“I didn’t mean any harm by my question,” John spoke3 up, quietly.
“Thou didst no harm, young friend, but almost frightened me,” the stranger answered.
118
So the incident passed leaving the boys more curious than ever to know the history and true identity of Theodore Hatch. Ree would not confess that he was especially anxious to learn these things, because his fear of wounding the man’s feelings would not permit him to question the stranger; but John openly vowed4 that he meant to find out just who and what the stranger was, and would do so sooner or later. And in time the boys did ascertain5 all they could have wished to know, but in ways quite unexpected.
“There’s a lot of work to be done, building a horse shed and all,” said Ree, when the two friends were outside the cabin after the talk with Theodore Hatch, “but in spite of that, one of us should go back along the trail and bury the bones of Ichabod Nesbit. I’m afraid that some day our Quaker will ask to be taken to the place, and he would not think very well of us if he found things just as they were left.”
119
John fell in with this suggestion heartily6, but it was agreed that there would be time to perform the task spoken of, two or three days later, and meanwhile some inkling of the whereabouts of the lone7 Indian might be obtained. Thus it was that after some discussion it was decided8 that Ree should go that very day to the village of the Delawares on the lake a few miles away, to learn all he could of this particular savage9 and the disposition10 of the Indians in general, while at the same time he showed the people of Captain Pipe, the Delaware chieftain, that the lads desired to renew their friendly relations with them. John would remain with the stranger to care for him and guard the cabin, giving his work the while to cutting small logs with which to build a barn.
Taking some presents for the Delawares, Ree set out at about nine o’clock, promising11 to be home by dark. John shouldered his axe12 and went to work. It had been Ree’s first plan to make his trip on horseback, but resolving that it would be safer to slip through the woods very quietly until he found out just what the situation with reference to the Indians was, he traveled on foot, and soon found himself upon the familiar portage trail leading from the Cuyahoga river to the headwaters of the Tuscarawas.
120
Ree knew the way perfectly13, for he had traveled the route several times the previous winter. He felt no harm for his safety, but kept his eyes wide open and pushed forward among the great oaks and beech14 trees stealthily and rapidly. He saw no Indians but once or twice when splendid shots of game might have been made, he ignored them for safety’s sake. Leaving the beaten trail after an hour’s traveling, he made directly through the woods to the lake. Without seeing any human creature he approached the Indian town.
An air of loneliness hung over the place. Instead of smoke rising from two score or more of fires, in and among the rude log and bark houses and wigwams, the few columns of blue vapor15 which ascended16 seemed to show that the village was almost deserted17.
This was true. No one remained in the usually lively home of Captain Pipe save a number of children and old men and squaws.
121
“How—ugh!” grunted18 an old warrior19, smoking his pipe in a sunny place. He recognized Ree at once and held out his hand.
In a few minutes a half dozen aged20 men of the tribe had gathered around and all gave the young trader welcome. They could speak little English and though Ree knew some Delaware words their efforts at conversation were so poorly rewarded that one of the Indians went to call an interpreter.
To Ree’s surprise and pleasure the person summoned was Gentle Maiden21, the daughter of Captain Pipe, a young woman thoroughly22 deserving of the pretty name the Moravian missionaries23 had bestowed24 upon her. From them she had learned the language of the “Long-knives” and with her Kingdom could communicate readily.
122
Gentle Maiden had no hesitancy in answering questions. She said her father and his warriors25 were still in the northwest country and might be absent all winter. Even lately runners had been in the neighborhood to call all able-bodied men to join the braves who had first gone forth26 for the expected fighting, and no Indians remained in the vicinity save those who were too old to go to war, and some of the women and children.
“And Big Buffalo27?” asked Ree, referring to the Redskin who had given himself and John so much trouble and from whom he had made his escape in the nick of time after the attack upon their cabin.
“Big Buffalo is with the rest,” said Gentle Maiden.
“There is an Indian—not a Delaware, I think—but one who roams the forests alone and is not a friend of the Palefaces. What of him? He is still about here?”
“He is not of my father’s people,” was the Indian girl’s answer.
“You know who he is?”
“There are many wanderers in the forests; many of our race have been driven, even like yonder leaves in the wind, before the coming of the Long-knives.”
123
The answer puzzled Kingdom. It was apparent that the Indian girl wished not to tell what she knew of the mysterious Redskin, and that her sympathy was with him, though she declared herself still friendly to the young traders who had bought land of her father a year earlier.
With genuine Indian hospitality the Indians brought food for Ree, but he noticed that it was of inferior quality and not so generous in quantity as usual—only a handful of parched28 corn. He ate, however, to show his friendliness29, and after a time, leaving his gifts, a string of glass beads30 and a large pocket knife, with the Delawares, bade them good-bye.
124
Reaching home some time before sundown, Ree found that John had passed a quiet, busy day. Under these favorable circumstances, as he was almost completely exhausted31 by his long hours of watchfulness32 the night before, this following, too, upon many nights of broken rest, he said that Ring might do guard and both himself and John would turn in early. To this the latter would not listen, however, saying he would remain awake to keep an eye on the horses lest some wild beast attack them, if nothing more. He could remain in the cabin and do this, peering frequently through a loop hole, he said.
This, their second night in the cabin, passed quietly. Once toward morning Ph?be, the Quaker’s mare34, snorted and trembled violently, but John saw or heard no cause for alarm, though the horse’s action undoubtedly35 indicated that the lone Indian was somewhere near.
Agreeing that this was almost certainly the case, the boys were especially watchful33 as they were about their work next day and for many days afterward36. No night passed, either, until their lean-to stable was completed, but that one of the young men stood guard, much to the alarm of Theodore Hatch, who feared an attack upon the cabin at any time.
125
This thought did not worry either Ree or John. The tactics of their solitary37 foe38, they were now certain, were not to fight in the open, but to shoot from some safe distance; and he had shown such fear for his own safety by always disappearing immediately after he had fired a shot, that both lads held him more or less in contempt. Still, they realized the constant danger the Redskin placed them in, and though they had not made an open agreement to that effect, each boy knew that he wanted only the proper opportunity to shoot the Indian dead.
How differently they felt afterward, at least for a time, had no bearing on their plans at this time. They only knew that it was a case of kill or be killed.
126
The days passed rapidly. There was so much to do that it seemed that deep snows might make hunting a difficult task rather than a pleasure, before they could get to it. No sooner was the barn built than the corn, or all that remained of it, had to be gathered and stored away—the fodder39 stacked against the stable, the ears hung over the rafters of the cabin,—and the few scattered40 potatoes which remained, harvested. Of the latter there was scarcely more than enough for seed for the following spring, and to supplement their store of food in addition to the meat they might always have, nuts were gathered—beech nuts, chestnuts41, hickory nuts and butternuts.
When all this had been done there was grass to be stored away for the horses. It scarcely deserved the name of hay—the long grass which grew in open spots along the valley; but quite a large stack of it was laboriously42 harvested with no tools other than a scythe43 and home-made rake.
Thus more than two weeks passed, and Theodore Hatch, as much a mystery as ever, was becoming strong enough to dress himself and walk about for a few minutes at a time, when Ree again reminded John of the necessity of their giving the bones of Ichabod Nesbit a decent interment. The result was that John proposed to go himself, on horseback, the following day, and perform the task referred to.
127
So it was agreed, and allowing the Quaker to rest under the impression that he was going back along their trail only to bring up the old cart, which for more than a year had stood exposed to the weather in the ravine where it had been left, John started off at daylight on a clear, frosty morning. The fine air and the beautiful, peaceful quiet of the woods, broken only by the occasional call of wild turkeys or the chattering44 of squirrels and other small animals, put the younger of the boy pioneers in a most happy frame of mind.
Neb, having done little work for more than a fortnight, was also in high spirits and needed no urging to trot45 or gallop46 wherever the forest was sufficiently47 open to permit it. Good progress being made, therefore, horse and rider reached and crossed the gully where the abandoned cart stood, by the middle of the forenoon. Proceeding48 more slowly then, for the trail was becoming more difficult for traveling, they approached the spot they sought.
128
“I don’t mind the ride at all, but I shan’t enjoy playing sexton, I know,” John was saying to himself, as he dismounted to lead Neb down the hill sloping to the brook49 beside which Ichabod Nesbit’s bones lay, and casting about for a suitable place to tie the horse.
“Hark!”
John spoke beneath his breath, and his heart beat fast. Angry voices came to his ear, and they were not far away.
Slipping the bridle50 rein51 over a branch, the lad went cautiously forward, keeping behind the thicket52 which skirted the stream.
Again the voices were heard. Undoubtedly they were those of white men engaged in violent argument.
“’Twas the Quaker, blast him!” one coarse voice exclaimed. “And you, you Indian dog, said not a word about him till now! Why didn’t you tell us you had told him where you killed the man?”
129
Scarcely was this sentence spoken when John reached a point not more than fifty feet from the source of the angry contention53 where he could see, but, hidden by the thick brush, escaped being seen.
There stood Duff and Dexter, the men he and Ree had met at the Eagle tavern54, and also Hank Quilling, the proprietor55 of that disreputable establishment. With them was an Indian,—and—could it be possible that he was associating with such rogues56?—John almost whistled for amazement57. The Redskin was his old friend, Black Eagle.
Duff was speaking. His rage was terrible as he pointed58 his finger menacingly at the Indian and cried out, as the Mohawk stood haughtily59 erect60, his arms folded upon his chest, though his eyes flashed.
“Blast your red hide! I could—by the Eternal, I will—kill you!”
With a tremendous oath, the white man raised his rifle and quick as flash discharged it, the muzzle61 almost touching62 Black Eagle’s body.
130
It was all over in an instant. The bullet sped to the Indian’s heart; the poor fellow fell senseless, dying at his slayer’s feet.
“Lord, man! Would you bring a whole tribe of warriors down on us! An’ us away off here—”
It was the proprietor of the Eagle tavern who was speaking now, gasping63 the words chokingly, frightened and dazed by the brutal64 murder committed.
Before he could say more, John Jerome sprang among them. So quickly and noiselessly had he emerged from the brush that he was not seen till his angry voice came shrill65 and harsh:
“You fiends! You fiends! Oh, I hope I’ll see you hanged for this! What does it mean! Shooting Black Eagle down like a wolf—or—or a beast! And he was more a decent man than all three of you!”
131
With a curse upon the boy, Duff sprang forward and bore him down. Together they fell heavily, the murderer foaming66 at the mouth like a mad dog, in the violence of his rage, his evil, disfigured face almost black and horrible to behold67, while his companions stood aghast.
“Don’t get us into no trouble, Duff! You don’t know what yer doin’ when yer blood’s up!” Dexter protested, hurrying to the combatants and trying to draw his villainous companion away, the man and boy rolling over and over in their fierce struggle.
“Make short work of it, Duff, whatever you do! There’s another o’ them boys, an’ he may be here any minute—an’ Injuns, too!” yelled Quilling, the landlord, jumping about in his fear and excitement, and ending with—“Fight it out, dang ye! Ye’ve had a noose68 round yer neck ’fore now, but nobody kin1 say I killed the boy!”
And with these words the fellow threw his rifle over his shoulder and ran.
“Won’t do no good to kill him—won’t do no good, Duff,” Dexter kept gasping, still trying to pull his friend away, though his efforts were puny69 as a child’s.
132
“Curse you—curse you for two cowardly fools!” Duff yelled, again and again, vainly trying to get his hands on John Jerome’s throat. And then he looked to see whither Quilling had retreated.
The boy, struggling beneath the man’s greater weight, needed no better opportunity. He managed to get one foot quickly free and letting it drive with all his force against his assailant’s middle, sent the fellow rolling upon the ground.
The next second John was upon his feet, his rifle at his shoulder. Dexter was already running to overtake the fleeing landlord, and Duff, picking himself up, looked first at John, then at his runaway70 friends.
“Boy,” he said, slowly and distinctly, in tones more of deep, deliberate hate than anger, “I was minded to kill you the night you spied on us at that dirty hole of Quilling’s. There are reasons why I am going to let you go again”—
“Yes, here’s one!” snapped the boy, defiantly71 raising his rifle.
133
“You impudent72 —— but I’m not through with you yet.” Duff’s voice was low, though deeply, bitterly threatening. But he was interrupted—
“Now you march!” commanded John Jerome, and his voice was stern and sharp. “I’ll let daylight into that black heart of yours, right here, and now, if you don’t!”
Boldly, not once turning his head to see if the rifle’s muzzle still covered him, Duff strode away; but he called to his companions:
“Run, you blasted idiots! but I miss my guess if I don’t know who’s got something you’d like blasted well to get hold of!”
As the rough fellow disappeared among the trees, John still watching, an Indian, who, unobserved, had seen the killing73 of Black Eagle, stole away through the bushes and vanished as silently as he had come and as he had watched.
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1
kin
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| n.家族，亲属，血缘关系；adj.亲属关系的，同类的 | |
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bolster
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| n.枕垫；v.支持，鼓励 | |
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3
spoke
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| n.（车轮的）辐条；轮辐；破坏某人的计划；阻挠某人的行动 v.讲，谈（speak的过去式）；说；演说；从某种观点来说 | |
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4
vowed
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| 起誓，发誓（vow的过去式与过去分词形式） | |
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5
ascertain
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| vt.发现，确定，查明，弄清 | |
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6
heartily
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| adv.衷心地，诚恳地，十分，很 | |
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lone
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| adj.孤寂的，单独的；唯一的 | |
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8
decided
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| adj.决定了的，坚决的；明显的，明确的 | |
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9
savage
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| adj.野蛮的；凶恶的，残暴的；n.未开化的人 | |
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10
disposition
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| n.性情，性格；意向，倾向；排列，部署 | |
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promising
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| adj.有希望的，有前途的 | |
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12
axe
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| n.斧子；v.用斧头砍，削减 | |
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13
perfectly
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| adv.完美地，无可非议地，彻底地 | |
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14
beech
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| n.山毛榉；adj.山毛榉的 | |
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15
vapor
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| n.蒸汽，雾气 | |
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16
ascended
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| v.上升，攀登( ascend的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
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17
deserted
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| adj.荒芜的，荒废的，无人的，被遗弃的 | |
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18
grunted
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| （猪等）作呼噜声( grunt的过去式和过去分词 )； （指人）发出类似的哼声； 咕哝着说 | |
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19
warrior
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| n.勇士，武士，斗士 | |
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aged
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| adj.年老的，陈年的 | |
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maiden
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| n.少女，处女；adj.未婚的，纯洁的，无经验的 | |
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22
thoroughly
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| adv.完全地，彻底地，十足地 | |
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23
missionaries
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| n.传教士( missionary的名词复数 ) | |
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24
bestowed
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| 赠给，授予( bestow的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
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25
warriors
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| 武士，勇士，战士( warrior的名词复数 ) | |
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26
forth
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| adv.向前；向外，往外 | |
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27
buffalo
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| n.(北美)野牛；(亚洲)水牛 | |
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28
parched
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| adj.焦干的；极渴的；v.（使）焦干 | |
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29
friendliness
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| n.友谊，亲切，亲密 | |
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30
beads
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| n.（空心）小珠子( bead的名词复数 )；水珠；珠子项链 | |
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exhausted
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| adj.极其疲惫的，精疲力尽的 | |
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32
watchfulness
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| 警惕，留心； 警觉（性） | |
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watchful
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| adj.注意的，警惕的 | |
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34
mare
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| n.母马，母驴 | |
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undoubtedly
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| adv.确实地，无疑地 | |
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afterward
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| adv.后来；以后 | |
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37
solitary
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| adj.孤独的，独立的，荒凉的；n.隐士 | |
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38
foe
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| n.敌人，仇敌 | |
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fodder
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| n.草料；炮灰 | |
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40
scattered
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| adj.分散的，稀疏的；散步的；疏疏落落的 | |
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41
chestnuts
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| n.栗子( chestnut的名词复数 )；栗色；栗树；栗色马 | |
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laboriously
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| adv.艰苦地；费力地；辛勤地；（文体等）佶屈聱牙地 | |
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43
scythe
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| n. 长柄的大镰刀，战车镰； v. 以大镰刀割 | |
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44
chattering
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| n. （机器振动发出的）咔嗒声，(鸟等)鸣，啁啾 adj. 喋喋不休的，啾啾声的 动词chatter的现在分词形式 | |
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45
trot
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| n.疾走，慢跑；n.老太婆；现成译本；(复数）trots:腹泻（与the 连用）；v.小跑，快步走，赶紧 | |
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46
gallop
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| v./n.(马或骑马等)飞奔；飞速发展 | |
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47
sufficiently
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| adv.足够地，充分地 | |
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48
proceeding
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| n.行动，进行，(pl.)会议录，学报 | |
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49
brook
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| n.小河，溪；v.忍受，容让 | |
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50
bridle
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| n.笼头，束缚；vt.抑制，约束；动怒 | |
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51
rein
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| n.疆绳，统治，支配；vt.以僵绳控制，统治 | |
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52
thicket
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| n.灌木丛，树林 | |
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53
contention
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| n.争论，争辩，论战；论点，主张 | |
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54
tavern
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| n.小旅馆，客栈；小酒店 | |
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proprietor
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| n.所有人；业主；经营者 | |
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56
rogues
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| n.流氓( rogue的名词复数 )；无赖；调皮捣蛋的人；离群的野兽 | |
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57
amazement
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| n.惊奇，惊讶 | |
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58
pointed
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| adj.尖的，直截了当的 | |
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59
haughtily
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| adv. 傲慢地, 高傲地 | |
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60
erect
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| n./v.树立，建立，使竖立；adj.直立的，垂直的 | |
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61
muzzle
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| n.鼻口部；口套；枪(炮)口；vt.使缄默 | |
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62
touching
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| adj.动人的，使人感伤的 | |
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63
gasping
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| adj. 气喘的, 痉挛的 动词gasp的现在分词 | |
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64
brutal
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| adj.残忍的，野蛮的，不讲理的 | |
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65
shrill
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| adj.尖声的；刺耳的；v尖叫 | |
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66
foaming
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| adj.布满泡沫的；发泡 | |
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67
behold
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| v.看，注视，看到 | |
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68
noose
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| n.绳套，绞索（刑）；v.用套索捉；使落入圈套；处以绞刑 | |
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69
puny
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| adj.微不足道的，弱小的 | |
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70
runaway
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| n.逃走的人，逃亡，亡命者；adj.逃亡的，逃走的 | |
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71
defiantly
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| adv.挑战地，大胆对抗地 | |
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72
impudent
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| adj.鲁莽的，卑鄙的，厚颜无耻的 | |
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73
killing
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| n.巨额利润；突然赚大钱，发大财 | |
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