Of which my fancy cherish’d
So faithfully a waking dream?
An image that hath perish’d?
Oh that some minstrel’s harp1 were near,
To utter notes of gladness,
And chase this silence from the air,
That fills my heart with sadness.
WORDSWORTH.
THE scene was not without its sublimity2, and the ardent3, generous-minded Mabel felt her blood thrill in her veins4 and her cheeks flush, as the canoe shot into the strength of the stream, to quit the spot. The darkness of the night had lessened5, by the dispersion of the clouds; but the overhanging woods rendered the shore so obscure, that the boats floated down the current in a belt of gloom that effectually secured them from detection. Still, there was necessarily a strong feeling of insecurity in all on board them; and even Jasper, who by this time began to tremble, in behalf of the girl, at every unusual sound that arose from the forest, kept casting uneasy glances around him as he drifted on in company. The paddle was used lightly, and only with exceeding care; for the slightest sound in the breathing stillness of that hour and place might apprise7 the watchful8 ears of the Iroquois of their position.
All these accessories added to the impressive grandeur9 of her situation, and contributed to render the moment much the most exciting which had ever occurred in the brief existence of Mabel Dunham. Spirited, accustomed to self-reliance, and sustained by the pride of considering herself a soldier’s daughter, she could hardly be said to be under the influence of fear, yet her heart often beat quicker than common, her fine blue eye lighted with an exhibition of a resolution that was wasted in the darkness, and her quickened feelings came in aid of the real sublimity that belonged to the scene and to the incidents of the night.
“Mabel!” said the suppressed voice of Jasper, as the two canoes floated so near each other that the hand of the young man held them together, “you have no dread10? You trust freely to our care and willingness to protect you?”
“I am a soldier’s daughter, as you know, Jasper Western, and ought to be ashamed to confess fear.”
“Rely on me — on us all. Your uncle, Pathfinder, the Delaware, were the poor fellow here, I myself, will risk everything rather than harm should reach you.”
“I believe you, Jasper,” returned the girl, her hand unconsciously playing in the water. “I know that my uncle loves me, and will never think of himself until he has first thought of me; and I believe you are all my father’s friends, and would willingly assist his child. But I am not so feeble and weak-minded as you may think; for, though only a girl from the towns, and, like most of that class, a little disposed to see danger where there is none, I promise you, Jasper, no foolish fears of mine shall stand in the way of your doing your duty.”
“The Sergeant12’s daughter is right, and she is worthy13 of being honest Thomas Dunham’s child,” put in the Pathfinder. “Ah’s me, pretty one! many is the time that your father and I have scouted15 and marched together on the flanks and rear of the enemy, in nights darker than this, and that, too, when we did not know but the next moment would lead us into a bloody16 ambushment. I was at his side when he got the wound in his shoulder; and the honest fellow will tell you, when you meet, the manner in which we contrived17 to cross the river which lay in our rear, in order to save his scalp.”
“He has told me,” said Mabel, with more energy perhaps than her situation rendered prudent18. “I have his letters, in which he has mentioned all that, and I thank you from the bottom of my heart for the service. God will remember it, Pathfinder; and there is no gratitude19 that you can ask of the daughter which she will not cheerfully repay for her father’s life.”
“Ay, that is the way with all your gentle and pure-hearted creatures. I have seen some of you before, and have heard of others. The Sergeant himself has talked to me of his own young days, and of your mother, and of the manner in which he courted her, and of all the crossings and disappointments, until he succeeded at last.”
“My mother did not live long to repay him for what he did to win her,” said Mabel, with a trembling lip.
“So he tells me. The honest Sergeant has kept nothing back; for, being so many years my senior, he has looked on me, in our many scoutings together, as a sort of son.”
“Perhaps, Pathfinder,” observed Jasper, with a huskiness in his voice that defeated the attempt at pleasantry, “he would be glad to have you for one in reality.”
“And if he did, Eau-douce, where would be the sin of it? He knows what I am on a trail or a scout14, and he has seen me often face to face with the Frenchers. I have sometimes thought, lad, that we all ought to seek for wives; for the man that lives altogether in the woods, and in company with his enemies or his prey20, gets to lose some of the feeling of kind in the end. It is not easy to dwell always in the presence of God and not feel the power of His goodness. I have attended church-sarvice in the garrisons22, and tried hard, as becomes a true soldier, to join in the prayers; for, though no enlisted23 sarvant of the king, I fight his battles and sarve his cause, and so I have endeavored to worship garrison21-fashion, but never could raise within me the solemn feelings and true affection that I feel when alone with God in the forest. There I seem to stand face to face with my Master; all around me is fresh and beautiful, as it came from His hand; and there is no nicety or doctrine24 to chill the feelings. No no; the woods are the true temple after all, for there the thoughts are free to mount higher even than the clouds.”
“You speak the truth, Master Pathfinder,” said Cap, “and a truth that all who live much in solitude25 know. What, for instance, is the reason that seafaring men in general are so religious and conscientious26 in all they do, but the fact that they are so often alone with Providence27, and have so little to do with the wickedness of the land. Many and many is the time that I have stood my watch, under the equator perhaps, or in the Southern Ocean, when the nights are lighted up with the fires of heaven; and that is the time, I can tell you, my hearties28, to bring a man to his bearings in the way of his sins. I have rattled29 down mine again and again under such circumstances, until the shrouds30 and lanyards of conscience have fairly creaked with the strain. I agree with you, Master Pathfinder, therefore, in saying, if you want a truly religious man, go to sea, or go into the woods.”
“Uncle, I thought seamen31 had little credit generally for their respect for religion?”
“All d —— d slander32, girl; for all the essentials of Christianity the seaman33 beats the landsman hand-over-hand.”
“I will not answer for all this, Master Cap,” returned Pathfinder; “but I daresay some of it may be true. I want no thunder and lightning to remind me of my God, nor am I as apt to bethink on most of all His goodness in trouble and tribulations34 as on a calm, solemn, quiet day in a forest, when His voice is heard in the creaking of a dead branch or in the song of a bird, as much in my ears at least as it is ever heard in uproar35 and gales36. How is it with you, Eau-douce? you face the tempests as well as Master Cap, and ought to know something of the feelings of storms.”
“I fear that I am too young and too inexperienced to be able to say much on such a subject,” modestly answered Jasper.
“But you have your feelings!” said Mabel quickly. “You cannot — no one can live among such scenes without feeling how much they ought to trust in God!”
“I shall not belie11 my training so much as to say I do not sometimes think of these things, but I fear it is not so often or so much as I ought.”
“Fresh water,” resumed Cap pithily37; “you are not to expect too much of the young man, Mabel. I think they call you sometimes by a name which would insinuate38 all this: Eau-de-vie, is it not?”
“Eau-douce,” quietly replied Jasper, who from sailing on the lake had acquired a knowledge of French, as well as of several of the Indian dialects. “It is a name the Iroquois have given me to distinguish me from some of my companions who once sailed upon the sea, and are fond of filling the ears of the natives with stories of their great salt-water lakes.”
“And why shouldn’t they? I daresay they do the savages39 no harm. Ay, ay, Eau-deuce; that must mean the white brandy, which may well enough be called the deuce, for deuced stuff it is!”
“The signification of Eau-douce is sweet-water, and it is the manner in which the French express fresh-water,” rejoined Jasper, a little nettled40.
“And how the devil do they make water out of Eau-in-deuce, when it means brandy in Eau-de-vie? Besides, among seamen, Eau always means brandy; and Eau-de-vie, brandy of a high proof. I think nothing of your ignorance, young man; for it is natural to your situation, and cannot be helped. If you will return with me, and make a v’y’ge or two on the Atlantic, it will serve you a good turn the remainder of your days; and Mabel there, and all the other young women near the coast, will think all the better of you should you live to be as old as one of the trees in this forest.”
“Nay, nay,” interrupted the single-hearted and generous guide; “Jasper wants not for friends in this region, I can assure you; and though seeing the world, according to his habits, may do him good as well as another, we shall think none the worse of him if he never quits us. Eau-douce or Eau-de-vie, he is a brave, true-hearted youth, and I always sleep as soundly when he is on the watch as if I was up and stirring myself; ay, and for that matter, sounder too. The Sergeant’s daughter here doesn’t believe it necessary for the lad to go to sea in order to make a man of him, or one who is worthy to be respected and esteemed41.”
Mabel made no reply to this appeal, and she even looked towards the western shore, although the darkness rendered the natural movements unnecessary to conceal42 her face. But Jasper felt that there was a necessity for his saying something, the pride of youth and manhood revolting at the idea of his being in a condition not to command the respect of his fellows or the smiles of his equals of the other sex. Still he was unwilling43 to utter aught that might be considered harsh to the uncle of Mabel; and his self-command was perhaps more creditable than his modesty44 and spirit.
“I pretend not to things I don’t possess,” he said, “and lay no claim to any knowledge of the ocean or of navigation. We steer45 by the stars and the compass on these lakes, running from headland to headland; and having little need of figures and calculations, make no use of them. But we have our claims notwithstanding, as I have often heard from those who have passed years on the ocean. In the first place, we have always the land aboard, and much of the time on a lee-shore, and that I have frequently heard makes hardy46 sailors. Our gales are sudden and severe, and we are compelled to run for our ports at all hours.”
“You have your leads,” interrupted Cap.
“They are of little use, and are seldom cast.”
“The deep-seas.”
“I have heard of such things, but confess I never saw one.”
“Oh! deuce, with a vengeance47. A trader, and no deep-sea! Why, boy, you cannot pretend to be anything of a mariner48. Who the devil ever heard of a seaman without his deep-sea?”
“I do not pretend to any particular skill, Master Cap.”
“Except in shooting falls, Jasper, except in shooting falls and rifts49,” said Pathfinder, coming to the rescue; “in which business even you, Master Cap, must allow he has some handiness. In my judgment50, every man is to be esteemed or condemned51 according to his gifts; and if Master Cap is useless in running the Oswego Falls, I try to remember that he is useful when out of sight of land; and if Jasper be useless when out of sight of land, I do not forget that he has a true eye and steady hand when running the falls.”
“But Jasper is not useless — would not be useless when out of sight of land,” said Mabel, with a spirit and energy that caused her clear sweet voice to be startling amid the solemn stillness of that extraordinary scene. “No one can be useless there who can do so much here, is what I mean; though, I daresay, he is not as well acquainted with ships as my uncle.”
“Ay, bolster52 each other up in your ignorance,” returned Cap with a sneer53. “We seamen are so much out-numbered when ashore54 that it is seldom we get our dues; but when you want to be defended, or trade is to be carried on, there is outcry enough for us.”
“But, uncle, landsmen do not come to attack our coasts; so that seamen only meet seamen.”
“So much for ignorance! Where are all the enemies that have landed in this country, French and English, let me inquire, niece?”
“Sure enough, where are they?” ejaculated Pathfinder. “None can tell better than we who dwell in the woods, Master Cap. I have often followed their line of march by bones bleaching55 in the rain, and have found their trail by graves, years after they and their pride had vanished together. Generals and privates, they lay scattered56 throughout the land, so many proofs of what men are when led on by their love of great names and the wish to be more than their fellows.”
“I must say, Master Pathfinder, that you sometimes utter opinions that are a little remarkable57 for a man who lives by the rifle; seldom snuffing the air but he smells gunpowder58, or turning out of his berth59 but to bear down on an enemy.”
“If you think I pass my days in warfare60 against my kind, you know neither me nor my history. The man that lives in the woods and on the frontiers must take the chances of the things among which he dwells. For this I am not accountable, being but an humble61 and powerless hunter and scout and guide. My real calling is to hunt for the army, on its marches and in times of peace; although I am more especially engaged in the service of one officer, who is now absent in the settlements, where I never follow him. No, no; bloodshed and warfare are not my real gifts, but peace and mercy. Still, I must face the enemy as well as another; and as for a Mingo, I look upon him as man looks on a snake, a creatur’ to be put beneath the heel whenever a fitting occasion offers.”
“Well, well; I have mistaken your calling, which I had thought as regularly warlike as that of a ship’s gunner. There is my brother-in-law, now; he has been a soldier since he was sixteen, and he looks upon his trade as every way as respectable as that of a seafaring man, a point I hardly think it worth while to dispute with him.”
“My father has been taught to believe that it is honorable to carry arms,” said Mabel, “for his father was a soldier before him.”
“Yes, yes,” resumed the guide; “most of the Sergeant’s gifts are martial62, and he looks at most things in this world over the barrel of his musket63. One of his notions, now, is to prefer a king’s piece to a regular, double-sighted, long-barrelled rifle. Such conceits64 will come over men from long habit; and prejudice is, perhaps, the commonest failing of human natur’.”
While the desultory65 conversation just related had been carried on in subdued66 voices, the canoes were dropping slowly down with the current within the deep shadows of the western shore, the paddles being used merely to preserve the desired direction and proper positions. The strength of the stream varied67 materially, the water being seemingly still in places, while in other reaches it flowed at a rate exceeding two or even three miles in the hour. On the rifts it even dashed forward with a velocity68 that was appalling69 to the unpractised eye. Jasper was of opinion that they might drift down with the current to the mouth of the river in two hours from the time they left the shore, and he and the Pathfinder had agreed on the expediency70 of suffering the canoes to float of themselves for a time, or at least until they had passed the first dangers of their new movement. The dialogue had been carried on in voices, too, guardedly low; for though the quiet of deep solitude reigned71 in that vast and nearly boundless72 forest, nature was speaking with her thousand tongues in the eloquent73 language of night in a wilderness74. The air sighed through ten thousand trees, the water rippled75, and at places even roared along the shores; and now and then was heard the creaking of a branch or a trunk, as it rubbed against some object similar to itself, under the vibrations76 of a nicely balanced body. All living sounds had ceased. Once, it is true, the Pathfinder fancied he heard the howl of a distant wolf, of which a few prowled through these woods; but it was a transient and doubtful cry, that might possibly have been attributed to the imagination. When he desired his companions, however, to cease talking, his vigilant77 ear had caught the peculiar78 sound which is made by the parting of a dried branch of a tree and which, if his senses did not deceive him, came from the western shore. All who are accustomed to that particular sound will understand how readily the ear receives it, and how easy it is to distinguish the tread which breaks the branch from every other noise of the forest.
“There is the footstep of a man on the bank,” said Pathfinder to Jasper, speaking in neither a whisper nor yet in a voice loud enough to be heard at any distance. “Can the accursed Iroquois have crossed the river already, with their arms, and without a boat?”
“It may be the Delaware. He would follow us, of course down this bank, and would know where to look for us. Let me draw closer into the shore, and reconnoitre.”
“Go boy but be light with the paddle, and on no account venture ashore on an onsartainty.”
“Is this prudent?” demanded Mabel, with an impetuosity that rendered her incautious in modulating79 her sweet voice.
“Very imprudent, if you speak so loud, fair one. I like your voice, which is soft and pleasing, after the listening so long to the tones of men; but it must not be heard too much, or too freely, just now. Your father, the honest Sergeant, will tell you, when you meet him, that silence is a double virtue80 on a trail. Go, Jasper, and do justice to your own character for prudence81.”
Ten anxious minutes succeeded the disappearance82 of the canoe of Jasper, which glided84 away from that of the Pathfinder so noiselessly, that it had been swallowed up in the gloom before Mabel allowed herself to believe the young man would really venture alone on a service which struck her imagination as singularly dangerous. During this time, the party continued to float with the current, no one speaking, and, it might almost be said, no one breathing, so strong was the general desire to catch the minutest sound that should come from the shore. But the same solemn, we might, indeed, say sublime85, quiet reigned as before; the washing of the water, as it piled up against some slight obstruction86, and the sighing of the trees, alone interrupting the slumbers87 of the forest. At the end of the period mentioned, the snapping of dried branches was again faintly heard, and the Pathfinder fancied that the sound of smothered88 voices reached him.
“I may be mistaken,” he said, “for the thoughts often fancy what the heart wishes; but these were notes like the low tones of the Delaware.”
“Do the dead of the savages ever walk?” demanded Cap.
“Ay, and run too, in their happy hunting-grounds, but nowhere else. A red-skin finishes with the ‘arth, after the breath quits the body. It is not one of his gifts to linger around his wigwam when his hour has passed.”
“I see some object on the water,” whispered Mabel, whose eye had not ceased to dwell on the body of gloom, with close intensity89, since the disappearance of Jasper.
“It is the canoe,” returned the guide, greatly relieved. “All must be safe, or we should have heard from the lad.”
In another minute the two canoes, which became visible to those they carried only as they drew near each other, again floated side by side, and the form of Jasper was recognized at the stern of his own boat. The figure of a second man was seated in the bow; and, as the young sailor so wielded90 his paddle as to bring the face of his companion near the eyes of the Pathfinder and Mabel, they both recognized the person of the Delaware.
“Chingachgook — my brother!” said the guide in the dialect of the other’s people, a tremor91 shaking his voice that betrayed the strength of his feelings. “Chief of the Mohicans! My heart is very glad. Often have we passed through blood and strife92 together, but I was afraid it was never to be so again.”
“Hugh! The Mingos are squaws! Three of their scalps hang at my girdle. They do not know how to strike the Great Serpent of the Delawares. Their hearts have no blood; and their thoughts are on their return path, across the waters of the Great Lake.”
“Have you been among them, chief? and what has become of the warrior93 who was in the river?”
“He has turned into a fish, and lies at the bottom with the eels94! Let his brothers bait their hooks for him. Pathfinder, I have counted the enemy, and have touched their rifles.”
“Ah, I thought he would be venturesome!” exclaimed the guide in English. “The risky95 fellow has been in the midst of them, and has brought us back their whole history. Speak, Chingachgook, and I will make our friends as knowing as ourselves.”
The Delaware now related in a low earnest manner the substance of all his discoveries, since he was last seen struggling with his foe96 in the river. Of the fate of his antagonist97 he said no more, it not being usual for a warrior to boast in his more direct and useful narratives98. As soon as he had conquered in that fearful strife, however, he swam to the eastern shore, landed with caution, and wound his way in amongst the Iroquois, concealed99 by the darkness, undetected, and, in the main, even unsuspected. Once, indeed, he had been questioned; but answering that he was Arrowhead, no further inquiries100 were made. By the passing remarks, he soon ascertained102 that the party was out expressly to intercept103 Mabel and her uncle, concerning whose rank, however, they had evidently been deceived. He also ascertained enough to justify104 the suspicion that Arrowhead had betrayed them to their enemies, for some motive105 that it was not now easy to reach, as he had not yet received the reward of his services.
Pathfinder communicated no more of this intelligence to his companions than he thought might relieve their apprehensions107, intimating, at the same time, that now was the moment for exertion108, the Iroquois not having yet entirely109 recovered from the confusion created by their losses.
“We shall find them at the rift6, I make no manner of doubt,” continued he; “and there it will be our fate to pass them, or to fall into their hands. The distance to the garrison will then be so short, that I have been thinking of a plan of landing with Mabel myself, that I may take her in, by some of the by-ways, and leave the canoes to their chances in the rapids.”
“It will never succeed, Pathfinder,” eagerly interrupted Jasper. “Mabel is not strong enough to tramp the woods in a night like this. Put her in my skiff, and I will lose my life, or carry her through the rift safely, dark as it is.”
“No doubt you will, lad; no one doubts your willingness to do anything to serve the Sergeant’s daughter; but it must be the eye of Providence, and not your own, that will take you safely through the Oswego rift in a night like this.”
“And who will lead her safely to the garrison if she land? Is not the night as dark on shore as on the water? or do you think I know less of my calling than you know of yours?”
“Spiritedly said, lad; but if I should lose my way in the dark — and I believe no man can say truly that such a thing ever yet happened to me — but, if I should lose my way, no other harm would come of it than to pass a night in the forest; whereas a false turn of the paddle, or a broad sheer of the canoe, would put you and the young woman into the river, out of which it is more than probable the Sergeant’s daughter would never come alive.”
“I will leave it to Mabel herself; I am certain that she will feel more secure in the canoe.”
“I have great confidence in you both,” answered the girl; “and have no doubts that either will do all he can to prove to my father how much he values him; but I confess I should not like to quit the canoe, with the certainty we have of there being enemies like those we have seen in the forest. But my uncle can decide for me in this matter.”
“I have no liking110 for the woods,” said Cap, “while one has a clear drift like this on the river. Besides, Master Pathfinder, to say nothing of the savages, you overlook the sharks.”
“Sharks! Who ever heard of sharks in the wilderness?”
“Ay! Sharks, or bears, or wolves — no matter what you call a thing, so it has the mind and power to bite.”
“Lord, lord, man! Do you dread any creatur’ that is to be found in the American forest? A catamount is a skeary animal, I will allow, but then it is nothing in the hands of a practysed hunter. Talk of the Mingos and their devilries if you will; but do not raise a false alarm about bears and wolves.”
“Ay, ay, Master Pathfinder, this is all well enough for you, who probably know the name of every creature you would meet. Use is everything, and it makes a man bold when he might otherwise be bashful. I have known seamen in the low latitudes111 swim for hours at a time among sharks fifteen or twenty feet long.”
“This is extraordinary!” exclaimed Jasper, who had not yet acquired that material part of his trade, the ability to spin a yarn112. “I have always heard that it was certain death to venture in the water among sharks.”
“I forgot to say, that the lads always took capstan-bars, or gunners’ handspikes, or crows with them, to rap the beasts over the noses if they got to be troublesome. No, no, I have no liking for bears and wolves, though a whale, in my eye, is very much the same sort of fish as a red herring after it is dried and salted. Mabel and I had better stick to the canoe.”
“Mabel would do well to change canoes,” added Jasper. “This of mine is empty, and even Pathfinder will allow that my eye is surer than his own on the water.”
“That I will, cheerfully, boy. The water belongs to your gifts, and no one will deny that you have improved them to the utmost. You are right enough in believing that the Sergeant’s daughter will be safer in your canoe than in this; and though I would gladly keep her near myself, I have her welfare too much at heart not to give her honest advice. Bring your canoe close alongside, Jasper, and I will give you what you must consider as a precious treasure.”
“I do so consider it,” returned the youth, not losing a moment in complying with the request; when Mabel passed from one canoe to the other taking her seat on the effects which had hitherto composed its sole cargo113.
As soon as this arrangement was made, the canoes separated a short distance, and the paddles were used, though with great care to avoid making any noise. The conversation gradually ceased; and as the dreaded114 rift was approached, all became impressed with the gravity of the moment. That their enemies would endeavor to reach this point before them was almost certain; and it seemed so little probable any one should attempt to pass it, in the profound obscurity which reigned, that Pathfinder was confident parties were on both sides of the river, in the hope of intercepting115 them when they might land. He would not have made the proposal he did had he not felt sure of his own ability to convert this very anticipation116 of success into a means of defeating the plans of the Iroquois. As the arrangement now stood, however, everything depended on the skill of those who guided the canoes; for should either hit a rock, if not split asunder117, it would almost certainly be upset, and then would come not only all the hazards of the river itself, but, for Mabel, the certainty of falling into the hands of her pursuers. The utmost circumspection118 consequently became necessary, and each one was too much engrossed119 with his own thoughts to feel a disposition120 to utter more than was called for by the exigencies121 of the case.
At the canoes stole silently along, the roar of the rift became audible, and it required all the fortitude122 of Cap to keep his seat, while these boding123 sounds were approached, amid a darkness which scarcely permitted a view of the outlines of the wooded shore and of the gloomy vault124 above his head. He retained a vivid impression of the falls, and his imagination was not now idle in swelling125 the dangers of the rift to a level with those of the headlong descent he had that day made, and even to increase them, under the influence of doubt and uncertainty126. In this, however, the old mariner was mistaken, for the Oswego Rift and the Oswego Falls are very different in their characters and violence; the former being no more than a rapid, that glances among shallows and rocks, while the latter really deserved the name it bore, as has been already shown.
Mabel certainly felt distrust and apprehension106; but her entire situation was so novel, and her reliance on her guide so great, that she retained a self-command which might not have existed had she clearer perceptions of the truth, or been better acquainted with the helplessness of men when placed in opposition127 to the power and majesty128 of Nature.
“Is that the spot you have mentioned?” she said to
Jasper, when the roar of the rift first came distinctly on her ears.
“It is; and I beg you to have confidence in me. We are not old acquaintances, Mabel; but we live many days in one, in this wilderness. I think, already, that I have known you years!”
“And I do not feel as if you were a stranger to me, Jasper. I have every reliance on your skill, as well as on your disposition to serve me.”
“We shall see, we shall see. Pathfinder is striking the rapids too near the centre of the river; the bed of the water is closer to the eastern shore; but I cannot make him hear me now. Hold firmly to the canoe, Mabel, and fear nothing.”
At the next moment the swift current had sucked them into the rift, and for three or four minutes the awe-struck, rather than the alarmed, girl saw nothing around her but sheets of glancing foam129, heard nothing but the roar of waters. Twenty times did the canoe appear about to dash against some curling and bright wave that showed itself even amid that obscurity; and as often did it glide83 away again unharmed, impelled130 by the vigorous arm of him who governed its movements. Once, and once only, did Jasper seem to lose command of his frail131 bark, during which brief space it fairly whirled entirely round; but by a desperate effort he brought it again under control, recovered the lost channel, and was soon rewarded for all his anxiety by finding himself floating quietly in the deep water below the rapids, secure from every danger, and without having taken in enough of the element to serve for a draught132.
“All is over, Mabel,” the young man cried cheerfully. “The danger is past, and you may now indeed hope to meet your father this very night.”
“God be praised! Jasper, we shall owe this great happiness to you.”
“The Pathfinder may claim a full share in the merit; but what has become of the other canoe?”
“I see something near us on the water; is it not the boat of our friends?”
A few strokes of the paddle brought Jasper to the side of the object in question: it was the other canoe, empty and bottom upwards133. No sooner did the young man ascertain101 this fact, than he began to search for the swimmers, and, to his great joy, Cap was soon discovered drifting down with the current; the old seaman preferring the chances of drowning to those of landing among savages. He was hauled into the canoe, though not without difficulty, and then the search ended; for Jasper was persuaded that the Pathfinder would wade134 to the shore, the water being shallow, in preference to abandoning his beloved rifle.
The remainder of the passage was short, though made amid darkness and doubt. After a short pause, a dull roaring sound was heard, which at times resembled the mutterings of distant thunder, and then again brought with it the washing of waters. Jasper announced to his companions that they now heard the surf of the lake. Low curved spits of land lay before them, into the bay formed by one of which the canoe glided, and then it shot up noiselessly upon a gravelly beach. The transition that followed was so hurried and great, that Mabel scarcely knew what passed. In the course of a few minutes, however, sentinels had been passed, a gate was opened, and the agitated135 girl found herself in the arms of a parent who was almost a stranger to her.
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harp
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| n.竖琴；天琴座 | |
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sublimity
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| 崇高，庄严，气质高尚 | |
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ardent
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| adj.热情的，热烈的，强烈的，烈性的 | |
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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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5
lessened
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| 减少的，减弱的 | |
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6
rift
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| n.裂口，隙缝，切口；v.裂开，割开，渗入 | |
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7
apprise
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| vt.通知，告知 | |
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8
watchful
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| adj.注意的，警惕的 | |
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9
grandeur
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| n.伟大，崇高，宏伟，庄严，豪华 | |
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10
dread
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| vt.担忧，忧虑；惧怕，不敢；n.担忧，畏惧 | |
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11
belie
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| v.掩饰，证明为假 | |
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12
sergeant
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| n.警官，中士 | |
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13
worthy
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| adj.(of)值得的，配得上的；有价值的 | |
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14
scout
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| n.童子军，侦察员；v.侦察，搜索 | |
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15
scouted
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| 寻找，侦察( scout的过去式和过去分词 )； 物色（优秀运动员、演员、音乐家等） | |
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16
bloody
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| adj.非常的的；流血的；残忍的；adv.很；vt.血染 | |
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17
contrived
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| adj.不自然的，做作的；虚构的 | |
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18
prudent
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| adj.谨慎的，有远见的，精打细算的 | |
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19
gratitude
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| adj.感激，感谢 | |
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20
prey
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| n.被掠食者，牺牲者，掠食；v.捕食，掠夺，折磨 | |
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21
garrison
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| n.卫戍部队；驻地，卫戍区；vt.派(兵)驻防 | |
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22
garrisons
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| 守备部队，卫戍部队( garrison的名词复数 ) | |
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23
enlisted
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| adj.应募入伍的v.（使）入伍， （使）参军( enlist的过去式和过去分词 )；获得（帮助或支持） | |
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24
doctrine
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| n.教义；主义；学说 | |
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25
solitude
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| n. 孤独; 独居,荒僻之地,幽静的地方 | |
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26
conscientious
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| adj.审慎正直的，认真的，本着良心的 | |
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27
providence
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| n.深谋远虑，天道，天意；远见；节约；上帝 | |
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28
hearties
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| 亲切的( hearty的名词复数 )； 热诚的； 健壮的； 精神饱满的 | |
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29
rattled
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| 慌乱的，恼火的 | |
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30
shrouds
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| n.裹尸布( shroud的名词复数 )；寿衣；遮蔽物；覆盖物v.隐瞒( shroud的第三人称单数 )；保密 | |
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31
seamen
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| n.海员 | |
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32
slander
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| n./v.诽谤，污蔑 | |
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33
seaman
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| n.海员，水手，水兵 | |
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34
tribulations
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| n.苦难( tribulation的名词复数 )；艰难；苦难的缘由；痛苦 | |
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35
uproar
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| n.骚动，喧嚣，鼎沸 | |
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36
gales
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| 龙猫 | |
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37
pithily
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| adv.有力地，简洁地 | |
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38
insinuate
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| vt.含沙射影地说，暗示 | |
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39
savages
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| 未开化的人，野蛮人( savage的名词复数 ) | |
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40
nettled
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| v.拿荨麻打，拿荨麻刺（nettle的过去式与过去分词形式） | |
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41
esteemed
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| adj.受人尊敬的v.尊敬( esteem的过去式和过去分词 )；敬重；认为；以为 | |
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42
conceal
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| v.隐藏，隐瞒，隐蔽 | |
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43
unwilling
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| adj.不情愿的 | |
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44
modesty
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| n.谦逊，虚心，端庄，稳重，羞怯，朴素 | |
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45
steer
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| vt.驾驶，为…操舵；引导；vi.驾驶 | |
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46
hardy
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| adj.勇敢的，果断的，吃苦的；耐寒的 | |
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47
vengeance
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| n.报复，报仇，复仇 | |
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48
mariner
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| n.水手号不载人航天探测器，海员，航海者 | |
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49
rifts
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| n.裂缝( rift的名词复数 )；裂隙；分裂；不和 | |
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50
judgment
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| n.审判；判断力，识别力，看法，意见 | |
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51
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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52
bolster
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| n.枕垫；v.支持，鼓励 | |
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53
sneer
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| v.轻蔑；嘲笑；n.嘲笑，讥讽的言语 | |
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54
ashore
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| adv.在(向)岸上，上岸 | |
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55
bleaching
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| 漂白法，漂白 | |
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56
scattered
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| adj.分散的，稀疏的；散步的；疏疏落落的 | |
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57
remarkable
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| adj.显著的，异常的，非凡的，值得注意的 | |
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58
gunpowder
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| n.火药 | |
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59
berth
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| n.卧铺，停泊地，锚位；v.使停泊 | |
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60
warfare
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| n.战争(状态)；斗争；冲突 | |
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61
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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62
martial
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| adj.战争的，军事的，尚武的，威武的 | |
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63
musket
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| n.滑膛枪 | |
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64
conceits
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|
| 高傲( conceit的名词复数 )； 自以为； 巧妙的词语； 别出心裁的比喻 | |
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65
desultory
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| adj.散漫的，无方法的 | |
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66
subdued
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| adj. 屈服的，柔和的，减弱的 动词subdue的过去式和过去分词 | |
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67
varied
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| adj.多样的，多变化的 | |
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68
velocity
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| n.速度，速率 | |
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69
appalling
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| adj.骇人听闻的，令人震惊的，可怕的 | |
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70
expediency
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| n.适宜；方便；合算；利己 | |
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71
reigned
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| vi.当政，统治（reign的过去式形式） | |
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72
boundless
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|
| adj.无限的；无边无际的；巨大的 | |
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73
eloquent
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| adj.雄辩的，口才流利的；明白显示出的 | |
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74
wilderness
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| n.杳无人烟的一片陆地、水等，荒漠 | |
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75
rippled
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| 使泛起涟漪（ripple的过去式与过去分词形式） | |
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76
vibrations
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|
| n.摆动( vibration的名词复数 )；震动；感受；（偏离平衡位置的）一次性往复振动 | |
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77
vigilant
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|
| adj.警觉的，警戒的，警惕的 | |
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78
peculiar
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|
| adj.古怪的，异常的；特殊的，特有的 | |
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79
modulating
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| 调整( modulate的现在分词 )； （对波幅、频率的）调制； 转调； 调整或改变（嗓音）的音调 | |
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80
virtue
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| n.德行，美德；贞操；优点；功效，效力 | |
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81
prudence
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| n.谨慎，精明，节俭 | |
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82
disappearance
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| n.消失，消散，失踪 | |
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83
glide
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| n./v.溜，滑行；(时间)消逝 | |
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84
glided
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| v.滑动( glide的过去式和过去分词 )；掠过；（鸟或飞机 ） 滑翔 | |
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85
sublime
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|
| adj.崇高的，伟大的；极度的，不顾后果的 | |
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86
obstruction
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|
| n.阻塞，堵塞；障碍物 | |
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87
slumbers
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| 睡眠，安眠( slumber的名词复数 ) | |
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88
smothered
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| （使）窒息， （使）透不过气( smother的过去式和过去分词 )； 覆盖； 忍住； 抑制 | |
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89
intensity
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| n.强烈，剧烈；强度；烈度 | |
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90
wielded
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| 手持着使用（武器、工具等）( wield的过去式和过去分词 )； 具有； 运用（权力）； 施加（影响） | |
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91
tremor
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| n.震动，颤动，战栗，兴奋，地震 | |
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92
strife
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| n.争吵，冲突，倾轧，竞争 | |
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93
warrior
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| n.勇士，武士，斗士 | |
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94
eels
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| abbr. 电子发射器定位系统（=electronic emitter location system） | |
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95
risky
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| adj.有风险的，冒险的 | |
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96
foe
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| n.敌人，仇敌 | |
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97
antagonist
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| n.敌人，对抗者，对手 | |
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98
narratives
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| 记叙文( narrative的名词复数 )； 故事； 叙述； 叙述部分 | |
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99
concealed
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| a.隐藏的，隐蔽的 | |
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100
inquiries
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| n.调查( inquiry的名词复数 )；疑问；探究；打听 | |
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101
ascertain
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| vt.发现，确定，查明，弄清 | |
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102
ascertained
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| v.弄清，确定，查明( ascertain的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
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103
intercept
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| vt.拦截，截住，截击 | |
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104
justify
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| vt.证明…正当(或有理)，为…辩护 | |
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105
motive
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| n.动机，目的；adv.发动的，运动的 | |
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106
apprehension
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| n.理解，领悟；逮捕，拘捕；忧虑 | |
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107
apprehensions
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| 疑惧 | |
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108
exertion
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| n.尽力，努力 | |
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109
entirely
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| ad.全部地，完整地；完全地，彻底地 | |
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110
liking
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| n.爱好；嗜好；喜欢 | |
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111
latitudes
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| 纬度 | |
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112
yarn
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| n.纱，纱线，纺线；奇闻漫谈，旅行轶事 | |
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113
cargo
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| n.(一只船或一架飞机运载的)货物 | |
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114
dreaded
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| adj.令人畏惧的；害怕的v.害怕，恐惧，担心( dread的过去式和过去分词) | |
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115
intercepting
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| 截取（技术），截接 | |
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116
anticipation
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| n.预期，预料，期望 | |
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117
asunder
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| adj.分离的，化为碎片 | |
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118
circumspection
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| n.细心，慎重 | |
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119
engrossed
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| adj.全神贯注的 | |
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120
disposition
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| n.性情，性格；意向，倾向；排列，部署 | |
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121
exigencies
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| n.急切需要 | |
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122
fortitude
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| n.坚忍不拔；刚毅 | |
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123
boding
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| adj.凶兆的，先兆的n.凶兆，前兆，预感v.预示，预告，预言( bode的现在分词 )；等待，停留( bide的过去分词 )；居住；（过去式用bided）等待 | |
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124
vault
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| n.拱形圆顶，地窖，地下室 | |
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125
swelling
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| n.肿胀 | |
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126
uncertainty
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| n.易变，靠不住，不确知，不确定的事物 | |
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127
opposition
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| n.反对，敌对 | |
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128
majesty
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| n.雄伟，壮丽，庄严，威严；最高权威，王权 | |
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129
foam
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| v./n.泡沫，起泡沫 | |
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130
impelled
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| v.推动、推进或敦促某人做某事( impel的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
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131
frail
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| adj.身体虚弱的；易损坏的 | |
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132
draught
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| n.拉，牵引，拖；一网（饮，吸，阵)；顿服药量，通风；v.起草，设计 | |
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133
upwards
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| adv.向上，在更高处...以上 | |
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134
wade
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| v.跋涉，涉水；n.跋涉 | |
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135
agitated
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| adj.被鼓动的，不安的 | |
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