That warms us is the same;
That good old man—his honest blood
Alike we frankly1 claim.—SPRAGUE.
The missionary2 gazed sadly upon the inanimate form before him. He saw the playmate of his childhood stricken down in death by his own hand, which never should have taken human life, and although the act was justifiable3 under the circumstances, the good man could but mourn the painful necessity that occasioned it. The story, although possessing tragic4 interest, was a brief one. Brazey Davis, as he had always been termed, was a few years older than himself, and a native of the same neighborhood. He was known in childhood as one possessing a vindictive6 spirit that could never forgive an injury—as a person who would not hesitate at any means to obtain revenge. It so happened that he became desperately7 enamored of the beautiful Cora Brandon, but becoming aware, at length, that she was the betrothed8 of Harvey Braisted, the young missionary in embryo9, the disappointed lover left the country, and was never heard of by the missionary until he made himself known in the singular manner that we have related at the opening of our narrative10. He had, in fact, come to be a sort of monomaniac, who delighted in annoying his former rival, and in haunting his footsteps as if he were his evil shadow. The abduction of his wife had not been definitely determined11 upon until that visit to the cabin, in the garb12 and paint of an Indian, when he received the tremendous blow that almost drove the life from his body. Davis then resolved to take the revenge which would "cut" the deepest. How well he succeeded, the reader has learned.
The missionary's child stood pleading for an explanation of the strange scene before him. Loosening the bell from the grasp of the dead man, the minister took the little hand, and, with a heart overflowing13 with emotion, set out for his cabin. It was his wish to give the hunter a Christian14 burial; but, for the present, it was impossible. These dying words rung in his ears: "The Indians took her from me, and went up north with her, where she now is, and safe!" Blessed thought! She was then living, and was yet to be restored to his arms. The shadow of death passed away, and a great light illuminated15 his very being. The lost was found!
When the missionary came to be more collected, he concluded that this must be the tribe of which Teddy had once spoken, but which had been visited by him without success. The prize was too great to be intrusted in the hands of another, and Harvey determined to make the search in person, to settle, if possible, once and forever, the fate of his beloved wife.
He soon proceeded to the Indian village, where he left his boy and gave notice that he should not be back for several days. He then called one of the most trusty and skillful warriors17 aside, and asked for his company upon the eventful journey. The savage18 cheerfully complied, and the two set out at once. It was a good distance to the northward19, and when night came down upon them, many miles yet remained to be passed. There was little fear of disturbance20 from enemies, and both lay down and slept until daylight, when they were immediately on their way again.
This journey through the northern wilderness21 was unvaried by any event worthy22 of record, and the details would be uninteresting to the reader. Suffice it to say that, just as the fourth day was closing in, they struck a small stream, which pursued a short distance, brought them directly upon the village for which they had been searching.
The advent23 of the Indian and missionary among them created considerable stir, but they were treated with respect and consideration. Harvey Richter asked immediately for the chief or leading man, and shortly stood in his presence. He found him a short, thick-set half-breed, whose age must have been well-nigh three-score years, and who, to his astonishment24, was unable to speak English, although many of his subjects spoke16 it quite intelligibly25. He understood Sioux, however, and the missionary's companion acted as interpreter.
Our friend made a full statement of his wife's abduction, years before, and of the assertion of the dying man that she had been taken from him by members of this tribe, who had retained her ever since. The chief waited sometime before replying; he seemed debating with himself as to the proper course to pursue. Finally he said he must consult with one of his warriors, and departed abruptly26 from the lodge27.
Ten minutes later, while the missionary, with a painfully-throbbing heart, was gazing around the lodge, with that minute scrutiny28 of the most trifling29 objects peculiar30 to us at such times, he caught the sound of returning footsteps, and turned to the lodge door. There stood the Indian, and, directly beside him, his own lost Cora!
The next day at noon, a camp-fire might have been seen some miles south of the northern village of which we have made mention. An Indian was engaged in cooking a piece of meat, while the missionary and his reclaimed31 jewel, sitting side by side, her head reclining upon his shoulder and his hand dallying32 with her hair, were holding delightful33 communion. She looked pale and somewhat emaciated34, for these years of absence had indeed been fraught35 with suffering; but the old sweet look had never departed. It was now changed into an expression of perfect joy.
The wife's great anxiety was to reach home and see the child she had left an infant, but who was now a frolicksome boy, and she could hardly consent to pause even when night overtook them, and her lagging limbs told her husband how exhausted36 she had become. Cora never had suspected the identity of the Indian and the hunter, until on that sad day when he sprung from behind the cabin and hurried her off into the wood. There was something, however, in his look, when he first felt the weight of her husband's blow, that never left her remembrance. While hurrying her swiftly through the wood he said nothing at all, and at night, while she pretended to sleep, he watched by the camp-fire. It was the light of this fire which had puzzled Teddy so much. On the succeeding day the abductor reached the river and embarked37 in his canoe. A half-hour later he leaned over the canoe and washed the paint from his face and made himself known in his true character, as Brazey Davis, her former lover. He had scarcely done so, when an Indian canoe rounded a bend in the river, and, despite his earnest protestations, the savages38 took the captive from him, and carried her with them to their village, where she had been ever since. Retained very closely, as all prisoners among Indians are, she had heard nothing of Teddy's visit. She was treated with kindness, as the destined39 wife of a young chief; but the suit for her consent never was pressed by the chief, as it is in an Indian's code of honor never to force a woman to a distasteful marriage. The young brave, with true Indian pertinacity40, could wait his time, confident that his kindness and her long absence from home would secure her consent to the savage alliance. She was denied nothing but her liberty, and her prayers to be returned to her husband and child.
At this point in her narration41, an exclamation42 from the Indian arrested attention. All listened and heard but a short distance away:
"Begorrah, Teddy, it's yerself that's entitled to a wee bit of rist, as yees have been on a mighty43 long tramp, and hasn't diskivered anything but a country that is big enough to hide the Atlantic ocean in, wid Ireland on its bosom44 as a jewel. The chances are small of yees iver gitting another glimpse of heaven—that is, of Miss Cora's face. The darlint; if she's gone to heaven, then Teddy McFadden don't care how soon somebody else wears out his breeches—that is, on the presumption45 that St. Peter will say, 'Teddy, me lad, ye can inter5 an' make yerself at home, to be sure!'"
The husband and wife glanced at each other significantly as the fellow rattled46 on.
"Wait a moment," said Harvey, rising to his feet, and carefully making his way in the direction of the sound.
It was curious that the Irishman should have paused for his noonday rest in such close proximity47 to our friends; but, he had learned from a trader who had recently visited the Red River country, that there was a white woman, beyond all question, among the tribe in the north, and he was on his way to make them a second visit.
The missionary found his servant seated by a tree. Teddy looked up as he heard a footstep. It seemed as if his eyes would drop from their sockets48. His mouth opened wide, and he seemed, for the moment, confounded. Then he recovered his presence of mind in a measure, and proceeded to scratch his head vigorously. That, with him, ever was a sign of the clearing up of his ideas.
"How do you do, Teddy?" at length the missionary said, after having enjoyed the poor fellow's confusion.
"Faith, but ye sent the cold shivers over me. Is it yerself, Mister Harvey, out in these woods, or is it yer ghost on the s'arch for Misthress Cora? I sometimes thinks me own ghost is out on the s'arch without me body, an' I shouldn't be surprised to maat it some day. But I'm mighty glad it's yerself an' not yer ghost, for, to till the thruth, I don't jist like ghosts—they makes a body feel so quare in the stomach."
"Come with me; I have an Indian as company, and you may as well join us."
The Hibernian followed, a few paces behind, continually expressing his astonishment at seeing his master so far away from home. He did not look up until they were within a few paces of the camp-fire, when Richter stepped from before him.
"Save us! save us! but if there isn't the ghowst of Miss Cora come to haunt me for not finding her afore!" exclaimed Teddy, retreating a step or two in genuine terror. "Saint Patherick, Saint Pether, Saint Virgin49 Mary, protict me! I didn't mane to get dhrunk that day, ye know, nor to make a frind of—"
"I am no ghost but my own self, Teddy, restored to my husband in safety. Can you not welcome me?"
"Oorah! Oorah!" and he danced a moment in uncontrollable joy. Then he exclaimed: "God bliss50 yer own swate self!" taking her in his brawny51 arms. "God bliss you! No ghost, but yer own swate self. Oh, I feel like a blast of powder ready to go off!" And again he danced a singular commixture of the jig52 and cotillion, much to the Indian's amazement53, for he thought him crazy. "I knew that I should look upon your face again; but, till me where it is yees have come from?" he finally subsided54 enough to ask.
Teddy was soon made to understand all that related to the return of the young wife. When he learned that Mahogany, with whom he had so often drank and "hobnobbed," was only the hunter disguised, who was thus plotting his crime, the Irishman's astonishment can hardly be described. He was irritated, also, at his own stupidity. "That Teddy McFadden iver should have been so desaved by that rascal55 of purgatory56!" he exclaimed; but, as the evil man had gone to the great tribunal above, there was no disposition57, even in Teddy's heart, to heap curses on his memory.
A few days more, and the three whites passed through the Indian village on their way to the Clearing. The joy of the savages at the return of their sweet, pale-faced sister was manifested in many ways, and she once feared they would never allow her to leave them and go to her own humble58 home. Finally, however, they reached the Clearing, and, as they walked side by side across it, opened the door and sat down within the cabin, and the fond mother took the darling boy in her lap, the wife and husband looked in each other's faces with streaming eyes, and murmured "Thank God! thank God!"
THE END.
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1
frankly
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| adv.坦白地，直率地；坦率地说 | |
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missionary
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| adj.教会的，传教(士)的；n.传教士 | |
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justifiable
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| adj.有理由的，无可非议的 | |
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tragic
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| adj.悲剧的，悲剧性的，悲惨的 | |
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inter
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| v.埋葬 | |
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vindictive
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| adj.有报仇心的，怀恨的，惩罚的 | |
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desperately
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| adv.极度渴望地，绝望地，孤注一掷地 | |
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betrothed
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| n. 已订婚者 动词betroth的过去式和过去分词 | |
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embryo
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| n.胚胎，萌芽的事物 | |
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narrative
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| n.叙述，故事；adj.叙事的，故事体的 | |
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determined
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| adj.坚定的；有决心的 | |
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garb
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| n.服装，装束 | |
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overflowing
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| n. 溢出物,溢流 adj. 充沛的，充满的 动词overflow的现在分词形式 | |
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14
Christian
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| adj.基督教徒的；n.基督教徒 | |
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illuminated
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| adj.被照明的；受启迪的 | |
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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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warriors
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| 武士，勇士，战士( warrior的名词复数 ) | |
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18
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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northward
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| adv.向北；n.北方的地区 | |
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disturbance
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| n.动乱，骚动；打扰，干扰；(身心)失调 | |
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wilderness
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| n.杳无人烟的一片陆地、水等，荒漠 | |
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22
worthy
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| adj.(of)值得的，配得上的；有价值的 | |
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23
advent
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| n.(重要事件等的)到来，来临 | |
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24
astonishment
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| n.惊奇，惊异 | |
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intelligibly
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| adv.可理解地，明了地，清晰地 | |
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abruptly
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| adv.突然地，出其不意地 | |
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lodge
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| v.临时住宿，寄宿，寄存，容纳；n.传达室，小旅馆 | |
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scrutiny
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| n.详细检查，仔细观察 | |
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trifling
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| adj.微不足道的；没什么价值的 | |
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peculiar
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| adj.古怪的，异常的；特殊的，特有的 | |
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31
reclaimed
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| adj.再生的；翻造的；收复的；回收的v.开拓( reclaim的过去式和过去分词 )；要求收回；从废料中回收（有用的材料）；挽救 | |
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32
dallying
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| v.随随便便地对待( dally的现在分词 )；不很认真地考虑；浪费时间；调情 | |
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33
delightful
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| adj.令人高兴的，使人快乐的 | |
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emaciated
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| adj.衰弱的，消瘦的 | |
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fraught
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| adj.充满…的，伴有(危险等)的；忧虑的 | |
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exhausted
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| adj.极其疲惫的，精疲力尽的 | |
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embarked
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| 乘船( embark的过去式和过去分词 )； 装载； 从事 | |
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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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39
destined
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| adj.命中注定的；(for)以…为目的地的 | |
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40
pertinacity
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| n.执拗，顽固 | |
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narration
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| n.讲述，叙述；故事；记叙体 | |
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exclamation
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| n.感叹号，惊呼，惊叹词 | |
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43
mighty
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| adj.强有力的；巨大的 | |
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bosom
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| n.胸，胸部；胸怀；内心；adj.亲密的 | |
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presumption
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| n.推测，可能性，冒昧，放肆，[法律]推定 | |
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rattled
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| 慌乱的，恼火的 | |
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proximity
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| n.接近，邻近 | |
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48
sockets
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| n.套接字，使应用程序能够读写与收发通讯协定(protocol)与资料的程序( Socket的名词复数 )；孔( socket的名词复数 )；（电器上的）插口；托座；凹穴 | |
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49
virgin
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| n.处女，未婚女子；adj.未经使用的；未经开发的 | |
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50
bliss
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| n.狂喜，福佑，天赐的福 | |
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51
brawny
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| adj.强壮的 | |
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52
jig
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| n.快步舞（曲）；v.上下晃动；用夹具辅助加工；蹦蹦跳跳 | |
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53
amazement
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| n.惊奇，惊讶 | |
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54
subsided
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| v.（土地）下陷（因在地下采矿）( subside的过去式和过去分词 )；减弱；下降至较低或正常水平；一下子坐在椅子等上 | |
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55
rascal
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| n.流氓；不诚实的人 | |
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56
purgatory
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| n.炼狱；苦难；adj.净化的，清洗的 | |
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57
disposition
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| n.性情，性格；意向，倾向；排列，部署 | |
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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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