The valley in which the settlement stood was one of those magnificent stretches of primeval forest which used to be the hunting-grounds of the red man, and from which he had not at that time been thrust by the “paleface,” for, here and there, his wigwam might still be seen sending its wreath of blue smoke above the tree-tops.
It was evening—a calm, sunny, glorious, spring evening—when Redding and his man overtopped the heights that enclosed the vale, and paused as well to gaze upon the scene as to recover breath. Far below them lay the hamlet, a cluster of black dots on a field of pure snow. Roseate lights on undulations, and cold blue shadows in hollows, were tamed down in effect by the windows of the hamlet which shot forth5 beams of blazing fire at the setting sun. Illimitable space seemed to stretch away to the place where the horizon would have been if it had not lost itself in a golden glory, and this vast reach was a varied6 irregular network of dark pines and fields of snow—the pines tipped everywhere with sparkling snow-wreaths, the fields streaked7 everywhere with long shadows. Little winding8 lines of a grey colour which radiated from the hamlet indicated the tracks where the settlers drove their sleighs and wood-sledges. Many of these were seen moving along the far-off tracks like insects, while the tinkle10 of the sleigh-bells floated upwards11 like fairy music.
“Yes, I shall take up my abode12 there,” murmured Redding, as he gazed in rapt admiration13 on the beautiful scene.
“Monsieur?” said his companion.
“I say that I should like to dwell there,” answered Redding. “It is a splendid country, and will be better known in days to come.”
“Vraiment, truly, a magnifircent kontry,” returned Le Rue14, “gorgeows, magnifique! I vould giv moche, ver moche, to have leetil cottage, an vife, an cow, an pigs dere.”
As Redding had been thinking of something similar, he laughed, and commenced the descent of the zigzag15 track that led to the hamlet.
They had proceeded only a few yards when, turning round a cluster of pines, they suddenly discovered some travellers in difficulty—a man whose horse had shied or stumbled off the narrow track and was embedded16 up to the girths in the soft snow, and two females, whose furry17 garments, all besprinkled with snow, showed that they had just emerged from the sledge9, which lay on its side behind the horse. The driver’s chief anxiety seemed to be to quiet and restrain his horse, which being high-spirited, was plunging18 in vain and frantic19 efforts to extricate20 himself, to the great danger of shafts21 and harness.
To run up and aid the man was of course the instant impulse of our travellers.
“Ah! good luck to ’ee,” exclaimed the driver, in tones that were unmistakably Irish, “here, howld ’is head till I get the sled clear.”
“All right,” cried the Englishman, seizing the reins22 near the mouth of the terrified animal and holding its head forcibly down, while Le Rue assisted the owner to unharness.
In a few minutes the vehicle was righted, and the horse released.
While the driver was busy readjusting the harness, he accompanied the operation with a running fire of grateful expressions, such as— “there now, ain’t ye in luck, Rooney? Arrah! gentleman, it’s my blissin’ I bestow23 on yez. Och! but I’d have bin24 lost intirely widout ye. Well well, it’s always the way. I’m no sooner in a scrape than I’m sure to get out of it. It’s meself is a favoured man. Now thin, ladies, git in, for we’re late enough on the road.”
On the two “ladies” thus addressed Redding and his man had been gazing in silent surprise, for they were so good-looking and so blooming, that it seemed to the two men, who had been accustomed of late to the sight of none but the brown dames25 of the red skins, as if a couple of beings from another and a purer world had dropped suddenly upon their path. One of the two was evidently a lady, and was possessed26 of no common share of beauty. Her dark hair contrasted powerfully with the fairness of her skin and the whiteness of her teeth. Her dazzling black eyes almost, and her red lips altogether, laughed as she observed Redding’s gaze of astonishment27. Her companion, a very pretty Canadian girl, was evidently her maid.
“We owe you many thanks, kind sirs,” said the lady, “for your opportune28 assistance.”
“Pardon me, madam,” said Redding, hastening forward in some confusion as he recovered from his rather rude stare of surprise, “I dwell in the wilderness29 and have been so unaccustomed of late to the sight of ladies that—that—allow me to assist you into the sleigh!”
“Mademoiselle, permettez moi,” said Le Rue, advancing to the waiting-maid and politely offering his hand.
Another moment and the “ladies” were seated in the vehicle and carefully repacked by our travellers, while their Irish driver mounted to his seat in front and gathered up the reins.
“Thanks, gentlemen, many thanks,” repeated the ladies, with bewitching smiles.
“Good luck to ’ee both,” cried the driver, as he flourished his whip and drove away.
Redding and his man stood silently gazing for several minutes at the turn in the road where the vision had vanished.
“Heaven for two minits, an’ now—gone for evair!” said Le Rue, with a deep sigh.
Redding echoed the sigh, and then laughed at the lugubrious30 expression of his man’s face.
“Oh such eyes!” exclaimed Le Rue.
“Yes, she’s rather good-looking,” replied Redding, thinking of the lady.
“Good-looking! non—bootifool—exiquitely bootifool,” cried Le Rue, thinking of the maid.
Again Redding laughed. “Well well, François,” said he, “whether good-looking or beautiful matters little, for it’s not likely that we shall ever see them again, so the less you think about them the better.—Allons! we are late enough and must not loiter.”
They pushed ahead at once at a rapid pace, but although neither spoke31, each thought with somewhat similar feelings of the little incident just described.
Lest the reader should be surprised at so small a matter affecting them so deeply, we must remark that these fur-traders had lived for some years in a region where they saw no females except the brown and rather dirty squaws of the Indians who visited the Cliff Fort with furs. Their fort was indeed only three days’ journey from the little settlement of Partridge Bay, but as the space which lay between was a particularly rugged32 part of the wilderness, with only a portion of road—unworthy of the name—here and there, and the greater part of the way only passable on foot or by means of dog-sledges, none but an occasional red man or a trapper went to and fro; and as the nature of the fur-trader’s business called for very little intercourse33 with the settlements—their furs being sent by water to Quebec in summer—it followed that the inhabitants of the Cliff Fort rarely visited Partridge Bay. The sudden vision, therefore, of two pretty females of a higher type had not only the effect on Redding and his man of novelty, but also stirred up old memories and associations.
Such good use did they now make of their time that the settlement of Partridge Bay was reached before dark, and our hero went off immediately in quest of the surveyor.
Mr Gambart was a cheerful, healthy, plump little man, with a plump little wife, and three plump little daughters. Plumpness was not only a characteristic of the Gambarts, but also of their surroundings, for the cottage in which they dwelt had a certain air of plumpness about it, and the spot on which it stood was a round little knob of a hill.
Here Reginald Redding was hospitably34 received—we might almost say joyfully35, because visitors to the settlement were so rare that whoever made his appearance was sure to be received as a “welcome guest” if he only carried the credentials36 of honesty and ordinary good nature on his countenance37.
Redding’s impatience38, however, to get at the truth of the matter that had brought him there, induced him very soon to forsake39 the society of the three plump little daughters and retire to the plump little father’s work-room.
“It is my opinion,” said Mr Gambart, as he carefully unfolded the plan, “that you may find the McLeods have trespassed40 somewhat on your reserves, for, if my memory serves me rightly, there is a small islet—as you see here—just in the centre of the creek42, half of which belongs to you.”
“I see it,” said the fur-trader, earnestly gazing on the dot which represented the said island.
“Well,” continued the surveyor, “that islet is a mere rock just above the waterfall, and I am of opinion that it would be almost impossible for any one to erect43 a mill there without encroaching to some extent on your half of it.”
“Good,” replied the fur-trader, “can you let me have a copy of the plan to-morrow?”
“To-night if you please. I have one by me.”
“Then I’ll be off by daybreak the day after to-morrow,” said Redding, with much decision.
“Why such haste?” asked the surveyor, “the McLeods are not likely to run away from you. I know them well, for they dwelt long in this settlement, and were ever regarded as men of firm purpose—quite immovable indeed when once they had made up their minds on any point, so you’ll be sure to find them at Jenkins Creek carrying out their plans, even though you should delay your return for a month. Come, make up your mind to stay with us at least a few days. It will do you as well as me good, and will send you back to banishment44 in a better frame of mind.”
Redding, although strongly tempted45 by the comforts of civilised life and the hospitality of his host—not to mention the attractions of the plump little daughters—sternly resolved not to swerve46 an inch from the path of what he believed to be his duty. He entertained a strong suspicion that these McLeods had penetrated47 into the wilderness to the neighbourhood of the Cliff Fort, not so much for the purpose of cutting timber as for secret opposition48 in the fur-trade, of which the company he represented had for many years enjoyed almost a monopoly. His pride was touched, his spirit was fired. Perhaps the peaceful and secluded49 life he had led rendered this little opportunity of warfare50 more a pleasure than a pain to him. At all events the thing was not to be tolerated. The saw-mill, which the McLeods had an undoubted right to erect on the unoccupied lands, was being planted on the very border of the Company’s reserve lands, which they had purchased, and which were clearly laid down in plans. He would see to it that these interlopers did not trespass41 by an inch—no, not by an eighth of an inch—if he had power to prevent it! The fact that the McLeods were said to be resolute51 men made him more determined52 to assert his rights. He therefore declined Mr Gambart’s invitation firmly.
“I will stay,” said he, “only one day, to look out for a house, and then return.”
“Look out for a house!” exclaimed the surveyor, in surprise, “what mean you? Do you think of settling down here?”
“Indeed I do,” replied Redding, with a smile. “I have long been brooding over that subject. The fact is, Mr Gambart, that I am tired of solitude53. I am a sociable54 being, and find it hard to endure the society of only five or six men in a place where there are no women, no children, and no end of bears! I intend to leave the Fur Company’s service,—indeed my resignation is already sent in,—purchase a small farm here, and get—”
“Get a wife, a horse, a dog, and a gun, and settle down to enjoy yourself, eh?” interrupted the surveyor.
“Well, I had not gone quite so much into details,” answered Redding, with a laugh, “but you are right in so far as settling down goes. My only fear is that it won’t be easy to find a place that will at once suit my fancy and my purse. The small sum of money left me by my father at his death two years ago will not purchase a very extensive place, but—”
“I know the very thing to suit you,” interrupted the surveyor with emphasis, “a splendid little cottage—quite a mansion55 in miniature—with garden, fences, fields, outhouses, etcetera, all complete and going literally56 for an old song. Come, we’ll ‘go visit it by the pale moonlight’ just now, return to have tea with the ladies, and to-morrow we’ll go see it by daylight. It is close at hand, the name is Loch Dhu, and it has only one objection.”
“What may that be?” asked Redding, much amused at the abrupt57 little man’s energy.
“Won’t tell you till you’ve seen it; come.”
Without more ado they sallied forth and walked along the snowy track that led to the cottage in question. A few minutes sufficed to bring them to it, and the first glance showed the fur-trader that his friend had not exaggerated the beauty of the place. The cottage, although small, was so elegant in form and so tastefully planned in every respect that it well deserved the title of a mansion in miniature. It stood on a rising ground which was crowned with trees; and the garden in front, the summer-house, the porch, the trellis-work fence, the creepers, the flower-beds—everything in fact, told that it had been laid out and planned by a refined mind.
Of course Redding had to call in the aid of his imagination a little, for at the moment when he first beheld58 it, the whole scene was robed in a mantle59 of snow. Close to the house, and in sight of the front windows, was a small lake or pond, by the side of which rose an abrupt precipice60 of about fifty feet in height. Beyond this, a little to the right, lay the undulating fields of the settlement, dotted with clumps61 of trees and clusters of cottages.
“Most beautiful!” exclaimed the fur-trader, “but why named Loch Dhu, which, if I mistake not, is the Gaelic for Black Lake?”
“Because that little pond,” answered the surveyor, “when freed from its wintry coat, looks dark and deep even at mid-day under the shadow of that beetling62 cliff.”
“Truly, I like it well,” said Redding, as he turned again to look at the cottage, “are you its architect?”
“I am,” answered Mr Gambart, “but a greater mind than mine guided my pencil in the process of its creation.”
“Indeed! and what is the objection to it that you spoke of?”
“That,” replied the surveyor, with a mysterious look, “I must, on second thoughts, decline to tell you.”
“How, then, can you expect me to buy the place?” demanded Redding, in surprise.
“Why, because I, a disinterested63 friend, strongly recommend you to do so. You believe in me. Well, I tell you that there is no objection to the place but one, and that one won’t prove to be an objection in the long run, though it is one just now. The price is, as you know, ridiculously small, first, because the family who owned it have been compelled by reverses of fortune to part with it, and are in urgent need of ready cash; and, secondly64, because few people have yet found out the beauties of this paradise, which will one day become a very important district of Canada.”
“Humph, well, I believe in your friendship, and to some extent in your wisdom, though I doubt your capacity to prophesy,” said Redding. “However, if you won’t tell me the objection, I must rest content. To-morrow we will look at it in daylight, and if I then see no objections to it myself, I’ll buy it.”
The morrow came. In the blaze of the orb65 of day Loch Dhu looked more beautiful than it did by moonlight. After a thorough examination of house and grounds, the fur-trader resolved to purchase it, and commissioned his plump little friend to carry out the transaction. Thereafter he and his man retraced66 their steps to the wilderness, still breathing unutterable things against the entire clan67 of McLeod.
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1
destined
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| adj.命中注定的；(for)以…为目的地的 | |
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mere
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| adj.纯粹的；仅仅，只不过 | |
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3
dwellings
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| n.住处，处所( dwelling的名词复数 ) | |
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shanties
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| n.简陋的小木屋( shanty的名词复数 )；铁皮棚屋；船工号子；船歌 | |
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forth
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| adv.向前；向外，往外 | |
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varied
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| adj.多样的，多变化的 | |
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streaked
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| adj.有条斑纹的，不安的v.快速移动( streak的过去式和过去分词 )；使布满条纹 | |
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winding
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| n.绕，缠，绕组，线圈 | |
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sledge
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| n.雪橇，大锤；v.用雪橇搬运，坐雪橇往 | |
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10
tinkle
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| vi.叮当作响；n.叮当声 | |
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upwards
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| adv.向上，在更高处...以上 | |
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abode
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| n.住处，住所 | |
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admiration
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| n.钦佩，赞美，羡慕 | |
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rue
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| n.懊悔，芸香，后悔；v.后悔，悲伤，懊悔 | |
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15
zigzag
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| n.曲折，之字形；adj.曲折的，锯齿形的；adv.曲折地，成锯齿形地；vt.使曲折；vi.曲折前行 | |
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16
embedded
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| a.扎牢的 | |
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furry
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| adj.毛皮的；似毛皮的；毛皮制的 | |
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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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frantic
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| adj.狂乱的，错乱的，激昂的 | |
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extricate
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| v.拯救，救出；解脱 | |
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shafts
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| n.轴( shaft的名词复数 )；（箭、高尔夫球棒等的）杆；通风井；一阵（疼痛、害怕等） | |
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reins
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| 感情，激情； 缰( rein的名词复数 )； 控制手段； 掌管； （成人带着幼儿走路以防其走失时用的）保护带 | |
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bestow
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| v.把…赠与，把…授予；花费 | |
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bin
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| n.箱柜；vt.放入箱内；[计算机] DOS文件名:二进制目标文件 | |
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dames
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| n.（在英国）夫人（一种封号），夫人（爵士妻子的称号）( dame的名词复数 )；女人 | |
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possessed
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| adj.疯狂的；拥有的，占有的 | |
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astonishment
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| n.惊奇，惊异 | |
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opportune
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| adj.合适的，适当的 | |
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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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lugubrious
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| adj.悲哀的，忧郁的 | |
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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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rugged
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| adj.高低不平的，粗糙的，粗壮的，强健的 | |
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intercourse
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| n.性交；交流，交往，交际 | |
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hospitably
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| 亲切地，招待周到地，善于款待地 | |
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joyfully
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| adv. 喜悦地, 高兴地 | |
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credentials
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| n.证明，资格，证明书，证件 | |
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countenance
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| n.脸色，面容；面部表情；vt.支持，赞同 | |
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impatience
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| n.不耐烦，急躁 | |
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forsake
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| vt.遗弃，抛弃；舍弃，放弃 | |
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40
trespassed
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| （trespass的过去式与过去分词形式） | |
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trespass
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| n./v.侵犯，闯入私人领地 | |
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creek
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| n.小溪，小河，小湾 | |
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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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banishment
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| n.放逐，驱逐 | |
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tempted
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| v.怂恿（某人）干不正当的事；冒…的险（tempt的过去分词） | |
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46
swerve
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| v.突然转向，背离；n．转向，弯曲，背离 | |
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47
penetrated
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| adj. 击穿的，鞭辟入里的 动词penetrate的过去式和过去分词形式 | |
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48
opposition
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| n.反对，敌对 | |
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49
secluded
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| adj.与世隔绝的；隐退的；偏僻的v.使隔开，使隐退( seclude的过去式和过去分词) | |
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50
warfare
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| n.战争(状态)；斗争；冲突 | |
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51
resolute
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| adj.坚决的，果敢的 | |
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52
determined
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| adj.坚定的；有决心的 | |
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53
solitude
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| n. 孤独; 独居,荒僻之地,幽静的地方 | |
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54
sociable
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| adj.好交际的，友好的，合群的 | |
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55
mansion
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| n.大厦，大楼；宅第 | |
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56
literally
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| adv.照字面意义，逐字地；确实 | |
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57
abrupt
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| adj.突然的，意外的；唐突的，鲁莽的 | |
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58
beheld
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| v.看，注视( behold的过去式和过去分词 )；瞧；看呀；（叙述中用于引出某人意外的出现）哎哟 | |
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59
mantle
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| n.斗篷，覆罩之物，罩子；v.罩住，覆盖，脸红 | |
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60
precipice
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| n.悬崖，危急的处境 | |
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61
clumps
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| n.（树、灌木、植物等的）丛、簇( clump的名词复数 )；（土、泥等）团；块；笨重的脚步声v.（树、灌木、植物等的）丛、簇( clump的第三人称单数 )；（土、泥等）团；块；笨重的脚步声 | |
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62
beetling
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| adj.突出的，悬垂的v.快速移动( beetle的现在分词 ) | |
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63
disinterested
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| adj.不关心的，不感兴趣的 | |
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64
secondly
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| adv.第二，其次 | |
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65
orb
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| n.太阳；星球；v.弄圆；成球形 | |
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retraced
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| v.折回( retrace的过去式和过去分词 )；回忆；回顾；追溯 | |
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clan
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| n.氏族，部落，宗族，家族，宗派 | |
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