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MAROONEK’S ISLAND ;
OR,
Dr. Gordon in Search of His Children.
BY REV. F. R. GOULDING,
Author of “ The Young Maroonera.”
CHAPTER lll. —^Continued.
IIILE this sequel in the
conversation was going
/"• ,'MPBL on, Wildcat, who had
distance wfthin hearing,
•fIU began to show signs of great un
a easiness, especially for one trained
WA W as he had been to all the sobriety
* 4ft and stoicism of the Indian; he
shifted hastily his position, and looked
with searching glance deep into the eyes
first of his employer, then of Dr. Gor
don. Finally, he watched the opportunity
of a moment’s silence, when he glided
modestly up to the Major’s side and
whispered a word in his ear, who replied,
“ Certainly, Wildcat, I shall be glad to
do so, both for your own sake and for that
of the others. You are about the last one
I would think of stopping.”
The boy’s face flashed with delight. lie
murmured gratefully one single word of
his tribe, “ Enk-lis-chay!” * and then
quietly resumed his place as before. Not
perfectly understanding the language, he
had been somewhat uncertain whether or
not his going on the expedition depended
upon the contingency of the Major’s go
• ing too, and had come to inquire.
Resuming now his conversation with
the Doctor, and talking in an undertone,
the Major said:
“You will find that boy a perfect treas
ure. Not only is he true as steel in hi‘s
courage and fidelity, but he is quick as a
steel-trap in his perceptions of an exi
gency and in his device for meeting it. I
can commend him to your confidence as
well as to your care. The crew are pick
ed men and have a character to sustain.
I doubt not they v r ill prove themselves
orderly and obedient. Sergean t Tomkins,
whom I appoint in command, under your
direction, is skilled in the language and
habits of the Seminoles, generally—they
being composed, as you know, of refugees
from several different nations. He lived
among them so long that he is almost
half Indian in his own ways. Corporal
Wheeler, the man next him in position
and capability, has seen a good deal of
wild life in Mexico and the Rocky Moun
tains. Should you be so unfortunate as
to have any collision with the Indians,
these men will be invaluable. Os the
rest I know little, except that they are
*Good.
BURKE’S WEEKLY.
well behaved soldiers, and that they have
been selected by Tomkins with express
reference to their fitness for this work.
Yes, Simpson, that swarthy faced man
with black hair and with a down look,
that I confess I do not like, lived for some
years among the Eufaulas of Alabama,
and not only speaks the Muscogee lan
gmige, but can also understand and make
himself known in the grunts of the lichees,
of whom there are quite a number scat
tered along this coast.
“And now a word in your ear about
the Indians you will probably meet, if
you meet any at all. Some are friendly,
but the greater part are restless, dissat
isfied and ready at any time to break out
into hostility. My advice to you is that
you have as little as possible to do with
them; but if forced to communicate, let
your dealing, and those of the men, be at
the same time bold and conciliatory; for
there are no people who more admire
manhood, and it is to be supposed that
they are not insensible to kindness.”
Then lowering his voice to a whisper,
he added, “I trust, however, that these
seemingly imminent hostilities may be
averted ; for the despatches just now re
ceived inform me that a ‘ big talk ’ with
the chiefs is proposed to be held at Payne’s
Landing, to the northeast of Tampa, for
which I am ordered to make immediate
preparations.”
At this point, Captain Randolph ap
proached, saying, “I have a proposition
to make. It is this: that, unless your
instructions, Major, require my presence,
I will leave Tampa day after to-morrow
and sail close along shore, keeping a look
out for the young folks, or standing ready
to take the Doctor as far ICey West or
the Tortugas, if lie so desire; -at either
of which places he can engage wreckers
to scour the coast with or for him from
Cape to Tampa Bay.”
Major Burke replied, that he had seen
nothing in his instructions, so far as they
had been examined, to interfere with such
an arrangement, and that he would C -
teem any assistance of the kind rendered
to Dr. Gordon, in his efforts for the recov
ery of his children, as a favor done to
himself.
Dr. Gordon thanked both these gentle
men for their evidences of good will, and
said that, although he was unable to form
an opinion as to the desirableness of such
a measure, lie would esteem it a kindness
if Capt. Randolph would sail as close in
shore as convenient and keep a look out
for any signals that might be given, eith
er by flag or smoke.
And so they parted—Dr. Gordon, with
Wildcat in company, going aboard the
barge, while Major B. remained on the
cutter for the purpose of returning to
Fort Brooke.
—
A Mouse in the Pantry.
When I used to be out of temper, or
naughty in any way, if grandfather was
here he would call to me—“ Mary, Mary,
take care! there’s a mouse in the pan
try !”
I often used to stop crying at this, and
stand wondering what he meant. I often
ran to the pantry, too, to see. if there was
really a mouse in the trap; but never
found one. One day I said —
“ Grandfather, I don’t know what you
mean. I have no pantry, and there are
no mice in mother’s, because I have look
ed ever so often.” He smiled and said—-
“ Come, little woman, sit down here in
the porch with me, and I’ll tell you what
I mean. Your heart, Mary, is the pantry.
The little sins are the mice that get in
and nibble'away all the good, and that
makes you sometimes cross and peevish
and fretful, unwilling to do as your moth
er wishes; and if you do not strive
against them, the mice will keep nibbling
till all the good is eaten away. Now, I
want to show you, my little girl, how to
prevent this. To keep the mice out you
must set a trap for them—the trap of
watchfulness ; and have for the bait good
resolutions and firmness.”
“ But, mother,” said Nancy, now quite
interested in the story, “ wouldn’t they
nibble the resolutions away, too, after a
while ?”
“No, Nancy; not if the watch was
kept strictly and the bait a good one. I
did not exactly understand it when grand
father first told me, for I was such a very
little girl; but I knew it was meant for
me in some way, and after a while I be
gan to find out what he meant. He told
me too that I might store my pantry
with good things if I watched it well. Do
you know what that means, Nancy?”
“To be full of good always,” said Nan
cy, whose tears were dried now.
“Yes; to store it with good principles,
good thoughts and kind feelings.”— Early
Bays.
Echoes.
Os what has Heaven given us an equal
share? Air.
What does a rumor often do when it
flies ? Lies.
Which is the loveliest flower that grows?
Rose.
W hose children are wo apt to think the
sweetest flowers ? Ours.