Show A candle in the wilderness erness A tole tale of the beginning of new england by IRVING 1 R VI BACHELLER HELLER service copyright by irving bacheller Bachell tr CHAPTER VIII continued 16 father lejeune drew the letter from his pocket and gave it to robert it was written in french the young man rend read and reread it with a thrill of joy and astonishment the E father ather gave him permission to keep it and this Is the letter now copied fr from in his diary ligom fr out a small trading post in the wilderness north of fort orange on the lake ot of the iroquois december 5 1030 ti the excellent rather father Ie lejeune Jeune last year I 1 heard of your work from your our bishop in parts paris first I 1 desire to assure you that the best wishes of myself TO self and my friends are with you in the difficult task you ou have undertaken I 1 now seek your kind offices in a mat ter which involves invokes tile the happiness of anny good people six weeks ago a young oung man of the name of robert heathers went into the wilderness with ills guide at a point far up the coast from boston since then they have not been heard from it Is feared that they have fallen a prey to wild beasts or been captured by the savages or that they are lost and starving in the great waste if news of them should come to you an and d it be possible tor for you to render them tiny any service it would be rewarded not only with our gratitude but with such a share of our substance as would I 1 am sure contribute some thing to your comfort and success if perchance lie he should arrive at your residence I 1 beg of you to give him hospitality and what help you can ills ilia father Is a gentleman ills mother was one of your own race I 1 and my brother are with w ath trader van brock hn near the south end ot of the lake of the iroquois in gibout about ten days we shall be going south and at new nev amsterdam shall take water for bos ton which we hope to reach before chr christmas stains with deep respect and libarty hearty greet ings yours faithfully peggy weld when the young man had finished with the letter father lejeune asked who Is your mother catherine de Bre beuf the fathers interest in the young man deepened suddenly of the noble family of in I 1 kormandy N Tor mandy he asked the same you have a relative in residence here our beloved pere bere utile jean de lie ile Is now out feeding the cattle and the swine I 1 will send for him jean de I 1 I 1 remember him well ue was with us when my illy moth er cr died when the large gray bearded F father ather entered in ills his soiled coarse black cossack lie he greeted the boy with kisses and affectionate enghu thus favored by fortune an and the sincere good will of the young man the captives found themselves on a friendly footing in it a situation nat aurally difficult robert had brought in his pockets an ample store of english money this I 1 his he offered free freely ay to secure what was needed for the ransom of himself and lifs his friend my cousin you hive have come to a land where money Is of less value than glass beads and seashells sei sea shells and shiny trinkets said tean jean le de 1 I will give to each brave beave I 1 a hatchet and i I 1 double handful of glass beads that will be sufficient lelent for you may give me five pounds we have been generous with the Algon quIns they the are our friends we have given them miny many blankets then robert voled voiced his urgent feeling we alle must be gang south as jooa as possible the good father answered you might get down to the dutch through the lands of the iroquois a fleice people you would need the help of god in tills this journey rather father went with robert and amos to tile the trading post past followed by the eager band of savages soon the latter were shouting and chattering over their trinkets as happy as a group of children the captives were free and their tools and weapons were returned to t them tills was no sooner accomplished than the red men began to gamble with their new wealth in their favorite dish gimp game it was played with six plum white on one side anti and bliele alii k or the other tile players were divided in two opposing sides A brave was chosen to shake the dish they guessed on the number of white or black to appear when the dish was shaken and dumped they bet heavily in a little time a noisy contention arose between beaw een the opposing sides two men were chosen to decide the issue in a fight they fought like fish bomel grabbing each others hair each with fists full of hair they struggled and twisted and jerked in A frightful fashion no word came from either being well matched the encounter continued until the white men turned away wearied by its brutality and went t to the house of madams madame liebert alved who ched with her daughter and son in law monsieur coulliard Coull Cou lard built of logs and quite weatherproof weather proof it was the ony only real house I 1 in canada madame had cleared and cultivated a tract of land tier efforts kept her family and the fathers supplied with grain small fruits and vegetables A cheery kindly soul she was like a mother to those lonely men who were giving their lives in a fruitless sowing among rocks and thorns she greeted fondly as le bo bon pere utile his title at the rest deuce dence and offered the hospitality of tier her house to the two englishmen with soup soap and towels they went down to the river with the father for a bath Refu returning at dusk by the way of the trading post they saw the fighters still embraced and writhing and twisting and struggling in silence like a pair of bulldogs bulldog son on the ground only two of the band remained to watch them let us go to the indian cabin and find the alie chief and try to stop tills said the father the cabin was built of poles covered with bark and up with houghs at one end it was for the accommodation of visiting indians clean when the warriors arrived it was now how like a pigpen pig pen ill smelling find tile the carpet of boughs covered with litter two tires fires were burnings burning A part of the smoke e went up through holes in the root roof but much of it clouded the atmosphere of the long room and was a torment to the eyes of a white man on every side were naked baked bodies black and overheated by the fires mingled pell mell with dogs just arrived with alband a band of hunters father found the young chief and prevailed upon him to go 90 and stop the fight they like us not to interfere in their affairs and we do it with restraint said the father the young chief lias has been baptized but alas their cus customs and superstitions are the growth of ages naturally they are I 1 I 1 A let Us go to the indian cabin and find the chief and try to stop this said the father deeper rooted than the new faith it Is more difficult than clearing and planting the wild land you have seen how stubborn they are arc we are patient some will yield to us and confess their sins and take on a humble and becoming spirit we baptize baptise them A dream or the arrival of an iroquois captive will turn them hack back to savagery still god can make the mo mountains to be a n plain at tile the table of madame clebert the I 1 englishmen glis limen sat with tier her family find and ta three ree F fathers athers and two lay brothers bro theis three other fathers were then out in the forest with the wild men they had bad a dinner of roasted moose meat with wine and baked potatoes and good bread eaten with a conserve of dried berries tills is in honor of the kinsmen of our dear father sold said madame adame in we are wont to fare more simply when alien the winter is far spent abent you iou would find us tasting fasting or dining with a piece of bread and a little wine there was much talk of tile the sweet land of wheat and vines and of tile the good cooking to be found in paris it was a joy to those these lonely people to hear robert tell of tile the adventures of hims himself e if and ills his friend on their journey when they went to bed robert read the letter to ills his wise old conrade comrade asking at the last word what Is tile the meaning of tills this as ag easy its as lookin through a 0 window said amos the sweet gal Is in love loe with ye the whole town thinks yere guilty and she dont it if site she does she dont think its anything to be hung for theres a gal like them in the time 0 queen cess bess she believes in t akin her enjoyment while sites alive instead 0 val walten till r hes dead ashes broke with rosewell and she bhe wants you ill tell ye behind all tills this she coaxed coaled her brother to come with her that gal has studied the maps 0 hudson and champlain in the governors house iwase she knew that it if we got to the big waterways from north to south wed make for gebec or new amsterdam I 1 reckon she made up her mind that it if she could find ye shem shed lead ye to new amsterdam and marry ye ve right I 1 there by the grace e 0 god coil end ship ye off to li holland with her end and why not id like to know 1 I can think of worse things that could happen to me said robert 1 I wonder why she has turned against bosewell no sewell lies iles a much handsomer man that nil all depends on the pair 0 6 eyes lookin at him lie ile was not the man for her lies iles halt half dead his body in tills this world his mind in the hereafter argues about what it means to be justified and sanctified how would a gal like peggy set get along with that for breakfast dinner and supper shed get the cramps quick well lets get away from hwe and try to push down to that Dutch mans trading post robert proposed As soon as ever we can his friend answered im as anxious as a terrier at a rat hole amos amon la in happier than he has been in the last two moona moons the comfort of being out of peril in a good bed was a thing that they loved to recall in the long days ahead they overslept over slept that night and were not awakened till father came to the door ile he said that a band of Algon quins were soon going over to the lake of the iroquois to meet n s dutch trader who came up in the first snow moon to sell them strong water and to get the otter skins taken far north of the great river ile he will have a shallop on the long lake suld the father you could go with him to their fort in the south it if you do god help you to persuade him that he Is damning his own soul by selling strong water to these wild folk it Is an evil thing and only a son of satan would be doing it our own french people coming on the ships give us sore trouble and put pat our lives in danger with tills this vile traffic le in leaving robert rewarded madame hebert with a generous gift for the th good cause and thanks as sincere a as any he had ever spoken do you see how these heathen have battered the front of our oar house with stones the father ather F asked as they were going away that was dono done when many were dying of the plague they thought it due to the anger of their gods for our being here we nursed them we gave them food and medicine yet they stoned us and save for gods mercy we should have been be en slain it is like living thousands thousand of years ago with a people who have neither home nor country nor laws lawa nor possessions father went with them and the band of warriors to the shore tie ile had given robert a letter to father cauvet who was with the Algon quins on an island near the canadian shore bounded on the south by impenetrable rapids in their canoe he put next to tho the young man an old brave who had been converted and baptized and who had bad served a summer on the lands of the residence lie ile had acquired a smatter of french ills name was Ach awat they set out under a clear sky in warm sunlight 1 I begin to think well get through said al d robert with a sigh and perhaps in time to meet our friends 1 I have held my tongue so long it Is gettin rusty amos answered as he ha bit off a chunk of tobacco then it will be a good time to tell me what happened to john smith robert proposed amos began well take another bite at that cherry and with good ilick well get it swall ered its the right kind 0 music for ye the turk and caan john rode at each other it was a pretty sight we turk baters were br eathin short inells riells gr grIddl iddles est I 1 it seemed as if the horses would slam each other down then we split our throats yellin smiths lance had gone through the sight 0 the turks helmet the infidel was on the ground kicken like a be headed rooster then lie he lay quiet smith dismounted and the dead mans mails helmet in a minute he had his trophy TO BE CONTINUED |