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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.