Chapter XXXVIII.

by James Fenimore Cooper

　　"Even from the land of shadows, nowMy fathers awful ghost appears."--Gertrude Of Wyoming.

　　For an hour after Louisa Grant was left by Miss Temple, in thesituation already mentioned, she continued in feverish anxiety,awaiting the return of her friend. But as the time passed by withoutthe reappearance of Elizabeth, the terror of Louisa graduallyincreased, until her alarmed fancy had conjured every species ofdanger that appertained to the woods, excepting the one that reallyexisted. The heavens had become obscured by degrees, and vast volumesof smoke were pouring over the valley; but the thoughts of Louisa werestill recurring to beasts, without dreaming of the real cause forapprehension. She was stationed in the edge of the low pines andchestnuts that succeed the first or large growth of the forest, anddirectly above the angle where the highway turned from the straightcourse to the village, and ascended the mountain laterally.Consequently, she commanded a view, not only of the valley, but of theroad beneath her. The few travellers that passed, she observed, wereengaged in earnest conversation, and frequently raised their eyes tothe hill, and at length she saw the people leaving the court house,and gazing upward also. While under the influence of the alarmexcited by such unusual movements, reluctant to go, and yet fearful toremain, Louisa was startled by the low, cracking, but cautious treadsof some one approaching through the bushes. She was on the eve offlight, when Natty emerged from the cover, and stood at her side. Theold man laughed as he shook her kindly by a hand that was passive withfear.

　　"I am glad to meet you here, child," he said; "for the back of themountain is a-fire, and it would be dangerous to go up it now, till ithas been burnt over once, and the dead wood is gone. Theres afoolish man, the comrade of that varmint who has given me all thistrouble, digging for ore on the east side. I told him that thekearless fellows, who thought to catch a practysed hunter in the woodsafter dark, had thrown the lighted pine-knots in the brush, and thattwould kindle like tow, and warned him to leave the hill. But he wasset upon his business, and nothing short of Providence could move him.if he isnt burnt and buried in a grave of his own digging, hes madeof salamanders. Why, what ails the child? You look as skeary as ifyoud seed more painters. I wish there were more to be found! theydcount up faster than the beaver. But wheres the good child with abad father? Did she forget her promise to the old man?"

　　"The hill! the hill!" shrieked Louisa; "she seeks you on the hill withthe powder!"

　　Natty recoiled several feet at this unexpected intelligence.

　　"The Lord of Heaven have mercy on her! Shes on the Vision, and thatsa sheet of fire agin this. Child, if ye love the dear one, and hopeto find a friend when ye need it most, to the village, and give thealarm. The men are used to fighting fire, and there may be a chanceleft, Fly! I bid ye fly! nor stop even for breath."

　　The Leather-Stocking had no sooner uttered this injunction, than hedisappeared in the bushes, and, when last seen by Louisa, was rushingup the mountain, with a speed that none but those who were accustomedto the toil could attain.

　　"Have I found ye!" the old man exclaimed, when he burst out of thesmoke; "God be praised that I have found ye; but follow--theres notime for talking."

　　"My dress!" said Elizabeth; " it would be fatal to trust myself nearerto the flames in it."

　　"I bethought me of your flimsy things," cried Natty, throwing loosethe folds of a covering buckskin that he carried on his arm, andwrapping her form in it, in such a manner as to envelop her wholeperson; " now follow, for its a matter of life and death to us all."

　　"But John! what will become of John?" cried Edwards; "can we leave theold warrior here to perish?"

　　The eyes of Natty followed the direction of Edwards finger, where hebeheld the Indian still seated as before, with the very earth underhis feet consuming with fire. Without delay the hunter approached thespot, and spoke in Delaware:

　　"Up and away, Chingachgook! will ye stay here to burn, like a Mingo atthe stake? The Moravians have teached ye better, I hope; the Lordpreserve me if the powder hasnt flashed atween his legs, and the skinof his back is roasting. Will ye come, I say; will ye follow me?"

　　"Why should Mohegan go?" returned the Indian, gloomily. "He has seenthe days of an eagle, and his eye grows dim He looks on the valley; helooks on the water; he looks in the hunting-grounds--but he sees noDelawares. Every one has a white skin. My fathers say, from the far-off land, Come. My women, my young warriors, my tribe, say, Come.The Great Spirit says, Come. Let Mohegan die."

　　"But you forget your friend," cried Edwards,

　　"Tis useless to talk to an Indian with the death-fit on him, lad,"interrupted Natty, who seized the strips of the blanket, and withwonderful dexterity strapped the passive chieftain to his own back;when he turned, and with a strength that seemed to bid defiance, notonly to his years, but to his load, he led the way to the point whencehe had issued. As they crossed the little terrace of rock, one of thedead trees, that had been tottering for several minutes, fell on thespot where they had stood, and filled the air with its cinders.

　　Such an event quickened the steps of the party, who followed theLeather-Stocking with the urgency required by the occasion.

　　"Tread on the soft ground," he cried, when they were in a gloom wheresight availed them but little, "and keep in the white smoke; keep theskin close on her, lad; shes a precious one--another will be hard tobe found."

　　Obedient to the hunters directions, they followed his steps andadvice implicitly; and, although the narrow pas sage along the windingof the spring led amid burning logs and falling branches, they happilyachieved it in safety. No one but a man long accustomed to the woodscould have traced his route through the smoke, in which respirationwas difficult, and sight nearly useless; but the experience of Nattyconducted them to an opening through the rocks, where, with a littledifficulty, they soon descended to another terrace, and emerged atonce into a tolerably clear atmosphere.

　　The feelings of Edwards and Elizabeth at reaching this spot may beimagined, though not easily described. No one seemed to exult morethan their guide, who turned, with Mohegan still lashed to his back,and, laughing in his own manner, said:

　　"I knowed twa the Frenchmans powder, gal; it went so all together;your coarse grain will squib for a minute. The Iroquois had none ofthe best powder when I went agin the Canada tribes, under SirWilliam. Did I ever tell you the story, lad, consarning the scrimmagewith--"

　　"For Gods sake, tell me nothing now, Natty, until we are entirelysafe. Where shall we go next?"

　　"Why, on the platform of rock over the cave, to be sure; you will besafe enough there, or well go Into It, if you be so minded."The young man started, and appeared agitated; but, Looking around himwith an anxious eye, said quickly:

　　"Shalt we be safe on the rock? cannot the fire reach us there, too?"

　　"Cant the boy see?" said Natty, with the coolness of one accustomedto the kind of danger he had just encountered. "Had ye stayed in theplace above ten minutes longer, you would both have been in ashes, buthere you may stay forever, and no fire can touch you, until they burnthe rocks as well as the woods."

　　With this assurance, which was obviously true, they proceeded to thespot, and Natty deposited his load, placing the Indian on the groundwith his back against a fragment of the rocks. Elizabeth sank on theground, and buried her face in her hands, while her heart was swellingwith a variety of conflicting emotions.

　　"Let me urge you to take a restorative, Miss Temple," said Edwardsrespectfully; "your frame will sink else."

　　"Leave me, leave me," she said, raising her beaming eyes for a momentto his; "I feel too much for words! I am grateful, Oliver, for thismiraculous escape; and next to my God to you."

　　Edwards withdrew to the edge of the rock, and shouted:

　　"Benjamin! where are you, Benjamin?"

　　A hoarse voice replied, as if from the bowels of the earth:

　　"Hereaway, master; stowed in this here bit of a hole, which is all thetime as hot as the cooks coppers. Im tired of my berth, dye see,and if-so-be that Leather Stocking has got much overhauling to dobefore he sails after them said beaver Ill go into dock again, andride out my quarantine, till I can get prottick from the law, and sohold on upon the rest of my spaniolas."

　　"Bring up a glass of water from the spring," continued Edwards, "andthrow a little wine in it; hasten, I entreat you!"

　　"I knows but little of your small drink, Master Oliver," returned thesteward, his voice issuing out of the cave into the open air, "and theJamaikey held out no longer than to take a parting kiss with BillyKirby, when he anchored me alongside the highway last night, where yourun me down in the chase. But heres summat of a red color that maysuit a weak stomach, mayhap. That Master Kirby is no first-rate in aboat; but hell tack a cart among the stumps, all the same as a Lononpilot will back and fill, through the colliers in the Pool."

　　As the steward ascended while talking, by the time he had ended hisspeech he appeared on the rock with the desired restoratives,exhibiting the worn-out and bloated features of a man who had run deepin a debauch, and that lately.

　　Elizabeth took from the hands of Edwards the liquor which he offeredand then motioned to be left again to herself.

　　The youth turned at her bidding, and observed Natty kindly assiduousaround the person of Mohegan. When their eyes met, the hunter saidsorrowfully:

　　"His time has come, lad; see it in his eyes--when an Indian fixes hiseye, he means to go but to one place; and what the wilful creaturesput their minds on, theyre sure to do."

　　A quick tread prevented the reply, and in a few moments, to theamazement of the whole party, Mr. Grant was seen clinging to the sideof the mountain, and striving to reach the place where they stood.Oliver sprang to his assistance, and by their united efforts theworthy divine was soon placed safely among them.

　　"How came you added to our number?" cried Edwards. "Is the hill alivewith people at a time like this?"

　　The hasty but pious thanksgivings of the clergyman were soonejaculated, and, when he succeeded in collecting his bewilderedsenses, he replied:

　　"I heard that my child was seen coming to the mountain; and, when thefire broke over its summit, my uneasiness drew me up the road, where Ifound Louisa, in terror for Miss Temple. It was to seek her that Icame into this dangerous place; and I think, but for Gods mercy,through the dogs of Natty, I should have perished in the flamesmyself."

　　"Ay! follow the hounds, and if theres an opening theyll scent itout," said Natty; "their noses be given them the same as mansreason."

　　"I did so, and they led me to this place; but, praise be to God that Isee you all safe and well."

　　"No, no," returned the hunter; "safe we be, but as for well, Johncant be called in a good way, unless youll say that for a man thatstaking his last look at arth."

　　"He speaks the truth!" said the divine, with the holy awe with whichhe ever approached the dying; "I have been by too many death-beds, notto see that the hand of the tyrant is laid on this old warrior. Oh!how consoling it is to know that he has not rejected the offered mercyin the hour of his strength and of worldly temptations! The offspringof a race of heathens, he has in truth been as a brand plucked fromthe burning."

　　"No, no," returned Natty, who alone stood with him by the side of thedying warrior; "it is no burning that ails him, though his Indianfeelings made him scorn to move, unless it be the burning of manswicked thoughts for near fourscore years; but its natur giving outin a chasm thats run too long.--Down with ye, Hector! down, I say!Flesh Isnt iron, that a man can live forever, and see his kith andkin driven to a far country, and he left to mourn, with none to keephim company."

　　"John," said the divine, tenderly, "do you hear me? do you wish theprayers appointed by the church, at this trying moment?"

　　The Indian turned his ghastly face toward the speaker, and fastenedhis dark eyes on him, steadily, but vacantly.

　　No sign of recognition was made: and in a moment he moved his headagain slowly toward the vale, and began to sing, using his ownlanguage, in those low, guttural tones, that have been so oftenmentioned, his notes rising with his theme, till they swelled so loudas to be distinct.

　　"I will come! I will come! to the land of the just I will come! TheMaquas I have slain! I have slain the Maquas! and the Great Spiritcalls to his son. I will come! I will come to the land of the just! Iwill come!"

　　"What says he, Leather-Stocking?" Inquired the priest, with tenderinterest; "sings he the Redeemers praise?" "No, no--tis his ownpraise that he speaks now," said Natty, turning in a melancholy mannerfrom the sight of his dying friend; "and a good right he has to say itall, for I know every word to be true."

　　"May heaven avert such self-righteousness from his heart! Humility andpenitence are the seals of Christianity; and, without feeling themdeeply seated in the soul, all hope is delusive, and leads to vainexpectations. Praise himself when his whole soul and body shouldunite to praise his Maker! John! you have enjoyed the blessings of agospel ministry, and have been called from out a multitude of sinnersand pagans, and, I trust. for a wise and gracious purpose. Do younow feel what it is to be justified by our Saviours death, and rejectall weak and idle dependence on good works, that spring from manspride and vainglory?"

　　The Indian did not regard his interrogator, but he raised his headagain, and said in a low, distinct voice:

　　"Who can say that the Maqous know the back of the Mohegan? What enemythat trusted in him did not see the morning? What Mingo that he chasedever sang the song of triumph? Did Mohegan ever he? No; the truthlived in him, and none else could come out of him. In his youth hewas a warrior, and his moccasins left the stain of blood. In his agehe was wise; his words at the council fire did not blow away with thewinds. "

　　"Ah! he has abandoned that vain relic of paganism, his songs," criedthe divine; " what says he now? is he sensible of his lost state?"

　　"Lord!! man," said Natty, "he knows his end is at hand as well as youor I; but, so far from thinking it a loss, he believes it to be agreat gain. He is old and stiff, and you have made the game so scarceand shy, that better shots than him find it hard to get a livelihood.Now he thinks he shall travel where it will always be good hunting ;Where no wicked or unjust Indians can go; and where he shall meet allhis tribe together agin. Theres not much loss in that, to a manwhose hands are hardly fit for basket-making Loss! if there be anyloss, twill be to me. Im sure after hes gone, there will be butlittle left for me but to follow."

　　"His example and end, which, I humbly trust, shall yet be madeglorious," returned Mr. Grant, "should lead your mind to dwell on thethings of another life. But I feel it to be my duty to smooth the wayfor the parting spirit. This is the moment, John, when the reflectionthat you did not reject the mediation of the Redeemer, will bring balmto your soul. Trust not to any act of former days, but lay the burdenof your sins at his feet, and you have his own blessed assurance thathe will not desert you."

　　"Though all you say be true, and you have scriptur' gospels for it,too," said Natty, "you will make nothing of the Indian. He hasntseen a Moravian p sin the war; and its hard to keep them from goinghack to their native ways. I should think twould be as well to letthe old man pass in peace. He's happy now; I know it by his eye; andthats more than I would say for the chief, sin the time theDelawares broke up from the head waters of their river and went west.Ahs me! tis a grevous long time that, and many dark days have weseen together sin it."

　　"Hawk-eye!" said Mohegan, rousing with the last glimmering of life. "Hawk-eye! listen to the words of your brother."

　　"Yes, John," said the hunter, in English, strongly affected by theappeal, and drawing to his side, we have been brothers; and more sothan it means in the Indian tongue. What would ye have with me,Chingachgook?"

　　"Hawk-eye! my fathers call me to the happy hunting grounds. The pathis clear, and the eyes of Mohegan grow young. I look--but I see nowhite-skins ; there are none to be seen but just and brave Indians.Farewell, Hawk-eye--you shall go with the Fire-eater and the YoungEagle to the white mans heaven; but I go after my fathers. Let thebow, and tomahawk, and pipe, and the wampum of Mohegan he laid in hisgrave; for when he starts 'twil be in the night, like a warrior on awar-party, and he can not stop to seek them."

　　"What says he, Nathaniel?" cried Mr. Grant, earnestly, and withobvious anxiety; "does he recall the promises of the mediation? andtrust his salvation to the Rock of Ages?"

　　Although the faith of the hunter was by no means clear, yet the fruitsof early instruction had not entirely fallen in the wilderness. Hebelieved in one Cod, and one heaven; and when the strong feelingexcited by the leave-taking of his old companion, which was exhibitedby the powerful working of every muscle in his weather-beaten face,suffered him to speak, he replied:

　　"No--no--he trusts only to the Great Spirit of the savages, and to hisown good deeds. He thinks, like all his people, that he is to beyoung agin, and to hunt, and be happy to the end of etarnity. itspretty much the same with all colors, parson. I could never bringmyself to think that I shall meet with these hounds, or my piece, inanother world; though the thought of leaving them forever sometimesbrings hard feelings over me, and makes me cling to life with agreater craving than beseems three-Score-and-ten."

　　"The Lord in his mercy avert such a death from one who has been sealedwith the sign of the cross!" cried the minister, in holy fervor.John--"

　　He paused for the elements. During the period occupied by the eventswhich we have related, the dark clouds in the horizon had continued toincrease in numbers and multitude; and the awful stillness that nowpervaded the air, announced a crisis in the state of the atmosphere.The flames, which yet continued to rage along the sides of themountain, no longer whirled in uncertain currents of their own eddies,but blazed high and steadily toward the heavens. There was even aquietude in the ravages of the destructive element, as if it foresawthat a hand greater titan even its own desolating power, was about tostay its progress. The piles of smoke which lay above the valleybegan to rise, and were dispelling rapidly; and streaks of lividlightning were dancing through the masses of clouds that impended overthe western hills. While Mr. Grant was speaking, a flash, which sentits quivering light through the gloom, laying bare the whole oppositehorizon, was followed by a loud crash of thunder, that rolled awayamong the hills, seeming to shake the foundations of the earth totheir centre. Mohegan raised him self, as if in obedience to a signalfor his departure, and stretched his wasted arm toward the west. Hisdark face lighted with a look of joy; which, with all otherexpressions, gradually disappeared; the muscles stiffening as theyretreated to a state of rest; a slight convulsion played, for a singleinstant, about his lips; and his arm slowly dropped by his side,leaving the frame of the dead warrior reposing against the rock withits glassy eyes open, and fixed on the distant hills, as if thedeserted shell were tracing the flight of the spirit to its new abode.

　　All this Mr. Grant witnessed in silent awe; but when the last echoesof the thunder died away he clasped his bands together, with piousenergy, and repeated, in the full, rich tones of assured faith;

　　"Lord! how unsearchable are Thy judgments; and Thy ways past findingout! I know that my Redeemer liveth, and that he shall stand at thelatter day upon the earth; and though after my skin, worms destroythis body, yet in my flesh shall I see God, whom I shall see for myself, and mine eyes shall behold, and not another."

　　As the divine closed this burst of devotion, he bowed his head meeklyto his bosom, and looked all the dependence and humility that theinspired language expressed.

　　When Mr. Grant retired from the body, the hunter approached, andtaking the rigid hand of his friend, looked him wistfully in the facefor some time without speaking, when he gave vent to his feelings bysaying, in the mournful voice of one who felt deeply:

　　"Red skin or white, its all over now! he's to be judged by arighteous Judge, and by no laws thats made to suit times, and newways. Well, theres only one more death, and the world will be leftto me and the hounds, Ahs me! a man must wait the time of God'spleasure, but I begin to weary of life. There is scarcely a treestanding that I know, and its hard to find a face that I was ac-quainted with in my younger days."

　　Large drops of rain now began to fall, and diffuse them selves overthe dry rock, while the approach of the thunder shower was rapid andcertain. the body of the Indian was hastily removed into the cavebeneath, followed by the whining hounds, who missed and moaned for thelook of intelligence that had always met their salutations to thechief.

　　Edwards made some hasty and confused excuse for not taking Elizabethinto the same place, which was now completely closed in front withlogs and bark, saying some-thing that she hardly understood about itsdarkness, and the unpleasantness of being with the dead body. MissTemple, however, found a sufficient shelter against the torrent ofrain that fell, under the projection of a rock which overhung them,But long before the shower was over, the sounds of voices were heardbelow them crying aloud for Elizabeth, and men soon appeared beatingthe dying embers of the bushes, as they worked their way cautiouslyamong the unextinguished brands.

　　At the first short cessation in the rain, Oliver conducted Elizabethto the road, where he left her. Before parting, however, he foundtime to say, in a fervent manner that his companion was now at no lossto interpret.

　　"The moment of concealment is over, Miss Temple. By this time to-morrow, I shall remove a veil that perhaps it has been weakness tokeep around me and my allaus so long. But I have had romantic andfoolish wishes and weakness; and who has not, that is young and tornby conflicting passions? God bless you! I hear your father's voice; heis coming up the road, and I would not, just now, subject myself todetention. Thank Heaven, you are safe again; that alone removes theweight of a world from my spirit!"

　　He waited for no answer, but sprang into the woods. Elizabeth,notwithstanding she heard the cries of her father as he called uponher name, paused until he was concealed among the smoking trees, whenshe turned, and in a moment rushed into the arms of her half-distracted Parent.

　　A carriage had been provided, into which Miss Temple hastily entered;when the cry was passed along the hill, that the lost one was found,and the people returned to the village wet and dirty, but elated withthe thought that the daughter of their landlord had escaped from sohorrid and untimely an end.*

　　* The probability of a fire in the woods similar to that here describedhas been questioned. The writer can only say that he once witnessed afire in another part of New York that compelled a man to desert hiswagon and horses in the highway, and in which the latter weredestroyed. In order to estimate the probability of such an event, itis necessary to remember the effects of a long drought in that climateand the abundance of dead wood which is found in a forest like thatdescribed, The fires in the American forests frequently rage to suchan extent as to produce a sensible effect on the atmosphere at adistance of fifty miles. Houses, barns, and fences are quite commonlyswept away in their course.