Show y s F ii A candle in M the Wil Wilde demes mess 1 oa tale of the beginning of new england low ad RL BB END BS by iv irving Ba cheNer service oy copyright by irving bacheller Bac beller j CHAPTER XI continued 22 amos touched the shoulder of hla his young friend with ft a curious tenderness in his big rough hand as he said its a hell of a fuss over a small matter ill go to boston myself and swear that I 1 done it all the wives and old maids and young maids would be sayin that they always knew I 1 was a devil with the gals robert Is the man to go said rosewell amos answered 1 I can tell ye that he will not go 1 I prefer that ho he speak tor for himself it if he refuses to go with me there will be no longer any doubt of his guilt when I 1 go to boston I 1 shall choose my own time and company said robert ile he went to the house to get his coat for a cold blast was blowing down the lake cats foitl amos exclaimed ye say that the people 0 boston think that robert Is guilty I 1 reckon theres one who ho dont think so who Is that brewell Hr ewell demanded peggy weld ill bet my head on it I 1 am right amos had been whittling as he spoke lie ile rested his knife and looked at the newcomer who said I 1 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 and right that yeve herself to look into the facts and yeve traveled three hundred leagues in doln it I 1 declare rosewell yere one 0 the saints 0 god 0 course yell tell peggy that ye know any more bout robert when ye left here than ye e did when ye 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 he puzzle locket which peggy had loaned to him when he left her how long do you stay with us he asked ll I rosewell answered only a few minutes my ship will be leaving new amsterdam in nine days I 1 shall have to hurry to make it before I 1 go I 1 he have a question to ask you the truth involves no peril to you being beyond the jurisdiction of the court you can safely go to the dutch town and take a ship for holland the happiness of your friend depends on your answer are you the man whom the constable found with mabel ilabel hartley in a thicket the night you left boston 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 finished fani hed and we will return to the fort wp we shall lodge tonight at a dutch trading post twelve miles south of here if you ou change your mind as I 1 hope you may you uin can find us there until eight tomorrow morning 1 I have this little trinket that belongs to peggy weld said robert she let me lakeit take it the night I 1 left you and tier her and others at the governors house I 1 expected to return it the next nest day when we wa were to see each other As I 1 may never levei see her again will you have the kindness to take it back to her it is an ai I 1 old 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 th dutch officer set out on their journey to the south ho uke like that said amos with a chuckle rod and a flirt of his loot foot theres pages 0 history behind this journey 0 ills his peggy has turned cold cn d on ills his hands bands she stands for ye agin the whole town lie ile knows that she Is in love with ye ile he come here to show her that hes a better man than you be uell hell make out that ye confessed to him but peggy 1 Is no fool shell grig him good the dutchman swore when they told him of the visit of the iroquois hunters if I 1 had been here they would woul a have been more careful of their behavior they are like animals quick to see it it if you are a little scared of them then walk on your face they know that the fort Is behind me they call me the son of thunder and I 1 treat them like a lot of school boys 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 ot of hard travel they reached the tort fort on a hill overlooking the north river and a stretch of cleared lands west of it at h little ion inn they learned that rosewell Ko sewell had left some come days before in a sleigh for a week the river had been thinly led l ed they could only wait for it to be well covered let lei yer lungs rest the old pioneer bald to robert ye trust to amos ills has done a little contriving coD con trivin hell shoot ye down to open enter and as fast as aa ye want to ride all we need Is lee ice without too much snow on it I 1 reckon this north wind will put a stout root roof un 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 river and tile the young folks sped over oer the glimmering ice plane on their skates meanwhile amos had bad made frie ads with the village carpenter the two had bad built a sled with a beam of unusual gadth 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 ashes an iceboat said his friend all she needs now Is a sall sail had and a pair 0 sharp iron shoes grab hold 0 the lee ice shell be rigged proper tonight I 1 dont know how ye yb feel but amos has nary a cloud in his sky 1 I amas am as happy as a caged squirrel robert answered when do ws we start tomorrow at sunrise and with a small tent and a store of beef bread and balled eggs if the wind keeps up well do a lot 0 slipping afore darl dark ye set yer mind a chabin that cud they sped away at daybreak with a stiff i old 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 he steering lever and tile the rope they went in long tacks even een 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 bow to stop her they were ft ere cold and hungry when at a bend in the lee ice plane amos steered his curious craft in the lee of a high shore shoie and skidded her into rough ice 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 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 lias has improved the look 0 the world said the pioneer as he arose and gathered up the remnants amos has no fault to find 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 yale vale between high mountains its crystal paving sheltered from aroi the wind 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 windows of a cabin etwas it was the home of a dutch shepherd and tobacco grower lie ile and his bis family received them with joy and gave gae them food and lodging snow fell in a windless night so much of it that the iceboat was no longer of any use to the travelers they gave gae it to the dutch dutchman m an who nho took them many miles down the long ice fee W way ay with lis his team and farm sled A booby hut had been fastened to the sled and the three wen men sat in it their host left them under tile the high rock cliffs on the west shore that being as far is as lie he thought it prudent to go with the weight of horses from there arnos 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 1 mill the afternoon was far spent when they came to tile the lofty river wall the top of will which ea was some one S two hundred feet above the J ce plane on the northwestern corner of the island on its summit was a an indian camp and a number of warriors we alors and their chief in his bis feathered feather d headdress head dress looking down upon th them m beyond this elevated tableland was a wooded wilderness with high fock rock ridges inland denuded by fire they came soon to a low shore andl sand hills made no doubt by strong west winds blowing over tile the strand fit at low water far southward they saw the smoke of a house rising above the forest and soon a rude roadways roadway bridged from the lee ice over which sleighs and horses had 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 dinck lagen that they had come to tile the Bou werle in the forest and that new amsterdam was less than two miles below the farmer told them how to reach the indian path which led southward to the city gate they crossed Rp Be brook and came to a high hill hili commanding the lower end of the island the could seo see many roofs the fort and its windmill and masts and rigging in the harbor there we be at last I 1 amos exclaimed the th place where ye take water from this herthen heathen landl land I 1 now silence and an a prayer to god I 1 I 1 eye it as a piece 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 a wooden palisade of strong pickets driven into the ground the gate beyond a rude roadway called the indian path was wide enough to admit a team of horses abreast A watchman halted them at the gate amos 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 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 ana listened to their plans amos told Jold him that they were puritans pho who had peep been captured by the Ind indians laDs ild he told of their escape escapa and odthe of the dutch trader through whose friendly offices they had arrived at 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 parish 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 dominie domin le meanwhile I 1 am sure that the director general will make you comfortable abone come with me we will go to his house bouse CHAPTER XII how the night in new amsterdam changed their plans they went along the strand to the fort which stood near the waters water s edge within the enclosure of the fort they were admitted to the ho house be of the director general mr wouter van twiller twill er who sat drinking with ac if that Is not enough he will hire a fiddler and a wit to keep you merry 11 a jally burgomaster master amos describes describe the latter in his diary as a propel lusty man with a brain like a corb and a body like a sponge the director general smoked silently as jbf th dominie said here are two worthy worth men just arrived from fort orange to take a ship for holland they sra ar protestants of substance and good manners who have come down on the th ice fee they will be glad to pay for en while they stay here the jolly burgomaster spoke for hl hit friend so preoccupied with his pipa his beer and this thoughts god give you peace lie he said as ai be shook their hands the gover governor nox will give you his best room and hit hia best slave to serve you it if thit that li IA not enough lie he will hire a fiddler end and a wit to keep you merry and a lady to curl your hair and tell you lov stories TO BB CONTINUED |