“Dan,” said Elspie, as, seated in the summer-house after the arrival of the sportsmen, these two held a meeting, “I have called you back to tell you of a very terrible thing which has been said of my dear brother Duncan, and which you must contradict at once, and then find out how it was that the false report arose, and have the matter cleared up.”
“Dear Elspie,” returned Dan, “I think I know what you are going to tell me.”
“Have you heard the report, then?” said Elspie, turning pale, “and—and do you believe it?”
“I have suspected—I have—but let me hear first what the report is, and who it came from.”
“I got it from Annette Pierre, and I am sure she would not have told it me if she did not think it true; but, then, poor Annette is not very intelligent, and she may be—must be—mistaken. She says that it was Duncan who killed poor Henri Perrin, and that some of the half-breeds are determined1 to avenge2 the death of their comrade. Now, it cannot be true; and I want you at once to go and ferret out the truth, so as to prove the report false.”
“Have you spoken to Duncan on the subject?” asked Dan.
“No, I cannot bear to let him imagine even for a moment that I could believe him guilty of murder—that I even suspected him of it. But you say you have heard something, Dan—that you suspect something. What is it?”
“It is difficult to say, Elspie dear. I, too, have heard the rumour5 that has come to your ears, and I have seen—but it is useless talking of our mere6 conjectures7. I will go at once and ferret out all about it if possible. My first business will be to see Annette and get from her all that she knows. Where is Duncan?”
“In the wheat-field. They have begun to shear8 to-day, and, as the crop is heavy, they will be glad of your help.”
Dan went to the field, after visiting Annette Pierre, and lent good assistance to the shearers, but, like Elspie, he found that he had not courage to say anything to Duncan that would indicate his suspicion. He longed to put the question straight to him, but could not prevail on himself to do so.
Next morning, however, he and Elspie were both saved the necessity of doing such violence to their feelings, by the arrival of two men from Fort Garry. They were members of a sort of police force that the Company had enrolled9, and had come to arrest Duncan McKay junior, on the charge of murder!
There was not much of law in the colony at that time, but it was felt that something had to be done in the way of governing a settlement which was rapidly increasing, and in which Lynch and mob law would certainly be applied10 if regularly constituted authority did not step in. As the murder of Perrin had created great indignation among the half-breeds, and the feeling about it was increasing, the Company resolved to clear the matter up by having the supposed murderer tried. Duncan was accordingly lodged11 in one of the bastions of Fort Garry, where, when visited by the Governor, he firmly denied his guilt4.
The arrest of his younger son on such a charge fell very heavily on poor Duncan McKay senior—more heavily than those who knew him would have expected. It touched not only his feelings but his pride; for was he not a lineal descendant of that Fergus McKay who had been a chief in one of the Western Isles12 of Scotland—he could not tell which, but no matter—at that celebrated13 period of Scottish history when the great Norse king, Harold Fairhair, had made a descent on the Scottish coast and received one of the few thorough thrashings that darkened his otherwise successful career?
“O! Tuncan, Tuncan, my boy!” cried the old man, shoving his hands deeper into his breeches pockets, and apostrophising his imprisoned14 son as he walked up and down in the privacy of his own bedroom. “O that wan3 o’ the name should come to such disgrace! An’ it’s denyin’ it you will be, whether you are guilty or innocent. O Tuncan, Tuncan! you wass ever notorious for tellin’ lies—an’ a troublesome boy all round—whatever.”
But when the old man went to Fort Garry and visited his son, he stifled15 his pathetic feelings, and appeared before him with all the offended dignity of an injured member of the great clan16 McKay.
“Are you guilty, Tuncan?” he asked, sternly.
“No, I’m innocent,” answered the youthful Highlander17, with a brow quite as stern and a manner as dignified18 as the old one.
“You will hev to prove that—whatever.”
“No—they will hev to prove me guilty,” retorted the son.
“I wish I could believe ye, Tuncan.”
“It iss not of much consequence whether ye believe me or not, father. You are not to be my chudge—whatever.”
“That is goot luck for you, Tuncan, for if I wass your chudge I would be bound to condemn19 you—you wass always so fond o’ tellin’ lies.”
“It iss true what you say, father. It iss a chip o’ the old block that I am—more’s the peety.” At this point the door of the prison opened, and Elspie was ushered20 in.
“You here, father!” she exclaimed in evident surprise. “I had hoped to see Duncan alone.”
“It iss alone with him you’ll soon be,” replied the Highlander, putting on his hat. “Goot tay, Tuncan, my boy, an’ see that you’ll be tellin’ the truth, if ye can, when ye come to be tried.”
To this the youth made no reply.
“O Duncan!” said the girl, when her father had retired21, “how came they to invent such lies about you?”
The tender way in which this was said, and the gentle touch on his arm, almost overcame the stubborn man, but he steeled himself against such influences.
“What can I say, Elspie?” he replied. “How can I tell what iss the reason that people tell lies?”
“But it is lies, isn’t it, Duncan?” asked the poor girl, almost entreatingly22.
“You say that it iss lies—whatever, an’ I will not be contradictin’ you. But when the trial comes on you will see that it cannot be proved against me, Elspie—so keep your mind easy.”
With this rather unsatisfactory assurance, Elspie was fain to rest content, and she returned home a little, though not much, easier in her mind.
To make the trial quite fair and regular, a jury of twelve men, chosen by lot from a large number, was empanelled, and as many witnesses as possible were examined. These last were not numerous, and it is needless to say that Annette Pierre and Marie Blanc were the chief. But despite their evidence and the strong feeling that existed against the prisoner, it was found impossible to convict him, so that in the end he was acquitted23 and set free. But there were men in the colony who registered a vow24 that Cloudbrow should not escape. They believed him to be guilty, in spite of the trial, and made up their minds patiently to bide25 their time.
It now seemed as if at last a measure of prosperity were about to dawn upon the farmers in that distant land, and, as usual on such occasions of approaching prosperity, Dan Davidson and Duncan McKay senior began to talk of the wedding which had been so long delayed.
“I wass thinkin’, Tan,” remarked the old man one morning, while walking in the verandah with his after-breakfast pipe, “that I will be getting in the crops pretty soon this year, an’ they’re heavy crops too, so that we may look forward to a comfortable winter—whatever.”
“True, and as our crops are also very good, thank God, I begin now to hope that Elspie may see her way to—”
“See her way!” exclaimed McKay with some asperity26: “she will hev to see her way when I tell her to open her eyes an’ look!”
“Nay, but there are two to this bargain,” said Dan, good-humouredly. “I would not consent to have her on such terms. She must fix and arrange everything without constraint27 from any one—not even from you, Duncan McKay.”
“Oh! fery goot!” retorted the old man with a touch of sarcasm28; “you know fery well what Elspie will be sayin’ to that, or you would not be so ready to let it rest with her. Yes, yes, she is safe to see her way to go the way that you want her to go.”
It was a strange coincidence that at the very time these two were conversing29 on this subject in the verandah of Ben Nevis Hall, Mrs Davidson and Elspie were discussing the very same subject in an upper room of Prairie Cottage. We refrain from giving the details, however, as it would be unpardonable to reveal such matters. We will merely state that the conclusions to which the ladies came were very similar to those arrived at by the gentlemen.
When the harvest had been gathered in that year, there came what old McKay called a visitation which, with its consequences, recalls irresistibly31 the words of our great Scottish poet—“the best-laid schemes o’ mice and men gang aft a-gley.” This visitation was a plague of mice. The whole colony was infested32 with them. Like the grasshoppers33, the mice devoured34 everything. The grain after being stacked was almost totally destroyed by them. The straw, the very stubble itself, was cut to atoms. The fields, the woods, the plains, seemed literally35 alive with this new visitor, and the result would have been that most of the settlers would again have been driven to spend another dreary36 winter in trapping and hunting with the Indians at Pembina, if it had not been for the fortunate circumstance that the buffalo37 runners had been unusually successful that year. They returned from the plains rejoicing,—their carts heavily laden38 with buffalo-robes and innumerable bags of pemmican.
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1
determined
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| adj.坚定的；有决心的 | |
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avenge
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| v.为...复仇，为...报仇 | |
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wan
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| (wide area network)广域网 | |
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guilt
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| n.犯罪；内疚；过失，罪责 | |
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rumour
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| n.谣言，谣传，传闻 | |
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mere
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| adj.纯粹的；仅仅，只不过 | |
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conjectures
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| 推测，猜想( conjecture的名词复数 ) | |
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8
shear
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| n.修剪，剪下的东西，羊的一岁；vt.剪掉，割，剥夺；vi.修剪，切割，剥夺，穿越 | |
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9
enrolled
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| adj.入学登记了的v.[亦作enrol]( enroll的过去式和过去分词 )；登记，招收，使入伍（或入会、入学等），参加，成为成员；记入名册；卷起，包起 | |
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10
applied
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| adj.应用的；v.应用，适用 | |
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lodged
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| v.存放( lodge的过去式和过去分词 )；暂住；埋入；（权利、权威等）归属 | |
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12
isles
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| 岛( isle的名词复数 ) | |
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celebrated
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| adj.有名的，声誉卓著的 | |
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imprisoned
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| 下狱，监禁( imprison的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
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15
stifled
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| （使）窒息， （使）窒闷( stifle的过去式和过去分词 )； 镇压，遏制； 堵 | |
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16
clan
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| n.氏族，部落，宗族，家族，宗派 | |
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highlander
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| n.高地的人，苏格兰高地地区的人 | |
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dignified
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| a.可敬的，高贵的 | |
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condemn
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| vt.谴责，指责；宣判(罪犯)，判刑 | |
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ushered
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| v.引，领，陪同( usher的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
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retired
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| adj.隐退的，退休的，退役的 | |
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entreatingly
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| 哀求地，乞求地 | |
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acquitted
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| 宣判…无罪( acquit的过去式和过去分词 )； 使（自己）作出某种表现 | |
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vow
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| n.誓(言)，誓约；v.起誓，立誓 | |
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bide
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| v.忍耐；等候；住 | |
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asperity
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| n.粗鲁，艰苦 | |
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constraint
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| n.(on)约束，限制；限制(或约束)性的事物 | |
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sarcasm
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| n.讥讽，讽刺，嘲弄，反话 （adj.sarcastic） | |
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conversing
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| v.交谈，谈话( converse的现在分词 ) | |
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30
destined
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| adj.命中注定的；(for)以…为目的地的 | |
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irresistibly
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| adv.无法抵抗地，不能自持地；极为诱惑人地 | |
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32
infested
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| adj.为患的，大批滋生的（常与with搭配）v.害虫、野兽大批出没于( infest的过去式和过去分词 )；遍布于 | |
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33
grasshoppers
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| n.蚱蜢( grasshopper的名词复数 )；蝗虫；蚂蚱；（孩子）矮小的 | |
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34
devoured
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| 吞没( devour的过去式和过去分词 )； 耗尽； 津津有味地看； 狼吞虎咽地吃光 | |
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35
literally
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| adv.照字面意义，逐字地；确实 | |
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36
dreary
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| adj.令人沮丧的，沉闷的，单调乏味的 | |
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37
buffalo
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| n.(北美)野牛；(亚洲)水牛 | |
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38
laden
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| adj.装满了的；充满了的；负了重担的；苦恼的 | |
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