An unlooked-for obstacle presented itself. The cunning Powhatan refused to barter2 corn for beads3 and trinkets. He was rising rapidly to the highwater mark in the art of finance. The unwise gifts of Newport had opened his eyes to the possibilities of commerce. Guns, swords, and hatchets4 were now the only recognized moneys for which a bushel of corn could be bought.
Food must be had, but President Smith had no mind to give into the Indians’ hands the instruments of death. Instead, he seized the corn at the muzzle5 of the gun, and when that failed, Indian villages went up in flames. Of course these summary proceedings6 widened the gap between Indian and white man. Constantly some man’s scalp went to add luster7 to the name of a brave.
Smith not only procured8 food, but forced the colonists9 to work. A new fort was erected10, new settlements established along the James, and the ground tilled as spring came on, and seed planted for the next year’s harvest.
Meanwhile, the London Company at home was listening to the lies of Wingfield and Ratcliffe. President Smith, they claimed, was entirely11 to blame for the condition of the settlement; he had upset all law and order, and seized the presidency12; his wanton cruelty to the savage13 was without excuse, besides, he had not found the South Sea and Raleigh’s lost colony—and there was no one to tell that the unconscious Pocahontas held in her life the answer to their search.
The existing state of affairs must be altered, so the learned Company appointed a governor to take the place of Smith and rule with military law. A fleet of nine vessels14, with men, women and children, should be sent as soon as possible with provisions, and all needful supplies. Captain Smith and his thirty true men were to be sent home. Truly a munificent15 reward for brave effort and patient endurance!
Meanwhile President Smith, unconscious of coming disgrace, was away on a foraging136 expedition. On the return journey, being tired and worn out with toil16, he lay down in the bottom of the boat and went to sleep.
A little spark, as tiny as a pea, floated from a pipe and settled on the powder pouch17 suspended from his belt.
The unfortunate Captain, screaming with pain, threw himself into the water. His horrified19 men could scarcely master his struggles as they pulled him aboard and rapidly rowed for home. No doctor skilled in burns was there to tend him; only the clumsy fingers of men applied20 the soothing21 oil and lint22 to his burnt body.
The news of his accident was carried by lurking23 Indians to Powhatan and came to the ears of Pocahontas. Her “father” hurt—wounded! The words beat upon her dazed brain like the strokes of a lash24.
She must go to him. Let Powhatan kill if he would. Speeding under cover of night, with soothing ointments25 known to her tribe, she came to Jamestown.
“My father, my father! Pocahontas wants her father.”
Tenderly and gently Mr. Hunt led her to the bedside of John Smith.
“Has my little child come to see her father?” said the sick President. “He has missed his little one. She has not come to see him lately.”
“Powhatan not let Pocahontas come. She has herbs to make her father well.”
Turning to Mr. Hunt she said, “You ask Great Spirit to make Pocahontas’s father well, Pocahontas give many gifts in return.”
“I have already done so, my child. The Great Spirit does not need to be bought with gifts. He loves your father more than even you do.”
But she shook her head in unbelief of this last assertion.
Finding that his wounds were of too serious a nature for simple remedies, Smith determined26 to return home on Captain Argall’s ship, now lying at her moorings in the harbor.
Pocahontas was kneeling by his side when he told her of his coming departure. Locking her hands together, she bowed her head upon them and abandoned herself to grief.
“Do not grieve so, my child; your father will still love you. If I get well, doubtless I shall come back to you, or perhaps you may come across the sea to me. Then I can138 show you all the wonderful things I have told you of. Dry your tears, little one, they hurt me.”
Passing her hands across her eyes, she brushed away the tears.
“Pocahontas will do nothing to hurt her father. See, the smile has chased the tears away.”
When the day came for his departure a stretcher was prepared by his sorrowing friends and he was placed upon it.
“Let Pocahontas hold his head once more,” she pleaded, and the men let her have her desire. His friends took up the stretcher and the little procession moved toward the ship, Pocahontas holding the head of the sick man in her arms. She followed them into the cabin and knelt in her accustomed place by his side. Drawing her head down, he pressed a fatherly kiss upon her brow and bade her leave him.
Standing27 on the beach she watched the receding28 ship as long as it could be seen, and again did Eleanor Dare’s soul bid good-by to a loved one. In her granddaughter’s heart love had taken the form of hero worship. The lovely jacqueminot bud was just beginning to unfold under the kisses of the sun, when fate snatched the burning rays away.
Turning to her canoe, rocking idly on the water, she sprang in and sailed away, not to revisit Jamestown again for three long years.
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1
hew
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| v.砍；伐；削 | |
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2
barter
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| n.物物交换，以货易货，实物交易 | |
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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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4
hatchets
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| n.短柄小斧( hatchet的名词复数 )；恶毒攻击；诽谤；休战 | |
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muzzle
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| n.鼻口部；口套；枪(炮)口；vt.使缄默 | |
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proceedings
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| n.进程，过程，议程；诉讼(程序)；公报 | |
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luster
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| n.光辉；光泽，光亮；荣誉 | |
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procured
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| v.（努力）取得， （设法）获得( procure的过去式和过去分词 )；拉皮条 | |
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9
colonists
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| n.殖民地开拓者，移民，殖民地居民( colonist的名词复数 ) | |
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10
ERECTED
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| adj. 直立的，竖立的，笔直的 vt. 使 ... 直立，建立 | |
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11
entirely
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| ad.全部地，完整地；完全地，彻底地 | |
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12
presidency
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| n.总统(校长，总经理)的职位(任期) | |
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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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14
vessels
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| n.血管( vessel的名词复数 )；船；容器；（具有特殊品质或接受特殊品质的）人 | |
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munificent
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| adj.慷慨的，大方的 | |
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toil
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| vi.辛劳工作，艰难地行动；n.苦工，难事 | |
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pouch
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| n.小袋，小包，囊状袋；vt.装...入袋中，用袋运输；vi.用袋送信件 | |
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18
plunging
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| adj.跳进的，突进的v.颠簸( plunge的现在分词 )；暴跌；骤降；突降 | |
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19
horrified
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| a.(表现出)恐惧的 | |
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applied
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| adj.应用的；v.应用，适用 | |
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soothing
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| adj.慰藉的；使人宽心的；镇静的 | |
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22
lint
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| n.线头；绷带用麻布，皮棉 | |
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23
lurking
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| 潜在 | |
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24
lash
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| v.系牢；鞭打；猛烈抨击；n.鞭打；眼睫毛 | |
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25
ointments
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| n.软膏( ointment的名词复数 )；扫兴的人；煞风景的事物；药膏 | |
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26
determined
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| adj.坚定的；有决心的 | |
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standing
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| n.持续，地位；adj.永久的，不动的，直立的，不流动的 | |
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receding
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| v.逐渐远离( recede的现在分词 )；向后倾斜；自原处后退或避开别人的注视；尤指问题 | |
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