Part 15 (2/2)
”Let us see what the book says about Scott!”
”He lives in England,” said Owen, turning to a brief account of the author's life.
”Did he ever come to this country?” inquired Martin.
”No! At least there is nothing here about it.”
The boys were disappointed, for they had at first concluded that the poem was about Kentucky, and afterwards that the writer himself was a Kentuckian. Scott, however, had mentioned their native State; so without a long process of reasoning they placed him first among the poets.
”Look at this,” said Owen, pointing to the t.i.tle of the first book of ”The Lady of the Lake.”
”What is it?”
”What is it! Why it is about a chase--a deer hunt.”
The boys had at last found something which they could understand and appreciate. Many of the beauties of the poem were lost to them, still they understood enough to enjoy it. Martin declared that he could see the stag as it ”sniffed the tainted gale,” sprung to its feet, shook the dew-drops from its flanks, and bounded off toward the mountains. What would the poet have thought could he have heard the remarks of his two young admirers beyond the ocean? They wondered if the hounds could run faster than Bounce; they wondered why the huntsman did not shoot the deer, little knowing that it was long before the invention of the flint-lock or rifle; they wondered and wondered about many things which their simple and untrained minds could not grasp or understand.
”Why, I almost forgot that news about the cave,” said Owen when the two boys were tired of the poem.
”Let me hear it. You don't know how often I think about that place.”
”The other night when I was reading 'Robinson Crusoe'----”
”Tell me about the cave. I've had enough about books for one night,”
interrupted Martin.
”That's just what I'm trying to do.”
”Pardon me. I thought you were going to speak of the old man and his island.”
”No. While I had the book in my hand I happened to see some writing and drawing on one of the last pages. There was a line marked _Beech Fork_; above this was the word _hill_; then a few scratches over which were written in two places, _big rocks_. Beginning with these two rocks was a single way or entrance which branched off into a number of pa.s.sages.”
”Were the pa.s.sages marked?”
”Nothing was written over them; but it seemed to me that the lines represented them.”
”Probably they did,” said Martin. ”Get the book and let us look at them.”
”That's the bad luck of it, Mart. The page was burned.”
”Who burned it?”
”Well, it was my fault. You see the page was loose; I let the book drop, and the draft from the chimney sucked the leaf into the fire.”
”What else was written on that leaf?”
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