"What's wrong, Father?" I asked. "You needn't be alarmed; you're all right."
"But I am alarmed, for you're all wrong! Lord, boy, why didn't ye stay with that peppery Scotchman? What did Frances mane by lettin' you out to-night?" and he shaded the light of the lantern with his hand.
"I wanted these things," I explained.
"Ye want a broad thumpin', I'm thinkin', ye rattle-pate, to risk y'r precious noodle here to-night," he whispered, coming forward and fussing about me with all the maternal4 anxiety of a hen over her only chicken.
"Listen," said I. "The whole mob's coming in."
"Run for those dogs of mercenaries!" I protested.
"Ye swash-buckler! Ye stiff-necked braggart7!"[Pg 379] bawled8 the priest. "Out wid y'r nonsense, and what good are y' thinkin' ye'll do—? Stir your stumps9, y' stoopid spalpeen!"
"Listen," I urged, undisturbed by the tongue-thrashing that stormed about my ears. In the babel of voices I thought I had heard some one call my name.
"Run, Rufus! Run for y'r life, boy!" urged Father Holland, apparently10 thinking the ruffians had come solely11 for me.
"Run yourself, Father; run yourself, and see how you like it," and I tucked the documents inside my coat.
"Divil a bit I'll run," returned the priest.
"Hark!"
The De Meurons' leaders were shouting orders to their men. Above the screams of people fleeing in terror through passage-ways, came a shrill12 bugle-call.
"Go—go—go—Rufus!" begged Father Holland in a paroxysm of fear. "Go!" he pleaded, pushing me towards the door.
"I won't!" and I jerked away from him. "There, now." I caught up a club and loaded pistol.
The Nor'-Westers had no time to defend themselves. Almost before my stubborn defiance13 was uttered, the building was filled with a mob of intoxicated14 De Meurons. Rushing everywhere with fixed15 bayonets and cursing at the top of their voices, they threatened death to all Nor'-Westers. There was a loud scuffling of men[Pg 380] forcing their way through the defended hall downstairs.
"Go, Rufus, go! Think of Frances! Save yourself," urged the priest.
It was too late. I could not escape by the hall. Noisy feet were already trampling16 up the stairs and the clank of armed men filled every passage.
"Jee-les-pee! Jee-les-pee! Seven Oaks!" bawled a French voice from the half-way landing, and a multitude of men with torches dashed up the stairs. I took a stand to defend myself; for I thought I might be charged with implication in the massacre17.
"Jee-les-pee," roared the voices. "Where is Gillespie?" thundered a leader.
"That's you, Rufus, lad! Down with you!" muttered the priest. Before I knew his purpose, he had tripped my feet from under me and knocked me flat on the floor. Overturning the empty coffin18-box, he clapped it above my whole length, imprisoning19 me with the snap and celerity of a mouse-trap. Then I heard the thud of two hundred avoirdupois seating itself on top of the case. The man above my person had whisked out a book of prayers, and with lantern on the desk was conning20 over devotions, which, I am sure, must have been read with the manual upside down; for bits of the pater noster, service of the mass, and vesper psalms22 were uttered in a disconnected jumble23, though I could not but apply the words to my own case.[Pg 381]
"Libera nos a malo—ora pro6 nobis, peccatoribus—ab hoste maligno defende me—ab homine iniquo et doloso erue me—peccator videbit et irascetur—desiderium peccatorum peribit——" came from the priest with torrent24 speed.
"Jee-les-pee! Jee-les-pee!" roared a dozen throats above the half-way landing. Then came the stamp of many feet to the door.
"Wait, men!" Hamilton's voice commanded. "I'll see if he's here!"
"Simulacra gentium argentum et aurum, opera manuum hominum," like hailstones rattled25 the Latin words down on my prison.
"One moment, men," came Eric's voice; but he could not hold them back. In burst the door with a rush, and immediately the room was crowded with vociferating French soldiers.
"Manus habent, et non palpabunt; pedes——"
"Is Gillespie here?" interrupted Hamilton, without the slightest recognition of the priest in his tones.
"Pedes habent et non ambulabunt; non clamabunt in gutture suo," muttered the priest, finishing his verse; then to the men with a stiffness which I did not think Father Holland could ever assume—
"How often must I be disturbed by men seeking that young scoundrel? Look at this place, fairly topsy-turvy with their hunt! Faith! The room is before you. Look and see!" and with a great indifference26 he went on with his devotions.
"Some one here before us?" interrupted an Englishman with some suspicion.
"Two parties here before ye," answered the priest, icily, as if these repeated questions rumpled28 ecclesiastical dignity, and he gabbled on with the psalm21, "similes illis fiant qui faciunt ea, et omnes——"
"If we lifted that box," interrupted the persistent29 Englishman, "what might there be?"
"If ye lift that box," answered Father Holland with massive solemnity—and I confess every hair on my body bristled30 as he rose—"If ye lift that box there might be a powr—dead—body," which was very true; for I still held the cocked pistol in hand and would have shot the first man daring to molest31 me.
But the priest's indifference was not so great as it appeared. I could tell from a tremor32 in his voice that he was greatly disturbed; and he certainly lost his place altogether in the vesper psalm.
"Requiescat in pace," were his next words, uttered in funereal33 gravity. Singularly enough, they seemed to fit the situation.
Father Holland's prompt offer to have the rough box examined satisfied the searchers, and there were no further demands.
"Oh," said the Englishman, taken aback, "I beg your pardon, sir! No offence meant."
"No offence," replied the priest, reseating himself. "Benedicite——"
"Sittin' on the coffin!" blurted34 out the voice[Pg 383] of an English youth as the weight of the priest again came down heavily on my prison; and again I breathed easily.
"Come on, men!" shouted Hamilton, apprehensive35 of more curiosity. "We're wasting time! He may be escaping by the basement window!"
"Jam hiems transiit, imber abiit et recessit; surge, amica mea, et veni!" droned the priest, and the whole company clattered36 downstairs.
"Quick!—Out with you!" commanded Father Holland. "Speed to y'r heels, and blessing37 on the last o' ye!"
I dashed down the stairs and was bolting through the doorway38 when some one shouted, "There he is!"
"Run, Gillespie!" cried some one else—one of our men, I suppose—and I had plunged39 into the storm and raced for the ladders at the rear stockades40 with a pack of pursuers at my heels. The snow drifts were in my favor, for with my moccasins, I leaped lightly forward, while the booted soldiers floundered deep. I eluded41 my pursuers and was half-way up a ladder when a soldier's head suddenly appeared above the wall on the other side. Then a bayonet prodded42 me in the chest and I fell heavily backwards43 to the ground.
I was captured.
That is all there is to say. No man dilates44 with pleasure over that part of his life when he[Pg 384] was vanquished45. It is not pleasant to have weapons of defence wrested46 from one's hands, to feel soldiers standing47 upon one's wrists and rifling pockets.
It is hard to feel every inch the man on the horizontal.
In truth, when the soldiers picked me up without ceremony, or gentleness, and bundling me up the stairs of the main hall, flung me into a miserable48 pen, with windows iron-barred to mid-sash, I was but a sorry hero. My tormentors did not shackle49 me; I was spared that humiliation50.
"There!" exclaimed a Hudson's Bay man, throwing lantern-light across the dismal51 low roof as I fell sprawling52 into the room. "That'll cool the young hot-head," and all the French soldiers laughed at my discomfiture53.
They chained and locked the door on the outside. I heard the soldiers' steps reverberating54 through the empty passages, and was alone in a sort of prison-room, used during the régime of the petty tyrant55 McDonell. It was cold enough to cool any hot-head, and mine was very hot indeed. I knew the apartment well. Nor'-Westers had used it as a fur storeroom. The wind came through the crevices56 of the board walls and piled miniature drifts on the floor-cracks, all the while rattling57 loose timbers like a saw-mill. The roof was but a few feet high, and I crept to the window, finding all the small panes58 coated with two inches of hoar-frost. Whether the iron bars outside ran across, or up and down, I could not remember;[Pg 385] but the fact would make a difference to a man trying to escape. Much as I disliked to break the glass letting in more cold, there was only one way of finding out about those bars. I raised my foot for an outward kick, but remembering I wore only the moccasins with which I had been snowshoeing, I struck my fist through instead, and shattered the whole upper half of the window. I broke away cross-pieces that might obstruct59 outward passage, and leaning down put my hand on the sharp points of upright spikes60. So intense was the frost, the skin of my finger tips stuck to the iron, and I drew my hand in, with the sting of a fresh burn.
It was unfortunate about those bars. I could not possibly get past them down to the ground without making a ladder from my great-coat. I groped round the room hoping that some of the canvas in which we tied the peltries, might be lying about. There was nothing of the sort, or I missed it in the dark. Quickly tearing my coat into strips, I knotted triple plies61 together and fastened the upper end to the crosspiece of the lower window. Feet first, I poked62 myself out, caught the strands63 with both hands, and like a flash struck ground below with badly skinned palms. That reminded me I had left my mits in the prison room.
The storm had driven the soldiers inside. I did not encounter a soul in the courtyard, and had no difficulty in letting myself out by the main gate.
I whistled for the dogs. They came huddling[Pg 386] from the ladders where I had left them, the sleigh still trailing at their heels. One poor animal was so benumbed I cut him from the traces and left him to die. Gathering64 up the robes, I shook them free of snow, replaced them in the sleigh and led the string of dogs down to the river. It would be bitterly cold facing that sweep of unbroken wind in mid-river; but the trail over ice would permit greater speed, and with the high banks on each side the dogs could not go astray.
To an overruling Providence65, and to the instincts of the dogs, I owe my life. The creatures had not gone ten sleigh-lengths when I felt the loss of my coat, and giving one final shout to them, I lay back on the sleigh and covered myself, head and all, under the robes, trusting the huskies to find their way home.
I do not like to recall that return to the Sutherlands. The man, who is frozen to death, knows nothing of the cruelties of northern cold. The icy hand, that takes his life, does not torture, but deadens the victim into an everlasting66, easy, painless sleep. This I know, for I felt the deadly frost-slumber, and fought against it. Aching hands and feet stopped paining and became utterly67 feelingless; and the deadening thing began creeping inch by inch up the stiffening68 limbs the life centres, till a great drowsiness69 began to overpower body and mind. Realizing what this meant, I sprang from the sleigh and stopped the dogs.[Pg 387] I tried to grip the empty traces of the dead one, but my hands were too feeble; so I twisted the rope round my arm, gave the word, and raced off abreast70 the dog train. The creatures went faster with lightened sleigh, but every step I took was a knife-thrust through half-frozen awakening71 limbs. Not the man who is frozen to death, but the man who is half-frozen and thawed72 back to life, knows the cruelties of northern cold.
In a stupefied way, I was aware the dogs had taken a sudden turn to the left and were scrambling73 up the bank. Here my strength failed or I tripped; for I only remember being dragged through the snow, rolling over and over, to a doorway, where the huskies stopped and set up a great whining74. Somehow, I floundered to my feet. With a blaze of light that blinded me, the door flew open and I fell across the threshold unconscious.
"What was the matter, Rufus Gillespie?" asked a bluff76 voice the next morning. I had awakened77 from what seemed a long, troubled sleep and vaguely78 wondered where I was.
"What happened to ye, Rufus Gillespie?" and the man's hand took hold of my wrist to feel my pulse.
"Don't, father! you'll hurt him!" said a voice that was music to my ears, and a woman's hand,[Pg 388] whose touch was healing, began bathing my blistered79 palms.
At once I knew where I was and forgot pain. In few and confused words I tried to relate what had happened.
"The country's yours, Mr. Sutherland," said I, too weak, thick-tongued and deliriously80 happy for speech.
"Much to be thankful for," was the Scotchman's comment. "Seven Oaks is avenged81. It would ill 'a' become a Sutherland to give his daughter's hand to a conqueror82, but I would na' say I'd refuse a wife to a man beaten as you were, Rufus Gillespie," and he strode off to attend to outdoor work.
And what next took place, I refrain from relating; for lovers' eloquence83 is only eloquent84 to lovers.
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1
gaping
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| adj.口的；张口的；敞口的；多洞穴的v.目瞪口呆地凝视( gape的现在分词 )；张开，张大 | |
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genial
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| adj.亲切的，和蔼的，愉快的，脾气好的 | |
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3
countenance
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| n.脸色，面容；面部表情；vt.支持，赞同 | |
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maternal
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| adj.母亲的，母亲般的，母系的，母方的 | |
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5
fumbled
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| （笨拙地）摸索或处理（某事物）( fumble的过去式和过去分词 )； 乱摸，笨拙地弄； 使落下 | |
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pro
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| n.赞成，赞成的意见，赞成者 | |
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7
braggart
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| n.吹牛者；adj.吹牛的，自夸的 | |
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8
bawled
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| v.大叫，大喊( bawl的过去式和过去分词 )；放声大哭；大声叫出；叫卖（货物） | |
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9
stumps
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| （被砍下的树的）树桩( stump的名词复数 )； 残肢； （板球三柱门的）柱； 残余部分 | |
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10
apparently
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| adv.显然地；表面上，似乎 | |
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solely
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| adv.仅仅，唯一地 | |
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12
shrill
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| adj.尖声的；刺耳的；v尖叫 | |
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13
defiance
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| n.挑战，挑衅，蔑视，违抗 | |
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14
intoxicated
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| 喝醉的，极其兴奋的 | |
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15
fixed
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| adj.固定的，不变的，准备好的；(计算机)固定的 | |
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16
trampling
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| 踩( trample的现在分词 )； 践踏； 无视； 侵犯 | |
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massacre
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| n.残杀，大屠杀；v.残杀，集体屠杀 | |
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18
coffin
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| n.棺材，灵柩 | |
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imprisoning
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| v.下狱，监禁( imprison的现在分词 ) | |
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20
conning
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| v.诈骗，哄骗( con的现在分词 )；指挥操舵( conn的现在分词 ) | |
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21
psalm
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| n.赞美诗，圣诗 | |
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22
psalms
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| n.赞美诗( psalm的名词复数 )；圣诗；圣歌；(中的) | |
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23
jumble
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| vt.使混乱，混杂；n.混乱；杂乱的一堆 | |
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24
torrent
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| n.激流，洪流；爆发，(话语等的)连发 | |
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25
rattled
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| 慌乱的，恼火的 | |
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26
indifference
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| n.不感兴趣，不关心，冷淡，不在乎 | |
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27
similes
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| （使用like或as等词语的）明喻( simile的名词复数 ) | |
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28
rumpled
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| v.弄皱，使凌乱( rumple的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
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29
persistent
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| adj.坚持不懈的，执意的；持续的 | |
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30
bristled
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| adj. 直立的，多刺毛的 动词bristle的过去式和过去分词 | |
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31
molest
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| vt.骚扰，干扰，调戏 | |
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32
tremor
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| n.震动，颤动，战栗，兴奋，地震 | |
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33
funereal
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| adj.悲哀的；送葬的 | |
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34
blurted
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| v.突然说出，脱口而出( blurt的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
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35
apprehensive
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| adj.担心的，恐惧的，善于领会的 | |
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36
clattered
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| 发出咔哒声（clatter的过去式与过去分词形式） | |
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37
blessing
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| n.祈神赐福；祷告；祝福，祝愿 | |
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38
doorway
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| n.门口，(喻)入门；门路，途径 | |
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39
plunged
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| v.颠簸( plunge的过去式和过去分词 )；暴跌；骤降；突降 | |
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40
stockades
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| n.（防御用的）栅栏，围桩( stockade的名词复数 ) | |
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41
eluded
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| v.（尤指机敏地）避开( elude的过去式和过去分词 )；逃避；躲避；使达不到 | |
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42
prodded
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| v.刺，戳( prod的过去式和过去分词 )；刺激；促使；（用手指或尖物）戳 | |
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43
backwards
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| adv.往回地，向原处，倒，相反，前后倒置地 | |
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44
dilates
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| v.（使某物）扩大，膨胀，张大( dilate的第三人称单数 ) | |
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45
vanquished
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| v.征服( vanquish的过去式和过去分词 )；战胜；克服；抑制 | |
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46
wrested
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| （用力）拧( wrest的过去式和过去分词 )； 费力取得； （从…）攫取； （ 从… ） 强行取去… | |
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47
standing
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| n.持续，地位；adj.永久的，不动的，直立的，不流动的 | |
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48
miserable
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| adj.悲惨的，痛苦的；可怜的，糟糕的 | |
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49
shackle
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| n.桎梏，束缚物；v.加桎梏，加枷锁，束缚 | |
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50
humiliation
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| n.羞辱 | |
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51
dismal
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| adj.阴沉的，凄凉的，令人忧郁的，差劲的 | |
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52
sprawling
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| adj.蔓生的，不规则地伸展的v.伸开四肢坐[躺]( sprawl的现在分词 )；蔓延；杂乱无序地拓展；四肢伸展坐着（或躺着） | |
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53
discomfiture
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| n.崩溃；大败；挫败；困惑 | |
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54
reverberating
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| 回响，回荡( reverberate的现在分词 )； 使反响，使回荡，使反射 | |
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55
tyrant
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| n.暴君，专制的君主，残暴的人 | |
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56
crevices
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| n.（尤指岩石的）裂缝，缺口( crevice的名词复数 ) | |
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57
rattling
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| adj. 格格作响的, 活泼的, 很好的 adv. 极其, 很, 非常 动词rattle的现在分词 | |
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58
panes
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| 窗玻璃( pane的名词复数 ) | |
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59
obstruct
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| v.阻隔，阻塞(道路、通道等)；n.阻碍物，障碍物 | |
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60
spikes
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| n.穗( spike的名词复数 )；跑鞋；（防滑）鞋钉；尖状物v.加烈酒于( spike的第三人称单数 )；偷偷地给某人的饮料加入（更多）酒精（ 或药物）；把尖状物钉入；打乱某人的计划 | |
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61
plies
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| v.使用（工具）( ply的第三人称单数 )；经常供应（食物、饮料）；固定往来；经营生意 | |
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62
poked
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| v.伸出( poke的过去式和过去分词 )；戳出；拨弄；与（某人）性交 | |
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63
strands
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| n.（线、绳、金属线、毛发等的）股( strand的名词复数 )；缕；海洋、湖或河的)岸；（观点、计划、故事等的）部份v.使滞留，使搁浅( strand的第三人称单数 ) | |
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64
gathering
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| n.集会，聚会，聚集 | |
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providence
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| n.深谋远虑，天道，天意；远见；节约；上帝 | |
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66
everlasting
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| adj.永恒的，持久的，无止境的 | |
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67
utterly
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| adv.完全地，绝对地 | |
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68
stiffening
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| n. (使衣服等)变硬的材料, 硬化 动词stiffen的现在分词形式 | |
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69
drowsiness
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| n.睡意；嗜睡 | |
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70
abreast
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| adv.并排地；跟上(时代)的步伐，与…并进地 | |
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71
awakening
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| n.觉醒，醒悟 adj.觉醒中的；唤醒的 | |
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72
thawed
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| 解冻 | |
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73
scrambling
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| v.快速爬行( scramble的现在分词 )；攀登；争夺；（军事飞机）紧急起飞 | |
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74
whining
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| n. 抱怨，牢骚 v. 哭诉，发牢骚 | |
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75
chafed
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| v.擦热（尤指皮肤）( chafe的过去式 )；擦痛；发怒；惹怒 | |
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76
bluff
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| v.虚张声势，用假象骗人；n.虚张声势，欺骗 | |
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77
awakened
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| v.（使）醒( awaken的过去式和过去分词 )；（使）觉醒；弄醒；（使）意识到 | |
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78
vaguely
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| adv.含糊地，暖昧地 | |
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79
blistered
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| adj.水疮状的，泡状的v.（使）起水泡( blister的过去式和过去分词 )；（使表皮等）涨破，爆裂 | |
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80
deliriously
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| adv.谵妄（性）；发狂；极度兴奋/亢奋；说胡话 | |
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81
avenged
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| v.为…复仇，报…之仇( avenge的过去式和过去分词 )；为…报复 | |
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82
conqueror
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| n.征服者，胜利者 | |
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83
eloquence
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| n.雄辩；口才，修辞 | |
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84
eloquent
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| adj.雄辩的，口才流利的；明白显示出的 | |
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