Gaut Gurley; Or, the Trappers of Umbagog Part 15

"Nor can I, of course, on Mr. Phillips' statement," added Mark Elwood; "but, if I had not known his scrupulousness in matters of fact, I should not have believed that so strange a circ.u.mstance had ever happened in the world."

"So the story is voted gospel, is it?" rejoined the trapper. "Well, then, I propose we commission its author to cruise along the coves this afternoon, so that he may bring into camp to-night trout enough caught in that way to make up what Mr. Carvil may miss taking by _his_ method, together with a brace or two of nice ducks, which would be a still further fine addition to our supper."

"Yes, ducks or some other kind of flesh, to go with the fish, we may now safely count on being secured, by some of the various proposed methods,"

here interposed Claud Elwood, seriously. "And I second the motion of such a cruise along the sh.o.r.es, by Mr. Phillips, who so seldom fails of killing something. And if he, Mr. Carvil, and father, will agree to an exchange of boat companions for the afternoon, I should like to go with him. I have chosen him my schoolmaster in hunting, and I should have a chance for another lesson before we go into the separate fields of our approaching operations."

Gaut Gurley started at the suggestion, and cast a few quick, searching glances at Claud and the hunter, as if suspecting a concert of action between them, for some purpose affecting his secret plans; but, appearing to read nothing in either of their countenances to confirm such suspicions, and seeing all the rest of the company readily falling in with the proposal, he held his peace, and joined the others in handling the oars for their immediate departure; which was now in a few minutes taken, the main part of the company striking in a direct line across the middle of the lake for their destination, leaving the hunter and Claud moving off obliquely to the right, for a different and farther route among the intervening islands, and along the indented sh.o.r.es beyond,--where it will best comport with the objects of our story, we think, to accompany them in their solitary excursion.

"Where away, as the sailors have it?" said Claud, after the two, each with a single oar, had rowed on a while in silence; "where away, Mr. Phillips, or in the line of what object in sight would you lay your course?"

"Why, I had proposed, in my own mind," replied the hunter, "to steer direct across, so as to graze the east side of the great island you see yonder in the distance; but, as we shall pa.s.s so near the cove which lies snuggled away between two sharp, woody points here, a little ahead to the right, we might as well, perhaps, haul in and take a squint round it."

"What shall we find there?"

"Perhaps nothing. It is the place, however, where I found that deer which I killed when we were here before."

"Well, if you can count on another, we should turn in there now."

"We will; but a hunter, young man, must never talk of certainties when going to any particular spot in search of such roving things as the animals of the forest. He must learn to bear disappointment, and be prepared to find nothing where he or others had before found every thing. He must have patience. Loss of patience is very apt to be fatal to success in almost any business, but especially so in hunting. You spoke of taking lessons of me in the craft: this is the very first grand lesson I would impress on your mind. But we are now close upon the point of land, which we are only to round to be in the cove. If you are disposed to row the boat alone, now, keep in or out, stop or move on, as I from to time give the word, I will down on my knees in the bow of the boat, with c.o.c.ked rifle in hand, ready for what may be seen."

Readily complying, Claud carefully rowed round the point and entered the dark and deep indenture const.i.tuting the cove, whose few acres of surface were thrown almost wholly into the shade, even at sunny noonday, by the thickly-cl.u.s.tered groups of tall, princely pines, which, like giant warriors in council, stood nodding their green plumes around the closely-encircling sh.o.r.es. Closely hugging the banks, now stopping behind some projecting clump of bushes, now in some rock-formed nook, and now in the covert of some low-bending treetop, to give the keen-eyed hunter a chance to peer round or through these screening objects into the open s.p.a.ces along the sh.o.r.e beyond, he slowly pushed along the canoe till the whole line of the cove was explored, and they reached the point corresponding to the one at which they commenced their look-out for game, and all without seeing a living creature.

"Pshaw! this is dull business," exclaimed Claud, as they came out into the open lake, where he was left free to speak aloud. "This was so fine a looking place for game that I felt sure we should see something worth taking; and I am quite disappointed in the result."

"So that, then, is the best fruit you can show of my first lesson in hunting, is it, young man?" responded the hunter, with a significant smile.

Claud felt the implied rebuke, and promised better behavior for the future; when both seated themselves at the oars, and, as men naturally do, after an interval of suppressed action, plied themselves with a vigor that sent their craft swiftly surging over the waters in the line of their original destination.

They now soon reached, and shot along the sh.o.r.e of, a beautifully-wooded island, nearly a half-mile in extent, about midway of which the hunter-rested on his oars, and, after Claud, on his motion, had done the same, observed, pointing through a partial opening among the trees, along a visible path that led up a gentle slope into the interior of the island:

"There! do you catch a glimpse of a house-like looking structure, in an open and light spot in the woods, a little beyond where you cease to trace the path?"

"Yes, quite distinctly. What is it?"

"That belongs to the chief, and might properly enough be called his summer-house, as he generally comes here with his family to spend the hot months. He raises fine crops of corn in his clearing on there beyond the house, and saves it all, because the bears, c.o.o.ns, and squirrels, that trouble him else-where, are so completely fenced out by the surrounding water."

"Are the family there, now?"

"No; they have moved back to his princ.i.p.al residence, a mile or two distant, on a point of land over against the opposite side of this island, and not far out of our course."

"Indeed! what say you, then, to giving them a call as we pa.s.s by?"

"We shall not have time, which is a good reason for not calling now, if there were not still stronger ones."

"What stronger reasons, or what other reasons at all?"

"Well, perhaps there are none. But, supposing two of the company we left behind, who might happen to conceive they have some secret interest at stake, should ever suspect that your leading object in leaving them was to make the very visit you are now proposing, would you not prefer that we should have it in our power to set their minds at rest, when we join them to-night, by telling them all the places we _did_ touch at?"

"It is possible I should, in such a case," replied Claud, looking surprised and puzzled; "but, 'suspected,' did you say? _Why_ should they suspect? and what if they do?"

"Three questions in a heap, when one is more than I could wisely attempt to answer," evasively answered the cautious hunter.

"But you must have some reasons for what you said," persisted the other.

"Reasons founded upon guesses are poor things to build a statement on,"

rejoined the hunter. "Half the mischief and ill-feeling in the world comes from statements so made. And, guessing aloud is often no better. I rather think, all things considered, we had better not stop at the chief's, this time. I can show you where he lives, as we pa.s.s; and, if that will do, we will now handle oars, and be on our way."

Much wondering at the enigmatical words of the other, Claud, without further remark, put in his oar and thoughtfully rowed on, till they had pa.s.sed round the head of the island; when, on the indication of the hunter, they stretched away towards a distant promontory, on the northeastern sh.o.r.e of the lake. A steady and vigorous rowing of half an hour brought them within a few hundred yards of the headland, for which they had been steering; when the hunter lifted his oar, and said:

"There! let the canoe run on alone, a while, and give me your attention.

Now, you see," he continued, pointing in sh.o.r.e to the right, "you see that opening in the woods, yonder, on the southern slope extending down near the lake, eighty rods or such a matter off, don't you? Well, that, and divers other openings, where the timber has been cut down and burnt over, for planting corn, scattered about in the woods in different places, as well as a large tract of the surrounding forest-land, are the possessions of the chief."

"But where is their house?"

"Down near the lake, among the trees. You can't see much of it, but it is a smart, comfortable house, like one of our houses, and built by a carpenter; for the chief used formerly to handle considerable money, got by the furs caught by himself, and by the profits on the furs he bought of the St.

Francis Indians, who came over this way to hunt. But stay: there are some of the family at his boat-landing. I think it must be Fluella and her Indian half-brother. She is waving a handkerchief towards us. Let us wait and see what she wants."

The female, whose trim figure, English-fas.h.i.+oned dress, and graceful motions went to confirm the hunter's conjectures, now appeared to turn and give some directions to the boy, who immediately disappeared, but in a few minutes came back, entered a canoe, and put off towards the spot where our two voyagers were resting on their oars. In a short time the canoe came up, rowed by an ordinary Indian boy of about fourteen, who, pulling alongside, held up a neatly-made, new, wampum-trimmed hunting pouch, and said:

"The chief send this Mr. Claud Elwood,--gift. Fluella say, wish Mr.

Phillips and Mr. Claud Elwood good time."

And so saying, and tossing the article to Claud, he wheeled his canoe around, and, without turning his head or appearing to hear the compliments and thanks that both the hunter and Claud told him to take to the chief and his daughter, sped his way back to the landing.

"There, young man!" exclaimed the obviously gratified hunter, "that is a present, with a meaning. I would rather have it, coming as it does from an Indian, and that Indian such a man as the chief,--I would rather have it, as a pledge of watchfulness over your interests in the settlement, whether you are present there or absent,--than a white man's bond for a hundred dollars; and I would also rather have it, as a token of faith, given when you are roaming this northern wilderness, than a pa.s.sport from the king of England. The chief's _Totem_, the bald eagle, is woven in, I see, among the ornaments. Every Indian found anywhere from the great river of Canada to the sea eastward will know and respect it, and know, likewise, how to treat the man to whom it was given."

"But how," asked Claud, "could stranger Indians, whom I encountered, know to whom it was given, or that I did not find, buy, or steal the article?"

"Let an Indian alone for that. You have but three fingers on your left hand, I have noticed."

"True, the little finger was accidentally cut clean off by an axe, when I was a child; but what has that to do with the question?"

"Enough to settle it. Do you notice something protruding as if from under the protecting wing of the eagle of the _Totem_, there?"

"Yes; and surely enough it resembles a human hand, with only three fingers."

"That is it; and you may yet, in your experiences in these rough and sometimes dangerous wilds, know the value of that gift."

"At any rate, I feel gratified at this mark of the chiefs good will; the more because I was so little expecting it, especially at this time. How could they have possibly made out who I, or indeed either of us, was, at such a distance?"

"A very natural inquiry, but answered when I tell you that Fluella has a good spy-gla.s.s, that a year or two ago she brought, among other curious trinkets, from her other home in the old settlement. And she makes it often serve a good purpose, too. She has spied out, for her father's killing, many a moose or deer that had come down to the edge or into the water of the lake round the sh.o.r.es to drink, eat wild-gra.s.s, or cool themselves, as well as many a flock of wild geese, lighting here on their fall or spring pa.s.sages. She knew, I think, about the day we were to start, and, being on the lookout, saw the rest of our company pa.s.sing off here to the west, an hour or two ago, and, not seeing us among them, expected us to be along somewhere in this direction. Now, is all explained?"

"Yes, curiously but satisfactorily."

"Then, only one word more on the subject: let me advise you not to show that hunting-pouch when we join the company, nor wear it till we are off on our separate ranges. I have my reasons, but mustn't be asked to give them."

"All this is odd, Mr. Phillips; but, taking it for granted that your reasons are good ones, I will comply with your advice."

"Very well. The whole matter being now disposed of, let us move on round the point, and into the large cove we shall find round there. We mustn't give up about game so. No knowing what may yet be done in that line."