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CHAPTER XIX, cont.
"H oot! your mind, beautiful Mabel, is polished just like the barrel of a soldier`s musket, and your conversation is only too discreet and wise for a poor d---l who has been chewing birch up here these four years on the lines, instead of receiving it in an application that has the virtue of imparting knowledge. But you are no` sorry, I take it, young lady, that you`ve got your pretty foot on _terra firma_ once more." "I thought so two hours since, Mr. Muir; but the _Scud_ looks so beautiful as she sails through these vistas of trees, that I almost regret I am no longer one of her passengers." As Mabel ceased speaking, she waved, her handkerchief in return to a salutation from Jasper, who kept his eyes fastened on her form until the white sails of the cutter had swept round a point, and were nearly lost behind its green fringe of leaves. "There they go, and I`ll no` say `joy go with them;` but may they have the luck to return safely, for without them we shall be in danger of passing the winter on this island; unless, indeed, we have the alternative of the castle at Quebec. Yon Jasper Eau-douce is a vagrant sort of a lad, and they have reports of him in the garrison that it pains my very heart to hear. Your worthy father, and almost as worthy uncle, have none of the best opinion of him." "I am sorry to hear it, Mr. Muir; I doubt not that time will remove all their distrust." "If time would only remove mine, pretty Mabel," re- joined the Quartermaster in a wheedling tone, "I should feel no envy of the commander-in-chief. I think if I were in a condition to retire, the Sergeant would just step into my shoes." "If my dear father is worthy to step into your shoes, Mr. Muir," returned the girl, with malicious pleasure, "I`m sure that the qualification is mutual, and that you are every way worthy to step into his." "The deuce is in the child! you would not reduce me to the rank of a non-commissioned officer, Mabel?" "No, indeed, sir; I was not thinking of the army at all as you spoke of retiring. My thoughts were more egotis- tical, and I was thinking how much you reminded me of my dear father, by your experience, wisdom, ana suitable- ness to take his place as the head of a family." "As its bridegroom, pretty Mabel, but not as its parent or natural chief. I see how it is with you, loving your re- partee, and brilliant with wit. Well, I like spirit in a young woman, so it be not the spirit of a scold. This Pathfinder is all extraordinair, Mabel, if truth may be said of the man." "Truth should be said of him or nothing. Pathfinder is my friend -- my very particular friend, Mr. Muir, and no evil can be said of him in my presence that I shall not deny." "I shall say nothing evil of him, I can assure you, Ma- bel; but, at the same time, I doubt if much good can be said in his favor." "He is at least expert with the rifle," returned Mabel, smiling. "That you cannot deny." "Let him have all the credit of his exploits in that way if you please; but he is as illiterate as a Mohawk." "He may not understand Latin, but his knowledge of Iroquois is greater than that of most men, and it is the more useful language of the two in this part of the world." "If Lundie himself were to call on me for an opinion which I admire more, your person or your wit, beautiful and caustic Mabel, I should be at a loss to answer. My admiration is so nearly divided between them, that I often fancy this is the one that bears off the palm, and then the other! Ah! the late Mrs. Muir was a paragon in that way also." "The latest Mrs. Muir, did you say, sir?" asked Mabel, looking up innocently at her companion. "Hoot, hoot! That is some of Pathfinder`s scandal. Now I daresay that the fellow has been trying to persuade you, Mabel, that I have had more than one wife already." "In that case his time would have been thrown away, sir, as everybody knows that you have been so unfortunate as to have had four." "Only three, as sure as my name is David Muir. The fourth is pure scandal -- or rather, pretty Mabel, she is yet _in petto_, as they say at Rome; and that means, in matters of love, in the heart, my dear." "Well, I`m glad I`m not that fourth person, _in petto_, or in anything else, as I should not like to be a scandal." "No fear of that, charming Mabel; for were you the fourth, all the others would be forgotten, and your won- derful beauty and merit would at once elevate you to be the first. No fear of your being the fourth in any thing." There is consolation in that assurance, Mr. Muir," said Mabel, laughing, "whatever there may be in your other assurance; for I confess I should prefer being even a fourth-rate beauty to being a fourth wife." So saying she tripped away, leaving the Quartermaster to meditate on his success. Mabel had been induced to use her female means of defence thus freely, partly be- cause her suitor had of late been so pointed as to stand in need of a pretty strong repulse, and partly on account of his innuendoes against Jasper and the Pathfinder. Though full of spirit and quick of intellect, she was not naturally pert; but on the present occasion she thought circumstances called for more than usual decision. When she left her companion, therefore, she believed she was now finally released from attentions which she thought as ill- bestowed as they were certainly disagreeable. Not so, however, with David Muir; accustomed to rebuffs, and familiar with the virtue of perseverance, he saw no reason to despair, though the half-menacing, half-self-satisfied manner in which he shook his head towards the retreating girl might have betrayed designs as sinister as they were determined. While he was thus occupied, the Pathfinder approached, and got within a few feet of him unseen. "`Twill never do, Quartermaster, `twill never do," com- menced the latter, laughing in his noiseless way; "she is young and active, and none but a quick foot can overtake her. They tell me you are her suitor, if you are not her follower." "And I hear the same of yourself, man, though the pre- sumption would be so great that I scarcely can think it true." "I fear you`re right, I do; yes, I fear you`re right; -- when I consider myself, what I am, how little I know, and how rude my life has been, I altogether distrust my claim, even to think a moment of one so tutored, and gay, and light of heart, and delicate -- " "You forget handsome," coarsely interrupted Muir. "And handsome, too, I fear," returned the meek and self-abased guide; "I might have said handsome at once, among her other qualities; for the young fa`n, just as it learns to bound, is not more pleasant to the eye of the hun- ter than Mabel is lovely in mine. I do indeed fear that all the thoughts I have harbored about her are vain and presumptuous." "If you think this, my friend, of your own accord and natural modesty, as it might be, my duty to you as an old fellow-campaigner compels me to say -- " "Quartermaster," interrupted the other, regarding his companion keenly, "you and I have lived together much behind the ramparts of forts, but very little in the open woods or in front of the enemy." "Garrison or tent, it all passes for part of the same cam- paign, you know, Pathfinder; and then my duty keeps me much within sight of the storehouses, greatly contrary to my inclinations, as ye may well suppose, having yourself the ardor of battle in your temperament. But had ye heard what Mabel had just been saying of you, ye`d no think another minute of making yourself agreeable to the saucy and uncompromising hussy." Pathfinder looked earnestly at the lieutenant, for it was impossible he should not feel an interest in what might be Mabel`s opinion; but he had too much of the innate and true feeling of a gentleman to ask to hear what another had said of him. Muir, however, was not to be foiled by this self-denial and self-respect; for, believing he had a man of great truth and simplicity to deal with, he determined to practise on his credulity, as one means of getting rid of his rivalry. He therefore pursued the subject, as soon as he perceived that his companion`s self-denial was stronger than his curiosity. "You ought to know her opinion, Pathfinder," he con- tinued; "and I think every man ought to hear what his friends and acquaintances say of him: and so, by way of proving my own regard for your character and feelings, I`ll just tell you in as few words as possible. You know that Mabel has a wicked, malicious way with them eyes of her own, when she has a mind to be hard upon one`s feel- ings." "To me her eyes, Lieutenant Muir, have always seemed winning and soft, though I will acknowledge that they sometimes laugh; yes, I have known them to laugh, and that right heartily, and with downright goodwill." "Well, it was just that then; her eyes were laughing with all their might, as it were; and in the midst of all her fun, she broke out with an exclamation to this effect: - I hope `twill no` hurt your sensibility, Pathfinder?" "I will not say Quartermaster, I will not say. Mabel`s opinion of me is of no more account than that of most others." "Then I`ll no` tell ye, but just keep discretion on the subject; and why should a man be telling another what his friends say of him, especially when they happen to say that which may not be pleasant to hear? I`ll not add an- other word to this present communication." "I cannot make you speak, Quartermaster, if you are not so minded, and perhaps it is better for me not to know Mabel`s opinion, as you seem to think it is not in my favor. Ah`s me! if we could be what we wish to be, instead of being only what we are, there would be a great difference in our characters and knowledge and appearance. One may be rude and coarse and ignorant, and yet happy, if he does not know it; but it is hard to see our own failings in the strongest light, just as we wish to hear the least about them." "That`s just the _rationale_, as the French say, of the matter; and so I was telling Mabel, when she ran away and left me. You noticed the manner in which she skipped off as you approached?" "It was very observable," answered Pathfinder, drawing a long breath and clenching the barrel of his rifle as if the fingers would bury themselves in the iron. "It was more than observable -- it was flagrant; that`s just the word, and the dictionary wouldn`t supply a bet- ter, after an hour`s search. Well, you must know, Path- finder, -- for I cannot reasonably deny you the gratification of hearing this, -- so you must know the minx bounded off in that manner in preference to hearing what I had to say in your justification." "And what could you find to say in my behalf, Quarter- master?" "Why, d`ye understand, my friend, I was ruled by cir- cumstances, and no` ventured indiscreetly into generalities, but was preparing to meet particulars, as it might be, with particulars. If you were thought wild, half-savage, or of a frontier formation, I could tell her, ye know, that it came of the frontier, wild and half-savage life ye`d led; and all her objections must cease at once, or there would be a sort of a misunderstanding with Providence." "And did you tell her this, Quartermaster?" "I`ll no` swear to the exact words, but the idea was prev- alent in my mind, ye`ll understand. The girl was impa- tient, and would not hear the half I had to say; but away she skipped, as ye saw with your own eyes, Pathfinder, as if her opinion were fully made up, and she cared to listen no longer. I fear her mind may be said to have come to its conclusion?" "I fear it has indeed, Quartermaster, and her father, after all, is mistaken. Yes, yes; the Sergeant has fallen into a grievous error." "Well, man, why need ye lament, and undo all the grand reputation ye`ve been so many weary years making? Shoulder the rifle that ye use so well, and off into the woods with ye, for there`s not the female breathing that is worth a heavy heart for a minute, as I know from experi- ence. Tak` the word of one who knows the sax, and has had two wives, that women, after all, are very much the sort of creatures we do not imagine them to be. Now, if you would really mortify Mabel, here is as glorious an occasion as any rejected lover could desire." "The last wish I have, Lieutenant, would be to mortify Mabel." "Well, ye`ll come to that in the end, notwithstanding; for it`s human nature to desire to give unpleasant feelings to them that give unpleasant feelings to us. But a better occasion never offered to make your friends love you, than is to be had at this very moment, and that is the certain means of causing one`s enemies to envy us." "Quartermaster, Mabel is not my inimy; and if she was, the last thing I could desire would be to give her an uneasy moment." "Ye say so, Pathfinder, ye say so, and I daresay ye think so; but reason and nature are both against you, as ye`ll find in the end. Ye`ve heard the saying `love me, love my dog:` well, now, that means, read backwards, `don`t love me, don`t love my dog.` Now, listen to what is in your power to do. You know we occupy an exceedingly precarious and uncertain postion here, almost in the jaws of the lion, as it were?" "Do you mean the Frenchers by the lion, and this island as his jaws, Lieutenant?" "Metaphorically only, my friend, for the French are no lions, and this island is not a jaw -- unless, indeed, it may prove to be, what I greatly fear may come true, the jaw- bone of an ass." Here the Quartermaster indulged in a sneering laugh, that proclaimed anything but respect and admiration for his friend Lundie`s sagacity in selecting that particular spot for his operations. "The post is as well chosen as any I ever put foot in," said Pathfinder, looking around him as one surveys a pic- ture. "I`ll no` deny it, I`ll no` deny it. Lundie is a great sol- dier, in a small way; and his father was a great laird, with the same qualification. I was born on the estate, and have followed the Major so long that I`ve got to reverence all he says and does: that`s just my weakness, ye`ll know, Pathfinder. Well, this post may be the post of an ass, or of a Solomon, as men fancy; but it`s most critically placed, as is apparent by all Lundie`s precautions and injunctions. There are savages out scouting through these Thousand Islands and over the forest, searching for this very spot, as is known to Lundie himself, on certain information; and the greatest service you can render the 55th is to discover their trails and lead them off on a false scent. Unhappily Sergeant Dunham has taken up the notion that the danger is to be apprehended from up-stream, because Frontenac lies above us; whereas all experience tells us that Indians come on the side which is most contrary to reason, and, consequently, are to be expected from below. Take your canoe, therefore, and go down-stream among the islands, that we may have notice if any danger approaches from that quarter." "The Big Sarpent is on the look-out in that quarter; and as he knows the station well, no doubt he will give us timely notice, should any wish to sarcumvent us in that direction." "He is but an Indian, after all, Pathfinder; and this is an affair that calls for the knowledge of a white man. Lundie will be eternally grateful to the man who shall help this little enterprise to come off with flying colors. To tell you the truth, my friend, he is conscious it should never have been attempted; but he has too much of the old laird`s obstinacy about him to own an error, though it be as manifest as the morning star." The Quartermaster then continued to reason with his companion, in order to induce him to quit the island with- out delay, using such arguments as first suggested them- selves, sometimes contradicting himself, and not unfre- quently urging at one moment a motive that at the next was directly opposed by another. The Pathfinder, simple as he was, detected these flaws in the Lieutenant`s philos- ophy, though he was far from suspecting that they pro- ceeded from a desire to clear the coast of Mabel`s suitor. He did not exactly suspect the secret objects of Muir, but he was far from being blind to his sophistry. The result was that the two parted, after a long dialogue, unconvinced, and distrustful of each other`s motives, though the distrust of the guide, like all that was connected with the man, partook of his own upright, disinterested, and ingenuous nature. A conference that took place soon after between Sergeant Dunham and the Lieutenant led to more consequences. When it was ended, secret orders were issued to the men, the blockhouse was taken possession of, the huts were oc- cupied, and one accustomed to the movements of soldiers might have detected that an expedition was in the wind. In fact, just as the sun was setting, the Sergeant, who had been much occupied at what was called the harbor, came into his own hut, followed by Pathfinder and Cap; and as he took his seat at the neat table which Mabel had pre- pared for him, he opened the budget of his intelligence. "You are likely to be of some use here, my child," the old soldier commenced, "as this tidy and well-ordered supper can testify; and I trust, when the proper moment arrives, you will show yourself to be the descendant of those who know how to face their enemies." "You do not expect me, dear father, to play Joan of Arc, and to lead the men to battle?" "Play whom, child? Did you ever hear of the person Mabel mentions, Pathfinder?" "Not I, Sergeant; but what of that? I am ignorant and unedicated, and it is too great a pleasure to me to listen to her voice, and take in her words, to be particular about persons." "I know her," said Cap decidedly; "she sailed a priva- teer out of Morlaix in the last war; and good cruises she made of them." Mabel blushed at having inadvertently made an allusion that went beyond her father`s reading, to say nothing of her uncle`s dogmatism, and, perhaps, a little at the Path- finder`s simple, ingenuous earnestness; but she did not forbear the less to smile. "Why, father, I am not expected to fall in with the men, and to help defend the island?" "And yet women have often done such things in this quarter of the world, girl, as our friend, the Pathfinder here, will tell you. But lest you should be surprised at not seeing us when you awake in the morning, it is proper that I now tell you we intend to march in the course of this very night." "_We_, father! and leave me and Jennie on this island alone?" "No, my daughter; not qnite as unmilitary as that. We shall leave Lieutenant Muir, brother Cap, Corporal M`Nab, and three men to compose the garrison during our ab- sence. Jennie will remain with you in this hut, and brother Cap will occupy my place." "And Mr. Muir?" said Mabel, half unconscious of what she uttered, though she foresaw a great deal of unpleasant persecution in the arrangement. "Why, he can make love to you, if you like it, girl; for he is an amorous youth, and, having already disposed of four wives, is impatient to show how much he honors their memories by taking a fifth." "The Quartermaster tells me," said Pathfinder inno- cently, "that when a man`s feelings have been harassed by so many losses, there is no wiser way to soothe them than by ploughing up the soil anew, in such a manner as to leave no traces of what have gone over it before." "Ay, that is just the difference between ploughing and harrowing," returned the Sergeant, with a grim smile. "But let him tell Mabel his mind, and there will be an end of his suit. I very well know that _my_ daughter will never be the wife of Lieutenant Muir." This was said in a way that was tanatmount to declaring that no daughter of his ever _should_ become the wife of the person in question. Mabel had colored, trembled, half laughed, and looked uneasy; but, rallying her spirit, she said, in a voice so cheerful as completely to conceal her agitation, "But, father, we might better wait until Mr. Muir manifests a wish that your daughter would have him, or rather a wish to have your daughter, lest we get the fable of sour grapes thrown into our faces." "And what is that fable, Mabel?" eagerly demanded Pathfinder, who was anything but learned in the ordinary lore of white men. "Tell it to us, in your own pretty way; I daresay the Sergeant never heard it." Mabel repeated the well-known fable, and, as her suitor had desired, in her own pretty way, which was a way to keep his eyes riveted on her face, and the whole of his honest countenance covered with a smile. "That was like a fox!" cried Pathfinder, when she had ceased; "ay, and like a Mingo, too, cunning and cruel; that is the way with both the riptyles. As to grapes, they are sour enough in this part of the country, even to them that can get at them, though I daresay there are seasons and times and places where they are sourer to them that can`t. I should judge, now, my scalp is very sour in Mingo eyes." "The sour grapes will be the other way, child, and it is Mr. Muir who will make the complaint. You would never marry that man, Mabel?" "Not she," put in Cap; "a fellow who is only half a soldier after all. The story of them there grapes is quite a circumstance." "I think little of marrying any one, dear father and dear uncle, and would rather talk about it less, if you please. But, did I think of marrying at all, I do be- lieve a man whose affections have already been tried by three or four wives would scarcely be my choice." The Sergeant nodded at the guide, as much as to say, You see how the land lies; and then he had sufficient con- sideration for his daughter`s feelings to change the sub- ject. "Neither you nor Mabel, brother Cap," he resumed, "can have any legal authority with the little garrison I leave behind on the island; but you may counsel and in- fluence. Strictly speaking, Corporal M`Nab will be the commanding officer, and I have endeavored to impress him with a sense of his dignity, lest he might give way too much to the superior rank of Lieutenant Muir, who, being a volunteer, can have no right to interfere with the duty. I wish you to sustain the Corporal, brother Cap; for should the Quartermaster once break through the regula- tions of the expedition, he may pretend to command me, as well as M`Nab." "More particularly, should Mabel really cut him adrift while you are absent. Of course, Sergeant, you`ll leave everything that is afloat under my care? The most d----ble confusion has grown out of misunderstandings between commanders-in-chief, ashore and afloat." "In one sense, brother, though in a general way, the Corporal is commander-in-chief. The Corporal must com- mand; but you can counsel freely, particularly in all mat- ters relating to the boats, of which I shall leave one behind to secure your retreat, should there be occasion. I know the Corporal well; he is a brave man and a good soldier; and one that may be relied on, if the Santa Cruz can be kept from him. But then he is a Scotchman, and will be liable to the Quartermaster`s influence, against which I de- sire both you and Mabel to be on your guard." "But why leave us behind, dear father? I have come thus far to be a comfort to you, and why not go farther?" "You are a good girl, Mabel, and very like the Dunhams. But you must halt here. We shall leave the island to- morrow, before the day dawns, in order not to be seen by any prying eyes coming from our cover, and we shall take the two largest boats, leaving you the other and one bark canoe. We are about to go into the channel used by the French, where we shall lie in wait, perhaps a week, to in- tercept their supply-boats, which are about to pass up on their way to Frontenac, loaded, in particular, with a heavy amount of Indian goods." "Have you looked well to your papers, brother?" Cap anxiously demanded. "Of course you know a capture on the high seas is piracy, unless your boat is regularly com- missioned, either as a public or a private armed cruiser." "I have the honor to hold the Colonel`s appointment as sergeant-major of the 55th," returned the other, drawing himself up with dignity, "and that will be sufficient even for the French king. If not, I have Major Duncan`s writ- ten orders." "No papers, then, for a warlike cruiser?" "They must suffice, brother, as I have no other. It is of vast importance to his Majesty`s interests, in this part of the world, that the boats in question should be captured and carried into Oswego. They contain the blankets, trink- ets, rifles, ammunition, in short, all the stores with which the French bribe their accursed savage allies to commit their unholy acts, setting at nought our holy religion and its precepts, the laws of humanity, and all that is sacred and dear among men. By cutting off these supplies we shall derange their plans, and gain time on them; for the arti- cles cannot be sent across the ocean again this autumn." "But, father, does not his Majesty employ Indians also?" asked Mabel, with some curiosity. "Certainly, girl, and he has a right to employ them -- God bless him! It`s a very different thing whether an Eng- lish man or a Frenchman employs a savage, as everybody can understand." "But, father, I cannot see that this alters the case. If it be wrong in a Frenchman to hire savages to fight his enemies, it would seem to be equally wrong in an Eng- lishman. _You_ will admit this, Pathfinder?" "It`s reasonable, it`s reasonable; and I have never been one of them that has raised a cry ag`in the Frenchers for doing the very thing we do ourselves. Still it is worse to consort with a Mingo than to consort with a Delaware. If any of that just tribe were left, I should think it no sin to send them out ag`in the foe." "And yet they scalp and slay young and old, women and children!" "They have their gifts, Mabel, and are not to be blamed for following them; natur` is natur`, though the different tribes have different ways of showing it. For my part I am white, and endeavor to maintain white feelings." "This is all unintelligible to me," answered Mabel. "What is right in King George, it would seem, ought to be right in King Louis." As all parties, Mabel excepted, seemed satisfied with the course the discussion had taken, no one appeared to think it necessary to pursue the subject. Supper was no sooner ended than the Sergeant dismissed his guests, and then held a long and confidential dialogue with his daughter. He was little addicted to giving way to the gentler emo- tions, but the novelty of his present situation awakened feelings that he was unused to experience. The soldier or the sailor, so long as he acts under the immediate super- vision of a superior, thinks little of the risks he runs, but the moment he feels the responsibility of command, all the hazards of his undertaking begin to associate themselves in his mind: with the chances of success or failure. While he dwells less on his own personal danger, perhaps, than when that is the principal consideration, he has more lively general perceptions of all the risks, and submits more to the influence of the feelings which doubt creates. Such was now the case with Sergeant Dunham, who, instead of looking forward to victory as certain, according to his usual habits, began to feel the possibility that he might be parting with his child for ever. Never before had Mabel struck him as so beautiful as she appeared that night. Possibly she never had displayed so many engaging qualities to her father; for concern on his account had begun to be active in her breast; and then her sympathies met with unusual encouragement through those which had been stirred up in the sterner bosom of the veteran. She had never been entirely at her ease with her parent, the great superiority of her education creating a sort of chasm, which had been widened by the military severity of manner he had acquired by dealing so long with beings who could only be kept in subjection by an unremitted discipline. On the present occasion, however, the conversation between the father and daughter became more confidential than usual, until Mabel rejoiced to fiud that it was gradually becoming endearing, a state of feel- ing that the warm-hearted girl had silently pined for in vain ever since her arrival. "Then mother was about my height?" Mabel said, as she held one of her father`s hands in both her own, looking up into his face with humid eyes. "I had thought her taller." "That is the way with most children who get a habit of thinking of their parents with respect, until they fancy them larger and more commanding than they actually are. Your mother, Mabel, was as near your height as one woman could be to another." "And her eyes, father?" "Her eyes were like thine, child, too; blue and soft, and inviting like, though hardly so laughing." "Mine will never laugh again, dearest father, if you do not take care of yourself in this expedition." "Thank you, Mabel -- hem -- thank you, child; but I must do my duty. I wish I had seen you comfortably married before we left Oswego; my mind would be easier." "Married! -- to whom, father?" "You know the man I wish you to love. You may meet with many gayer, and many dressed in finer clother; but with none with so true a heart and just a mind." "None father?" "I know of none; in these particulars Pathfinder has few equals at least." "But I need not marry at all. You are single, and I can remain to take care of you." "God bless you, Mabel! I know you would, and I do not say that the feeling is not right, for I suppose it is; and yet I believe there is another that is more so." "What can be more right than to honor one`s parents?" "It is just as right to honor one`s husband, my dear child." "But I have no husband, father." "Then take one as soon as possible, that you may have a husband to honor. I cannot live for ever, Mabel, but must drop off in the course of nature ere long, if I am not carried off in the course of war. You are young, and may yet live long; and it is proper that you should have a male protector, who can see you safe through life, and take care of you in age, as you now wish to take care of me." "And do you think, father," said Mabel, playing with his sinewy fingers with her own little hands, and looking down at them, as if they were subjects of intense interest, though her lips curled in a slight smile as the words came from them, -- "and do you think, father, that Pathfinder is just the man to do this? Is he not, within ten or twelve years, as old as yourself?" "What of that? His life has been one of moderation and exercise, and years are less to be counted, girl, than constitution. Do you know another more likely to be your protector?" Mabel did not; at least another who had expressed a desire to that effect, whatever might have been her hopes and her wishes. "Nay, father, we are not talking of anotber, but of the Pathfinder," she answered evasively. "If he were younger, I think it would be more natural for me to think of him for a husband." "`Tis all in the constitution, I tell you, child; Pathfinder is a younger man than half our subalterns." "He is certainly younger than one, sir -- Lieutenant Muir." Mabel`s laugh was joyous and light-hearted, as if just then she felt no care. "That he is -- young enough to be his grandson; he is younger in years, too. God forbid, Mabel, that you should ever become an officer`s lady, at least until you are an officer`s daughter!" "There will be little fear of that, father, if I marry Pathfinder," returned the girl, looking up archly in the Sergeant`s face again. "Not by the king`s commission, perhaps, though the man is even now the friend and companion of generals. I think I could die happy, Mabel, if you were his wife." "Father!" "`Tis a sad thing to go into battle with the weight of an unprotected daughter laid upon the heart." "I would give the world to lighten yours of its load, my dear sir." "It might be done," said the Sergeant, looking fondly at his child; "though I could not wish to put a burthen on yours in order to do so." The voice was deep and tremulous, and never before had Mabel witnessed such a show of affection in her parent. The habitual sternness of the man lent an interest to his emotions which they might otherwise have wanted, and the daughter`s heart yearned to relieve the father`s mind. "Father, speak plainly!" she cried, almost convulsively. "Nay, Mabel, it might not be right; your wishes and mine may be very different." "I have no wishes -- know nothing of what you mean. Would you speak of my future marriage?" "If I could see you promised to Pathfinder -- know that you were pledged to become his wife, let my own fate be what it might, I think I could die happy. But I will ask no pledge of you, my child; I will not force you to do what you might repent. Kiss me, Mabel, and go to your bed." Had Sergeant Dunham exacted of Mabel the pledge that he really so much desired, he would have encountered a resistance that he might have found it difficult to over- come; but, by letting nature have its course, he enlisted a powerful ally on his side, and the warm-hearted, generous- minded Mabel was ready to concede to her affections much more than she would ever have yielded to menace. At that touching moment she thought only of her parent, who was about to quit her, perhaps for ever; and all of that ardent love for him, which had possibly been as much fed by the imagination as by anything else, but which had received a little check by the restrained intercourse of the last fortnight, now returned with a force that was increased by pure and intense feeling. Her father seemed all in all to her, and to render him happy there was no proper sac- rifice which she was not ready to make. One painful, rapid, almost wild gleam of thought shot across the brain of the girl, and her resolution wavered; but endeavoring to trace the foundation of the pleasing hope on which it was based, she found nothing positive to support it. Trained like a woman to subdue her most ardent feelings, her thoughts reverted to her father, and to the blessings that awaited the child who yielded to a parent`s wishes. "Father," she said quietly, almost with a holy calm, "God blesses the dutiful daughter." "He will, Mabel; we have the Good Book for that." "I will marry whomever you desire." "Nay, nay, Mabel, you may have a choice of your own -- " "I have no choice; that is, none have asked me to have a choice, but Pathfinder and Mr. Muir; and between _them_, neither of us would hesitate. No, father; I will marry whomever you may choose." "Thou knowest my choice, beloved child; none other can make thee as happy as the noble-hearted guide." "Well, then, if he wish it, if he ask me again -- for, father, you would not have me offer myself, or that any one should do that office for me," and the blood stole across the pallid cheeks of Mabel as she spoke, for high and gen- erous resolutions had driven back the stream of life to her heart; "no one must speak to him of it; but if he seek me again, and, knowing all that a true girl ought to tell the man she marries, he then wishes to make me his wife, I will be his." "Bless you, my Mabel! God in heaven bless you, and re- ward you as a pious daughter deserves to be rewarded!" "Yes, father, put your mind at peace; go on this expe- dition with a light heart, and trust in God. For me you will have now no care. In the spring -- I must have a lit- tle time, father -- but in the spring I will marry Pathfinder, if that noble-hearted hunter shall then desire it." "Mabel, he loves you as I loved your mother. I have seen him weep like a child when speaking of his feelings towards you." "Yes, I believe it; I`ve seen enough to satisfy me that he thinks better of me than I deserve; and certainly the man is not living for whom I have more respect than for Pathfinder; not even for you, dear father." "That is as it should be, child, and the union will be blessed. May I not tell Pathfinder this?" "I would rather you would not, father. Let it come of itself, come naturally." The smile that illuminated Mabel`s handsome face was angelic, as even her parent thought, though one better practised in detecting the passing emo- tions, as they betray themselves in the countenance, might have traced something wild and unnatural in it. "No, no, _we_ must let things take their course; father, you have my solemn promise." "That will do, that will do, Mabel, now kiss me. God bless and protect you, girl! you are a good daughter." Mabel threw herself into her father`s arms -- it was the first time in her life -- and sobbed on his bosom like an in- fant. The stern soldier`s heart was melted, and the tears of the two mingled; but Sergeant Dunham soon started, as if ashamed of himself, and, gently forcing his daughter from him, he bade her good-night, and sought his pallet. Mabel went sobbing to the rude corner that had been prepared for her reception; and in a few minutes the hut was un- disturbed by any sound, save the heavy breathing of the veteran.
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