Return we to the squatter's cabin--this time to enter it. Inside, there
is not much to be seen or described. The interior consists of a single
room--of which the log-walls are the sides, and the clapboard roof the
ceiling. In one corner there is a little partition or screen--the
materials composing it being skins or the black bear and fallow deer.
It is pleasant to look upon this little chamber: it is the shrine of
modesty and virgin innocence. Its presence proves that the squatter is
not altogether a savage.
Rude as is the interior of the sheiling, it contains a few relics of
bygone, better days--not spent there, but elsewhere. Some books are
seen upon a little shelf--the library of Lilian's mother--and two or
three pieces of furniture, that have once been decent, if not stylish.
But chattels of this land are scarce in the backwoods--even in the
houses of more pretentious people than a squatter; and a log-stool or
two, a table of split poplar planks, an iron pot, some pans and pails of
tin, a few plates and pannikins of the same material, a gourd "dipper"
or drinking-cup, and half-a-dozen common knives, forks, and spoons,
constitute the whole "plenishing" of the hut. The skin of a cougar, not
long killed, hangs against the wall. Beside it are the pelts of other
wild animals--as the grey fox, the racoon, the rufous lynx, musk-rats,
and minks. These, draping the roughly-hewn logs, rob them to some
extent of their rigidity. By the door is suspended an old saddle, of
the fashion known as _American_--a sort of cross between the high-peaked
_silla_ of the Mexicans, and the flat pad-like English saddle. On the
adjacent peg hangs a bridle to match--its reins black with age, and its
bit reddened with rust. Some light articles of female apparel are seen
hanging against the wall, near that sacred precinct where, during the
the night-hours, repose the fair daughters of the squatter.
The cabin is a rude dwelling indeed--a rough casket to contain a pair of
jewels so sparkling and priceless. Just now, it is occupied by two
individuals of a very different character--two men already mentioned--
the hunter Hickman Holt, and his visitor Joshua Stebbins, the
schoolmaster of Swampville. The personal appearance of the latter has
been already half described. It deserves a more detailed delineation.
His probable age has been stated--about thirty. His spare figure and
ill-omened aspect have been alluded to. Add to this, low stature, a
tripe-coloured skin, a beardless face, a shrinking chin, a nose
sharp-pointed and peckish, lank black hair falling over the forehead,
and hanging down almost low enough to shadow a pair of deep-set
weazel-like eyes: give to this combination of features a slightly
sinister aspect, and you have the portrait of Joshua Stebbins. It is
not easy to tell the cause of this sinister expression: for the features
are not irregular; and, but for its bilious colour, the face could
scarcely be termed ill-looking. The eyes do not squint; and the thin
lips appear making a constant effort to look smiling and saint-like.
Perhaps it is this _outward_ affectation of the saintly character--
belying, as it evidently does, the spirit within, that produces the
unfavourable impression. In earlier youth, the face may have been
better favoured; but a career, spent in the exercise of evil passions,
has left more than one "blaze" upon it.
It is difficult to reconcile such a career with the demeanour of the
man, and especially with his present occupation. But Joshua Stebbins
has not always been a schoolmaster; and the pedagogue of a border
settlement is not necessarily, expected to be a model of morality. Even
if it were so, this lord of the hickory-switch is comparatively a
stranger in Swampville; and, perhaps, only the best side of his
character has been exhibited to the parents and guardians of the
settlement. This is of the saintly order; and, as if to strengthen the
illusion, a dress of clerical cut has been assumed, as also a white
cravat and black boat-brimmed hat. The coat, waistcoat, and trousers
are of broad-cloth--though not of the finest quality. It is just such a
costume as might be worn by one of the humbler class of Methodist border
Ministers, or by a Catholic priest--a somewhat rarer bird in the
backwoods.
Joshua Stebbins is neither one nor the other; although, as will shortly
appear, his assumption of the ecclesiastical style is not altogether
confined to his dress. Of late he has also affected the clerical
calling. The _ci-devant_ attorney's clerk--whilom the schoolmaster of
Swampville--is now an "apostle" of the "Latter-day Saints." The
character is new--the faith itself is not very old--for the events we
are relating occurred during the first decade of the Mormon revelation.
Even Holt himself has not yet been made aware of the change: as would
appear from a certain air of astonishment, with which at first sight he
regards the clerical habiliments of his visitor.
It would be difficult to imagine a greater contrast than that presented
in the appearance of these two men. Were we to select two parallel
types from the animal world, they would be the sly fox and the grizzly
bear--the latter represented by the squatter himself. In Hickman Holt
we behold a personage of unwonted aspect: a man of gigantic stature,
with a beard reaching to the second button of his coat, and a face not
to be looked upon without a sensation of terror--a countenance
expressive of determined courage, but at the same time of fierceness,
untempered by any trace of a softer emotion. A shaggy sand-coloured
beard, slightly grizzled; eyebrows like a _chevaux de frise_ of hogs'
bristles; eyes of a greenish-grey, and a broad livid scar across the
left cheek--are component parts in producing this aspect; while a red
cotton kerchief, wound turban-like around the head, and pulled low down
in front, renders its expression more palpable and pronounced.
A loose surtout of thick green blanket-cloth, somewhat faded and worn,
adds to the colossal appearance of the man: while a red-flannel shirt
serves him also for a vest. His huge limbs are encased in pantaloons of
blue Kentucky "jeans;" but these are scarcely visible--as the skirt of
his ample coat drapes down so as to cover the tops of a pair of rough
horse-skin boots, that reach upwards to his knees. The costume is
common enough on the banks of the Mississippi; the colossal form is not
rare; but the fierce, and somewhat repulsive countenance--that is more
individual.
Is this father of Marian and Lilian? Is it possible from so rude a stem
could spring such graceful branches--flowers so fair and lovely? If so,
then must the mothers of both have been beautiful beyond common! It is
even true, and true that both were beautiful--were for they are gone,
and Hickman Holt is twice a widower. Long ago, he buried the half-blood
mother of Marian; and at a later period--though still some years ago--
her gentle golden-haired successor was carried to an early grave.
The latter event occurred in one of the settlements, nearer to the
region of civilised life. There was a murmur of mystery about the
second widowhood of Hickman Holt, which only became hushed on his
"moving" further west--to the wild forest where we now find him. Here
no one knows aught of his past life or history--one only excepted--and
that is the man who is to-day his visitor.
Contrasting the two men--regarding the superior size and more formidable
aspect of the owner of the cabin, you would expect his guest to make
some show of obeisance to him. On the contrary, it is the squatter who
exhibits the appearance of complaisance. He has already saluted his
visitor with an air of embarrassment, but ill-concealed under the words
of welcome with which he received him. Throughout the scene of
salutation, and afterwards, the schoolmaster has maintained his
characteristic demeanour of half-smiling, half-sneering coolness.
Noting the behaviour of these two men to one another, even a careless
observer could perceive that the smaller man is the _master_!