Show A candle in the wilderness WAd erness 3 ol 01 tale of the beginning of new england i 3 i vy by bv irvng irvino bacheller service copyright by irving Ba Bachell chellar tP CHAPTER XI continued 22 amos touched the shoulder of his young friend with a curious fender ile ness s in his alg big rough hand as he be said its a hell bell of a fuss over a small matter ill 11 1 1 go to boston myself and swear that I 1 done it all the wives and old maids and young maids would be that they always knew I 1 was ft a devil with the gals robert to t the man to go said rosewell bosewell amos answered 1 I can tell ye that he will not go 1 I prefer that he speak for himself if he refuses to go with me there will be no longer any doubt of his guilt it when I 1 go to boston I 1 shall choose my own time and company said robert lie he went to the house to get his coat for a cold blast was blowing down the lake cats toot I 1 amos exclaimed ye say lay that the people 0 boston think that robert Is guilty I 1 reckon theres one who dont think so who Is that It bosewell osewell demanded peggy weld ill bet my head on it I 1 am right amos had been whittling as he spoke ile he rested his knife and looked at the newcomer who said 1 I am not authorized to express miss welds opinions yes I 1 know said amos ye thought bout herself a minute yere so interested in justice rind and right that yeve appIn appointed ted herself to look into the facts and yeve traveled three hundred leagues in doln it I 1 declare rosewell yere one 0 the taints saints 0 god 0 course yell tell peggy that ye know any more bout robert when ye left here than ye did when ye 30 come what I 1 say to anyone will depend wholly on my own judgment and conscience rosewell answered robert returned from the house he brought the puzzle locket which peggy bad loaned to him when he left her how long do you stay with us he be asked rosewell answered only a few minutes my ship will be leaving new amsterdam in nine days clays I 1 shall have to hurry to make it before I 1 go I 1 have a question to as ask kyou you the truth involves no peril to you being beyond the jurisdiction of the court you can safely go to the dutch town and tale take a ship for holland the happiness of your friend depends on your answer are you the man whom the constable found with ft ath mabel hartley in a thicket the night you left boston 7 you have no right to ask me that question and I 1 refuse to answer it said robert with perfect composure rosewell answered then my work Is Oni shed and we will return to the fort we shall lodge tonight at a dutch trading post twelve miles south of here it if you change your mind as I 1 hope you may you can find us there until eight tomorrow morning 1 I have this little trinket that belongs to reggy weld said robert she let me take it the night I 1 left you and her and others at the governors house I 1 expected to return it the next nest day when we were to see each other As I 1 may never see her again will you have the kindness t to 0 take it back to her it Is an ol 01 old d keepsake of her family and I 1 am sure that she will want to have hae it 1 I shall see that she gets it rosewell answered coldly forthwith he and the dutch officer set out on their journey to the south ile he like that said amos with is A chuckle and a flirt of his foot theres there pages 0 history behind this journey 0 his peggy has turned cold on Ms his hands she stands for ye agin agan the whole town ile he knows that she la Is in love with ye ie he come coine here to show her that hes a better man than you be hell wake make out that yo ye confessed to him but peggy Is no tool fool shell grig him good the dutchman swore when they told him of the visit of the iroquois hunters if I 1 had bad been here they would have been more careful of their behavior they are like animals quick to see it it if you are a little kittle seared scared of them then walk on your face they know that the fort Is behind me they call me the son of thunder and 1 I treat them like a lot of school boys bos they helped the dutchman with his packing next morning in good weather they left the trading post with the dutchman and his men the casks bedding and kitchen utensils lashed upon sleds after four days of hard travel they reached the fort on a hill overlooking the north river and a stretch cli of cleared lands west of it IL at b little inn they learned that rosewell bosewell had left some days before in a sleigh F for or a week the river had been thinly teed iced they could only wait tor for it to be well covered let yer lungs rest the old pioneer said to robert ye trust to amos ills azzard ro has done a little con contriving trivin ile hell 11 shoot yo ye down to open pirir and its as fast as ye want to ride all we need Is ice fee without too much snow on it I 1 reckon this north wind will put a stout root roof on that river in two or three days the reckoning of amos was not far wrong within a week laden sleighs drawn by horses were crossing the tha river and the young folks sped over the glimmering lee ice plane on their skates meanwhile amos had mado made friends with the village carpenter the two hid had built a sled filed with a beam of unusual width and stout enough to carry a short mast robert found them at work in the shop what Is that he asked well sir she looks like a dutch dog but bui ashes an lee iceboat boat said his friend all she needs now Is a sail and a pair 0 sharp iron shoes grab hold 0 the ice shell be rigged proper tonight I 1 dont know how ye feel but amos has nary a cloud in his bis sky 1 I am as happy as a caged squirrel robert answered when do we start tomorrow at sunrise and with a small tent and a store of beef bread and baled eggs it the wind keeps up well do a lot 0 slipping afore dark ye set yer mind a that cud they sped away at daybreak with a stiff cold wind blowing down the river valley their goods and provisions lashed to the deck and amos on the stern where he could manage the steering lever and the rope they went in long tacks tacha even faster than the wind at times im like a man on a horse away said amos with a laugh ashes got the bit in her teeth and I 1 dont know how to stop her they were cold and hungry when at it a bend in the lee ice plane piano amos steered his curious craft in the lee of a high shore and skidded her into rough lee lea hard by the bank now old mare you stand there a while said amos dont be so crazy to go starve us to death you busy old bird were coln t to build a fire and warm up and get a fresh hold on happiness they went ashore and gathered wood with flint and tinder and a pinch of gunpowder amos got his fire going near it they sat on a rug of hemlock boughs and ate their food with a bottle of good wine to help it on its way that dinner has improved the look 0 the world said the pioneer as he arose and gathered up the remnants amos has no fault to find welli well shove her out into the wind and get aboard the old mare will be as busy as a seared scared pismire in about a minute soon they raced into a deep shadowed vale between high mountains its crystal paving sheltered from the wind ind had a thin covering of hard snow here they made slower headway and had to do some hauling rounding a bend as night was falling they saw ahead of them on a long wide natural terrace the glimmering w windows of a cabin it was the home of a dutch shepherd and tobacco grower ile he and his family received them w with ith joy and gave them food and lodging snow fell in a windless night so muc much 11 of it that the iceboat was no longer of any use to the travelers they gave gava it to the dutchman who took them many miles down the long lee ice way with his team and farm sled A booby hut ii had ad been fastened to the aled and the three men sat in it their host left them under the high rock cliffs on the west shore that being as tar far as he thought it prudent to go with the weight of horses from there amos and robert shouldered their packs and went on afoot they carried letters from the dutchman to the dominie bogardus and to francis Mole macker who ran the horse mill the afternoon was far spent when they came to the lofty river wall the top of which was some two hundred feet above the ice plane on the northwestern corner of the island on its summit was an indian camp and a number of warriors and their chief in his feathered bead dress looking down upon them beyond this elevated tableland was a wooded wilderness with high rock ridges inland denuded by tire fire they came soon to a low shore and sand hills made no doubt by strong west winds blowing over the strand at low water far southward they saw the smoke of a house rising above the forest and soon a rude roadway bridged from the ice fee over which sleighs and horses had bad lately traveled they took this path in the snow and came before long to a log house in a large clearing there they learned from farmer van dafick lagen that they had come to the Bouw Bou werle erfe in the forest and that new amsterdam was less than two miles below the farmer told them how bow to reach the indian path which led southward to the city gate they crossed Be brook and came to a high hill commanding the lower end of the island the could see many roofs the fort and its windmill and masts and rigging in the harbor there we be at last amos exclaimed the place where ye take water from this heathen landl land I 1 now silence and a prayer to godf god I 1 eye it as a piece ol 01 0 providence descending the hill they crossed a boggy flat and came soon to a lake with a small island in the midst of it at the top of the town was ft wooden palisade of strong pickets driven into the ground the gate beyond a rude roadway called the idian indian path was wide enough to admit a team of horses abreast A watchman halted them at the gate amos amol showed his letters and in dutch dispelled all doubt of their good intentions it was now quite dark and the windows of the big warehouse of the west wast india company and in many small dwellings were aglow they went with their letter to the house of dominie bogardus on pearl street to which some children had directed them the good man received them warmly and listened to their plans amos told him that they were puritans who had been captured by the indians he told of their escape and of the dutch trader through whose friendly offices they had arrived at rort fort orange he spoke also of their deep sense of obligation to the dutch which his young friend a man of ample means wished to signalize with a gift to the pari parish shand and of their desire to take the first ship to holland you may have to wait long before you can get a ship said the domin dominee fe Wean meanwhile whIle I 1 am sure that the director general will make you comfortable come with me we will go to his house CHAPTER XIT XII how the night in new amsterdam changed their plans plan they went along the strand to the tort fort which stood near the water edge within the enclosure of the tort fort they were admitted to td the house of the director general mr wouter van twiller who sat drinking with 34 ac if that Is not enough he will hire a fiddler and a wit to keep you merry a jolly burgomaster amos describes describe the latter in his diary as a propel lusty man with a brain like a corb cora and a body like a sponge the director general smoked silently as the dominie said here are two worthy men just arrived from fort orange to til take a ship for holland they ars arif protestants of substance and good manners who have come down on lee ice they will be glad to pay tor for entertainment while they stay slay here the jolly burgomaster spoke for nil his friend so preoccupied with hla his pipe his beer and this thoughts god give you peace he said as ai lie he shook their hands the governor go vernoi vernot will give you his best room and his best slave to serve you if that Is 1 not enough he will hire a fiddler and a wit to keep you merry and a lady to curl your hair and tell you love stories TO BE BB CONTINUED |