The Knight Of The Golden Melice, John Turvill Adams [the reading list TXT] 📗

His House. As Arundel Was

Departing, He Felt His Arm Grasped By Some One, And Turning Round, He

Beheld The Knight.

 

 

"Where Is Waqua?" He Inquired, In A Low Tone. "He Was Standing Near

Thee When He Spoke." 

 

 

"I Know No Better Than Thyself," Answered The Young Man, "And Would

Gladly Be Informed. He Vanished Suddenly, And Without Warning."

 

 

"I Know Thee To Be His Friend, And How Thou Becamest So. Thou Hast Now

An Opportunity To Requite Him In Kind." 

 

 

"Show Me The Way."

 

 

"Hie Thee, Then, To His Wigwam, For There Likeliest Mayest Thou Find

Him, And Warn Him Against Peril From These Taranteens, And, It May Be,

From The Governor Himself."

  

 

"Be Pleased To Explain More Clearly, Sir Christopher."

 

  

"Waqua Is Sassacus, The Great Head-Sachem Of The Pequots, Between Whom

And The Eastern Indians Is Perpetual Hostility. He Has Given Them

Deadly Cause Of Offence, And I Fear That They Mean To Revenge

Themselves, Or That He May Commit Another Imprudent Act. It Were

Better That Sassacus Should Remove Himself Away For The Present. But I

May Not Stay Longer Talking With Thee. Adieu."

  

 

Arundel, Satisfied Of The Friendship Of The Knight To The Indian,

Determined At Once To Follow His Counsel. As, However, Sassacus Had

Undoubtedly Sought The Forest, He Considered It Most Prudent To

Retrace His Steps To His Lodging, To Procure His Gun Before Venturing

Into Its Recesses, Where, The Prospect Was, That He Would Have To Pass

The Night. This Occasioned Some Delay, And It Was Not Until The

Twilight Of The Summer Evening Had Faded, And Stars Were Beginning To

Twinkle In The Sky, That He Found Himself On The Verge Of The Woods.

Chapter XIII (For Thou Wert Monarch Born. Tradition's Pages Tell Not The Planting Of Thy Parent Tree, But That The Forest Tribes Have Bent For Ages To Thee And To Thy Sires The Subject Knee.)

 

 

 

 Halleck.

 

 

The Young Man Knew Not Whither To Turn His Steps, Except To The Hut Of

Sassacus, Which, However, He Felt Doubtful Of His Ability To Find At

Night. No Better Plan Occurred To Him Than To Make The Attempt; He,

Therefore, Pressed Forward, Guiding Himself As Well As He Could By The

Stars, Glimpses Of Which He Caught From Time To Time Through The

Branches. He Had, However, Proceeded But A Short Distance, When,

Without A Warning Sound, Silent As A Shadow, The Indian Stood At His

Side.

 

  

"I Sought The Great Chief," Said Arundel, Contemplating The Renowned

Warrior, Whose Name Was A Synonym With Whatever Was Generous And

Daring, With More Curiosity Than He Had Regarded The Obscure

Waqua--"To Warn Him Of Danger."

  

 

"Sassacus Fears No Danger," Replied The Indian; "It Is For The

Taranteens To Tremble When They Are In His Neighborhood."

 

  

"What Will The Chief Do?"

 

  

"He Will Return To His Wigwam, But His Brother Must Not Go With Him;

For The Taranteens Desire To Carry Back With Them To-Night The Scalp

Of Sassacus."

 

 

 "Nay, I Will Go With Thee To Partake The Danger, If There Be Any, But

I See No Probability Thereof. The Taranteens Will Not Seek The Scalp

Of Sassacus, If He Hunts Not For Theirs."

 

 

"My Brother Knows Not That They Are Owls Who Fly In The Night. The

Eyes Of Sassacus Can Pierce The Skin On The Bosoms Of His Enemies, And

He Saw In Them Men Wandering In The Dark, And Looking For The Chief Of

The Pequots."

 

  

"But How Are These Strangers To Find The Way?"

  

 

"When Did Sassacus Ever Make A Secret Of His Lodge? He Is Not A

Beaver, Or A Wretched Wood-Chuck, To Burrow In The Ground, But An

Eagle Who Makes His Nest On The Highest Trees."

  

 

From This Reply Arundel Could Only Understand, That The Place Where

The Hut Stood Was Too Well Known To Make It Difficult For The Indians

To Discover It. There Was No Knowing What Their Audacity, Thirst For

Revenge For The Insult, And The Opportunity To Capture Or Destroy So

Famous An Enemy, Might Tempt Them To Undertake; But He Trusted That

The Want Of A Medium Of Communication (For Only The Knight And Eliot,

Among The Whites, As He Supposed, Could Make Themselves Intelligible;

And The Aberginians Were Not Likely To Approach The Taranteens) Would

Be An Insuperable Obstacle In The Way Of Their Purpose, Should They

Entertain Any Such As That Intimated By His Companion. It Was Evident,

However, That Sassacus Expected An Attack During The Night, And That

So Far From Shunning The Danger, He Rather Courted It; For It Was

Easily To Be Avoided, By Leaving The Wigwam To Its Fate. There Would

Not Be Much Loss In That, The Cabin Being Rudely Built Of Bark: And

The Few Articles Of Value Which It Contained Might, In A Short Time,

Be Removed To A Place Of Safety. Arundel Could Scarcely Be Expected To

Participate In The Feelings Of The Wild Warrior In The Contemplation

Of A Fight With Savages In The Dark. Besides, He Knew Not By How Many

They Might Be Attacked; And The Prospect Of A Contest Betwixt Himself

And Sassacus, On The One Side, And Half-A-Dozen Or More Taranteens, On

The Other, May Well Be Conceived To Have Had In It Nothing Alluring.

He Would Not, However, Desert His Friend; And, Despairing Of Changing

The Chief's Resolution, He Walked In Silence After Him, Turning Over

In His Mind The Possibilities Of A Night Skirmish. Sassacus Had,

Probably, An Idea Of His Thoughts, For Presently He Resumed His

Attempt To Dissuade Arundel From Accompanying Him.

  

 

"My Brother," He Said, "Has No Quarrel With The Taranteens. They Have

Come To Smoke The Calumet With His People, And Not To Plunder His

Villages And Burn His Corn Fields. Why Should My Brother Expose His

Life?"

 

  

It Was Partly To Try The Courage Of The Young Man, Perhaps, And Partly

To Ascertain How Far He Might Be Depended On, If There Should Be A

Fight, That The Indian Asked The Question. At Any Rate, A Suspicion Of

The Kind Passed Through Arundel's Mind, And He Answered:

  

 

"My Life Belongs To Sassacus. It Is No Longer Mine."

  

 

"Sassacus Gives His Brother Back His Life. Will He Not Now Return To

His Big Lodge, Where He Will Hear No War-Whoop, But Only The Pleasant

Song Of The Gues-Ques-Kes In The Morning?"

 

  

"Cease," Said Arundel. "Not If There Were As Many Taranteens In The

Woods As There Are Leaves On The Trees Will I Desert Thee."

 

  

"It Is Well; And My Brother Shall See The Difference Between A Pequot

And A Wretched Taranteen."

  

 

All This Time They Had Been Walking Without Haste In A Straight Line,

The Indian Leading The Way, And Seeming To Follow A Particular Course

By Instinct; For He Looked Not At The Stars Nor At Any Signs, So Far

As His Companion Could Judge, To Direct His Steps. In This Manner,

They Continued To Advance, Not Much Conversation Passing Until They

Reached The Hut Of Sassacus. This They Entered: And, To The Surprise

Of Arundel, The Indian, After Throwing Down A Few Skins For Seats,

Began Leisurely To Prepare A Meal. He Lighted A Fire Outside Of The

Lodge, Which, Of Course, Threw A Light All Around, And Served To Guide

The Steps Of Any Wanderers, Whether Friends Or Prowling Enemies; And

Waiting Until The Wood Was Reduced To Glowing Coals, Threw Upon Them

Pieces Of Meat, Whose Pleasant Odor Soon Pervaded The Atmosphere. The

Confident Bearing Of The Indian Had, By This Time, Produced Such An

Effect Upon Arundel, That He Did Not Even Ask Him Why He So

Unnecessarily Exposed The Place Of His Retreat, But Partook Of The

Viands From The Coals, And Of The Parched Corn, Which His Host

Produced From The Wigwam, With A Hearty Appetite. His Entertainer

Observed His Execution Upon The Meal With Marked Satisfaction; And,

Upon Its Conclusion, Presented Him With A Pipe, And, Taking One

Himself, Was Soon Under Its Soothing Influence. Arundel, Unaccustomed

To The Use Of Tobacco, Could Only Inspire A Few Whiffs, Out Of

Compliment To The Other, And Then Sat Watching Him. The Fire Light

Shone Full Upon The Face Of The Bronze Statue--"The Stoic Of The

Woods, The Man Without A Tear"--Before Him, But No Ferocity Was

Discoverable In Its Lineaments. It Seemed Impossible To Suppose That

Thoughts Of Bloodshed Were Passing At That Moment Through The Mind Of

The Handsome Youth, Dreamily Closing And Opening His Eyes, As The

Clouds From The Pipe Floated Away Over His Head, Apparently

Unconscious Of Danger, Intending No Ill To Others, And Not

Anticipating It For Himself.

  

 

After Smoking His Pipe, The Indian, Instead Of Extinguishing The Fire,

Threw Additional Wood, In Considerable Quantities, Upon It; Thereby

Still Further Increasing The Wonder Of Arundel. He Next Invited The

Guest Into The Wigwam, And Heaping Up Several Skins In A Corner For A

Couch, Said, That He Was About To Be Absent For A Short Time, But That

His Brother Might Sleep Meanwhile In Perfect Security. With These

Words The Pequot Departed, Leaving The Young Man Reclined Upon His

Bed, But Not To Slumber.

 

  

Sassacus Was Gone, It Might Be An Hour, And On His Return He Threw

Himself Upon The Ground; And, In A Short Time, As Was Evident From His

Breathing, Was Asleep. Arundel Could Not Understand How Any One, Who

Was Anticipating An Attack From Enemies From Whom He Could Expect No

Mercy, Was Able To Rest So Calmly. Had He Entrusted The Keeping Of His

Life--For In A Struggle He Could Expect No More Quarter For Himself

Than For His Companion--To Any Other One Than The Bold And Adroit

Warrior Whose Fame For Cunning Was As Great As For Bravery; Or Had The

Relations Betwixt Himself And The Savage Been Different, He Would Not

Have Remained In The Cabin A Moment Longer. But He Shrunk From The

Betrayal Of A Want Of Confidence, And Preferred Even To Risk Life Upon

The Judgment Of His Wild Friend. There Lay The Chief, Softly

Breathing, His Limbs Dissolved In Sleep, And Wearing In The Subdued

Light From The Fire Outside A Placid Expression, More Like That Of The

Timid Deer Than Of The Cougar, Whose Nature His Own Resembled. As For

Arundel, So Highly Were His Nerves Wrought Up, That Had He Ever So

Much Desired It, He Would Have Been Unable To Sleep. Interminable

Seemed The Anxious Hours, And, As The Night Waned, He Became At Last

Almost Incapable Of Mastering His Apprehensions. But As More Than Once

He Was On The Point Of Waking The Sachem, The Thought Arose That It

Might Look Like Cowardice, And He Forbore.

  

 

At Last He Heard A Sound, Which Seemed To Come From Just By The Side

Of The Wigwam, Like The Whirring Noise Which The Night Hawk Makes With

Its Wings. Instantly Sassacus Sat Up On His Couch, And Listened. The

Sound Was Repeated, And He Rose. He Looked Toward Arundel, And With A

Smile, Inquired How He Had Rested. The Young Man, Unwilling To Confess

The State Of His Mind, Answered In An Evasive Manner, And The Pequot,

After Regarding Him A Moment With A Pleased Expression, Stepped To The

Entrance And Cast His Eyes Up To The Stars. After Considering Them He

Returned, And Motioning To Arundel To Arise, Said, With Some Humor,

That He Was Sorry To Disturb His Brother, But That The Skunks He Had

Spoke About Were Coming, And As He Knew That His Brother Did Not Like

Their Smell, He Would Ask His Brother To Go A Little Way Off. Arundel,

Without Altogether Understanding The Purpose Of His Companion, Got Up,

And After Examining The Priming Of His Piece, Followed His Steps.

 

  

The Chief Led Him In A Direction Opposite To That From Which They

Came, To A Distance Of Near A Hundred Rods, When Their Course Was

Arrested By The River Charles. Here He Stopped, And Said--

 

  

"My White Brother Will Remain Here, While Sassacus Goes Back To Give

The Welcome Of A Great Chief To The Taranteens."

  

 

Arundel Now Comprehended The Design Of The Other, But It Was Far From

Being Agreeable To Him. The Idea Of Letting The Pequot Fight The

Battle Alone Was