Chapter XIV.

by James Fenimore Cooper

　　Hope in your mountains, and hope in your streams, Bow down in their worship, and loudly pray; Trust in your strength, and believe in your dreams, But the wind shall carry them all away. --BRAINARD.The week which succeeded the arrival of our party at Chateau auMiel, or Castle Meal, as le Bourdon used to call his abode, was oneof very active labor. It was necessary to house the adventurers, andthe little habitation already built was quite insufficient for sucha purpose. It was given to the females, who used it as a privateapartment for themselves, while the cooking, eating, and evensleeping, so far as the males were concerned, were all done beneaththe trees of the openings. But a new chiente was soon constructed,which, though wanting in the completeness and strength of CastleMeal, was sufficient for the wants of these sojourners in thewilderness. It is surprising with how little of those comforts whichcivilization induces us to regard as necessaries we can get along,when cast into the midst of the western wilds. The female whose foothas trodden, from infancy upward, on nothing harder than a goodcarpet-who has been reared amid all the appliances of abundance andart, seems at once to change her nature, along with her habits, andoften proves a heroine, and an active assistant, when there was somuch reason to apprehend she might turn out to be merely anencumbrance. In the course of a life that is now getting to be wellstored with experience of this sort, as well as of many othervarieties, we can recall a hundred cases of women, who were born andnurtured in affluence and abundance, who have cheerfully quitted thescenes of youth, their silks and satins, their china and plate,their mahogany and Brussels, to follow husbands and fathers into thewilderness, there to compete with the savage, often for food, andalways for the final possession of the soil!

　　But in the case of Dorothy and Blossom, the change had never been ofthis very broad character, and habit had long been preparing themfor scenes even more savage than that into which they were now cast.Both were accustomed to work, as, blessed be God! the American womanusually works; that is to say, within doors, and to render homeneat, comfortable, and welcome. As housewives, they were expert andwilling, considering the meagreness of their means; and le Bourdontold the half-delighted, half-blushing Margery, ere the latter hadbeen twenty-four hours in his chiente, that nothing but the presenceof such a one as herself was wanting to render it an abode fit for aprince! Then, the cooking was so much improved! Apart fromcleanliness, the venison was found to be more savory; the cakes werelighter; and the pork less greasy. On this subject of grease,however, we could wish that a sense of right would enable us toannounce its utter extinction in the American kitchen; or, if notabsolutely its extinction, such a subjection of the unctuousproperties, as to bring them within the limits of a reasonablyaccurate and healthful taste. To be frank, Dorothy carried asomewhat heavy hand, in this respect; but pretty Margery was muchher superior. How this difference in domestic discipline occurred,is more than we can say; but of its existence there can be no doubtThere are two very respectable sections of the civilized world towhich we should imagine no rational being would ever think ofresorting in order to acquire the art of cookery, and these areGermany and the land of the Pilgrims. One hears, and reads in thoseelegant specimens of the polite literature of the day, the lettersfrom Washington, and from various travellers, who go up and downthis river in steamboats, or along that railway, gratis, much inhonor of the good things left behind the several writers, in the"region of the kock"; but, woe betide the wight who is silly enoughto believe in all this poetical imagery, and who travels in thatdirection, in the expectation of finding a good table! It isextraordinary that such a marked difference does exist, on aninterest of this magnitude, among such near neighbors; but, of thefact, we should think no intelligent and experienced man can doubt.Believing as we do, that no small portion of the elements ofnational character can be, and are, formed in the kitchen, thecircumstance may appear to us of more moment than to some of ourreaders. The vacuum left in cookery, between Boston and Baltimorefor instance, is something like that which exists between LeVerrier's new planet and the sun.

　　But Margery could even fry pork without causing it to swim ingrease, and at a venison steak, a professed cook was not hersuperior. She also understood various little mysteries, in the wayof converting their berries and fruits of the wilderness intopleasant dishes; and Corporal Flint soon affirmed that it was athousand pities she did not live in a garrison, which, agreeably tohis view of things, was something like placing her at the comptoirof the Cafe de Paris, or of marrying her to some second Vatel.

　　With the eating and drinking, the building advanced pari passu.Pigeonswing brought in his venison, his ducks, his pigeons, and hisgame of different varieties, daily, keeping the larder quite as wellsupplied as comported with the warmth of the weather; while theothers worked on the new chiente. In order to obtain materials forthis building, one so much larger than his old abode, Ben went upthe Kalamazoo about half a mile, where he felled a sufficient numberof young pines, with trunks of about a foot in diameter, cuttingthem into lengths of twenty and thirty feet, respectively. Theselengths, or trunks, were rolled into the river, down which theyslowly floated, until they arrived abreast of Castle Meal, wherethey were met by Peter, in a canoe, who towed each stick, as itarrived, to the place of landing. In this way, at the end of twodays' work, a sufficient quantity of materials was collected tocommence directly on the building itself.

　　Log-houses are of so common occurrence, as to require no particulardescription of the one now put up, from us. It was rather less thanthirty feet in length, and one-third narrower than it was long. Thelogs were notched, and the interstices were filled by pieces of thepine, split to a convenient size. The roof was of bark, and of thesimplest construction, while there was neither door nor window;though one aperture was left for the first, and two for the last.Corporal Flint, however, was resolved that not only a door should bemade, as well as shutters for the windows, but that the houseshould, in time, be picketed. When le Bourdon remonstrated with himon the folly of taking so much unnecessary pains, it led to adiscussion, in which the missionary even felt constrained to join.

　　"What's the use--what's the use?" exclaimed le Bourdon a littleimpatiently, when he found the corporal getting to be in earnest inhis proposal. "Here have I lived, safely, two seasons in CastleMeal, without any pickets or palisades; and yet you want to turnthis new house into a regular garrison!"

　　"Aye, Bourdon, that was in peaceable times; but these is war times.I've seen the fall of Fort Dearborn, and I don't want to see thefall of another post this war. The Pottawattamies is hostile, evenPeter owns; and the Pottawattamies has been here once, as you sayyourself, and may come ag'in."

　　"The only Pottawattamie who has ever been at this spot, to myknowledge, is dead, and his bones are bleaching up yonder in theopenings. No fear of him, then."

　　"His body is gone," answered the corporal; "and what is more therifle is gone with it. I heard that his rifle had been forgotten,and went to collect the arms left on the field of battle, but foundnothing. No doubt his friends have burned, or buried, the chief, andthey will be apt to take another look in this quarter of thecountry, having l'arnt the road."

　　Boden was struck with this intelligence, as well as with thereasoning, and after a moment's pause, he answered in a way thatshowed a wavering purpose.

　　"It will take a week's work, to picket or palisade the house," heanswered, "and I wish to be busy among the bees, once more."

　　"Go to your bees, Bourdon, and leave me to fortify and garrison, asbecomes my trade. Parson Amen, here, will tell you that the childrenof Israel are often bloody-minded and are not to be forgotten."

　　"The corporal is right," put in the missionary; "the corporal isquite right. The whole history of the ancient Jews gives us thischaracter of them; and even Saul of Tarsus was bent on persecutionand slaughter, until his hand was stayed by the direct manifestationof the power of God. I can see glimmerings of this spirit in Peter,and this at a moment when he is almost ready to admit that he's adescendant of Israel."

　　"Is Peter ready to allow that?" asked the bee-hunter, with moreinterest in the answer than he would have been willing to allow.

　　"As good as that-yes, quite as good as that. I can see, plainly,that Peter has some heavy mystery on his mind; sooner, or later, weshall learn it. When it does come out, the world may be prepared tolearn the whole history of the Ten Tribes!"

　　"In my judgment," observed the corporal, "that chief could give thehistory of twenty, if he was so minded,"

　　"There were but ten of them, brother Flint--but ten; and of thoseten he could give us a full and highly interesting account. One ofthese days, we shall hear it all; in the mean time, it may be wellenough to turn one of these houses into some sort of a garrison."

　　"Let it, then, be Castle Meal," said le Bourdon; "surely, if any oneis to be defended and fortified in this way, it ought to be thewomen. You may easily palisade that hut, which is so much strongerthan this, and so much smaller."

　　With this compromise, the work went on. The corporal dug a trenchfour feet deep, encircling the "castle," as happy as a lord thewhole time; for this was not the first time he had been at suchwork, which he considered to be altogether in character, andsuitable to his profession. No youthful engineer, fresh from thePoint, that seat of military learning to which the republic is evenmore indebted for its signal successes in Mexico, than to the highmilitary character of this population-no young aspirant for glory,fresh from this useful school, could have greater delight in layingout his first bastion, or counter-scarp, or glacis, than CorporalFlint enjoyed in fortifying Castle Meal. It will be remembered thatthis was the first occasion he was ever actually at the head of theengineering department Hitherto, it had been his fortune to follow;but now it had become his duty to lead. As no one else, of thatparty, had ever been employed in such a work on any previousoccasion, the corporal did not affect to conceal the superiorknowledge with which he was overflowing. Gershom he found a readyand active assistant; for, by this time, the whiskey was well out ofhim; and he toiled with the greater willingness, as he felt that thepalisades would add to the security of his wife and sister. Neitherdid Parson Amen disdain to use the pick and shovel; for, while themissionary had the fullest reliance in the fact that the red men ofthat region were the descendants of the children of Israel, heregarded them as a portion of the chosen people who were livingunder the ban of the divine displeasure, and as more than usuallyinfluenced by those evil spirits, whom St. Paul mentions as thepowers of the air. In a word, while the good missionary had allfaith in the final conversion and restoration of these children ofthe forests, he did not overlook the facts of their presentbarbarity, and great propensity to scalp. He was not quite asefficient as Gershom, at this novel employment, but a certain inbornzeal rendered him both active and useful. As for the Indians,neither of them deigned to touch a tool. Pigeonswing had littleopportunity for so doing, indeed, being usually, from the rising tothe setting sun, out hunting for the support of the party; whilePeter passed most of his time in ruminations and solitary walks.This last paid little attention to the work about the castle, eitherknowing it would, at any moment, by an act of treachery, be in hispower to render all these precautions of no avail; or, relying onthe amount of savage force that he knew was about to collect in theopenings. Whenever he cast a glance on the progress of the work, itwas with an eye of great indifference; once he even carried hisduplicity so far, as to make a suggestion to the corporal, by meansof which, as he himself expressed it, in his imperfect English--"Injin no get inside, to use knife and tomahawk." This seemingindifference, on the part of Peter, did not escape the observationof the bee-hunter, who became still less distrustful of thatmysterious savage, as he noted his conduct in connection with thedispositions making for defence.

　　Le Bourdon would not allow a tree of any sort to be felled anywherenear his abode. While the corporal and his associates were busy indigging the trench, he had gone to a considerable distance, quiteout of sight from Castle Meal, and near his great highway, theriver, where he cut and trimmed the necessary number of burr-oaksfor the palisades. Boden labored the more cheerfully at this work,for two especial reasons. One was the fact that the defences mightbe useful to himself, hereafter, as much against bears as againstIndians; and the other, because Margery daily brought her sewing orknitting, and sat on the fallen trees, laughing and chatting, as theaxe performed its duties. On three several occasions Peter waspresent, also, accompanying Blossom, with a kindness of manner, andan attention to her pretty little tastes in culling flowers, thatwould have done credit to a man of a higher school of civilization.

　　The reader is not to suppose, however, because the Indian pays butlittle outward attention to the squaws, that he is without naturalfeeling, or manliness of character. In some respects his chivalrousdevotion to the sex is, perhaps, in no degree inferior to that ofthe class which makes a parade of such sentiments, and this quite asmuch from convention and ostentation, as from any other motive. Thered man is still a savage beyond all question, but he is a savagewith so many nobler and more manly qualities, when uncorrupted bycommunion with the worst class of whites, and not degraded byextreme poverty, as justly to render him a subject of ouradmiration, in self-respect, in dignity, and in simplicity ofdeportment. The Indian chief is usually a gentleman; and this,though he may have never heard of Revelation, and has not thesmallest notion of the Atonement, and of the deep obligations it haslaid on the human race.

　　Amid the numberless exaggerations of the day, one of particularcapacity has arisen connected with the supposed character of agentleman. Those who regard all things through the medium ofreligious feeling, are apt to insist that he who is a Christian, isnecessarily a gentleman; while he can be no thorough gentleman, whohas not most of the qualities of the Christian character. Thisconfusion in thought and language, can lead to no really usefulresult, while it embarrasses the minds of many, and renders theexpression of our ideas less exact and comprehensive than they wouldotherwise be.

　　We conceive that a man may be very much of a Christian, and verylittle of a gentleman; or very much of a gentleman, and very littleof a Christian. There is, in short, not much in common between thetwo characters, though it is possible for them to become united inthe same individual. That the finished courtesies of polished lifemay wear some of the aspects of that benevolence which causes theChristian "to love his neighbor as himself," is certainly true,though the motives of the parties are so very different as todestroy all real identity between them. While the moving principleof a gentleman is self-respect, that of a Christian is humility. Thefirst is ready to lay down his life in order to wipe away animaginary dishonor, or to take the life of another; the last istaught to turn the other cheek, when smitten. In a word, the firstkeeps the world, its opinions and its estimation, ever uppermost inhis thoughts; the last lives only to reverence God, and to conformto his will, in obedience to his revealed mandates. Certainly, thereis that which is both grateful and useful in the refined deportmentof one whose mind and manners have been polished even in the schoolsof the world; but it is degrading to the profoundly beautifulsubmission of the truly Christian temper, to imagine that anythinglike a moral parallel can justly be run between them.

　　Of course, Peter had none of the qualities of him who sees and feelshis own defects, and relies only on the merits of the atonement forhis place among the children of light, while he had so many of thosequalities which depend on the estimate which man is so apt to placeon his own merits. In this last sense, this Indian had a great manyof the essentials of a gentleman; a lofty courtesy presiding overall his intercourse with others, when passion or policy did notthrust in new and sudden principles of action. Even the missionarywas so much struck with the gentleness of this mysterious savage'sdeportment in connection with Margery, as at first to impute it to agrowing desire to make a wife of that flower of the wilderness. Butcloser observation induced greater justice to the Indian in thisrespect Nothing like the uneasiness, impatience, or distrust ofpassion could be discerned in his demeanor; and when Parson Amenperceived that the bee-hunter's marked devotion to the beautifulBlossom rather excited a benevolent and kind interest in thefeelings of Peter, so far at least as one could judge of the heartby external appearances, than anything that bore the fierce anduneasy impulses of jealousy, he was satisfied that his originalimpression was a mistake.

　　As le Bourdon flourished his axe, and Margery plied her needles,making a wholesome provision for the coming winter, the mysteriousIndian would stand, a quarter of an hour at a time, immovable as astatue, his eyes riveted first on one, and then on the other. Whatpassed at such moments in that stern breast, it exceeds thepenetration of man to say: but that the emotions thus pent withinbarriers that none could pass or destroy, were not always ferociousand revengeful, a carefully observant spectator might possibly havesuspected, had such a person been there to note all the signs ofwhat was uppermost in the chiefs thoughts. Still, gleamings ofsudden, but intense ferocity did occasionally occur; and, at suchinstants, the countenance of this extraordinary being was trulyterrific. Fortunately, such bursts of uncontrollable feeling weretransient, being of rare occurrence, and of very short duration.

　　By the time the corporal had his trenches dug, le Bourdon wasprepared with his palisades, which were just one hundred in number,being intended to enclose a space of forty feet square. The men allunited in the transportation of the timber, which was floated downthe river on a raft of white pine, the burr-oak being of a specificgravity that fresh water would not sustain. A couple of days,however, sufficed for the transportation by water, and as many morefor that by land, between the place of landing and Castle Meal. Thismuch accomplished, the whole party rested from their labors, the daywhich succeeded being the Sabbath.

　　Those who dwell habitually amid the haunts of men, alone thoroughlyrealize the vast importance that ought to be attached to the greatday of rest. Men on the ocean, and men in the forest, are only tooapt to overlook the returns of the Sabbath; thus slowly, butinevitably alienating themselves more and more from the dread Beingwho established the festival, as much in his own honor as for thegood of man. When we are told that the Almighty is jealous of hisrights, and desires to be worshipped, we are not to estimate thiswish by any known human standard, but are ever to bear in mind thatit is exactly in proportion as we do reverence the Creator and Rulerof heaven and earth that we are nearest, or farthest, from thecondition of the blessed. It is probably for his own good, that theadoration of man is pleasing in the eyes of God.

　　The missionary, though a visionary and an enthusiast, as respectedthe children of Israel, was a zealous observer of his duties. OnSundays, he never neglected to set up his tabernacle, even though itwere in a howling wilderness, and went regularly through the worshipof God, according to the form of the sect to which he belonged. Hisinfluence, on the present occasion, was sufficient to cause asuspension of all labor, though not without some remonstrances onthe part of the corporal. The latter contended that, in militaryaffairs, there was no Sunday known, unless it might be in peaceabletimes, and that he had never heard of intrenchments "resting fromtheir labors," on the part of either the besieger or the besieged.Work of that sort, he thought, ought to go on, day and night, bymeans of reliefs; and, instead of pausing to hold church, he hadactually contemplated detailing fatigue parties to labor through,not only that day, but the whole of the succeeding night.

　　As for Peter, he never offered the slightest objection to any ofParson Amen's sermons or prayers. He listened to both with unmovedgravity, though no apparent impression was ever made on hisfeelings. The Chippewa hunted on the Sabbaths as much as on anyother day; and it was in reference to this fact that the followinglittle conversation took place between Margery and the missionary,as the party sat beneath the oaks, passing a tranquil eventide atmidsummer.

　　"How happens it, Mr. Amen," said Margery, who had insensibly adoptedthe missionary's sobriquet, "that no red man keeps the Sabbath-day,if they are all descended from the Jews? This is one of the mostrespected of all the commandments, and it does not seem natural"--Margery's use of terms was necessarily influenced by association andeducation-"that any of that people should wholly forget the day ofrest."

　　"Perhaps you are not aware, Margery, that the Jews, even incivilized countries, do not keep the same Sabbath as theChristians," returned the missionary. "They have public worship on aSaturday, as we do on a Sunday. Now, I did think I saw some signs ofPeter's privately worshipping yesterday, while we were all so busyat our garrison. You may have observed how thoughtful and silent thechief was in the middle of the afternoon."

　　"I did observe it," said the bee-hunter, "but must own I did notsuspect him of holding meeting for any purposes within himself. Thatwas one of the times when I like the manners and behavior of thisInjin the least."

　　"We do not know--we do not know--perhaps his spirit struggled withthe temptations of the Evil One. To me he appeared to beworshipping, and I set the fact down as a proof that the red menkeep the Jewish Sabbath."

　　"I did not know that the Jews keep a Sabbath different from our own,else I might have thought the same. But I never saw a Jew, to myknowledge. Did you, Margery?"

　　"Not to know him for one," answered the girl; and true enough wasthe remark of each. Five-and-thirty years ago, America wassingularly not only a Christian but a Protestant nation. Jewscertainly did exist in the towns, but they were so blended with therest of the population, and were so few in number, as scarcely toattract attention to them as a sect. As for the Romanists, they toohad their churches and their dioceses; but what untravelled Americanhad then ever seen a nun? From monks, Heaven be praised, we are yetspared; and this is said without any prejudice against thedenomination to which they usually belong. He who has lived much ina country where that sect prevails, if a man of a particle ofliberality, soon learns that piety and reverence for God, and a deepsense of all the Christian obligations, can just as well, naybetter, exist in a state of society where a profound submission towell-established dogmas is to be found, than in a state of societywhere there is so much political freedom as to induce the veriestpretenders to learning to imagine that each man is a church and ahierarchy in his own person! All this is rapidly changing. Romanistsabound, and spots that half a century since, appeared to be the mostimprobable place in the world to admit of the rites of the priestsof Rome, now hear the chants and prayers of the mass-books. All thisshows a tendency toward that great commingling of believers, whichis doubtless to precede the final fusion of sects, and the predictedend.

　　On the Monday that succeeded the Sabbath mentioned, the corporal hadall his men at work, early, pinning together his palisades, makingthem up into manageable bents, and then setting them up on theirlegs. As the materials were all there, and quite ready to be puttogether, the work advanced rapidly; and by the time the sun drewnear the western horizon once more, Castle Meal was surrounded byits bristling defences. The whole was erect and stay-lathed, waitingonly for the earth to be shovelled back into the trench, and to bepounded well down. As it was, the palisades offered a great increaseof security to those in the chiente, and both the females expressedtheir obligations to their friends for having taken this importantstep toward protecting them from the enemy. When they retired forthe night, everything was arranged, so that the different members ofthe party might know where to assemble within the works. Among theeffects of Gershom, were a conch and a horn; the latter being one ofthose common instruments of tin, which are so much used in and aboutAmerican farm-houses, to call the laborers from the field. The conchwas given to the men, that, in case of need, they might sound thealarm from without, while the horn, or trumpet of tin, was suspendedby the door of the chiente, in order that the females might haverecourse to it, at need.

　　About midnight, long after the whole party had retired to rest, andwhen the stillness of the hours of deepest repose reigned over theopenings, the bee-hunter was awoke from his sleep by an unwontedcall. At first, he could scarce believe his senses, so plaintive,and yet so wild, was the blast. But there could be no mistake: itwas the horn from the chiente, and, in a moment, he was on his feet.By this time, the corporal was afoot, and presently all the men werein motion. On this occasion, Gershom manifested a readiness andspirit that spoke equally well for his heart and his courage. He wasforemost in rushing to the assistance of his wife and sister, thoughle Bourdon was very close on his heels.

　　On reaching the gate of the palisade, it was found closed, andbarred within; nor did any one appear, until Dorothy was summoned,by repeated calls, in the well-known voice of her husband. When thetwo females came out of the chiente, great was their wonder andalarm! No horn had been blown by either of them, and there theinstrument itself hung, on its peg, as quiet and mute as if a blasthad never been blown into it The bee-hunter, on learning thisextraordinary fact, looked around him anxiously, in order toascertain who might be absent. Every man was present, and eachperson stood by his arms, no one betraying the slightestconsciousness of knowing whence the unaccountable summons hadproceeded!

　　"This has been done by you, corporal, in order to bring us together,under arms, by way of practice," le Bourdon at length exclaimed.

　　"False alarms is useful, if not overdone; especially among rawtroops," answered Flint, coolly; "but I have given none to-night. Iwill own I did intend to have you all out in a day or two by way ofpractice, but I have thought it useless to attempt too much at once.When the garrison is finished, it will be time enough to drill themen to the alarm-posts."

　　"What is your opinion, Peter?" continued le Bourdon. "You understandthe wilderness, and its ways. To what is this extr'or'nary callowing? Why have we been brought here, at this hour?"

　　"Somebody blow horn, most likely," answered Peter, in his unmoved,philosophical manner. "'Spose don't know; den can't tell. Warrioroften hear 'larm on war-path."

　　"This is an onaccountable thing! If I ever heard a horn, I heard oneto-night; yet this is the only horn we have, and no one has touchedit! It was not the conch I heard; there is no mistaking thedifference in sound between a shell and a horn; and there is theconch, hanging at Gershom's neck, just where it has been the wholenight."

　　"No one has touched the conch--I will answer for that," returnedGershom, laying a hand on the shell, as if to make certain all wasright.

　　"This is most extr'or'nary! I heard the horn, if ears of mine everheard such an instrument!"

　　Each of the white men added as much, for every one of them haddistinctly heard the blast. Still neither could suggest any probableclue to the mystery. The Indians said nothing; but it was so much inconformity with their habits for red men to maintain silence,whenever any unusual events awakened feelings in others, that no onethought their deportment out of rule. As for Peter, a statue ofstone could scarcely have been colder in aspect than was this chief,who seemed to be altogether raised above every exhibition of humanfeeling. Even the corporal gaped, though much excited, for he hadbeen suddenly aroused from a deep sleep; but Peter was as muchsuperior to physical, as to moral impressions, on this occasion. Hemade no suggestion, manifested no concern, exhibited no curiosity;and when the men withdrew, again, to their proper habitation, hewalked back with them, in the same silence and calm, as those withwhich he had advanced. Gershom, however, entered within thepalisade, and passed the remainder of the night with his family.

　　The bee-hunter and the Chippewa accidentally came together, as themen moved slowly toward their own hut, when the following shortdialogue occurred between them.

　　Is that you, Pigeonswing?" exclaimed le Bourdon, when he found hisfriend touching an elbow, as if by chance.

　　"Yes, dis me--want better friend, eh?"

　　"No, I'm well satisfied to have you near me, in an alarm, Chippewa.We've stood by each other once, in troublesome times; and I think wecan do as much, ag'in."

　　"Yes; stand by friend--dat honor. Nebber turn back on friend; dat myway."

　　"Chippewa, who blew the blast on the horn?--can you tell me that?"

　　"Why don't you ask Peter? He wise chief--know eb-beryt'ing. YoungInjin ask ole Injin when don't know--why not young pale-face ask oleman, too, eh?"

　　"Pigeonswing, if truth was said, I believe it would be found thatyou suspect Peter of having a hand in this business?"

　　This speech was rather too idiomatic for the comprehension of theIndian, who answered according to his own particular view of thematter.

　　"Don't blow horn wid hand," he said--"Injin blow wid mout', justlike pale-face."

　　The bee-hunter did not reply; but his companion's remark had atendency to revive in his breast certain unpleasant and distrustfulfeelings toward the mysterious savage, which the incidents andcommunications of the last two weeks had had a strong tendency toput to sleep.