Carl Rosenthrall was a wealthy citizen of New York. That is, rich when
we consider the time in which he lived, when our mammoth city was
little more than a good-sized village, and quite a thriving trade was
carried on with the Indians along the river, and it was in this trade
chiefly, that Carl Rosenthrall and his father before him, had made
nearly all the wealth which Carl possessed.
But Carl Rosenthrall's business was not confined to trading with the
Indians alone, he kept what would now be called a country store. A
store where everything almost could be found, from a plough to a paper
of needles.
Some ten years previous to the time when the events occurred which are
recorded in the preceding chapter, and when Hellena Rosenthrall was
about six years old, an Indian chief with whom Rosenthrall had
frequent dealings, and whose name was Fire Cloud, came in to the
merchant's house when he was at dinner with his family, and asked for
something to eat, saying that he was hungry.
Now Fire Cloud, like the rest of his race, had an unfortunate liking
for strong drink, and was a little intoxicated, and Rosenthrall not
liking to be intruded upon at such a time by a drunken savage, ordered
him out of the house, at the same time calling him a drunken brute,
and making use of other language not very agreeable to the Indian.
The chief did as he was required, but in doing so, he put his hand on
his tomahawk and at the same time turned on Rosenthrall a look that
said as well as words could say, "Give me but the opportunity, and
I'll bury this in your skull."
The chief, on passing out, seated himself for a moment on the stoop in
front of the house.
While he was sitting there, little Hellena, with whom he had been a
favorite, having often seen him at her father's store, came running
out to him with a large piece of cake in her hand, saying:
"Here, No-No, Hellena will give you some cake."
No-No was the name by which the Indian was known to the child, having
learned it from hearing the Indian make use of the name no, no, so
often when trading with her father.
The Indian took the proffered cake with a smile, and as he did so
lifted the child up in his arms and gazed at her steadily for a few
moments, as if he wished to impress every feature upon his memory, and
then sat her down again.
He was just in the act of doing this when the child's father came out
of the dining-room.
Rosenthrall, imagining that the Indian was about to kidnap his
daughter, or do her some violence, rushed out ordering him to put the
child down, and be off about his business.
It was the recollection of this circumstance, taken in connection with
the fact that Fire Cloud had been seen in the city on the day on which
his daughter had disappeared, which led Rosenthrall to fix upon the
old chief as the person who had carried off Hellena.
This opinion, as we have seen, was encouraged by Captain Flint for
reasons of his own.
The facts in the case were these.
Rosenthrall, as Captain Flint had said, although for a long time one
of his best customers, knowing to, and winking at his unlawful doings,
having been elected a magistrate took it in to his head to be honest.
He had made money out of his connection with the smuggler and pirate,
and he probably thought it best to break off the connection before it
should be too late, and he should be involved in the ruin which he
foresaw Captain Flint was certain to bring upon himself if he
continued much longer in the reckless course he was now pursuing.
All this was understood by Captain Flint, and it was as he explained
to his men, in order to get the upper hand of Rosenthrall, and thus
prevent the danger which threatened him from that quarter, he had
caused Hellena to be kidnapped, and conveyed to their grand hiding
place, the cave in the side of the mountain.
Rosenthrall at this time resided in a cottage on the banks of the
river, a short distance from his place of business, the grounds
sloping down to the water.
These grounds were laid out into a flower garden where there was an
arbor in which Hellena spent the greater part of her time during the
warm summer evenings.
It was while lingering in this arbor rather later than usual that she
was suddenly pounced upon by the two Indians employed by Captain Flint
for the purpose, and conveyed to his vessel, which lay at anchor a
short distance further up the river.
Captain Flint immediately set sail with his unwilling passenger, and
in a few hours afterwards she was placed in the cave under the safe
keeping of the squaw who presided over that establishment.
If the reader would like to know what kind of a looking girl Hellena
Rosenthrall was at this time, I would say that a merrier, more
animated, if not a handsomer face he never looked upon. She was the
very picture of health and fine spirits.
Her figure was rather slight, but not spare, for her form was compact
and well rounded, and her movements were as light and elastic as those
of a deer.
Her complexion was fair, one in which you might say without any streak
of fancy, the lily was blended with the rose.
Her eyes were blue and her hair auburn, bordering on the golden, and
slightly inclined to wave rather than to curl.
Her nose was of moderate size and straight, or nearly so.
Some would say that her mouth was rather large, but the lips were so
beautifully shaped, and then when she smiled she displayed such an
exquisite set of the purest teeth, setting off to such advantage the
ruby tinting of the lips, you felt no disposition to find fault with
it.
We have spoken of Hellena's look as being one of animation and high
spirits, and such was its general character, but for some time past a
shadow of gloom had come over it.
Hellena was subject to the same frailties which are common to her sex.
She had fallen in love!
The object of her affections was a young man some two or three years
older than herself, and at first nothing occurred to mar their
happiness, for the parents of both were in favor of the match.
As they were both young, however, it was decided to postpone their
union for a year.
In the meantime, Henry Billings, the intended bridegroom, should make
a voyage to Europe in order to transact some business for his father,
who was a merchant trading with Amsterdam.
The vessel in which he sailed never reached her place of destination.
It was known that she carried out a large amount of money sent by
merchants in New York, as remittances to those with whom they had
dealings in Europe. This, together with certain facts which transpired
shortly after the departure of the vessel, led some people to suspect
that she had met with foul play somewhere on the high seas; and that
not very far from port either.
Hellena, who happened to be in her father's store one day when Captain
Flint was there, saw on his finger a plain gold ring which she was
sure had belonged to her lover.
This fact she mentioned to her father after the captain had gone.
Her father at that time ridiculed her suspicions. But he afterwards
remembered circumstances connected with the departure of the vessel,
and the movements of Captain Flint about the same time, which taken in
connection with the discovery made by his daughter, did seem to
justify the dark suspicions created in the mind of his daughter.
But how was he to act under the circumstance? As a magistrate, it was
his business to investigate the matter. But then there was the danger
should he attempt to do so, of exposing his own connection with the
pirate.
He must move cautiously.
And he did move cautiously, yet not so cautiously but he aroused the
suspicions of Captain Flint, who, as we have seen, in order to secure
himself against the danger which threatened him in that quarter, had
carried off the daughter of the merchant.