第16章
HeopenedthedooramomentlaterandwhenJimGirtyandDeeringenteredheturnedtohisfriendswithadreaduncertaintyinhishaggardface。
Edwardslayonthebedwithwide—openeyesstaringattheintruders。Mr。Wellssatwithbowedhead。Zeisbergercalmlywhittledastick,andJimstoodboltupright,withahardlightinhiseyes。
Nellleanedagainstthesideofaheavytable。Wonderfulwasthechangethathadtransformedherfromatimid,appealing,fear—agonizedgirltoawomanwhoseonlyevidenceofunusualexcitementweretheflameinhereyesandthepeculiarwhitenessofherface。
Bennywasgone！
Heckewelder"sglancereturnedtothevisitors。Hethoughthehadneverseensuchbrutal,hideousmen。
"Wal,Ireckonapreacherain"tagoin"tolie。HevyouseenanyInjunChristiansroundhere？"askedGirty,wavingaheavysledge—hammer。
"Girty,wehavehiddennoIndianshere,"answeredHeckewelder,calmly。
"Wal,we"llhevalook,anyway,"answeredtherenegade。
Girtysurveyedtheroomwithwolfisheyes。Deeringwassodrunkthathestaggered。Bothmen,infact,reekedwiththevilefumesofrum。Withoutanotherwordtheyproceededtoexaminetheroom,bylookingintoeverybox,behindastoneoven,andinthecupboard。Theydrewthebedclothesfromthebed,andwithakickdemolishedapileofstovewood。Thentheruffianspassedintotheotherapartments,wheretheycouldbeheardmakingthoroughsearch。
Atlengthbothreturnedtothelargeroom,whenGirtydirectedDeeringtoclimbaladderleadingtotheloft,butbecauseDeeringwastoomuchundertheinfluenceofliquortodoso,hehadtogohimself。Herummagedaroundupthereforafewminutes,andthencamedown。
"Wal,Ireckonyouwasn"tlyin"aboutit,"saidGirty,withhisghastlyleer。
Heandhiscompanionstartedtogoout。DeeringhadstoodwithbloodshoteyesfixedonNellwhileGirtysearchedtheloft,andastheypassedthegirlontheirwaytotheopenair,therenegadelookedatGirtyashemotionedwithhisheadtowardher。Hisbesottedfaceexpressedsometerriblemeaning。
GirtyhadlookedatNellwhenhefirstentered,buthadnotglancedtwiceather。Asheturnednow,beforegoingoutofthedoor,hefixedonherhisbalefulglance。Hisaspectwasmorefullofmeaningthancouldhavebeenanywords。Ahorriblepower,ofwhichhewasboastfullyconscious,shonefromhislittle,pointedeyes。Hismerepresencewasdeadly。Plainlyasifhehadspokenwasthesignificanceofhislonggaze。Anyonecouldhavetranslatedthatlook。
OncebeforeNellhadfacedit,andfaintedwhenitsdreadmeaninggrewcleartoher。Butnowshereturnedhisgazewithoneinwhichflashedlightningscorn,andrepulsion,inwhichglowedawonderfuldefiance。
Thecruelfaceofthisman,theboastfulbarbarityofhismanner,thelong,dark,bloodyhistorywhichhispresencerecalled,was,indeed,terrifyingwithouttheaddedhorrorofhisintenttowardher,butnottheself—forgetfulnessofatruewomansustainedher。
GirtyandDeeringbackedoutofthedoor。Heckewelderclosedit,anddroppedthebarinplace。
Nellfelloverthetablewithalong,lowgasp。Thenwithonehandsheliftedherskirt。Bennywalkedfromunderit。Hisbigeyeswerebright。Theyoungwomanclaspedhimagaininherarms。Thenshereleasedhim,and,laboringunderintenseexcitement,rantothewindow。
"Therehegoes！Oh,thehorriblebeast！IfIonlyhadagunandcouldshoot！
Oh,ifonlyIwereaman！I"dkillhim。TothinkofpoorKate！Ah！heintendsthesameforme！"
Suddenlyshefelluponthefloorinafaint。Mr。WellsandJimliftedheronthebedbesideEdwards,wheretheyendeavoredtoreviveher。Itwassomemomentsbeforesheopenedhereyes。
JimsatholdingNell"shand。Mr。Wellsagainbowedhishead。Zeisbergercontinuedtowhittleastick,andHeckewelderpacedthefloor。Christystoodbywitheveryevidenceofsympathyforthisdistractedgroup。Outsidetheclamorincreased。
"Justlisten！"criedHeckewelder。"Didyoueverhearthelike？Alldrunk,crazy,fiendish！TheydrankeverydropofliquortheFrenchtradershad。
Cursesonthevagabonddealers！Rumhasmadetheserenegadesandsavageswild。
Oh！mypoor,innocentChristians！"
Heckewelderleanedhisheadagainstthemantle—shelf。Hehadbrokendownatlast。Rackingsobsshookhisframe。
"Areyouallrightagain？"askedJimofNell。
"Yes。"
"Iamgoingout,firsttoseeWilliamson,andthentheChristians,"hesaid,risingverypale,butcalm。
"Don"tgo！"criedHeckewelder。"Ihavetriedeverything。Itwasallofnouse。"
"Iwillgo,"answeredJim。
"Yes,Jim,go,"whisperedNell,lookingupintohiseyes。Itwasanearnestgazeinwhichafainthopeshone。
Jimunbarredthedoorandwentout。
"Wait,I"llgoalong,"criedZeisberger,suddenlydroppinghisknifeandstick。
Asthetwomenwentoutafearfulspectaclemettheireyes。TheclearingwasalivewithIndians。ButsuchIndians！Theywerepainteddemons,maddenedbyrum。Yesterdaytheyhadbeensilent;iftheymovedatallithadbeenwithdeliberationanddignity。To—daytheywereayelling,running,blood—seekingmob。
"Awful！Didyoueverseehumanbeingslikethese？"askedZeisberger。
"No,no！"
"Isawsuchafrenzyoncebefore,but,ofcourse,onlyinasmallbandofsavages。ManytimeshaveIseenIndianspreparingforthewar—path,insearchofbothwhitemenandredskins。Theywerefiercethen,butnothinglikethis。
Everyoneofthesefrenziedfiendsishonest。Thinkofthat！EverymanfeelsithisdutytomurdertheseChristians。Girtyhasleduptothisbycunning,andnowthetimeiscometoletthemloose。"
"Itmeansdeathforall。"
"Ihavegivenupanythoughtofescaping,"saidZeisberger,withthecalmnessthathadcharacterizedhismannersincehereturnedtothevillage。"Ishalltrytogetintothechurch。"
"I"lljoinyouthereassoonasIseeWilliamson。"
JimwalkedrapidlyacrosstheclearingtothecabinwhereCaptainWilliamsonhadquarters。Thefrontiersmenstoodingroups,watchingthesavageswithaninterestwhichshowedlittleornoconcern。
"IwanttoseeCaptainWilliamson,"saidJimtoafrontiersmanonguardatthecabindoor。
"Wal,he"sinside,"drawledtheman。
Jimthoughtthevoicefamiliar,andheturnedsharplytoseethesun—burntfeaturesofJeffLynn,theoldrivermanwhohadtakenMr。Wells"partytoFortHenry。
"Why,Lynn！I"mgladtoseeyou,"exclaimedJim。
"Purtyfairtomiddlin","answeredJeff,extendinghisbighand。"Say,how"stheotherone,yourbrotheraswuscalledJoe？"
"Idon"tknow。HeranoffwithWetzel,wascapturedbyIndians,andwhenI
lastheardofhimhehadmarriedWingenund"sdaughter。"
"Wal,I"llbedog—goned！"Jeffshookhisgrizzledheadandslappedhisleg。"I
jestknowedhe"draisesomethin"。"
"I"minahurry。DoyouthinkCaptainWilliamsonwillstandstillandletallthisgoon？"
"I"mafeerdso。"
Evidentlythecaptainheardtheconversation,forheappearedatthecabindoor,smokingalongpipe。
"CaptainWilliamson,IhavecometoentreatyoutosavetheChristiansfromthisimpendingmassacre。"
"Ican"tdonuthin","answeredWilliamson,removinghispipetopuffforthagreatcloudofsmoke。
"Youhaveeightymenhere！"
"IfweinterferedPipewouldeatusaliveinthreeminutes。Youpreacherfellowsdon"tunderstandthisthing。You"vegotPipeandGirtytodealwith。
Ifyoudon"tknowthem,you"llbebetteracquaintedbysundown。"
"Idon"tcarewhotheyare。Drunkenruffiansandsavages！That"senough。Willyouhelpus？Wearemenofyourownrace,andwecometoyouforhelp。Canyouwithholdit？"
"Iwon"thevnuthin"todowiththisbizness。Thechiefshevcondemnedthevillage,an"it"llhevtogo。Ifyoufellarshedbeencareful,nowhitebloodwouldhevbeenspilled。Iadviseyoualltolaylowtillit"sover。"
"Willyouletmespeaktoyourmen,totryandgetthemtofollowme？"
"Heckewelderaskedthatsamething。Hewaspersistent,andItookavoteferhimjusttoshowhowmymenstood。Eighteenofthemsaidthey"dfollowhim;
therestwouldn"tinterfere。"
"Eighteen！MyGod！"criedJim,voicingthepassionwhichconsumedhim。"Youarewhitemen,yetyouwillstandbyandseetheseinnocentpeoplemurdered！
Man,where"syourhumanity？Yourmanhood？TheseconvertedIndiansaresavagesnolonger,theyareChristians。Theirchildrenareasgood,pure,innocentasyourown。Canyouremainidleandseetheselittleonesmurdered？"
Williamsonmadenoanswer,themenwhohadcrowdedroundwereequallysilent。
Notoneloweredhishead。manylookedattheimpassionedmissionary;othersgazedatthesavageswhowerecirclingaroundthetreesbrandishingtheirweapons。IfanypitiedtheunfortunateChristians,noneshowedit。Theywereindifferent,withtheindifferenceofmenhardenedtocruelscenes。
Jimunderstood,atlast,asheturnedfromfacetofacetofindeverywherethatsameimperturbability。ThesebordermenwerelikeWetzelandJonathanZane。TheonlygoodIndianwasadeadIndian。Yearsofwarandbloodshed,ofmercilesscrueltyatthehandsofredmen,ofthehard,borderlifehadrenderedthesefrontiersmenincapableofcompassionforanysavage。
Jimnolongerrestrainedhimself。
"Bordermenyoumaybe,butfrommystandpoint,fromanyman"s,fromGod"s,youarealotofcoldlyindifferentcowards！"exclaimedJim,withwhite,quiveringlips。"Iunderstandnow。FewofyouwillriskanythingforIndians。YouwillnotbelieveasavagecanbeaChristian。Youdon"tcareiftheyareallmurdered。Anymanamongyou——anyman,Isay——wouldstepoutbeforethosehowlingfiendsandboldlydemandthattherebenobloodshed。Acourageousleaderwithabandofdeterminedfollowerscouldavertthistragedy。Youmightreadilyintimidateyonderhordeofdrunkendemons。CaptainWilliamson,Iamonlyaminister,farremovedfromamanofwarandleader,asyouclaimtobe,but,sir,Icurseyouasamiserablecoward。IfIevergetbacktocivilizationI"llbrandthisinhumancoldnessofyours,asthemostinfamousanddastardlycowardicethateverdisgracedawhiteman。YouareworsethanGirty！"
Williamsonturnedasicklyyellow;hefumbledasecondwiththehandleofhistomahawk,butmadenoanswer。Theotherbordermenmaintainedthesamecarelesscomposure。Whattothemwastheravingofamadpreacher？
Jimsawitandturnedbaffled,fiercelyangry,andhopeless。AshewalkedawayJeffLynntookhisarm,andaftertheywereclearofthecrowdoffrontiersmenhesaid:
"Youngfeller,yougivehimpepper,an"nomistake。An"mebbeyou"rerightfromyoursidethefence。Butyoucan"tseetheInjunsfromourside。Wehuntershevn"tmuchhumanity——Ireckonthat"swhatyoucalledit——butwe"velostsomanyfriendsan"relatives,an"hearnofsomanymurdersbythereddysthatwelookonallof"emaswildvarmintsthatshouldbekilledonsight。
Now,mebbeit"llinterestyoutoknowIwasthefellerwhotookthevoteWilliamsontoldyouabout,an"Ididit"causeIhadaninterestinyou。Iwuswatchin"youwhenEdwardsandtheothermissionarygotshot。Ilikegritinaman,an"Iseenyouhaditclearthrough。SowhenHeckeweldercomesoverI
talkedtothefellers,an"allIcouldgitinterestedwaseighteen,buttheywantedtofightsimplyferfightin"sake。Now,oleJeffLynnisyourfriend。
Youjustlaylowuntilthisisover。"
Jimthankedtheoldrivermanandlefthim。Hehardlyknewwhichwaytoturn。
Hewouldmakeonemoreeffort。Hecrossedtheclearingtowheretherenegades"
teepeestood。McKeeandElliottweresittingonalog。SimonGirtystoodbesidethem,hishard,keen,rovingeyesonthescene。Themissionarywasimpressedbythewhiteleader。Therewasadifferenceinhisaspect,awilderlookthantheotherswore,asifthemanhadsuddenlyawakenedtothefuryofhisIndians。Neverthelesstheyoungmanwentstraighttowardhim。
"Girty,Icome———"
"Gitout！Youmeddlin"preacher！"yelledtherenegade,shakinghisfistatJim。
SimonGirtywasdrunk。
Jimturnedfromthewhitefiends。Heknewhislifetothemwasnotworthapinchofpowder。
"Lost！Lost！Alllost！"heexclaimedindespair。
Ashewenttowardthechurchhesawhundredsofsavagesboundingoverthegrass,brandishingweaponsandwhoopingfiendishly。TheywereconcentratingaroundGirty"steepee,wherealreadyagreatthronghadcongregated。OfalltheIndianstobeseennotonewalked。TheyleapedbyJim,andranoverthegrassnimbleasdeer。
Hesawtheeager,fireintheirduskyeyes,andthecruellyclenchedteethlikethoseofwolveswhentheysnarl。Hefeltthehissingbreathofmanysavagesastheyracedbyhim。MorethanonewhirledatomahawkclosetoJim"shead,andutteredhorribleyellsinhisear。Theywereliketigerslustingforblood。
Jimhurriedtothechurch。NotanIndianwasvisiblenearthelogstructure。
Eventhesavageguardshadgone。Heenteredtheopendoortobeinstantlystruckwithreverenceandawe。
TheChristiansweresinging。
MiserableandfullofsickeningdreadthoughJimwas,hecouldnotbutrealizethatthescenebeforehimwasoneofextraordinarybeautyandpathos。ThedoomedIndianslifteduptheirvoicesinsong。Neverhadtheysungsofeelingly,soharmoniously。
WhenthesongendedZeisberger,whostooduponaplatform,openedhisBibleandread:
"InalittlewrathIhidmyfacefromtheeforamoment,butwitheverlastingkindnesswillIhavemercyonthee,saiththeLord,thyRedeemer。"
Inavoicelowandtremulousthevenerablemissionarybeganhissermon。
TheshadowofdeathhoveredovertheseChristianmartyrs;itwasreflectedintheirsombereyes,yetnotonewassullenorsad。Thechildrenwhoweretooyoungtounderstand,butinstinctivelyfeelingthetragedysoontobeenactedthere,coweredclosetotheirmothers。
Zeisbergerpreachedatouchingandimpressive,thoughshort,sermon。Atitsconclusionthewholecongregationroseandsurroundedthemissionary。Themenshookhishands,thewomenkissedthem,thechildrenclungtohislegs。Itwasawonderfulmanifestationofaffection。
SuddenlyGlickhican,theoldDelawarechief,steppedontheplatform,raisedhishandandshoutedoneIndianword。
Along,lowwailwentupfromthechildrenandyouths;thewomenslowly,meeklybowedtheirheads。Themen,duetothestoicismoftheirnatureandtheChristianitytheyhadlearned,stoodproudlyerectawaitingthedeaththathadbeendecreed。
Glickhicanpulledthebellrope。
Adeep,mellowtonepealedout。
ThesoundtransfixedalltheChristians。Noonemoved。
GlickhicanhadgiventhesignalwhichtoldthemurdererstheChristianswereready。
"Come,man,myGod！Wecan"tstayhere！"criedJimtoZeisberger。
Astheywentoutbothmenturnedtolooktheirlastonthemartyrs。ThedeathknellwhichhadrungintheearsoftheChristians,wastothemthevoiceofGod。Stern,darkvisagesofmenandthesweet,submissivefacesofwomenwereupliftedwithraptattention。AlightseemedtoshinefromthesefacesasifthecontemplationofGodhadilluminedthem。
AsZeisbergerandJimleftthechurchandhurriedtowardthecabins,theysawthecrowdofsavagesinablackmassroundGirty"steepee。Theyellingandleapinghadceased。
Heckewelderopenedthedoor。Evidentlyhehadwatchedforthem。
"Jim！Jim！"criedNell,whenheenteredthecabin。"Oh—h！Iwasafraid。Oh！I
amgladyou"rebacksafe。See,thisnobleIndianhascometohelpus。"
Wingenundstoodcalmanderectbythedoor。
"Chief,whatwillyoudo？"
"Wingenundwillshowyouthewaytothebigriver,"answeredthechieftain,inhisdeepbass。
"Runaway？No,never！Thatwouldbecowardly。Heckewelder,youwouldnotgo？
Noryou,Zeisberger？Wemayyetbeofuse,wemayyetsavesomeoftheChristians。"
"Savetheyellow—hair,"sternlysaidWingenund。
"Oh,Jim,youdon"tunderstand。ThechiefhascometowarnmeofGirty。Heintendstotakemeashehasothers,ashedidpoorKate。didyounotseethemeaninginhiseyesto—day？Howtheyscorchedme！Ho！Jim,takemeaway！Saveme！Donotleavemeheretothathorriblefate？Oh！Jim,takemeaway！"
"Nell,Iwilltakeyou,"criedJim,graspingherhands。
"Hurry！There"sablanketfullofthingsIpackedforyou,"saidHeckewelder。
"Losenotime。Ah！hearthat！MyHeavens！whatayell！"Heckewelderrushedtothedoorandlookedout。"Theretheygo,ablackmobofimps;apackofhungrywolves！JimGirtyisinthelead。Howheleaps！Howhewaveshissledge！Heleadsthesavagestowardthechurch。Oh！it"stheend！"
"Benny？Where"sBenny？"criedJim,hurriedlylacingthehuntingcoathehadflungabouthim。
"Benny"ssafe。I"vehiddenhim。I"llgethimawayfromhere,"answeredyoungChristy。"Go！Now"syourtime。Godspeedyou！"
"I"mready,"declaredMr。Wells。"I——have——finished！"
"TheregoesWingenund！He"srunning。Followhim,quick！Good—by！Good—by！Godbewithyou！"criedHeckewelder。
"Good—by！Good—by！"
JimhurriedNelltowardthebusheswhereWingenund"stallformcoulddimlybeseen。Mr。Wellsfollowedthem。OntheedgeoftheclearingJimandNellturnedtolookback。
Theysawablackmassofyelling,struggling,fightingsavagescrowdingaroundthechurch。
"Oh！Jim,lookback！Lookback！"criedNell,holdinghardtohishand。"Lookback！SeeifGirtyiscoming！"
ChapterXXVII。
Atlastthefugitivesbreathedfreeunderthegoldandredcoverofthewoods。
Neverspeaking,neverlookingback,theguidehurriedeastwardwithlongstrides。Hisfollowerswerealmostforcedtoruninordertokeephiminsight。Hehadwaitedattheedgeoftheclearingforthem,and,relievingJimoftheheavypack,whichheswungslightlyoverhisshoulder,hesetapacethatwasmostdifficulttomaintain。Theyoungmissionaryhalfled,halfcarriedNelloverthestonesandroughplaces。Mr。Wellslaboredintherear。
"Oh！Jim！Lookback！Lookback！Seeifwearepursued！"criedNellfrequently,withmanyaearfulglanceintothedensethickets。
TheIndiantookastraightcoursethroughthewoods。Heleapedthebrooks,climbedtheroughridges,andswiftlytrodthegladesthatwerefreeofwindfalls。Hishurryandutterdisregardfortheplaintrailleftbehind,provedhisbeliefinthenecessityofplacingmanymilesbetweenthefugitivesandtheVillageofPeace。Evidentlytheywouldbefollowed,anditwouldbeawasteofvaluabletimetotrytoconcealtheirtrail。Graduallythegroundbegantorise,thewaybecomemoredifficult,butWingenundneverslackenedhispace。Nellwasstrong,supple,andlightoffoot。SheheldherownwithJim,buttimeandtimeagaintheywereobligedtowaitforheruncle。Oncehewasfarbehind。Wingenundhaltedforthemattheheightofaridgewheretheforestwasopen。
"Ugh！"exclaimedthechieftain,astheyfinishedtheascent。Hestretchedalongarmtowardthesun;hisfalconeyegleamed。
Farinthewestagreatblackandyellowcloudofsmokerolledheavenward。Itseemedtorisefromouttheforest,andtohanglowoverthetrees;thenitsoaredaloftandgrewthinneruntilitlostitsdistinctlinefarintheclouds。Thesettingsunstoodyetanhourhighoveradistanthill,andburneddarkredthroughthegreatpallofsmoke。
"Isitaforestfire？"askedNell,fearfully。
"Fire,ofcourse,but———"Jimdidnotvoicehisfear;helookedcloselyatWingenund。
Thechieftainstoodsilentamomentaswashiswontwhenaddressed。Thedullglowofthesunwasreflectedinthedarkeyesthatgazedfarawayoverforestandfield。
"Fire,"saidWingenund,anditseemedthatashespokeasternershadowflittedacrosshisbronzedface。"Thesunsetsto—nightovertheashesoftheVillageofPeace。
Heresumedhisrapidmarcheastward。Withneverabackwardglancethesaddenedpartyfollowed。NellkeptclosebesideJim,andtheoldmantrampedafterthemwithbowedhead。Thesunset,butWingenundneverslackenedhisstride。
Twilightdeepened,yethekepton。
"Indian,wecangonofurtherto—night,wemustrest,"criedJim,asNellstumbledagainsthim,andMr。Wellspantedwearilyintherear。
"Restsoon,"repliedthechief,andkepton。
DarknesshadsettleddownwhenWingenundatlasthalted。Thefugitivescouldseelittleinthegloom,buttheyheardthemusicofrunningwater,andfeltsoftmossbeneaththeirfeet。
Theysankwearilydownuponaprojectingstone。Themosswasrestfultotheirtiredlimbs。Openingthepacktheyfoundfoodwithwhichtosatisfythedemandsofhunger。Then,closeunderthestone,thefugitivessankintoslumberwhilethewatchfulIndianstoodsilentandmotionless。
Jimthoughthehadbutjustclosedhiseyeswhenhefeltagentlepressureonhisarm。
"Dayishere,"saidtheIndian。
Jimopenedhiseyestoseethebrightredsuncrimsoningtheeasternhills,andstreaminggloriouslyoverthecoloredforests。Heraisedhimselfonhiselbowtolookaround。Nellwasstillasleep。Theblanketwastuckedclosetoherchin。Herchestnuthairwastumbledlikeaschoolgirl"s;shelookedasfreshandsweetasthemorning。
"Nell,Nell,wakeup,"saidJim,thinkingthewhilehowhewouldlovetokissthosewhiteeyelids。
Nell"seyesopenedwide;asmilelaydeepintheirhazelshadows。
"WhereaI？Oh,Iremember,"shecried,sittingup。"Oh,Jim,Ihadsuchasweetdream。IwasathomewithmotherandKate。Oh,towakeandfinditalladream！Iamfleeingforlife。But,Jim,wearesafe,arewenot？"
"Anotherday,andwe"llbesafe。"
"Letusfly,"shecried,leapingupandshakingouthercrumpledskirt。
"Uncle,come！"
Mr。Wellslayquietlywithhismildblueeyessmilingupather。Heneithermovednorspoke。
"Eat,drink,"saidthechief,openingthepack。
"Whatabeautifulplace,"exclaimedNell,takingthebreadandmeathandedtoher。"Thisisalovelylittleglade。Lookatthosegoldenflowers,theredandpurpleleaves,thebrownshiningmoss,andthoselichen—coveredstones。Why！
Someonehascampedhere。Seethelittlecave,thescreensofplaitedferns,andthestonefireplace。"
"Itseemstomethisdarkspringandthosegracefullyspreadingbranchesarefamiliar,"saidJim。
"BeautifulSpring,"interposedWingenund。
"Yes,Iknowthisplace,"criedNellexcitedly。"IrememberthisgladethoughitwasmoonlightwhenIsawit。HereWetzelrescuedmefromGirty。"
"Nell,you"reright,"repliedJim。"Howstrangeweshouldrunacrossthisplaceagain。"
Strangefate,indeed,whichhadbroughtthemagaintoBeautifulSpring！Itwasdestinedthatthegreatscenesoftheirlivesweretobeenactedinthismossyglade。
"Come,uncle,youarelazy,"criedNell,atouchofheroldroguishnessmakingplayfulhervoice。
Mr。Wellslaystill,andsmiledupatthem。
"Youarenotill？"criedNell,seeingforthefirsttimehowpallidwashisface。
"DearNellie,Iamnotill。Idonotsuffer,butIamdying,"heanswered,againwiththatstrange,sweetsmile。
"Oh—h—h！"breathedNell,fallingonherknees。
"No,no,Mr。Wells,youareonlyweak;youwillbeallrightagainsoon,"
criedJim。
"Jim,Nellie,Ihaveknownallnight。Ihavelainherewakeful。Myheartneverwasstrong。Itgaveoutyesterday,andnowitisslowlygrowingweaker。Putyourhandonmybreast。Feel。Ah！yousee！Mylifeisflickering。God"swillbedone。Iamcontent。Myworkisfinished。MyonlyregretisthatIbroughtyououttothisterribleborderland。ButIdidnotknow。IfonlyIcouldseeyousafefromtheperilofthiswilderness,athome,happy,married。"
Nellbentoverhimblindedbyhertears,unabletoseeorspeak,crushedbythislastoverwhelmingblow。Jimsatontheothersideoftheoldmissionary,holdinghishand。Formanymomentsneitherspoke。Theyglancedatthepaleface,watchingwitheager,wistfuleyesforasmile,orlisteningforaword。
"Come,"saidtheIndian。
Nellsilentlypointedtowardheruncle。
"Heisdying,"whisperedJimtotheIndian。
"Go,leaveme,"murmuredMr。Wells。"Youarestillindanger。"
"We"llnotleaveyou,"criedJim。
"No,no,no,"sobbedNell,bendingovertokisshim。
"Nellie,mayImarryyoutoJim？"whisperedMr。Wellsintoherear。"Hehastoldmehowitiswithhim。Helovesyou,Nellie。I"ddiehappierknowingI"dleftyouwithhim。"
Evenatthatmoment,withherheartalmostbreaking,Nell"sfairfaceflushed。
"Nell,willyoumarryme？"askedJim,softly。Lowthoughitwas,hehadheardMr。Wells"whisper。
NellstretchedalittletremblinghandoverheruncletoJim,whoincloseditinhisown。Hereyesmethis。Throughhertearsshonefaintlyalight,which,butfortheagonythatmadeitdim,wouldhavebeamedradiant。
"Findtheplace,"saidMr。Wells,handingJimaBible。Itwastheonehealwayscarriedinhispocket。
WithtremblinghandJimturnedtheleaves。Atlasthefoundthelines,andhandedthebookbacktotheoldman。
Simple,sweetandsadwasthatmarriageservice。NellandJimkneltwithhandsclaspedoverMr。Wells。Theoldmissionary"svoicewasfaint;Nell"sresponseswerelow,andJimansweredwithdeepandtenderfeeling。BesidethemstoodWingenund,adark,magnificentfigure。
"There！MayGodblessyou！"murmuredMr。Wells,withahappysmile,closingtheBible。
"Nell,mywife！"whisperedJim,kissingherhand。
"Come！"brokeinWingenund"svoice,deep,strong,likethatofabell。
Notoneofthemhadobservedthechiefashestooderect,motionless,poisedlikeastagscentingtheair。Hisdarkeyesseemedtopiercethepurple—goldenforest,hiskeenearseemedtodrinkinthesingingofthebirdsandthegentlerustlingofleaves。Nativetothesehauntsaswerethewildcreatures,theywerenoquickerthantheIndiantofeeltheapproachoffoes。Thebreezehadbornefaint,suspicioussounds。