"But who in this wild wood
May credit give to either eye, or ear?
From rocky precipice or hollow cave,
'Midst the confused sound of rustling leaves;,
And creaking boughs, and cries of nightly birds,
Returning seeming answer!"
Joanna Baihie, Rayner: A Tragedy, II.L3-4, 6-g.
Fear as much as calculation, had induced Hetty to cease paddling, when she
found that her pursuers did not know in which direction to proceed. She
remained stationary until the Ark had pulled in near the encampment, as has
been related in the preceding chapter, when she resumed the paddle and with
cautious strokes made the best of her way towards the western shore. In order
to avoid her pursuers, however, who, she rightly suspected, would soon be
rowing along that shore themselves, the head of the canoe was pointed so far
north, as to bring her to land on a point that thrust itself into the lake,
at the distance of near a league from the outlet. Nor was this altogether the
result of a desire to escape, for, feeble minded as she was, Hetty Hutter
had a good deal of that instinctive caution which so often keeps those whom
God has thus visited from harm. She was perfectly aware of the importance of
keeping the canoes from falling into the hands of the Iroquois, and long
familiarity with the lake had suggested one of the simplest expedients, by
which this great object could be rendered compatible with her own purpose.
The point in question, was the first projection that offered on that side of
the lake, where a canoe, if set adrift with a southerly air would float clear
of the land, and where it would be no great violation of probabilities to
suppose it might even hit the castle; the latter lying above it, almost in a
direct line with the wind. Such then was Hetty's intention, and she landed on
the extremity of the gravelly point, beneath an overhanging oak, with the
express intention of shoving the canoe off from the shore, in order that it
might drift up towards her father's insulated abode. She knew, too, from the
logs that occasionally floated about' the lake, that did it miss the castle,
and its appentages tje wind would be likely to change before the canoe could
reach the northern extremity of the lake, and that Deerslayer might have an
opportunity of regaining it, in the morning, when no doubt he would be
earnestly sweeping the surface of the water, and the whole of its wooded
shores, with glass. In all this, too, Hetty was less governed by any chain of
reasoning than by her habits, the latter often supplying the of mind, in
human beings, as they perform the same for animals of the inferior classes.
The girl was quite an hour finding her way to the point, the distance and the
obscurity equally detaining her, but she was no sooner on the gravelly beach,
than she prepared to set the canoe adrift, in the manner mentioned. While in
the act of pushing it from her, she heard low voices, that seemed to come
among the trees behind her. Startled at this unexpected danger Hetty was on
the point of springing into the canoe in order to seek safety in flight, when
she thought she recognised the tones of Judith's melodious voice. Bending
forward, so as to catch the sounds more directly, they evidently came from
the water, and then she understood that the Ark Was approaching from the
south, and so close in with the western shore, as necessarily to cause it. to
pass the point, within twenty yards of the spot where she stood. Here, then,
was all she could desire; the canoe was shoved off into the lake, leaving its
late occupant alone on the narrow strand.
When this act of self-devotion was performed, Hetty did not retire. The
foliage of the overhanging trees and bushes would have almost concealed her
person, had there been light, but in that obscurity, it was utterly
impossible to discover any object thus shaded, at the distance of a few feet.
Flight, too, was perfectly easy, as twenty steps would effectually bury her
in the forest. She remained, therefore, watching with intense anxiety the
result of her expedient, intending to call the attention of the others to the
canoe, with her voice, should they appear to pass without observing it. The
Ark approached under its sail, again, Deerslayer standing in its bow, with
Judith near him, and the Delaware at the helm. It would seem that, in the bay
below, it had got too close to the shore, in the lingering hope of
ntercepting Hetty, for, as it caine nearer, the latter distinctly heard the
directions that the young man forward, gave to his companion aft, in order to
clear the point.
"Lay her head more off the shore, Delaware," said Deerslayer for the third
time, speaking in English that his fair companion might understand his
words-"Lay her head well off shore. We have got embayed here, and needs keep
the mast clear of the trees. Judith, there's a canoe!"
The last words were uttered with great earnestness, and Deerslayer's hand was
on his rifle, ere they were fairly out of his mouth. But the truth flashed on
the mind of the quickwitted girl, and she instantly told her companion that
the boat must be that in which her sister had fled.
"Keep the scow straight, Delaware; steer-as straight as your bullet flies
when sent agin a buck - There, - I have it."
The canoe was seized, and immediately secured again to the side of the Ark.
At the next moment the sail was lowered, and the motion of the Ark arrested,
by means of the oars.
"Hetty!" called Qut Judith, concern, even affection betraying itself in her
tones. "Are you within hearing, sister- for God's sake answer, and let me
bear the sound of your voice, again! Hetty! -dear Hetty."
"I'm here, Judith - here on the shore, where it will be useless to follow me,
as I will hide in the woods."
"Oh! Hetty what is't you 4o! Remember 'tis drawing near midnight, and that
the woods are filled with savages and wild beasts!"
"Neither will harm a poor half-witted girl, Judith. God is as much with me,
here, as he would be in the Ark or in the hut. I am going to help my father,
and poor Hurry Harry, who will be tortured and slain, unless some one cares
for them."
"We all care for them, and intend to-morrow to,send them a flag of truce, to
buy their' ransom. Come back then, sister; trust to us, who have better heads
than you, and who will do all we can for father."
"1 know your head is better than mine, Judith, for mine is very weak; to be
sure; but, I must go to father and poor Hurry. Do y~u and Deerslayer keep the
castle, sister; leave me in the hands of God."
"God is with us all, Hetty-in the castle, or on the shore - father as well as
ourselves, and it is sinful not to trust to his goodness. You can do nothing
in the dark; will lose your way in the forest, and perish for want of food."
"God will not let that happen to a poor child that goes to serve her father,
sister. I must try and find the savages."
"Come back for this night only; in the morning, we will put you ashore, and
leave you to do as you may think right."
"You say so, Judith, and you think so; but you would not. Your heart would
soften, and you'd see tomahawks and scalping knives, in the air. Besides,
I've got a thing to tell the Indian chief that will answer all our wishes,
and I'm afraid I may forget it, if I do'n't tell it to him at once. You'll
see that he will let father go, as soon as he hears it!"
"Poor Hetty! What can you say to a ferocious savage that will be likely to
change his bloody purpose!"
"That which will frighten him, and make him let father go-" returned the
simple minded girl, positively. "You'll see, sister; you'll see, how soon it
will bring him to, like a gentle child!"
"Will you tell me, Hetty, what you intend to say?' asked DeerSlayer. "I know
the savages well, and can form some idee how far fair words will be likely,
or not, to work on their bloody natux's. If it~ not suited to the gifts of a
red skin, twill, be of no use; for reason goes by gifts, as well as conduct."
"Well, then," answered Hetty, dropping her voice to a low, confidential,
tone, for the stillness of the night, and the nearness of the Ark, permitted
her to do this, and still to be heard-"Well, then, Deerslayer, as you seem a
good and honest young man I will tellyeu. I mean not to say a word to any of
the savages until I get face to face with their head chief, let them plague
me with as many questions as they please I'll answer none of them, unless it
be to tell them to lead me to their wisest man-Then, Deerslayer, I'll tell
him that God will not forgive murder, and thefts; and that if father and
Hurry did go after the scalps of the Iroquois, he must return good for evil,
for so the bible commands, else he will go into everlasting punishment. When
he hears this, and feels it to be true, as feel it he must, how long will it
be before he sends father, and Hurry, and me to the shore, opposite the
castle, telling us all three to go our way in peace?"
The last question was put in a triumphant manner, and then the simple minded
girl laughed at the impression she never doubted that her project had made on
her auditors. Deerslayer was dumb-founded at this proof of guileless
feebleness of mind, but Judith had suddenly bethought her of a means of
counteracting this wild project, by acting on the very feelings that had
given it birth. Without adverting to the closing question, or the laugh,
therefore, she hurriedly called to her sister by name, as one suddenly
impressed with the importance of what she had to say. But no answer was given
to the call.
By the snapping of twigs, and the rustling of leaves, Hetty had evidently
quitted the shore, and was already burying herself in the forest. To follow
would have been bootless, since the darkness, as well as the dense cover that
the woods every where. offered, would have rendered her capture next to
impossible, and there was also the never ceasing danger of falling into the
hands of their enemies. After ~ short and melancholy discussion, therefore,
the sail was again set, and the Ark pursued its course towards its habitual
moorings, Deerslayer silently felicitating himself on the recovery of the
canoe, and brooding over his plans for the morrow. The wind rose as the party
quitted the point, and in less than an hour they reached the castle. Here all
was found, as it had been left, and the reverse of the ceremonies had to be
taken, in entering the building, that had been used on quitting it. Judith
occupied a solitary bed that nights bedewing the pillow with her tears, as
she thought of the innocent and hitherto neglected creature, who had been~
her companion, from childhood, and bitter regrets came over her mind, from
more causes than one, as the weary hours passed away, making it nearly
morning before' she lost her recollection in sleep. Deerslayer and the
Delaware took their rest in the Ark, where we shall leave them enjoying the
deep sleep of the honest, the healthful and fearless, to return to the girl
we have last seen in the midst of the forest.
When Hetty left the shore, she took her way unhesitatingly into the woods,
with a nervous apprehension of being followed. Luckily, this course was the
best she could have hit on to effect her own purpose, since it was the only
one that led her from the point. The night was so intensely dark, beneath the
branches of the trees, that her progress was very slow, and the direction
she went altogether a matter of chance, after the first few yards. The
formation of the ground, however, did not permit her to deviate far from the
line in which she desired to proceed. On one hand it was soon bounded by the
acclivity of the hill, while the lake, on the other, served as a guide. For
two hours did this single-hearted and simple-minded girl toil through the
mazes of the forest, sometimes finding herself on the brow of the bank that
bounded the water, and at others struggling up an ascent that warned her to
go no farther in that direction, since it necessarily ran at right angles to
the course on which she wished to proceed. Her feet often slid from beneath
her, and she got many falls, though none to do her injury; but, by the end
of the period mentioned, she had become so weary as to want strength to go
any farther. Rest was indispensable, and she set about preparing a bed, with
the readiness and coolness of one to whom the wilderness presented no
unnecessary terrors. She knew that wild beasts roamed through all the
adjacent forest, but animals that preyed on the human species were rare, and
of dangerous serpents there were literally none. These facts had been taught
her by her father, and whatever her feeble mind received at all, it received
so confidingly as to leave her no uneasiness from any doubts, or scepticism.
To her the sublimity of the solitude in which she was placed, was soothing,
rather than appalling, and she gathered a bed of leaves, with as much
indifference to the circumstances that would have driven the thoughts of
sleep entirely from the minds of most of her sex, as if she had been
preparing her place of nightly rest, beneath the paternal roof.
As soon as Hetty had collected a sufficient number of the dried leaves to
protect her person from the damps of the ground, she kneeled beside the
humble pile, clasped her raised hands in an attitude of deep devotion, and in
a soft, low, but audible voice repeated the Lord's Prayer. This was followed
by those simple and devout verses, so familiar to children, in which she
recommended her soul to God, should it be called away to another state of
existence, ere the returirof morning. This duty done, she lay down and
disposed herself to sleep. The attire of the girl, though suited to the
season, was sufficiently 'warm for all ordinary purposes, but the forest is
ever cool, and the nights of that elevated region of country, have always a
freshness about them, that renders clothing more necessary than is commonly
the case in the summers of a low latitude. This had been foreseen by Hetty,
who had brought with her, a coarse heavy mantle, which, when laid over her
body, answered all the useful purposes of a blanket Thus protected, she
dropped asleep, in a few minutes, as tranquilly as if watched over by the
guardian care of that mother, who had so recently been taken from her
forever, affording in this partirular, a most striking contrast between her
own humble couch, and the sleepless pillow of her sister.
Hour passed after hour, in a tranquility as undisturbed and a rest as sweet,
as if angels, expressly commissioned for that object, watched around the bed
of Hetty Hutter. Not once did her soft eyes open, until the grey of the dawn
came struggling through the tops of the trees, falling on their lids, and,
united to the freshness of a summer's morning, giving the usual summons to
awake. Ordinarily, Hetty was up ere the rays of the sun tipped the summits of
the mountains, but on this occasion her fatigue had been so great, and her
rest was so profound, that the customary warnings failed of their effect. The
girl murmured in her sleep, threw an arm forward, smiled as gently as an
infant in its cradle, but still slumbered. In making this unconscious
gesture, her hand fell on some object that was warm, and in the half
unconsciouss state in which she lay, she connected the circumstance with her
habits. At the next moment, a rude attack was made on her side, as if a
rooting animal were thrusting its snout beneath, with a desire to force her
position, and then, uttering the name of "Judith" she awoke. As the startled
girl arose to a sitting attitude she perceived that some dark object sprang
from her, scattering the leaves and soaping the fallen twigs in its haste.
Opening her eyes, and recovering from the first confusion and astonishment
of her situation, Hetty perceived a cub, of the common American brown bear,
balancing itself on its hinder legs, and still looking towards her, as if
doubtful whether it would be safe to trust itself near her person again. The
first impulse of Hetty, who had been mistress of several of these cubs, was
to run and seize the little creature as a prize, but a loud growl warned her
of the danger of such a procedure. Recoiling a few steps, the girl looked
hurly round, and perceived the dam, watching her moveftts, with fiery eyes,
at no great distance. A hollow tree; that once been the home of bees, having
recently fallen, the ther with two more cubs, was feasting on the dainty food
it this accident had placed within her reach; while the firsta jealous eye on
the situation of its truant and reckless young.
It would exceed all the means of human knowledge to presume to analyze the
influences that govern the acts of the lower animals. On this occasion, the
dam, though proverbially fierce when its young is thought to be in danger,
manifested no intention to attack the girl. It quitted the honey, and
advanced to a place within twenty feet of her, where it raised itself on its
hind legs, and balanced its body in a sort of angry, growling discontent, but
approached no nearer. Happily, Hetty did not fly. On the contrary, though not
without terror, she knelt with' her face towards the animal, and with clasped
hands and uplifted eyes, repeated the prayer of the previous night. This act
of devotion was not the result of alarm, but it was a duty she ne4~'er
neglected to perform ere she slept, and w~hen the return of consciousness
awoke her to the business of the day. As the girl arose from her knees, the
bear dropped on its feet again, and collecting its cubs around her, permitted
them to draw their natural sustenance. Hetty was delighted with this proof of
tenderness in an animal that has but a very indutThrent reputation for the
gentler feelings, and as a cub would quit its mother to frisk and leap about
in wantonness, she felt a strong desireagaintocatchitupinherarms,
anciplaywithit. Butadmonished by the growl, she had self command sufficient
not to put this dangerous project in execution, and recollecting her errand
among the hills, she tore herself away from the group, and proceeded on her
course, along the margin of the lake, of which she now caught glimpses again
through the trees. To her surprise, though not to her alarm, the family of
bears arose and followed her steps, keeping a short distance behind her;
appaiently watching every movement as if they had a near interest in all she
did.
In this manner, escorted by the dam and cubs, the girl proceeded nearly a
mile, thrice the distance she had been able to achieve in the darkness,
during the same period of time. She then reached a brook that had dug a
channel for itself into the earth, and went brawling into the lake, between
steep and high banks, covered with trees. Here, Hetty performed her
ablutions; then drinking of the pure mountain water, she went her way,
refreshed and lighter of heart, still attended by her singular companions.
Her course now lay along a- broad and nearly level terrace, which stretched
from the top of the bank that bounded the water, to a low acclivity that rose
to a second and irregular platform above. This was at a part of the valley
where the mountains ran obliquely, forming the commencement of a plain that
spread between the hills, southward of the sheet of water. J-Ietty knew, by
this circumstance, that she was getting near to the encampment, and had she
not, the bears would have given her warning of the vicinity of human beings.
Snuffing the air, the dam refused to follow any further, though the girl
looked back and invited her to come by childish signs, and even by direct
appeals made in her own sweet voice. It was while making her way slowly
through some bushes, in this manner, with averted face and eyes riveted on
the immovable animals, that the girl suddenly foundher steps arrested by a
human hand, that was laid lightly on her shoulder.
"Where go? -" said a soft female voice, speaking hurriedly, and in concern.-
"Indian- red-man-savage- wicked warrior- thataway."
This unexpected salutation alarmed the girl no more than the presence of the
fierce inhabitants of the woods. It took her a little by surprise, it is
true, but she was in a measure prepared for some such meeting, and the
creature who stopped her, was as-little likely to excite terror as any who
ever appeared in the guise of an Indian. It was a girl, not much older than
herself, whose smile was sunny asJudith's in her brightest moments, whose
voice was melody itself, and whose accents and manner had all the rebuked
gentleness that characterizes the sex among a peQple, who habitually treat
their women as the attendants and servitors of the warriors. Beauty among the
women of the aboriginal Americans, before they have become exposed to the
hardships of wives and mothers, is by no means uncommon. In this particular,
the original owners of the country were not unlike their more civilized
successors, nature appearing -to have bestowed that delicacy of mien and
outline that forms so great a charm in the youthful female, but of which they
are so early deprived; and that, too, as much by~the habits of domestic life,
as from any other cause.
The girl who had so suddenly arrested the steps of Hetty was dressed in a
calico mantle that effectually protected all the upper part of her person,
while a short petticoat of blue cloth edged with gold lace, that fell no
lower than her knees, leggings of the same, and moccasins of deer-skin,
completed her attire. Her hair fell in long dark braids down her shoulders
and back, and was parted above a low smooth forehead, in a way to soften the
expression of eyes that were full bf archness and natural feeling. Her face
was oval, with delicate features, the teeth were even and white, while the
mouth expressed a melancholy tenderness, as if it wore this peculiar meaning
in intuitive perception of the fate of a being who was doomed from birth to
endure a woman's sufferings, relieved by a woman's affections. Her voice, as
has been already intimated, was soft as the sighing of the night air, a
characteristic of the females of her race, but which was so conspicuous in
herself as to have produced for her the name of Wah-ta!-Wah; which rendered
into English means Hist-oh!-Hist.
In a word, this was the betrothed of Chingachgook, who -having succeeded in
lulling their suspicions, was permitted to wander around the encampment of
her captors. This indulgence w~s in accordance with the general policy of
the red man, who well knew, moreover, that her trail could have been easily
followed in the event of flight. It will also be remembered that the
Iroquois, or Hurons, as it would be better to call them, were entirely
ignorant of the proximity of her lover, a fact, indeed, that she did not know
herself.
It is not easy to say which manifested the most self-possession at this
unexpected meeting; the pale face, or the red-girl. But, though a little
surprised, Wah-ta!-Wah was the most willing to speak, and far the readier in
foreseeing consequences, as well as in devising means to avert them. Her
father, during her childhood, had been much employed as a warrior by the
authorities of the Colony, and dwelling for several years near the forts, she
had caught a knowledge of~he English tongue, which she spoke in the usual,
abbreviated manner of an Indian, but fluently, and without any of the
ordinary reluctance of her people.
"Where go?-" repeated Wah-ta!-Wah, returning the smile of Hetty, in her own
gentle, winning, manner - "wicked warrior that-a-way - good warrior, far
off."
"What's your name?" asked Hetty, with the simplicity of a child.
"Wah-ta! -Wah. I no Mingo - good Delaware - Yengeese friend. Mingo cruel, and
love scalp, for blood- Delaware love him, for honor. Come here, where no
eyes."
Wah-ta!-Wah now led her companion towards the lake, descending the bank so as
to place its overhanging trees and bushes between them, and any probable
observers. Nor did she stop until they were both seated, side by side, on a
fallen log, one end of which actually lay buried in the water.
"Why you come for?" the young Indian eagerly inquired- "Where you come for?"
Hetty told her tale in her own simple and truth-loving manner. She explained
the situation of her father, and stated her desire to serve him, and if
possible to procure his release.
"Why your fader come to Mingo 'camp in night?" asked the Indian girl, with a
directness, which if not borrowed from the other, partook largely of its
sincerity. "He know it war-time, and he no boy - he no want beard - no want
to be told Iroquois carry tomahawk, and knife, and rifle. Why he come night
time, seize me by hair, and try to scalp, Delaware girl?"
"You!" said Hetty, almost sickening with horror-"Did he seize you-did he try
to scalp you?"
"Why no? Delaware scalp sell for much as Mingo scalp. Governor no tell
difference. Wicked t'ing for pale face to scalp. No his gifts, as the good
Deerslayer alway tell me."
"And doyou know the Deerslayer?" said Hetty, coloring with delight and
surprise; forgetting her regrets, at the moment, in the influence of this new
feeling. "I know him, too. He is now in the Ark, with Judith and a Delaware
who is called the Big Serpent. A bold and handsome warrior is this Serpent,
too!"
Spite of the rich deep colour that nature had bestowed on the Indian beauty,
the tell-tale blood deepened on her cheeks, until the blush gave new
animation and intelligence to her jet-black eyes. Raising a finger in an
attitude of warning, she dropped her voice, already so soft and sweet, nearly
to a whisper, as she continued the discourse.
"Chingachgook!" returned the Delaware girl, sighing out the harsh name, in
sounds so softly guttural, as to cause it to reach the ear in melody - "His
father, Uncas-great chief of the Mahicanni - next to old Tamenund! - More as
warrior, not so much gray hair, and less at Council Fire. You know Serpent?"
"He joined us last evening, and was in the Ark with me, for two or three
hours before I left it. I'm afraid, Hist-" Hetty could not pronounce the
Indian name of her new friend, but having heard Deerslayer give her this
familiar appellation, she used it without any of the ceremony of civilized
life - "I'm afraid Hist, he has come after scalps, as well as my poor father
and Hurry Harry."
"Why he should'n't - ha? Chingachgook red warrior - very red-scalp make his
honor-Be sure he take him."
"Then," said Hetty, earnestly, "he will be as wicked as any other. God will
not pardon in a red-man, what he will not pardon in a white man.
"No true-" returned the Delaware girl, with a warmth, that nearly amounted to
passion. "No true, I tell you! The Manitou smile and pleased when he see
young warrior come back from the war path, with two, ten, hundred scalp on a
pole! Chingachgook father take scalp - grandfather take scalp - all old
chief take scalp, and Chingachgook take as many scalp as he can carry,
himself"
"Then, Hist, his sleep, of nights, must be terrible to think of No one can be
cruel, and hope to be forgiven."
"No cruel-plenty forgiven-" returned Wah-ta!-Wah, stamping her little foot on
the stony strand, and shaking her head in a way to show how completely
feminine feeling, in one of its aspects, had gotten the better of feminine
feeling in another. "I tell you, Serpent brave; he go home, this time, with
four, -yes-two scalp."
"And is that his errand, here? - Did he really come all this distance, across
mountain, and valley, rivers and lakes, to torment his fellow creatures, and
do so wicked a thing?"
This question at once appeased the growing ire of the half-offended Indian
beauty. It completely got the better of the prejudices of education, and
turned all her thoughts to a gentler and more feminine channel. At first, she
looked around her, suspiciously, as if distrusting eaves-droppers; then she
gazed wistfully into the face of her attentive companion; after which this
exhibition of girlish coquetry and womanly feeling, terminated by her
covering her face with both her hands, and laughing in a strain that might
well be termed the melody of the woods. Dread of discovery, however, soon put
a stop to this naive exhibition of feeling, and removing her hands, this
creature of impulses, gazed again wistfully into the face of her companion,
as if inquiring how far she might trust a stranger with her secret. Although
Hetty had no claims to her sister's extraordinary beauty, many thought her
countenance the most winning of the two. It expressed all the undisguised
sincerity of her character, and it was totally free from any of the
unpleasant physical accompaniments, that so frequently attend mental
imbecility. It is true that one accustomed to closer observations than
common, might have detected the proofs of her feebleness of intellect in the
language of her sometimes vacant eyes, but they were signs that attracted
sympathy by their total want of guile, rather than by any other feeling. The
effect on Hist, to use the English and more familiar translation of the name,
was favorable, and yielding to an impulse of tenderness, she threw her arms
around Hetty, and embraced her with an outpouring emotion, so natural that it
was only equalled by its warmth.
"You good-" whispered the young Indian-"you good, I know; it so long since
Wah-ta!-Wah have a friend-a sister-any body to speak her heart to! You Hist
friend; do'n't I say trut'?"
"I never had a friend," answered Hetty returning the warm embrace with
unfeigned earnestness. "I've a sister, but no friend. Judith loves me, and I
love Judith; but that's natural, and as we are taught in the bible-but I
should like to have a friend! I'll be your friend, with all my heart, for I
like your voice and your smile, and your way of thinking in every thing,
except about the scalps-"
"No t'ink more of him-no say more of scalp-" interrupted Hist, soothingly-
"You pale face, I red skin; we bring up different fashion. Deerslayer and
Chingachgook great friend,
and no the same colour, Hist and-what your name, pretty pale face?"
"I am called Hetty, though when they spell the name in the bible, they always
spell it, Esther."
"What that make?-no good, no harm. No need to spell name at all-Moravian try
to make Wah-ta!-Wah spell, but no won't let him. No good for Delaware girl to
know too much-know more than warrior some time; that great shame. My name
Wah-ta!-Wah-that say Hist in your tongue; you call him, Hist-I call him,
Hetty."
These preliminaries settled to their mutual satisfaction, the two girls began
to discourse of their several hopes and projects. Hetty made her new friend
more fully acquainted with her intentions in behalf of her father, and, to
one in the least addicted to prying into the affairs, Hist would have
betrayed her own feelings and expectations in connection with the young
warrior of her own tribe. Enough was revealed on both sides, however, to let
each party get a tolerable insight into the views of the other, though enough
still remained in mental reservation, to give rise to the following
questions and answers, with which the interview in effect closed. As the
quickest witted, Hist was the first with her interrogatories. Folding an arm
about the waist of Hetty, she bent her head so as to look up playfully into
the face of the other, and, laughing, as if her meaning were to be extracted
from her looks, she spoke more plainly.
"Hetty got broder, as well as fader?-" she said-"Why no talk of broder, as
well as fader?"
"I have no brother, Hist. I had one once, they say, but he is dead many a
year, and lies buried in the lake, by the side of my mother."
"No got broder- got a young warrior- Love him, almost as much as fader, eh?
Very handsome, and brave-looking; fit to be chief, if he good as he seem to
be."
"It's wicked to love any man as well as I love my father, and so I strive not
to do it, Hist," returned the conscientious Hetty. who knew not how to
conceal an emotion, by an approach to an untruth as venial as an evasion,
though powerfully tempted by female shame to err, "though I sometimes think
wickedness
will get the better of me, if Hurry comes so often to the lake. I must tell
you the truth, dear Hist, because you ask me, but I should fall down and
die in the woods, if he knew it!"
"Why he no ask you, himself?-Brave looking-why not bold speaking? Young
warrior ought to ask young girl, no make young girl speak first. Mingo girls
too shame for that."
This was said indignantly, and with the generous warmth a young female of
spirit would be apt to feel, at what she deemed an invasion of her sex's most
valued privilege. It had little influence on the simple-minded, but also
just-minded Hetty, who, though inherently feminine in all her impulses, was
much more alive to the workings of her own heart, than to any of the usages
with which convention has protected the sensitiveness of her sex.
"Ask me what?' the startled girl demanded, with a suddenness that proved how
completely her fears had been aroused. 'Ask me, if I like him as well as I do
my own father! Oh! I hope he will never put such a question to me, for I
should have to answer, and that would kill me!"
"No-no-no kill, quite-almost," returned the other, aughing in spite of
herself. "Make blush come - make shame come too: but he no stay great while;
then feel happier than ever Young warrior must tell young girl he want to
make Nife, else never can live in his wigwam."
"Hurry do'n't want to marry me- No body will ever want to marry me, Hist."
"How you can know? P'raps every body want to marry you, and by-and-bye,
tongue say what heart feel. Why nobody want to marry you?"
"I am not full witted, they say. Father often tells me this; and so does
Judith, sometimes, when she is vexed; but I hould'n't so much mind them, as I
did mother. She said so once and then she cried as if her heart would break;
and, so, I know I'm not full witted."
Hist gazed at the gentle, simple, girl, for quite a minute vithout speaking,
and then the truth appeared to flash all at nce on the mind of the young
Indian maid. Pity, reverence Lnd tenderness seemed struggling together in her
breast, and hen rising, suddenly, she indicated a wish to her companion hat
she would accompany her to the camp, which was situated at no great distance.
This unexpected change from the precautions that Hist had previously
manifested a desire to use, in order to prevent being seen, to an open
exposure of the person of her friend, arose from the perfect conviction that
no Indian would harm a being whom the Great Spirit had disarmed, by depriving
it of its strongest defence, reason. In this respect, nearly all
unsophisticated nations resemble each other, appearing to offer
spontaneously, by a feeling creditable to human nature, that protection by
their own forbearance, which has been withheld by the inscrutable wisdom of
Providence. Wah-ta!-Wah, indeed, knew that, in many tribes, the mentally
imbecile and the mad, were held in a species of religious reverence,
receiving from these untutored inhabitants of the forest respect and honors,
instead of the contumely and neglect that it is their fortune to meet with,
among the more pretending and sophisticated.
Hetty accompanied her new friend without apprehension, or reluctance. It was
her wish to reach the camp, and, sustained by her motives, she felt no more
concern for the consequences, than did her companion herself, now the latter
was apprized of the character of the protection that the pale face maiden
carried with her. Still, as they proceeded slowly along a shore that was
tangled with overhanging bushes, Hetty continued the discourse, assuming the
office of interrogating, which the other had instantly dropped, as soon as
she ascertained the character of the mind to which her questions had been
addressed.
"But you are not half-witted," said Hetty, and there's no reason why the
Serpent should not marry you.
"Hist prisoner, and Mingo got big ear. No speak of Chingachgook when they
by. Promise Hist that, good Hetty."
"I know-I know-" returned Hetty, half-whispering, in her eagerness to let the
other see she understood the necessity of caution. "I know-Deerslayer and the
Serpent mean to get you away from the Iroquois, and you wish me not to tell
the secret.
"How you know?" said Hist, hastily, vexed at the moment, that the other was
not even more feeble minded than was actually the case. "How you know?
Better not talk of any but fader and Hurry- Mingo understand dat; he no
understand t'udder. Promise you no talk about what you no understand."
"But I do understand this, Hist, and so I must talk about it. Deerslayer as
good as told father all about it, in my presence, and as nobody told me not
to listen, I overheard it all, as I did Hurry and father's discourse about
the scalps."
"Very bad for pale faces to talk about scalps, and very bad for young woman
to hear! Now you love Hist, I know, Hetty, and so, among Injins, when love
hardest never talk most."
"That's not the way among white people, who talk most about them they love
best. I suppose it's because I'm only halfwitted that I do'n't see the
reason why it should be so different among red people."
"That what Deerslayer call gift. One gift to talk; t'udder gift to hold
tongue. Hold tongue your gift, among Mingos. If Sarpent want to see Hist, so
Hetty want to see Hurry. Good girl never tell secret of friend."
Hetty understood this appeal, and she promised the Delaware girl not to make
any allusion to the presence of Chingachgook, or to the motive of his visit
to the lake.
"Maybe he get off Hurry and fader, as well as Hist, if let him have his way,"
whispered Wah~ta~~Wah to her companion, in a confiding flattering way, just
as they got near enough to the encampment to hear the voices of several of
their
own sex, who were apparently occupied in the usual toils of women of their
class. "Tink of dat, Hetty, and put two, twenty finger on mouth. No get
friend free without Sarpent do it.
A better expedient could not have been adopted, to secure the silence and
discretion of Hetty, than that which was now presented to her mind. As the
liberation of her father and the young frontier man was the great object of
her adventure, she felt the connection between it and the services of the
Delaware, and with an innocent laugh, she nodded her head, and in the same
suppressed manner, promised a due attention to the wishes of her friend. Thus
assured, Hist tarried no longer, but immediately and openly led the way into
the encampment of her captors.
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