Part 6 (2/2)

This was said with a natural and easy air, as if all suspicion were banished from his mind; nor was the subject further adverted to

The time at which the children of nature retire to rest, is not that observed by the artificially-cultivated ht and darkness mark out the periods for action and repose It was then still early in the evening, when a heavy breathing in the hut of Peena indicated the sleep of its in waited until the breathing became deep and full to assure him of the profoundness of the slumber, he sat up on his couch and looked cautiously around The brands were sht, but sufficient to direct and give certainty to his movements With a step so noiseless that the acutest ear would not have detected it, he crossed the floor, took his rifle from the corner where it had been placed, with equal caution opened the door, and stood in the open air

It was a clear star-lit night, and on the placid bosohter than the rest, as if to light him on his way But it was all unobserved by the Indian He had no eyes, no ears, no senses, except for the crime he was about to com each step as though a thousand ears were listening, he proceeded in the direction of the canoe, untied it, and softly pushed it into the stream As he took his seat the dip of his paddle made no sound, and thus, stern as an iron statue, and almost as still, he paddled on

And now Ohquamehud approached the island He stopped his paddle and held his breath, and listened Not a living sound was to be heard, not even the cry of a night bird; nothing save the soft flowing of the water against the shore Like an eagle circling round and round before he pounces on his quarry, the Indian cautiously paddled around the island Froht

Keeping at a distance, so that the rays should not fall upon him, he stole around until he had interposed the hut between himself and its bea to be feared, he directed the canoe towards the island, and slowly advanced until its bottoain Hearing nothing, he left the canoe, and crouching down, crept towards the cabin Having reached it, he applied his ear to the side and listened, and again advanced Thus slowly proceeding, some little time elapsed before he found hiht

Without venturing to touch the wooden boards, as if fearful they e of his presence, he raised hie of the , until he obtained a view of the interior Holden was sitting at a distance of not le candle was burning, and in his lap lay a large opened book, on which his folded hands were resting He see into the wood-fire before hith

The Indian slid his hand down to the lock of the gun, and drew back the trigger Cautiously as it was done, he could not prevent a slight clicking sound, which, perhaps, struck the ear of the Solitary, for he turned his head and e of the , so as to conceal his person from any one within the room, and remained motionless Presently he advanced his head, and took another view The Solitary had resuht The Indian stepped back a couple of steps, so as to allow the necessary distance between himself and the , and raised the rifle to his shoulder

At that instant and just as he was about to discharge the deadly weapon, a large rattlesnake, attracted by the warlided from the opposite side of the hut towards the outstretched li its body upon the in the fire-light, full upon the face of the startled Indian The effect was instantaneous The rifle nearly dropped from his uplifted hands, a cold sweat burst from every pore, his knees shook, and his eyes, fixed on the snake by a fascination that controlled his will, felt bursting fro its attitude for a short ti Holden under its protection, coiled itself around his feet, and lay with its head resting on his shoe, looking into the fire As the snake turned away its bright eyes the spell that bound the Indian was dissolved An expression of the deepest awe overspread his countenance, his lips moved, but emitted no sound, and cautiously as he had advanced be returned to the canoe, and was soon sed up in the darkness

The abstraction of Holdenfroone Without his consciousness it had come, and without his consciousness departed; and when he laid the Bible, in which he had been reading, upon the table, he knew not either the danger he had escaped, or the means by which it had been averted

Nor let the conduct of Ohquamehud excite surprise An Aends and traditions of his race A a superstitious reverence for certain aniarded by some tribes as a sort of relation, and when the necessity of hunger co hireat respect Supplied with a deadly venom that makes him the most formidable of enemies, he never attacks unless first injured, and then, if he can reach his foe, his vengeance is sure On his trail he disdains concealment, but with the rattles nature has provided to announce his approach, apprises all, that they may remove themselves out of his way Indeed, he comprehends within himself those qualities most valued by the Indians, and is the type of a brave warrior When, therefore, at such an hour and such a place, the reptile lances at the Pequot, quietly and, as if scorning and defying the danger, laid itself caressingly on the limbs of Holden, it seemed to the astonished Indian that the snake knew his purpose, and angrily ordered hiht, would it be to assail one so protected, nor was he willing to incur the ht be displayed, whether in striking hi his success in hunting, or what other dreadful manner, he knew not, but he was convinced that soht it, therefore, more prudent to yield for the present, and wait till he had propitiated the snake, or it had withdrawn its protection

As long as that lasted Onontio was beyond his power Not that vengeance was forborne; it was only postponed

Of such a character were the thoughts that darted through the htened from his purpose, and in less ti head he pursued his lonely way Even what he considered the interposition of a supernatural power, had not shaken the detere had been too long cherished to be given up at a single warning, however awful, or however strongly appealing to the deepest implanted superstitions

CHAPTER VII

”Arma, virumque cano qui Primus”

VIRGIL

The season had now advanced to within a few days of that joyous period of the year, when the Governors of the several New England States are wont to call the people to a public acknowledgment of the favors of Divine Providence At the time of which rite, their Excellencies required the citizens to be thankful ”according to law,” and ”all servile labor and vain recreation,” on said day, were ”by law forbidden,” and not, as at present, invited them to assemble in their respective churches, to unite in an expression of gratitude to their Heavenly Benefactor Whether the change froe in the sports which were before forbidden, has been attended with any evil consequences, we leave to the individual judgment of our readers to determine But whether commanded or invited, the people alelco, and an indiscrihter of all the fat turkeys and chickens on which they could lay their hands

The yellow and crimson maple leaf had faded on the trees into round, been whirled by the wind a heaps of other leaves, where its splendor no aiety of autu present to welco been heard calling to his truantfroht a milder clireen branches they found shelter, and on whose berries they love to feed; and little schoolboys were prowling about, busy collecting barrels for Thanksgiving bonfires

It was a beautiful clear ate, that admitted to the yard or inclosure in front of Mr

Arood-natured face, and rather foppishly dressed, stepped out upon the walk But, before paying our respects to Mr Felix Qui, it ive so the better class of dwelling-houses in our villages, at the ti, painted white, with green blinds, and consisted of a main body nearly fifty feet square, in which, were the apartments for the faave the building, running back, and devoted to the kitchen and sleeping chaht of the stories in this L was so thereby, perhaps, the more hue chi and one froh the whole length without interference froht be considered as a continuation of somewhat less than one-half of the part in front The wood-house stood on the same side as the kitchen, soe barn, also of wood, and painted a light lead color, with the exception of the cornice and tris about the doors and hich hite The house itself stood soh road, and was surrounded by enorlories of the cultivated A four and five feet in dia branches far and high over the roof, to which, in the heat of summer, they furnished an acceptable shade The prospect in front, and looking between ts of maples that lined the road, coreen fields and apple orchards running down to the water's edge, and hills, clothed to the top with verdure, rolling away like gigantic waves into the distance Behind the house was a garden and orchard of, perhaps, two acres, terreen wood of hemlocks and savins, interspersed with a few noble oaks Mr Arh this little wood, and placed here and there a rustic seat; and the taste of his daughter had eht the moss pink to throw its round, after thearbutus, from its retreat beneath the hemlocks, had exhausted its sweet breath; here, later in the season, the wild coluhborhood of the damask rose; here, in the wars, she loved to wander, either alone or with her father, in its cool paths

Still more beautiful than the prospect fro spot Rising to a considerable elevation above the river to which it descended with a rapid slope, it coh more extended, but also one to the northwest Beneath, at a depression of eighty feet, lay the lake-like river with its green islets dotting the surface, while, at a short distance, the Fall of the Yaupaae precipitated itself over a rocky declivity, enial season of the year, a noble bass with the songs of birds and the sighing of the wind, and adding to and deepening in the rougher months, the roar of the tempest A small strearist-e s at the foot of the rocks, and conveyed the idea of the presence offrom the wild beauty of the scenery

Now, alas, how is all changed! _Heu! quanturist-mill has disappeared! A ros which skirted the road that winding by the e brick and stone factories of paper and cotton goods, glooenii, brood over the scene, and all through the day and into the night, with grinding cylinders, and buzzing spindles and rattling looms, strive to droith harsh discords, the music of the waterfall One of the little islands has been joined to the ravel carted into the river, and a bleach-house or some other abomination erected upon it The place is disenchanted The sad Genius of Romance who once loved to stretch his li the foa to the roar, has departed with a shriek, never to return

Felix, when he found hiazed up and down the street, as if uncertain in which direction to proceed After a loves over his hands, he see pace, directed his course up, that is towards the north He had not gone far when he saw co towards him a person of his own color, who until then had been hid by a turn in the road No one else was in sight, the spot being the piece of table-land mentioned in a previous chapter, about a half mile from the thickly settled part of the tohich was at the bottom of the hill near the confluence of the rivers Here were no shops or public buildings, but only private residences from thirty to fifty rods apart, and inhabited by a few families a little wealthier, perhaps, for the most part, than the others

It was a ht be difficult to say He ht have been sixty or even seventy The African race does not betray the secret of age as readily as the white Probably the man did not know himself, nor is it of importance