CHAPTER XVII.
Day broke slowly and heavily under a gray cloud, and found LordH---- and the Indian chief still seated side by side at the entranceof the farmhouse. A word or two had passed between them in theearlier part of the night; but for many hours before dawn they hadremained perfectly silent. Only once, through the hours of theirvigil, had the Black Eagle moved from his seat, and that was nearly atmidnight. The ears of Lord H---- had been upon the watch, as well ashis own; but, though the English nobleman heard no sound, the chiefcaught a distant footfall about a quarter before twelve; and, startingup, he listened attentively.
Then moving slowly towards the door, he stood there a few moments, asstill as a statue. Presently Lord H---- caught the sound which hadmoved him, though it was exceedingly light; and the next instantanother dusky figure, not quite so tall as that of the chief, darkenedthe moonlight, and threw its shadow into the doorway.
A few words then passed between the two Indians in their nativetongue, at first low and musical in tone, but then rising high inaccents, which seemed to the ear of the listener to express grief oranger. Not more than five sentences were spoken on either part, andthen the last comer bounded away with a quick and seemingly recklessstep into the forest; and the old chief returned, and seated himself,assuming exactly the same attitude as before.
When day dawned, however, Black Eagle rose, and said in English,--
"Now, my brother, let the voice of the Cataract awake the maiden, andI will lead you on the way. Her horse has not yet come; but, if ithave not run with the wind or fed upon the fire, it will be herespeedily."
"Do you know, then, what became of it after it broke away from us?"asked Lord H----.
"Nay," answered the Indian, "I know not; but my steps were in yours,from the setting sun till you came hither. I was there for yoursafety, my brother, and for the safety of the maiden."
"We should often have been glad of your advice," observed LordH----; "for we were sometimes in sore need of better information thanour own."
"The man who aids himself needs no aid," answered Black Eagle. "Thouwert sufficient for the need; why should I take from thee the right toact?"
As they were speaking, the light step of Edith was heard upon thestairs; and the eyes of Black Eagle were fixed upon her, as shedescended, with a look which seemed to Lord H---- to have somesignificance, though he could not tell exactly in what the peculiarityconsisted. It was calm and grave; but there was a sort of tendernessin it, which, without knowing why, made the young nobleman fear thatthe Indian was aware of some evil having befallen Mr. Prevost.
His mind was soon relieved, however; for, when Edith had descended,the chief said at once,--
"Thy father is safe, my daughter. He passed through the fireuninjured, and is in his own lodge."
Edith looked pale and worn, but the words of the chief called a joyfulsmile upon her face and the colour back into her cheek. In answer tothe inquiries of Lord H----, she admitted that she had slept hardly atall, and added, with a returning look of anxiety, "How could I sleep,so uncertain as I was of my father's safety?"
She expressed an anxious desire to go forward as soon as possible, andnot to wait for the chance of her horse being caught by the Indians,which she readily comprehended as the meaning of the Black Eagle, whenhis somewhat ambiguous words were reported to her.
"They may catch him," she said, "or they may not; and my father willbe very anxious, I know, till he sees me. I can walk quite well."
The Indian was standing silently at the door, to which he had turnedafter informing her of her father's safety; and Lord H----, taking herhand, inquired in a low tone if she would be afraid to stay alone withthe Black Eagle for a few moments, while he sought for some food forherself and him.
"Not in the least," she answered. "After his words last night, and thethrowing of his blanket round me, I am as safe with him as Otaitsawould be. From that moment he looked upon me as his daughter, andwould treat me as such in any emergency."
"Well then, I will not be long," returned Lord H----; and, passingthe Indian, he said, "I leave her to your care for a few moments,Black Eagle."
The Indian only answered by a sort of guttural sound, peculiar to hispeople; and then turning back into the house, he seated himself on theground as before, and seemed inclined to remain in silence. But therewere doubts in Edith's mind which she wished to have solved; and shesaid, "Is not my father thy brother, Black Eagle?"
"He is my brother," answered the Indian, laconically, and relapsedinto silence.
"Will a great chief suffer any harm to happen to his brother?" askedEdith again, after considering for a few moments how to shape herquestion.
"No warrior of the Totem of the Tortoise dare raise a tomahawk againstthe brother of the Black Eagle," answered the chief.
"But is not Black Eagle the great chief of the Oneidas?" said Edithagain. "Do not the people of the Stone hear his voice? Is he not tothem as the rock on which their house is founded? Whither in the skycould the Oneidas soar if the Black Eagle led them not? And shall theydisobey his voice?"
"The people of the Stone have their laws," replied the chief, "whichare thongs of leather, to bind each Sachem, and each Totem, and eachwarrior. They were whispered into the roll of Wampum which is in thehand of the great medicine-man, or priest, as you would call him; andthe voice of the Black Eagle, though it be strong in war, is as thesong of the bobolink, when compared to the voice of the laws."
Short as this conversation may seem when written down, it had occupiedseveral minutes; for the Indian had made long pauses; and Edith,willing to humour him by adopting the custom of his people, hadfollowed his example.
His last reply was hardly given, when Lord H---- returned, carrying adry and rather hard loaf, and a jug of clear, cold water.
"I have not been very successful," he said; "for the people haveevidently abandoned the place, and all their cupboards but one arelocked up. In that, however, I found this loaf."
"They are squirrels who fly along the boughs at the sound of danger,and leave their stores hidden," said the Black Eagle. "But dip thebread in water, my daughter; it will give you strength by the way."
Lord H---- laid the loaf down upon the table, and hurried out of theroom again; but Edith had little opportunity of questioning her duskycompanion further before the nobleman's return. He was absent hardlytwo minutes; and when he came back he led his horse behind him,somewhat differently accoutred from the preceding day. The demi-piquesaddle was now covered with a pillow firmly strapped on with someleathern thongs which he had found in the house, thus forming it intoa sort of pad; and the two stirrups brought to one side, stretched asfar apart as possible, and somewhat shortened, were kept extended by apiece of plank passed through the irons, and firmly attached; thuspresenting a comfortable rest for the feet of any one sitting sidewayson the horse.
Lord H---- had done many a thing in life on which he might reasonablypride himself. He had resisted temptations to which most men wouldhave yielded; he had done many a gallant and noble deed; he haddisplayed great powers of mind, and high qualities of heart interrible emergencies and moments of great difficulty; but it may bequestioned whether he had ever smiled so complacently on any act ofhis whole life as on the rapid and successful alteration of his owninconvenient saddle into a comfortable lady's pad; and when he broughtout Edith to the door, and she saw how he had been engaged, she couldnot help rewarding him with a beaming smile, in which amusement had aless share than gratitude. Even over the dark countenance of theIndian, trained to stoical apathy, something flitted, not unlike asmile.
Lifting his fair charge in his arms, Lord H---- seated her lightly onthe horse's back, adjusted the rest for her feet with care, and thentook the bridle, to lead her on the way. The Indian chief, without aword, walked on before, at a pace with which the horse's swiftest walkcould hardly keep up; and crossing the cleared land around the house,they were soon once more under the branches of the forest.
More than once the
Black Eagle had to pause and lean upon his rifle,waiting for his two companions; but, doubtless, it was thedifficulties of the narrow path, never made for horses' hoofs, and notthe pleasure of prolonging conversation, and of gazing up, the while,into a pair of as beautiful eyes as ever shone upon mortal man, orinto a face which might have looked out of heaven and not have shamedthe sky, that retarded the nobleman on his way.
Six miles were at length accomplished; and then they came into themilitary high-road again, which led within a short distance of Mr.Prevost's cottage. During the whole journey, the Indian chief had notuttered a word; but as soon as he had issued forth from the narrowpath into the more open road, he paused, and waited till Edith cameup; then, pointing with his hand, he said--
"Thou knowest the way, my daughter; thou hast no more need of me; theBlack Eagle must wing his way back to his own rock."
"But shall we be safe?" asked Edith.
"As in the happy hunting-grounds," replied the chief. And, turningaway, he re-entered the trail by which they came.
Their pace was not much quicker than it had been in the more difficultpath. The seal seemed to be taken from Lord H----'s lips. He felt thatEdith was safe--nearer home, no longer left completely to his mercyand his delicacy, and his words were tender and full of strongaffection; but she laid her hand gently upon his as it rested on thepeak of the saddle, and with a face glowing as if the leaves of theautumn maples had cast a reflection from their crimson hues upon it,she said--
"Oh, not now, not now--for Heaven's sake spare me a little, still."
He gazed up in her face with a look of earnest inquiry; but he sawsomething there, either in the half-veiled swimming eyes, or in theglowing cheek, or the agitated quivering of the lip, which was enoughto satisfy him.
"Forgive me," he said, in a deprecatory tone; but then, the momentafter he added, with frank soldierly boldness, "Dear Edith, I maythank you now, and thank you with my whole heart; for I am not aconfident fool, and you are no light coquette; and did you hesitate,you would say more."
Edith bent her head almost to the saddle-bow; and some bright dropsrolled over her cheek. The companions remained silent, each communingwith his and her own thoughts for a short time.
They were roused from somewhat agitated reveries by a loud and joyouscall; and, looking up the ascent before them, they saw Mr. Prevost onhorseback, and two of the negro slaves on foot, coming down as if tomeet them. They hurried on fast. The father and daughter sprang to theground; and oh, with what joy she felt herself in his arms!
It is a mistake to think that affection cannot be divided. Love islike the banyan tree, which increases its own volume by casting forthshoots in every direction; and each separate branch grows andstrengthens by the other. At that moment--with her whole bosomthrilling with new emotions--with love for another acknowledged to herown soul--with the earnest looking forward to happiness with him,--oh,how much more strongly than ever she had felt it before, did Edithfeel her love for her father! What relief, what comfort, whathappiness, it was to her to find herself in those fond paternal arms!
It is unnecessary to give here the explanations that ensued. Mr.Prevost had little to tell. He had passed safely, though not withoutmuch danger and the scorching of his clothes and face, along thecourse of the stream, and through a small part of the thicker wood. Hehad found his house and all the buildings safe, and even the forestimmediately around still free from the fire, and out of danger, aslong as the wind remained easterly. Satisfied that his daughter wouldfind the farmer's family, and be kindly entertained, he had felt noanxiety on her account, till about an hour before, when her horse hadcome back to the house with the saddle and housings scorched andblackened, and the hoofs nearly burnt off his feet. In great alarm forEdith, Mr. Prevost had set out to seek her in haste. Her tale was soontold; and again and again Mr. Prevost shook her protector's hand,thanking him earnestly for all he had done for his child.
The distance to the house was not now great; and, giving the horses tothe negroes, the little party proceeded on foot, talking over theevents of the last few hours. When they reached the house, there weresomewhat obstreperous screams of joy from the women-servants, to seetheir young mistress return; and Edith was speedily carried away toher chamber for rest and refreshment. Breakfast was immediatelyprepared in the hall for Lord H----, who had tasted no food since themiddle of the preceding day; but he ate little even now, and there wasa sort of restlessness about him which Mr. Prevost remarked with someanxiety.
"My lord, you hardly taste your food," he said; "and either seem notwell, or not well at ease. I trust you have no subject of grief orapprehension pressing on your mind?"
"None whatever," replied Lord H----, with a smile; "but, to tell youthe truth, my dear sir, I am impatient for a few moments' conversationwith you, alone; and I could well have spared my breakfast till theywere over. Pray let us go into the other room, where we shall not beinterrupted."
Mr. Prevost led the way, and closed the door after them, with a graveface; for, as is usual in such cases, he had not the faintest idea ofwhat was coming.
"Our acquaintance has been very short, Mr. Prevost," said LordH----, as soon as they were seated--feeling, indeed, more hesitationand embarrassment than he had imagined he could have experienced insuch circumstances; "but I trust you have seen enough of me, takentogether with what you may know by general repute, to make what I amgoing to say not very presumptuous."
Mr. Prevost gazed at him in perfect astonishment, unable to conceivewhere his speech would end; and, as the nobleman paused, he answered,"Pray speak on, my lord. Believe me, I have the highest esteem andregard for you. Your character and conduct through life have, I wellknow, added lustre to your rank: and noble blood has justified itselfin you by noble actions. What on earth can you have to say whichcould make me think you presumptuous for a moment?"
"Simply this, and perhaps you _may_ think me presumptuous when I havesaid it," replied Lord H----: "I am going to ask you to give mesomething, which I value very much, and which you rightly value asmuch as anything you possess. I mean your daughter. Nay, do not start,and turn so pale! I know all the importance of what I ask; but I havenow passed many days entirely in her society,--I have gone throughsome difficulties and dangers with her, as you know--scenes andsensations which endear two persons to each other. I have been much inwoman's society,--I have known the bright and the beautiful in manylands; perhaps my expectations have been too great--my wishes tooexacting; but I never met woman hitherto who touched my heart. I havenow found the only one whom I can love; and I ask her of you with afull consciousness of how much it is I ask."
Mr. Prevost had remained profoundly silent, with his eyes bent down,and his cheek, as Lord H---- had said, very pale. There was a greatstruggle in his heart, as there must be always in a parent's bosom insuch circumstances.
"She is very young--so very young,--just seventeen!" he murmured,speaking to himself rather than to his companion.
"I may, indeed, be somewhat too old for her," said Lord H----,thoughtfully; "yet, I trust, in heart and spirit at least, Mr.Prevost, I have still all the freshness of youth about me."
"Oh, it is not that--it is not that at all," answered Edith's father;"it is that she is so very young to take upon herself both cares andduties. True, she is no ordinary girl, and perhaps if ever any one wasfit at so early an age for the great responsibilities of such a state,it is Edith. Her education has been singular--unlike that of any othergirl."
Mr. Prevost had wandered away, as was his custom, from the immediatequestion to collateral issues; and was no longer considering whetherhe should give his consent to Edith's marriage with Lord H----, butwhether she was fit for the marriage state at all, and what effect theeducation she had received would have upon her conduct as a wife. Thelover, in the mean time, habitually attaching himself and everythought to one important object, was impatient for something moredefinite; and he ventured to break across Mr. Prevost's spokenreverie, by saying--
"Our mar
riage would be necessarily delayed, Mr. Prevost, for sometime, even if I obtain your consent. May I hope that it will begranted to me--if no personal objection exists towards myself?"
"None in the world!" exclaimed Mr. Prevost, eagerly "You cannotsuppose it for a moment, my dear lord. All I can say is, that I willoppose nothing which Edith calmly and deliberately thinks is for herown happiness. What does she say herself?"
"She says nothing," answered Lord H----, with a smile; "for, thoughshe cannot doubt what are my feelings towards her, she has not beenput to the trial of giving any answer, without your expressedapprobation. May I believe, then, that I have your permission to offerher my hand?"
"Beyond a doubt," replied Mr. Prevost. "Let me call her; her answerwill soon be given, for she is not one to trifle with anybody."
He rose as he spoke, as if to quit the room; but Lord H---- stoppedhim, saying,--
"Not yet, not yet, my dear sir. She had little, if any, rest lastnight, and has had much fatigue and anxiety during the lasttwenty-four hours. Probably she is taking some repose, and I must notallow even a lover's impatience to deprive her of that."
"I had forgotten," said Mr. Prevost. "It is, indeed, true, that thedear child must need some repose. It is strange, my lord, how sorrowsand joys blend themselves together in all events of mortal life. I hadthought, when in years long ago I entwined my fingers in the glossycurls of my Edith's hair, and, looking through the liquid crystal ofher eyes, seemed to see into the deep fountains of pure emotions inher young heart--I had thought, I say, that few joys would be equal tothat of seeing her at some future day bestow her hand on a man worthyof her, to make and partake the happiness of a cheerful home. But nowI find the thought has its bitter as well as sweet; and memories ofthe grave rise up, to cast a solemn shade over the bright picturefancy drew."
His tone dropped gradually as he spoke, and, fixing his eyes againupon the ground, he relapsed into absent thought.
Lord H---- would not disturb his friend's reverie, and, walking gentlyout of the room, he gave himself also up to meditation. But hisreflective moods were of a different kind from those of hisfriend--more eager, more active; and they required some employment forthe limbs, while the mind was so busy. To and fro he walked before thehouse, for nearly an hour, before Mr. Prevost came forth and joinedhim, and then the walk still continued; but the father's thoughts,though they had wandered for awhile, soon returned to his daughter,and their conversation was of Edith only.
At length, when it was nearly noon, as they turned upon the littleopen space of ground in front of the dwelling, the eyes of thenobleman, which had been turned more than once to the door, rested onEdith, as she stood in the hall and gazed forth over the prospect.
"The fire seems to be raging there still," she said, pointing with herfair hand over the country towards the south-west, where hung a densecanopy of smoke above the forest. "What a blessing one of our heavyautumnal rains would be!"
Lord H---- made no reply, but suddenly left her father's side, and,taking the extended hand in his, led her into the little sitting-room.
Shall we follow them thither, and listen to the words theyspoke--shall we tear the veil from that young, innocent, gentle heart,and show, in the broad glare, the shy emotions only fitted to be seenby one eye beside that of God? Oh, no! They remained long together--toMr. Prevost it seemed very long; but when Edith's lover led her to thedoor again, happy tears were once more in her eyes, glad blushes onher cheek; and, though the strong, manly arm was fondly thrown aroundher waist, she escaped from its warm clasp, and cast herself upon thebosom of her father.
"She is mine!" ejaculated Lord H----; "she is mine!"
"But none the less mine," answered Mr. Prevost kissing her cheek.
"Oh no," said Edith, "no! Always yours, my dear father--your child."And then she added, while the glowing blood rushed over her beautifulface, like the gush of morning over a white cloud, "_your_ child,though his wife."
It cost her an effort to utter the word; yet she was pleased to speakit; but then, the moment after, as if to hide it from memory again,she said, "Oh, that dear Walter were here! He would be very happy, Iknow, and say I had come to the end of my day-dreaming."
"He will be here probably to-night," observed her lover.
"We must not count upon it," rejoined her father; "he may meet withmany things to detain him. But now, my children, I will go in, andmake up my journal, till the dinner hour."
Edith leaned fondly on his bosom, and whispered, "And write that thishas been one happy day, my father."
Alas, alas! that the brightest sunshine and the softest sky should sooften precede the day of storms! Alas, that the dark tempest-cloudsshould be so frequently gathering beneath the horizon all around us,when the sky above seems full of hope and promise! But so it is toooften in this life. The old geographers' fancied figure of the earthwas very like the earth on which human hopes are raised--a fair andeven plain, with a yawning precipice all round it.