Newspaper Page Text
98
During the walk they frequently stop
ped to reconnoitre; at which times Tom
kins, with his night-glass, would search
every visible point; but, although the
light of the misty moon, almost overhead,
w'as sufficient to reveal objects to the na
ked eye at the distance of eighty or a
hundred yards, and to the glass at ten
times that distance, he could discover no
thing amiss, or even suspicious. Beach
ing at last a part of the bluff where the
concealment suited his purpose, amid
some hillocks of sand blown up from the
beach below, he seated himself with Wild
cat by his side, and said to his young
companion,
“Now see if you can bring the canoes.”
Wildcat first rehearsed to himself in
very low tones the cry he wished to imi
tate, then putting his hands before his
mouth to deaden the peculiarities of the
human voice, he gave utterance to his
“00-00-uh-00-oo!” in tones so owl-like
that Tomkins looked around, almost ex
pecting to see two big eyes staring at him.
Not many minutes now elapsed before
two canoes appeared moving boldly down
the coast, within easy gunshot of shore,
one of them containing two persons, the
other only one, the companion to the last
being probably the hooter in the woods.
Tomkins kept his place of concealment
until they had passed, waiting to see
whether any others were to follow, when,
seeing how insignificant the force was, he
motioned Wildcat behind the breastwork
of sand, along which they both hurried
back to camp.
Scarcely, however, had they come with
in earshot of the sentinel when they
heard the peculiar voice of Simpson, who
was on duty, sing out three several times
in quick succession, first in English, then
in Indian, “ Who comes there ? Halt, or
I’ll shoot!”
The canoes did not halt, but with an
exclamation, seemingly of surprise and
wrath, hurried rapidly on.
“Halt, or I’ll shoot!” Simpson was
heard to say again, and immediately up
on his words came the flash and roar of
a musket. Tomkins ran as fast as he
could, halloing,
“Stop your shooting!” but, before his
command could reach its destination, an
other musket jarred the night air, quickly
succeeded by a third, while from the ca
noes came what sounded like a muttered
curse,* then the whistle of balls, accom
panied by the sharp crack of three suc
cessive rifles.
* T° the «redit °f the American aborigines, and espe
cially of the Cherokee tribe, it is said that they have or
tw w ad *r curse ' wor(ls ” in their language, and
that before they could be profane they had to learn Eng-
BURKE’S WEEKLY.
“ Them fellows came near hitting me !
said Simpson, in a deprecating tone to the
Sergeant, on his approach, pointing, as
he spoke, to a white spot on a cedar
which had been barked by a ball within
a foot’s range of his head.
“ What on earth possessed you to
shoot?” asked Tomkins sternly. “Do you
wish to bring the whole nation upon us ?”
“ I thought you put me here as sentry,”
Simpson replied, “ and that it is a sentry’s
duty to shoot if people do not stop.”
“That is his duty in time of war,
Tomkins answered ; “ but it is not a time
of war yet, unless your attack on the ca
noe has made it so. But how came you
with three guns ?”
“ I was pretty sure, from signs, that the
redskins would bo upon us, and I bor
rowed the guns to be ready for them,
Simpson explained.
Tomkins was exceedingly annoyed by
this unfortunate termination to his harm
lessly intended ruse in decoying the In
dians from their concealment. But the
deed and its consequences were now past
recall, and all that he could do was to
confer with Dr. Gordon on the increas
ingly serious aspect that their affairs be
gan to assume, and an their duty in the
premises.
“If blood has been shed by that fool
ish firing,” said ho, “ I am afraid our
cruise along the coast will not reach much
farther, for blood is an offence which no
Indian can either forgive or forget.”
This caused Dr. Gordon to ponder long
and anxiously. Eager as he was to pro
ceed, and all the more so in consequence
of that day’s experience, he questioned
the propriety of endangering, in his pri
vate cause, the lives of men who had no
interest in it beyond that of common hu
manity, and who had been kindly lent to
him by an officer whose account must be
rendered to a higher and it may be an un
sympathizing authority. While he was
silently meditating his duty, Tomkins,
whose quickened eye gave evidence of
some relieving thought, continued and
said—
“lt is ten to one that no blood has
been shed; for though Simpson is a capi
tal shot by day, he had poor chance for
a telling aim to-night. And, even suppo
sing the worst, that the Redskins come
upon us in force, why here we arc in a
boat, which, though called a barge, is
strong as any sea-boat need to be; in her
we can easily put out to sea, where their
little periwinkle canoes dare not follow.
All that I fear for, is your children that
we come out here to save, and I think we
are now moro bound than ever, as sol
diers, to do what we came to do.”
Dr. Gordon could not help admiring the
soldierly spirit of the man, at the same
time that he was gratified with the kind
ly interest manifested in his unfortunate
children; but he yielded his assent so
slowly and doubtfully to what was said
that Tomkins energetically reiterated :
“ I will leave it to the men whether it
would be manly in us to hesitate in such
a case as yours, for the sake of a little
danger. Why, sir, if we were to give it
up so, and the matter were known at the
Fort, we should never hear the end of it,
and I think we should deserve to be
cashiered and drummed out of the lines.
No, sir, we must keep on now, unless you
order us back, for your orders we are
bound to obey.”
“I certainly cannot take that responsi
bility, if I am to judge of your duty by
my feelings,” replied Dr. Gordon. “We
will, therefore, continue our cruise until
that duty is made plainer.”
With this conclusion, Tomkins, and the
men too, seemed satisfied. They turned
in to rest, while he went out to give in
structions in case of further disturbance.
There was nothing more, however, to
mark ‘the history of the night, except
that the hoot of the owl, coming from the
woods back of the encampment, was in
the course of time cautiously repeated,
and was answered by a hoot from the
coast below, accompanied by the screech
of a panther.
Clara Bell.
’Mid her springs first roses lying,
Lovely Clara Bell was dying;
Golden ripples from her head
Mantling half the snow-white bed,
And the violet of her eyes
Lit with rapture from the skies.
All unfearing death’s dark river,
Turned her spirit to its Giver,
As the infant to the breast,
Or the dovelet to its nest;
With a saint’s calm, meek behavior,
Leaned she on her trusted Saviour.
To the loved ones round her sighing,
“ Sing,” she said, “ while I am dying!”
And as faltering voices chanted
Os the shore for which she panted,
Her clay fetters downward flinging.
Clara stood with angels singing.
Fanny Fokrkstkr.
“My dear boy,” said a young Indy
to a precocious youth of eighteen sum
mers, “ does your father design that you
should tread the thorny and intricate
path of a profession, the straight and nar
row way of the ministry, or revel in the
flowery fields of literature ?”
“ No, marm ; dad says he’s gwinc to set
me to work in the tater patch.”
The righteous promise little and
perform much ; the wicked promise much
but do little.