Chapter XXXII.

by James Fenimore Cooper

　　"Who measured earth, described the starry spheres,And traced the long records of lunar years. "--Pope.

　　Richard did not return from the exercise of his official duties untillate in the evening of the following day. It had been one portion ofhis business to superintend the arrest of part of a gang ofcounterfeiters, that had, even at that early period, buried themselvesin the woods, to manufacture their base coin, which they afterwardcirculated from one end of the Union to the other. The expedition hadbeen completely successful, and about midnight the sheriff entered thevillage, at the head of a posse of deputies and constables, in thecentre of whom rode, pinioned, four of the malefactors. At the gateof the mansion-house they separated, Mr. Jones directing his assistants to proceed with their charge to the county jail, while he pursuedhis own way up the gravel walk, with the kind of self-satisfactionthat a man of his organization would feel, who had really for oncedone a very clever thing.

　　"Holla! Aggy!" shouted the sheriff, when he reached the door; "whereare you, you black dog? will you keep me here in the dark all night?Holla! Aggy! Brave! Brave! hoy, hoy--where have you got to, Brave? Offhis watch! Everybody is asleep but myself! Poor I must keep my eyesopen, that others may sleep in safety. Brave! Brave! Well, I will saythis for the dog, lazy as hes grown, that it is the first time I everknew him to let any one come to the door after dark, without having asmell to know whether it was an honest man or not. He could tell byhis nose, almost as well as I could myself by looking at them. Holla!you Agamemnon! where are you? Oh! here comes the dog at last."

　　By this time the sheriff had dismounted, and observed a form, which hesupposed to be that of Brave, slowly creeping out of the kennel; when,to his astonishment, it reared itself on two legs instead of four, andhe was able to distinguish, by the starlight, the curly head and darkvisage of the negro.

　　"Ha! what the devil are you doing there, you black rascal?" he cried."Is it not hot enough for your Guinea blood in the house this warmnight, but you must drive out the poor dog, and sleep in his straw?"

　　By this time the boy was quite awake, and, with a blubbering whine, heattempted to reply to his master.

　　"Oh! masser Richard! masser Richard! such a ting! such a ting! Inebber tink a could appen! neber tink he die! Oh, Lor-a-gor! aintbury--keep em till masser Richard get back--got a grabe dug--"Here the feelings of the negro completely got the mastery, and,instead of making any intelligible explanation of the causes of hisgrief, he blubbered aloud.

　　"Eh! what! buried! grave! dead!" exclaimed Richard, with a tremor inhis voice; "nothing serious? Nothing has happened to Benjamin, I hope?I know he has been bilious, but I gave him--"

　　"Oh, worser an dat! worser an dat!" sobbed the negro. " Oh! de Lor!Miss 'Lizzy an Miss Grant--walk--mountain--poor Bravy --kill a lady--painter---Oh, Lor, Lortare he troat open--come a see,masser Richard--here he be--here he be."

　　As all this was perfectly inexplicable to the sheriff, he was veryglad to wait patiently until the black brought a lantern from thekitchen, when he followed Aggy to the kennel, where he beheld poorBrave, indeed, lying in his blood, stiff and cold, but decentlycovered with the great coat of the negro. He was on the point ofdemanding an explanation; but the grief of the black, who had fallenasleep on his voluntary watch, having burst out afresh on his waking,utterly disqualified the lad from giving one. Luckily, at this momentthe principal door of the house opened, and the coarse features ofBenjamin were thrust over the threshold, with a candle elevated abovethem, shedding its dim rays around in such a manner as to exhibit thelights and shadows of his countenance. Richard threw his bridle tothe black, and, bidding him look to the horse, he entered the hall.What is the meaning of the dead dog?" he cried.

　　"Where is Miss Temple?"

　　Benjamin made one of his square gestures, with the thumb of his lefthand pointing over his right shoulder, as he answered:

　　"Turned in."

　　"Judge Temple--where is he?"

　　"In his berth."

　　"But explain; why is Brave dead? and what is the cause of Aggysgrief?"

　　"Why, its all down, squire," said Benjamin, pointing to a slate thatlay on the table, by the side of a mug of toddy, a short pipe in whichthe tobacco was yet burning, and a prayer-book.

　　Among the other pursuits of Richard, he had a passion to keep aregister of all passing events; and his diary, which was written inthe manner of a journal, or log. book, embraced not only suchcircumstances as affected himself, but observations on the weather,and all the occurrences of the family, and frequently of the village.Since his appointment to the office of sheriff and his consequentabsences from home, he had employed Benjamin to make memoranda on aslate, of whatever might be thought worth remembering, which, on hisreturn, were regularly transferred to the journal with propernotations of the time, manner, and other little particulars. Therewas, to be sure, one material objection to the clerkship of Benjamin,which the ingenuity of no one but Richard could have overcome. Thesteward read nothing but his prayer-book, and that only in particularparts, and by the aid of a good deal of spelling, and some misnomers;but he could not form a single letter with a pen. This would havebeen an insuperable bar to journalizing with most men; but Richardinvented a kind of hieroglyphical character, which was intended tonote all the ordinary occurrences of a day, such as how the wind blew,whether the sun shone, or whether it rained, the hours, etc. ; andfor the extraordinary, after giving certain elementary lectures on thesubject, the sheriff was obliged to trust to the ingenuity of themajor-domo. The reader will at once perceive, that it was to thischronicle that Benjamin pointed, instead of directly answering thesheriffs interrogatory.

　　When Mr. Jones had drunk a glass of toddy, he brought forth from itssecret place his proper journal, and, seating himself by the table, heprepared to transfer the contents of the slate to the paper, at thesame time that he appeased his curiosity. Benjamin laid one hand onthe back of the sheriff's chair, in a familiar manner, while he keptthe other at liberty to make use of a forefinger, that was bent likesome of his own characters, as an index to point out his meaning.

　　The first thing referred to by the sheriff was the diagram of acompass, cut in one corner of the slate for permanent use. Thecardinal points were plainly marked on it, and all the usual divisionswere indicated in such a manner that no man who had ever steered aship could mistake them.

　　"Oh!" said the sheriff, seating himself down comfort ably in hischair, "youd the wind southeast, I see, all last night I thought itwould have blown up rain."

　　"Devil the drop, sir," said Benjamin; "I believe that the scuttle-buttup aloft is emptied, for there hasnt so much water fell in thecountry for the last three weeks as would float Indian Johns canoe,and that draws just one inch nothing, light."

　　"Well but didnt the wind change here this morning? there was a changewhere I was."

　　"To be sure it did, squire; and havent I logged it as a shift ofwind?"

　　"I dont see where, Benjamin--"

　　"Dont see!" interrupted the steward, a little crustily; "aint therea mark agin east-and-by-nothe-half-nothe, with summat like a risingsun at the end of it, to show twas in the morning watch?"

　　"Yes, yes, that is very legible; but where is the change noted?"

　　"Where! why doesnt it see this here tea-kettle, with a mark run fromthe spout straight, or mayhap a little crooked or so, into west-and-by-southe-half-southe? now I call this a shift of wind, squire. Well,do you see this here boars head that you made for me, alongside ofthe compass--"

　　"Ay, ay--Boreas-----I see. Why, youve drawn lines from its mouth,extending from one of your marks to the other."

　　"Its no fault of mine, Squire Dickens; tis your d--d climate. Thewind has been at all them there marks this very day, and thats allround the compass, except a little matter of an Irishmans hurricaneat meridium, which youll find marked right up and down. Now, Iveknown a sow-wester blow for three weeks, in the channel, with a cleandrizzle, in which you might wash your face and hands without thetrouble of hauling in water from alongside."

　　"Very well, Benjamin," said the sheriff, writing in his journal; "Ibelieve I have caught the idea. Oh! heres a cloud over the risingsun--so you had it hazy in the morning?"

　　"Ay, ay, sir," said Benjamin.

　　"Ah its Sunday. and here are the marks for the length of the sermon--one, two, three, four--what! did Mr. Grant preach forty minutes?"

　　"Ay, summat like it; it was a good half-hour by my own glass, and thenthere was the time lost in turning it, and some little allowance forleeway in not being over-smart about it."

　　"Benjamin, this is as long as a Presbyterian; you never could havebeen ten minutes in turning the glass!"

　　"Why, do you see, Squire, the parson was very solemn, and I justclosed my eyes in order to think the better with myself, just the sameas youd put in the dead-lights to make all snug, and when I openedthem agin I found the congregation were getting under way for home, soI calculated the ten minutes would cover the leeway after the glasswas out. It was only some such matter as a cats nap."

　　"Oh, ho! Master Benjamin, you were asleep, were you? but Ill set downno such slander against an orthodox divine." Richard wrote twenty-nineminutes in his journal, and continued: "Why, whats this youve gotopposite ten oclock A.M.? A full moon! had you a moon visible by day?I have heard of such portents before now, but--eh! whats thisalongside of it? an hour-glass?"

　　"That!" said Benjamin, looking coolly over the sheriffs shoulder, androlling the tobacco about in his mouth with a jocular air; "why,thats a small matter of my own. Its no moon, squire, but only BettyHollisters face; for, dye see, sir, hearing all the same as if shehad got up a new cargo of Jamaiky from the river, I called in as I wasgoing to the church this morning--ten A.M. was it?--just the time--andtried a glass; and so I logged it, to put me in mind of calling to payher like an honest man."

　　"That was it, was it?" said the sheriff, with some displeasure at thisinnovation on his memoranda; "and could you not make a better glassthan this? it looks like a deaths-head and an hour-glass."

　　"Why, as I liked the stuff, squire," returned the steward, "I turnedin, homeward bound, and took tother glass, which I set down at thebottom of the first, and that gives the thing the shape it has. Butas I was there again to-night, and paid for the three at once, yourhonor may as well run the sponge over the whole business."

　　"I will buy you a slate for your own affairs, Benjamin," said thesheriff; "I dont like to have the journal marked over in thismanner."

　　"You neednt--you neednt, squire; for, seeing that I was likely totrade often with the woman while this barrel lasted. Ive opened afair account with Betty, and she keeps her marks on the back of herbar-door, and I keeps the tally on this here bit of a stick."As Benjamin concluded he produced a piece of wood, on which five verylarge, honest notches were apparent. The sheriff cast his eyes onthis new ledger for a moment, and continued:

　　"What have we here! Saturday, two P.M.--Why heres a whole familypiece! two wine-glasses upside-down!"

　　"Thats two women; the one this a-way is Miss Lizzy, and tother isthe parsons youngun."

　　"Cousin Bess and Miss Grant!" exclaimed the sheriff, in amazement;"what have they to do with my journal?"

　　"Theyd enough to do to get out of the jaws of that there painter orpanther," said the immovable steward. "This here thingumy, squire,that maybe looks summat like a rat, is the beast, dye see; and thishere tother thing, keel uppermost, is poor old Brave, who died nobly,all the same as an admiral fighting for his king and country; and thatthere--"

　　"Scarecrow," interrupted Richard.

　　"Ay, mayhap it do look a little wild or so," continued the steward;"but to my judgment, squire, its the best image Ive made, seeingits most like the man himself; well, thats Natty Bumppo, who shotthis here painter, that killed that there dog, who would have eaten ordone worse to them here young ladies."

　　"And what the devil does all this mean?" cried Richard, impatiently.

　　"Mean!" echoed Benjamin; "it is as true as the Boadisheys log book--"He was interrupted by the sheriff, who put a few direct questions tohim, that obtained more intelligible answers, by which means he becamepossessed of a tolerably correct idea of the truth, When the wonder,and we must do Richard the justice to say, the feelings also, thatwere created by this narrative, had in some degree subsided, thesheriff turned his eyes again on his journal, where more inexplicablehieroglyphics met his view.

　　"What have we here?" he cried; "two men boxing! Has there been abreach of the peace? Ah, thats the way, the moment my back is turned---."

　　"Thats the Judge and young Master Edwards," interrupted the steward,very cavalierly.

　　"How! Duke fighting with Oliver! what the devil has got into you all?More things have happened within the last thirty-six hours than in thepreceding six months.""Yes, its so indeed, squire," returned the steward"Ive known a smart chase, and a fight at the tail of it", where lesshas been logged than Ive got on that there slate. Howsomnever, theydidnt come to facers, only passed a little jaw fore and aft."

　　"Explain! explain!" cried Richard; "it was about the mines, ha! Ay,ay, I see it, I see it; here is a man with a pick on his shoulder. Soyou heard it all, Benjamin?"

　　"Why, yes, it was about their minds, I believe, squire, returned thesteward; "and, by what I can learn, they spoke them pretty plainly toone another. Indeed, I may say that I overheard a small matter of itmyself, seeing that the windows was open, and I hard by. But thishere is no pick. but an anchor on a mans shoulder; and heres theother fluke down his back, maybe a little too close, which signifiesthat the lad has got under way and left his moorings."

　　"Has Edwards left the house?"

　　"He has."

　　Richard pursued this advantage; and, after a long and closeexamination, he succeeded in getting out of Benjamin all that heknew, not only concerning the misunderstanding, but of the attempt tosearch the hut, and Hirams discomfiture. The sheriff was no soonerpossessed of these facts, which Benjamin related with all possibletenderness to the Leather-Stocking, than, snatching up his hat, andbidding the astonished steward secure the doors and go to his bed, heleft the house.

　　For at least five minutes, after Richard disappeared, Benjamin stoodwith his arms akimbo, and his eyes fastened on the door; when, havingcollected his astonished faculties, he prepared to execute the ordershe had received.

　　It has been already said that the "court of common pleas and generalsessions of the peace," or, as it is commonly called, the "countycourt," over which Judge Temple presided, held one of its statedsessions on the following morning. The attendants of Richard wereofficers who had come to the village, as much to discharge their usualduties at this court, as to escort the prisoners and the sheriff knewtheir habits too well, not to feel confident that he should find most,if not all of them, in the public room of the jail, discussing thequalities of the keepers liquors. Accordingly he held his waythrough the silent streets of the village, directly to the small andinsecure building that contained all the unfortunate debt ors and someof the criminals of the county, and where justice was administered tosuch unwary applicants as were so silly as to throw away two dollarsin order to obtain one from their neighbors. The arrival of fourmalefactors in the custody of a dozen officers was an event, at thatday, in Templeton; and, when the sheriff reached the jail, he foundevery indication that his subordinates in tended to make a night ofit.

　　The nod of the sheriff brought two of his deputies to the door, who intheir turn drew off six or seven of the constables. With this forceRichard led the way through the village, toward the bank of the lake,undisturbed by any noise, except the barking of one or two curs, whowere alarmed by the measured tread of the party, and by the lowmurmurs that ran through their own numbers, as a few cautiousquestions and answers were exchanged, relative to the object of theirexpedition. When they had crossed the little bridge of hewn logs thatwas thrown over the Susquehanna, they left the highway, and struckinto that field which had been the scene of the victory over thepigeons. From this they followed their leader into the low bushes ofpines and chestnuts which had sprung up along the shores of the lake,where the plough had not succeeded the fall of the trees, and soonentered the forest itself. Here Richard paused and collected histroop around him.

　　"I have required your assistance, my friends," he cried, in a lowvoice, "in order to arrest Nathaniel Bumppo, commonly called theLeather-Stocking He has assaulted a magistrate, and resisted theexecution of a search-war rant, by threatening the life of a constablewith his rifle. In short, my friends, he has set an example ofrebellion to the laws, and has become a kind of outlaw. He issuspected of other misdemeanors and offences against private rights;and I have this night taken on myself. by the virtue of my office assheriff, to arrest the said Bumppo, and bring him to the county jail,that he may be present and forthcoming to answer to these heavycharges before the court to-morrow morning. In executing this duty,friends and fellow-citizens, you are to use courage and discretion;courage, that you may not be daunted by any lawless attempt that thisman may make with his rifle and his dogs to oppose you; anddiscretion, which here means caution and prudence, that he may notescape from this sudden attack--and for other good reasons that I neednot mention. You will form yourselves in a complete circle around hishut, and at the word advance, called aloud by me, you will rushforward and, without giving the criminal time for deliberation, enterhis dwelling by force, and make him your prisoner. Spread yourselvesfor this purpose, while I shall descend to the shore with a deputy, totake charge of that point; and all communications must be madedirectly to me, under the bank in front of the hut, where I shallstation myself and remain, in order to receive them."

　　This speech, which Richard had been studying during his walk, had theeffect that all similar performances produce, of bringing the dangersof the expedition immediately before the eyes of his forces. The mendivided, some plunging deeper into the forest, in order to gain theirstations without giving an alarm, and others Continuing to advance, ata gait that would allow the whole party to go in order; but alldevising the best plan to repulse the attack of a dog, or to escape arifle-bullet. It was a moment of dread expectation and interest.

　　When the sheriff thought time enough had elapsed for the differentdivisions of his force to arrive at their stations, he raised hisvoice in the silence of the forest, and shouted the watchword. Thesounds played among the arched branches of the trees in hollowcadences; but when the last sinking tone was lost on the ear, in placeof the expected howls of the dogs, no other noises were returned butthe crackling of torn branches and dried sticks, as they yieldedbefore the advancing steps of the officers. Even this soon ceased, asif by a common consent, when the curiosity and impatience of thesheriff getting the complete ascendency over discretion, he rushed upthe bank, and in a moment stood on the little piece of clearedground in front of the spot where Natty had so long lived, To hisamazement, in place of the hut he saw only its smouldering ruins.

　　The party gradually drew together about the heap of ashes and the endsof smoking logs; while a dim flame in the centre of the ruin, whichstill found fuel to feed its lingering life, threw its pale light,flickering with the passing currents of the air, around the circle--nowshowing a face with eyes fixed in astonishment, and then glancing toanother countenance, leaving the former shaded in the obscurity ofnight. Not a voice was raised in inquiry, nor an exclamation made inastonishment. The transition from excitement to disappointment wastoo powerful for Speech; and even Richard lost the use of an organthat was seldom known to fail him.

　　The whole group were yet in the fullness of their surprise, when atall form stalked from the gloom into the circle, treading down thehot ashes and dying embers with callous feet; and, standing over thelight, lifted his cap, and exposed the bare head and weather-beatenfeatures of the Leather-Stocking. For a moment he gazed at the duskyfigures who surrounded him, more in sorrow than in anger before hespoke.

　　"What would ye with an old and helpless man?" he said, "Youve drivenGods creaturs from the wilder ness, where His providence had putthem for His own pleasure; and youve brought in the troubles anddiviltries of the law, where no man was ever known to disturb another.You have driven me, that have lived forty long years of my appointedtime in this very spot, from my home and the shelter of my head, lestyou should put your wicked feet and wasty ways in my cabin. Youvedriven me to burn these logs, under which Ive eaten and drunk--thefirst of Heavens gifts, and the other of the pure springs--for thehalf of a hundred years; and to mourn the ashes under my feet, as aman would weep and mourn for the children of his body. Youve rankledthe heart of an old man, that has never harmed you or yourn, withbitter feelings toward his kind, at a time when his thoughts should beon a better world; and youve driven him to wish that the beasts ofthe forest, who never feast on the blood of their own families, washis kindred and race; and now, when he has come to see the last brandof his hut, before it is incited into ashes, you follow him up, atmidnight, like hungry hounds on the track of a worn-out and dyingdeer. What more would ye have? for I am here--one too many. I come tomourn, not to fight; and, if it is Gods pleasure, work your will onme."

　　When the old man ended he stood, with the light glimmering around histhinly covered head, looking earnestly at the group, which recededfrom the pile with an involuntary movement, without the reach of thequivering rays, leaving a free passage for his retreat into thebushes, where pursuit in the dark would have been fruit less. Nattyseemed not to regard this advantage, but stood facing each individualin the circle in succession, as if to see who would he the first toarrest him. After a pause of a few moments Richard began to rally hisconfused faculties, and, advancing, apologized for his duty, and madehim his prisoner. The party flow collected, and, preceded by thesheriff, with Natty in their centre, they took their way toward thevillage.

　　During the walk, divers questions were put to the prisoner concerninghis reasons for burning the hut, and whither Mohegan had retreated;but to all of them he observed a profound silence, until, fatiguedwith their previous duties, and the lateness of the hour, the sheriffand his followers reached the village, and dispersed to their severalplaces of rest, after turning the key of a jail on the aged andapparently friendless Leather-Stocking.