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A HERO OF TICONDEROGA

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Title: A Hero of Ticonderoga

Author: Rowland E. Robinson

Release Date: January 25, 2011 [EBook #35080]

Language: English

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A HERO OF TICONDEROGA

By

Rowland E. Robinson

Burlington, VT.

Hobart J. Shanley & Co.

Publishers

1898

Copyright, 1898, by

HOBART J. SHANLEY & CO.

Contents

CHAPTER ICOMING INTO THE WILDERNESSCHAPTER IITHE NEW HOMECHAPTER IIIA VISIT TO THE FORTCHAPTER IVTHE NEW HAMPSHIRE GRANTSCHAPTER VTHE EVERGREEN SPRIGCHAPTER VITHE YORKERSCHAPTER VIITHE JUDGMENT SEATCHAPTER VIIIA NOVEL BEAR TRAPCHAPTER IXA FRONTIER TRAGEDYCHAPTER XREBELLIONCHAPTER XIESCAPECHAPTER XIIA FREE LIFECHAPTER XIIIFOREBODINGS OF STORMCHAPTER XIVGABRIELS GOOD SERVICECHAPTER XVLEADERS AND GUIDECHAPTER XVITICONDEROGACHAPTER XVIIHOME COMING

CHAPTER ICOMING INTO THE WILDERNESS

The low sun of a half-spent winterafternoon streaked and splashed thesoft undulations of the forest floorwith thin, infrequent lines, and scatteredblotches of yellow light amongthe thickening shadows.

A solitary hunter, clad in buckskinand gray homespun, thridded his wayamong the gray trunks of the gianttrees, now blended with them andtheir shadows, now briefly touched bya glint of sunlight, now casting up thepowdery snow from the toes of hissnowshoes in a pearly mist, now in agolden shower, yet moving as silentlyas the trees stood, or shadows brooded,or sunlight gleamed athwartthem.

Presently he approached a narrowroad that tunnelled, rather thanseamed, the forest, for the giant treeswhich closely pillared its sides spreadtheir branches across it, leaving thevast forest arch unbroken.

In the silence of the hour and season,which was but emphasized bythe outcry of a suspicious jay and thegentler notes of a bevy of friendlychickadees, the alert ear of the huntercaught a less familiar sound. Faintand distant as it was, he at once recognizedin it the slow tread of oxenand the creak of runners in the drysnow, and, standing a little aloof fromthe untrodden road, he awaited thecoming of the possibly unwelcomeinvaders of the wilderness.

A yoke of oxen soon appeared,swaying along at a sober pace, thebreath jetting from their nostrils inlittle clouds that arose and dissolvedin the still air with that of their driver,who stood on the front of a sled ladenwith a full cargo of household stuff.Far behind the sled stretched thedouble furrow of the runners, deep-scoredlines of darker blue than theuniversal shadow of the forest, a steadfastwake to mark the course of thevoyager till the next snow-storm orthe spring thaw cover it or blot it out.As the oxen came opposite the motionlesshunter, his attendant jay uttereda sudden discordant cry.

Whoa, hush! Whoa haw, there!What are you afeard of now? Thatsnothin but a jay squallin. Thestrong voice of the driver rang throughthe stillness of the woods, overbearingthe monotonous tread of the oxen,the creak of the sled, and the responsiveswish and creak of the snow beneathfeet and runners.

Unmindful of his voice, the oxenstill swerved from the unbeaten trackof the forest road and threatened tobring the off runner against one ofthe great trees that bordered it. Thedriver sprang from his standing place,and, running forward alongside thecattle, quickly brought them to a haltwith a few reassuring words, and atouch of his long, blue-beech gadacross their faces.

Looking into the woods to see whathad alarmed them, he became awareof the man standing a little way off,as motionless as the great tree trunksaround him. Seeing the oxen werenow under control, the latter advanceda little and spoke in a low,pleasant voice:

I didnt go to skeer your oxen,stranger, and was standin still to letem pass, but thet jay squalled at me,an, lookin this way, I spose theyketched a glimpse of my fur cap antook it for some varmint. Cattle isalways lookin for some sech, in thewoods. Your loads all right, I hope,he said, coming into the road andlooking at the sled, which, thoughtipped on some hidden obstruction,was yet in no danger of upsetting itsfreight.

Why, youve got women an childern,and his face lighted up withan expression of pleased interest.Youre comin in to make a pitch.How far might you be goin, stranger?

A little beyond Fort Ti, on thisside, the driver of the oxen answered.I made a pitch there last year. Mynames Seth Beeman, and I come fromSalisbury, Connecticut, and them onthe sled are my wife and children.Seth Beeman knew that, according tothe custom of the country and thetimes, this information would presentlybe required of him, and thehunter, for such the strangers dress,long gun and snowshoes proclaimedhim to be, had such an honest facehe did not hesitate to forestall the inevitablequestions.

I want to know! A Beeman fromol Salisbury, cried the other. Annow I wonder if you be akin to my olcomrade in the Rangers, Zekiel Beeman?

My fathers name was Ezekiel,and he served in Rogers Rangers.

Give me your hand, friend, criedthe hunter, drawing off his mittenwith his teeth, and extending his handas he came near to the other. Well,I never thought to meet an ol friendhere in these lonesome woods, to-day.Yes, an ol friend, for thats what ason of Zekiel Beemans is to me,though I never sot eyes on him afore.Youve maybe hearn him speak ofJob Carpenter? Thats my name.

Carpenter? Yes, the name soundsfamiliar, but you know father want aman of many words and never told usmuch of his sojerin days.

Youre right, he want. We alllarnt to keep our heads shut when wewas a-scoutin an a loud word mightcost a man hisn an many anotherlife.

Seth wondered how long since thehunter had forgotten the lesson, yethe noticed the voice of the other wasnever high pitched and he never madea sudden, abrupt movement.

An so these is your wife an childern,be they? said Job, passingtoward the sled, whose occupantswere so muffled in bed-quilts andblankets that nothing of their forms,and but little of their features, werevisible.

How dedo, marm. How dedo,little uns. Tolable comftable, Ihope?

Ruth Beeman answered his kindsalutation as audibly as she could outof her mufflings, and the children, aboy of twelve and a girl of three yearsyounger, stared at him with round,wondering eyes.

Its a hard life that lies aforewomen an children in this wilderness,he said to himself, and then,in a louder tone: Wal, Im gladyoure goin to be nigh the Fort.Theres always a doctor there, an itssort o protection, if the garrison bereglars. Now, Seth, start up yourteam, an Ill boost on the sled till itssquare on the road again.

So saying, he set his shoulder toone of the sled stakes, while Seth carefullystarted the oxen forward. Witha heaving lurch and prolonged creak,the sled settled upon evener groundwithout disturbance of its passengersor its burden of house gear and provisions,which, till now, had hiddenfrom view of the hunter a gentle littlecow in lead close behind it.

How far be we from the Fort?Seth asked.

Nigh onto five mile, the hunteranswered, after considering theirwhereabouts a moment. After aspell youll come to a better road onthe ice of the crik, if you take the firstblazed path beyend here, to your left.Itll fetch you to my cabin, whereyoud better stop till morning, for youcant no ways git to your pitch tilllong arter nightfall. I know where itis, for I come across it, last fall, whenI was trappin mushrat up the crik.My shantys the first thing in the shapeof a dwelling that youll come to, ancant miss it if you foller the backtrack of my snowshoes. It haint sogreat, but its bettern no shelter, anyoure moren welcome to it. Rakeopen the fire an build you a rouster,an make yourselves to home. Ivegot some traps to tend to, but Ill beback afore dark, and, almost beforethey could thank him, he disappearedamong the trees.

Seth took his place upon the sled,and, as it moved forward, the forestagain resumed its solemnity of silence,that was rather made more apparentthan at all disturbed by the slightsounds of the partys progress. Itwas a silence that their lonely journeyhad long since accustomed them to,but had not made less depressing, for,in every waking moment, it remindedSeth and his wife how every foot ofit withdrew them further from oldfriends and old associations, and howlong and wearisome the days of itsendurance stretched before them.

The remainder of the day was madepleasanter by the chance finding of afriend in a strange land, and with aprospect of spending a night under aroof, for, however it might be, it couldbut be better than the almost shelterlessbivouac that had many times beentheir night lodging since they enteredthe great Northern Wilderness, that,within a few years, had become knownas the New Hampshire Grants.

More than once, when they hadfallen asleep with only the mesh ofnetted branches between them andthe serene stars, they had been awakenedby the long howl of the wolvesanswering one another, or by the appallingscream of a panther. Then,with frequent replenishment of thefire, they had watched out the wearyhours till morning, alarmed by everyfalling brand or sough of the breeze, orresonant crack of frost-strained trees.

Seth looked eagerly for the promisedtrail and was glad to discover theblazed trees and the netted imprint ofsnowshoes, that, if but briefly, as certainly,identified the path. He turnedhis oxen into the diverging road,which, though narrow, gave ampleroom for the sled. After a little itled to the winding channel of a creekcrawling through a marsh, whoselooped and matted sedges were inturn bordered by the primeval forestand its bristling abatis of great trees,prostrate and bent in every degree ofincline.

At last, as the long shadows beganto thicken into the pallid gloom ofwinter twilight, a little cabin was discoveredin a notch of clearing, as grayand silent as the gray woods aroundit. A thin wisp of smoke climbedfrom the low chimney against the wallof forest, and a waft of its pungentodor came to the travellers. Even asthey drew near, its owner also arrived,and gave them hospitable welcome tohis hearth, and presently the littleroom was aglow with light andwarmth.

Here Ruth and little Martha thawedaway their cramps and chilliness bythe big fireplace, while Seth and hisson Nathan, with the hunters help,unhitched the oxen from the sled.From this they brought the rations ofhay and corn, and made the oxen andtheir comrade, the cow, contentedwith their roofless lodging behind thecabin.

Then the pork and Indian meal weretaken inside. Ruth mixed a johnny-cakewith hot water and salt, and setit to bake on its board, tilted beforethe fire. The frying-pan was filledwith pork, and slices of moose meatcontributed from Jobs larder.

The little party, ranged on rudeseats about the fireplace, so great asto be out of all proportion to theroom, chatted of things near and afar,while they grew hungry with everysniff of appetizing cookery.

Nathan was all agog at the peltrythat hung from innumerable pegs onthe rough log walls. There were skinsof many animals that had long beenrare, if not extinct, in the old colonywhere he was born.

There were the broad, round shieldsof beaver skins, the slenderer andlighter-hued skins of otters, besidesthe similarly shaped but smaller anddarker-colored fisher, with a bundle ofthe lesser martins, that Job calledsaple, and no end of muskrats andminks. There were, also, half a dozenwolf skins, and, conspicuous in sizeand glossy blackness, were three bearskins, and beside them hung a tawnypanther hide, the huge hinder pawsand long tail trailing on the puncheonfloor, while the cat-like head seemedto prowl, as stealthily as in life, amongthe upper shadows and flickerings ofthe firelight.

Quickly noting the boys interestin these trophies, Job made the roundof them all, explaining the habits ofeach animal, the method of its capture,and giving brief narrationsof encounters with the larger ones.He exhibited, with the most pride,a beautiful silver-gray foxskin, andan odd-looking spotted and coarse-hairedskin, stuffed with moss intosome semblance of its form in theflesh. This he brought to the fireside,and set on its fin-like hinderfeet, for the inspection of his guests.

What on airth is it? Seth Beemanasked.

Taint of the airth, but of thewater, Job answered, with a chuckle.I killed it on the ice of the lakeairly in the winter. One of the sojersat the Fort see it, an he says its aseal fish belongin to the sea, wherehes seen no end on em. But themsojers to the Fort is an ignant set likeall the reglars, that we rangers alwaysdespised as bad as they did us, an itdont look no ways reasonable thatsech a creatur could come all the wayup the St. Lawrence, an the IriquoisRiver, an most the lenth o this lake.My idee is, its a fresh-water maremaid,an natral to this lake.

If Seth had any doubt of thistheory, he gave it no expression, andthe hunter went on:

An ol Injin told me that theresalways ben one o these creturs seenin this lake a spell afore every warthats ever ben. But I hope the signllfail this time. Ive seen enougho war an I dont see no chance ofanother, all Canady bein took an theInjins in these parts bein quilled.

The johnny-cake, having been bakingfor some time in its last turn onthe board, was now pronounced done.The mixed contents of the frying-panwere turned out on a wooden trencher,and conversation was suspended forthe more important matter of supper.Not long after this was disposed of,the host and his guests betook themselvesto sleep in quilts and blanketson the puncheon floor, with their feetto the blazing backlog and glowingbed of coals.

CHAPTER IITHE NEW HOME

The light of a cloudless March morningpervaded the circumscribed landscapewhen the inmates of the cabinwere astir again. Not many momentslater, a sudden booming report brokethe stillness and rolled in sullen echoesback and forth from mountains andforested shores.

The sunrise gun to Fort Ti, Jobsaid, in reply to the questioning lookof his guests. They haint no otheruse for their powder now.

A fainter report, and its fainter answeringechoes, boomed through thebreathless air.

An thats Crown Pint Fort, tenmile furder down the lake. Theyhelp to keep us from getting lonesomeup here in the woods. And, indeed,there was a comfortable assurance ofhuman neighborhood and helpfulstrength in these mighty voices thatshook the primeval forest with theirdull thunder.

I dont scacely ever go nighthe forts, Job continued. I dontlike them reglars an their toppinways.

After fortifying themselves with abreakfast, in no wise differing fromtheir last meal, the travellers set forthon the last stage of their journey, Jobvolunteering to accompany them uponit, and see them established in theirnew home. They had not gone faron their way down the narrow channelof the creek when it brought them tothe broad, snow-clad expanse of thelake, lying white and motionless betweenits rugged shores, bristling withthe forest, save where, on their left,was a stretch of cleared ground, in themidst of which stood, like a grim sentinel,grown venerable with long yearsof steadfast watch, the gray battlementsof Fort Ticonderoga.

Here and there could be seen red-coatedsoldiers, bright dots of color inthe colorless winter landscape, and,above them, lazily flaunting in thelight breeze, shone the red cross ofEngland. The old ranger gave theflag the tribute of a military salute,while his heart swelled with pride atsight of the banner for which he hadfought, and which he had followedalmost to where it now waved, in thehumiliation of Abercrombies defeat,and here had seen it planted in Amherststriumphant advance.

In Seth Beemans breast it stirredno such thrill. It had no such associationswith deeds in which he hadborne a part, and to him, as to manyanother of his people, it was becominga symbol of oppression rather than anobject of pride. To Nathans boyisheyes it was a most beautiful thing,without meaning, but of beauty. Hisheart beat quick as the rattling drumsand the shrill notes of the fife summonedthe garrison to parade.

The oxen went at a brisker pace onthe unobstructed surface of the lake,and the travellers soon came to a littlecreek not far up which was the clearingthat Seth Beeman had made duringthe previous summer. In themidst of it stood the little log housethat was henceforth to be their home,the shed for the cattle, and a stack ofwild hay, inconspicuous among logheaps almost as large as they, lookinganything but homelike with thesmokeless chimney and pathless approach.Nor, when entered, was thebare interior much more cheerful.

A fire, presently blazing on thehearth, soon enlivened it. The floorwas neatly swept with a broom fashionedof hemlock twigs by Jobs readyhands. The little stock of furniturewas brought in. The pewter tablewarewas ranged on the rough cornershelves. Ruth added here and theresuch housewifely touches as only awoman can give. The change, wroughtin so brief a space, seemed a magicaltransformation. What two hours agowas but a barren crib of rough, clay-chinkedlogs, was now a furnishedliving-room, cozy with rude, homelikecomfort.

Then the place was hanselled withits first regularly prepared dinner, thefirst meal beneath its roof at which awoman had presided. Job, loath toleave the most humanized habitationthat he had seen for months, set forthfor his own lonely cabin. Except theunneighborly inmates of the Fort,these were his nearest neighbors, andto them, for his old comrades sake,he felt a closer friendship than hadwarmed his heart for many a year.

Though it was March, winter lackedmany days of being spent in this latitude,and, during their continuance,Seth was busy with his axe, wideningthe clearing with slow, persistent inroadsupon the surrounding forest, andpiling the huge log heaps for nextsprings burning. Nathan gave a willingand helpful hand to the piling ofthe brush, and took practical lessonsin that accomplishment so necessaryto the pioneerthe woodsmans craft.Within doors his mother, with littleMartha for her companion, plied cardsand spinning-wheel, with the frugalstore of wool and flax brought fromthe old home. So their busy handskept loneliness at bay, even amid thedreariness of the wintry wilderness.

At last the south wind blew with atempered breath. Hitherto unseenstumps appeared above the settlingsnow, the gray haze of woods purpledwith a tinge of spring, and the caw ofreturning crows pleased their ears,tired of the winters silence.

Seth tapped the huge old mapleswith a gouge, and the sap, drippingfrom spouts of sumac wood, wascaught in rough-hewn troughs. Fromthese it was carried in buckets on aneck-yoke to the boiling place, anopen-fronted shanty. Before it thebig potash kettle was hung on a treetrunk, so balanced on a stump that itcould be swung over or off the fire atwill. Sugaring brought pleasure aswell as hard labor to Nathan. Therewere quiet hours spent in the shantywith his father, with little to do butmend the fire and watch the boilingsap walloping and frothing, half hiddenbeneath the clouds of steam thatfilled the woods with sweet odor.

Sometimes Job joined them andtold of his lonely scouts in the Rangerservice, and of bush fights with Indiansand their French allies, and ofencounters with wild beasts, talesmade more impressive in their relationby the loneliness of the campfire,with the circle of wild lights andshadows leaping around it in the edgeof the surrounding darkness, out ofwhich came, perhaps from far away,the howl of a wolf or the nearer hootof the great horned owl.

Sometimes Martha spent part of aday in camp with her brother, helpingin womanly ways that girls so earlyacquired in the training of thosetimes, when every one of the householdmust learn helpfulness and self-reliance.But the little sister enjoyedmost the evenings when the syrupwas taken to the house and sugaredoff. The children surfeited themselveswith sugar waxed on snow,and their parents, and Job, if hechanced to be there, shared of thismost delicious of the few backwoodsluxuries, and the five made a jollyfamily party.

One morning, when the surface ofthe coarse-grained old snow was coveredwith one of the light later falls,known as sugar snow, as Seth andhis son were on their way to the sugarplace, the latter called his fathersattention to a large track bearingsome resemblance to the imprint of anaked human foot, and tending withsome meandering in the same directionthat they were going.

Why, said Seth, at the firstglance, its a bear, an if hes beento the camp, Im afraid hes done mischief,for theyre meddlesome creaturs.But there want much leftthere for him to hurt, he added,after taking a brief mental inventoryof the camps contents.

I cant think of nothing but thehunk of pork we had to keep the bigkittle from bilin over, said Nathan,and a little mite of syrup that weleft in the little kittle cause therewas moren we could carry home inthe pails.

Hes welcome to that if hes left thepork; we haint no pork to feed bears.

Now, as they drew near the camp,they heard a strange commotion inits neighborhood; a medley of smotheredangry growls, impatient whines,unwieldy floundering, and a dull thudand clank of iron, the excited squallingof a party of jays, and the chatteringjeers of a red squirrel. Runningforward in cautious haste, they presentlydiscovered the cause of this oddconfusion of noises to be a large blackbear.

His head was concealed in the pot-belliedsyrup kettle, held fast in thatposition by the bail, that, in his eagernessto lick out the last drop of stolensweet, had slipped behind his ears.His frantic efforts to get rid of hisself-imposed muzzle were so funnythat, after their first moment of bewilderment,the two spectators couldbut shout with laughter.

Now upreared, the blindfolded bearwould strike wildly at the kettle withhis forepaws; then, falling on his back,claw it furiously with his hinder ones;then, regaining his feet, rush headlongtill brought to a sudden stand by anunseen tree trunk. Recovering fromthe shock, he would remain motionlessfor a moment, as if devising somenew means of relief, but would presentlyresume the same round of unavailingdevices, with the constantaccompaniment of smothered expressionsof rage and terror.

But there was little time for laughterwhen a precious kettle and a fatbear might at any moment be lost bythe fracture of one and the escape ofthe other. Seth had no weapon buthis axe, but with this he essayedprompt attack, the happy opportunityfor which was at once offered. In oneof his blind, unguided rushes, the bearcharged directly toward the camp, tillhis iron-clad head struck with a resoundingclang against the great boilingkettle. As he reeled backwardfrom the shock, half stunned by it,and bewildered by the unaccustomedsound that still rang in his ears, Sethwas beside him with axe uplifted.

Only an instant he deliberated whereand how to strike; at the skull hedared not with the axe-head, for fearof breaking the kettle, and he dislikedto strike with the blade further backfor fear of disfiguring the skin. Butthis was the preferable stroke, and inthe next instant the axe-blade fell witha downright blow, so strong and wellaimed that it severed the spinal columnjust forward of the shoulders.The great brute went down, paralyzedbeyond all motion, to fall in a helplessheap and yield up his life with afew feeble gasps.

Oh, father, cried Nathan, thefirst to break the sudden silence, witha voice tremulous in exultation, tothink weve got a bear. Wont motherand Marthy be proud? and wontJob think were real hunters?

Waiting but a moment to stroke theglossy fur and lift a huge inert paw,but such a little while ago so terrible,he sped home to bring his mother andsister to see the unexpected prize,while the jays renewed their querulousoutcry, and the squirrel vociferouslyscoffed the fallen despoiler of his stolennuts.

The flesh made a welcome additionto the settlers scanty store of meat,the fat furnished a medium for fryingthe hitherto impossible doughnut, andJob promised to bring them a handsomeprice for the skin, when heshould sell it with his own peltry tothe fur traders. But the praise hebestowed upon Seths coolness in thestrange encounter was sweeter toNathan than all else.

As the days went on the advance ofspring became more rapid and moreapparent. Already the clearing wasfree from snow, and even in theshadow of the forest the tops of thecradle knolls showed the brown matsof last years leaves above the surface,that was no longer a pure white, butlittered with the winter downfall oftwigs, moss, and bits of bark, andeverywhere it was gray with innumerableswarming mites of snow fleas.Great flocks of wild geese harrowedthe sky. Ducks went whistling inswift flight just above the tree tops,or settled in the puddles beginning toform along the border of the marsh.Here muskrats were getting first sightof the sun after months of twilightspent beneath the ice.

In the earliest April days of openwater, when the blackbirds, on everybordering elm and water maple, werefilling the air with a jangle of harshand liquid notes, and the frogs, amongthe drift of floating weeds, were purringan unremitting croak, Job tookNathan out on the marshes, and instructedhim in the art of shootingthe great pickerel now come to spawnin the warm shallows.

Never shoot at em, said he,when a shot from his smooth-bore hadturned an enormous fellows whitebelly to the sun, and he quickly liftedthe fish into the canoe; if you do,you wont hit em. Always shootunder, a mite or more, accordin tothe depth o water.

Powder and lead were too preciousto waste much of them on fish, so theold hunter made his pupil a hornbeambow and arrows with spiked heads.With these weapons the boy soon becameso skilled that he kept the tablewell supplied with this agreeable variationof its frugal fare.

Song-birds came in fewer numbersin those days of wide wildernessesthan now, but there were bluebirdsand song sparrows enough to enliventhe clearing with sweet songs, andlittle Martha found squirrel cupsblooming in the warmest corners ofthe field. As the days grew longerand warmer they grew busier, for Sethwas diligently getting his crops inamong the black stumps.

Job, having foreseen his friendsneed of some sort of water craft whenthe lake should open, had fashionedfor him a log canoe from the trunk ofa great pine, and modelled it as gracefullyas his own birch, though it wasmany times a heavier, as it was asteadier, craft.

One pleasant afternoon in earlyMay, when the lake was quite clearof ice, Seth and his son, with Job astheir instructor in the art of canoenavigation, made a trip in the newboat. They paddled down the creek,now a broad bit of water from thespring overflow. When they cameto the lake, rippled with a brisk northernbreeze, they found their visit welltimed, for a rare and pretty sight wasbefore them, so rare and pretty thatJob paddled back with all speed forthe mother and daughter that they,too, might see it.

A mile below the mouth of thecreek a large vessel was coming, underall sail, with the British flag flyingbravely above the white cloudof canvas. They could hear the inspiringstrains of martial music, and,when the noble vessel swept past nothalf a mile away, they could see thegayly dressed officers and the blue-jacketedsailors swarming on herdeck.

Its the sloop from St. Johns,said Job. She comes two or threetimes, whilst the lakes open, withstores for the garrison to the Fort.Its an easier trail than the road fromAlbany. Pretty soon youll hear herspeak.

Almost at his words a puff of smokejetted out from her black side, and,as it drifted across her deck, it wasfollowed by the loud, sullen roar of thecannon. In response a smoke clouddrifted away from the Fort, and a momentlater a roar of welcome reinforcedthe failing echoes. Again andagain the sloop and the Fort exchangedsalutes, till the new settlersceased to be startled by such thunderas they had never before heard undera cloudless sky.

They haint nothin to do withtheir powder nowadays, but to fool itaway in sech nonsense, said theRanger, as the sloop came to anchorin front of the Fort. Arter all itsa better use for it than killin folks,erless, he deliberately excepted, itmight be Injins.

CHAPTER IIIA VISIT TO THE FORT

The summer brought more settlersto these inviting lands of level, fertilesoil, and when the woods were againbright with autumnal hues, their broadexpanse of variegated color wasblotched with many a square of unsightlynew clearing. Job Carpenterlooked with disfavor upon such infringementof the hunters domain,but it was welcomed by the Beemans.Though Seths active out-door employmentand the constant companionshipof nature made him less lonelythan his wife, yet he was of a socialnature and glad of human companionship;while Ruth, sometimes lonely inthe isolation of her new home, rejoicedin the neighborhood of other women.

Only a mile away were the Newtons,a large and friendly family, andwithin three miles were four morefriendly households, and another atthe falls of the turbid Lemon Fair.At this point a saw mill was beingbuilt and a grist mill talked of. Withthat convenience established so closeat hand, there would be no more needof the long journey to the mill atSkeenesborough, a voyage that, in thebest of weather, required two days toaccomplish.

The settlers at first pounded theircorn into samp, or finer meal for johnny-cake,by the slow and laboriousplumping mill, a huge wooden mortarwith a spring pole pestle.

Oh, mother, said Nathan, onesummer afternoon, as for a while hestopped the regular thump, thump ofthe plumping mill to wipe his hot faceand rest his arms that ached with theweary downpull of the great pestle,when do you spose the folks to theFair will get the gris mill done?

Afore long, I hope, for your sake,my boy, she answered, cheerily,through the window. Let me spellyou awhile and you take a good rest.

Laying her wool cards aside, shecame out and set her strong hands tothe pestle, while Nathan ran out tothe new road to see what ox-teamsterof unfamiliar voice was bawling hisvociferous way along its root-entangledand miry course. Presently the boycame back, breathless with the hasteof bearing great news.

Oh, mother, theyre carryin thestones and fixins for the new mill,and the man says theyll be ready forgrindin before winter sets in. Thenitll be good-by to you, old Up-an-down,and good riddance to bad rubbage,and he brought the pestledown with energy on the half-poundedgrist of samp.

Don revile the plumpin mill,Nathan. Its been a good friend intime o need. Mebby youll miss thetrips to Skeenesborough with yourfather. Youve always lotted onthem.

Yes, but Id rather go to the Fortand play with the boys, any day, andIll have more time when samp poundinis done and ended.

He had been with his father twiceto the Fort to see its wonders, and,brief as the visits were, they sufficedto make him acquainted with the boysof the garrison, and, for the time, apartner in their games. Before thesummer was out, the little Yankee becamea great favorite with the fewEnglish and Irish boys whose fatherswere soldiers of the little garrison.He taught them how to shoot withhis hornbeam bow and spiked arrows,and many another bit of woodcraftlearned of his fast friend Job, whilethey taught him unheard-of games,and told him tales of the marvellousworld beyond the sea, a world thatwas as a dream to him.

His Yankee inquisitiveness madehim acquainted with every nook andcorner of the fortification, and he waseven one day taken into the commandantsquarters, that the beautifulwife of that fine gentleman might seefrom what manner of embryo grewthese Yankees, who were becomingso troublesome to His Majesty, KingGeorge. She was so pleased with hisfrank, simple manner and shrewd answersthat she dismissed him with abright, new English shilling, the largestsum that he had yet possessed.

Really, William, she afterwardsremarked to her husband, if this bea specimen of your terrible Yankees,they be very like our own people, inspeech and actions, only sharper witted,and they surely show close kinshipwith us in spite of such longseparation.

You little know them, said CaptainDelaplace, laughing. They area turbulent, upstart breed. I fearonly a sound drubbing, and, perhaps,the hanging of a score of their leaders,will teach them obedience to HisMajesty.

I would be sorry to have this littleman drubbed or hanged, said she,with a sigh; surely he is not of thestuff rebels are made of.

The very stuff, my dear. Boldand self-reliant, and impatient of control,as you may see. If ever therecomes an outbreak of these discontentedpeople, I warrant youll findthis boy deserving the drubbing andgetting it, too, for His Majestystroops would make short work ofsuch rabble.

CHAPTER IVTHE NEW HAMPSHIRE GRANTS

A year later, the dispute of the Governorsof New York and New Hampshire,concerning the boundaries ofthe two provinces, was at its height,and the quarrel between claimants ofgrants of the same lands, under chartersfrom both governors, becameevery day more violent. The disputedterritory was that between theConnecticut River and Lake Champlain,and was for a long time knownas the New Hampshire Grants.

If a New York grantee found theclaim which he had selected, or whichhad been allotted to him, occupied bya New Hampshire grantee, when thestrength of his party was sufficient hewould take forcible possession of theland, without regard to the improvementsmade upon it, and withoutmaking any compensation therefor.He was seldom left long in enjoymentof possession thus gained, for thefriends of the New Hampshire granteequickly rallied to his aid and summarilyousted the aggressor, who, ifhe proved too stubborn, was likely tobe roughly handled, and have set uponhis back the imprint of the beech seal,the name given to the blue-beech rodwherewith such offenders were chastised.The New Hampshire granteeswere as unscrupulous in their ejectmentof New York claimants who hadfirst established themselves on the NewHampshire Grants. Surveyors, actingunder the authority of New York,were especially obnoxious to settlersof the other party, and rough encountersof the opposing claimants werenot infrequent. Seth Beeman andhis neighbors had all taken up landunder a New Hampshire charter, withouta thought of its validity beingquestioned.

One bright June morning, Nathanwas watching the corn that, pushing itstender blades above the black mouldin a corner of the clearing, offeredsweet and tempting morsels to thethieving crows. It was a lazy, sleep-enticingoccupation, when all thecrows but one, who sat biding hisopportunity on a dry tree top, haddeparted, cawing encouragement toone another, in quest of a less vigilantlyguarded field. There was nofurther need for beating with his improviseddrumsticks on the hollowtopmost log of the fence, to the tuneof Uncle Dan, Uncle Dan, UncleDan, Dan, Dan, which would notscare the wise old veteran from hissteadfast waiting.

The indolent fluting of the hermitthrushes rang languidly through theleafy chambers of the forest, and thewood pewees sang their pensive songon the bordering boughs, too contentwith song and mere existence to chasethe moth that wavered nearest theirperch. The languor of their notespervaded all the senses of the boy,and, with his body in the shade of thelog fence and his bare feet in the sunshine,he fell into a doze.

Suddenly he was awakened by analarmed outcry of the crow, nowsweeping in narrow circles above somenew intruder upon his domain. Thenhe became aware of strange voices,the tramp of feet, the swish of branchespushed aside regaining their places, ametallic clink, and occasional lightlydelivered axe strokes. Mounting thetopmost log of the fence, and shadinghis eyes with his hands, he peered intothe twilight of the woods. To thishis eyes had hardly accustomed themselves,when he saw what sent flashesof anger and chills of dread chasingone another through his veins. Buta few rods away, and coming towardshim, were two men, one bearing theend of a surveyors chain and a bundleof wire rods, the other carrying an axeand gun. A little behind these weretwo men similarly equipped, and stillfurther in the rear, half hidden by thescreen of undergrowth, more figureswere discovered, one of whom wassquinting through the sights of a compass,whose polished brass glittered ina stray sunbeam. Nathan was surethis must be the party of the NewYork surveyor of whom there hadbeen a rumor in the settlement, andhe felt that trouble was at hand.

Hello, heres a clearin, the foremostman, as he ran to the fence,called back to the one at the otherend of the chain. Jenkins, tell Mr.Felton theres a fenced clearin here,andboy, now deigning to noticeso insignificant an object.

Stake, cried Jenkins.

As the first speaker planted one ofthe wire rods beside the fence, Jenkinspulled up the last one stuck in thewoods, at the same time shouting thenews back to the surveyor.

Hold on, boy, the first speakersaid, as Nathan jumped from thefence. You stay here till Mr. Feltoncomes up.

Im going home, Nathan answeredboldly; if Mr. Felton wantsme he can come there.

You sassy young rascal, criedone of the men, who carried a gun,bringing his weapon to a ready; youstand where you be or Ill and hetapped the butt of his gun impressively.

You wouldnt dast to, Nathangasped defiantly, but he went nofurther, and stood at bay, grindingthe soft mold under his naked heelwhile he cast furtive glances at theintruders, till the remainder of theparty came up. The surveyor, impressedwith the dignity of his position,maintained a haughty bearingtoward all the members of his partysave one, a swarthy, thick-set, low-browedman, whom he addressed asMr. Graves.

A fine clearing, indeed, said Mr.Felton when he came to the fence.I wonder what Yankee scoundrelhas dared to so seize, hold and occupythe lands of the Royal Colony of NewYork.

Mayhap this younker can tell you,sir, said the man guarding the boy,and lowering his gun as he spoke.

Boy, what scoundrel has dared tosteal this land and establish himselfupon it without leave or license of HisExcellency, the Governor of NewYork? Yes, and cut down the pinetrees, especially reserved for the mastingof His Majestys navy, and hetapped the top log impressively.

Its holler, Mr. Felton, Jenkinssuggested, satisfying himself of thefact by a resonant thump of his axe.

Who stole this land? Wheresyour tongue, boy? Mr. Felton demandedsharply.

But the boy, out of mind an instant,in that instant was out of sight.Many a time he had heard Job recountthe manner of retreat practisedby the Rangers, and now the knowledgeserved him well. While the surveryorsparty was engaged with thepine, he slipped down on the sameside of the fence, gained the veiling ofa low bush, wormed his way a fewfeet along the ground, reached theprotection of a large tree trunk, whenhe leaped to his feet, and, fleet andnoiseless as a Ranger himself, fledfrom tree to tree in a circuitous routeto his father.

Seth Beeman was hard at work onan extension of his clearing to thewestward when Nathan came up,panting and breathless.

Oh, father, theres a whole lot ofYorkers come and theyre runnin aline right through our clearin.

Seth listened attentively until themen and their work had been describedminutely, and then, without a word,resumed the trimming of the greathemlock he had just felled. AsNathan waited for some response, heknew by his fathers knitted brow thathis thoughts were busy. At length,breaking off a twig of hemlock, hecame to his son and said, handing theevergreen to him:

Take this to Newtons and showit to the men folks, and say Therestrouble to Beemans, and then go onand do the same at every house,round to Jobs, and show it to himand tell him the same, and do whateverhe tells you. Be spry, my boy;I must stay here and ta care of motherand Sis. Keep in the woods till youget clear of the Yorkers, then take theroad and clipper.

CHAPTER VTHE EVERGREEN SPRIG

Understanding the importance ofhis errand and guessing its purpose,Nathan skulked stealthily along theheavily-wooded border of the highwaytill past all chance of discovery,when he took the easier course of theroad. The ecstatic melody of thethrushes song and the pensive strainof the pewee had not changed, yetnow they were instinct with cheer andacceleration, as was the merry drumbeatof the flicker on a dry branchoverhead.

Presently, as he held his steadypace, splashing through puddles andpattering along firmer stretches, heheard sharp and loud footfalls in rapidapproach. Before his first impulse tostrike into the ready cover of thewoods was carried into effect, a horsemangalloped around the turn, and hewas face to face with a handsomestranger, whose tall, well-knit figure,heightened by his seat on horseback,towered above the boy like a giant.

Hello, said the man, reining uphis horse, and where are you boundin such a hurry, and who might yoube? His clear gray eyes were fixedon Nathan, who noticed pistols in theholsters, a long gun across the saddlebow, and, in the cocked hat, a sprigof evergreen.

Im Seth Beemans boy, Nathananswered, pointing in the direction ofhis home, and Im goin to neighborNewtons of an arrant.

Ah,Beeman,a good man, Imtold. And what might take you toneighbor Newtons in such a hurry?Has that hemlock twig in your handanything to do with your errand?demanded the stranger, in an imperativebut kindly voice. Speak up.You need not be afraid of me.

Nathan looked up inquiringly atthe bold, handsome face smiling downon him.

Did you ever hear of Ethan Allen?asked the stranger.

Oh, yes; only yesterday fathertold about Ethan Allens throwing theYorkers millstones over the GreatFalls at New Haven.

Right and true! Well, I amEthan Allen. As he gave his namein a deep-toned voice of proud assurance,it seemed in itself a strong host.Your father sent you with that twigto say theres trouble at Beemans,didnt he?

Nathan looked up in wonder, admiration,and gladness, and then, withthe instinctive, unreasoned confidencethat the famous chieftain of the Grantswas wont to inspire, told unreservedlyhis fathers troubles and directions.When Allen had heard it, he wheeledhis horse beside the nearest stumpand bade Nathan mount behind him.

My horses feet will help you makeyour rounds quicker than yours, myman. Weve no time to lose, fortheres no telling what those scoundrelsmay be at. Eight Yorkers!Well, well soon raise good menenough to make short work of them.

Nathan mounted nimbly to his assignedplace, and, clasping as far as hecould the ample waist of his newfriend, was borne along the road at aspeed that soon brought them to thelog house of the Newtons. A man ofthe herculean mould so common to theearly Vermonters came out of thehouse to meet the comers, with anexpression of pleased surprise on hisgood-humored face.

Why, colonel, we want expectinon you so soon, but we haint no lessglad to see you. Light and come in.Motherll hev potluck ready to rights.Why, is that the Beeman boy stickinon behind you? Anything the matterover to Beemans?

No, we cant light, Allen replied;and then, looking down overhis shoulder, Do your errand, myboy, and well push on.

Nathan held out the carefully keptsprig of evergreen and repeated hismessage.

Trouble to Beemans, now.

Yea, verily, said Allen to Newton,whose face flashed at the boyswords. Rise up and gird on yourswords, you and your sons. ThePhilistines are upon you even as ithas been prophesied. Felton and hisgang of land thieves. The son ofBelial was warned to depart from theland of the elect, but he heeds notthose who cry in the wilderness. Confoundthe rascal! He must beviewed! You and your two boystake your guns and jog down thatway, and as you go cut a goodlyscourge of blue beech, for verily thereshall be weeping and wailing andgnashing of teeth. Well rally theCallenders, and Jones, and Harrington,and North, and my friend Beemanhere will tell Job. Well gathera good dozen. Enough to mete outthe vengeance of the Lord to eightYorkers, Ill warrant!

Strange and abrupt as were the transitionsfrom Allens favorite Scripturalmanner of speech to the ordinary vernacular,no one thought of laughing.As the boy dismounted, Allen said:

You go straight to Job and do ashe tells you; and as he rode awaycalled back, everybody lay low andkeep dark till you hear the owl hoot.

Soon Nathan turned from the roadinto an obscure footpath that led inthe direction of Job Carpenters cabin.The gloom and loneliness of the mysteriousforest, through which the narrowfootpath wound, so pervaded itthat the song birds seemed awed tosilence, and the woodpeckers tappedcautiously, as if afraid of being heardby some enemy. No boy, even ofbackwoods breeding, would care toloiter had his errand been less urgent,and he gave but a passing notice tothings ordinarily of absorbing interest.

A mother partridge fluttered alongthe ground in simulated cripplednesswhile her callow brood vanished amongthe low-spread leaves. A shy woodbird disclosed the secret of her nestas he sped by. Against a dark pinegleamed the fiery flash of a tanagersplumage. A wood mouse stirred thedry leaves. His own foot touched aprostrate dead sapling, and the drytop rustled unseen in the waysidethicket. There was a sound of long,swift bounds, punctuating the silencewith growing distinctness, and a hare,in his brown summer coat, wide-eyedwith terror, flashed like a dun streakacross the path just before him, andclose behind the terrified creature agray lynx shot past, eager with sightand scent of his prey, closing the distancewith long leaps. Before theintermittent scurry of footfalls hadfaded out of hearing they ceased, anda wail of agony announced the tragicalend of the race. The cry made himshiver, and he could but think thatthe lynx might have been a pantherand the hare a boy.

His heart grew lighter when he sawthe sunshine showing golden greenthrough the leafy screen that borderedthe hunters little clearing. He foundJob leaning on his hoe in his patch ofcorn, looking wistfully on the creek,where the fish were breaking the surfaceamong the weeds that markedthe expanse of marsh with tendergreen, and where the sinuous courseof the channel was defined by purplelines of lily pads. The message wasreceived with a show of vexation, andthe old man exclaimed:

Plague on em all with theirpitches and surveyin and squabblin.Why cant folks let the woods alone?Theres room enough in the settlementsfor sech quarrels without cominhere to disturb Gods peace with bickerinsover these acres o desart. Ithought Id got done wi wars andfightins, exceptin with varmints,when the Frenchers and Injins waswhipped. But I guess there wontnever be no peace on airth and goodwill to men for all its ben preachednigh onto eighteen hundred years.Plague on your Hampshire Grants andyour York Grants, the hul bilin!Wal, if it must come it must, and Illbe skelped if Ill see Yorkers a runninover my own Yankee kin. Yorkersis next to Reglars for toppinways. I never could abear em.

While he spoke he twirled Nathanshemlock sprig between his fingers andnow set it carefully in the band of hishat and led the way to his cabin.

And Ethan Allens in these betterments?Well, them Yorkersllwish theyd stayed to home. Heshard-handed, is Ethan.

The two were now in the cabin, andJob set forth a cold johnny-cake andsome jerked venison that Nathanneeded no urging to partake of.Taint your mothers cookin, butits bettern nothin, Job said, asbetween mouthfuls he counted out adozen bullets from a pouch and putthem in his pocket. Then he held uphis powder horn toward the light aftergiving it a shake, and, being satisfiedof its contents, slung it over his shoulder.Their hunger being satisfied, hetook the long smooth-bore from itshooks, examined the flint, and, noddingto Nathan to follow, went downto his canoe, that lay bottom up onthe bank.

Its quicker goin by watern byland, said Job, as he set the canoeafloat and stepped into it, whileNathan took his place forward. Impelledby the two paddles, the lightcraft went swiftly gliding down thecreek, and then northward, skirtingthe wooded shore of the lake.

CHAPTER VITHE YORKERS

Though the presentation of claims,under the authority of the New Yorkgovernment, to the land which SethBeeman occupied by virtue of a titlederived from the Governor of NewHampshire, had for some time beenexpected and resistance fully determinedupon, Seths heart was as hotwith anger and heavy with anxiety asif invasion had come without warning.Tenacious of his rights, he yet hatedstrife and contention. Nor could heforesee whether he must lose thehome he had wrought with toil andprivation out of the savage wilderness,or whether, after a sharp, briefcontest, he would be left in peaceablepossession of it, or whether he couldthen hold it only by continued resistance.

Nathan had not been long awaywhen he shouldered his axe and hastenedtoward the house. When itcame in view, between the tall pillarsof tree trunks that paled the verge ofthe clearing, the rough-walled dwellinghad never looked more homelikenor better worth keeping. It hadovercome the strangeness of new occupancyand settled to its place. Thelogs had begun to gather again themoss that they lost when they ceasedto be trees. Wild vines, trained totamer ways, clambered about the doorwayand deep-set windows, beneathwhich beds of native and alien posies,carefully tended, alike flourished inthe virgin soil. The young gardenstuff was promising, and the broaderexpanse of fall-sown wheat, growntall enough to toss in the wind, madea rippling green sea of the clearing,with islands of blackened stumps juttinghere and there above the surface.The place had outgrown its uncouthnewness and transient camp-like appearanceand become a home to clingto and defend.

What is it, Seth? asked Ruth,coming to greet him at the door, hersmile fading as she saw his troubledface.

The Yorkers have come. Andthen he explained Nathans mission.Our folksll come to help as soon asthey can, but the Yorkersll get herefirst. Look a there, and, followinghis eyes, Ruth saw the surveyorsparty approaching the border of theclearing, just as the Beemans passedinto the house.

It wont come to that, will it?she asked, in a low, awed voice, asSeth took down his gun.

I hope not, but I want the gunout of their reach and where I can getit handy. There aint a bullet orbuckshot in the house, he declared,after examining the empty bulletpouch. Give me some beans.Theyre good enough for Yorkers.

As he spoke he measured a chargeof powder into the long barrel, rammeda tow wad upon it, poured in a halfhandful of the beans that Ruthbrought him in a gourd, rammed downanother wad, put priming in the pan,clapped down the hammer, thenmounted half way up the ladder thatserved as a stair, laid the gun on thefloor of the upper room, and wasdown at the door when the surveyorled his party to it. He saluted theparty civilly, and, upon demand, gavehis name.

Well, Mr. Beeman, began thesurveyor, in a pompous tone, I sentyour son to bring you to me, but itseems you did not please to come.

No, said Seth quietly; it doesnot please me to leave my affairs atthe beck and call of every strangerthat comes this way.

Well, sir, Id have you understandthat I am Marmaduke Felton,duly appointed and licensed as a surveyorof His Majestys lands withinhis province of New York. Furthermore,be it known, I have comehere in the regular discharge of theduties of my office, to fix the boundsof land purchased by my client, Mr.Erastus Graves, bowing to the person,of the original grantees, withpatent from His Excellency the Governor,who alone has authority togrant these lands. I find you, sir,established on these same lands belongingto my client. What have youto say for yourself? By what pretendedright have you made occupationof lands belonging to my client?

I have to say for myself, Sethanswered, in a steady voice, that Ibought this pitch of the original proprietors,and I have their deed, dulysigned and sealed. They got theircharter of His Excellency BenningWentworth, His Majestys Governorof the Province of New Hampshire.

Your title is not worth the paperits written on, scoffed Mr. Felton.Governor Wentworth has no moreauthority to grant lands than I have.Not a whit. The east bounds of NewYork are fixed by royal decree at thewest bank of Connecticut River, aseverybody knows, and Wentworthsgrants this side that limit are null andvoid. No doubt you have acted ingood faith, but now theres nothingfor you but to vacate these bettermentsforthwith; yes, forthwith, ifyou will take the advice of a friend,and the little man regaled himself witha pinch of snuff.

I shall not go till I am forced to,Seth answered with determination.When it comes to force both partiesmay take a hand in the game.

Very well, very well! I havegiven you friendly advice; if you donot choose to take it the consequencesbe on your own head. Come, Graves;come, men, let us go about our presentaffairs; adding, after some talkwith Graves, We shall be back tospend the night with you, Mr. Beeman.You cannot refuse Mr. Gravesthe shelter of his own house.

Seth flushed with anger, but answeredsteadily: I cant help it, butyou will not be welcome.

The men who had been idling about,taking little interest in the parley,now followed their employers backto the woods, trampling through theyoung wheat in their course.

I wish you a pleasant night ont,said Seth under his breath, and turnedto reassure his wife. Dont be frightened,my girl. They wont get usout of here. Keep a stout heart andwait.

With a quieter heart she went abouther household affairs, while her husbandbusied himself nearby, weedingthe garden and giving to his wifesposy beds the awkward care of unaccustomedhands. He often stoppedhis employment to listen and intentlyscan the border of the woods. Theshadows of the trees were stretchingfar across the clearing when an owlhooted solemnly in the nearest woodson the bank of the creek, and, presently,another answered farther away.

Do hear the owls hootin, and itsclear as a bell, said Ruth at thedoor, looking up to the cloudless sky.It cant be its a-going to storm.

I shouldnt wonder if it did, saidSeth with a mirthless laugh. Wherewas that nighest hoot?

As he spoke the solemn hollownotes were repeated, and some crowsbegan to wheel and caw above thespot, marking it plainly enough tothe eye and ear, and he set forth inthe direction at a quick pace.

Why dont Nathan come home?little Martha asked. I haint seenhim all day. I wish hed come. Hellget ketched in the storm.

Oh, dont worry, deary, said hermother after she had watched herhusband disappear in the thickeningshadow of the woods. We mightas well eat, for theres no telling whenfatherll be back. They were nothalf through the meal before he came,and, as he took his seat at the table,he said with a deep sigh of relief:Im afeard our York friends wontenjoy their lodgins overmuch. Theowls are round pretty thick to-night.

Well, I guess theyve ben talkingto you, said Ruth, as her face lightedwith a comprehension of his meaning.

Can owls talk? Martha asked,agape with wonder.

Well, the old knowing ones. Owlsare turrible knowing creaturs, herfather said.

The twilight possessing the woodshad scarcely invaded the clearing whenthe surveyor and his party came tothe house, bringing in blankets, provisions,guns, tools, and instruments,till the one small room was crowdedwith them and the uninvited guests.Felton and Graves made themselvesoffensively and officiously at home.The cook took possession of the fire,and set two frying-pans of pork sputteringgrease upon the tidy hearth, tothe disgust of the housewife, who satwith her husband and child in a darkcorner. At last Felton brought fortha bottle of spirits from his leathernportmanteau and drank to Graves.

Heres to your speedy installmentin your rightful possessions. Now,help yourself, and give the men theirtot.

Graves stood filling his measure ofgrog in the tin cup, grinning withsatisfaction, when a loud knock cameon the door.

CHAPTER VIITHE JUDGMENT SEAT

Without waiting to be bidden, aman of massive mould entered theroom. He strode into the firelight,and, wheeling on the hearth, faced thecompany, his shadow filling half theroom.

Good evening, gentlemen. Goodevening, Mr. Felton and Graves.

The latter stood with the untasteddram half way to his gaping mouth,the other was as motionless, save ashis face expressed successively astonishment,anger, and exultation.

Colonel Ethan Allen, he said atlast, emphasizing the title. Mosthappy to receive a call from so distinguisheda person. A very fortunatemeeting. Then changing his toneof mock politeness to one of command:You are my prisoner. Men,lay hold of him! A hundred poundsare offered for his head! It is EthanAllen! Lay hold of him, I tell you!

There was a reluctant stir amongthe men. One advanced toward thecorner near the fireplace where theguns were set. With deliberate celerityAllen drew his hands from theskirts of his coat, a cocked pistol ineach, and, with one of them, he coveredthe man skulking towards theguns.

The first man that draws a pistolor raises a gun gets a bullet throughhis carcass, he said with authority.

At Allens first words Seth hadmounted the ladder and as quicklyreappeared with his gun. The movementwas seen in the dancing shadows,and he was covered by the other pistol,which was lowered as he was distinguishedto be helping a woman andchild to mount to the chamber.

Down with your gun over there!Oh, it is our friend Beeman! Allright! Then Allen called in a voicethat made the pewter dishes ring ontheir shelves:

Come in, men!

The door swung violently open, andJob Carpenter, with all the arms-bearingmen of the wide neighborhood, tothe number of a dozen, came marchingin, in Indian file, with rifle orsmooth-bore at a trail. In the rearwas Nathan, unarmed, but eager tosee all that should transpire.

Felton and Graves lost their bolddemeanor, yet held their places, whiletheir men slunk to the farther side ofthe room in dumb affright, save Jenkins,the cook, who, dodging this sideand that of Allens burly form, hoverednear his frying-pans in a dividedfear for his own safety and that of his pork.

Keep every one of these menunder close guard, my boys, Allencommanded, especially these twochief offenders. Now, Mr. Felton,perhaps it is made plain to you that Iam not your prisoner, and that thegods of the valleys are not the gods ofthe hills. Behold how riches take tothemselves wings and fly away evenbefore they are possessed. In witnesswhereof, consider the hundred poundsoffered by your Governor for an honestman. No wonder he longs for thesight of one, with such a pack ofthieves and land jobbers as he hasabout him.

An honest man? cried Felton,trembling with rage. A ruffian! Arioter! A defier of law! and hepoured forth a torrent of opprobriousnames, and a full measure of curses,till out of breath.

Go on, Master Felton, go on,said Allen, smiling benignly uponhim. Ease yourself. Unless it beprayer, which you rarely employ, Idoubt, there is nothing like goodround cursing to relieve an overburdenedheart. Upon occasion I availmyself of the remedy. Pray go on, orgive your friend a chance. Mr. Graves,you have the floor, but the man addressedonly glowered savagely.

Well, if you have offered all yourburnt offerings of brimstone, let themen have their supper and makethemselves strong for their journey.Dish up the pork, cook, that you havebeen bumping my legs to get at, andbring out your bread bag. Stir yourselves.We have weighty businesspending.

The men ate their meat and breadwith the appetite of those whom noemotion can cheat of a meal, but Feltonand Graves would have none of it.The Green Mountain Boys sat apart,chatting in low tones, till the smokerswere filling their pipes after theirmeal, when Allen rapped the tablewith the butt of his pistol, and hisclear, deep voice broke the silencethat ensued.

Friends of the Grants, you allknow we have come here to erect theJudgment seat this night, and meteout such punishment as doth untojustice appertain. Yea, verily, forwrongs done or sought to be doneupon the people of these New HampshireGrants. We will at once elect ajudge. To save time, I will nominateEthan Allen as a proper person forthat office. You that would elect himsay Aye.

There was a unanimous affirmativeresponse, even Nathan, proud of theopportunity of giving his first vote,made his piping treble heard amongthe deep voices of the men.

Contrary minded, make the usualsign.

There was only a sullen No fromFelton.

You are not entitled to vote in thismeeting, sir. I have a clear majorityand will take my seat. So saying,Allen seated himself upon the table.

The plain facts of the case arethese: This Mr. Felton and thisGraves, also, were taken by me, andcertain other good men, about onemonth ago, in the act of surveying,under the pretended authority of thetyrannical New York government,lands already granted by His ExcellencyBenning Wentworth, His Majestysduly appointed Governor ofNew Hampshire. The said personswere ordered to desist from such unlawfulbusiness and to depart fromthese Grants, and were duly warnednot to return for a like purpose underpain of being Viewed. Furthermore,they were suffered to departwithout bodily harm. Here the surveyorcomes again, like a bad pennyas he is, bearing the Kings mark, buta base counterfeit none the less. Andthis Graves pretends to own this pitchby right of purchase under York government.Other than them I do notrecognize any among this crew whohave been Warned. Now, friendBeeman, tell us your story.

Seth told what had passed betweenhim and the surveyor, and then Nathanwas called to relate his meeting theparty in the woods, which he did in astraightforward manner, except for hisboyish bashfulness.

Now, you have it all. Felton andGraves are here, as you see, in prosecutionof their unlawful business, asthe testimony of this boy and hisfather shows. In further proof whereof,see the surveyors instrumentshere in view. What say you, men ofthe Grants, are they guilty or notguilty?

Guilty, said the various voices.

What shall be their punishment?That they be chastised with the twigsof the wilderness?

There was general affirmative response,some answering loudly, othersfaintly and hesitatingly. Then JobCarpenter stepped forward, and, makinga military salute, said:

I dont go agin these men a gittinwhat they desarve, but I dontwant to have them skinned. Theirskins haint worth a-hevin only fortheir selves, and I hate to see whitemen whipped like dogs. If they wasInjins I wouldnt say agin it. But,bein they haint, I move they hev jestnine cuts o the Blue Beech apiece.

Forty, save one, was the customaryaward in such cases, and therewere a few dissenting voices, but themilder punishment was finally agreedupon.

If the two men under sentence feltany gratitude for the mitigation ofthe severity, they expressed none.Graves maintained a sullen silence,though his vengeful scowl expressedas much hatred of the prosecutors ofthe informal trial as did the stormof oaths and abuse that Felton letforth upon them in intermittent gusts.

So the night passed, with snatchesof sleep for some, with none for others,while the prisoners were kept underconstant guard. With daylight camethe summary infliction of the punishmentawarded. It was a scene socruel that Ruth and Martha could notbear to hear, much less to witness it,and Nathan, when an old man, saidit was a horrible memory. Yet, severeas was the chastisement inflicted bythe Green Mountain Boys upon theirpersecutors, it was no more cruel thanthe legal punishment of many light offencesin those days, when the whippingpost was one of the first adornmentsof every little hamlet. Inconclusion, Ethan Allen gave to Feltonand Graves a Certificate, writtenby himself, to the effect:

This is to Certify that the Bearerhas this day recd his Just Dues andis permitted to pass beyond the NewHampshire Grants. He Behaving asBecometh. In witness whereof, seethe Beech Seal upon his back and ourHands set Hereunto. Signed, EthanAllen and others.

Felton cast his upon the ground andstamped upon it, but Graves foldedand put his carefully in his pocket,glowering in silence upon his enemies.Then Ethan Allen broke the surveyorscompass with his own hands andtossed the fragments away.

Now, said he, in an awful voice,depart, and woe be unto you, MarmadukeFelton and Erastus Graves,if you ever set foot in the land of theGreen Mountain Boys. You othermen, if you come in peace and onhonest business, you shall not have ahair of your heads hurt. But if youever venture to come on such an iniquitouserrand as now brought you,by the Great Jehovah, you shall repentin sackcloth and ashes! Forward,march!

At the command, the surveyor andhis men filed off, and the last of thesullen and chap-fallen crew soon disappearedamong the trees. Theywere accompanied some distance bythe Green Mountain Boys, when theirbeloved chieftain rode away to redresswrongs of settlers in other parts.

By noon the clearing was occupiedby none but its usual tenants, and,henceforth, though they suffered frequentapprehension of further trouble,they were not molested by any NewYork claimants.

CHAPTER VIIIA NOVEL BEAR TRAP

You dont know of anybody hereaboutsthat wants to hire a good hand,I spose? asked a stranger one Augustafternoon, as, without unslinging hispack, he set his gun against the logwall beside the door, and leaned uponhis axe at the threshold.

By degrees Seth Beeman had enlargedhis clearing so far that healready needed stronger hands thanNathans to help him in the care ofthe land already in tilth and in thefurther extension of his betterments,but he scanned the man closely beforehe answered. Though unprepossessing,low-browed, and surly looking,he was evidently a stout fellow, andaccustomed to work. At length areply was made by asking such questionsas were a matter of course inthose days, and are not yet quiteobsolete in Yankeeland.

The stranger readily said his namewas Silas Toombs, that he was fromJersey way, and wished, when he hadearned enough, to take up a right ofland hereabouts, in a region he hadoften heard extolled by his father,who had served here in Captain Bergenscompany of Rogerss Rangers.Seth had previously ascertained thatno grown-up son of any of his neighborscould be spared to help him, sohe finally hired this man, who provedto be efficient and faithful, althoughnot a genial companion, such as anold-time farmer wished to find in hishired help. Ruth treated him withthe kindness so natural to her, thoughshe could scarcely conceal her aversion.This, if he understood, he didnot seem to notice any more than hedid the undisguised dislike of Nathan.

The remainder of the summer andhalf of the fall passed uneventfully,till one day, when Ruth had beencalled to the bedside of Mrs. Newton,who was ill of the fever so prevalentin new clearings, Nathan and his sisterwere left in charge of the house, whiletheir father and hired man worked ina distant field.

The children spent half the pleasantforenoon in alternate rounds of houseworkand out-door play, now sweepingthe floor with hemlock brooms,now running out into the hazy Octobersunshine to play Indians withNathans bow and arrows and Marthas rag doll.This was stolen andcarried into captivity, from which itwas rescued by its heroic little mother.Then they threw off their assumedcharacters and ran into the house toreplenish the smouldering fire, andto find that the sunshine, falling uponthe floor through the window, wascreeping towards the noon mark,making it time to begin dinner.

Nathan raised the heavy trap-doorto the cellar and descended the ladder,with butcher knife and pewter plate,to get the pork, but had barely gotthe cover off the barrel when he wasrecalled to the upper world by a loudcry from his sister:

Nathan, Nathan, come herequick!

He scrambled up the ladder andran to her, where, just outside thedoor, she was staring intently towardthe creek.

Who be them? she asked anxiously,as she pointed at two figuresjust disclosed above the rushes, asthey moved swiftly up the narrowchannel in an unseen craft.

I guess theyre Injins, saidNathan, after a moments scrutiny,and I guess theyre a-trappin mushrat.Lets run over to the bank andsee.

So they ran to the crown of the lowbank, where they could command agood view of the rushy level of themarsh, and the narrow belt of clearwater that wound through it, reflectingthe hazy blue of the sky, the topsof the scarlet water maples, the bronzeand yellow weeds, and, here and there,the rough dome of a newly built muskrathouse. At each of these the twomen, now revealed in a birch canoe,halted for a little space, and then,tying a knot in the nearest tuft ofsedge, passed on to the next. Therewas no mistaking the coppery hue ofthe faces, the straight black hair,though men of another race mightwear the dirty, white blanket coats,and as skilfully manage the lightcraft.

Yes, they be Injins, said Nathan,and I wish theyd let my mushratalone. But I spose theres enoughfor them and me.

Presently the Indians passed quitenear them, and one, speaking so softlythat the children thought his voicecould never have sounded the terriblewar-whoop, accosted them:

How do? You Beenum boy?

Yes, Nathan answered; andthen, obeying the Yankee instinct ofinquiry, asked: Be you gettin manymushrat?

No ketch um plenty, the Indianreplied. Ol Capenteese ketch ummos all moosquas, and Nathan understoodthat he attributed the scarcityof muskrats to Job, whose fame as ahunter and trapper was known toevery Waubanakee who visited thispart of the lake.

Me come back pooty soon, theIndian said, pointing up the creekwith his paddle. Den go house, seeum Beenum. Buy um some pig eese.1Spose he sell um leel bit?

[1]Pork

Nathan nodded a doubtful assent,and then, reminded of dinner-gettingby the mention of pork, caught Marthashand and hurried homeward,while the Indians resumed their wayupstream.

When the children entered the opendoor, they were for a moment dumbwith amazement at the confusion thathad in so short a time usurped thetidiness whereof they had left theroom possessed. The coverlets andblankets of one bed were dragged fromtheir place, two or three chairs wereoverturned, and the meal barrel wasupset and half its contents strewnacross the floor.

What in tunket, cried Nathan,when speech came to his gapingmouth. Has that old sow got outenthe pen? Then he saw in the scatteredmeal some broad tracks that aformer adventure had made him familiarwith, and he heard a sound ofsomething moving about in the cellar.

Its a bear, he cried, and hesdown cellar.

As quick as the thought and words,he sprang to the open hatch, andheaved it upright on the hinges, toclose it. But just as it hung in midwaypoise, the bear, alarmed bythe noise overhead, gave a startledwhoof, and came scrambling upthe ladder. His tawny muzzle wasabove the floor, when Nathan, withdesperate strength, slammed down thehatch, and its edge caught the bearfairly on the neck, pressing his throatagainst the edge of the hatchway.The trap door had scarcely fallenwhen the quick-witted boy mountedit and called to his frightened sisterto mount beside him, and with theirunited weight, slight as it was, theykept him from forcing his way upward,till in his frantic struggles hedislodged the ladder and hung by theneck helpless, without foothold.

The children held bravely to theirpost, hand in hand, while to the gaspingmoans of the angry brute succeededcries of anger, that were inturn succeeded by silence and loss ofall visible motion but such as wasimparted to the head by the hugebody still slowly vibrating from thefinal struggle. When this had quiteceased they ventured off the trap door,and, pale and panting, they stoodbefore the ghastly head as frightfulnow in death, with grinning, foam-fleckedjaws, protruding tongue, andstaring, bloodshot eyes, as it had beenin living rage. Nathan caught his sisterin his arms and hugged her, shouting:

Weve killed him. Weve killeda bear, while she, in the same breath,laughed and cried, till they both bethoughtthemselves of the dinner-gettingnot yet begun.

I cant get down cellar, saidNathan, for I dasnt open that door.What be we goin to do?

A grunt of surprise caught his attention,and, looking up, he saw the twoIndians at the door, staring withpuzzled faces on the strange scene.Then one, with a hatchet half uplifted,cautiously approached the grim head,which, after an instants scrutiny, hetouched with his hatchet and thenwith his finger.

He dead. You boy do dat?And Nathan told him all the adventure.The Indian gave the boy anapproving pat on the head that madeNathans scalp shiver.

You big Nad-yal-we-no. Toomuch good for be Pastoniac. Youcome long me to Yam-as-ka, I makeyou Waubanakee. Den be good forsometings. Nawaa, he said to hiscompanion, and the other coming in,the two reached down and laid holdof the bears forelegs, and when, bytheir instructions, Nathan lifted thedoor, they dragged the limp, shaggycarcass out upon the floor.

When the full proportions of thehuge brute were revealed, the boysrejoicings broke forth anew, just ashis father and the hired man camehurrying in, when he received freshpraise for his deed. The dinner wasbounteous, if late, and the Indians,Toksoose and Tahmont, had their fullshare of it, with a big chunk of porkand as much bears meat as they caredto take, which was small, since theyliked better the daintier meat of themusquash, wherewith their trappingafforded them an ample supply.

When toward nightfall the motherreturned, she was told the story bythe victors, and with equal delightwas it rehearsed when Job happenedto come, and the unstinted praise ofthe old hunter was sweetest of all.Many a day was the tale rehearsed forthe benefit of new listeners. Evenwhen Nathan was an old man, andlooked back on the many adventuresof his life, not one stood forth soclearly in the haze of the past as thisadventure with the bear, wherein hehad borne the chief part.

CHAPTER IXA FRONTIER TRAGEDY

One autumn day after the leaveshad faded and fallen, Nathan was busyhusking corn, with less thought uponhis task and the growing pile of yellowears than of a promised partridgehunt on the morrow with his goodfriend Job. His father was choppingin a new clearing. Silas had beensent with the oxen to take some logsto Lemon Fair Mill. His mothergrew uneasy at her spinning, for Sethdid not come home to dinner, nor yetwhen the afternoon was half spent.After many times anxiously lookingand listening in the direction of theclearing, and as often saying to herself,What does keep father so?she called to Nathan.

I guess youd better go and seewhat henders father so. I cant thinkwhat it is. I hope it haint anything.

Perhaps hes gone over to Callendersor some o the neighbors, saidNathan. I haint heard a tree fallfor ever so long nor his axe a goin fora long time.

Mebby hes cut his foot or something,said Martha, beginning to cry.

I cant hear nothin of him for allthe airs so holler and everythingsounds so plain, said Ruth, listeningagain. Youd better go and seewhat henders him. Mebby he cantgit home.

As the boy anxiously hastened tothe new clearing, the intense stillnessof the woods filled him with undefineddread. His ears ached for somesound, the tapping of a woodpecker,the cry of a jay, but most of all, for thesound of axe strokes or his fathersvoice. Silence pervaded the clearingalso.

There, on a stump, was his fathersblue frock, one bit of color in thesombre scene. And yes, there wassome slight flitting movement nearthe last tree that had been felled andlay untrimmed just as it had fallen,but it was only a bevy of chickadeespeering curiously at something on theground beneath them, yet voicelessas if their perennial cheerfulness wasdumb in the pervading silence. Sosick with dread he could scarcelymove, the boy forced himself to approachthe spot, and look upon thatwhich he felt was awaiting him, hisfather lying dead beneath the huge,prone tree, that had crushed him inits fall.

The glowing sunset sky and theglistening waters of the lake grewblack, the earth reeled. With a piteousgroan of Father! father! theboy sank down as lifeless, for a space,as the beloved form that lay besidehim in eternal sleep.

He awoke as from a terrible dreamto the miserable realization that it wasnot a dream. Then walking, as stillin a dream, not noting how he wentnor by any familiar object marking hisway, he bore home the woeful tidings.

Simple as were the funeral rites inthe primitive communities, they werenot lacking in the impressiveness ofheartfelt sorrow nor in the homelyexpressions of sympathy for the bereavedand respect for the dead. SoSeth Beemans neighbors reverentlylaid him to rest in the soil his ownhand had uncovered to the sunlight.They set at his head a rough slatestone, whose rude lettering could beread half a century later, telling hisname and age, and the manner of hisdeath.

Ruth was left in a sorry plight, sosuddenly bereft of the strong arm shehad leaned upon, without a thoughtthat it could ever be taken from her.Now she had only her son, a sturdylad, indeed, but of an age to be caredfor rather than to care for others.Toombs had proved better than helooked, kind enough, and a goodworker, and familiar with the needsof the farm. When his time was outshe had no means to pay his wagesnor could she well get along withouthim. So he staid on, taking a mortgage,at length, on the premises in lieuof money, and becoming more andmore important in Ruths estimation,though regarded with increasing dislikeand jealousy by her son, whofound himself less and less considered.

Months passed, dulling sorrow andthe sense of loss, and bringing manya bitter change. The bitterness ofNathans life was made almost unbearablepresently. His mother, ofa weak and clinging nature, inevitablydrifted to a fate a more self-reliantwoman would have avoided. Worriedwith uncomprehended business, andassured by Toombs that this was theonly way to retain a home for herselfand children, yet unmoved by thekindly advice of Seths honest friendsand neighbors, as well as the angerand entreaties of her son, she wentwith Toombs over to the Fort, wherethey were married by the chaplainstationed there.

With such a man in the place of hiswise and affectionate father, Nathanslife was filled with misery, nor couldhe ever comprehend his motherscourse. Though bestowing uponMartha and his mother indifferentnotice or none at all, towards the boythe stepfather exercised his recentlyacquired authority with severity, givinghim the hardest and most unpleasantwork to do, and treating him alwayswith distrust, often with cruelty.

I hate him, he told Ruth. Hessassed me every day since I come here,and Ive got a bigger job an that tosettle, one that Id ha settled withhis father, if he hadnt cheated me bygettin killed.

Oh, what do you mean? Ruthgasped. I thought you and Sethwas always good friends.

Friends! he growled, contemptuously;I hated the ground he walkedon. Look here, and Silas pulled outhis leather pocketbook and took fromit a soiled paper which he held beforeher eyes.

She read the bold, clear signatureof Ethan Allen, and, with a sickeningthrill, that of Seth Beeman under it.

Yes, Ethan Allen and Seth Beemanand his neighbors whipped a manfor claimin his own, and your boywent and gethered em in. Mebbyyou recollect it.

I couldnt help it, she gasped.I didnt see it. I run and hid andstopped my ears.

Well, Rastus Graves ould hasettled his debts if hed ha lived. Buthe died afore his back got healed over,and afore he died he turned the jobover to his brother, thats me, SilasToombs, or Gravestheyre the samein the end.

Ruth stared at him in dumb amazementand horror, while he proceeded,pouring forth his long concealed wrath.

Well, Ive got Seth Beemanswife, and, whats wuth more, his farm,an his childern right nunder mythumb. I hope he knows ont. Andnow, maam, lowering his voice fromits passionate exultation, you dontwant to breathe a word o this to yournice neighbors or to your young uns.It wouldnt do no good and it might beunpleasant all round. You dont wantfolks to know what a fool you be.

After this disclosure, Ruth lived, inweariness and vain regret, a life thatseemed quite hopeless but for lookingforward to the time when her soncould assert his rights and be herchampion. Her nature was one ofthose that still bend, without beingbroken, by whatever weight is laid onthem.

CHAPTER XREBELLION

One day Nathan was gathering ashesfrom the heaps where the log pileshad been burned and storing them ina rude shed. Close by this stood theempty leach-tubs awaiting filling andthe busy days and nights when thepotash-making should begin. It washard, unpleasant work, irritating toskin, eyes, and temper. It was naturala boy should linger a little as Nathandid, when he emptied a basket, andquickly retreated with held breath outof the dusty cloud. He looked longinglyon the shining channel of thecreek, and wished he might follow itto the lake and fish in the cool shadowsof the shore. He wished thatJob would chance to come throughthe woods, but Job lately rarely camenear them, for he was vexed withRuth for mating with this stranger,and the new master gave no welcometo any of the friends of the old master.His hands were busy as histhoughts, when he was startled byhis stepfathers voice close behindhim.

You lazy whelp, what you putterinbout? You spend half yourtime a gawpin. You git them asheshoused afore noon or Ill give ye askinnin, and Ill settle an old scoreat the same time, and Toombsswitched a blue beech rod he held inhis big hand. After seeing the boyhurry nervously to this impossibletask, he went back to his chopping.

The shadows crept steadily towardthe north till they marked noontime,and still one gray ash heap confrontedNathan. As he stood with a full basketof ashes poised on the edge of theash bin, Toombs appeared, with hisaxe on his shoulder and the beech inhis hand. You know what I toldyou, and Silas Toombs doesnt goback on his words; no, sir.

I couldnt do it. I tried, but Icouldnt get em all done!

Silas strode toward him in a fury,when Nathan hurled the basket ofashes full at his head, and dodgingbehind the shed was in rapid flighttoward the woods, when his assailantemerged from the choking, blindingcloud, sputtering out mingled oathsand ashes. In a moment he caughtthe line of flight and followed in swiftpursuit. The boys nimble feet widenedthe distance between them, buthe was at the start almost exhaustedwith his severe work, so that when hereached the woods his only hope layin hiding.

Silas, entering the woods, couldneither see nor hear his intended victim.Listening between spasms ofrushing and raging, he heard a slightrustling among the branches of a greathemlock that reared its huge, russet-graytrunk close beside him. Lookingup, he saw a pair of dusty legsdangling twenty feet above him.

Come down, you little devil, orIll shoot you.

I wont, said Nathan, half surprisedat his own daring; you cantshoot with an axe.

Im glad you made me think ont.Then come down or Ill chop youdown! As an earnest of his threathe drove his axe to the eye into theboll of the tree.

The boy only climbed the higher,and disappeared among the darkfoliage and thick, quivering rays ofbranches. Parleying no more, Silasbegan chopping so vigorously thatthe great flakes of chips flew abroadupon the forest floor in a continuousshower, and soon paved it all abouthim with white blotches. When thetrunk was cut to the middle, heshouted up another summons to surrender,but got no answer. Then hisquick, strong strokes began to fall onthe other side, steadily biting theirway toward the centre, till the huge,ancient pillar of living wood began totremble on its sapped foundation.Standing away from it, he peered upamong the whorls of gray branchesand broad shelves of leaves, but theydisclosed nothing.

Hello! Come down! Dont be afool! An I wont lick you. The treescomin an itll kill you. Still noanswer nor sound, save the solemnwhisper of the leaves, came down fromthe lofty branches. Youre a pluckyone, but down you come!

In a sudden blaze of passion at beingthus scorned, he drove his axe deepinto the trees heart. A puff of windstirred the topmost boughs. A shiverran through every branch and twig.Fibre after fibre cracked and parted.The trunk tremulously swayed fromits steadfast base. The sighingbranches clung to the unstable air.A tall, lithe birch, that had longleaned to their embrace, sprang fromit as in a flutter of fear, and then,with a slowly accelerating sweep, theancient pillar, with all its long upheldburden of boughs and perennialgreenery, went through its fellowsto the last sullen boom of its downfall.Toombs breathlessly watched andlistened for something besides theshortening vibration of the branches,some sound other than the swish ofrelieved entanglement, but no soundor motion succeeded them.

Nathan, Nathan, he called againand again.

He ran along the trunk lookingamong the branches. He felt underthe densest tangles, then cleared themaway with quick but careful axestrokes, dreading, in every moment ofsearch, that the next would reveal thecrushed and mangled form of the boy.Not till the shadows of night thickenedthe shadows of the woods did he quithis fruitless search. He knew the boywas dead, and, if found, what then?Well, for the present a plausible liewould serve him well enough.

Your boy has run off, MisToombs. You neednt worry. Hellgit starved out fore long and sneakback. And hell work all the betterwhen he does come. Boys has got tohave their tantrums an git over em.This device served so well to quietany graver apprehensions that Ruthentertained, he the more insisted onit. Likes not hes over to the Fort.Theyll make him stan round, I tellye.

He intended in the morning to renewhis search, but when it came hedared not go near that fallen tree, thedumb witness and concealer of hiscrime. When, from afar, he saw thecrows wheeling above the spot, orwhen at night he heard from thatdirection the wolfs long howl, heshook with fear, lest they had discoveredhis secret and would in some wayreveal it.

CHAPTER XIESCAPE

When the accidental shaking of thebranch disclosed his refuge, Nathanwished he had taken the easier shelterof a hollow log or the tangle of a windfall.The more so, when he caughtbrief, swift flashes of the axe gleamingup through the dark foliage and feltthe tree shiver at every sturdy stroke.But he had no thought of surrender.The trunk of the leaning birch, soslender that his arms and legs couldclasp it, had given him access to thiscoign of vantage and now offered aretreat from it.

Toombs was intent upon his work,with his back turned squarely towardthe foot of the birch, though barelysix paces from it. Escape, if at all,must be made while the chopper wason this side of the hemlock. Verycautiously he regained the birch whereit hid trunk and lithe branches in theembrace of the great evergreen, andthen worked downward, with an eyeever on his enemy underneath, makingswiftest progress when the axe felland its sound overbore the rustle ofthe birchs shaggy, yellow mane, thathis buttons scraped along. At lasthis toes were tickled by the topmostleaves of a low, sprangling hobblebush, then lightly touched by the lastyears fallen leaves and the soft mould.Then, as a flying chip struck him fullon the cheek, he loosed his hold onthe trunk and stole stealthily to theshelter of the nearest great tree.

The axe strokes ceased, but a glanceshowed him that Toombs was only wipinghis sweaty brow on his sleeve, ashe looked up into the tree and addressedits supposed occupant. As thefutile chopping was resumed, Nathancrept off through the undergrowth tillbeyond sight and hearing, when he ranupright so swiftly that he was a mileaway when the roar of the trees fallcame booming through the woods.

He sat down to get his breath anddetermine where t