CHAPTER THIRTEEN.
A CUNNING DEVICE ENDS IN FAILURE FOLLOWED BY DESTRUCTION.
In a previous chapter it has been told how the long hard winter of thatyear, (1826), had passed away, after an unwontedly severe tussle withthe spring. The prophets of the land now began to hold up their headsand look owlishly wise, for their predictions were evidently about to befulfilled.
Had not old Sam Ravenshaw said all through the winter that "somethingwould come of it"? Was it not the daily remark of Angus Macdonald thatsuch a state of things, "could not go on for ever--whatever"? Had notPeegwish glared prophecy with a degree of solemnity that rendered wordsnot only impossible, but unnecessary? and had not Miss Trim assertedthat dreadful consequences of some sort were _sure_ to follow?
Dreadful consequences did follow, and they began with a fine warm day.For a considerable time the fields of snow had been subjected to theinfluence of the blazing sun, and had been greatly diminished in depth.The day in question, however, was so very warm that Louis Lambert wasinduced to take his horse and gun with a view to wolf-hunting on theplains. The hard crust formed on the snow's surface by the partialmeltings of early spring is sufficiently strong to bear the weight of awolf, but will not support a horse. Wolves, therefore, roam about withease and at will at that period, while horses are obliged to keep tobeaten tracks. When, however, the thaws set in, the case is reversed.The wolf, with his short limbs, flounders laboriously in the drifts ofsoft snow, while the horse, with his long and powerful legs, can gallopin spite of these. Thus wolf-hunting becomes, for a time, possible.
Louis Lambert was fond of the chase. He was also fond of courting, and,resolving to combine the two, galloped away to the abode of oldRavenshaw. He had been there so often of late that he felt half ashamedof this early morning visit. Lovers easily find excuses for visits. Heresolved to ask if Herr Winklemann had been seen passing that morning,as he wished his companionship on the plains--the shallow deceiver!
"Good-morning, Cora," he said, on entering the hall.
Elsie, who stood at the window with her back to the door, turned quicklyround.
"Oh, I beg pardon," he said, with a slightly confused air; "I thoughtyou were Cora, and--"
"Well," interrupted Elsie, with a hurt look that accorded ill with atwinkle in her eyes; "I think you might know the difference between meand Cora by this time, though you only saw my back."
"Ah, Elsie!" returned the youth, as he shook hands, "you ought infairness to make allowance for the effects of spring. You know fullwell that the glare of the sun on the snow half blinds a fellow, so thateven when, when--"
"Come, now, don't search about in your empty brain for one of yourunmeaning compliments, but say at once what brings you here at so earlyan hour. Has a war party of Sioux come down on us, or is the riverabout to break up?"
"War-parties of Sioux are no doubt prowling about the plains somewhere,"returned Lambert, with a smile, "and the ice will go soon if this heatcontinues; but neither of these things brought me here. The truth is, Icame to ask if Winklemann has been seen to pass your windows thismorning?"
"The truth?" repeated Elsie, with a searching look.
"Well," replied the youth, with a laugh, "I came also to see you and--and--Cora."
"And father also, I suppose?"
"Why, Elsie, you are unusually sharp this morning; but I really do wishto know if Winklemann has been seen, because he had left home when Ipassed his house, and I want him to hunt with me."
"Then I may tell you that he passed our window not ten minutes beforeyour arrival, going in the direction of the Lower Fort. He rides fast,as you know, so if you would catch him up you must follow quickly."
The young man stood for a moment undecided, then, perceiving that Elsiegave him no encouragement to remain, he bade her adieu and rode away.
"Louis is remarkably fond of coming here," said Elsie to Cora, whoentered the room a few minutes later, "but he did not come to see _us_this morning. He only came to ask after Herr Winklemann."
Cora laughed, but gave no further evidence of the state of her mind.
Just then Peegwish the Indian entered. He walked towards the sisterswith that solemn dignity of manner peculiar to the North Americansavage, but the intensified solemnity of his looks and a certainunsteadiness in his gait rather marred the dignity.
"Peegwish," said Elsie, going towards him with a grieved look, "you havebeen drinking beer again."
The Indian protested, in very bad English, that he had not tasted beersince the previous Christmas; whereupon Elsie proceeded to administer anearnest reproof to the muddled hypocrite, for she was really anxious tosave him from the destruction which had already overtaken many of hisred brethren through the baleful influence of fire-water; but Peegwishwas just then in no condition to appreciate her remarks. To all shesaid his only reply was that he wanted "bally."
"You want bally?" returned Elsie, with a puzzled look.
"Yis--bally," he repeated, and a gleam of indescribable slyness brokelike a sunbeam on his solemn visage as he said it.
"What can he mean by bally, Cora?"
"Perhaps he means barley."
"Ho!" exclaimed the Indian, with emphasis, by which he meant, "You'reright."
But Elsie had no barley to give him. She tried to find out what hewanted to do with the barley, but Peegwish was not communicative. Thegleam of cunning faded from his mahogany countenance, and he relapsedinto a state of impenetrable wisdom, in which condition he retired, andbetook himself to the upper part of the settlement, near Fort Garry, inquest of "bally." Here he found the people in a state of considerableexcitement owing to the sudden and unusual rise of the river.
At Fort Garry the Assinaboine River joins the Red River, and flows withit into Lake Winnipeg. At the period of which we write, (the month ofMay), both rivers were yet covered with the icy garment--between fourand five feet thick--under which they had gone to rest five or sixmonths before. The vast accumulation of snow which had fallen thatwinter was melted so fast that the Red River had risen with terriblerapidity, and it was obvious, from the ominous complainings of the"thick-ribbed ice," that a burst-up of unwonted violence was impending.The strength of the ice, however, was so great that it rose with theswelling waters without breaking until nearly on a level with the top ofthe river banks. In some places, where the banks were low, the pent-upfloods broke forth and swamped the land, but as yet little damage hadbeen done.
Of course the alarm of the settlers was considerable. Rumours of formerfloods which had devastated the surrounding plains were rife, and thoseof the people whose houses stood on the lower grounds began to removetheir goods and chattels to higher places. Others delayed doing so inthe belief that the river would not rise much higher, at all events thatit would subside as soon as the ice broke up and cleared away to LakeWinnipeg. Some there were whose dwellings stood on high ground, and whoprofessed to have no belief in floods at all.
In other circumstances Peegwish would have noted the state of thingsthat prevailed, but at that time his faculties were steeped in beer.For some days past they had been in this condition, but his supply wasexhausted, and people who knew his propensity refused to give him more.Peegwish, therefore, being a somewhat resolute savage, resolved to adopta course which would render him independent. Chuckling to himself atthe depth and cunning of his intended course of action, he went amongthe farmers begging for "bally"! Some to whom he appealed treated himfacetiously, others turned him away from their doors, being too anxiousabout the impending flood to listen to him. At last he found asoft-hearted soul in the person of Michel Rollin's mother, old Liz, whodwelt in a very small log-hut on a knoll at a considerable height abovethe river.
"What d'ee want wi' the barley?" demanded old Liz, who, besides beingamiable, had a feeling of kindness for the man with whom her absent sonhad for years been in the habit of hunting.
"To heat 'im," replied the Indian.
"To eat it," echoed the sturdy little woma
n; "weel, come in. I canspare some, but dinna mak' a noise, Daddy's sleepin'."
The savage entered with solemn though wavering caution. Old though shewas, Liz had a living father. He was so very ancient, that if he haddwelt in Egypt he would probably have been taken for a live mummy. Hesat in the chimney corner, in an arm-chair to which Liz had tied him toprevent his falling into the fire. He smiled and nodded at the firewhen awake, and snored and nodded at it when asleep. Beyond this, and agrateful recognition of his daughter's attentions, he did and saidnothing. Gazing at Daddy, Peegwish fell into an owlish reverie, fromwhich he was aroused by old Liz putting a small sack of barley on theground before him. The Indian received it with thanks, threw it on hisshoulder, and with an expression of unalterable determination on hisvisage, returned to his own home.
The home of Peegwish was dilapidated like himself. It stood on aportion of ground belonging to Angus Macdonald, and was very near to theriver's brink. It was a mere log-cabin of the smallest dimensions,having one low door and one glassless window. The window also servedthe purpose of a chimney. Its furniture was in keeping with itsappearance--a stool, a couple of blankets, two little heaps of brushwoodfor beds, a kettle or two, a bag of pemmican, an old flint gun, twopairs of snow-shoes, a pair of canoe-paddles, a couple of very dirtybundles, and an old female. The latter was the dirtiest piece offurniture in the establishment. She was sister to Peegwish, and wasnamed by him Wildcat.
Despite appearances, the hut was comfortably warm, for Wildcat--who, todo her justice, had been grossly misnamed--was fond of heat. Shedevoted the chief part of her existence to the collection of fuel, mostof the remainder being spent in making moccasins, etcetera, and cooking.
"Put on the pot, Wildcat," said Peegwish on entering, as he threw downthe sack of barley.
The woman obeyed with alacrity. The fire burned on the earthen floor inprimitive style. Erecting three sticks over it in the tripod form, shehung a pot therefrom, filled it with water, and awaited further orders.Knowing her brother's cast of mind well, she refrained from questioning,though she perceived from the peculiar cunning of his looks thatsomething unusual occupied his mind. Peegwish saw that Wildcat'scuriosity was aroused, and resolved to keep it in that condition. Hehad learned the fact that beer was made from barley, and had resolved,thenceforth, to brew his own beer; but no hint of this did he permit toescape him. He even went to the other extreme, and became unusuallycommunicative on subjects remote from beer. He told how that the peopleup the river were being frightened by the rise in the water; how he hadmet Lambert and Winklemann going to hunt wolves; how these Nimrods hadbeen obliged to change their minds and turn back for the purpose oflooking after their property; and, in short, he wandered as far from thesubject of beer and brewing as possible.
His reference to the rise of the river, however, turned Wildcat'sthoughts to the fact that the ice in their immediate neighbourhood hadbeen forced up in a manner that caused her some anxiety. She mentionedher fears to Peegwish, but that worthy was too deeply immersed in hisexperiments just then to care much for anything else. To her remarks hemerely replied by a solemn shake of the head and an owlish gaze into thebig pot.
Soon the water in the pot began to boil. Peegwish put in a largeproportion of barley, lighted his pipe, and sat down to await the resultwith the patience of a Stoic. Wildcat sat beside him with equalpatience. An hour passed, Peegwish dipped a wooden spoon into the potand tasted. The result was not satisfactory--it burnt his lips. He letthe spoonful cool, and tried again. The liquid was marvellously likebarley-broth, with which delicacy he was well acquainted. Another hourpassed; again he dipped the spoon, and again met with disappointment,for his brew was not yet beer. The sun went down, the moon arose, thestars came out, and still Peegwish and Wildcat sat watching and dozingover the big pot.
At last the former bade the latter watch alone while he slept. He layback where he sat and slumbered instantly. Wildcat obeyed orders byheaping fresh logs on the fire and following suit. They snored inconcert.
The night advanced; the uneasy grindings of the ice increased; thetinkling of a thousand snow-born rills filled the air with liquidmelody. The sub-glacial murmuring of many waters filled many heartswith anxious care, and numerous households near the river's brink sat upthe live-long night to watch--perhaps to pray. Intermittent cracking ofthe ice kept up the sound, as it were, of spattering musketry, andoccasional loud reports were interspersed like the thunder of heavyguns.
At grey dawn Peegwish awoke, looked slowly round, observed his sisterasleep, and seized her by the nose. She awoke, rose hastily, andstirred the fire. An inspection of the big pot showed that its contentshad become barley porridge. Even Peegwish's imagination failed toregard it as beer. But Peegwish had been somewhat sobered by his sleep.Hearing the ominous sounds on the river he jumped up and ran outside.The sight that presented itself was sufficiently alarming. During thenight the water had risen six feet, and the ice had been raised to alevel with the floor of the Indian's hut. But this was not the worst.A short tongue of land just above the hut had up to that time formed asort of breakwater to the dwelling. Now, however, the ice had beenforced quite over the barrier by the irresistible pressure behind, andeven while he gazed a great wedge of ice, nearly five feet thick andseveral yards in length, was being reared up like a glittering obelisk,and forced slowly but surely down upon the hut.
Peegwish had not recovered from his first surprise when the obeliskbroke off by its own weight and fell in a mass of ruins, whilst the icebehind kept thrusting with terrible force towards him.
If Peegwish was sluggish by nature his malady was evidently notincurable. He uttered a shout, and leaped back into his hut like apanther. His sister came out, gave one glance at the river, becamewild-cattish for the first time in her life, and sprang after herbrother.
A few seconds later and the pair reappeared, bearing some of their poorpossessions to a place of safety higher up the bank. They returned formore, and in a very few minutes had the whole of their worldly wealthremoved from their doomed edifice. Then they sat down on the bank, andsadly watched the destruction of their home.
From their point of view they could see that the main body of ice on theriver was still unbroken, and that it was merely a huge tongue, orneedle, which had been thrust up at that point by the form of the landabove referred to. The shattered masses were soon forced against theside of the hut. There was a slight pause and a creaking of timbers;then the ice slipped upwards and rose above the roof. More ice camedown from above--slowly grinding. Again there was a pause. Thecreaking timbers began to groan, the hut leaned gently over. One of thedoor-posts snapped, the other sloped inwards, the roof collapsed, thesides went in, the ice passed over all, and the hut of Peegwish wasfinally obliterated from off the face of the earth. So, a giant withhis foot might slowly and effectually crush the mansion of a snail!