Told with wonderful historical accuracy! And did he end there?

Oh! nothen he said that these agents seldom married; andandthey must have been wicked men, Elizabeth! but I assure you he said so.

Never mind, said Miss Temple, blushing and smiling, though so slightly that both were unheeded by her companion; skip all that.

Well, then, he said that they often took great pride in the education of their children, whom they frequently sent to England, and even to the colleges; and this is the way that he accounts for the liberal manner in which Mr. Edwards has been taught; for he acknowledges that he knows almost as much as your fatheror mineor even himself.

Quite a climax in learning. And so he made Mohegan the granduncle or grandfather of Oliver Edwards.

You have heard him yourself, then? said Louisa.

Often; but not on this subject. Mr. Richard Jones, you know, dear, has a theory for everything; but has he one which will explain the reason why that hut is the only habitation within fifty miles of us whose door is not open to every person who may choose to lift its latch?

I have never heard him say anything on this subject, returned the clergymans daughter; but I suppose that, as they are poor, they very naturally are anxious to keep the little that they honestly own. It is sometimes dangerous to be rich, Miss Temple; but you cannot know how hard it is to be very, very poor.

Nor you, I trust, Louisa; at least I should hope that, in this land of abundance, no minister of the church could be left in absolute suffering.

There cannot be actual misery, returned the other, in a low and humble tone, where there is a dependence on our Maker; but there may be such suffering as will cause the heart to ache.

But not younot you, said the impetuous Elizabeth not you, dear girl, you have never known the misery that is connected with poverty.

Ah! Miss Temple, you little understand the troubles of this life, I believe. My father has spent many years as a missionary in the new countries, where his people were poor, and frequently we have been without bread; unable to buy, and ashamed to beg, because we would not disgrace his sacred calling. But how often have I seen him leave his home, where the sick and the hungry felt, when he left them, that they had lost their only earthly friend, to ride on a duty which could not be neglected for domes tic evils! Oh! how hard it must be to preach consolation to others when your own heart is bursting with anguish!

But it is all over now! your fathers income must now be equal to his wantsit must beit shall be

It is, replied Louisa, dropping her head on her bosom to conceal the tears which flowed in spite of her gentle Christianity for there are none left to be supplied but me.

The turn the conversation had taken drove from the minds of the young maidens all other thoughts but those of holy charity; and Elizabeth folded her friend in her arms, when the latter gave vent to her momentary grief in audible sobs. When this burst of emotion had subsided, Louisa raised her mild countenance, and they continued their walk in silence.

By this time they had gained the summit of the mountain, where they left the highway, and pursued their course under the shade of the stately trees that crowned the eminence. The day was becoming warm, and the girls plunged more deeply into the forest, as they found its invigorating coolness agreeably contrasted to the excessive heat they had experienced in the ascent. The conversation, as if by mutual consent, was entirely changed to the little incidents and scenes of their walk, and every tall pine, and every shrub or flower, called forth some simple expression of admiration.

In this manner they proceeded along the margin of the precipice, catching occasional glimpses of the placid Otsego, or pausing to listen to the rattling of wheels and the sounds of hammers that rose from the valley, to mingle the signs of men with the scenes of nature, when Elizabeth suddenly started, and exclaimed:

Listen! there are the cries of a child on this mountain! Is there a clearing near us, or can some little one have strayed from its parents?

Such things frequently happen, returned Louisa. Let us follow the sounds; it may be a wanderer starving on the hill.

Urged by this consideration, the females pursued the low, mournful sounds, that proceeded from the forest, with quick and impatient steps. More than once, the ardent Elizabeth was on the point of announcing that she saw the sufferer, when Louisa caught her by the arm, and pointing behind them, cried:

Look at the dog!

Brave had been their companion, from the time the voice of his young mistress lured him from his kennel, to the present moment. His advanced age had long before deprived him of his activity; and when his companions stopped to view the scenery, or to add to their bouquets, the mastiff would lay his huge frame on the ground and await their movements, with his eyes closed, and a listlessness in his air that ill accorded with the character of a protector. But when, aroused by this cry from Louisa, Miss Temple turned, she saw the dog with his eyes keenly set on some distant object, his head bent near the ground, and his hair actually rising on his body, through fright or anger. It was most probably the latter, for he was growling in a low key, and occasionally showing his teeth, in a manner that would have terrified his mistress, had she not so well known his good qualities.

Brave! she said, be quiet, Brave! What do you see, fellow?

At the sounds of her voice, the rage of the mastiff, instead of being at all diminished, was very sensibly increased. He stalked in front of the ladies, and seated himself at the feet of his mistress, growling louder than before, and occasionally giving vent to his ire by a short, surly barking.

What does he see? said Elizabeth; there must be some animal in sight.

Hearing no answer from her companion, Miss Temple turned her head and beheld Louisa, standing with her face whitened to the color of death, and her finger pointing upward with a sort of flickering, convulsed motion. The quick eye of Elizabeth glanced in the direction indicated by her friend, where she saw the fierce front and glaring eyes of a female panther, fixed on them in horrid malignity, and threatening to leap.

Let us fly, exclaimed Elizabeth, grasping the arm of Louisa, whose form yielded like melting snow.

There was not a single feeling in the temperament of Elizabeth Temple that could prompt her to desert a companion in such an extremity. She fell on her knees by the side of the inanimate Louisa, tearing from the person of her friend, with instinctive readiness, such parts of her dress as might obstruct her respiration, and encouraging their only safeguard, the dog, at the same time, by the sounds of her voice.

Courage, Brave! she cried, her own tones beginning to tremble, courage, courage, good Brave!

A quarter-grown cub, that had hitherto been unseen, now appeared, dropping from the branches of a sapling that grew under the shade of the beech which held its dam. This ignorant but vicious creature approached the dog, imitating the actions and sounds of its parent, but exhibiting a strange mixture of the playfulness of a kitten with the ferocity of its race. Standing on its hind-legs, it would rend the bark of a tree with its fore-paws, and play the antics of a cat; and then, by lashing itself with its tail, growling, and scratching the earth, it would at tempt the manifestations of anger that rendered its parent so terrific.

All this time Brave stood firm and undaunted, his short tail erect, his body drawn backward on its haunches, and his eyes following the movements of both dam and cub. At every gambol played by the latter, it approached nigher to the dog, the growling of the three becoming more horrid at each moment, until the younger beast, over-leaping its intended bound, fell directly before the mastiff. There was a moment of fearful cries and struggles, but they ended almost as soon as commenced, by the cub appearing in the air, hurled from the jaws of Brave, with a violence that sent it against a tree so forcibly as to render it completely senseless. Elizabeth witnessed the short struggle, and her blood was warming with the triumph of the dog, when she saw the form of the old panther in the air, springing twenty feet from the branch of the beech to the back of the mastiff. No words of ours can describe the fury of the conflict that followed. It was a confused struggle on the dry leaves, accompanied by loud and terrific cries. Miss Temple continued on her knees, bending over the form of Louisa, her eyes fixed on the animals with an interest so horrid, and yet so intense, that she almost forgot her own stake in the result. So rapid and vigorous were the bounds of the inhabitant of the forest, that its active frame seemed constantly in the air, while the dog nobly faced his foe at each successive leap. When the panther lighted on the shoulders of the mastiff, which was its constant aim, old Brave, though torn with her talons, and stained with his own blood, that already flowed from a dozen wounds, would shake off his furious foe like a feather, and, rearing on his hind-legs, rush to the fray again, with jaws distended, and a dauntless eye. But age, and his pampered life, greatly disqualified the noble mastiff for such a struggle. In everything but courage. he was only the vestige of what he had once been. A higher bound than ever raised the wary and furious beast far beyond the reach of the dog, who was making a desperate but fruitless dash at her, from which she alighted in a favorable position, on the back of her aged foe. For a single moment only could the panther remain there, the great strength of the dog returning with a convulsive effort. But Elizabeth saw, as Brave fastened his teeth in the side of his enemy, that the collar of brass around his neck, which had been glittering throughout the fray, was of the color of blood, and directly that his frame was sinking to the earth, where it soon lay prostrate and helpless. Several mighty efforts of the wild-cat to extricate herself from the jaws of the dog followed, but they were fruitless, until the mastiff turned on his back, his lips collapsed, and his teeth loosened, when the short convulsions and stillness that succeeded announced the death of poor Brave.

Elizabeth now lay wholly at the mercy of the beast. There is said to be something in the front of the image of the Maker that daunts the hearts of the inferior beings of his creation; and it would seem that some such power, in the present instance, suspended the threatened blow. The eyes of the monster and the kneeling maiden met for an instant, when the former stooped to examine her fallen foe; next, to scent her luckless cub. From the latter examination it turned, however, with its eyes apparently emitting flashes of fire, its tail lashing its sides furiously, and its claws projecting inches from her broad feet.

Miss Temple did not or could not move. Her hands were clasped in the attitude of prayer, but her eyes were still drawn to her terrible enemyher cheeks were blanched to the whiteness of marble, and her lips were slightly separated with horror.

The moment seemed now to have arrived for the fatal termination, and the beautiful figure of Elizabeth was bowing meekly to the stroke, when a rustling of leaves behind seemed rather to mock the organs than to meet her ears.

Hist! hist! said a low voice, stoop lower, gal; your bonnet hides the creaturs head.

It was rather the yielding of nature than a compliance with this unexpected order, that caused the head of our heroine to sink on her bosom; when she heard the report of the rifle, the whizzing of the bullet, and the enraged cries of the beast, who was rolling over on the earth, biting its own flesh, and tearing the twigs and branches within its reach. At the next instant the form of the Leather- Stocking rushed by her, and he called aloud:

Come in, Hector! come in, old fool; tis a hard-lived animal, and may jump agin.

Natty fearlessly maintained his position in front of the females, notwithstanding the violent bounds and threatening aspect of the wounded panther, which gave several indications of returning strength and ferocity, until his rifle was again loaded, when he stepped up to the enraged animal, and, placing the muzzle close to its head, every spark of life was extinguished by the discharge.

The death of her terrible enemy appeared to Elizabeth like a resurrection from her own grave. There was an elasticity in the mind of our heroine that rose to meet the pressure of instant danger, and the more direct it had been, the more her nature had struggled to overcome them. But still she was a woman. Had she been left to herself in her late extremity, she would probably have used her faculties to the utmost, and with discretion, in protecting her person; but, encumbered with her inanimate friend, retreat was a thing not to be attempted. Notwithstanding the fearful aspect of her foe, the eye of Elizabeth had never shrunk from its gaze, and long after the event her thoughts would recur to her passing sensations, and the sweetness of her midnight sleep would be disturbed, as her active fancy conjured, in dreams, the most trifling movements of savage fury that the beast had exhibited in its moment of power.

We shall leave the reader to imagine the restoration of Louisas senses, and the expressions of gratitude which fell from the young women. The former was effected by a little water, that was brought from one of the thousand springs of those mountains, in the cap of the Leather-Stocking; and the latter were uttered with the warmth that might be expected from the character of Elizabeth. Natty received her vehement protestations of gratitude with a simple expression of good- will, and with indulgence for her present excitement, but with a carelessness that showed how little he thought of the service he had rendered.

Well, well, he said, be it so, gal; let it be so, if you wish it we'll talk the thing over another time. Come, comelet us get into the road, for youve had terror enough to make you wish yourself in your fathers house agin.

This was uttered as they were proceeding, at a pace that was adapted to the weakness of Louisa, toward the highway; on reaching which the ladies separated from their guide, declaring themselves equal to the remainder of the walk without his assistance, and feeling encouraged by the sight of the village which lay beneath their feet like a picture, with its limpid lake in front, the winding stream along its margin, and its hundred chimneys of whitened bricks.

The reader need not be told the nature of the emotions which two youthful, ingenuous, and well-educated girls would experience at their escape from a death so horrid as the one which had impended over them, while they pursued their way in silence along the track on the side of the mountain; nor how deep were their mental thanks to that Power which had given them their existence, and which had not deserted them in their extremity; neither how often they pressed each others arms as the assurance of their present safety came, like a healing balm, athwart their troubled spirits, when their thoughts were recurring to the recent moments of horror.

Leather-Stocking remained on the hill, gazing after their retiring figures, until they were hidden by a bend in the road, when he whistled in his dogs, and shouldering his rifle, he returned into the forest.

Well, it was a skeary thing to the young creaturs, said Natty, while he retrod the path toward the plain. It might frighten an older woman, to see a she-painter so near her, with a dead cub by its side. I wonder if I had aimed at the varmints eye, if I shouldnt have touched the life sooner than in the forehead; but they are hard- lived animals, and it was a good shot, considring that I could see nothing but the head and the peak of its tail. Hah! who goes there?

How goes it, Natty? said Mr. Doolittle, stepping out of the bushes, with a motion that was a good deal accelerated by the sight of the rifle, that was already lowered in his direction. What! shooting this warm day! Mind, old man, the law dont get hold on you.

The law, squire! I have shook hands with the law these forty year, returned Natty; for what has a man who lives in the wilderness to do with the ways of the law?

Not much, maybe, said Hiram; but you sometimes trade in venison. I spose you know, Leather-Stocking, that there is an act passed to lay a fine of five pounds currency, or twelve dollars and fifty cents, by decimals, on every man who kills a deer betwixt January and August. The Judge had a great hand in getting the law through.

I can believe it, returned the old hunter; I can believe that or anything of a man who carries on as he does in the country.

Yes, the law is quite positive, and the Judge is bent on putting it in forcefive pounds penalty. I thought I heard your hounds out on the scent of sothing this morning; I didnt know but they might get you in difficulty.

They know their manners too well, said Natty carelessly. And how much goes to the States evidence, squire?

How much? repeated Hiram, quailing under the honest but sharp look of the hunter; the informer gets half, II believeyes, I guess its half. But theres blood on your sleeve, manyou havent been shooting anything this morning?

I have, though, said the hunter, nodding his head significantly to the other, and a good shot I made of it.

H-e-m! ejacuated the magistrate; and where is the game? I spose its of a good natur, for your dogs wont hunt anything that isnt choice.

Theyll hunt anything I tell them to, squire, cried Natty, favoring the other with his laugh. Theyll hunt you, if I say so. He-e-e-re, he-e-e-re, Hectorhe-e-e-re, slutcome this a-way, pupscome this a- way-come hither.

Oh! I have always heard a good character of the dogs, returned Mr. Doolittle, quickening his pace by raising each leg in rapid succession, as the hounds scented around his person. And where is the game, Leather-Stocking?

During this dialogue, the speakers had been walking at a very fast gait, and Natty swung the end of his rifle round, pointing through the bushes, and replied: There lies one. How do you like such meat?

This! exclaimed Hiram; why, this is Judge Temples dog Brave. Take care, Leather-Stocking, and dont make an enemy of the Judge. I hope you havent harmed the animal?

Look for yourself, Mr. Doolittle, said Natty, drawing his knife from his girdle, and wiping it in a knowing manner, once or twice across his garment of buckskin; does his throat look as if I had cut it with this knife?

It is dreadfully torn! its an awful woundno knife ever did this deed. Who could have done it?

The painters behind you, squire.

Painters! echoed Hiram, whirling on his heel with an agility that would have done credit to a dancing master.

Be easy, man, said Natty; theres two of the venomous things; but the dog finished one, and I have fastened the others jaws for her; so dont be frightened, squire; they wont hurt you.

And wheres the deer? cried Hiram, staring about him with a bewildered air.

Anan? deer! repeated Natty. Sartain; ant there venison here, or didnt you kill a buck?

What! when the law forbids the thing, squire! said the old hunter, I hope theres no law agin killing the painters.

No! theres a bounty on the scalpsbutwill your dogs hunt painters, Natty?

Anything; didnt I tell you they would hunt a man? He-e-re, he-e-re, pups

Yes, yes, I remember. Well, they are strange dogs, I must sayI am quite in a wonderment.

Natty had seated himself on the ground, and having laid the grim head of his late ferocious enemy in his lap, was drawing his knife with a practiced hand around the ears, which he tore from the head of the beast in such a manner as to preserve their connection, when he answered;

What at, squire? did you never see a painters scalp afore? Come, you are a magistrate, I wish youd make me out an order for the bounty.

The bounty! repeated Hiram, holding the ears on the end of his finger for a moment, as if uncertain how to proceed. Well, let us go down to your hut, where you can take the oath, and I will write out the order, I sup pose you have a Bible? All the law wants is the four evangelists and the Lords prayer.

I keep no books, said Natty, a little coldly; not such a Bible as the law needs.

Oh! theres but one sort of Bible thats good in law, returned the magistrate, and yourn will do as well as anothers. Come, the carcasses are worth nothing, man; let us go down and take the oath.

Softly, softly, squire, said the hunter, lifting his trophies very deliberately from the ground, and shouldering his rifle; why do you want an oath at all, for a thing that your own eyes has seen? Wont you believe yourself, that another man must swear to a fact that you know to be true? You have seen me scalp the creaturs, and if I must swear to it, it shall be before Judge Temple, who needs an oath.

But we have no pen or paper here, Leather-Stocking; we must go to the hut for them, or how can I write the order?

Natty turned his simple features on the cunning magistrate with another of his laughs, as he said:

And what should I be doing with scholars tools? I want no pens or paper, not knowing the use of either; and I keep none. No, no, Ill bring the scalps into the village, squire, and you can make out the order on one of your law-books, and it will he all the better for it. The deuce take this leather on the neck of the dog, it will strangle the old fool. Can you lend me a knife, squire?

Hiram, who seemed particularly anxious to be on good terms with his companion, unhesitatingly complied. Natty cut the thong from the neck of the hound, and, as he returned the knife to its owner, carelessly remarked:

Tis a good bit of steel, and has cut such leather as this very same, before now, I dare say.

Do you mean to charge me with letting your hounds loose? exclaimed Hiram, with a consciousness that disarmed his caution.

Loose! repeated the hunter I let them loose my self. I always let them loose before I leave the hut.

The ungovernable amazement with which Mr. Doolittle listened to this falsehood would have betrayed his agency in the liberation of the dogs, had Natty wanted any further confirmation; and the coolness and management of the old man now disappeared in open indignation.

Look you here, Mr. Doolittle, he said, striking the breech of his rifle violently on the ground; what there is in the wigwam of a poor man like me, that one like you can crave, I dont know; but this I tell you to your face, that you never shall put foot under the roof of my cabin with my consent, and that, if you harbor round the spot as you have done lately, you may meet with treatment that you will little relish.

And let me tell you, Mr. Bumppo, said Hiram, retreating, however, with a quick step, that I know youve broke the law, and that Im a magistrate, and will make you feel it too, before you are a day older.

That for you and your law, too, cried Natty, snap ping his fingers at the justice of the peace; away with you, you varmint, before the devil tempts me to give you your desarts. Take care, if I ever catch your prowling face in the woods agin, that I dont shoot it for an owl.

There is something at all times commanding in honest indignation, and Hiram did not stay to provoke the wrath of the old hunter to extremities. When the intruder was out of sight, Natty proceeded to the hut, where he found all quiet as the grave. He fastened his dogs, and tapping at the door, which was opened by Edwards, asked;

Is all safe, lad?

Everything, returned the youth. Some one attempted the lock, but it was too strong for him.

I know the creatur, said Natty, but hell not trust himself within the reach of my rifle very soon What more was uttered by the Leather-Stocking, in his vexation, was rendered inaudible by the closing of the door of the cabin.



CHAPTER XXIX.



It is noised, he hath a mass of treasure.Timon of Athens.

When Marmaduke Temple and his cousin rode through the gate of the former, the heart of the father had been too recently touched with the best feelings of our nature, to leave inclination for immediate discourse. There was an importance in the air of Richard, which would not have admitted of the ordinary informal conversation of the sheriff, without violating all the rules of consistency; and the equestrians pursued their way with great diligence, for more than a mile, in profound silence. At length the soft expression of parental affection was slowly chased from the handsome features of the Judge, and was gradually supplanted by the cast of humor and benevolence that was usually seated on his brow.

Well, Dickon, he said, since I have yielded myself so far implicitly to your guidance, I think the moment has arrived when I am entitled to further confidence. Why and wherefore are we journeying together in this solemn gait?

The sheriff gave a loud hem, that rang far in the forest, and keeping his eyes fixed on objects before him like a man who is looking deep into futurity:

There has always been one point of difference between us, Judge Temple, I may say, since our nativity, he replied; not that I would insinuate that you are at all answerable for the acts of Nature; for a man is no more to be condemned for the misfortunes of his birth, than he is to be commended for the natural advantages he may possess; but on one point we may be said to have differed from our births, and they, you know, occurred within two days of each other.

I really marvel, Richard, what this one point can be, for, to my eyes, we seem to differ so materially, and so often

Mere consequences, sir, interrupted the sheriff; all our minor differences proceed from one cause, and that is, our opinions of the universal attainments of genius.

In what, Dickon?

I speak plain English, I believe, Judge Temple: at least I ought; for my father, who taught me, could speak

Greek and Latin, interrupted Marmaduke. I well know the qualifications of your family in tongues, Dickon. But proceed to the point; why are we travelling over this mountain to-day?

To do justice to any subject, sir, the narrator must he suffered to proceed in his own way, continued the sheriff. You are of opinion, Judge Temple, that a man is to be qualified by nature and education to do only one thing well, whereas I know that genius will supply the place of learning, and that a certain sort of man can do anything and everything.

Like yourself, I suppose, said Marmaduke, smiling.

I scorn personalities, sir, I say nothing of myself; but there are three men on your Patent, of the kind that I should term talented by nature for her general purposes though acting under the influence of different situations.

We are better off, then, than I had supposed. Who are these triumviri?

Why, sir, one is Hiram Doolittle; a carpenter by trade, as you know and I need only point to the village to exhibit his merits. Then he is a magistrate, and might shame many a man, in his distribution of justice, who has had better opportunities.

Well, he is one, said Marmaduke, with the air of a man that was determined not to dispute the point.

Jotham Riddel is another.

Who?

Jotham Riddel.

What, that dissatisfied, shiftless, lazy, speculating fellow! he who changes his county every three years, his farm every six months, and his occupation every season! an agriculturist yesterday, a shoemaker to-day, and a school master to-morrow! that epitome of all the unsteady and profitless propensities of the settlers without one of their good qualities to counterbalance the evil! Nay, Richard. this is too bad for evenbut the third.

As the third is not used to hearing such comments on his character, Judge Temple, I shall not name him.

The amount of all this, then, Dickon, is that the trio, of which you are one, and the principal, have made some important discovery.

I have not said that I am one, Judge Temple. As I told you before, say nothing egotistical. But a discovery has been made, and you are deeply interested in it.

ProceedI am all ears.

No, no, Duke, you are bad enough, I own, but not so bad as that, either; your ears are not quite full grown.

The sheriff laughed heartily at his own wit, and put himself in good humor thereby, when he gratified his patient cousin with the following explanation:

You know, Duke, there is a man living on your estate that goes by the name of Natty Bumppo. Here has this man lived, by what I can learn, for more than forty yearsby himself, until lately; and now with strange companions.

Part very true, and all very probable, said the Judge.

All true, sir; all true. Well, within these last few months have appeared as his companions an old Indian chief, the last, or one of the last of his tribe that is to be found in this part of the country, and a young man, who is said to be the son of some Indian agent, by a squaw.

Who says that? cried Marmaduke, with an interest; that he had not manifested before.

Who? why, common sensecommon reportthe hue and cry. But listen till you know all. This youth has very pretty talentsyes, what I call very pretty talents and has been well educated, has seen very tolerable company, and knows how to behave himself when he has a mind to. Now, Judge Temple, can you tell me what has brought three such men as Indian John, Natty Bumppo, and Oliver Edwards together? Marmaduke turned his countenance, in evident surprise, to his cousin, and replied quickly:

Thou hast unexpectedly hit on a subject, Richard, that has often occupied my mind. But knowest thou anything of this mystery, or are they only the crude conjectures of

Crude nothing, Duke, crude nothing : but facts, stub-born facts. You know there arc mines in these mountains; I have often heard you say that you believed in their existence.

Reasoning from analogy, Richard, but not with any certainty of the fact.

You have heard them mentioned, and have seen specimens of the ore, sir; you will not deny that! and, reasoning from analogy, as you say, if there be mines in South America, ought there not to be mines in North America too?

Nay, nay, I deny nothing, my cousin. I certainly have heard many rumors of the existence of mines in these hills: and I do believe that I have seen specimens of the precious metals that have been found here. It would occasion me no surprise to learn that tin and silver, or what I consider of more consequence, good coal

Damn your coal, cried the sheriff; who wants to find coal in these forests? No, nosilver, Duke; silver is the one thing needful, and silver is to be found. But listen: you are not to be told that the natives have long known the use of gold and silver; now who so likely to be acquainted where they are to be found as the ancient inhabitants of a country? I have the best reasons for believing that both Mohegan and the Leather-Stocking have been privy to the existence of a mine in this very mountain for many years.

The sheriff had now touched his cousin in a sensitive spot; and Marmaduke lent a more attentive ear to the speaker, who, after waiting a moment to see the effect of this extraordinary development, proceeded:

Yes, sir, I have my reasons, and at a proper time you shall know them,

No time is so good as the present.

Well, well, be attentive, continued Richard, looking cautiously about him, to make certain that no eavesdropper was hid in the forest, though they were in constant motion. I have seen Mohegan and the Leather-Stocking, with my own eyesand my eyes are as good as anybodys eyesI have seen them, I say, both going up the mountain and coming down it, with spades and picks; and others have seen them carrying things into their hut, in a secret and mysterious manner, after dark. Do you call this a fact of importance?

The Judge did not reply, but his brow had contracted, with a thoughtfulness that he always wore when much interested, and his eyes rested on his cousin in expectation of hearing more. Richard continued:

It was ore. Now, sir, I ask if you can tell me who this Mr. Oliver Edwards is, that has made a part of your household since Christmas?

Marmaduke again raised his eyes, but continued silent, shaking his head in the negative.

That he is a half-breed we know, for Mohegan does not scruple to call him openly his kinsman; that he is well educated we know. But as to his business heredo you remember that about a month before this young man made his appearance among us, Natty was absent from home several days? You do; for you inquired for him, as you wanted some venison to take to your friends, when you went for Bess. Well, he was not to be found. Old John was left in the hut alone, and when Natty did appear, although he came on in the night, he was seen drawing one of those jumpers that they carry their grain to mill in, and to take out something with great care, that he had covered up under his bear- skins. Now let me ask you, Judge Temple, what motive could induce a man like the Leather-Stocking to make a sled, and toil with a load over these mountains, if he had nothing but his rifle or his ammunition to carry?

They frequently make these jumpers to convey their game home, and you say he had been absent many days.

How did he kill it? His rifle was in the village, to be mended. No, nothat he was gone to some unusual place is certain; that he brought back some secret utensils is more certain; and that he has not allowed a soul to approach his hut since is most certain of all.

He was never fond of intruders—

I know it, interrupted Richard; but did he drive them from his cabin morosely? Within a fortnight of his return, this Mr. Edwards appears. They spend whole days in the mountains, pretending to be shooting, but in reality exploring; the frosts prevent their digging at that time, and he avails himself of a lucky accident to get into good quarters. But even now, he is quite half of his time in that hutmany hours every night. They are smelting, 'Duke they are smelting, and as they grow rich, you grow poor.

How much of this is thine own, Richard, and how much comes from others? I would sift the wheat from the chaff.

Part is my own, for I saw the jumper, though it was broken up and burnt in a day or two. I have told you that I saw the old man with his spades and picks. Hiram met Natty, as he was crossing the mountain, the night of his arrival with the sled, and very good- naturedly offered Hiram is good-naturedto carry up part of his load, for the old man had a heavy pull up the back of the mountain, but he wouldn't listen to the thing, and repulsed the offer in such a manner that the squire said he had half a mind to swear the peace against him. Since the snow has been off, more especially after the frosts got out of the ground, we have kept a watchful eye on the gentle man, in which we have found Jotham useful. Marmaduke did not much like the associates of Richard in this business; still he knew them to be cunning and ready expedients; and as there was certainly something mysterious, not only in the connection between the old hunters and Edwards, but in what his cousin had just related, he began to revolve the subject in his own mind with more care. On reflection, he remembered various circumstances that tended to corroborate these suspicions, and, as the whole business favored one of his infirmities, he yielded the more readily to their impression. The mind of Judge Temple, at all times comprehensive, had received from his peculiar occupations a bias to look far into futurity, in his speculations on the improvements that posterity were to make in his lands. To his eye, where others saw nothing but a wilderness, towns, manufactories, bridges, canals, mines, and all the other resources of an old country were constantly presenting themselves, though his good sense suppressed, in some degree, the exhibition of these expectations.

As the sheriff allowed his cousin full time to reflect on what he had heard, the probability of some pecuniary adventure being the connecting link in the chain that brought Oliver Edwards into the cabin of Leather-Stocking appeared to him each moment to be stronger. But Marmaduke was too much in the habit of examining both sides of a subject not to perceive the objections, and he reasoned with himself aloud:

It cannot be so, or the youth would not be driven so near the verge of poverty.

What so likely to make a man dig for money as being poor? cried the sheriff.

Besides, there is an elevation of character about Oliver that proceeds from education, which would forbid so clan- destine a proceeding.

Could an ignorant fellow smelt? continued Richard.

Bess hints that he was reduced even to his last shilling when we took him into our dwelling.

He had been buying tools. And would he spend his last sixpence for a shot at a turkey had he not known where to get more?

Can I have possibly been so long a dupe? His manner has been rude to me at times, but I attributed it to his conceiving himself injured, and to his mistaking the forms of the world.

Havent you been a dupe all your life, Duke, and ant what you call ignorance of forms deep cunning, to conceal his real character?

If he were bent on deception, he would have concealed his knowledge, and passed with us for an inferior man.

He cannot. I could no more pass for a fool, myself, than I could fly. Knowledge is not to be concealed, like a candle under a bushel,

Richard, said the Judge, turning to his cousin, there are many reasons against the truth of thy conjectures, but thou hast awakened suspicions which must be satisfied. But why are we travelling here?

Jotham, who has been much in the mountain latterly, being kept there by me and Hiram, has made a discovery, which he will not explain, he says, for he is bound by an oath; but the amount is, that he knows where the ore lies, and he has this day begun to dig. I would not consent to the thing, Duke, without your knowledge, for the land is yours; and now you know the reason of our ride. I call this a countermine, ha!

And where is the desirable spot? asked the Judge with an air half comical, half serious.

At hand; and when we have visited that, I will show you one of the places that we have found within a week, where our hunters have been amusing themselves for six months past.

The gentlemen continued to discuss the matter, while their horses picked their way under the branches of the trees and over the uneven ground of the mountain. They soon arrived at the end of their journey, where, in truth, they found Jotham already buried to his neck in a hole that he had been digging.

Marmaduke questioned the miner very closely as to his reasons for believing in the existence of the precious metals near that particular spot; but the fellow maintained an obstinate mystery in his answers. He asserted that he had the best of reasons for what he did, and inquired of the judge what portion of the profits would fall to his own share, in the event of success, with an earnestness that proved his faith. After spending an hour near the place, examining the stones, and searching for the usual indications of the proximity of ore, the Judge remounted and suffered his cousin to lead the way to the place where the mysterious trio had been making their excavation.

The spot chosen by Jotham was on the back of the mountain that overhung the hut of Leather-Stocking, and the place selected by Natty and his companions was on the other side of the same hill, but above the road, and, of course, in an opposite direction to the route taken by the ladies in their walk.

We shall be safe in approaching the place now, said Richard, while they dismounted and fastened their horses; for I took a look with the glass, and saw John and Leather-Stocking in their canoe fishing before we left home, and Oliver is in the same pursuit; but these may be nothing but shams to blind our eye; so we will be expeditious, for it would not be pleasant to be caught here by them.

Not on my own land? said Marmaduke sternly. If it be as you suspect, I will know their reasons for making this excavation.

Mum, said Richard, laying a finger on his lip, and leading the way down a very difficult descent to a sort of natural cavern, which was found in the face of the rock, and was not unlike a fireplace in shape. In front of this place lay a pile of earth, which had evidently been taken from the recess, and part of which was yet fresh. An examination of the exterior of the cavern left the Judge in doubt whether it was one of Natures frolics that had thrown it into that shape, or whether it had been wrought by the hands of man, at some earlier period. But there could be no doubt that the whole of the interior was of recent formation, and the marks of the pick were still visible where the soft, lead-colored rock had opposed itself to the progress of the miners. The whole formed an excavation of about twenty feet in width, and nearly twice that distance in depth. The height was much greater than was required for the ordinary purposes of experiment, but this was evidently the effect of chance, as the roof of the cavern was a natural stratum of rock that projected many feet beyond the base of the pile. Immediately in front of the recess, or cave, was a little terrace, partly formed by nature, and partly by the earth that had been carelessly thrown aside by the laborers. The mountain fell off precipitously in front of the terrace, and the approach by its sides, under the ridge of the rocks, was difficult and a little dangerous. The whole was wild, rude, and apparently incomplete; for, while looking among the bushes, the sheriff found the very implements that had been used in the work.

When the sheriff thought that his cousin had examined the spot sufficiently, he asked solemnly:

Judge Temple, are you satisfied?

Perfectly, that there is something mysterious and perplexing in this business. It is a secret spot, and cunningly devised, Richard; yet I see no symptoms of ore.

Do you expect, sir, to find gold and silver lying like pebbles on the surface of the earth?dollars and dimes ready coined to your hands? No, nothe treasure must be sought after to be won. But let them mine; I shall countermine.

The Judge took an accurate survey of the place, and noted in his memorandum-book such marks as were necessary to find it again in the event of Richards absence; when the cousins returned to their horses.

On reaching the highway they separated, the sheriff to summon twenty- four good men and true, to attend as thc inquest of the county, on the succeeding Monday, when Marmaduke held his stated court of common pleas and general sessions of the peace, and the Judge to return, musing deeply on what he had seen and heard in the course of the morning.

When the horse of the latter reached the spot where the highway fell toward the valley, the eye of Marmaduke rested, it is true, on the same scene that had, ten minutes before, been so soothing to the feelings of his daughter and her friend, as they emerged from the forest; but it rested in vacancy. He threw the reins to his sure footed beast, and suffered the animal to travel at his own gait, while he soliloquized as follows:

There may be more in this than I at first supposed. I have suffered my feelings to blind my reason, in admitting an unknown youth in this manner to my dwelling; yet this is not the land of suspicion. I will have Leather-Stocking before me, and, by a few direct questions, extract the truth from the simple old man.

At that instant the Judge caught a glimpse of the figures of Elizabeth and Louisa, who were slowly descending the mountain, short distance before him. He put spurs to his horse, and riding up to them, dismounted, and drove his steed along the narrow path. While the agitated parent was listening to the vivid description that his daughter gave of her recent danger, and her unexpected escape, all thoughts of mines, vested rights, and examinations were absorbed in emotion; and when the image of Natty again crossed his recollection, it was not as a law Less and depredating squatter, but as the preserver of his child.



CHAPTER XXX.



The court awards it, and the law doth give it.Merchant of Venice.

Remarkable Pettibone, who had forgotten the wound received by her pride, in contemplation of the ease and comforts of her situation, and who still retained her station in the family of judge Temple, was dispatched to the humble dwelling which Richard already styled The Rectory, in attendance on Louisa, who was soon consigned to the arms of her father.

In the mean time, Marmaduke and his daughter were closeted for more than an hour, nor shall we invade the sanctuary of parental love, by relating the conversation. When the curtain rises on the reader, the Judge is seen walking up and down the apartment, with a tender melancholy in his air, and his child reclining on a settee, with a flushed cheek, and her dark eyes seeming to float in crystals.

It was a timely rescue! it was, indeed, a timely rescue, my child! cried the Judge. Then thou didst not desert thy friend, my noble Bess?

I believe I may as well take the credit of fortitude, said Elizabeth, though I much doubt if flight would have availed me anything, had I even courage to execute such an intention. But I thought not of the expedient.

Of what didst thou think, love? where did thy thoughts dwell most, at that fearful moment?

The beast! the beast! cried Elizabeth, veiling her face with her hand. Oh! I saw nothing, I thought of nothing but the beast. I tried to think of better things, but the horror was too glaring, the danger too much before my eyes.

Well, well, thou art safe, and we will converse no more on the unpleasant subject. I did not think such an animal yet remained in our forests; but they will stray far from their haunts when pressed by hunger, and

A loud knocking at the door of the apartment interrupted what he was about to utter, and he bid the applicant enter. The door was opened by Benjamin, who came in with a discontented air, as if he felt that he had a communication to make that would be out of season.

Here is Squire Doolittle below, sir, commenced the major-domo. He has been standing off and on in the door-yard for the matter of a glass; and he has summat on his mind that he wants to heave up, dye see; but I tells him, says I, man, would you be coming aboard with your complaints, said I, when the judge has gotten his own child, as it were, out of the jaws of a lion? But damn the bit of manners has the fellow, any more than if he was one of them Guineas down in the kitchen there; and so as he was sheering nearer, every stretch he made toward the house, I could do no better than to let your honor know that the chap was in the offing.

He must have business of importance, said Marmaduke: something in relation to his office, most probably, as the court sits so shortly.

Ay, ay, you have it, sir, cried Benjamin; its summat about a complaint that he has to make of the old Leather-Stocking, who, to my judgment, is the better man of the two. Its a very good sort of a man is this Master Bumppo, and he has a way with a spear, all the same as if he was brought up at the bow-oar of the captains barge, or was born with a boat-hook in his hand.

Against the Leather-Stocking! cried Elizabeth, rising from her reclining posture.

Rest easy, my child; some trifle, I pledge you; I believe I am already acquainted with its import Trust me, Bess, your champion shall be safe in my care. Show Mr. Doolittle in, Benjamin

Miss Temple appeared satisfied with this assurance, but fastened her dark eyes on the person of the architect, who profited by the permission, and instantly made his appearance.

All the impatience of Hiram seemed to vanish the instant he entered the apartment. After saluting the Judge and his daughter, he took the chair to which Marmaduke pointed, and sat for a minute, composing his straight black hair, with a gravity of demeanor that was in tended to do honor to his official station. At length he said:

Its likely, from what I hear, that Miss Temple had a narrow chance with the painters, on the mountain.

Marmaduke made a gentle inclination of his head, by way of assent, but continued silent.

I spose the law gives a bounty on the scalps, continued Hiram, in which case the Leather-Stocking will make a good job ont.

It shall be my care to see that he is rewarded, returned the Judge.

Yes, yes, I rather guess that nobody hereabouts doubts the Judges generosity. Does he know whether the sheriff has fairly made up his mind to have a reading desk or a deacons pew under the pulpit? I have not heard my cousin speak on that subject, lately, replied Marmaduke. I think its likely that we will have a pretty dull court on't, from what I can gather. I hear that Jotham Riddel and the man who bought his betterments have agreed to leave their difference to men, and I dont think therell be more than two civil cases in the calendar.

I am glad of it, said the judge; nothing gives me more pain than to see my settlers wasting their time and substance in the unprofitable struggles of the law. I hope it may prove true, sir.

I rather guess twill be left out to men, added Hiram, with an air equally balanced between doubt and assurance, but which judge Temple understood to mean certainty; I some think that I am appointed a referee in the case myself; Jotham as much as told me that he should take me. The defendant, I guess, means to take Captain Hollister, and we two have partly agreed on Squire Jones for the third man.

Are there any criminals to be tried? asked Marmaduke.

There's the counterfeiters, returned the magistrate, as they were caught in the act, I think it likely that theyll be indicted, in which case its probable theyll be tried.

Certainly, sir; I had forgotten those men. There are no more, I hope. Why, there is a threaten to come forward with an assault that happened at the last independence day; but Im not sartain that the law'll take hold ont. There was plaguey hard words passed, but whether they struck or not I havent heard. Theres some folks talk of a deer or two being killed out of season, over on the west side of the Patent, by some of the squatters on the Fractions.

Let a complaint be made, by all means, said the Judge; I am determined to see the law executed to the letter, on all such depredators.

Why, yes, I thought the judge was of that mind; I came partly on such a business myself.

You! exclaimed Marmaduke, comprehending in an instant how completely he had been caught by the others cunning; and what have you to say, sir?

I some think that Natty Bumppo has the carcass of a deer in his hut at this moment, and a considerable part of my business was to get a search-warrant to examine.

You think, sir! do you know that the law exacts an oath, before I can issue such a precept? The habitation of a citizen is not to be idly invaded on light suspicion.

I rather think I can swear to it myself, returned the immovable Hiram; and Jotham is in the street, and as good as ready to come in and make oath to the same thing.

Then issue the warrant thyself; thou art a magistrate, Mr. Doolittle; why trouble me with the matter?

Why, seeing its the first complaint under the law, and knowing the judge set his heart on the thing, I thought it best that the authority to search should come from himself. Besides, as Im much in the woods, among the timber, I dont altogether like making an enemy of the Leather Stocking. Now, the Judge has a weight in the county that puts him above fear.

Miss Temple turned her face to the callous Architect as she said And what has any honest person to dread from so kind a man as Bumppo?

Why, its as easy, miss, to pull a rifle trigger on a magistrate as on a painter. But if the Judge dont conclude to issue the warrant, I must go home and make it out myself.

I have not refused your application, sir, said Marmaduke, perceiving at once that his reputation for impartiality was at stake; go into my office, Mr. Doolittle, where I will join you, and sign the warrant. Judge Temple stopped the remonstrances which Elizabeth was about to utter, after Hiram had withdrawn, by laying his hand on her mouth, and saying:

It is more terrible in sound than frightful in reality, my child. I suppose that the Leather-Stocking has shot a deer, for the season is nearly over, and you say that he was hunting with his dogs when he came so timely to your assistance. But it will be only to examine his cabin, and find the animal, when you can pay the penalty out of your own pocket, Bess. Nothing short of the twelve dollars and a half will satisfy this harpy, I perceive; and surely my reputation as judge is worth that trifle.

Elizabeth was a good deal pacified with this assurance, and suffered her father to leave her, to fulfil his promise to Hiram.

When Marmaduke left his office after executing his disagreeable duty, he met Oliver Edwards, walking up the gravelled walk in front of the mansion-house with great strides, and with a face agitated by feeling. On seeing judge Temple, the youth turned aside, and with a warmth in his manner that was not often exhibited to Marmaduke, he cried:

I congratulate you, sir; from the bottom of my soul, I congratulate you, Judge Temple. Oh! it would have been too horrid to have recollected for a moment! I have just left the hut, where, after showing me his scalps, old Natty told me of the escape of the ladies, as the thing to be mentioned last. Indeed, indeed, sir, no words of mine can express half of what I have felt the youth paused a moment, as if suddenly recollecting that he was overstepping prescribed limits, and concluded with a good deal of embarrassment what I have felt at this danger to MissGrant, andand your daughter, sir,

But the heart of Marmaduke was too much softened to admit his cavilling at trifles, and, without regarding the confusion of the other, he replied:

I thank thee, thank thee, Oliver; as thou sayest, it is almost too horrid to be remembered. But come, let us hasten to Bess, for Louisa has already gone to the rectory.

The young man sprang forward, and, throwing open a door, barely permitted the Judge to precede him, when he was in the presence of Elizabeth in a moment.

The cold distance that often crossed the demeanor of the heiress, in her intercourse with Edwards, was now entirely banished, and two hours were passed by the party, in the free, unembarrassed, and confiding manner of old and esteemed friends. Judge Temple had forgotten the suspicions engendered during his mornings ride, and the youth and maiden conversed, laughed, and were sad by turns, as impulse directed.

At length, Edwards, after repeating his intention to do so for the third time, left the mansion-house to go to the rectory on a similar errand of friendship.

During this short period, a scene was passing at the hut that completely frustrated the benevolent intentions of Judge Temple in favor of the Leather-Stocking, and at once destroyed the short-lived harmony between the youth and Marmaduke.

When Hiram Doolittle had obtained his search-warrant, his first business was to procure a proper officer to see it executed. The sheriff was absent, summoning in person the grand inquest for the county; the deputy who resided in the village was riding on the same errand, in a different part of the settlement; and the regular constable of the township had been selected for his station from motives of charity, being lame of a leg. Hiram intended to accompany the officer as a spectator, but he felt no very strong desire to bear the brunt of the battle. It was, however, Saturday, and the sun was already turning the shadows of the pines toward the east; on the morrow the conscientious magistrate could not engage in such an expedition at the peril of his soul and long before Monday, the venison, and all vestiges of the death of the deer, might be secreted or destroyed. Happily, the lounging form of Billy Kirby met his eye, and Hiram, at all time fruitful in similar expedients, saw his way clear at once. Jotham, who was associated in the whole business, and who had left the mountain in consequence of a summons from his coadjutor, but who failed, equally with Hiram, in the unfortunate particular of nerve, was directed to summon the wood-chopper to the dwelling of the magistrate.

When Billy appeared, he was very kindly invited to take the chair in which he had already seated himself, and was treated in all respects as if he were an equal.

Judge Temple has set his heart on putting the deer law in force, said Hiram, after the preliminary civilities were over, and a complaint has been laid before him that a deer has been killed. He has issued a search-warrant, and sent for me to get somebody to execute it.

Kirby, who had no idea of being excluded from the deliberative part of any affair in which he was engaged, drew up his bushy head in a reflecting attitude, and after musing a moment, replied by asking a few questions,

The sheriff has gone out of the way?

Not to be found.

And his deputy too?

Both gone on the skirts of the Patent.

But I saw the constable hobbling about town an hour ago.

Yes, yes, said Hiram, with a coaxing smile and knowing nod, but this business wants a mannot a cripple.

Why, said Billy, laughing, will the chap make fight? Hes a little quarrelsome at times, and thinks hes the best man in the country at rough and tumble.

I heard him brag once, said Jotham, that there wasnt a man twixt the Mohawk Flats and the Pennsylvany line that was his match at a close hug.

Did you? exclaimed Kirby, raising his huge frame in his seat, like a lion stretching in his lair; I rather guess he never felt a Varmounters knuckles on his backbone-But who is the chap?

Why, said Jotham, its

Its agin law to tell, interrupted Hiram unless youll qualify to sarve. Youd be the very man to take him, Bill, and I'll make out a special deputation in a minute, when you will get the fees.

Whats the fees? said Kirby, laying his large hand on the leaves of a statute-book that Hiram had opened in order to give dignity to his office, which he turned over in his rough manner, as if he were reflecting on a subject about which he had, in truth, already decided; will they pay a man for a broken head?

Theyll be something handsome, said Hiram.

Damn the fees, said Billy, again laughing does the fellow think hes the best wrestler in the county, though? whats his inches?

Hes taller than you be, said Jotham, and one of the biggest

Talkers, he was about to add, but the impatience of Kirby interrupted him. The wood-chopper had nothing fierce or even brutal in his appearance; the character of his expression was that of good-natured vanity. It was evident he prided himself on the powers of the physical man, like all who have nothing better to boast of; and, stretching out his broad hand, with the palm downward, he said, keeping his eyes fastened on his own bones and sinews:

Come, give us a touch of the book. Ill swear, and youll see that Im a man to keep my oath.

Hiram did not give the wood-chopper time to change his mind, but the oath was administered without unnecessary delay. So soon as this preliminary was completed, the three worthies left the house, and proceeded by the nearest road toward the hut. They had reached the bank of the lake, and were diverging from the route of the highway, before Kirby recollected that he was now entitled to the privilege of the initiated, and repeated his question as to the name of the offender,

Which way, which way, squire? exclaimed the hardy wood-chopper; I thought it was to search a house that you wanted me, not the woods. There is nobody lives on this side of the lake, for six miles, unless you count the Leather-Stocking and old John for settlers. Come, tell me the chaps name, and I warrant me that I lead you to his clearing by a straighter path than this, for I know every sapling that grows within two miles of Templeton.

This is the way, said Hiram, pointing forward and quickening his step, as if apprehensive that Kirby would desert, and Bumppo is the man.

Kirby stopped short, and looked from one of his companions to the other in astonishment. He then burst into a loud laugh, and cried:

Who? Leather-Stocking! He may brag of his aim and his rifle, for he has the best of both, as I will own myself, for sin he shot the pigeon I knock under to him; but for a wrestle! why, I would take the creatur between my finger and thumb, and tie him in a bow-knot around my neck for a Barcelony. The man is seventy, and was never anything particular for strength.

Hes a deceiving man, said Hiram, like all the hunters; he is stronger than he seems; besides, he has his rifle.

That for his rifle! cried Billy; hed no more hurt me with his rifle than hed fly. Hes a harmless creatur, and I must say that I think he has as good right to kill deer as any man on the Patent. Its his main support, and this is a free country, where a man is privileged to follow any calling he likes.

According to that doctrine, said Jotham, anybody may shoot a deer.

This is the mans calling, I tell you, returned Kirby, and the law was never made for such as he.

The law was made for all, observed Hiram, who began to think that the danger was likely to fall to his own share, notwithstanding his management; and the law is particular in noticing parjury.

See here, Squire Doolittle, said the reckless woodchopper; I dont care the valie of a beetlering for you and your parjury too. But as I have come so far, Ill go down and have a talk with the old man, and maybe well fry a steak of the deer together.

Well, if you can get in peaceably, so much the better, said the magistrate. To my notion, strife is very unpopular; I prefar, at all times, clever conduct to an ugly temper.

As the whole party moved at a great pace, they soon reached the hut, where Hiram thought it prudent to halt on the outside of the top of the fallen pine, which formed a chevaux-de-frise, to defend the approach to the fortress, on the side next the village. The delay was little relished by Kirby, who clapped his hands to his mouth, and gave a loud halloo that brought the dogs out of their kennel, and, almost at the same instant, the scantily-covered head of Natty from the door.

Lie down, old fool, cried the hunter; do you think theres more painters about you?

Ha! Leather-Stocking, Ive an arrand with you, cried Kirby; heres the good people of the State have been writing you a small letter, and theyve hired me to ride post.

What would you have with me, Billy Kirby? said Natty, stepping across his threshold, and raising his hand over his eyes, to screen them from the rays of the setting sun, while he took a survey of his visitor. Ive no land to clear, and Heaven knows I would set out six trees afore I would cut down one.Down, Hector, I say; into your kennel with ye.

Would you, old boy? roared Billy; then so much the better for me. But I must do my arrand. Heres a letter for you, Leather-Stocking. If you can read it, its all well, and if you cant, heres Squire Doolittle at hand, to let you know what it means. It seems you mistook the twentieth of July for the first of August. thats all.

By this time Natty had discovered the lank person of Hiram, drawn up under the cover of a high stump; and all that was complacent in his manner instantly gave way to marked distrust and dissatisfaction. He placed his head within the door of his hut, and said a few words in an undertone, when he again appeared, and continued:

Ive nothing for ye; so away, afore the Evil One tempts me to do you harm. I owe you no spite, Billy Kirby, and what for should you trouble an old man who has done you no harm?

Kirby advanced through the top of the pine, to within a few feet of the hunter, where he seated himself on the end of a log, with great composure, and began to examine the nose of Hector, with whom he was familiar, from their frequently meeting in the woods, where he sometimes fed the dog from his own basket of provisions.

Youve outshot me, and Im not ashamed to say it, said the wood- chopper; but I dont owe you a grudge for that, Natty! though it seems that youve shot once too often, for the story goes that youve killed a buck.

Ive fired but twice to-day, and both times at the painters, returned the Leather-Stocking; see, here are the scalps! I was just going in with them to the Judges to ask the bounty.

While Natty was speaking, he tossed the ears to Kirby, who continued playing with them with a careless air, holding them to the dogs, and laughing at their movements when they scented the unusual game.

But Hiram, emboldened by the advance of the deputed constable, now ventured to approach also, and took up the discourse with the air of authority that became his commission. His first measure was to read the warrant aloud, taking care to give due emphasis to the most material parts, and concluding with the name of the Judge in very audible and distinct tones.

Did Marmaduke Temple put his name to that bit of paper? said Natty, shaking his head; well, well, that man loves the new ways, and his betterments, and his lands, afore his own flesh and blood. But I wont mistrust the gal; she has an eye like a full-grown buck! poor thing, she didnt choose her father, and cant help it. I know but little of the law, Mr. Doolittle; what is to be done, now youve read your commission?

Oh! its nothing but form, Natty, said Hiram, endeavoring to assume a friendly aspect. Lets go in, and talk the thing over in reason; I dare to say that the money can be easily found, and I partly conclude, from what passed, that Judge Temple will pay it himself.

The old hunter had kept a keen eye on the movements of his three visitors, from the beginning, and had maintained his position, just without the threshold of the cabin, with a determined manner, that showed he was not to be easily driven from his post. When Hiram drew nigher, as if expecting his proposition would be accepted, Natty lifted his hand, and motioned for him to retreat.

Havent I told you more than once, not to tempt me? he said. I trouble no man; why cant the law leave me to myself? Go backgo back, and tell your Judge that he may keep his bounty; but I wont have his wasty ways brought into my hut.

This offer, however, instead of appeasing the curiosity of Hiram, seemed to inflame it the more; while Kirby cried:

Well, thats fair, squire; he forgives the county his demand, and the county should forgive him the fine; its what I call an even trade, and should be concluded on the spot. I like quick dealings, and whats fair twixt man and man.

I demand entrance into this house, said Hiram, summoning all the dignity he could muster to his assistance, in the name of the people; and by virtue of this war rant, and of my office, and with this peace officer.

Stand back, stand back, squire, and dont tempt me, said the Leather-Stocking, motioning him to retire, with great earnestness.

Stop us at your peril, continued Hiram. Billy! Jotham! close upI want testimony.

Hiram had mistaken the mild but determined air of Natty for submission, and had already put his foot on the threshold to enter, when he was seized unexpectedly by his shoulders, and hurled over the little bank toward the lake, to the distance of twenty feet. The suddenness of the movement, and the unexpected display of strength on the part of Natty, created a momentary astonishment in his invaders, that silenced all noises; but at the next instant Billy Kirby gave vent to his mirth in peals of laughter, that he seemed to heave up from his very soul.

Well done, old stub! he shouted; the squire knowed you better than I did. Come, come, heres a green spot; take it out like men, while Jotham and I see fair play.

William Kirby, I order you to do your duty, cried Hiram, from under the bank; seize that man; I order you to seize him in the name of the people.

But the Leather-Stocking now assumed a more threatening attitude; his rifle was in his hand, and its muzzle was directed toward the wood- chopper.

Stand off, I bid ye, said Natty; you know my aim, Billy Kirby; I dont crave your blood, but mine and yourn both shall turn this green grass red, afore you put foot into the hut.

While the affair appeared trifling, the wood-chopper seemed disposed to take sides with the weaker party; but, when the firearms were introduced, his manner very sensibly changed. He raised his large frame from the log, and, facing the hunter with an open front, he replied:

I didnt come here as your enemy, Leather-Stocking; but I dont value the hollow piece of iron in your hand so much as a broken axe-helve; so, squire, say the word, and keep within the law, and well soon see whos the best main of the two.

But no magistrate was to be seen! The instant the rifle was produced Hiram and Jotham vanished; and when the wood-chopper bent his eyes about him in surprise at receiving no answer, he discovered their retreating figures moving toward the village at a rate that sufficiently indicated that they had not only calculated the velocity of a rifle-bullet, but also its probable range.

Youve scared the creaturs off, said Kirby, with great contempt expressed on his broad features; but you are not going to scare me; so, Mr. Bumppo, down with your gun, or therell be trouble twixt us. Natty dropped his rifle, and replied:

I wish you no harm, Billy Kirby; but I leave it to yourself, whether an old mans hut is to be run down by such varmint. I wont deny the buck to you, Billy, and you may take the skin in, if you please, and show it as testimony. The bounty will pay the fine, and that ought to satisfy any man,

Twill, old boy, twill, cried Kirby, every- shade of displeasure vanishing from his open brow at the peace-offering; throw out the hide, and that shall satisfy the law.

Natty entered the hut, and soon reappeared, bringing with him the desired testimonial; and the wood-chopper departed, as thoroughly reconciled to the hunter as if nothing had happened. As he paced along the margin of the lake he would burst into frequent fits of laughter, while he recollected the summerset of Hiram: and, on the whole, he thought the affair a very capital joke.

Long before Billy reached the village, however, the news of his danger, and of Nattys disrespect of the law, and of Hirams discomfiture, were in circulation. A good deal was said about sending for the sheriff; some hints were given about calling out the posse comitatus to avenge the insulted laws; and many of the citizens were collected, deliberating how to proceed. The arrival of Billy with the skin, by removing all grounds for a search, changed the complexion of things materially. Nothing now remained but to collect the fine and assert the dignity of the people; all of which, it was unanimously agreed, could be done as well on the succeeding Monday as on Saturday nighta time kept sacred by large portion of the settlers. Accordingly, all further proceedings were suspended for six-and-thirty hours.



CHAPTER XXXI.



And darst thou then To beard the lion in his den, The Douglas in his hall Marmion.

The commotion was just subsiding, and the inhabitants of the village had begun to disperse from the little groups that had formed, each retiring to his own home, and closing his door after him, with the grave air of a man who consulted public feeling in his exterior deportment, when Oliver Edwards, on his return from the dwelling of Mr. Grant, encountered the young lawyer, who is known to the reader as Mr. Lippet. There was very little similarity in the manners or opinions of the two; but as they both belonged to the more intelligent class of a very small community, they were, of course, known to each other, and as their meeting was at a point where silence would have been rudeness, the following conversation was the result of their interview:

A fine evening, Mr. Edwards, commenced the lawyer, whose disinclination to the dialogue was, to say the least, very doubtful; we want rain sadly; thats the worst of this climate of ours, its either a drought or a deluge. Its likely youve been used to a more equal temperature?

I am a native of this State, returned Edwards, coldly.

Well. Ive often heard that point disputed; but its so easy to get a man naturalized, that its of little consequence where he was born. I wonder what course the Judge means to take in this business of Natty Bumppo! Of Natty Bumppo! echoed Edwards; to what do you allude, sir? Havent you heard! exclaimed the other, with a look of surprise, so naturally assumed as completely to deceive his auditor; it may turn out an ugly business. It seems that the old man has been out in the hills, and has shot a buck this morning, and that, you know, is a criminal matter in the eyes of Judge Temple.

Oh! he has, has he? said Edwards, averting his face to conceal the color that collected in his sunburnt cheek. Well, if that be all, he must even pay the fine.

Its five pound currency, said the lawyer; could Natty muster so much money at once?

Could he! cried the youth. I am not rich, Mr. Lippet; far from it I am poor, and I have been hoarding my salary for a purpose that lies near my heart; but, be fore that old man should lie one hour in a jail, I would spend the last cent to prevent it. Besides, he has killed two panthers, and the bounty will discharge the fine many times over.

Yes, yes, said the lawyer, rubbing his hands together, with an expression of pleasure that had no artifice about it; we shall make it out; I see plainly we shall make it out.

Make what out, sir? I must beg an explanation.

Why, killing the buck is but a small matter compared to what took place this afternoon, continued Mr. Lippet, with a confidential and friendly air that won upon the youth, little as he liked the man. It seems that a complaint was made of the fact, and a suspicion that there was venison in the hut was sworn to, all which is provided for in the statute, when Judge Temple granted the search warrant.

A search-warrant! echoed Edwards, in a voice of horror, and with a face that should have been again averted to conceal its paleness; and how much did they discover? What did they see

They saw old Bumppos rifle; and that is a sight which will quiet most mens curiosity in the woods.

Did they! did they! shouted Edwards, bursting into a convulsive laugh; so the old hero beat them back beat them back! did he? The lawyer fastened his eyes in astonishment on the youth, but, as his wonder gave way to the thoughts that were commonly uppermost in his mind, he replied:

It is no laughing matter, let me tell you, sir; the forty dollars of bounty and your six months of salary will be much reduced before you can get the matter fairly settled. Assaulting a magistrate in the execution of his duty, and menacing a constable with firearms at the same time, is a pretty serious affair, and is punishable with both fine and imprisonment.

Imprisonment! repeated Oliver; imprison the Leather-Stocking! no, no, sir; it would bring the old man to his grave. They shall never imprison the Leather-Stocking.

Well, Mr. Edwards, said Lippet, dropping all reserve from his manner, you are called a curious man; but if you can tell me how a jury is to be prevented from finding a verdict of guilty, if this case comes fairly before them, and the proof is clear, I shall acknowledge that you know more law than I do, who have had a license in my pocket for three years.

By this time the reason of Edwards was getting the ascendency of his feelings, and, as he began to see the real difficulties of the case, he listened more readily to the conversation of the lawyer. The ungovernable emotion that escaped the youth, in the first moments of his surprise, entirely passed away; and, although it was still evident that he continued to be much agitated by what he had heard, he succeeded in yielding forced attention to the advice which the other uttered.

Notwithstanding the confused state of his mind, Oliver soon discovered that most of the expedients of the lawyer were grounded in cunning, and plans that required a time to execute them that neither suited his disposition nor his necessities. After, however, giving Mr. Lippet to under stand that he retained him in the event of a trial, an assurance that at once satisfied the lawyer, they parted, one taking his course with a deliberate tread in the direction of the little building that had a wooden sign over its door, with Chester Lippet, Attorney-at- law, painted on it; and the other pacing over the ground with enormous strides toward the mansion-house. We shall take leave of the attorney for the present, and direct the attention of the reader to the client.

When Edwards entered the hall, whose enormous doors were opened to the passage of the air of a mild evening, he found Benjamin engaged in some of his domestic avocations, and in a hurried voice inquired where Judge Temple was to be found.

Why, the Judge has stepped into his office, with that master carpenter, Mister Doolittle; but Miss Lizzy is in that there parlor. I say, Master Oliver, wed like to have had a bad job of that panther, or painters work some calls it one, and some calls it totherbut I know little of the beast, seeing that it is not of British growth. I said as much as that it was in the hills the last winter for I heard it moaning on the lake shore one evening in the fall, when I was pulling down from the fishing-point in the skiff. Had the animal come into open water, where a man could see where and how to work his vessel, I would have engaged the thing myself; but looking aloft among the trees is all the same to me as standing on the deck of one ship, and looking at another vessels tops. I never can tell one rope from another

Well, well, interrupted Edwards; I must see Miss Temple.

And you shall see her, sir, said the steward; shes in this here room. Lord, Master Edwards, what a loss shed have been to the Judge! Damme if I know where he would have gotten such another daughter; that is, full grown, dye see. I say, sir, this Master Bumppo is a worthy man, and seems to have a handy way with him, with firearms and boat-hooks. Im his friend, Master Oliver, and he and you may both set me down as the same.

We may want your friendship, my worthy fellow, cried Edwards, squeezing his hand convulsively; we may want your friendship, in which case you shall know it.

Without waiting to hear the earnest reply that Benjamin meditated, the youth extricated himself from the vigorous grasp of the steward, and entered the parlor.

Elizabeth was alone, and still reclining on the sofa, where we last left her. A hand, which exceeded all that the ingenuity of art could model, in shape and color, veiled her eyes; and the maiden was sitting as if in deep communion with herself. Struck by the attitude and loveliness of the form that met his eye, the young man checked his impatience, and approached her with respect and caution.

Miss TempleMiss Temple, he said, I hope I do not intrude; but I am anxious for an interview, if it be only for a moment.

Elizabeth raised her face, and exhibited her dark eyes swimming in moisture.

Is it you, Edwards? she said, with a sweetness in her voice, and a softness in her air, that she often used to her father, but which, from its novelty to himself, thrilled on every nerve of the youth; how left you our poor Louisa?

She is with her father, happy and grateful, said Oliver, I never witnessed more feeling than she manifested, when I ventured to express my pleasure at her escape. Miss Temple, when I first heard of your horrid situation, my feelings were too powerful for utterance; and I did not properly find my tongue, until the walk to Mr. Grants had given me time to collect myself. I believeI do believe, I acquitted myself better there, for Miss Grant even wept at my silly speeches. For a moment Elizabeth did not reply, but again veiled her eyes with her hand. The feeling that caused the action, however, soon passed away, and, raising her face again to his gaze, she continued with a smile:

Your friend, the Leather-Stocking, has now become my friend, Edwards; I have been thinking how I can best serve him; perhaps you, who know his habits and his wants so well, can tell me

I can, cried the youth, with an impetuosity that startled his companion. I can, and may Heaven reward you for the wish, Natty has been so imprudent as to for get the law, and has this day killed a deer. Nay, I believe I must share in the crime and the penalty, for I was an accomplice throughout. A complaint has been made to your father, and he has granted a search

I know it all, interrupted Elizabeth; I know it all. The forms of the law must be complied with, however; the search must be made, the deer found, and the penalty paid. But I must retort your own question. Have you lived so long in our family not to know us? Look at me, Oliver Edwards. Do I appear like one who would permit the man that has just saved her life to linger in a jail for so small a sum as this fine? No, no, sir; my father is a judge, but he is a man and a Christian. It is all under stood, and no harm shall follow.

What a load of apprehension do your declarations remove! exclaimed Edwards: He shall not be disturbed again! your father will protect him! I have assurance, Miss Temple, that he will, and I must believe it.

You may have his own, Mr. Edwards, returned Elizabeth, for here he comes to make it.

But the appearance of Marmaduke, who entered the apartment, contradicted the flattering anticipations of his daughter. His brow was contracted, and his manner disturbed. Neither Elizabeth nor the youth spoke; but the Judge was allowed to pace once or twice across the room without interruption, when he cried:

Our plans are defeated, girl; the obstinacy of the Leather-Stocking has brought down the indignation of the law on his head, and it is now out of my power to avert it.

How? in what manner? cried Elizabeth; the fine is nothing surely

I did notI could not anticipate that an old, a friendless man like him, would dare to oppose the officers of justice, interrupted the Judge, I supposed that he would submit to the search, when the fine could have been paid, and the law would have been appeased; but now he will have to meet its rigor.

And what must the punishment be, sir? asked Ed wards, struggling to speak with firmness.

Marmaduke turned quickly to the spot where the youth had withdrawn, and exclaimed:

You here! I did not observe you. I know not what it will be, sir; it is not usual for a judge to decide until he has heard the testimony, and the jury have convicted. Of one thing, however, you may be assured, Mr. Edwards; it shall be whatever the law demands, notwithstanding any momentary weakness I may have exhibited, because the luckless man has been of such eminent service to my daughter.

No one, I believe, doubts the sense of justice which Judge Temple entertains! returned Edwards bitterly.

But let us converse calmly, sir. Will not the years, the habits, nay, the ignorance of my old friend, avail him any thing against this charge?

Ought they? They may extenuate, but can they ac quit? Would any society be tolerable, young man, where the ministers of justice are to be opposed by men armed with rifles? Is it for this that I have tamed the wilder ness?

Had you tamed the beasts that so lately threatened the life of Miss Temple, sir, your arguments would apply better.

Edwards! exclaimed Elizabeth.

Peace, my child, interrupted the father; the youth is unjust; but I have not given him cause. I overlook thy remark, Oliver, for I know thee to be the friend of Natty, and zeal in his behalf has overcome thy discretion,

Yes, he is my friend, cried Edwards, and I glory in the title. He is simple, unlettered, even ignorant; prejudiced, perhaps, though I feel that his opinion of the world is too true; but he has a heart, Judge Temple, that would atone for a thousand faults; he knows his friends, and never deserts them, even if it be his dog.

This is a good character, Mr. Edwards, returned Marmaduke, mildly; but I have never been so fortunate as to secure his esteem, for to me he has been uniformly repulsive; yet I have endured it, as an old mans whim, However, when he appears before me, as his judge, he shall find that his former conduct shall not aggravate, any more than his recent services shall extenuate, his crime.

Crime! echoed Edwards: is it a crime to drive a prying miscreant from his door? Crime! Oh, no, sir; if there be a criminal involved in this affair, it is not he.

And who may it be, sir? asked Judge Temple, facing the agitated youth, his features settled to their usual composure.

This appeal was more than the young man could bear. Hitherto he had been deeply agitated by his emotions; but now the volcano burst its boundaries.

Who! and this to me! he cried; ask your own conscience, Judge Temple. Walk to that door, sir, and look out upon the valley, that placid lake, and those dusky mountains, and say to your own heart, if heart you have, whence came these riches, this vale, those hills, and why am I their owner? I should think, sir, that the appearance of Mohegan and the Leather-Stocking, stalking through the country, impoverished and forlorn, would wither your sight.

Marmaduke heard this burst of passion, at first, with deep amazement; but when the youth had ended, he beckoned to his impatient daughter for silence, and replied:

Oliver Edwards, thou forgettest in whose presence thou standest. I have heard, young man, that thou claimest descent from the native owners of the soil; but surely thy education has been given thee to no effect, if it has not taught thee the validity of the claims that have transferred the title to the whites. These lands are mine by the very grants of thy ancestry, if thou art so descended; and I appeal to Heaven for a testimony of the uses I have put them to. After this language, we must separate. I have too long sheltered thee in my dwelling; but the time has arrived when thou must quit it. Come to my office, and I will discharge the debt I owe thee. Neither shall thy present intemperate language mar thy future fortunes, if thou wilt hearken to the advice of one who is by many years thy senior.

The ungovernable feeling that caused the violence of the youth had passed away, and he stood gazing after the retiring figure of Marmaduke, with a vacancy in his eye that denoted the absence of his mind. At length he recollected himself, and, turning his head slowly around the apartment, he beheld Elizabeth, still seated on the sofa, but with her head dropped on her bosom, and her face again concealed by her hands.

Miss Temple, he saidall violence had left his manner Miss Temple I have forgotten myselfforgotten you. You have heard what your father has decreed, and this night I leave here. With you, at least, I would part in amity.

Elizabeth slowly raised her face, across which a momentary expression of sadness stole; but as she left her seat, her dark eyes lighted with their usual fire, her cheek flushed to burning, and her whole air seemed to belong to another nature.

I forgive you, Edwards, and my father will forgive you, she said, when she reached the door. You do not know us, but the time may come when your opinions shall change

Of you! never! interrupted the youth; I

I would speak, sir, and not listen. There is something in this affair that I do not comprehend; but tell the Leather-Stocking he has friends as well as judges in us. Do not let the old man experience unnecessary uneasiness at this rupture. It is impossible that you could increase his claims here; neither shall they be diminished by any thing you have said. Mr. Edwards, I wish you happiness, and warmer friends,

The youth would have spoken, but she vanished from the door so rapidly, that when he reached the hall her form was nowhere to be seen. He paused a moment, in stupor, and then, rushing from the house, instead of following Marmaduke in his office, he took his way directly for the cabin of the hunters.