The Pathfinder: Or the Inland Sea

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remote frontier post — until long after the garrison had obeyed the usual summons of the drums, and had assembled at the morning parade. Sergeant Dunham, on whose shoulders fell the task of attending to these ordinary and daily duties, had

ew young officers also, who were natives of the colonies, were to be found in the corps. The fort itself, like most works of that character, was better adapted to resist an attack of savages than to withstand a regular siege; but the great difficulty of transporting heavy artillery and other necessaries rendered the occurrence of the latter a probability so remote as scarcely to enter into the estimate of the engineers who had planned the defence

of a bastion, which lay invitingly before her, with a promise of giving a coup d’oeil of all that had been concealed in the darkness of the preceding night. Tripping up the grassy ascent

incipally cleared of its woods to form the martial constructions around her. This glacis, for such in fact was its military uses, might have covered a hundred acres; but with it every sign of civilization ce

eral, nor yet of the deep blue of the ocean, the color being of a slightly amber hue, which scarcely affected its limpidity. No land was to be seen, with the exception of the adjacent coast, which stretched to the right and left in an unbroken outline of forest with wide bays and low headlands or points; still, much of the shore was rocky, and into its caverns the sluggish waters occasionally rolled, producing a hollow sound, which resembled the concussions of a distant gun. No sail whitened the surface, no whale or other fish gambolled on its bosom, no sign of use o

en in her own station in life; and, in one sense certainly, she did credit to her teaching. The widow of a field-officer, who formerly belonged to the same regiment as her father, had taken the child in charge at the death of its mother; and under the care of this lady Mabel had acquired some tastes and many ideas which otherwise might always have remained strangers to her. Her situation in the family had been less that of a domestic than of a humble companion, and the results were quite a

produced by vulgar surprise. She felt its ordinary beauties as most would have felt them, but she had also a feeling for its sublimity — for that softene

astion, facing the air from the lake, and experiencing the genial influence of its fres

expectation of seeing her father, Mabel found Pathfinder at her side. He was leaning quietly on his long rifle, an

boasts of the breadth of his dominions; but I tell him my trees make as broad a plain on the face of this ‘arth as all his water.

he Pathfinder to appear in,

nt’s daughter would do discredit to her worthy father, we

nder, I rejoice to see you among us again; for, though Jasper did not seem to feel much uneasines

uch in company to part very easily. No, no; we waded ashore, the rift being shallow enough for that with small exceptions, and we landed with our arms in our hands. We had to take our time for it, on account of the Iroquois, I will own; but, as soon as the skulking vagabonds saw the ligh

itself could scarcely make me sleep,

to see the lanterns come down to the waterside, which I knew to be a sure sign of your safety. We hunters and guides are rude beings; but we have

heart, I thank you; and, depend on it, my father shall know it. I have

too. There is little need to tell him anything about it. Well, now you have met your

as a soldier and a father should receive a

ng, and that is now more than twenty years ago. We had a tramping time of it; and, as it was

in you

, but for a sort of inbred turn I took to the weapon. We brought him off, however, and a handsomer head of hair, f

ously, though warmly, taking one of his hard, sinewy hands into bot

r without his eye and arm the canoe would never have passed the rift in safety on a night like the last. The gifts of the lad are for the water, while mine are for the hunt and the trai

beneath it were a few huts of logs, which, as they could not interfere with the defence of the place, had been erected along the strand for the purpose of receiving and containing such stores as were landed, or were intended to be embarked, in the communications between the different ports on the shores of Ontario. Two low, curved, gravelly points had been formed with surprising regularity by the counteracting forces of the

of the air of a vessel of war, though entirely without quarters, and rigged and sparred with so scrupulous a regard to proportions and beauty, as well as fitness and judgment, as to give her an appearance that even Mabel at once distinguished to be gallant and trim. Her mould was admirable, fo

sociated the master of the little craft very naturally wi

and a third is a cutter, like the Scud here, which they call the Squirrel, in their own tongue, however; and which see

man, though he appears in the shape of

ter was risky enough, for he brought us so near the enemy that rifles began to talk; but the Frenchers carry cannon and ports, and never show their faces outside of Frontenac, without having some twenty men, besides their Squirrel, in their cutter. No, no; this Scud was built for flying, and th

he worse for his swim, coming

companion, he made a deliberate survey of the expanse of water before him. In order to effect this at his ease, the mariner mounted on one of the old iron g

ct the expression of contempt that was gradually settling on the feature

anded Cap, sweeping the northern horizon with

ho has lived on the shores of many othe

. It is all in vain to travel inland, in the hope of seeing anything e

rge, and fair to look at, and pleasant enough to drink

pe. “I will just ask you what there is large about it? Didn’t Jasper hi

is to be seen, except here on our own coa

irl who has had real seamen in her family is downright nonsense. Wha

er — nothing but water, for miles

miles on miles in your rivers, that you have been canoeing thro

their banks, and there are trees

ren’t there trees in thousands? And aren’t twenty leagues narrow enough of all conscience? Who th

e across this lake, as we

em? Hark’e Pathfinder, I very much doubt if this stripe of water here be even a lake; for to me it appea

each end of it; but this is old Ontario before you; and, though it is not

ould we see than we now behold? There is a shore on one side, o

irst place, the ocean has coasts, but no banks, except the Grand Banks, as I tell you, which are out o

t opinion, Cap pursued the subject, his countenance begi

he world, castles and monasteries and lighthouses — ay, ay — lighthouses, in particular, on them; not one of all which things is to be seen here

is what is better; a forest and

and there would be an end of trade, and what would a world be without trade? I am of that philosopher’s opinion who says human nature was invented for the purposes of trade. M

no judge of animals that live in the water, unle

poise even? not so much a

there is either. My gifts are not i

o kept his eye fastened on the guide, in order to see how far he

we are mere borderers, that we have no idees of natur’, and what s

inder! Do you suppose that you have got a

em to have been many; for as for what belongs to natur’ in the w

understand that you hav

you will do well to believe that, and many other things o

played with the guide’s infirmity, that he forgave her in his heart, “you, who s

o the fact, unlikely as it seems, I am willing to try to think it true. I think

irrel?” demanded Cap, with more logic than was his wont. “

ined the guide. “It seems unreasonable to give an animal that l

h asses as to fly about under water, when t

eems more contrary to natur’ still, than that they should fly in their ow

of water to run away from their enemies in the water; an

ue,” said the guide quietly.

ls of yours, we’ll say no more about them, friend Pathfinder, as I suppose they were mentioned just as

Mabel hurriedly; “and a very pretty vessel

no great affair. The lad has got a standing bowsprit, an

e good reason for it, on

this is not the ocean, though

ario does look like

orothy“ (the name of his vessel) “would find it out as quick as I could myself. I do not believe that brig would make more than a couple of short stretches, at the most, before she would perceive the difference between Ontario and the old Atlantic. I once took her down into one of the large South American bays, and

s about to embark with a party to relieve a post among the Thousand Islands; and as I

s true,

her companions glowing on her cheeks; “though I have had so little opportunity to talk with my

e subalterns; for experience and tried services were of quite as much value in the eyes of the veteran major as birth and money. While the Sergeant never even hoped to rise any higher, he so far respected himself and his present station as always to act in a way to command attention; and the habit of mixing so much with inferiors, whose passions and dispositions he felt it necessary to restrain by distance and dignity, had so far colored his whole deportment, that few were altogether free from its influence. While the captains treated him kindly and as an

on the bastion. “My morning duty has made me seem forgetful of you and Mabel; but we have now an hour or two to sp

s said, with a little of your firmer figure; though, for tha

e saw that the muscles of his face were working, notwithstanding the stiffness and method of his manner, her very heart yearned to throw herself on his bosom and to weep at will. Bu

y, brother, on my account; and we will try to

nchor, Sergeant, and to shift your berth into a part of

s is some of you

d not seem to me necessary to hide your intentio

ont of the French not to know the value of silence. But no matter; the thing must soon be known, and there is no great use in trying now to conceal it. We shall embark a relief party shortly for a post on the lake, tho

nner of marching. I have no

le service, which is no stranger to us, is likel

for you, I have no objection to ship for the v’y’ge, notwithstanding; though I shall look on the whole affai

we shall be glad of your company. You cannot return to the settlement until a party is sent in, and that is not likely to happen un

when they knew that Jasper had reached the garrison. Then a man may take a little rest after a summer of hard work, and no impeachment of his goodwill. Besides, the Sarpent is out with them; and if the miscreants are to be found at all, you may trust to his inmity and sight: the first being stronger, and the last nearly, if not quite as good as my own. He loves the skulking vagabonds as little as myself;

you for preferring her company to the trail of the savages; and, I daresay, will be happy to give you a part of her breakfast if you are inclined to eat. You

nd quit the garrison before her pretty eyes had time to frown. No, no; Mabel knows me better, though we are but ne

mention,” returned Mabel, coloring with the sincere earnestness with which she endeavored to remove any suspicion to the contra

would have hurt a hair of your head, had they succeeded by their devilries and contrivances in getting you into their hands. My scalp, and Jasper’s, and Master

her women nor children, would have shown more mercy to me t

as I suspect the vampires to be, I do not suspect them of anything so wicked as that. They might have wished you, nay, forced you to become the wife of on

s hard hand into her own frankly and cordially, and certainly in a way to delight the honest

untenance, “and it will have its way. I tell the Sarpent that no Christianizing will ever make even a Delaware a white man; nor any whooping

tained. But it is time to break your fasts; and if you will follow me, brother Cap, I