant
remonstrances on the part of Mr. Enderton, we made several trips to
points of interest.
From the last of these excursions we set out in a stage-coach, of
which we were the only occupants, towards a point on the railroad
where we expected to take a train. On the way we stopped to change
horses at a small stage station at the foot of a range of mountains;
and when I descended from the coach I found the driver and some of the
men at the station discussing the subject of our route. It appeared
that there were two roads, one of which gradually ascended the
mountain for several miles, and then descended to the level of the
railroad, by the side of which it ran until it reached the station
where we wished to take the train. The other road pursued its way
along a valley or notch in the mountain for a considerable distance,
and then, by a short but somewhat steep ascending grade, joined the
upper road.
It was growing quite cold, and the sky and the wind indicated that bad
weather might be expected; and as the upper road was considered the
better one at such a time, our driver concluded to take it. Six
horses, instead of four, were now attached to our stage, and as two of
these animals were young and unruly and promised to be unusually
difficult to drive in the ordinary way, our driver concluded to ride
one of the wheel horses, postilion fashion, and to put a boy on one of
the leaders. Mr. Enderton was very much afraid of horses, and objected
strongly to the young animals in our new team. But there were no
others to take their places, and his protests were disregarded.
My wife and I occupied a back seat, having been ordered to take this
comfortable position by Mrs. Lecks and Mrs. Aleshine, who had
constituted themselves a board of instruction and admonition to Mrs.
Craig, and, incidentally, to myself. They fancied that my wife's
health was not vigorous and that she needed coddling; and if she had
had two mothers she could not have been more tenderly cared for than
by these good women. They sat upon the middle seat with their faces
towards the horses, while Mr. Enderton had the front seat all to
himself. He was, however, so nervous and fidgety, continually twisting
himself about, endeavoring to get a view of the horses or of the bad
places on the road, that Mrs. Lecks and Mrs. Aleshine found that a
position facing him and in close juxtaposition was entirely too
uncomfortable; and consequently, the back of their seat being
adjustable, they turned themselves about and faced us.
The ascent of the mountain was slow and tedious, and it was late in
the afternoon when we reached the highest point in our route, from
which the road descended for some eight miles to the level of the
railroad. Now our pace became rapid, and Mr. Enderton grew wildly
excited. He threw open the window and shouted to the driver to go
more slowly, but Mrs. Lecks seized him by the coat and jerked him back
on his seat before he could get any answer to his appeals.
"If you want your daughter to ketch her death o' cold you'll keep that
window open!" As she said this, she leaned back and pulled the window
down with her own strong right arm. "I guess the driver knows what he
is about," she continued, "this not bein' the first time he's gone
over the road."
"Am I to understand, madam," said Mr. Enderton, "that I am not to
speak to my driver when I wish him to know my will?"
To this question Mrs. Lecks made no answer, but sat up very straight
and stiff, with her back square upon the speaker. For some time she
and Mr. Enderton had been "out," and she made no effort to conceal the
fact.
Mr. Enderton's condition now became pitiable, for our rapid speed and
the bumping over rough places in the road seemed almost to deprive him
of his wits, notwithstanding my assurance that stage-coaches were
generally driven at a rapid rate down long inclines. In a short time,
however, we reached a level spot in the road, and the team was drawn
up and stopped. Mr. Enderton popped out in a moment, and I also got
down to have a talk with the driver.
"These hosses won't do much at holdin' back," he said, "and it worries
'em less to let 'em go ahead with the wheels locked. You needn't be
afraid. If nothin' breaks, we're all right."
Mr. Enderton seemed endeavoring to satisfy himself that everything
about the running-gear of the coach was in a safe condition. He
examined the wheels, the axles, and the whiffletrees, much to the
amusement of the driver, who remarked to me that the old chap probably
knew as much now as he did before. I was rather surprised that my
father-in-law subjected the driver to no further condemnation. On the
contrary, he said nothing except that for the rest of this down-hill
drive he should take his place on the driver's unoccupied seat. Nobody
offered any objection to this, and up he climbed.
When we started again Ruth seemed disturbed that her father should be
in such an exposed position, but I assured her that he would be
perfectly safe, and would be much better satisfied at being able to
see for himself what was going on.
We now began to go down-hill again at a rate as rapid as before. Our
speed, however, was not equal. Sometimes it would slacken a little
where the road was heavy or more upon a level, and then we would go
jolting and rattling over some long downward stretch. After a
particularly unpleasant descent of this kind the coach seemed suddenly
to change its direction, and with a twist and an uplifting of one side
it bumped heavily against something and stopped. I heard a great shout
outside, and from a window which now commanded a view of the road I
saw our team of six horses, with the drivers pulling and tugging at
the two they rode, madly running away at the top of their speed.
Ruth, who had been thrown by the shock into the arms of Mrs. Aleshine,
was dreadfully frightened, and screamed for her father. I had been
pitched forward upon Mrs. Lecks, but I quickly recovered myself, and
as soon as I found that none of the occupants of the coach had been
hurt, I opened the door and sprang out.
In the middle of the road stood Mr. Enderton, entirely uninjured, with
a jubilant expression on his face, and in one hand a large closed
umbrella.
"What has happened?" I exclaimed, hurrying around to the front of the
coach, where I saw that the pole had been broken off about the middle
of its length.
"Nothing has happened, sir," replied Mr. Enderton. "You cannot speak
of a wise and discreet act, determinately performed, as a thing which
has happened. We have been saved, sir, from being dashed to pieces
behind that wild and unmanageable team of horses; and I will add that
we have been saved by my forethought and prompt action."
I turned and looked at him in astonishment. "What do you mean?" I
said. "What could you have had to do with this accident?"
"Allow me to repeat," said Mr. Enderton, "that it was not an accident.
The moment that we began to go down-hill I perceived that we were in a
position of the greatest danger. The driver was reckless, the boy
incompetent, and the horses unmanageable. As my remonstrances and
counsels had no effect upon the man, and as you seemed to have no
desire to join me in efforts to restrain him to a more prudent rate of
speed, I determined to take the affair into my own hands. I knew that
the first thing to be done was to rid ourselves of those horses. So
long as we were connected with them disaster was imminent. I knew
exactly what ought to be done. The horses must be detached from the
coach. I had read, sir, of inventions especially intended to detach
runaway horses from a vehicle. To all intents and purposes our horses
were runaways, or would have become so in a very short time. I now
made it my object to free ourselves from those horses. I got out at
our first stop and thoroughly examined the carriage attachments. I
found that the movable bar to which the whiffletrees were attached was
connected to the vehicle by two straps and a bolt, the latter having a
ring at the top and an iron nut at the bottom. While you and that
reckless driver were talking together and paying no attention to me,
the only person in the party who thoroughly comprehended our danger, I
unbuckled those straps, and with my strong, nervous fingers, without
the aid of implements, I unscrewed the nut from the bolt. Then, sir, I
took my seat on the outside of the coach and felt that I held our
safety in my own hands. For a time I allowed our vehicle to proceed,
but when we approached this long slope which stretches before us, and
our horses showed signs of increasing impetuosity, I leaned forward,
hooked the handle of my umbrella in the ring of the bolt, and with a
mighty effort jerked it out. I admit to you, sir, that I had
overlooked the fact that the other horses were attached to the end of
the pole, but I have often noticed that when we are discreet in
judgment and prompt in action we are also fortunate. Thus was I
fortunate. The hindermost horses, suddenly released, rushed upon
those in front of them, and, in a manner, jumbled up the whole team,
which seemed to throw the animals into such terror that they dashed to
one side and snapped off the pole, after which they went madly tearing
down the road, entirely beyond the control of the two riders. Our
coach turned and ran into the side of the road with but a moderate
concussion, and as I looked at those flying steeds, with their riders
vainly endeavoring to restrain them, I could not, sir, keep down an
emotion of pride that I had been instrumental in freeing myself, my
daughter, and my traveling companions from their dangerous proximity."
The speaker ceased, a smile of conscious merit upon his face. For the
moment I could not say a word to him, I was so angry. But had I been
able to say or do anything to indicate the wild indignation that
filled my brain, I should have had no opportunity, for Mrs. Lecks
stepped up to me and took me by the arm. Her face was very stern, and
her expression gave one the idea of the rigidity of Bessemer steel.
"I've heard what has been said," she remarked, "and I wish to talk to
this man. Your wife is over there with Mrs. Aleshine. Will you please
take a walk with her along the road? You may stay away for a quarter
of an hour."
"Madam," said Mr. Enderton, "I do not wish to talk to you."
"I didn't ask you whether you did or not," said Mrs. Lecks. "Mr.
Craig, will you please get your wife away as quick and as far as you
can?"
I took the hint, and, with Ruth on my arm, walked rapidly down the
road. She was very glad to go, for she had been much frightened, and
wanted to be alone with me to have me explain to her what had
occurred. Mrs. Lecks, imagining from the expression of his countenance
that Mr. Enderton had, in some way, been at the bottom of the trouble,
and fearing that she should not be able to restrain her indignation
when she found how he had done it, had ordered Mrs. Aleshine to keep
Ruth away from her father. This action had increased the poor girl's
anxiety, and she was glad enough to have me take her away and tell her
all about our accident.
I did tell her all that had happened, speaking as mildly as I could of
Mr. Enderton's conduct. Poor Ruth burst into tears.
"I do wish," she exclaimed, "that father would travel by himself! He
is so nervous, and so easily frightened, that I am sure he would be
happier when he could attend to his safety in his own way; and I
know, too, that we should be happier without him."
I agreed most heartily with these sentiments, although I did not deem
it necessary to say so, and Ruth now asked me what I supposed would
become of us.
"If nothing happens to the driver and the boy," I replied, "I suppose
they will go on until they get to the station to which we were bound,
and there they will procure a pole, if such a thing can be found, or,
perhaps, get another coach, and come back for us. It would be useless
for them to return to our coach in its present condition."
"And how soon do you think they will come back?" she said.
"Not for some hours," I replied. "The driver told me there were no
houses between the place where we last stopped and the railroad
station, and I am sure he will not turn back until he reaches a place
where he can get either a new pole or another vehicle."
Ruth and I walked to a turn at the bottom of the long hill down which
our runaway steeds had sped. At this point we had an extended view of
the road as it wound along the mountain-side, but we could see no
signs of our horses nor of any living thing. I did not, in fact,
expect to see our team, for it would be foolish in the driver to come
back until he was prepared to do something for us, and even if he had
succeeded in controlling the runaway beasts, the quicker he got down
the mountain the better.
By the time we had returned we had taken quite a long walk, but we
were glad of it, for the exercise tranquilized us both. On our way
back we noticed that a road which seemed to come up from below us
joined the one we were on a short distance from the place where our
accident occurred. This, probably, was the lower road which had been
spoken of when we changed horses.
We found Mr. Enderton standing by himself. His face was of the hue of
wood ashes, his expression haggard. He reminded me of a man who had
fallen from a considerable height, and who had been frightened and
stupefied by the shock. I comprehended the situation without
difficulty, and felt quite sure that had he had the choice he would
have much preferred a thrashing to the plain talk he had heard from
Mrs. Lecks.
"What is the matter, father?" exclaimed Ruth. "Were you hurt?"
Mr. Enderton looked in a dazed way at his daughter, and it was some
moments before he appeared to have heard what she said. Then he
answered abruptly: "Hurt? Oh, no! I am not hurt in the least. I was
just thinking of something. I shall walk on to the village or town,
whichever it is, to which that man was taking us. It cannot be more
than seven or eight miles away, if that. The road is down-hill, and I
can easily reach the place before nightfall. I will then personally
attend to your rescue, and will see that a vehicle is immediately sent
to you. There is no trusting these ignorant drivers. No," he
continued, deprecatingly raising his hand, "do not attempt to dissuade
me. Your safety and that of others is always my first care. Exertion
is nothing."
Without further words, and paying no attention to the remonstrances of
his daughter, he strode off down the road.
I was very glad to see him go. At any time his presence was
undesirable to me, and under the present circumstances it would be
more objectionable than ever. He was a good walker, and there was no
doubt he would easily reach the station, where he might possibly be of
some use to us.
Mrs. Lecks was sitting on a stone by the roadside. Her face was still
stern and rigid, but there was an expression of satisfaction upon it
which had not been there when I left her. Ruth went to the coach to
get a shawl, and I said to Mrs. Lecks:
"I suppose you had your talk with Mr. Enderton?"
"Talk!" she replied. "I should say so! If ever a man understands what
people think of him, and knows what he is, from his crown to his feet,
inside and outside, soul, body, bones, and skin, and what he may
expect in this world and the next, he knows it. I didn't keep to what
he has done for us this day. I went back to the first moment when he
began to growl at payin' his honest board on the island, and I didn't
let him off for a single sin that he has committed since. And now I
feel that I've done my duty as far as he is concerned; and havin' got
through with that, it's time we were lookin' about to see what we can
do for ourselves."
It was indeed time, for the day was drawing towards its close. For a
moment I had thought we would give Mr. Enderton a good start, and then
follow him down the mountain to the station. But a little reflection
showed me that this plan would not answer. Ruth was not strong enough
to walk so far; and although Mrs. Aleshine had plenty of vigor, she
was too plump to attempt such a tramp. Besides, the sky was so
heavily overcast that it was not safe to leave the shelter of the
coach.
As might have been expected, Mrs. Lecks and Mrs. Aleshine took
immediate charge of the personal comfort of the party, and the first
thing they did was to make preparations for a meal. Fortunately, we
had plenty of provisions. Mrs. Aleshine had had charge of what she
called our lunch-baskets, which were, indeed, much more like
market-baskets than anything else; and having small faith in the
resources of roadside taverns, and great faith in the unlimited
capabilities of Mr. Enderton in the matter of consuming food on a
journey, she had provided bounteously and even extravagantly.
One side of the road was bordered by a forest, and on the ground was
an abundance of dead wood. I gathered a quantity of this, and made a
fire, which was very grateful to us, for the air was growing colder
and colder. When we had eaten a substantial cold supper and had
thoroughly warmed ourselves at the fire, we got into the coach to sit
there and wait until relief should come. We sat for a long time; all
night, in fact. We were not uncomfortable, for we each had a corner of
the coach, and we were plentifully provided with wraps and rugs.
Contrary to their usual habit, Mrs. Lecks and Mrs. Aleshine did not
talk much. When subjected to the annoyances of an ordinary accident,
even if it should have been the result of carelessness, their
disposition would have prompted them to take events as they came, and
to make the best of whatever might happen to them. But this case was
entirely different. We were stranded and abandoned on the road, on the
side of a lonely, desolate mountain, on a cold, bleak night; and all
this was the result of what they considered the deliberate and
fiendish act of a man who was afraid of horses, and who cared for no
one in the world but himself. Their minds were in such a condition
that if they said anything they must vituperate, and they were so
kindly disposed towards my wife, and had such a tender regard for her
feelings, that they would not, in her presence, vituperate her father.
So they said very little, and, nestling into their corners, were soon
asleep.
After a time Ruth followed their example, and, though I was very
anxiously watching out of the window for an approaching light, and
listening for the sound of wheels, I, too, fell into a doze. It must
have been ten or eleven o'clock when I was awakened by some delicate
but cold touches on my face, the nature of which, when I first opened
my eyes, I could not comprehend. But I soon understood what these cold
touches meant. The window in the door of the coach on my side had been
slightly lowered from the top to give us air, and through the narrow
aperture the cold particles had come floating in. I looked through the
window. The night was not very dark, for, although the sky was
overcast, the moon was in its second quarter, and I could plainly see
that it was snowing, and that the ground was already white.
This discovery sent a chill into my soul, for I was not unfamiliar
with snows in mountain regions, and knew well what this might mean to
us. But there was nothing that we could now do, and it would be
useless and foolish to awaken my companions and distress them with
this new disaster. Besides, I thought our situation might not be so
very bad after all. It was not yet winter, and the snowfall might
prove to be but a light one. I gently closed the window, and made my
body comfortable in its corner, but my mind continued very
uncomfortable for I do not know how long.
When I awoke, I found that there had been a heavy fall of snow in the
night, and that the flakes were still coming down, thick and fast.
When Ruth first looked out upon the scene she was startled and
dismayed. She was not accustomed to storms of this kind, and the snow
frightened her. Upon Mrs. Lecks and Mrs. Aleshine the sight of the
storm produced an entirely different effect. Here was a difficulty, a
discomfort, a hardship, but it came in a natural way, and not by the
hand of a dastardly coward of a man. With naturally happening
difficulties they were accustomed to combat without fear or repining.
They knew all about snow, and were not frightened by this storm. The
difficulties which it presented to their minds actually raised their
spirits, and from the grim and quiet beings of the last evening they
became the same cheerful, dauntless, ready women that I had known
before.
"Upon my word," exclaimed Mrs. Aleshine, as she clapped her face to a
window of the coach, "if this isn't a reg'lar old-fashioned
snow-storm! I've shoveled my own way through many a one like it to git
to the barn to do my milkin' afore the men folks had begun makin'
paths, an' I feel jus' like as though I could do it ag'in."
"Now, Barb'ry Aleshine," said Mrs. Lecks, "if you're thinkin' of
shovelin' your way from this place to where your cows is, you'd better
step right out and get at it, and I really do think that if you felt
they were sufferin' for want of milkin' you'd make a start."
"I don't say," answered Mrs. Aleshine, with an illuminating grin,
"that if the case was that way I mightn't have the hankerin' though
not the capableness, but I don't know that there's any place to shovel
our way to jus' now."
Mrs. Lecks and I thought differently. Across the road, under the great
trees, the ground was comparatively free from snow, and in some
places, owing to the heavy evergreen foliage, it was entirely bare. It
was very desirable that we should get to one of these spots and build
a fire, for, though we had been well wrapped up, we all felt numbed
and cold. In the boot at the back of the coach I knew that there was
an ax, and I thought I might possibly find there a shovel. I opened
the coach door and saw that the snow was already above the lower step.
By standing on the spokes of the back wheel I could easily get at the
boot, and I soon pulled out the ax, but found no shovel. But this did
not deter me. I made my way to the front wheel and climbed up to the
driver's box, where I knocked off one of the thin planks of the
foot-board, and this, with the ax, I shaped into a rude shovel with a
handle rather too wide but serviceable. With this I went vigorously
to work, and soon had made a pathway across the road. Here I chopped
off some low dead branches, picked up others, and soon had a crackling
fire, around which my three companions gathered with delight.
A strong wind was now blowing, and the snow began to form into heavy
drifts. The fire was very cheery and pleasant, but the wind was
cutting, and we soon returned to the shelter of the coach, where we
had our breakfast. This was not altogether a cold meal, for Mrs.
Aleshine had provided a little tea-kettle, and, with some snow-water
which I brought in boiling from the fire in the woods, we had all the
hot and comforting tea we wanted.
We passed the morning waiting and looking out and wondering what sort
of conveyance would be sent for us. It was generally agreed that
nothing on wheels could now be got over the road, and that we must be
taken away in a sleigh.
"I like sleigh-ridin'," said Mrs. Aleshine, "if you're well wrapped
up, with good horses, an' a hot brick for your feet, but I must say I
don't know but what I'm goin' to be a little skeery goin' down these
long hills. If we git fairly slidin', hosses, sleigh, an' all
together, there's no knowin' where we'll fetch up."
"There's one comfort, Barb'ry," remarked Mrs. Lecks, "and that is that
when we do fetch up it'll be at the bottom of the hills, and not at
the top; and as the bottom is what we want to get to, we oughtn't to
complain."
"That depends a good deal whether we come down hindpart foremost, or
forepart front. But nobody's complainin' so fur, specially as the
sleigh isn't here."
I joined in the outlooking and the conjectures, but I could not keep
up the cheerful courage which animated my companions; for not only
were the two elder women bright and cheery, but Ruth seemed to be
animated and encouraged by their example, and showed herself as brave
and contented as either of them. She was convinced that her father
must have reached the railroad station before it began to snow, and,
therefore, she was troubled by no fears for his safety. But my mind
was filled with many fears.
The snow was still coming down, thick and fast, and the wind was
piling it into great drifts, one of which was forming between the
coach and a low embankment on that side of the road near which it
stood.
About every half hour I took my shovel and cleared out the path across
the road from the other side of the coach to the wood. Several times
after doing this I made my way among the trees, where the snow did not
impede my progress, to points from which I had a view some distance
down the mountain, and I could plainly see that there were several
places where the road was blocked up by huge snow-drifts. It would be
a slow, laborious, and difficult undertaking for any relief party to
come to us from the station; and who was there, at that place, to
come? This was the question which most troubled me. The settlement at
the station was, probably, a very small one, and that there should be
found at that place a sleigh or a sledge with enough men to form a
party sufficiently strong to open a road up the mountain-side was
scarcely to be expected. Men and vehicles might be obtained at some
point farther along the railroad, but action of this kind would
require time, and it was not unlikely that the railroad itself was
blocked up with snow. I could form no idea, satisfactory to myself, of
any plan by which relief could come to us that day. Even the advent of
a messenger on horseback was not to be expected. Such an adventurer
would be lost in the storm and among the drifts. On the morrow relief
might come, but I did not like to think too much about the morrow;
and of any of my thoughts and fears I said nothing to my companions.
At intervals, after I had freshly cleared out the pathway, the three
women, well bundled up, ran across the road to the fire under the
trees. This was the only way in which they could keep themselves warm,
for the coach, although it protected us from the storm, was a very
cold place to sit in. But the wind and the snow which frequently drove
in under the trees made it impossible to stay very long by the fire,
and the frequent passages to and from the coach were attended with
much exposure and wetting of feet. I therefore determined that some
better way must be devised for keeping ourselves warm; and, shortly
after our noonday meal, I thought of a plan, and immediately set to
work to carry it out.
The drift between the coach and the embankment had now risen higher
than the top of the vehicle, against one side of which it was tightly
packed. I dug a path around the back of the coach, and then began to
tunnel into the huge bank of snow. In about an hour I had made an
excavation nearly high enough for me to stand in, and close to the
stage door on that side; and I cleared away the snow so that this door
could open into the cavern I had formed. At the end opposite the
entrance of my cave, I worked a hole upwards until I reached the outer
air. This hole was about a foot in diameter, and for some time the
light unpacked snow from above kept falling in and filling it up; but
I managed, by packing and beating the sides with my shovel, to get the
whole into a condition in which it would retain the form of a rude
chimney.
Now I hurried to bring wood and twigs, and having made a hearth of
green sticks, which I cut with my ax, I built a fire in this snowy
fire-place. Mrs. Lecks, Mrs. Aleshine, and Ruth had been watching my
proceedings with great interest; and when the fire began to burn, and
the smoke to go out of my chimney, the coach door was opened, and the
genial heat gradually pervaded the vehicle.
"Upon my word," exclaimed Mrs. Aleshine, "if that isn't one of the
brightest ideas I ever heard of! A fire in the middle of a snow-bank,
with a man there a-tendin' to it, an' a chimney! 'T isn't every day
that you can see a thing like that!"
"I should hope not," remarked Mrs. Lecks, "for if the snow drifted
this way every day, I'd be ready to give up the seein' business
out-an'-out! But I think, Mr. Craig, you ought to pass that shovel in
to us so that we can dig you out when the fire begins to melt your
little house and it all caves in on you."
"You can have the shovel," said I, "but I don't believe this snow-bank
will cave in on me. Of course the heat will melt the snow, but I think
it will dissolve gradually, so that the caving in, if there is any,
won't be of much account, and then we shall have a big open space here
in which we can keep up our fire."
"Oh, dear!" exclaimed Ruth, "you talk as if you expected to stay here
ever so long, and we certainly can't do that. We should starve to
death, for one thing."
"Don't be afraid of that," said Mrs. Aleshine. "There's plenty of
victuals to last till the people come for us. When I pack baskets for
travelin' or picnickin', I don't do no scrimpin'. An' we've got to
keep up a fire, you know, for it wouldn't be pleasant for those men,
when they've cut a way up the mountain to git at us, to find us all
froze stiff."
Mrs. Lecks smiled. "You're awful tender of the feelin's of other
people, Barb'ry," she said, "and a heart as warm as yourn ought to
keep from freezin'."
"Which it has done, so far," said Mrs. Aleshine complacently.
As I had expected, the water soon began to drip from the top and the
sides of my cavern, and the chimney rapidly enlarged its dimensions. I
made a passage for the melted snow to run off into a hollow, back of
the coach; and as I kept up a good strong fire, the drops of water and
occasional pieces of snow which fell into it were not able to
extinguish it. The cavern enlarged rapidly, and in a little more than
an hour the roof became so thin that while I was outside collecting
wood it fell in and extinguished the fire. This accident, however,
interrupted my operations but for a short time. I cleared away the
snow at the bottom of the excavation, and rebuilt my fire on the bare
ground. The high snow walls on three sides of it protected it from the
wind, so that there was no danger of the flames being blown against
the stage-coach, while the large open space above allowed a free vent
for the smoke.
About the middle of the afternoon, to the great delight of us all, it
stopped snowing, and when I had freshly shoveled out the path across
the road, my companions gladly embraced the opportunity of walking
over to the comparatively protected ground under the trees and giving
themselves a little exercise. During their absence I was busily
engaged in arranging the fire, when I heard a low crunching sound on
one side of me, and, turning my head, I saw in the wall of my
excavation opposite to the stage-coach and at a distance of four or
five feet from the ground an irregular hole in the snow, about a foot
in diameter, from which protruded the head of a man. This head was
wrapped, with the exception of the face, in a brown woolen comforter.
The features were those of a man of about fifty, a little sallow and
thin, without beard, whiskers, or mustache, although the cheeks and
chin were darkened with a recent growth.
The astounding apparition of this head projecting itself from the snow
wall of my cabin utterly paralyzed me, so that I neither moved nor
spoke, but remained crouching by the fire, my eyes fixed upon the
head. It smiled a little, and then spoke.
"Could you lend me a small iron pot?" it said.
I rose to my feet, almost ready to run away. Was this a dream? Or was
it possible that there was a race of beings who inhabited snow-banks?
The face smiled again very pleasantly. "Do not be frightened," it
said. "I saw you were startled, and spoke first of a familiar pot in
order to reassure you."
"Who, in the name of Heaven, are you?" I gasped.
"I am only a traveler, sir," said the head, "who has met with an
accident similar, I imagine, to that which has befallen you. But I
cannot further converse with you in this position. Lying thus on my
breast in a tunnel of snow will injuriously chill me. Could you
conveniently lend me an iron pot?"
I was now convinced that this was an ordinary human being, and my
courage and senses returned to me, but my astonishment remained
boundless. "Before we talk of pots," I said, "I must know who you are
and how you got into that snow-bank."
"I do not believe," said my visitor, "that I can get down, head
foremost, to your level. I will therefore retire to my place of
refuge, and perhaps we can communicate with each other through this
aperture."
"Can I get through to your place of refuge?" I asked.
"Certainly," was the answer. "You are young and active, and the
descent will not be so deep on my side. But I will first retire, and
will then project towards you this sheep-skin rug, which, if kept
under you as you move forward, will protect your breast and arms from
direct contact with the snow."
It was difficult to scramble up into the hole, but I succeeded in
doing it, and found awaiting me the sheep-skin rug, which, by the aid
of an umbrella, the man had pushed towards me for my use. I was in a
horizontal tunnel barely large enough for the passage of my body, and
about six feet in length. When I had worked my way through this and
had put my head out of the other end, I looked into a small wooden
shed, into which light entered only through a pane of glass set in a
rude door opposite to me. I immediately perceived that the whole place
was filled with the odor of spirituous liquors. The man stood awaiting
me, and by his assistance I descended to the floor. As I did so I
heard something which sounded like a titter, and looking around I saw
in a corner a bundle of clothes and traveling-rugs, near the top of
which appeared a pair of eyes. Turning again, I could discern in
another corner a second bundle, similar to, but somewhat larger than,
the other.
"These ladies are traveling with me," said the man, who was now
wrapping about him a large cloak, and who appeared to be of a tall
though rather slender figure. His manner and voice were those of a
gentleman extremely courteous and considerate. "As I am sure you are
curious--and this I regard as quite natural, sir--to know why we are
here, I will at once proceed to inform you. We started yesterday in a
carriage for the railway station, which is, I believe, some miles
beyond this point. There were two roads from the last place at which
we stopped, and we chose the one which ran along a valley and which we
supposed would be the pleasanter of the two. We there engaged a pair
of horses which did not prove very serviceable animals, and, at a
point about a hundred yards from where we now are, one of them gave
out entirely. The driver declared that the only thing to be done was
to turn loose the disabled horse, which would be certain, in time, to
find his way back to his stable, and for him to proceed on the other
animal to the station to which we were going, where he would procure
some fresh horses and return as speedily as possible. To this plan we
were obliged to consent, as there was no alternative. He told us that
if we did not care to remain in the carriage, there was a shed by the
side of the road, a little farther on, which was erected for the
accommodation of men who are sometimes here in charge of relays of
horses. After assuring us that he would not be absent more than three
hours, he rode away, and we have not seen him since. Soon after he
left us I came up to this shed, and finding it tight and comparatively
comfortable, I concluded it would give us relief from our somewhat
cramped position in the carriage, and so conducted the ladies here. As
night drew on it became very cold, and I determined to make a fire, a
proceeding which of course would have been impossible in a vehicle.
Fortunately I had with me, at the back of the carriage, a case of
California brandy. By the aid of a stone I knocked the top off this
case, and brought hither several of the bottles. I found in the shed
an old tin pan which I filled with the straw coverings of the bottles,
and on this I poured brandy, which, being ignited, produced a fire
without smoke, but which, as we gathered around it, gave out
considerable heat."
As the speaker thus referred to his fuel, I understood the reason of
the strong odor of spirits which filled the shed, and I experienced a
certain relief in my mind.
The gentleman continued: "At first I attributed the delay of the
driver's return to those ordinary hindrances which so frequently occur
in rural and out-of-the-way places; but, after a time, I could not
imagine any reasonable cause for his delay. As it began to grow dark I
brought here our provision baskets, and we partook of a slight
repast. I then made the ladies as comfortable as possible and awaited
with much anxiety the return of the driver.
"After a time it began to snow, and feeling that the storm might
interrupt communication with the carriage, I brought hither, making
many trips for the purpose, the rest of the brandy, our wraps and
rugs, and the cushions of the carriage. I did not believe that we
should be left here all night, but thought it prudent to take all
precautions and to prepare for remaining in a place where we could
have a fire. The morning showed me that I had acted wisely. As you
know, sir, I found the road in either direction completely blocked up
by snow, and I have since been unable to visit the carriage."
"Have you not all suffered from cold?" I inquired. "Have you food
enough?"
"I will not say," replied the gentleman, "that in addition to our
anxiety we have not suffered somewhat from cold, but for the greater
part of this day I have adopted a plan which has resulted in
considerable comfort to my companions. I have wrapped them up very
closely and warmly, and they hold in each hand a hard-boiled egg. I
thought it better to keep these for purposes of warmth than to eat
them. About every half hour I reboil the eggs in a little traveling
teapot which we have. They retain their warmth for a considerable
period, and this warmth in a moderate degree is communicated through
the hands to the entire person."
As he said this a low laugh again burst forth from the bundle in one
corner of the room, and I could not help smiling at this odd way of
keeping warm. I looked towards the jocose bundle and remarked that the
eggs must be pretty hard by this time.
"These ladies," said the gentleman, "are not accustomed to the cold
atmosphere of this region, and I have, therefore, forbidden them to
talk, hoping thus to prevent injury from the inhalation of frosty air.
So far we have not suffered, and we still have some food left. About
noon I noticed smoke floating over this shed, and I forced open the
door and made my way for some little distance outside, hoping to
discover whence it came. I then heard voices on the other side of the
enormous snow-drift behind us, but I could see no possible way of
getting over the drift. Feeling that I must, without fail, open
communication with any human beings who might be near us, I attempted
to shout, but the cold had so affected my voice that I could not do
so. I thereupon set my wits to work. At the back of this shed is a
small window closed by a wooden shutter. I opened this shutter and
found outside a wall of snow packed closely against it. The snow was
not very hard, and I believed that it would not be difficult to tunnel
a way through it to the place where the voices seemed to be. I
immediately set to work, for I feared that if we were obliged to
remain here another night without assistance we should be compelled
to-morrow morning to eat those four hard-boiled eggs which the ladies
are holding, and which, very shortly, I must boil again."
"How did you manage to cut through the snow?" I asked. "Had you a
shovel?"
"Oh, no," replied the other. "I used the tin pan. I found it answered
very well as a scoop. Each time that I filled it I threw the contents
out of our door."
"It must have been slow and difficult work," I said.
"Indeed it was," he replied. "The labor was arduous and occupied me
several hours. But when I saw a respectable man at a fire, and a
stage-coach near by, I felt rewarded for all my trouble. May I ask
you, sir, how you came to be thus snow-bound?"
I then briefly related the circumstances of our mishap, and had
scarcely finished when a shrill sound came through the tunnel into the
shed. It was the voice of Mrs. Aleshine.
"Hello!" she screamed, "are you in there? An' you don't mean to tell
me there are other people in that hole?"
Feeling quite certain that my wife and her companions were in a state
of mental agitation on the other side of the drift, I called back that
I would be with them in a moment, and then explained to the gentleman
why I could not remain with him longer. "But before I go," I said, "is
there anything I can do for you? Do you really want an iron pot?"
"The food that remains to us," he answered, "is fragmentary and rather
distasteful to the ladies, and I thought if I could make a little stew
of it, it might prove more acceptable to them. But do not let me
detain you another instant from your friends, and I advise you to go
through that tunnel feet foremost, for you might otherwise experience
difficulties in getting out at the other end."
I accepted his suggestion, and by his assistance and the help of the
rough window-frame, I got into the hole feet first, and soon ejected
myself into the midst of my alarmed companions. When they heard where
I had been, and what I had seen, they were naturally astounded.
"Another party deserted at this very point!" exclaimed Ruth, who was
both excitable and imaginative. "This looks like a conspiracy! Are we
to be robbed and murdered?"
At these words Mrs. Aleshine sprang towards me. "Mr. Craig," she
exclaimed, "if it's robbers, don't lose a minute! Never let 'em git
ahead of you! Pull out your pistol and fire through the hole!"
"Gracious me, Barb'ry Aleshine," said Mrs. Lecks, "you don't suppose
the robbers is them poor unfortunates on the other side of the drift!
And I must say, Mrs. Craig, that if there was any such thing as a
conspiracy, your father must have been in it, for it was him who
landed us just here. But of course none of us supposes nothin' of that
kind, and the first thing we've got to think of is what we can do for
them poor people."
"They seem to have some food left, but not much," I said, "and I fear
they must be suffering from cold."
"Couldn't we poke some wood to them through this hole?" said Mrs.
Aleshine, whose combative feelings had changed to the deepest
compassion. "I should think they must be nearly froze, with nothin'
to warm 'em but hard-b'iled eggs."
I explained that there was no place in their shed where they could
build a fire, and proposed that we should give them some hot tea and
some of our provisions.
"That's so!" said Mrs. Aleshine. "An' jus' shout in to them that if
they'll shove them eggs through the hole, I'll bile 'em fur 'em as
often as they want 'em."
"I've just got to say this," ejaculated Mrs. Lecks, as she and Mrs.
Aleshine were busily placing a portion of our now very much reduced
stock of provisions in the smallest of our baskets: "This is the first
time in my life that I ever heard of people warmin' themselves up with
hens' eggs and spirits, excep' when mixed up into eggnog; and that
they resisted that temptation and contented themselves with plain
honest heat, though very little of it, shows what kind of people they
must be. And now do you suppose we could slide this basket in without
upsettin' the little kittle?"
I called to the gentleman that we were about to send him a basket, and
then, by the aid of an umbrella, I gently pushed it through the
snow-tunnel to a point where he could reach it. Hearty thanks came
back to us through the hole, and when the basket and kettle were
returned, we prepared our own evening meal.
"For the life of me," said Mrs. Lecks, as she sipped a cup of tea, "I
can't imagine, if there was a shed so near us, why we didn't know it."
"That has been puzzling me," I replied; "but the other road, on which
the shed is built, is probably lower than this one, so that the upper
part of the shed could not have projected far above the embankment
between the two roads, and if there were weeds and dead grasses on the
bank, as there probably were, they would have prevented us from
noticing the top of a weatherworn shed."
"Especially," said Mrs. Lecks, "as we wasn't lookin' for sheds, and,
as far as I know, we wasn't lookin' for anythin' on that side of the
coach, for all my eyes was busy starin' about on the side we got in
and out of, and down the road."
"Which mine was too," added Mrs. Aleshine. "An' after it begun to snow
we couldn't see nothin' anyhow, partic'larly when everything was all
covered up."
"Well," added Mrs. Lecks in conclusion, "as we didn't see the shed,
it's a comfort to think there was reasons for it and that we are not
born fools."
It was now growing dark, and but few further communications took place
through the little tunnel.
"Before we get ready to go to sleep," said Mrs. Aleshine, "for, havin'
no candles, I guess we won't sit up late, hadn't we better rig up some
kind of a little sled to put in that hole, with strings at both ends,
so that we kin send in mustard-plasters and peppermint to them poor
people if they happen to be sick in the night?"
This little project was not considered necessary, and after receiving
assurances from the gentleman on the other side that he would be able
to keep his party warm until morning, we bade each other good-night,
and after having replenished the fire, I got into the stage, where my
companions had already established themselves in their corners. I
slept very little, while I frequently went out to attend to the fire,
and my mind was racked by the most serious apprehensions. Our food was
nearly gone, and if relief did not come to us very soon I could see
nothing but a slow death before us, and, so far as I could imagine,
there was no more reason to expect succor on the following day than
there had been on the one just passed. Where were the men to be found
who could cut a road to us through those miles of snow-drifts?
Very little was said during the night by my companions, but I am sure
that they felt the seriousness of our situation, and that their
slumbers were broken and unrefreshing. If there had been anything to
do, Mrs. Lecks and Mrs. Aleshine would have been cheered up by the
prospect of doing it; but we all felt that there was nothing we could
do.