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22 - Murray's Adirondack Tales by William Henry Harrison Murray · Murrays Adirondack Tales

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Speaker 1: Chapter one. Thanksgiving Day had come and gone, and the
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Speaker 1: old Trapper had retired, after the festivities of it, to
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Speaker 1: his couch, and had yielded himself to slumber. His sleep
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Speaker 1: was of the kind to be expected in one of
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Speaker 1: his age and habits, sufficiently profound to satisfy the wants
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Speaker 1: of nature, but by no means so heavy as not
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Speaker 1: to yield back the sleeper to wakefulness. At the coming
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Speaker 1: within range of the senses of any sound or sight,
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Speaker 1: that was unusual. For some two hours the trapper had
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Speaker 1: been sleeping, and the great white moon, shining at its
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Speaker 1: full stood nearly at that point in the zenith which
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Speaker 1: marked the midnight hour, when the two hounds, who were
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Speaker 1: lying in the great hearth stone in front of the log,
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Speaker 1: still in full blaze and glow, lifted their heads with
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Speaker 1: a common movement and gave voice to a low interrogative growl.
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Speaker 1: What is it, pups? Said the old trapper, with a
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Speaker 1: quickness of utterance that might have led one not acquainted
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Speaker 1: with its habits to imagine that he had not been asleep.
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Speaker 1: What is it, pups? And he arose to a sitting
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Speaker 1: posture in his bed, with his eyes on the dogs
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Speaker 1: and his senses fully alert. The hounds, as if feeling
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Speaker 1: they had done their duty, made no further manifestation, and
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Speaker 1: again rested their muzzles on their extended paws, but with
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Speaker 1: eyes that still remained fastened upon the door. The old
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Speaker 1: man slid from the bed and into his clothes with
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Speaker 1: a hunter's celerity, but even while doing it, his ear
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Speaker 1: caught the lightest possible sound of approaching footsteps. It was
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Speaker 1: evident from the looks of the trapper that he was surprised.
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Speaker 1: The steps approaching were, without doubt, those of a man.
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Speaker 1: Had they been those of an animal, they would have
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Speaker 1: caused no astonishment, for animals of the larger sort, especially
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Speaker 1: when compelled by hunger, were not infrequent visitors to the
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Speaker 1: little clearing in which his cabin stood. But the hero man,
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Speaker 1: coming towards his door at the dead of night, when
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Speaker 1: he supposed that there was not a human being within
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Speaker 1: fifty miles, was extraordinary enough to quicken his attention and
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Speaker 1: strike cam with surprise. But whoever the man was that
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Speaker 1: was approaching, he was evidently in no hurry. Occasionally he stopped,
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Speaker 1: and after a moment's pause, would come on again. His
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Speaker 1: steps were not only slow, but the sound they made
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Speaker 1: was the sound of a step taken in weakness or
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Speaker 1: excessive weariness. Wondering whom his midnight visitor could be, the
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Speaker 1: old man seated himself on the edge of the bed
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Speaker 1: and waited his coming. The dogs still lay on the hearth,
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Speaker 1: with their muzzles on their paws and their eyes fastened
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Speaker 1: on the door. The steps approached the threshold and stopped
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Speaker 1: for a moment. No further sound was heard. Then a
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Speaker 1: knock sounded upon the door. It was a weak, timid knock,
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Speaker 1: not the strong, hearty, friendly knock that a hunter delivers
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Speaker 1: on a comrade's door, but a faltering, half mistrustful tap,
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Speaker 1: as if the one who gave it had hesitated before
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Speaker 1: giving it, and was by no means sure that he
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Speaker 1: had the right to give it at all. The old
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Speaker 1: trapper still remained seated on the edge of the bed,
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Speaker 1: and before the faint sound of the feeble tap had
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Speaker 1: scarcely sounded, said in his usual strong and hearty tone
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Speaker 1: of voice, come in for a moment. No response followed
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Speaker 1: the invitation. Then a hand was heard feebly fumbling with
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Speaker 1: the latch, which finally it grasped, and the door slowly
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Speaker 1: opened opened as if the man was still in doubt,
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Speaker 1: either as to the propriety of his own conduct or
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Speaker 1: the reception with which he would meet. Thus, slowly the
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Speaker 1: door opened, and a man stepped into the room. A
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Speaker 1: dog followed the man. The door closed, and the man
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Speaker 1: and the dog stood, and the firelight fully revealed. The
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Speaker 1: hounds made no movement, and the trapper stirred not an inch. Thus,
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Speaker 1: for a full minute, the trapper and the hounds looked
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Speaker 1: at the man and the dog, and the man and
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Speaker 1: the dog looked at the trapper and the hounds. And
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Speaker 1: it is doubtful if ever before there stood in a
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Speaker 1: hunter's cabin so singular a look looking man, or remarkable
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Speaker 1: a looking dog. The trapper looked the man over from
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Speaker 1: head to foot, and with equal curiosity studied the dog,
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Speaker 1: each remarkable in his way. And as the reader is
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Speaker 1: destined to learn of the peculiarities of both, it may
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Speaker 1: perhaps be well that we described the two singular visitors
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Speaker 1: to his cabin, whom the trapper thus unexpectedly saw standing
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Speaker 1: before him. The man was tall, remarkably tall. He was spare,
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Speaker 1: unusually spare. As he entered, he lifted a light cloth
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Speaker 1: cap from his head, and his countenance was fully revealed.
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Speaker 1: His hair was black as black as could be, not
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Speaker 1: over plenty in thickness, but long enough to reach stragglingly
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Speaker 1: to his shoulders. Amid its blackness, some gray was mingled.
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Speaker 1: His forehead was high, unusually high, and very prominent, especially
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Speaker 1: in its upper half. His eyebrows were abundant, even to shagginess,
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Speaker 1: strong brows of cortious hair. It was gray in them too.
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Speaker 1: His eyes were large, very black, very mild, a mildness
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Speaker 1: that bordered on plaintiveness. But through their dimness there shone
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Speaker 1: the suggestion of a gleam and a glow, as if
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Speaker 1: their mildness might be set on fire from some latent
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Speaker 1: but unsmothered flame. His ears were large, set prominently out
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Speaker 1: from the head, thin sensitively edged between them and the
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Speaker 1: eyes on either side was a recess beneath which the
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Speaker 1: cheek bones projected sharply. The nose was large, but thin,
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Speaker 1: and finely curved at the nostril's edge. So far. The face,
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Speaker 1: if not strong, was remarkably intellectual, a face to denoted ability,
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Speaker 1: a face that argued mental quickness, finest imagination, and the
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Speaker 1: power to idealize the commons, so that it would seem
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Speaker 1: extraordinary to create another world if the present one should
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Speaker 1: not suffice. But the mouth was weak. It was small
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Speaker 1: in size, too small compared with the noble countenance above it.
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Speaker 1: The lips were curved and, in spite of years, smooth
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Speaker 1: and rounded, like a boy's, a mouth of remarkably infantile appearance,
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Speaker 1: considering the age of its owner. The chin beneath did
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Speaker 1: not retreat, nor was it prominent enough for power. The
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Speaker 1: curvature of the cheek, as outlined by the jaws, was
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Speaker 1: not full enough to express determination and manly vigor. His
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Speaker 1: head sat on a neck that was long and small. Exposure,
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Speaker 1: for it was without cover, had wrinkled it and made
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Speaker 1: his skin coarse. His shoulders were thin and stooping, such
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Speaker 1: as students of unusual height acchoir. His clothing was remarkable,
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Speaker 1: first because there was so little of it, and secondly
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Speaker 1: because it was of so thin a fabric. His coat
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Speaker 1: was evidently unpadded, of cheap material, and buttoned closely around him,
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Speaker 1: even to his neck. It fitted him too closely to
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Speaker 1: allow one to believe that his waistcoat was either a
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Speaker 1: very thick or very warm material. His pantaloons could not
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Speaker 1: be called stout, and were chiefly remarkable for their decorations.
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Speaker 1: They were of composite material and suggested Joseph's coat without
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Speaker 1: its splendor. The old trapper's quick eye noted several places
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Speaker 1: of buckskin that had been stitched into the original fabric
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Speaker 1: in different places, and several other pieces of light cloth
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Speaker 1: that bore a suspicious resemblance of those little bags that
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Speaker 1: dealers in family provisions are acquainted with. His shoes were
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Speaker 1: large in size but low in build, and one of
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Speaker 1: them at the toes resembled a doorway sufficiently open for
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Speaker 1: easy exit. And the man's back was a pack, or
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Speaker 1: what might have been a pack, if the contents had
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Speaker 1: been sufficiently bulky to extend it. As it was, there
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Speaker 1: was a look of leanness about it, which suggested that
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Speaker 1: its owner was either not troubled with earthly possessions, or
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Speaker 1: else was too modest to display them. In his hands,
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Speaker 1: the man held a rifle of flint locked pattern, very
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Speaker 1: long in the barrel, and of an appearance which suggested antiquity.
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Speaker 1: A little pouch and a small powder horn with a
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Speaker 1: wooden stopple completed his outfit. Such was the man in
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Speaker 1: outward appearance as he stood within the doorway with the
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Speaker 1: firelight shining upon him, while the trapper, with steady and
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Speaker 1: curious gaze, looked him over. The dog was as remarkable
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Speaker 1: in appearance as his master. He was of medium size,
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Speaker 1: of the Irish breed in part, and showed unmistakable evidence
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Speaker 1: of high blood, but blood by no means free of
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Speaker 1: extraordinary outcrossing. For while his ears were long and thin
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Speaker 1: as an Irish hound should be, his body was clothed
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Speaker 1: with a coarse, stiff hair of the terrier kind. To
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Speaker 1: say that he was thin in flesh would not be
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Speaker 1: a characterization. He was extraordinarily thin. He was not only thin,
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Speaker 1: but he seemed conscious of his thinness. He did not
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Speaker 1: stand erect, but in a kind of doubled up and
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Speaker 1: shrinking posture, as if he felt that his natural length
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Speaker 1: was out of proportion with its thickness, and he could
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Speaker 1: in some way improve his appearance by a constans. Yet
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Speaker 1: he was by no means devoid of intelligence, for his
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Speaker 1: eyes were bright, his muzzle lean, and his frontal prominent.
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Speaker 1: He struck one as a dog naturally of uncommon parts,
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Speaker 1: but who had experienced such a series of canine disappointments
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Speaker 1: that he had lost confidence in himself. A more extraordinary
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Speaker 1: looking man, or a more remarkable looking dog was certainly
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Speaker 1: never seen. The trapper rose from the bed on which
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Speaker 1: he had been sitting, and, as if he had rightly
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Speaker 1: divined the condition of a strange visitor, said, stranger, what
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Speaker 1: can I do for you? The man looked at him
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Speaker 1: with his large black eyes and replied, in a mild
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Speaker 1: deferential voice. Are you John Norton? Certain? Yes, I mean
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Speaker 1: John Norton. And if there's anything John Norton can do
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Speaker 1: for you? Just stated, I was taking a little walk
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Speaker 1: through the woods. It's a very pleasant night. I don't
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Speaker 1: know as I ever saw a pleasanter night. I and
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Speaker 1: my dog were taking a little stroll through the woods.
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Speaker 1: We are given a good deal to strolling. And as
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Speaker 1: I was standing on the bank out yonder admiring the
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Speaker 1: beauties of nature, I happened to see your cabin, and,
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Speaker 1: in feeling in a rather companionable mood, I thought I
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Speaker 1: would see if you're up. I feared I should interrupt you.
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Speaker 1: I hope I haven't interrupted you, Am I interrupted me? Lord? No,
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Speaker 1: I was sitting here with the hounds wishing somebody would
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Speaker 1: come along, and you're just as welcome as if you'd
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Speaker 1: been expected for a month. The white Angel that took
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Speaker 1: into heaven the old man's sentence, which from the ethical
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Speaker 1: point of view was not exactly truthful, attributed beyond doubt
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Speaker 1: the slight inaccuracy of the remark to the motive which
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Speaker 1: prompted and forgave it. For the old trapper was not
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Speaker 1: slow to discern that if the Stranger for who's coming
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Speaker 1: he had placed the plate on his bountiful board, that
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Speaker 1: day had come late, he had come at last, and
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Speaker 1: that God had sent a hungry man to his door.
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Speaker 1: And so he added his whole heart, moving out toward
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Speaker 1: the stranger, who, as he stood before him, presented the
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Speaker 1: strongest possible appeal to his sympathies. Stranger, set your rifle
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Speaker 1: there in a corner, and move up in front of
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Speaker 1: a fire. Here, pups, make room, unless your shivering companion
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Speaker 1: have a chance to warm himself. And the old man
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Speaker 1: shoved the great armchair in front of the blazing logs,
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Speaker 1: and actually took the gun from the stranger's hand and
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Speaker 1: placed it against the wall. While the man moved forward
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Speaker 1: and quietly seated himself in the offered chair. The old
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Speaker 1: man busied himself for a moment in making additions to
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Speaker 1: the fire and stirring the glowing coals, while the stranger
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Speaker 1: stretched out his thin hands and warmed them by the
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Speaker 1: genial blaze. Don't you want something to eat? Asked the trapper.
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Speaker 1: The man continued to warm his hands for an instant
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Speaker 1: before making reply, and then he said, I am not
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Speaker 1: particularly hungry. I am not much of an eater. I
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Speaker 1: don't want to trouble you. I see you have cleared
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Speaker 1: away the dishes. But if you happen to have some
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Speaker 1: cold victuals left from your thanksgiving, I believe this is Thanksgiving?
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Speaker 1: Is it not? Certain? Said the trapper. Certain this be Thanksgiving,
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Speaker 1: and me and the pups have had a great feast.
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Speaker 1: And I had a plate set for you all day, how,
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Speaker 1: asked the man. I had a plate, I say, returned
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Speaker 1: the trapper set for you all day. Indeed, I'm sorry
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Speaker 1: I missed it. I have missed many things in my life.
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Speaker 1: It is not unusual for me to miss things. But
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Speaker 1: I always get them in the end. I always get
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Speaker 1: them in the end, repeated the man, with a rising
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Speaker 1: inflection of the voice. You don't think it's anything very bad,
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Speaker 1: do you, addressing the trapper earnestly. For a man to
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Speaker 1: miss things if he gets them in the end, Well,
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Speaker 1: stranger returned the trapper, I don't know about gettin things
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Speaker 1: at the end. It certainly strikes me that it's a
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Speaker 1: good deal better to get him by the middle. It's
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Speaker 1: gettin things by the end doesn't serve a man's purpose,
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Speaker 1: as I can see. Oh, I don't know, said the
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Speaker 1: man dreamily. It don't make much difference when we get
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Speaker 1: what we want, if we only get it in the end.
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Speaker 1: But I am sorry. If you had a plate set
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Speaker 1: for me and you had food enough, did you have
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Speaker 1: food enough? And the man put the question plaintively, with
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Speaker 1: a tinge of incredulity in his voice, as if the
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Speaker 1: habit of want had made him incredulous as to plenty,
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Speaker 1: Are you sure you had food enough? Food enough? Exclaimed
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Speaker 1: the trapper. Heavens and Earth. Do you suppose me and
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Speaker 1: the pups come to Thanksgiving without food enough? Ye? Jest
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Speaker 1: set there a minute while I fetch ye out your supper.
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Speaker 1: An old man busied himself and bringing the table to
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Speaker 1: the center of the floor and filling it with the
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Speaker 1: ample abundance left on eaton at the conclusion of the meal,
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Speaker 1: when the man had moved forward to seat himself in
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Speaker 1: the chair, his dog moved forward too. At first, he
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Speaker 1: had seated himself in a half cry touching posture, a
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Speaker 1: little in the rear of the chair, as if, however,
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Speaker 1: sure his master might be of the cordiality of the reception,
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Speaker 1: he himself was not certain of his welcome. But gradually,
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Speaker 1: a little at a time, he had moved himself forward,
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Speaker 1: until he had actually placed himself in advance of his master,
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Speaker 1: and was now sitting on the hearthstone, scarcely a foot
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Speaker 1: from the ashes, And even then it was noticeable that
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Speaker 1: he shivered. He was evidently a dog of a great
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Speaker 1: deal of character and perfectly self possessed. Few dogs could
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Speaker 1: have been thus placed within such close proximity to two
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Speaker 1: of his kind. There were strangers to him without either
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Speaker 1: showing signs of fear or making some canine advances to
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Speaker 1: his companions. But this dog showed, on the one hand,
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Speaker 1: no sign of timidity, and on the other no consciousness
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Speaker 1: that another of his species was in the room, For
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Speaker 1: he did not even turn his eyes in the direction
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Speaker 1: of the hounds, nor in the direction of the trapper,
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Speaker 1: who was bearing the savory dishes immediately passed him to
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Speaker 1: the table, And when the latter placed a large platter
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Speaker 1: of venison on the hearth and ordered to warm it
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Speaker 1: within a few inches of his body, so that the
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Speaker 1: odor of the meat must have entered his nostrils, he never,
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Speaker 1: by the least movement, showed consciousness of his proximity, but
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Speaker 1: continued to gaze with sober attention into the fire, as
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Speaker 1: if his poor frame found full satisfaction in the ministry
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Speaker 1: which the genial warmth was rendering to his system. Once indeed,
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Speaker 1: he did turn his eyes up to the face of
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Speaker 1: his master, with a look absolutely human in their expression
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Speaker 1: of gladness and gratitude. He even moved his forward parts
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Speaker 1: so that, by stretching his neck he could touch his
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Speaker 1: master's hands that were extended toward the warmth. He moved
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Speaker 1: his muzzle genially against one of the palms and lapped
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Speaker 1: it with his tongue, and then quietly resumed his former
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Speaker 1: position and again gazed steadily into the fire. The trapper
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Speaker 1: was not slow to mark the action of the dog,
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Speaker 1: nor sense of propriety of his conduct. That's a known dog.
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Speaker 1: If he be a little thin, he said to the stranger.
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Speaker 1: You've consorted together some time, I reckon, yes, replied his master.
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Speaker 1: He has been my companion twelve years. That's a goodly time,
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Speaker 1: resumed the trapper, as he busied himself with the preparations.
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Speaker 1: And a man who has feasted and fasted with a
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Speaker 1: dog twelve year naturally grows to love him. We have
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Speaker 1: not feasted much, said the man. We have never had
16:31
Speaker 1: much luck. We have fasted a good deal, and fasting
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Speaker 1: makes better friends than feasting in this world. But we
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Speaker 1: shall surely have our feast by and by. I have
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Speaker 1: told him many times we should have our feasting by
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Speaker 1: and by I trust you may, answered the trapper. You
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Speaker 1: shall certainly have a taste of it to night, both
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Speaker 1: ye and your dog. For the victuals be plenty, and
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Speaker 1: the cookin's as good as a man who has cooked
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Speaker 1: his own food for seven a year can make it. Lucky,
17:03
Speaker 1: said the man, speaking to his dog, through whose frame
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Speaker 1: there still ran an occasional shiver. Lucky, our host says,
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Speaker 1: we shall feast tonight. A human being could not have
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Speaker 1: understood the language more plainly. At least, a human being
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Speaker 1: could not have responded with a more positive manifestation. Of intelligence,
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Speaker 1: for the dog turned his face with a quick motion
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Speaker 1: toward his master. His ears pricked, his eyes fairly danced,
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Speaker 1: his tails swept joyfully from right to left, and turning
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Speaker 1: deliberately around with his back to the fire, he fixed
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Speaker 1: his eyes upon the table with an unmistakable expression of eagerness.
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Speaker 1: Come stranger, said the trapper. Kick off your shoes and
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Speaker 1: strip off your stockings, and pull on these warm socks.
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Speaker 1: And the old man tossed a pair knit of coursest
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Speaker 1: yarn on to the hearthstone. And then move up to
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Speaker 1: the table, and fill yourself and your dog, who is
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Speaker 1: mighty nice starvation, as I judge you both feel better
17:59
Speaker 1: out of your full It's a cold night, and I
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Speaker 1: can see your tramp has been alongin. The man did
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Speaker 1: as he was bidden. He untied his shoes and removed
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Speaker 1: them from his feet. His stockings were not the warmest
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Speaker 1: nor free of holes, and when he had pulled the thick,
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Speaker 1: warm socks on to his feet, he rose and moved
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Speaker 1: to the table with a look of contentment and happy
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Speaker 1: expectation that seemed to lift twenty years from his record.
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Speaker 1: The amount of food on the table seemed to astonish him,
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Speaker 1: for a moment, he held his knife and fork idly
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Speaker 1: in his hands, while his gaze ranged over the bountiful board,
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Speaker 1: as if he was in doubt from which dish to
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Speaker 1: help himself first, while his eyes had the peculiar eager
18:38
Speaker 1: look of one who was so hungry that he could
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Speaker 1: not suppress the evidences of satisfaction which the presence of
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Speaker 1: food had brought to his face. You seem a little
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Speaker 1: in doubt, said the trapper, which of the meats to
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Speaker 1: try first? And I concede the reason of your feelin
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Speaker 1: for more'n once have I fasted myself when the young
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Speaker 1: man in the old wars, and I was out skirmishing
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Speaker 1: on the trail of the enemy, when the sound of
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Speaker 1: your gun would bring a hundred of the vagabonds on
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Speaker 1: to you in a minute. Yes, I've fasted in the
19:10
Speaker 1: midst of plenty, and I knowed what it is to
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Speaker 1: come to a feast suddenly, when the stomach was empty,
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Speaker 1: and the craven of nature unnaturally strong in me. I
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Speaker 1: advice to is that you try the venison hunch, for
19:22
Speaker 1: it's the only meat that a man can fairly fill
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Speaker 1: himself on and not feel sort of uneasy afterwards. Yes,
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Speaker 1: try the venison stranger, for the buck was a good
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Speaker 1: un and you'll find the juices will foil your knife.
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Speaker 1: The man waited no longer. He cut a slice of
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Speaker 1: the venison of a size that showed his necessities were great,
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Speaker 1: or his determination high. The trapper's eyes fairly danced as
19:47
Speaker 1: he saw him land the peace on his plate. Yet
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Speaker 1: hungry as a man was, he fed himself with entire propriety.
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Speaker 1: But his knife and fork were nevertheless quick in their movements,
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Speaker 1: and it was evident the keen sense of his hunger
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Speaker 1: had made him, for a time oblivious of his surroundings.
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Speaker 1: For he spoke not a word to his host, and
20:07
Speaker 1: his countenance never lost the look of determined eagerness. He
20:11
Speaker 1: had certainly more than half finished with a huge piece
20:13
Speaker 1: of nison with which he had helped himself. When he paused, and,
20:18
Speaker 1: turning to his dog, who stood at his side, looking
20:20
Speaker 1: up into his face, he said, Lucky, will you forgive me?
20:24
Speaker 1: The words were spoken as they might have been to
20:27
Speaker 1: a human companion whom inadvertently he had slighted, or of
20:31
Speaker 1: whose presence he had become unmindful when he should have
20:34
Speaker 1: been specially mindful of it. The tone could not have
20:37
Speaker 1: been more apologetic had the words been addressed to a
20:39
Speaker 1: man and not to a dog, nor could they have
20:42
Speaker 1: been received more intelligently than the dog received them. He
20:46
Speaker 1: wagged his tail good naturedly, while his eyes gave his
20:49
Speaker 1: master a look of affection that no one could fail
20:52
Speaker 1: to understand. The man cut the remaining part of the
20:55
Speaker 1: piece into sections and gave each mouthful to the dog.
20:59
Speaker 1: The dog gave with the same eagerness as his master,
21:02
Speaker 1: and we may say with the same propriety, for he
21:05
Speaker 1: stood seadfastly in his position, made no indecorous movement of haste,
21:10
Speaker 1: but received the morsels from his master's hand with such
21:13
Speaker 1: thankfulness as only a dog, when hungry, can show the
21:16
Speaker 1: master who feeds him. We need not say that the
21:19
Speaker 1: trapper had been no careless spectator of the spectacle presented
21:22
Speaker 1: by the man and the dog, nor was he untouched
21:26
Speaker 1: by the evidence of affection existing between the two. But
21:29
Speaker 1: profound as was his pity for his strange and nearly
21:32
Speaker 1: starved guest, the sense of humor in him was too
21:35
Speaker 1: strong not to be stirred. I certainly think stranger said
21:40
Speaker 1: he we better join works, for I can see that
21:43
Speaker 1: I can help you out a little. Your dog certainly
21:46
Speaker 1: looks empty, and it'll take a good deal of meat
21:49
Speaker 1: to fill him. I don't concede. He's been very familiar
21:52
Speaker 1: with victuals lately, but I can see he has a
21:55
Speaker 1: true idea of eating. So you'll just send him this
21:58
Speaker 1: side of the table eat him while you feed yourself.
22:01
Speaker 1: There could be a good deal of weight added to
22:03
Speaker 1: your dog by reasonable management. Afore you be ready to
22:07
Speaker 1: move back from the table. Thank you, said the man,
22:10
Speaker 1: as he helped himself to another bountiful supply. But Lucky
22:14
Speaker 1: and I always eat together when we have anything to eat,
22:17
Speaker 1: and I doubt he would take food from a stranger.
22:20
Speaker 1: I always divide my food with him. Don't you think
22:23
Speaker 1: that a man should always divide his food with his dog?
22:26
Speaker 1: John Norton, Yes, said the trapper, somewhat hesitatingly. As a rule,
22:32
Speaker 1: I certainly think you be right. But if the master
22:35
Speaker 1: be hungry, and the dog is a good sizin and
22:37
Speaker 1: actually empty, an victuals be scarce. I can't say no.
22:42
Speaker 1: I certainly can't say that the man should divide with
22:45
Speaker 1: the dog at the beginning of the Eatin a little
22:48
Speaker 1: later on, perhaps he should divide a little later on,
22:51
Speaker 1: as I can see, the man was evidently not devoid
22:54
Speaker 1: of humor himself. For the first time since he entered
22:57
Speaker 1: the cabin, and for the first time for many days,
22:59
Speaker 1: perhaps apps a pleased expression came to his face, the
23:03
Speaker 1: suggestion of a smile played round his lips, and he
23:06
Speaker 1: looked good naturely into the face of the old man
23:09
Speaker 1: sitting opposite, whose countenance showed through its lines that semi
23:13
Speaker 1: witty expression which never seems so witty as when it
23:16
Speaker 1: beams from the face of the aged. But he evidently
23:19
Speaker 1: did not assent to the opinion of the trapper, for
23:22
Speaker 1: as the eating progressed, at every mouthful with which he
23:25
Speaker 1: fed himself, he gave an equal portion to his canine companion.
23:29
Speaker 1: Is doubtful if ever a feast was more heartily eaten
23:32
Speaker 1: or enjoyed. The food there was enough, and the man
23:35
Speaker 1: ate his fill, not only ate himself, but gave to
23:39
Speaker 1: his dog, till it was evident that the hunger of
23:41
Speaker 1: both was appeased. At last, he shoved his chair back
23:45
Speaker 1: from the table, and with a happy expression on his face,
23:48
Speaker 1: he said, lucky we have had a feast tonight. I
23:53
Speaker 1: told you it would come by and by we must
23:55
Speaker 1: never be discouraged again. Lucky, no, we will never be
23:58
Speaker 1: discouraged again, will we. The dog fairly shook himself in
24:02
Speaker 1: this delightful endorsement of his master's affirmation. He actually frisked
24:07
Speaker 1: his assent and opened his mouth as if he would
24:10
Speaker 1: give voluble expression to the pledge demanded on him. The
24:14
Speaker 1: trapper laughed, laughed as a host will when he sees
24:17
Speaker 1: the happiness of his guests, to whom with his own hands,
24:20
Speaker 1: from his own store, in a benevolence of his heart,
24:24
Speaker 1: he has ministered. And he said, from the impulse of
24:27
Speaker 1: his good nature, stranger, is there anything else I can
24:30
Speaker 1: do for you? John Norton said the man. I came
24:35
Speaker 1: to your door a stranger, and you took me in.
24:38
Speaker 1: I was hungered, and you gave me meat. I was
24:42
Speaker 1: cold and weary, and you warmed and rested me. I
24:45
Speaker 1: was unhappy and you made me glad. And I and
24:50
Speaker 1: my dog thank you for your goodness. And may the
24:53
Speaker 1: Lord bless you for what you have done for one
24:55
Speaker 1: of the least of his children. The man said this gravely, tenderly, gratefully,
25:01
Speaker 1: and as he said it with a motion as natural
25:03
Speaker 1: as true. Courtesy and gratitude could make it. He laid
25:07
Speaker 1: a hand on his heart and bowed to the trapper.
25:10
Speaker 1: The trapper was visibly affected by the acknowledgment of his guests.
25:14
Speaker 1: His face and its sobered sweetness, acknowledged the sentiment of
25:17
Speaker 1: the stranger and returned it with equally unconscious courtesy. You're
25:21
Speaker 1: not the first man, he replied, it has come to
25:25
Speaker 1: my camp empty. For more than once have I shared
25:28
Speaker 1: my little with a stranger, and more than once as
25:30
Speaker 1: the stranger shared his leader with me. There's a good
25:33
Speaker 1: deal of honest given and taken in the world. Leastwise,
25:37
Speaker 1: there's a good deal in the woods when a fortunate
25:39
Speaker 1: and the unfortunate meet. And Henry says that the same
25:43
Speaker 1: is true of the settlements. And I certainly concede that
25:46
Speaker 1: the Lord has knowledge of the honest given and taken
25:48
Speaker 1: between his creatures that have and his creatures that haven't,
25:53
Speaker 1: whether it be done in the woods or in the clearance.
25:56
Speaker 1: As the old man mentioned the words settlement, a look
25:58
Speaker 1: of pain came to the faith of his guest, as
26:01
Speaker 1: if the mention of cities had quickened unpleasant recollections. When
26:05
Speaker 1: the trapper had concluded, he replied, I know not whom
26:09
Speaker 1: you call by the name of Henry, nor would I
26:11
Speaker 1: dispute his word. But my experience of cities and of
26:15
Speaker 1: the men that live in them, has not been of
26:17
Speaker 1: a character to impress me with either their generosity or
26:21
Speaker 1: their justice. I have found men eager to get and
26:24
Speaker 1: to keep, but I have not found them eager to give,
26:27
Speaker 1: John Norton, nor have I found them honest in their
26:29
Speaker 1: getting or their keeping. I have found them ready to cheat.
26:33
Speaker 1: I have found them ready to lie. I have found
26:37
Speaker 1: them ready to kill. And the man straightened his form
26:41
Speaker 1: to its erectest posture and looked the trapper steadily in
26:44
Speaker 1: the eye. I don't doubt returned the trapper that there
26:49
Speaker 1: be vagabonds in the settlements as well as in the woods.
26:52
Speaker 1: For more than once have they played their pranks on me.
26:55
Speaker 1: Moren ones have they fingered my traps and stolen the
26:58
Speaker 1: fur that an honest man's lay had earned. But I've
27:01
Speaker 1: left my marks on most of the rogues, and the
27:04
Speaker 1: few that have managed to dodge my lead will get
27:07
Speaker 1: fetched up in the judgment. If the Lord keeps watts
27:10
Speaker 1: of the villainy in the woods, and I dare say
27:13
Speaker 1: he does of the woods and the settlements both. Perhaps
27:17
Speaker 1: he does, said the stranger, but his judgment is a
27:20
Speaker 1: great way off, and the wrong find it hard to wait.
27:24
Speaker 1: I've often thought of that, said the trapper. I've often
27:27
Speaker 1: thought of that, and I've helped him out a good
27:30
Speaker 1: deal off and on. I was coming in for my
27:33
Speaker 1: traps this fall, and I caught a dirty thief rummage
27:36
Speaker 1: among my pots and kittles, and he had in almost
27:39
Speaker 1: anything I had in my cabin here done up in
27:41
Speaker 1: a bundle, and as I opened the door, he was
27:44
Speaker 1: actually trying to get it on his back. What did
27:47
Speaker 1: you do to him? John Norton, asked the man, eagerly,
27:50
Speaker 1: as if he was even more interested in the principle
27:53
Speaker 1: involved in a narration of the facts. I held a
27:57
Speaker 1: council with him, said the trapper. I did most of
28:00
Speaker 1: the talkin', and I mixed a good deal of earnest
28:04
Speaker 1: actin with the talkin', And between the acting and the talkin',
28:07
Speaker 1: I certainly concede. I made the points clear to him.
28:11
Speaker 1: I doubt if the Lord will have much to do
28:13
Speaker 1: with this case, for I was a good deal riled,
28:16
Speaker 1: and I settled with the vagabon for time and eternity
28:18
Speaker 1: both the fact is, said the trapper, and he leaned
28:22
Speaker 1: forward toward his guest, and placed his brawny hand on
28:26
Speaker 1: the table. I conceite that the judgment is a good deal,
28:30
Speaker 1: split up and gin out by piecemeal, and that the
28:33
Speaker 1: Lord's idea is that when the honest hunter finds a
28:36
Speaker 1: vagabon in his cabin rummage in his stores, that the
28:40
Speaker 1: judgment day has come then and there, How does it
28:43
Speaker 1: strike you, stranger? The Great Book says, vengeance is mine.
28:48
Speaker 1: I will repay saith the Lord certainly, certainly that's right.
28:53
Speaker 1: That is, it's right from his point of looking at it.
28:57
Speaker 1: I don't conceite that a mortal has any right to
29:00
Speaker 1: be revengeful. But in a matter of square justice he is.
29:04
Speaker 1: In a matter of square justice, where the right and
29:07
Speaker 1: the wrong stands out like the prongs of a buck.
29:10
Speaker 1: It certainly seems as if the Lord meant the man
29:12
Speaker 1: should tend to the justice while he took care of
29:15
Speaker 1: the vengeance. I don't doubt that the vagabond I caught
29:18
Speaker 1: in the cabin here will get another raking over when
29:21
Speaker 1: the Lord takes him in hand. When I gave him
29:23
Speaker 1: enough of honest reckoning to serve divine purposes while he
29:27
Speaker 1: lives on the earth. While the conversation had been going on,
29:30
Speaker 1: the trapper had been clearing the table the remnants of
29:33
Speaker 1: the repast, And at the conclusion of his remarks, he
29:36
Speaker 1: drew a chair up to the corner of the fireplace,
29:39
Speaker 1: in front of which the stranger had already seated himself,
29:42
Speaker 1: and the two men, so unlike in character, and we
29:46
Speaker 1: may say so unlike in appearance, sat for a moment,
29:49
Speaker 1: gazing silently into the fire, which roared and flamed loudly
29:53
Speaker 1: and merrily upward. During all the conversation, the dog had
29:57
Speaker 1: been an evident listener. Whenever the trapper spoke, the dog
30:00
Speaker 1: turned his face and looked directly at him. When his
30:04
Speaker 1: master made response, he would as attentively look at him. Indeed,
30:08
Speaker 1: he had been gifted with human intelligence and human feeling,
30:12
Speaker 1: and we may say with human sense of propriety. He
30:15
Speaker 1: could not have paid closer attention to the dialog as
30:18
Speaker 1: it proceeded. Now he was sitting upright between the two men,
30:21
Speaker 1: with eyes alert and every appearance of interest as to
30:24
Speaker 1: the conversation. When it should be resumed, where be your home?
30:28
Speaker 1: Asked the trapper. Suddenly, I have no home, said the man.
30:33
Speaker 1: Where was your home, queried the trapper. Again, I never
30:38
Speaker 1: had a home, said the man. The trapper seemed for
30:42
Speaker 1: a moment disconcerted. He raised his face, and, looking at
30:45
Speaker 1: his strange guests, said, where are your friends? And where
30:49
Speaker 1: be your family? I have no family, replied the man,
30:54
Speaker 1: Nor have I friends save one. Where's he the old
30:58
Speaker 1: man asked? He is here, replied the man. Here is
31:03
Speaker 1: the only friend I have in the world. And he
31:06
Speaker 1: looked at the dog. It may have been an answer
31:09
Speaker 1: to his look. It may have been from the fine
31:11
Speaker 1: sense of interpretation of what was being said. But from
31:15
Speaker 1: whatever the cause, the dog, when his master said, this
31:18
Speaker 1: is the only friend I have in the world, moved
31:21
Speaker 1: himself closer to the man who loved him, and, laying
31:24
Speaker 1: his muzzle on his knee, looked lovingly up into the
31:27
Speaker 1: countenance of one who claimed him as his friend. Where
31:30
Speaker 1: was you born and what country do you belong to,
31:34
Speaker 1: insisted the trapper. I do not know where I was born,
31:37
Speaker 1: returned the man. And I have no country, stranger, said
31:42
Speaker 1: the trapper. I ax your pardon if I be meddling
31:45
Speaker 1: with your own business. But you've come into my cabin,
31:48
Speaker 1: and you are welcome to stay, for I see you
31:50
Speaker 1: be in trouble, and I've lived on the earth long
31:53
Speaker 1: enough to learn that them that be in trouble have
31:56
Speaker 1: earned a home and paid for it and suffering, and
31:59
Speaker 1: that for such the Lord intends at every house of
32:01
Speaker 1: the fortunate should be their home. And here you've come,
32:05
Speaker 1: and here you can stay and welcome. And I shall
32:08
Speaker 1: not meddle with your sorrows, for a man's sores, like
32:12
Speaker 1: a man's grave, should be respected by the living, and
32:16
Speaker 1: no stranger should touch either. But it is pleasant and
32:19
Speaker 1: converse to know who you be talking to, leastwise to
32:23
Speaker 1: know his name. So I asked you, plainly, what is
32:26
Speaker 1: the name your mother given you? I do not know
32:29
Speaker 1: the name my mother gave me, said the man, to
32:33
Speaker 1: say that. The trapper was astonished, would but half express
32:35
Speaker 1: his surprise. He sat erect in his chair and fastened
32:39
Speaker 1: his eyes on the man, as if expecting to discern
32:41
Speaker 1: evidence of insanity. But no such evidence could he discover.
32:45
Speaker 1: The man's face, and every feature of his face, the
32:48
Speaker 1: calmness of his speech, the decorous propriety of his conduct,
32:52
Speaker 1: substantiated beyond doubt his sanity. The trapper had finished his inspection,
32:58
Speaker 1: all doubt of the stranger's sanity he had by the
33:00
Speaker 1: inspection been dismissed from his mind. His guest was perfectly sane.
33:05
Speaker 1: Of that, he was sure. The conviction only deepened his astonishment.
33:11
Speaker 1: Unable to solve the mystery, and greatly excited at the
33:13
Speaker 1: climax which the dialog had conducted him, he exclaimed, for
33:17
Speaker 1: Heaven's sake, stranger, what is your name? And how shall
33:21
Speaker 1: I call you? John Norton said the man. Only parents
33:25
Speaker 1: have the right to name a child. My parents doubtless
33:29
Speaker 1: named me. But those parents I never saw, and that
33:32
Speaker 1: name I never heard. Whether it was a family name
33:36
Speaker 1: or a name denoting character, a name given in hope
33:39
Speaker 1: or a name given in dread. I know not family.
33:43
Speaker 1: I have not parents. I never saw by strangers I
33:47
Speaker 1: was reared, and by ignorant strangers named The name was
33:51
Speaker 1: not a name. I outgrew it. When I came to
33:54
Speaker 1: the knowledge of its giving, I discarded it. Men out
33:57
Speaker 1: grow names, John Norton, and they get new names. Each
34:01
Speaker 1: man names himself. The joys of one man name him,
34:06
Speaker 1: and the griefs of another name him. I have had
34:09
Speaker 1: no joys and therefore joys cannot name me. I have
34:12
Speaker 1: had only grief, and therefore grief must name me. John Norton,
34:18
Speaker 1: he ask me who I am, and what is my name?
34:21
Speaker 1: I will tell you I am the man who has
34:24
Speaker 1: missed it. For a full minute, the old trapper said
34:27
Speaker 1: not a word, but sat looking steadfastly at his guest. Outside.
34:32
Speaker 1: The moon shone brightly, and its white light poured in
34:35
Speaker 1: through the curtainless window. Lay with a great white patch
34:38
Speaker 1: upon the cabin door, around the white edges of which
34:42
Speaker 1: the aggressive firelight played with many a threatening flicker. The
34:46
Speaker 1: hounds lay sleeping on the hearth, and the stranger's dog
34:49
Speaker 1: still sat with his head resting on his master's knee,
34:53
Speaker 1: and his eyes turned to his face. At length, the
34:57
Speaker 1: old man said, friend, and I be not gone, and
35:01
Speaker 1: a man of our years sleep a little. I have
35:04
Speaker 1: heard many a story told by the campfire, and many
35:07
Speaker 1: a frontiersman's tale when night overtook us on the trail
35:11
Speaker 1: and we was waiting for the morning, and next to
35:14
Speaker 1: the sound of a fiddle. Nothing stirs me more than
35:16
Speaker 1: a story, especially if it be strange and unusual. And
35:20
Speaker 1: if you be willing, I should be glad to hear
35:23
Speaker 1: the story of your life. For certain, it is that
35:26
Speaker 1: never before did I meet a man without a home,
35:29
Speaker 1: without family, without friends, without a country, and without a name.
35:34
Speaker 1: For a moment there was another pause. The old man,
35:36
Speaker 1: with a deference born of years and perhaps borrowed in
35:40
Speaker 1: part from the habits of the Indians with whom he
35:42
Speaker 1: had passed so much of his life, remained silent. At length,
35:47
Speaker 1: the man said, you have asked me for the story
35:50
Speaker 1: of my life. You shall have it. It is a
35:53
Speaker 1: singular story. Listen. And so, with his hand resting on
35:58
Speaker 1: the head of his dog, the singular being in a
36:00
Speaker 1: singular way, proceeded to tell the singular story of the
36:05
Speaker 1: man who missed it. End of Chapter one,