Beadle's New York Dime Library, No. 183 — page 15: what you’re looking at

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Gilbert, the Guide. 15 ““T have them already,” answered Water- man. ‘‘ Mine was always a roving commission, and Wayne told me that, after leaving Helen safely at the post, I should make it my business to examine iuto the state of the countrv east of the Miami, in which duty I was to call on you for assistance.” ‘‘Good; I am glad to know that you are not likely to get into trouble on account of this un- fortunate affair. I will leave you now, and be off to camp.” ‘* But you will get back in time, I hope.” “Tf I am not here before daylight you can go on without me, for 1 shall be dead or a pri- soner.” ‘‘Let me go wid ye, Gilbert dear,” said the Irishman. “ ’Deed an’ I don’t like to stay bere, knowing that maybe ye are in danger.” “Cease your prate, Pat,” ordered the Guide, sternly. ‘* Remember that you are under my orders.” “T don’t forget it, avick,”’ said Pat, ‘Tl keep my wurrud too, and obey ye in ivery thing, butit comes mighty hard at times, ’dade an’ it does. Id like right well av I might go wid ye widout breaking orthers.” “Tt is better not,” said the Guide, more kindly. ‘‘One can do this duty as well as two, and there is really so little danger in it that I would let you doit if you knew the country well enough to travel in the dark.” ‘Jist as ye say, masther,” said Pat, submis- sively; ‘‘but av ye don’t come back sorra re- save me av I don’t write me name in bloody letthers upon the back av any bla’g’ard Injins I mate from that time. Good-night til ye.” ‘*Good-night, Pat,” replied Gilbert. ‘‘ The same to the rest. And Owasco, if I do not re- turn, and there is always a ibility of loss, you will know what todo. Think of me as one dead, and go upon your duty like men, and never pause or falter.” The dark figure of the Guide was seen dart- ing up the green side of the bowl-like valley in which they were ensconced, and it stood for a moment outlined against the sky, waved them a farewell and was gone. Handy Pat gave vent to a loud sniff of disapprobation as he turned his back to the others to cover his grief and sat down upon the turf rocking his <— back and forth with that utter abandonment of grief of which only an Irishman is capable. ‘*Qchone, ochone! And now who will fight the battle or gain the day, whin the man we like so well is gone? Who so brave or so for- rerd in danger, or so riddy to stand by a fri’nd as he? Wirra, wirrasthru, but it’s dead an’ kilt lam wid graif.” ‘** Don’t take it so much to heart, Pat,” said Waterman, kindly. ‘‘ He’ll keep bis word and come back to us if he can.” ‘ Yis, an’ that’s thru; if he can. But, how the divil can he aff the bloody Wyandots take him, the haythen rid naygurs?” ‘Gilbert is very brave and cunning,” said Owasco. ‘No fear that he will come to , for the Great Spirit is always near to watch over the children whom be loves.” ‘*Do you think that Darromed will travel all night with Helen?” asked Waterman. ‘ No,” replied Owasco, ‘ white very brave, but she will be warn He give her rest until he can see the i” “Then we ought to catch him before many hours after daybreak.” ‘* Perha perhaps no; who can tell, since it is all as the Great Spirit wills.” He wrapped himself in his blanket and lay down at the root of a tree, and was soon asleep. Overcome by fatigue, Waterman followed his example, and did not wake until he felt a hand upon his shoulder, and opening his eyes with a start saw the Guide bending over him. ‘‘Come!” commanded Gilbert; ‘it is time to be on our way.” CHAPTER XIV. THE MEETING IN THE WOODS. ** Hurrah, hurrah! the dead ride past; Don’t fear, my love, the dead! Oh, speak not of the dead!” —BurGeEr’s Leonora. WATERMAN sprung up at once, and joined the others in a hasty meal, and before the sun had shown itself fairly above the Northern hilis they were on their road following the trail like hounds upon a scent, Either the chief maupene’ that bis precautions in the cave had made pursuit impossible, or he felt safe from proximity to his friends, for he had ta- ken but little pains to hide the trail, and they could see his tracks plainly, and at times the marks left by the small feet of the girl. He turned toward the Miami and went on up the stream rapidly, with a fixed purpose to mis- lead pursuit. This the Guide read out to bis friends from the signs upon broken twigs and bent leaves, and impressions upon the earth where the soil was soft. Waterman thought with undisguised grief of the terrible road through which the weary girl was wending her way, forced on by the implacable Indian. A low, guttural exclamation from the Onon- daga startled them just as they came in sight of the river, and they drew back out of sight, pecing out at a strange scene. The river owed rapidly between precipitous shores, the water black as ink in the center of the chan- nel, changing to a yellow shade near the shore, the effect of the limestone bed over which it flowed. In the midst of the channel, a hun- dred rods above them, they saw a light canoe, | coming down at racing speed, borne by the re- | sistless tide. Standing upon the bank, the In- dian pointed to a silent figure seated in the stern, wrapped in a blanket, who wore upon his head the eagle-feathers of a chief, which waved in the summer breeze. A stern, up- right, gallant-looking brave, whose face was turned toward the east, and whose eyes stared wide open and ghastly as he fled on. What surprised them most was the fact that at times the canoe swung entirely about in the rapid stream, and they could see that he made no use of a paddle, although one lay in the canoe in front of him, with a rifle and ammupition. ‘‘He is doomed!” whispered the Guide. ** Look at the rapids yonder, boiling with foam and full of jagged rocks. Why don’t he take up the paddle and make for the shore?” ‘** Silence in the presence of the dead!” cried the Onondaga, who had been looking intently at the face of the Indian in the canoe, ‘ Lit- tle does Neadawa care for the roaring water, for the terrible rocks, because his eyes cannot see and his lips aredumb. Do you not see that he is dead?’ ‘‘Neadawa! The only man among the Wy- andots whom I ever spared, and who ever de- served any good at the hands of the white man. I have heard him say before now that when he died, he would go to the spirit-land in his own canoe, and with his gun and knife be- side him.” ‘‘He was with Gandelion yesterday, and was very sick. Doubtless the Englishman has lis- tened to the prayer of the chief, and has given him the burial he coveted.” Each man reverently uncovered his head, as all men with hearts in their breasts would do in the presence of a death like this. A hun- dred yards below the creek was a foaming rapid, bubbling down among the dark lime- stone rocks which reared their heads in the channel, throwing the spray high into the air, while the water puthed hither and thither, seeking everywhere for a channel by which to descend. Opposite the _ where they stood the canoe struck an eddy and swung slowly round, revealing the set face and staring eyes of the dead warrior, and they could see that he was propped up by pieces of wood and fastened by buckskin thongs in such a way that he could not lose bis balance. There was something so majestic in the attitude of the silent warrior that even the volatile Irishman was silent, and remained with uncovered head, gazing earnest- ly at the thrilling scene. As the eddy lost its wer the canoe shot out into the current, shook ike an aspen, and then flew with redoubled rapidity toward the yawning rocks below. t was a moment of breathless suspense. The light craft neared the verge, trembled for a sec- ond upon the brink, and was gone. Gilbert drew a long, deep breath and turned away. ‘* A noble warrior gone to bis ine he sighed, ‘* I, who hate the Wyandots with a deadly hate, who would be to have my revenge upon the whole tribe at once, can think kindly of a man like that. Do not say that itis a strange and unaccountable whim which led him to seek a burial in these dark waters, for if you knew his story you would understand it. I, who — to you, saw the tragic event which changed him from the light-hearted chief to the stern man he became, and it was upon this ve - a Look to the trail, Owasco, and 1 will aterman the story as we go.” ‘The chief took the lead and the others fol- lowed, and the Guide told the touching story of savage love, which did not lack in tragic inter- est because the actors were simple forestmen. ‘“‘It was ten years ago this very day,” said the Guide, ‘‘ that the event occurred. Owasco was but a boy, though even then my friend, and we were on a hunt in this section together. Neadawa loved a Miami woman who lived near the junction of East Creek with a Miami, in the village which you passed yesterday. For a pure Indian, she was the most beautiful girl I ever saw. She had seen the young chief when he came with a deputation from the Wyandots to make a treaty, when they thought of expel- ling the whites from the country. The peace was made, and nothing was said inst her marriage with so celebrated a chief, but when war again broke out they were separated. ‘‘Neawada came to the Miami country, saw the girl, and induced ber to fly with him. Com- ing to this place, they attempted to cross the stream inacanoe. Mara had already taken her place in it, and be was preparing to follow when the canoe broke away and was whirled rapidly out into the stream. I stood upon yon- der bare rock and saw.her hold out her hands, screaming for the aid which could not come to her, and her frantic lover making vain attempts to reach her. We saw that bis life would be lost as well as hers, and held him in spite of his anger. There she kneeled in the stern of thecanoe, with flying hair and wild eyes, calling for us to save her. But an attempt to reach her would have been madness. Yonder, at the place where the water turns from black to green, she seemed to nerve herself to meet death boldly ; folding her arms, she turned a last farewell look at her lover, called his name, and made the fatal lunge. Human eyes never saw her again. eawada was from that hour a changed man, and though be still fought for his nation, no man ever saw him smile. And now, feeling death coming fast upon him, for he received a mortal wound in the last incursion of the tribe, he has come to this place to meet the same fate which was given to bis darling.” The voice of Gilbert sunk low, and a sad look flitted across his face. “I, too, had a wife I loved, but the sods of the valley bave lain for many a year heavy on ro: breast. Poor darling, yours was a sad, sad ate. ‘* Your story is asad one, too, I doubt not,” said Waterman. ‘*Sad indeed. Some day, when I have the strength, perhaps I may tell it to you, and you will understand how terrible is the fate of that man who is alone in the world, the opening years of whose life were very happy.” “Hush!” whispered Owasco, ‘Stay here, and I will scout.” They drew back into the shadow of the bushes and remained silent, and the Indian glided away rapidly, with a quick but noiseless step. aterman had long ago learned the virtue of silence in time of danger, and Handy Pat was learning it fast, wishing, as he did, to win the good opinion of the Guide, who looked at him approvingly as he crouched below the bushes, one hand upon the turf and the other graspin the butt of a pistol, ready for instant use shoul the occasion require, Owasco came back as silently as he went—so silently, indeed, that no one except the Guide a that he was coming until be stood beside them. ‘* What is it?” whispered the Guide. ‘*‘Gandelion and his men are in the path,” said Owasco, “and I cannot tell whether the chief is with them or not.” ~* ‘*T hardly think he would dare bring the girl here,” said the Guide. ‘ Confound the luck! why are they here to break the trail?” ‘‘ If Darromed is there, the maiden is safe; if sheis not, they regs before Gendelion came, and are beyond him somewhere.” ‘“Fate seems against us,” murmured the young man. “Dare you go into the camp, Owasco?” ‘* Not by day,” replied the Onondaga. ‘The white man does not love Owasco, for he has dove too much for the Americans.” ‘** Must we pass another night of suspense?’ ‘Tam afraid so, unless Gande..:" would re- spect a fag. It would be rather imprucert in us to undertake that, under the circumstances, I wish Morena were only here,” ** She is,” replied the chief. | ** Did you see her in the camp?” **The maiden sits by the side of Gandelion and listens to his words,” replied Owasco, with downeast eyes. ‘‘She is very fair, and her voice is music when it sounds in the ears of Owasco. Who among the white men is so brave as Gandelion, and she will love him.” ** Do you think so?’ demanded Gilbert, in an uneasy tone. ‘I don’t say anything against the boy, for he is a brave one; but can a man of his de do justice to a woman in hers?” ‘*She is the daughter of a chief,” replied Owasco, proudly, “Dare he shame her by a word or deed!” ‘I don’t think he would,” answered Gilbert, *‘and I swear that I would have his life if he did. I am not yet so far gone that I cannot fire a pistol, and face a man upon the green sward and so surely as he wrongs that devoted girl, I will have him out.” At this moment they heard a quick —_ and a sweet voice singing a em 4 song, and they knew that it was Morena. e song she sung was a ch air, a martial song, such a one ag Maud sung when the squire heard: ** A voice by the cedar tree, In the meadow and o’er the hall, Singing a song that is known to me, A passionate ballad, gallant and gay, A martial song like a trumpet-call; Singing alone in the morning of life, In the happy morning of life and May, Singing of men, that in battle array, Ready of heart and ready of hand March with banner and bugle and fife To the death, for their native land!’ All kept their positions until she was just be- yond their hiding-place, when Waterman start- ed out in front of her, and the Guide behind. Her first movement was to bring her carbine to a level, directed full at the breast of Water- man, but when she saw who it was she quickly dropped the butt of the beautiful weapon. to the earth, and leaned upon it. Standing there in her picturesque garb, with her eyes beamin with animation, her smiling lips half apart, an a flush stealing up under her brown skin, she looked so like Helen, that Waterman uttered a low cry of wonder, “ ite men,” she said, in a low tone, “ why eoim Ebooks (E(0)