THE FIRST FLOWER OF SPRING
There was a report like a pistol shot from the ice in the river,
followed by others at short intervals. "That means for us to get out
the boats," said Mackenzie to Chandonnais.
Only one of the boats stored in the trader's barn was worthy of the
name. It was a large bateau, capable of accommodating a dozen people
and a small amount of baggage. The others were pirogues, or logs
trimmed at the ends and hollowed out in the centre. One person might
be negatively comfortable, but two crowded the small craft to the
danger-point.
A pirogue furnished the ordinary means of communication with the Fort,
and two or three were fastened to a sapling on the other side of the
stream. There was also a good boat, belonging to the Fort, which would
hold five or six people. The bateau was used for carrying freight
between the Fort, the Agency House, and Mackenzie's.
The river was a narrow, deep, weedy channel, with a very slight fall,
and a large sand-bar stretched across the mouth of it. In Summer, one
could stand at the end of the broad piazza in front of the house and
see the Indians in their light canoes pass the sand-bar at will, go
down into the lake, and return up-stream.
Gradually the river filled with great masses of ice, which moved
lazily in a circle at the whim of some concealed current, or drifted
gently toward the mouth of the stream. For several days there was no
communication with the Fort; then Mackenzie broke the ice-jam at the
bar, and by the middle of March a boat could easily cross.
Seemingly by preconcerted arrangement, the pack-trains arrived during
the last week of March. Twenty horses came from the Illinois and
Kankakee districts, and seventeen from the Rock River, loaded with
skins. For a year the Indians in the Mississippi valley had exchanged
peltries for provisions, beads, and liquor. Five Canadian _engagés_,
with rude camping outfits strapped to their backs, walked in leisurely
fashion beside the horses.
The skins were stored in the Agency House, awaiting the schooner from
the American Fur Company at Fort Mackinac. The horses were tethered
on the plains near the Fort, and business was carried on there, except
at meal-time, when eight hungry men and four children taxed Mrs.
Mackenzie's strength to the utmost.
Three days later the schooner was sighted, bearing down from the
north, and, as it was practically the only event of the year, the
settlement went in force to the lake shore to see it come in. A
corporal's guard, bitterly complaining, was left at the Fort.
With the wind filling her sails, the ship steered south-west until she
reached a point exactly opposite the mouth of the river, then turned
swiftly, like a bird, and came toward the cheering crowd on shore. The
waves broke in foam upon her keel, and amid the shouts of command and
welcome and the clatter of the rigging, came the song of a _voyageur_,
in a clear, high tenor, which won a separate recognition.
"More men to feed," sighed Mrs. Mackenzie.
"Never mind, Aunt Eleanor," said Forsyth, "I'm going to help you."
"Me, too! Me, too!" cried the children.
Mrs. Howard and Mrs. Franklin promptly offered their services, and
Ronald put an affectionate arm about her waist. "Don't bother, Aunt
Eleanor," he said; "you've got me."
Forsyth was surprised at the speech, and still more astonished when
the Ensign made it good during the hard days that followed. He tied a
big blue apron under his arms, unmindful of its ridiculous flapping
about his knees, set his cap on the back of his head, rolled up his
sleeves, and announced that he was ready for work. Forsyth helped
him split wood, bring water, make fires, and wash dishes until his
head swam with weariness; but through it all, Ronald was serene and
untroubled, keeping up a cheery whistle and a fusillade of comment and
observation which lightened the situation exceedingly.
Mrs. Mackenzie found herself taking orders from the young soldier who
was the self-constituted master of the cuisine, and learned to obey
without question, even when she was sent to her easy-chair early in
the morning and kept there during the greater part of the day.
Mrs. Howard and Mrs. Franklin were unceremoniously put out. "Kitty
and Mamie," pleaded the Ensign, in an aggravating falsetto, "will you
please run home? Your mother has enough to feed without your trotting
in to meals." He accompanied the request with a threatening wave of a
spoon filled with pancake batter, which had the desired effect.
"There," he said, "I've finally chased 'em out. I do hate to have
women bothering around me, don't you, Rob?"
"I've never been bothered," laughed Forsyth; "at least, not in that
way."
Swiftly upon the heels of the schooner came the boats from Milwaukee.
The cargoes were landed on the lake shore and taken to the Agency
by the pack-horses. All day the patient beasts plodded to and fro,
carrying furs to the shore, and provisions, blankets, calicoes,
prints, and a thousand other things to the storehouse. The small boats
from the ship plied back and forth, landing the cargo and taking back
peltries, and the men worked from sunrise to sunset.
An unusual amount of friction developed between the several _engagés_
and _voyageurs_, and various disputes were settled on the spot with
bare fists. Chandonnais had a rare talent for getting into trouble,
and few indeed were the fights in which he did not eventually take a
leading part.
"Chan," said Mackenzie, at length, "you ain't paid to fight, but to
work; and if there's any more of this I'll send you to one of the
other posts." This threat was always effectual, for some reason which
the trader did not seek to know.
At last the tired horses finished their task and every skin was in the
hold of the schooner. The Agency House was filled to bursting with the
materials of trade, and a small but precious horde of gold pieces,
representing the balance in his favour, was hidden in Mackenzie's
leather belt.
There was a day of rest for everybody except Mrs. Mackenzie and her
assistants; then Chandonnais surprised the trader by a demand for his
year's wages.
"Why, Chan!" exclaimed Mackenzie, "don't you want me to keep it for
you as I've been a-doing?"
The half-breed shook his head sullenly.
"Well, it's yours, and you can do just as you please with it, but I
guess you'll be sorry for it later. Mind, now, this is all till next
year--you don't get any advance."
Chan agreed, and Mackenzie called Robert to witness the transaction.
Five shining ten-dollar gold pieces were counted out into a grimy paw
that closed upon them quickly, as if in fear.
"Fifty dollars and found," Mackenzie explained to Robert as
Chandonnais went away. "I don't grudge it neither, for he's a good boy
when he ain't fighting."
The schooner was lying by for a favouring wind, and the pack-trains
were waiting to give the horses a needed rest. Mackenzie had made
an equitable division of the stores at the Agency, and each of the
_engagés_ knew exactly what he was to take back with him, and the
approximate value of each article in terms of peltries. During the day
liquor flowed freely, and at night there was a barbecue on the lake
shore.
A young ox was roasted whole, in front of a huge fire which could be
seen for miles around. Forsyth and the Mackenzies, with their four
children, and the officers and men from the Fort with their wives and
families, sat around on the sand and took part in the celebration. A
single sentinel patrolled the Fort, cursing his luck, and a few stray
Indians watched the festive scene from afar.
Chandonnais had his violin, and the fine tenor of the _voyageur_ was
lifted in song--old French _chansons_ and garbled melodies of the day.
The strings of the fiddle were twanged in delicate accompaniment until
the singer struck up Yankee Doodle, which, owing to the French accent
and the peculiar distortion of the tune, was taken by the company as a
humorous performance.
The men ate hungrily, and at last even Ronald was satisfied. Then
a sudden thought struck him, and he went over to speak to Captain
Franklin. "Good-bye, everybody," he shouted.
"Where are you going?" asked Forsyth.
"I'm going back to relieve that poor devil at the Fort."
In spite of a chorus of protests, he went, and the lone sentry
appeared presently, grinning from ear to ear, to feast and revel while
his superior officer kept guard with a bayonet over his shoulder. It
was such trifles as this which endeared Ronald to the soldiers. There
was not a man in barracks who would not have followed him cheerfully
to certain death.
The fire died down and some of the men slept peacefully on the sand,
while others yawned openly. Chandonnais improvised a weird melody
which was strangely out of keeping. There was something uncanny in the
air which accorded ill with the festival, and it seemed only fitting
and proper when Mad Margaret materialised from the outer darkness and
came into the centre of the group.
A hush came over the company and some of the newcomers, who had heard
wild tales of Margaret, were secretly afraid. Chandonnais kept on
playing, and she watched him with wide, wondering eyes. For a long
time the magic of the strings kept her quiet, then she began to
mutter to herself uneasily.
"Margaret," said Mackenzie, gently, "come here."
Chandonnais threw down his violin with a gesture of impatience,
beckoned to the singer, and walked away rapidly. The _voyageur_ rose
lazily, yawned, and followed him with seeming indifference.
Margaret's eyes were shining like the live coals which gleamed in the
ashes. She leaned forward and picked up the violin, stroking it and
crooning to it as if it were a child.
"Margaret," said Mackenzie again, "come here."
She went to him with a dog-like, unquestioning obedience, and sat down
in front of him. Mrs. Mackenzie was next to her husband, with the baby
in her lap, and Mrs. Howard sat on her mother's left. The Lieutenant
was talking with Forsyth and the Captain, and at a little distance, on
Mackenzie's right, sat Doctor Norton.
A sharp cry came from the violin, where Margaret's fingers tightened
on the strings. "I see blood," she said,--"much blood, then fire, and
afterward peace."
No one spoke, and Margaret mumbled to herself, then pounced upon
Katherine. She took her by the shoulders and shook her roughly. "You
will have your heart's desire," she cried, "at the time of the blood,
but sorrow will come with it!"
Before any one else had time to move, Doctor Norton caught Margaret
and pulled her away.
"Oh," she shrieked, shaking her fist in his face, "the Red Death has
its fingers at your throat!"
Mackenzie picked up the violin, found the bow in the darkness, and
began to play--rudely enough, it is true, but in some semblance of
rhythm. Margaret quieted almost immediately, and sat down in front of
him, rocking back and forth in time with the faltering tune.
"Aunt Eleanor," said Forsyth, over her shoulder, "don't you think I'd
better take the children home?"
"Yes, please, if you will."
She put the sleeping baby into his arms, woke Maria Indiana, and
directed Ellen and Johnny to go with "Cousin Rob." The procession
moved slowly, for the baby was heavy, and the other children were
inclined to linger. Mad Margaret had a terrible fascination for them.
As they passed a grove of cottonwoods, angry voices came from the
thicket, in a mongrel French which had but little in common with that
Robert had learned at Yale.
"It is abominable," cried Chandonnais. "It is too much!"
"So?" laughed the other, mockingly; "and only last year you told me
you would pay the price!"
"A year's wages for a common crucifix!"
"It is no common crucifix. It is of solid silver, and it is from the
old mission, where it was blessed by Père Marquette himself."
"How do you know?"
"The good Father told me so. It has been blessed by Père Marquette and
by all the holy men who have come after him. It will cure disease and
keep from all harm."
"Well," sighed Chandonnais, "I'll take it."
Robert heard the clink of the half-breed's hard-earned gold, and
wondered whether he had spent the whole of it for a cross.
The next day the prevailing wind of Summer blew warm and strong
from the south-west, and the sails of the schooner filled as if in
anticipation. Robert thought of the hardy Romans in the Æneid, when
"the breezes called their sails," as once again the people gathered on
the shore.
Letters and messages to friends at Fort Mackinac, together with many
trifling gifts, were pressed upon the crew. A long line of foam lay
upon the turquoise water when out in the sunlit distance the ship
turned to the north, and hands were waved in farewell long after the
others had ceased to see. The Mackenzies were glad it was over, even
though a long year was to pass without communication with the outside
world, but others were sorry. Chandonnais was non-committal and hummed
to himself the song of the _voyageur_.
The pack-trains were loaded, the patient horses bending under a
heavier burden than they had brought; the boats started to Milwaukee
after all of the _engagés_ had been given another round of liquor,
and a pack-train followed them north on land. The others, silhouetted
against the setting sun, went west over the unbroken prairie; the
drowsy tinkle of the bells died away in a silvery murmur, and peace
lay on Fort Dearborn.
* * * * *
At the end of the week there was a diversion which was entirely
unexpected--as most real diversions contrive to be. Mrs. Mackenzie
was in the garden, planting flower seeds, when soft footsteps sounded
on the bare earth beside her, and a sweet voice said, "How do you do,
Aunt Eleanor?"
"Why, Beatrice!" exclaimed Mrs. Mackenzie, kissing her warmly. "Where
did you come from?"
"From Fort Wayne, with Captain Wells--he's across the river. I rowed
over by myself. I was so afraid you'd see me coming and wouldn't be
surprised."
"My dear! I'm so glad!"
"Maybe you won't be, when I tell you. I've come to live with you, Aunt
Eleanor."
"That makes me happier still," said Mrs. Mackenzie, in her stately
way. "You are welcome."
"Thank you, Aunty; but I haven't come to be a burden to you, and I
trust I never shall be. If I'm ever a trouble, I want you to tell me
so and send me away. In the first place, I have fought most terribly
with my aunt and uncle at Fort Wayne. They don't know I've come."
"Why, my dear! How could you?"
"Oh, they know it now," said Beatrice, laconically, with her head on
one side. "If they don't, the suspense will do them good. Anyhow, they
know I'm not there, and that's enough. You know I have a little income
of my own, Aunty, so I'm not dependent upon any one, and I'm going to
pay my board. If you won't let me," she continued, warningly, seeing
disapproval on Mrs. Mackenzie's kindly face, "I'm going back with
Captain Wells to-morrow, so now!"
"I'll let you do anything you want to, dear, if you'll only stay with
me. I have needed a grown daughter ever since Katherine was married."
"Then it's all arranged, and I'll stay with you for ever. I know I
never could fight with you."
"Here comes your uncle."
The trader beamed with delight when Beatrice cast herself upon him and
kissed him twice. "I've come to live with you," she said, "and I've
just fixed it with Aunt Eleanor. Captain Wells is over at the Fort
with the soldiers. We brought ten with us--it was quite an army, and
the Captain kept up military discipline all along the trail, with me
for First Lieutenant. They're going to stay at the Fort, and I'm going
to stay here." She pirouetted around him in high spirits.
"You're welcome, Bee; but how did it happen?"
"I fought," explained Beatrice, carelessly. "They told me what I
should do and what I shouldn't. Nobody ever says 'must' to me. If you
ever want me to do anything, you'll have to say 'please.' Would you
mind going over to the Fort after my things, Uncle? I've got a big box
with all my worldly goods inside of it."
Mackenzie went, for men always did as Beatrice suggested.
"Come in, dear," said her aunt. "You can have the east room, so you'll
get the morning sun."
"How sweet you are, Aunt Eleanor," murmured the girl, with her arm
thrown around the other's shoulders, for she was even taller than Mrs.
Mackenzie. Her face had the deep, creamy tint which sometimes goes
with violet eyes and brown hair with auburn lights in it. Beneath a
short nose, tilted ever so slightly, was the most bewitching mouth in
the world--small and perfect in shape, dangerously curved, and full of
a daring coquetry. When she smiled, one saw that her teeth were small
and white and absolutely even, but soon forgot that minor detail.
At first glance, no one would have called her pretty; she was like
something beautiful which must be studied before it is appreciated.
The arrival of the visitor had effectually broken up the school.
"Tuzzin Bee! Tuzzin Bee!" crowed Maria Indiana, delightedly.
"You darling," cried Beatrice, catching the child in her arms; "have
you remembered me a whole year?"
Robert was introduced as "a cousin on the other side of the house,"
and he bent gravely over the girl's hand.
"Are we truly cousins?" she asked.
There was a confused silence, then Robert found his tongue. "I trust
we are," he said, with the air of a gentleman of the old school, "for
you are the first flower of Spring."
The door burst open and Ronald entered. "What do you think," he
shouted; "we've got troops! Captain Wells has brought ten soldiers to
the Fort!"
"Miss Manning," said Mrs. Mackenzie, "let me present Ensign George
Ronald, of Fort Dearborn."
Beatrice bowed, but he stared at her for an instant, then brought his
heels together and raised his hand to his forehead in military salute.
There was an awkward instant, then the deep crimson dyed the Ensign's
face. He turned--and bolted.
From the window Beatrice saw him, in a pirogue, pulling back to the
Fort as if his life depended upon it, then she laughed--a deep, sweet,
vibrant laugh, that thrilled Robert to the very depths of his soul.