With characteristic gallantry, De Croix had at once been attracted toward Lieutenant6 Helm's young and pretty bride, and they two had already forgotten all sense of existing peril7 in a most animated8 discussion of the latest fashionable modes in Montreal. I was not a little amused by the interest manifest in her soft blue eyes as she spoke9 with all the art of a woman versed10 in such mysteries, and at the languid air of ? 120 ? elegance11 with which he bore himself. Meanwhile, I answered as best I might the flood of questions addressed to me by the two officers, who, having been shut out from the world so long, were naturally eager for military news from Fort Wayne and from the seat of government. As these partially12 ceased, I asked:
"Has a date been set for the abandonment of the Fort?"
"We march out upon the fifteenth," was Helm's reply, "the day after to-morrow, unless something occurs meanwhile to change Captain Heald's plans. I confess I dread13 its coming, much as I imagine a condemned14 man might dread the date of his execution," and his grave eyes wandered toward his young wife, as if fearful his words might be overheard by her. "There are other lives than mine endangered, and their peril makes duty doubly hard."
"Lieutenant," I said, recalled to my own mission by these words, "I myself am seeking to be of service to one here,—the young daughter of one Roger Matherson, an old soldier who died at this post last month. He was long my father's faithful comrade in arms, and with his dying breath begged our care for his orphan child. It has come to us as a sacred trust, and I was despatched upon this errand. Can you tell me where this girl is to be found?"
Before he could frame a reply, for he was somewhat slow of speech, his wife, who had turned from ? 121 ? De Croix, and was listening with interest to my story, spoke impulsively15.
"Why, we have been wondering, Mr. Wayland, where she could have gone. Not that we have worried, for she is a girl well able to care for herself, and of a most independent spirit. She disappeared very suddenly from the Fort several days ago; we supposed she must have gone with my mother when Mr. Kinzie took his family back to their home."
"With Mr. Kinzie?" I questioned, for at that moment I could not recall hearing the name. "May I ask where that home is?"
"He is the very good step-father of my wife, and one she loves as truly as if he were her own father," answered Helm, warmly; "a man among a thousand. Mr. Kinzie is an Indian trader, and has been here for several years, if indeed he be not the first white settler, for old Pointe Au Sable16 was a West Indian mulatto. His relations with these savages17 who dwell near the Great Lake, and especially those of the Pottawattomie and Wyandot tribes, are so friendly that he has felt safe to remain with his family unguarded in his own home. They have always called him Shaw-nee-aw-kee, the Silver-man, and trust him as much as he trusts them. He is, besides, a great friend of Sau-ga-nash, the half-breed Wyandot; and that friendship is a great protection. His house is across the river, a little to the east of the Fort; it can easily be seen ? 122 ? from the summit of the stockade19. But we have had no direct communication for several days; the orders have been very strict since the gates were closed. It is not safe for our soldiers to venture outside except in force, and neither Kinzie nor any of his family have lately visited us. Doubtless they feel that to do so might arouse the suspicion of their Indian friends."
"But are you sure they are there, and safe? And do you believe the one I seek will be found with them?"
"Smoke rises from the chimney, as usual, and there was a light burning there last evening. We do not know certainly that your friend is there, but think such is the case, as she was extremely friendly with a young French girl in their employ named Josette La Framboise."
I sat in silence for some time, thinking, and neglectful of the conversation being carried on around me by the others, until we were called to supper by the soldier who officiated as steward20 for the officers' mess. I remember many details of the situation, as they were frankly21 discussed in my presence while we lingered at the table; yet my own reflections were elsewhere, as I was endeavoring to determine my duty regarding the safety of her whom I had come so far to aid. Surely, my first object now must be to ascertain22 where she was, in order to be at her service when the hour for departure came. Nor had I any time to spare, ? 123 ? if we were to march out on the fifteenth. I cannot describe, at this late day, how strangely my allegiance wavered, in that hour, between the unknown, unseen girl, and the fair, vivacious23 Toinette. My heart drew me toward the one, my clear duty to the other; and I could see no way out of the dilemma24 except to find Elsa Matherson without delay, in order that the two should be close together where, as need arose, I could stand between them and whatever of evil impended25.
I fear I was an indifferent guest, for I was never nimble of tongue, and that night I was more silent than usual. However, De Croix most effectually hid my retirement26 by his rare good-humor and the sparkling badinage27 with which he concentrated all attention upon himself, and was consequently soon in the happiest of moods. I know not how the fellow succeeded in working the miracle, but he sat at the board, upon Mrs. Helm's left hand, powdered and curled as if he were gracing a banquet at the Tuileries. His ruffled28 shirt, glittering buckles29, and bright blue waistcoat, were startling amid such homely30 surroundings; while his neatly31 folded handkerchief of lace exhaled32 a delicate perfume. Deeply as I was immersed in my own thoughts and plans, I could not help admiring his easy grace, and more than once forgot myself in listening to his marvellous tales and witty33 anecdotes34.
He was detailing a recent scandal of the French court, passing delicately over its more objectionable ? 124 ? features, when I grasped the opportunity to slip unobserved from the room into the open of the parade-ground. It proved a dark night without, but the numerous lights in the surrounding buildings, whose doors and windows were open, sufficiently35 illumined the place, so that I found my way about with little difficulty. A group of soldiers lounged at the open door of the guard-house, and I paused a moment to speak with one, a curly-headed lad, who sat smoking, his back resting easily against the logs.
"Are the outer gates ever opened at night?" I asked.
He glanced up at me in surprise, shading his eyes to be assured of my identity before speaking.
"Scarcely either day or night now, sir," he replied, respectfully, "but between sunset and sunrise they are specially18 barred, and a double guard is set. No one can pass except on the order of Captain Heald."
"In which direction is the Kinzie house?"
"It is just over there, sir, across the river. You might see the light from the platform; beyond the shed yonder is the ladder that leads up into the block-house."
Thanking him, I moved forward as directed, found the ladder, and pushed my way up through the narrow opening in the floor of the second story. The small ? 125 ? square room, feebly lighted by a single sputtering37 candle stuck in the shank of a bayonet, contained half a dozen men, most of them idling, although two were standing38 where they could readily peer out through the narrow slits39 between the logs. All of them were heavily armed, and equipped for service. They looked at me curiously40 as I first appeared, but the one who asked my business wore the insignia of a corporal, and was evidently in command.
"I wish to look out over the stockade, if there is no objection. I came in with Captain Wells's party this afternoon," I said, not knowing what their orders might be, or if I would be recognized.
"I remember you, sir," was the prompt response, "and you are at liberty to go out there if you desire. That is the door leading to the platform."
"The Indians appear to be very quiet to-night."
"The more reason to believe them plotting some fresh deviltry," he answered, rising to his feet, and facing me. "We never have much to disturb us upon this side, as it overhangs the river and is not easy of approach; but the guard on the south wall is kept pretty busy these last few nights, and has to patrol the stockade. The Indians have been holding some sort of a powwow out at their camp ever since dark, and that's apt to mean trouble sooner or later."
? 126 ?
"Not regularly, sir; only when something suspicious happens along the river. There's nobody out there now excepting the French girl,—she seems to be fond of being out there all alone."
The French girl? Could it be possible that he meant Toinette? I was conscious of a strange fluttering of the heart, as I stepped forth42 upon the narrow foot-way and peered along it, searching for her. I could distinguish nothing, however; and as I slowly felt my way forward, testing the squared log beneath me with careful foot and keeping hold with one hand upon the sharpened palisades, I began to believe the corporal had been mistaken. The door, closing behind, shut off the last gleam of light, and I was left alone in utter darkness and silence, save for the low rumble43 of voices within the Fort enclosure, and the soft plashing below where the river current kissed the bank at the foot of the stockade.
I had gone almost the full length of that side, before I came where she was leaning against the logs, her chin resting upon one hand, her gaze turned north ward5. Indeed, so silent was she, so intent upon her own thought, I might have touched her unnoticed in the gloom, had not the stars broken through a rift44 in the cloud above us, and sent a sudden gleam of silver across her face.
"Mademoiselle," I said, striving to address her with something of the ease I thought De Croix would ? 127 ? exercise at such a moment, "I meant not to intrude45 upon your privacy, yet I am most glad to meet with you once more."
She started slightly, as though aroused from reverie, and glanced inquiringly toward me.
"I supposed my visitor to be one of the guard," she said pleasantly; "and even now I am unable to distinguish your face, yet the sound of the voice re minds me of John Wayland."
"I am proud to know that it has not already been forgotten. You deserted46 me so suddenly this afternoon, I almost doubted my being welcome now."
She laughed lightly, tapping the ends of the logs with her finger-tips.
"Have you, then, never learned that a woman is full of whims47, Monsieur?" she questioned. "Why, this afternoon your eyes were so big with wonder that they had forgotten to look at me. Truly, I spoke to you twice to aid me from the saddle; but you heard nothing, and in my desperation I was obliged to turn to the courtesy of Captain de Croix. Ah, there is a soldier, my friend, who is never so preoccupied48 as to neglect his duty to a lady."
"It was indeed most ungallant of me," I stammered49, scarce knowing whether she laughed at me or not. "Yet my surroundings were all new, and I have not the training of DC Croix in such matters."
"Pah! 'tis just as well. I am inclined to like you ? 128 ? as you are, my friend, and we shall not quarrel; yet, with all his love for lesser51 things, your comrade has always shown himself a truly gallant4 gentleman."
I made no answer to these flattering words, for I felt them to be true; yet no less this open praise of him, falling from her lips, racked me sorely, and I lacked the art to make light of it.
"The soldiers in the block-house tell me you come here often," I ventured at last, for the dead silence weighed upon me. "You have never seemed to me like one who would seek such loneliness."
"I am one whom very few wholly comprehend, I fear, and surely not upon first acquaintance," she answered thoughtfully, "for I am full of strange moods, and perhaps dream more than other girls. This may have been born of my early convent training, and the mystic tales of the nuns52; nor has it been lessened53 by the loneliness of the frontier. So, if I differ from other young women, you may know 'tis my training, as well as my nature, that may account for it. I have led a strange life, Monsieur, and one that has known much of sadness. There are times when I seek my own thoughts, and find liking54 for no other company. Then I come here, and in some way the loneliness of water and plain soothe55 me as human speech cannot. I used to love to stand yonder by the eastern wall and gaze out over the Great Lake, watching the green surges chase each other until they burst in spray along ? 129 ? the beach. But since I went adrift in the little boat, and felt the cruelty of the water, I have shrunk from looking out upon it. Monsieur, have you never known how restful it sometimes is to be alone?"
"My life has mostly been a solitary56 one," I answered, responding unconsciously to her mood, and, in doing so, forgetting my embarrassment57. "It is the birthright of all children of the frontier. Indeed, I have seen so little of the great world and so much of the woods, that I scarcely realize what companionship means, especially that of my own age. I have made many a solitary camp leagues from the nearest settlement, and have tracked the forest alone for days together, so content with my own thought that possibly I understand your meaning better than if my life had been passed among crowds."
"Ah! but I like the crowds," she exclaimed hastily, "and the glow and excitement of that brighter, fuller life, where people really live. It is so dull here,—the same commonplace faces, the tiresome58 routine of drill, the same blue sky, gray water, and green plains, to look upon day after day. Oh, but it is all so wearisome, and you cannot conceive how I have longed again for Montreal and the many little gaieties that brighten a woman's world. There are those here who have never known these happier things; their whole horizon of experience has been bounded by garrison59 palisades; but 'tis not so with me,—I tasted ? 130 ? of the sweet wine once, when I was a girl, and the memory never leaves me."
"Yet you are often happy?"
"'Tis my nature, Monsieur, a legacy60 of my mother's people; but I am not always gay of heart when my lips smile."
"And the coming of the French gallant has doubtless freshened your remembrance of the past?" I said, a trifle bitterly.
"It has indeed," was her frank admission. "He represents a life we know so little about here on the far frontier. To you, with your code of border manliness61, he may appear all affectation, mere50 shallow in sincerity62; but to me, Captain de Croix represents his class, stands for the refinements64 of social order to which women can never be indifferent. Those were the happiest days of my life, Monsieur; and at Montreal he was only one among many."
She was gazing out into the black void as she spoke, and the slowly clearing skies permitted the star-light to gleam in her dark eyes and reveal the soft contour of her cheek.
"You do not understand that?" she questioned finally, as I failed to break the silence.
"I have no such pleasant memory to look back upon," I answered; "yet I can feel, though possibly in a different way, your longing65 after better things."
"You realize this sense of loneliness? this absence ? 131 ? of all that makes life beautiful and worth the living?"
"Perhaps not that,—for life, even here, is well worth living, and to my eyes the great sea yonder, and the dark forests, are of more interest than city streets. But in one sense I may enter into your meaning; my thought also is away from here,—it is with a home, scarcely less humble66 than are our present surroundings, yet it contains the one blessing67 worth striving after—love."
"Love!" she echoed the unexpected word almost scornfully. "'Tis a phrase so lightly spoken that I scarce know what it may signify to you. You love some one then, Monsieur?" and she looked up at me curiously.
"My mother, Mademoiselle."
I saw the expression upon her face change instantly. "Your pardon," she exclaimed, hastily. "'Twas not the meaning I had thought. I know something of such love as that, and honor you for thus expressing it."
"I have often wondered, since first we met, at your being here, seemingly alone, at this outermost68 post of the frontier. It seems a strange home for one of your refinement63 and evident delight in social life."
"'Tis not from choice, Monsieur. My mother died when I was but a child, as I have already told you. I scarce have memory of her, yet I bear her ? 132 ? name, and, I am told, inherit many of her peculiarities69. She was the daughter of a great merchant at Montreal, and the blood of a noble family of France flowed in her veins70. She gave up all else to become my father's wife; nor did she ever live to regret it."
Her voice was so low and plaintive71 that I hesitated to speak; yet finally, as she ceased, and silence fell between us, I asked another question:
"And 'twas then you voyaged into this wilderness72 with your father?"
"I have never since left him while he lived," she answered softly, her head resting upon her hand. "But he also has gone now, and I merely wait opportunity to journey eastward73."
"He was a trader, you told me once?"
"A soldier first, Monsieur; a true and gallant soldier, but later he traded with the Indians for furs."
I felt that she was weeping softly, although I could see but little, and I leaned in silence against the rough logs, gazing out into the black night, hesitating to break in upon her grief. Then a voice spoke rapidly at the farther end of the stockade, and a sudden glow of light shot like an arrow along the platform. I turned quickly, and there in the open doorway74, clearly outlined against the candle flame, stood De Croix.
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1
veering
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| n.改变的；犹豫的；顺时针方向转向；特指使船尾转向上风来改变航向v.（尤指交通工具）改变方向或路线( veer的现在分词 )；（指谈话内容、人的行为或观点）突然改变；（指风） （在北半球按顺时针方向、在南半球按逆时针方向）逐渐转向；风向顺时针转 | |
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disappearance
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| n.消失，消散，失踪 | |
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orphan
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| n.孤儿；adj.无父母的 | |
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gallant
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| adj.英勇的，豪侠的；(向女人)献殷勤的 | |
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ward
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| n.守卫，监护，病房，行政区，由监护人或法院保护的人（尤指儿童）；vt.守护，躲开 | |
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lieutenant
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| n.陆军中尉，海军上尉；代理官员，副职官员 | |
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peril
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| n.(严重的)危险；危险的事物 | |
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animated
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| adj.生气勃勃的，活跃的，愉快的 | |
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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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10
versed
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| adj. 精通，熟练 | |
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elegance
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| n.优雅；优美，雅致；精致，巧妙 | |
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partially
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| adv.部分地，从某些方面讲 | |
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dread
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| vt.担忧，忧虑；惧怕，不敢；n.担忧，畏惧 | |
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condemned
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| adj. 被责难的, 被宣告有罪的 动词condemn的过去式和过去分词 | |
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impulsively
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| adv.冲动地 | |
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sable
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| n.黑貂；adj.黑色的 | |
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savages
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| 未开化的人，野蛮人( savage的名词复数 ) | |
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specially
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| adv.特定地；特殊地；明确地 | |
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stockade
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| n.栅栏，围栏；v.用栅栏防护 | |
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steward
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| n.乘务员，服务员；看管人；膳食管理员 | |
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frankly
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| adv.坦白地，直率地；坦率地说 | |
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ascertain
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| vt.发现，确定，查明，弄清 | |
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vivacious
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| adj.活泼的，快活的 | |
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dilemma
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| n.困境，进退两难的局面 | |
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impended
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| v.进行威胁，即将发生( impend的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
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retirement
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| n.退休，退职 | |
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badinage
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| n.开玩笑，打趣 | |
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ruffled
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| adj. 有褶饰边的, 起皱的 动词ruffle的过去式和过去分词 | |
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buckles
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| 搭扣，扣环( buckle的名词复数 ) | |
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30
homely
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| adj.家常的，简朴的；不漂亮的 | |
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neatly
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| adv.整洁地，干净地，灵巧地，熟练地 | |
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32
exhaled
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| v.呼出，发散出( exhale的过去式和过去分词 )；吐出（肺中的空气、烟等），呼气 | |
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witty
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| adj.机智的，风趣的 | |
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anecdotes
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| n.掌故，趣闻，轶事( anecdote的名词复数 ) | |
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sufficiently
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| adv.足够地，充分地 | |
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pointed
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| adj.尖的，直截了当的 | |
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37
sputtering
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| n.反应溅射法；飞溅；阴极真空喷镀；喷射v.唾沫飞溅( sputter的现在分词 )；发劈啪声；喷出；飞溅出 | |
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38
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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39
slits
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| n.狭长的口子，裂缝( slit的名词复数 )v.切开，撕开( slit的第三人称单数 )；在…上开狭长口子 | |
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40
curiously
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| adv.有求知欲地；好问地；奇特地 | |
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41
sentry
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| n.哨兵，警卫 | |
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42
forth
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| adv.向前；向外，往外 | |
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43
rumble
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| n.隆隆声；吵嚷；v.隆隆响；低沉地说 | |
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44
rift
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| n.裂口，隙缝，切口；v.裂开，割开，渗入 | |
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45
intrude
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| vi.闯入；侵入；打扰，侵扰 | |
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46
deserted
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| adj.荒芜的，荒废的，无人的，被遗弃的 | |
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47
WHIMS
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| 虚妄，禅病 | |
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48
preoccupied
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| adj.全神贯注的，入神的；被抢先占有的；心事重重的v.占据（某人）思想，使对…全神贯注，使专心于( preoccupy的过去式) | |
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49
stammered
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| v.结巴地说出( stammer的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
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50
mere
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| adj.纯粹的；仅仅，只不过 | |
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51
lesser
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| adj.次要的，较小的；adv.较小地，较少地 | |
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52
nuns
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| n.（通常指基督教的）修女， （佛教的）尼姑( nun的名词复数 ) | |
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53
lessened
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| 减少的，减弱的 | |
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54
liking
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| n.爱好；嗜好；喜欢 | |
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55
soothe
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| v.安慰；使平静；使减轻；缓和；奉承 | |
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56
solitary
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| adj.孤独的，独立的，荒凉的；n.隐士 | |
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57
embarrassment
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| n.尴尬；使人为难的人(事物)；障碍；窘迫 | |
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58
tiresome
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| adj.令人疲劳的，令人厌倦的 | |
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garrison
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| n.卫戍部队；驻地，卫戍区；vt.派(兵)驻防 | |
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60
legacy
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| n.遗产，遗赠；先人(或过去)留下的东西 | |
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61
manliness
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| 刚毅 | |
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sincerity
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| n.真诚，诚意；真实 | |
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63
refinement
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| n.文雅；高尚；精美；精制；精炼 | |
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64
refinements
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| n.（生活）风雅；精炼( refinement的名词复数 )；改良品；细微的改良；优雅或高贵的动作 | |
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65
longing
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| n.（for）渴望 | |
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66
humble
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| adj.谦卑的，恭顺的；地位低下的；v.降低，贬低 | |
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67
blessing
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| n.祈神赐福；祷告；祝福，祝愿 | |
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outermost
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| adj.最外面的，远离中心的 | |
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69
peculiarities
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| n. 特质, 特性, 怪癖, 古怪 | |
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veins
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| n.纹理；矿脉( vein的名词复数 )；静脉；叶脉；纹理 | |
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71
plaintive
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| adj.可怜的，伤心的 | |
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72
wilderness
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| n.杳无人烟的一片陆地、水等，荒漠 | |
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eastward
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| adv.向东；adj.向东的；n.东方，东部 | |
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doorway
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| n.门口，(喻)入门；门路，途径 | |
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