Hills of the Shatemuc Part 32

She ran for her bonnet, seized her oars, and drew Mr. Herder with her down to the rocks.

It was a soft grey day; pleasant boating at that or at any hour, the sun was so obscured with light clouds. Elizabeth seated Mr. Herder in the stern of the 'Merry-go-round,' and pulled out lightly into the bay; he very much amused with her water-craft.

They presently caught sight of the other boat, moored a little distance out from the land, behind a point.

"There he is!" -- said Mr. Herder. "But what is he doing? He is not fis.h.i.+ng. Row your boat soft, Miss Elisabet' -- hus.h.!.+ -- do not speak wiz your -- what is it you call? -- We will catch him -- we have the wind -- unless he be like a wild duck --"

Winthrop's boat lay still upon the sleepy water, -- his fis.h.i.+ng rod dipped its end lazily in, -- the cork floated at rest; and the fisher seated in his boat, was giving his whole attention seemingly to something in his boat. Very softly and pretty skilfully they stole up.

He had something of the wild duck about him; for before they could get more than near at hand, he had looked up, looked round, and risen to greet them. By his help the boats were laid close alongside of each other; and while Winthrop and Mr.

Herder were shaking hands across them, Elizabeth quietly leaned over into the stern of the fis.h.i.+ng-boat and took up one or two books which lay there. The first proved to be an ill- bound, ill printed, Greek _and Latin_ dictionary; the other was a Homer! Elizabeth laid them down again greatly amazed, and wondering what kind of people she had got among.

"What brings you here now, Mr. Herder?" said Winthrop. "Have you come to look after the American Eagle?"

"Ha! -- no -- I have not come to look after no eagle; -- and yet I do not know -- I have come to see you, and I do not know what you will turn to be --the eagle flies high, you know."

Winthrop was preparing to tie the two boats together, and did not answer. Mr. Herder stepped from the one he was in and took a seat in Winthrop's. Elizabeth would not leave her own, though she permitted Winthrop to attach it to his and to do the rowing for both; she sat afar off among her cus.h.i.+ons, alone.

"I am not very gallant, Miss Elisabet'," said the naturalist; "but if you will not come, I will not come back to you. I did not come to see you this time -- I want to speak to this young American Eagle."

And he settled himself comfortably with his back to Elizabeth, and turned to talk to Winthrop, as answering to his strong arm the two boats began to fly over the water.

"You see," he said, "I have stopped here just to see you. You have not change your mind, I hope, about going to de Universite?"

"No sir."

"Goot. In de Universite where I am, there is a foundation -- I mean by that, the College has monies, that she is in right to spend to help those students that are not quite rich enough -- if they have a leetle, she gives them a leetle more, till they can get through and come out wiz their studies. This Universite has a foundation; and it is full; but the President is my friend, and he knows that I have a friend; and he said to me that he would make room for one more, though we are very full, and take you in; so that it will cost you very little. I speak that, for I know that you could not wish to spend so much as some."

It was a golden chance -- if it could but be given to Rufus!

That was not possible; and still less was it possible that Winthrop should take it and so make his brother's case hopeless, by swallowing up all the little means that of right must go to set him forward first. There was a strong heaving of motives against each other in Winthrop's bosom. But his face did not shew it; there was no change in his cool grey eye; after a minute's hesitation he answered, lying on his oars,

"I thank you very much Mr. Herder -- I would do it gladly -- but I am so tied at home that it is impossible. I cannot go."

"You can not?" said the naturalist.

"I cannot -- not at present -- my duty keeps me at home. You will see me in Mannahatta by and by," he added with a faint smile and beginning to row again; -- "but I don't know when."

"I wish it would be soon," said the naturalist. "I should like to have you there wiz me. But you must not give up for difficulties. You must come?"

"I shall come," said Winthrop.

"How would you like this?" said Mr. Herder after pondering a little. "I have a friend who is an excellent -- what you call him? -- bookseller -- Would you like a place wiz him, to keep his books and attend to his business, for a while, and so get up by degrees? I could get you a place wiz him."

"No, sir," said Winthrop smiling; -- "the eagle never begins by being something else."

"Dat is true," said the naturalist. "Well -- I wish I could do you some goot, but you will not let me; -- and I trust you that you are right."

"You are a good friend, sir," said Winthrop gratefully.

"Well -- I mean to be," said the other, nodding his good- humoured head.

Elizabeth was too far off to hear any of this dialogue; and she was a little astonished again when they reached the land to see her boatman grasp her friend's hand and give it a very hearty shake.

"I shall never forget it, sir," she heard Winthrop say.

"I do not wish that," said the naturalist. "What for should you remember it? it is good for nozing."

"Is that boy studying Latin and Greek?" said Elizabeth as she and Mr. Herder walked up to the house together.

"That boy? That boy is a very smart boy."

"But is he studying Greek?"

"What makes you ask so?"

"Because there was a Greek book and a dictionary there in the boat with him."

"Then I suppose he is studying it," said Mr. Herder.

Elizabeth changed her mind and agreed to go with the huckle- berry party; but she carried a book with her and sat in a corner with it, seldom giving her eyes to anything beside.

Yet there was enough on every hand to call them away. The soft grey sky and grey water, the deep heavy-green foliage of the banks, and the fine quiet outlines of the further mountains, set off by no brilliant points of light and shade, -- made a picture rare in its kind of beauty. Its colouring was not the cold grey of the autumn, only a soft mellow chastening of summer's gorgeousness. A little ripple on the water, -- a little fleckiness in the cloud, -- a quiet air; it was one of summer's choice days, when she escapes from the sun's fierce watch and sits down to rest herself. But Elizabeth's eyes, if they wavered at all, were called off by some burst of the noisy sociability of the party, in which she deigned not to share. Her cousin, Mr. Herder, Rufus, Asahel, and Winifred, were in full cry after pleasure; and a cheery hunt they made of it.

"Miss Elisabet' does look grave at us," said the naturalist, -- "she is the only one wise of us all; she does nothing but read. What are you reading, Miss Elisabet'?"

"Something you don't know, Mr. Herder."

"O it's only a novel," said her cousin; "she reads nothing but novels."

"That's not true, Rose Cadwallader, and you know it."

"A novel!" said Mr. Herder. "Ah! -- yes -- that is what the ladies read -- they do not trouble themselves wiz ugly big dictionaries -- they have easy times."

He did not mean any reproof; but Elizabeth's cheek coloured exceedingly and for several minutes kept its glow; and though her eyes still held to the book, her mind had lost it.

The boat coasted along the sh.o.r.e, down to the head of the bay, where the huckleberry region began; and then drew as close in to the bank as possible. No more was necessary to get at the fruit, for the bushes grew down to the very water's edge and hung over, black with berries, though us Asahel remarked, a great many of them were _blue_. Everybody had baskets, and now the fun was to hold the baskets under and fill them from the overhanging bunches as fast as they could; though in the case of one or two of the party the more summary way of carrying the bushes off bodily seemed to be preferred.

"And this is huckle-berry," said Mr. Herder, with a bush in his hand and a berry in his mouth. "Well -- it is sweet -- a little; -- it is not goot for much."

"Why Mr. Herder!" said Rose; -- "They make excellent pies, and Mrs. Landholm has promised to make us some, if we get enough."

"Pies!" said the naturalist, -- "let us get a great many huckleberry then -- but I am very sorry I shall not be here to eat the pies wiz you. Pull us a little, Wint'rop -- we have picked everything. Stop! -- I see, -- I will get you some pies!

He jumped from the boat and away he went up the bank, through a thick growth of young wood and undergrowth of alder and dogwood and buckthorn and maple and huckleberry bushes. He scrambled on up hill, and in a little while came down again with a load of fruity branches, which he threw into the boat.

While the others were gathering them up, he stood still near the edge of the water, looking abroad over the scene. The whole little bay, with its high green border, the further river-channel with Diver's Rock setting out into it, and above, below, and over against him the high broken horizon line of the mountains; the flecked grey cloud and the ripply grey water.

"This is a pretty place!" said the naturalist. "I have seen no such pretty place in America. I should love to live here. I should be a happy man! -- But one does not live for to be happy," he said with half a sigh.