CHAPTER XXXII.



Who measured earth, described the starry spheres, And traced the long records of lunar years. Pope.

Richard did not return from the exercise of his official duties until late in the evening of the following day. It had been one portion of his business to superintend the arrest of part of a gang of counterfeiters, that had, even at that early period, buried themselves in the woods, to manufacture their base coin, which they afterward circulated from one end of the Union to the other. The expedition had been completely successful, and about midnight the sheriff entered the village, at the head of a posse of deputies and constables, in the centre of whom rode, pinioned, four of the malefactors. At the gate of the mansion-house they separated, Mr. Jones directing his assist ants to proceed with their charge to the county jail, while he pursued his own way up the gravel walk, with the kind of self-satisfaction that a man of his organization would feel, who had really for once done a very clever thing.

Holla! Aggy! shouted the sheriff, when he reached the door; where are you, you black dog? will you keep me here in the dark all night? Holla! Aggy! Brave! Brave! hoy, hoywhere have you got to, Brave? Off his watch! Everybody is asleep but myself! Poor I must keep my eyes open, that others may sleep in safety. Brave! Brave! Well, I will say this for the dog, lazy as hes grown, that it is the first time I ever knew him to let any one come to the door after dark, without having a smell to know whether it was an honest man or not. He could tell by his nose, almost as well as I could myself by looking at them. Holla! you Agamemnon! where are you? Oh! here comes the dog at last.

By this time the sheriff had dismounted, and observed a form, which he supposed to be that of Brave, slowly creeping out of the kennel; when, to his astonishment, it reared itself on two legs instead of four, and he was able to distinguish, by the starlight, the curly head and dark visage of the negro.

Ha! what the devil are you doing there, you black rascal? he cried. Is it not hot enough for your Guinea blood in the house this warm night, but you must drive out the poor dog, and sleep in his straw?

By this time the boy was quite awake, and, with a blubbering whine, he attempted to reply to his master.

Oh! masser Richard! masser Richard! such a ting! such a ting! I nebber tink a could appen! neber tink he die! Oh, Lor-a-gor! aint burykeep em till masser Richard get backgot a grabe dug Here the feelings of the negro completely got the mastery, and, instead of making any intelligible explanation of the causes of his grief, he blubbered aloud.

Eh! what! buried! grave! dead! exclaimed Richard, with a tremor in his voice; nothing serious? Nothing has happened to Benjamin, I hope? I know he has been bilious, but I gave him

Oh, worser an dat! worser an dat! sobbed the negro. Oh! de Lor! Miss 'Lizzy an Miss Grantwalkmountainpoor Bravy kill a lady painter-Oh, Lor, Lor!Natty Bumppotare he troat opencome a see, masser Richardhere he behere he be.

As all this was perfectly inexplicable to the sheriff, he was very glad to wait patiently until the black brought a lantern from the kitchen, when he followed Aggy to the kennel, where he beheld poor Brave, indeed, lying in his blood, stiff and cold, but decently covered with the great coat of the negro. He was on the point of demanding an explanation; but the grief of the black, who had fallen asleep on his voluntary watch, having burst out afresh on his waking, utterly disqualified the lad from giving one. Luckily, at this moment the principal door of the house opened, and the coarse features of Benjamin were thrust over the threshold, with a candle elevated above them, shedding its dim rays around in such a manner as to exhibit the lights and shadows of his countenance. Richard threw his bridle to the black, and, bidding him look to the horse, he entered the hall. What is the meaning of the dead dog? he cried.

Where is Miss Temple?

Benjamin made one of his square gestures, with the thumb of his left hand pointing over his right shoulder, as he answered:

Turned in.

Judge Templewhere is he?

In his berth.

But explain; why is Brave dead? and what is the cause of Aggys grief?

Why, its all down, squire, said Benjamin, pointing to a slate that lay on the table, by the side of a mug of toddy, a short pipe in which the tobacco was yet burning, and a prayer-book.

Among the other pursuits of Richard, he had a passion to keep a register of all passing events; and his diary, which was written in the manner of a journal, or log. book, embraced not only such circumstances as affected himself, but observations on the weather, and all the occurrences of the family, and frequently of the village. Since his appointment to the office of sheriff and his consequent absences from home, he had employed Benjamin to make memoranda on a slate, of whatever might be thought worth remembering, which, on his return, were regularly transferred to the journal with proper notations of the time, manner, and other little particulars. There was, to be sure, one material objection to the clerkship of Benjamin, which the ingenuity of no one but Richard could have overcome. The steward read nothing but his prayer-book, and that only in particular parts, and by the aid of a good deal of spelling, and some misnomers; but he could not form a single letter with a pen. This would have been an insuperable bar to journalizing with most men; but Richard invented a kind of hieroglyphical character, which was intended to note all the ordinary occurrences of a day, such as how the wind blew, whether the sun shone, or whether it rained, the hours, etc. ; and for the extraordinary, after giving certain elementary lectures on the subject, the sheriff was obliged to trust to the ingenuity of the major-domo. The reader will at once perceive, that it was to this chronicle that Benjamin pointed, instead of directly answering the sheriffs interrogatory.

When Mr. Jones had drunk a glass of toddy, he brought forth from its secret place his proper journal, and, seating himself by the table, he prepared to transfer the contents of the slate to the paper, at the same time that he appeased his curiosity. Benjamin laid one hand on the back of the sheriff's chair, in a familiar manner, while he kept the other at liberty to make use of a forefinger, that was bent like some of his own characters, as an index to point out his meaning.

The first thing referred to by the sheriff was the diagram of a compass, cut in one corner of the slate for permanent use. The cardinal points were plainly marked on it, and all the usual divisions were indicated in such a manner that no man who had ever steered a ship could mistake them.

Oh! said the sheriff, seating himself down comfort ably in his chair, youd the wind southeast, I see, all last night I thought it would have blown up rain.

Devil the drop, sir, said Benjamin; I believe that the scuttle-butt up aloft is emptied, for there hasnt so much water fell in the country for the last three weeks as would float Indian Johns canoe, and that draws just one inch nothing, light.

Well but didnt the wind change here this morning? there was a change where I was.

To be sure it did, squire; and havent I logged it as a shift of wind?

I dont see where, Benjamin

Dont see! interrupted the steward, a little crustily; aint there a mark agin east-and-by-nothe-half-nothe, with summat like a rising sun at the end of it, to show twas in the morning watch?

Yes, yes, that is very legible; but where is the change noted?

Where! why doesnt it see this here tea-kettle, with a mark run from the spout straight, or mayhap a little crooked or so, into west-and- by-southe-half-southe? now I call this a shift of wind, squire. Well, do you see this here boars head that you made for me, alongside of the compass

Ay, ayBoreas-I see. Why, youve drawn lines from its mouth, extending from one of your marks to the other.

Its no fault of mine, Squire Dickens; tis your dd climate. The wind has been at all them there marks this very day, and thats all round the compass, except a little matter of an Irishmans hurricane at meridium, which youll find marked right up and down. Now, Ive known a sow-wester blow for three weeks, in the channel, with a clean drizzle, in which you might wash your face and hands without the trouble of hauling in water from alongside.

Very well, Benjamin, said the sheriff, writing in his journal; I believe I have caught the idea. Oh! heres a cloud over the rising sunso you had it hazy in the morning?

Ay, ay, sir, said Benjamin.

Ah its Sunday. and here are the marks for the length of the sermon one, two, three, fourwhat! did Mr. Grant preach forty minutes?

Ay, summat like it; it was a good half-hour by my own glass, and then there was the time lost in turning it, and some little allowance for leeway in not being over-smart about it.

Benjamin, this is as long as a Presbyterian; you never could have been ten minutes in turning the glass!

Why, do you see, Squire, the parson was very solemn, and I just closed my eyes in order to think the better with myself, just the same as youd put in the dead-lights to make all snug, and when I opened them agin I found the congregation were getting under way for home, so I calculated the ten minutes would cover the leeway after the glass was out. It was only some such matter as a cats nap.

Oh, ho! Master Benjamin, you were asleep, were you? but Ill set down no such slander against an orthodox divine. Richard wrote twenty-nine minutes in his journal, and continued: Why, whats this youve got opposite ten oclock A.M.? A full moon! had you a moon visible by day? I have heard of such portents before now, buteh! whats this alongside of it? an hour-glass?

That! said Benjamin, looking coolly over the sheriffs shoulder, and rolling the tobacco about in his mouth with a jocular air; why, thats a small matter of my own. Its no moon, squire, but only Betty Hollisters face; for, dye see, sir, hearing all the same as if she had got up a new cargo of Jamaiky from the river, I called in as I was going to the church this morningten A.M. was it?just the timeand tried a glass; and so I logged it, to put me in mind of calling to pay her like an honest man.

That was it, was it? said the sheriff, with some displeasure at this innovation on his memoranda; and could you not make a better glass than this? it looks like a deaths-head and an hour-glass.

Why, as I liked the stuff, squire, returned the steward, I turned in, homeward bound, and took tother glass, which I set down at the bottom of the first, and that gives the thing the shape it has. But as I was there again to-night, and paid for the three at once, your honor may as well run the sponge over the whole business.

I will buy you a slate for your own affairs, Benjamin, said the sheriff; I dont like to have the journal marked over in this manner.

You needntyou neednt, squire; for, seeing that I was likely to trade often with the woman while this barrel lasted. Ive opened a fair account with Betty, and she keeps her marks on the back of her bar-door, and I keeps the tally on this here bit of a stick. As Benjamin concluded he produced a piece of wood, on which five very large, honest notches were apparent. The sheriff cast his eyes on this new ledger for a moment, and continued:

What have we here! Saturday, two P.M.Why heres a whole family piece! two wine-glasses upside-down!

Thats two women; the one this a-way is Miss Lizzy, and tother is the parsons youngun.

Cousin Bess and Miss Grant! exclaimed the sheriff, in amazement; what have they to do with my journal?

Theyd enough to do to get out of the jaws of that there painter or panther, said the immovable steward. This here thingumy, squire, that maybe looks summat like a rat, is the beast, dye see; and this here tother thing, keel uppermost, is poor old Brave, who died nobly, all the same as an admiral fighting for his king and country; and that there

Scarecrow, interrupted Richard.

Ay, mayhap it do look a little wild or so, continued the steward; but to my judgment, squire, its the best image Ive made, seeing its most like the man himself; well, thats Natty Bumppo, who shot this here painter, that killed that there dog, who would have eaten or done worse to them here young ladies.

And what the devil does all this mean? cried Richard, impatiently.

Mean! echoed Benjamin; it is as true as the Boadisheys log book He was interrupted by the sheriff, who put a few direct questions to him, that obtained more intelligible answers, by which means he became possessed of a tolerably correct idea of the truth, When the wonder, and we must do Richard the justice to say, the feelings also, that were created by this narrative, had in some degree subsided, the sheriff turned his eyes again on his journal, where more inexplicable hieroglyphics met his view.

What have we here? he cried; two men boxing! Has there been a breach of the peace? Ah, thats the way, the moment my back is turned -.

Thats the Judge and young Master Edwards, interrupted the steward, very cavalierly.

How! Duke fighting with Oliver! what the devil has got into you all? More things have happened within the last thirty-six hours than in the preceding six months. Yes, its so indeed, squire, returned the steward Ive known a smart chase, and a fight at the tail of it, where less has been logged than Ive got on that there slate. Howsomnever, they didnt come to facers, only passed a little jaw fore and aft.

Explain! explain! cried Richard; it was about the mines, ha! Ay, ay, I see it, I see it; here is a man with a pick on his shoulder. So you heard it all, Benjamin?

Why, yes, it was about their minds, I believe, squire, returned the steward; and, by what I can learn, they spoke them pretty plainly to one another. Indeed, I may say that I overheard a small matter of it myself, seeing that the windows was open, and I hard by. But this here is no pick. but an anchor on a mans shoulder; and heres the other fluke down his back, maybe a little too close, which signifies that the lad has got under way and left his moorings.

Has Edwards left the house?

He has.

Richard pursued this advantage; and, after a long and close examination, he succeeded in getting out of Benjamin all that he knew, not only concerning the misunderstanding, but of the attempt to search the hut, and Hirams discomfiture. The sheriff was no sooner possessed of these facts, which Benjamin related with all possible tenderness to the Leather-Stocking, than, snatching up his hat, and bidding the astonished steward secure the doors and go to his bed, he left the house.

For at least five minutes, after Richard disappeared, Benjamin stood with his arms akimbo, and his eyes fastened on the door; when, having collected his astonished faculties, he prepared to execute the orders he had received.

It has been already said that the court of common pleas and general sessions of the peace, or, as it is commonly called, the county court, over which Judge Temple presided, held one of its stated sessions on the following morning. The attendants of Richard were officers who had come to the village, as much to discharge their usual duties at this court, as to escort the prisoners and the sheriff knew their habits too well, not to feel confident that he should find most, if not all of them, in the public room of the jail, discussing the qualities of the keepers liquors. Accordingly he held his way through the silent streets of the village, directly to the small and insecure building that contained all the unfortunate debt ors and some of the criminals of the county, and where justice was administered to such unwary applicants as were so silly as to throw away two dollars in order to obtain one from their neighbors. The arrival of four malefactors in the custody of a dozen officers was an event, at that day, in Templeton; and, when the sheriff reached the jail, he found every indication that his subordinates in tended to make a night of it.

The nod of the sheriff brought two of his deputies to the door, who in their turn drew off six or seven of the constables. With this force Richard led the way through the village, toward the bank of the lake, undisturbed by any noise, except the barking of one or two curs, who were alarmed by the measured tread of the party, and by the low murmurs that ran through their own numbers, as a few cautious questions and answers were exchanged, relative to the object of their expedition. When they had crossed the little bridge of hewn logs that was thrown over the Susquehanna, they left the highway, and struck into that field which had been the scene of the victory over the pigeons. From this they followed their leader into the low bushes of pines and chestnuts which had sprung up along the shores of the lake, where the plough had not succeeded the fall of the trees, and soon entered the forest itself. Here Richard paused and collected his troop around him.

I have required your assistance, my friends, he cried, in a low voice, in order to arrest Nathaniel Bumppo, commonly called the Leather-Stocking He has assaulted a magistrate, and resisted the execution of a search-war rant, by threatening the life of a constable with his rifle. In short, my friends, he has set an example of rebellion to the laws, and has become a kind of outlaw. He is suspected of other misdemeanors and offences against private rights; and I have this night taken on myself. by the virtue of my office as sheriff, to arrest the said Bumppo, and bring him to the county jail, that he may be present and forthcoming to answer to these heavy charges before the court to-morrow morning. In executing this duty, friends and fellow-citizens, you are to use courage and discretion; courage, that you may not be daunted by any lawless attempt that this man may make with his rifle and his dogs to oppose you; and discretion, which here means caution and prudence, that he may not escape from this sudden attackand for other good reasons that I need not mention. You will form yourselves in a complete circle around his hut, and at the word advance, called aloud by me, you will rush forward and, without giving the criminal time for deliberation, enter his dwelling by force, and make him your prisoner. Spread yourselves for this purpose, while I shall descend to the shore with a deputy, to take charge of that point; and all communications must be made directly to me, under the bank in front of the hut, where I shall station myself and remain, in order to receive them.

This speech, which Richard had been studying during his walk, had the effect that all similar performances produce, of bringing the dangers of the expedition immediately before the eyes of his forces. The men divided, some plunging deeper into the forest, in order to gain their stations without giving an alarm, and others Continuing to advance, at a gait that would allow the whole party to go in order; but all devising the best plan to repulse the attack of a dog, or to escape a rifle-bullet. It was a moment of dread expectation and interest.

When the sheriff thought time enough had elapsed for the different divisions of his force to arrive at their stations, he raised his voice in the silence of the forest, and shouted the watchword. The sounds played among the arched branches of the trees in hollow cadences; but when the last sinking tone was lost on the ear, in place of the expected howls of the dogs, no other noises were returned but the crackling of torn branches and dried sticks, as they yielded before the advancing steps of the officers. Even this soon ceased, as if by a common consent, when the curiosity and impatience of the sheriff getting the complete ascendency over discretion, he rushed up the bank, and in a moment stood on the little piece of cleared ground in front of the spot where Natty had so long lived, To his amazement, in place of the hut he saw only its smouldering ruins.

The party gradually drew together about the heap of ashes and the ends of smoking logs; while a dim flame in the centre of the ruin, which still found fuel to feed its lingering life, threw its pale light, flickering with the passing currents of the air, around the circlenow showing a face with eyes fixed in astonishment, and then glancing to another countenance, leaving the former shaded in the obscurity of night. Not a voice was raised in inquiry, nor an exclamation made in astonishment. The transition from excitement to disappointment was too powerful for Speech; and even Richard lost the use of an organ that was seldom known to fail him.

The whole group were yet in the fullness of their surprise, when a tall form stalked from the gloom into the circle, treading down the hot ashes and dying embers with callous feet; and, standing over the light, lifted his cap, and exposed the bare head and weather-beaten features of the Leather-Stocking. For a moment he gazed at the dusky figures who surrounded him, more in sorrow than in anger before he spoke.

What would ye with an old and helpless man? he said, Youve driven Gods creaturs from the wilder ness, where His providence had put them for His own pleasure; and youve brought in the troubles and diviltries of the law, where no man was ever known to disturb another. You have driven me, that have lived forty long years of my appointed time in this very spot, from my home and the shelter of my head, lest you should put your wicked feet and wasty ways in my cabin. Youve driven me to burn these logs, under which Ive eaten and drunkthe first of Heavens gifts, and the other of the pure springsfor the half of a hundred years; and to mourn the ashes under my feet, as a man would weep and mourn for the children of his body. Youve rankled the heart of an old man, that has never harmed you or yourn, with bitter feelings toward his kind, at a time when his thoughts should be on a better world; and youve driven him to wish that the beasts of the forest, who never feast on the blood of their own families, was his kindred and race; and now, when he has come to see the last brand of his hut, before it is incited into ashes, you follow him up, at midnight, like hungry hounds on the track of a worn-out and dying deer. What more would ye have? for I am hereone too many. I come to mourn, not to fight; and, if it is Gods pleasure, work your will on me.

When the old man ended he stood, with the light glimmering around his thinly covered head, looking earnestly at the group, which receded from the pile with an involuntary movement, without the reach of the quivering rays, leaving a free passage for his retreat into the bushes, where pursuit in the dark would have been fruit less. Natty seemed not to regard this advantage, but stood facing each individual in the circle in succession, as if to see who would he the first to arrest him. After a pause of a few moments Richard began to rally his confused faculties, and, advancing, apologized for his duty, and made him his prisoner. The party flow collected, and, preceded by the sheriff, with Natty in their centre, they took their way toward the village.

During the walk, divers questions were put to the prisoner concerning his reasons for burning the hut, and whither Mohegan had retreated; but to all of them he observed a profound silence, until, fatigued with their previous duties, and the lateness of the hour, the sheriff and his followers reached the village, and dispersed to their several places of rest, after turning the key of a jail on the aged and apparently friendless Leather-Stocking.



CHAPTER XXXIII.



Fetch here the stocks, ho! You stubborn ancient knave, you reverend bragget, Well teach you.Lear.

The long days and early sun of July allowed time for a gathering of the interested, before the little bell of the academy announced that the appointed hour had arrived for administering right to the wronged, and punishment to the guilty. Ever since the dawn of day, the highways and woodpaths that, issuing from the forests, and winding among the sides of the mountains, centred in Templeton, had been thronged with equestrians and footmen, bound to the haven of justice. There was to be seen a well-clad yeoman, mounted on a sleek, switch- tailed steed, rambling along the highway, with his red face elevated in a manner that said, I have paid for my land, and fear no man; while his bosom was swelling with the pride of being one of the grand inquest for the county. At his side rode a companion, his equal in independence of feeling, perhaps, but his inferior in thrift, as in property and consideration. This was a professed dealer in lawsuitsa man whose name appeared in every calendarwhose substance, gained in the multifarious expedients of a settlers change able habits, was wasted in feeding the harpies of the courts. He was endeavoring to impress the mind of the grand juror with the merits of a cause now at issue, Along with these was a pedestrian, who, having thrown a rifle frock over his shirt, and placed his best wool hat above his sunburnt visage, had issued from his retreat in the woods by a footpath, and was striving to keep company with the others, on his way to hear and to decide the disputes of his neighbors, as a petit juror. Fifty similar little knots of countrymen might have been seen, on that morning, journeying toward the shire-town on the same errand.

By ten oclock the streets of the village were filled with busy faces; some talking of their private concerns, some listening to a popular expounder of political creeds; and others gaping in at the open stores, admiring the finery, or examining scythes, axes, and such other manufactures as attracted their curiosity or excited their admiration. A few women were in the crowd, most carrying infants, and followed, at a lounging, listless gait, by their rustic lords and masters. There was one young couple, in whom connubial love was yet fresh, walking at a respectful distance from each other; while the swain directed the timid steps of his bride, by a gallant offering of a thumb.

At the first stroke of the bell, Richard issued from the door of the Bold Dragoon, flourishing a sheathed sword, that he was fond of saying his ancestors had carried in one of Cromwells victories, and crying, in an authoritative tone, to clear the way for the court. The order was obeyed promptly, though not servilely, the members of the crowd nodding familiarly to the members of the procession as it passed. A party of constables with their staves followed the sheriff, preceding Marmaduke and four plain, grave-looking yeomen, who were his associates on the bench. There was nothing to distinguish these Subordinate judges from the better part of the spectators, except gravity, which they affected a little more than common, and that one of their number was attired in an old-fashioned military coat, with skirts that reached no lower than the middle of his thighs, and bearing two little silver epaulets, not half so big as a modern pair of shoulder-knots. This gentleman was a colonel of the militia, in attendance on a court-martial, who found leisure to steal a moment from his military to attend to his civil jurisdiction; but this incongruity excited neither notice nor comment. Three or four clean- shaved lawyers followed, as meek as if they were lambs going to the slaughter. One or two of their number had contrived to obtain an air of scholastic gravity by wearing spectacles. The rear was brought up by another posse of constables, and the mob followed the whole into the room where the court held its sitting.

The edifice was composed of a basement of squared logs, perforated here and there with small grated windows, through which a few wistful faces were gazing at the crowd without. Among the captives were the guilty, downcast countenances of the counterfeiters, and the simple but honest features of the Leather-Stocking. The dungeons were to be distinguished, externally, from the debtors apartments only by the size of the apertures, the thickness of the grates, and by the heads of the spikes that were driven into the logs as a protection against the illegal use of edge-tools. The upper story was of frame work, regularly covered with boards, and contained one room decently fitted up for the purpose of justice. A bench, raised on a narrow platform to the height of a man above the floor, and protected in front by a light railing. ran along one of its sides. In the centre was a seat, furnished with rude arms, that was always filled by the presiding judge. In front, on a level with the floor of the room, was a large table covered with green baize, and surrounded by benches; and at either of its ends were rows of seats, rising one over the other, for jury-boxes. Each of these divisions was surrounded by a railing. The remainder of the room was an open square, appropriated to the spectators.

When the judges were seated, the lawyers had taken possession of the table, and the noise of moving feet had ceased in the area, the proclamations were made in the usual form, the jurors were sworn, the charge was given, and the court proceeded to hear the business before them.

We shall not detain the reader with a description of the captious discussions that occupied the court for the first two hours, Judge Temple had impressed on the jury, in his charge, the necessity for dispatch on their part, recommending to their notice, from motives of humanity, the prisoners in the jail as the first objects of their attention. Accordingly, after the period we have mentioned had elapsed, the cry of the officer to clear the way for the grand jury, announced the entrance of that body. The usual forms were observed, when the foreman handed up to the bench two bills, on both of which the Judge observed, at the first glance of his eye, the name of Nathaniel Bumppo. It was a leisure moment with the court; some low whispering passed between the bench and the sheriff, who gave a signal to his officers, and in a very few minutes the silence that prevailed was interrupted by a general movement in the outer crowd, when presently the Leather-Stocking made his appearance, ushered into the criminals bar under the custody of two constables, The hum ceased, the people closed into the open space again, and the silence soon became so deep that the hard breathing of the prisoner was audible.

Natty was dressed in his buckskin garments, without his coat, in place of which he wore only a shirt of coarse linen-cheek, fastened at his throat by the sinew of a deer, leaving his red neck and weather-beaten face exposed and bare. It was the first time that he had ever crossed the threshold of a court of justice, and curiosity seemed to be strongly blended with his personal feelings. He raised his eyes to the bench, thence to the jury-boxes, the bar, and the crowd without, meeting everywhere looks fastened on himself. After surveying his own person, as searching the cause of this unusual attraction, he once more turned his face around the assemblage, and opened his mouth in one of his silent and remarkable laughs.

Prisoner, remove your cap, said Judge Temple.

The order was either unheard or unheeded.

Nathaniel Bumppo, be uncovered, repeated the Judge.

Natty started at the sound of his name, and, raising his face earnestly toward the bench, he said:

Anan!

Mr. Lippet arose from his seat at the table, and whispered in the ear of the prisoner; when Natty gave him a nod of assent, and took the deer-skin covering from his head.

Mr. District Attorney, said the Judge, the prisoner is ready; we wait for the indictment.

The duties of public prosecutor were discharged by Dirck Van der School, who adjusted his spectacles, cast a cautious look around him at his brethren of the bar, which he ended by throwing his head aside so as to catch one glance over the glasses, when he proceeded to read the bill aloud. It was the usual charge for an assault and battery on the person of Hiram Doolittle, and was couched in the ancient language of such instruments, especial care having been taken by the scribe not to omit the name of a single offensive weapon known to the law. When he had done, Mr. Van der School removed his spectacles, which he closed and placed in his pocket, seemingly for the pleasure of again opening and replacing them on his nose, After this evolution was repeated once or twice, he handed the bill over to Mr. Lippet, with a cavalier air, that said as much as Pick a hole in that if you can.

Natty listened to the charge with great attention, leaning forward toward the reader with an earnestness that denoted his interest; and, when it was ended, he raised his tall body to the utmost, and drew a long sigh. All eyes were turned to the prisoner, whose voice was vainly expected to break the stillness of the room.

You have heard the presentment that the grand jury have made, Nathaniel Bumppo, said the Judge; what do you plead to the charge?

The old man drooped his head for a moment in a reflecting attitude, and then, raising it, he laughed before he answered:

That I handled the man a little rough or so, is not to be denied; but that there was occasion to make use of all the things that the gentleman has spoken of is downright untrue. I am not much of a wrestler, seeing that I'm getting old; but I was out among the Scotch- Irisherslet me seeit must have been as long ago as the first year of the old war

Mr. Lippet, if you are retained for the prisoner, interrupted Judge Temple, instruct your client how to plead; if not, the court will assign him counsel.

Aroused from studying the indictment by this appeal, the attorney got up, and after a short dialogue with the hunter in a low voice, he informed the court that they were ready to proceed.

Do you plead guilty or not guilty? said the Judge.

I may say not guilty, with a clean conscience, returned Natty; for theres no guilt in doing whats right; and Id rather died on the spot, than had him put foot in the hut at that moment.

Richard started at this declaration and bent his eyes significantly on Hiram, who returned the look with a slight movement of his eyebrows.

Proceed to open the cause, Mr. District Attorney,' continued the Judge. Mr. Clerk, enter the plea of not guilty.

After a short opening address from Mr. Van der School, Hiram was summoned to the bar to give his testimony. It was delivered to the letter, perhaps, but with all that moral coloring which can be conveyed under such expressions as, thinking no harm, feeling it my bounden duty as a magistrate, and seeing that the constable was backard in the business. When he had done, and the district attorney declined putting any further interrogatories, Mr. Lippet arose, with an air of keen investigation, and asked the following questions:

Are you a constable of this county, sir?

No, sir, said Hiram, Im only a justice-peace.

I ask you, Mr. Doolittle, in the face of this court, put ting it to your conscience and your knowledge of the law, whether you had any right to enter that mans dwelling?

Hem! said Hiram, undergoing a violent struggle between his desire for vengeance, and his love of legal fame: I do supposethat inthat isstrict lawthat supposingmaybe I hadnt a reallawful right; but as the case wasand Billy was so backardI thought I might come forard in the business.

I ask you again, sir, continued the lawyer, following up his success, whether this old, this friendless old man, did or did not repeatedly forbid your entrance?

Why, I must say, said Hiram, that he was considerable cross- grained; not what I call clever, seeing that it was only one neighbor wanting to go into the house of another.

Oh! then you own it was only meant for a neighborly visit on your part, and without the sanction of law. Remember, gentlemen, the words of the witness, one neighbor wanting to enter the house of another. Now, sir, I ask you if Nathaniel Bumppo did not again and again order you not to enter?

There was some words passed between us, said Hiram, but I read the warrant to him aloud.

I repeat my question; did he tell you not to enter his habitation?

There was a good deal passed betwixt usbut Ive the warrant in my pocket; maybe the court would wish to see it?

Witness, said Judge Temple, answer the question directly; did or did not the prisoner forbid your entering his hut?

Why, I some think

Answer without equivocation, continued the Judge sternly.

He did.

And did you attempt to enter after his order?

I did; but the warrant was in my hand.

Proceed, Mr. Lippet, with your examination.

But the attorney saw that the impression was in favor of his client, and waving his hand with a supercilious manner, as if unwilling to insult the understanding of the jury with any further defence, he replied:

No, sir; I leave it for your honor to charge; I rest my case here.

Mr. District Attorney, said the Judge, have you anything to say? Mr. Van der School removed his spectacles, folded them and, replacing them once more on his nose, eyed the other bill which he held in his hand, and then said, looking at the bar over the top of his glasses; I shall rest the prosecution here, if the court please.

Judge Temple arose and began the charge.

Gentlemen of the jury, he said, you have heard the testimony, and I shall detain you but a moment. If an officer meet with resistance in the execution of a process, he has an undoubted right to call any citizen to his assistance; and the acts of such assistant come within the protection of the law. I shall leave you to judge, gentlemen, from the testimony, how far the witness in this prosecution can be so considered, feeling less reluctance to submit the case thus informally to your decision, because there is yet another indictment to be tried, which involves heavier charges against the unfortunate prisoner.

The tone of Marmaduke was mild and insinuating, and, as his sentiments were given with such apparent impartiality, they did not fail of carrying due weight with the jury. The grave-looking yeomen who composed this tribunal laid their heads together for a few minutes, without leaving the box, when the foreman arose, and, after the forms of the court were duly observed, he pronounced the prisoner to be Not guilty.

You are acquitted of this charge, Nathaniel Bumppo, said the Judge.

Anan! said Natty.

You are found not guilty of striking and assaulting Mr. Doolittle.

No, no, Ill not deny but that I took him a little roughly by the shoulders, said Natty, looking about him with great simplicity, and that I

You are acquitted, interrupted the Judge, and there is nothing further to be said or done in the matter.

A look of joy lighted up the features of the old man, who now comprehended the case, and, placing his cap eagerly on his head again, he threw up the bar of his little prison, and said, feelingly:

I must say this for you, Judge Temple, that the law has not been so hard on me as I dreaded. I hope God will bless you for the kind things youve done to me this day.

But the staff of the constable was opposed to his egress, and Mr. Lippet whispered a few words in his ear, when the aged hunter sank back into his place, and, removing his cap, stroked down the remnants of his gray and sandy locks, with an air of mortification mingled with submission.

Mr. District Attorney, said Judge Temple, affecting to busy himself with his minutes, proceed with the second indictment.

Mr. Van der School took great care that no part of the presentment, which he now read, should be lost on his auditors. It accused the prisoner of resisting the execution of a search-warrant, by force of arms, and particularized in the vague language of the law, among a variety of other weapons, the use of the rifle. This was indeed a more serious charge than an ordinary assault and battery, and a corresponding degree of interest was manifested by the spectators in its result. The prisoner was duly arraigned, and his plea again demanded. Mr. Lippet had anticipated the answers of Natty, and in a whisper advised him how to plead. But the feelings of the old hunter were awakened by some of the expressions in the indictment, and, forgetful of his caution, he exclaimed:

Tis a wicked untruth; I crave no mans blood. Them thieves, the Iroquois, wont say it to any face that I ever thirsted after mans blood, I have fout as soldier that feared his Maker and his officer, but I never pulled trigger on any but a warrior that was up and awake. No man can say that I ever struck even a Mingo in his blanket. I believe theres some who thinks theres no God in a wilder ness!

Attend to your plea, Bumppo, said the Judge; you hear that you are accused of using your rifle against an officer of justice? Are you guilty or not guilty?

By this time the irritated feelings of Natty had found vent: and he rested on the bar for a moment, in a musing posture, when he lifted his face, with his silent laugh, and, pointing to where the wood- chopper stood, he said:

Would Billy Kirby be standing there, dye think, if I had used the rifle?

Then you deny it, said Mr. Lippet; you plead not guilty?

Sartain, said Natty; Billy knows that I never fired at all. Billy, do you remember the turkey last winter? Ah me! that was better than common firing; but I cant shoot as I used to could.

Enter the plea of not guilty, said Judge Temple, strongly affected by the simplicity of the prisoner.

Hiram was again sworn, and his testimony given on the second charge. He had discovered his former error, and proceeded more cautiously than before. He related very distinctly and, for the man, with amazing terseness, the suspicion against the hunter, the complaint, the issuing of the warrant, and the swearing in of Kirby; all of which, he affirmed, were done in due form of law. He then added the manner in which the constable had been received; and stated, distinctly, that Natty had pointed the rifle at Kirby, and threatened his life if he attempted to execute his duty. All this was confirmed by Jotham, who was observed to adhere closely to the story of the magistrate. Mr. Lippet conducted an artful cross-examination of these two witnesses, but, after consuming much time, was compelled to relinquish the attempt to obtain any advantage, in despair.

At length the District Attorney called the wood-chopper to the bar, Billy gave an extremely confused account of the whole affair, although he evidently aimed at the truth, until Mr. Van der School aided him, by asking some direct questions:

It appears from examining the papers, that you demanded admission into the hut legally; so you were put in bodily fear by his rifle and threats?

I didnt mind them that, man, said Billy, snapping his fingers; I should be a poor stick to mind old Leather-Stocking.

But I understood you to say (referring to your previous words [as delivered here in court] in the commencement of your testimony) that you thought he meant to shoot you?

To be sure I did; and so would you, too, squire, if you had seen a chap dropping a muzzle that never misses, and cocking an eye that has a natural squint by long practice I thought there would be a dust ont, and my back was up at once; but Leather-Stocking gin up the skin, and so the matter ended.

Ah! Billy, said Natty, shaking his head, twas a lucky thought in me to throw out the hide, or there might have been blood spilt; and Im sure, if it had been yourn, I should have mourned it sorely the little while I have to stay.

Well, Leather-Stocking, returned Billy, facing the prisoner with a freedom and familiarity that utterly disregarded the presence of the court, as you are on the subject it may be that youve no

Go on with your examination, Mr. District Attorney.

That gentleman eyed the familiarity between his witness and the prisoner with manifest disgust, and indicated to the court that he was done.

Then you didnt feel frightened, Mr. Kirby? said the counsel for the prisoner.

Me! no, said Billy, casting his eyes oven his own huge frame with evident self-satisfaction; Im not to be skeared so easy.

You look like a hardy man; where were you born, sir?

Varmount State; tis a mountaynious place, but theres a stiff soil, and its pretty much wooded with beech and maple.

I have always heard so, said Mr. Lippet soothingly. You have been used to the rifle yourself in that country.

I pull the second best trigger in this county. I knock under to Natty Bumppo, there, sin he shot the pigeon.

Leather-Stocking raised his head, and laughed again, when he abruptly thrust out a wrinkled hand, and said:

Youre young yet, Billy, and havent seen the matches that I have; but heres my hand; I bear no malice to you, I dont.

Mr. Lippet allowed this conciliatory offering to be accepted, and judiciously paused, while the spirit of peace was exercising its influence over the two; but the Judge interposed his authority.

This is an improper place for such dialogues, he said; proceed with your examination of this witness, Mr. Lippet, or I shall order the next.

The attorney started, as if unconscious of any impropriety, and continued:

So you settled the matter with Natty amicably on the spot, did you?

He gin me the skin, and I didnt want to quarrel with an old man; for my part, I see no such mighty matter in shooting a buck!

And you parted friends? and you would never have thought of bringing the business up before a court, hadnt you been subpoenaed?

I dont think I should; he gin the skin, and I didnt feel a hard thought, though Squire Doolittle got some affronted.

I have done, sir, said Mr. Lippet, probably relying on the charge of the Judge, as he again seated himself, with the air of a main who felt that his success was certain.

When Mr. Van der School arose to address the jury, he commenced by saying:

Gentlemen of the jury, I should have interrupted the leading questions put by the prisoners counsel (by leading questions I mean telling him what to say), did I not feel confident that the law of the land was superior to any ad vantages (I mean legal advantages) which he might obtain by his art. The counsel for the prisoner, gentlemen, has endeavored to persuade you, in opposition to your own good sense, to believe that pointing a rifle at a constable (elected or deputed) is a very innocent affair; and that society (I mean the commonwealth, gentlemen) shall not be endangered thereby. But let me claim your attention, while we look over the particulars of this heinous offence. Here Mr. Vain der School favored the jury with an abridgment of the testimony, recounted in such a manner as utterly to confuse the faculties of his worthy listeners. After this exhibition he closed as follows: And now, gentlemen, having thus made plain to your senses the crime of which this unfortunate man has been guilty (unfortunate both on account of his ignorance and his guilt), I shall leave you to your own consciences; not in the least doubting that you will see the importance (notwithstanding the prisoners counsel [doubtless relying on your former verdict] wishes to appear so confident of success) of punishing the offender, and asserting the dignity of the laws.

It was now the duty of the Judge to deliver his charge. It consisted of a short, comprehensive summary of the testimony, laying bare the artifice of the prisoners counsel, and placing the facts in so obvious a light that they could not well be misunderstood. Living as we do, gentlemen, he concluded, on the skirts of society, it becomes doubly necessary to protect the ministers of the law. If you believe the witnesses, in their construction of the acts of the prisoner, it is your duty to convict him; but if you believe that the old man, who this day appears before you, meant not to harm the constable, but was acting more under the influence of habit than by the instigations of malice, it will be your duty to judge him, but to do it with lenity

As before, the jury did not leave their box; but, after a consultation of some little time, their foreman arose, and pronounced the prisoner Guilty.

There was but little surprise manifested in the courtroom at this verdict, as the testimony, the greater part of which we have omitted, was too clear and direct to be passed over. The judges seemed to have anticipated this sentiment, for a consultation was passing among them also, during the deliberation of the jury, and the preparatory movements of the bench announced the coming sentence.

Nathaniel Bumppo, commenced the Judge, making the customary pause.

The old hunter, who had been musing again, with his head on the bar, raised himself, and cried, with a prompt, military tone:

Here.

The Judge waved his hand for silence, and proceeded:

In forming their sentence, the court have been governed as much by the consideration of your ignorance of the laws as by a strict sense of the importance of punishing such outrages as this of which you have been found guilty. They have therefore passed over the obvious punishment of whipping on the bare back, in mercy to your years; but, as the dignity of the law requires an open exhibition of the consequences of your crime, it is ordered that you be conveyed from this room to the public stocks, where you are to be confined for one hour; that you pay a fine to the State of one hundred dollars; and that you be imprisoned in the jail of this county for one calendar month, and, furthermore, that your imprisonment do not cease until the said fine shall be paid. I feel it my duty, Nathaniel Bumppo

And where should I get the money? interrupted the Leather-Stocking eagerly; where should I get the money? youll take away the bounty on the painters, because I cut the throat of a deer; and how is an old man to find so much gold or silver in the woods? No, no, Judge; think better of it, and dont talk of shutting me up in a jail for the little time I have to stay.

If you have anything to urge against the passing of the sentence, the court will yet hear you, said the Judge, mildly.

I have enough to say agin it, cried Natty, grasping the bar on which his fingers were working with a convulsed motion. Where am I to get the money? Let me out into the woods and hills, where Ive been used to breathe the clear air, and though Im threescore and ten, if youve left game enough in the country, Ill travel night and day but Ill make you up the sum afore the season is over. Yes, yesyou see the reason of the thing, and the wicked ness of shutting up an old man that has spent his days, as one may say, where he could always look into the windows of heaven.

I must be governed by the law

Talk not to me of law, Marmaduke Temple, interrupted the hunter. Did the beast of the forest mind your laws, when it was thirsty and hungering for the blood of your own child? She was kneeling to her God for a greater favor than I ask, and he heard her; and if you now say no to my prayers, do you think he will be deaf?

My private feelings must not enter into

Hear me, Marmaduke Temple, interrupted the old man, with melancholy earnestness, and hear reason. Ive travelled these mountains when you was no judge, but an infant in your mothers arms; and I feel as if I had a right and a privilege to travel them agin afore I die. Have you forgot the time that you come on to the lake shore, when there wasnt even a jail to lodge in: and didnt I give you my own bear-skin to sleep on, and the fat of a noble buck to satisfy the cravings of your hunger? Yes, yesyou thought it no sin then to kill a deer! And this I did, though I had no reason to love you, for you had never done anything but harm to them that loved and sheltered me. And now, will you shut me up in your dungeons to pay me for my kindness? A hundred dollars! Where should I get the money? No, notheres them that says hard things of you, Marmaduke Temple, but you aint so bad as to wish to see an old man die in a prison, because he stood up for the right. Come, friend, let me pass; its long sin Ive been used to such crowds, and I crave to be in the woods agin. Dont fear me, Judge I bid you not to fear me; for if theres beaver enough left on the streams, or the buckskins will sell for a shilling apiece, you shall have the last penny of the fine. Where are ye, pups? come away, dogs, come away! we have a grievous toil to do for our years, but it shall be doneyes, yes, Ive promised it, and it shall be done!

It is unnecessary to say that the movement of the Leather-Stocking was again intercepted by the constable; but, before he had time to speak, a bustling in the crowd, and a loud hem, drew all eyes to another part of the room.

Benjamin had succeeded in edging his way through the people, and was now seen balancing his short body, with one foot in a window and the other on a railing of the jury-box. To the amazement of the whole court, the steward was evidently preparing to speak. After a good deal of difficulty, he succeeded in drawing from his pocket a small bag, and then found utterance.

If-so-be, he said, that your honor is agreeable to trust the poor fellow out on another cruise among the beasts, heres a small matter that will help to bring down the risk, seeing that theres just thirty-five of your Spaniards in it; and I wish, from the bottom of my heart, that they was raal British guineas, for the sake of the old boy. But tis as it is; and if Squire Dickens will just be so good as to overhaul this small bit of an account, and take enough from the bag to settle the same, hes welcome to hold on upon the rest, till such time as the Leather-Stocking can grapple with them said beaver, or, for that matter, forever, and no thanks asked,

As Benjamin concluded, he thrust out the wooden register of his arrears to the Bold Dragoon with one hand, while he offered his bag of dollars with the other. Astonishment at this singular interruption produced a profound stillness in the room, which was only interrupted by the sheriff, who struck his sword on the table, and cried: Silence!

There must be an end to this, said the Judge, struggling to overcome his feelings. Constable, lead the prisoner to the stocks. Mr. Clerk, what stands next on the calendar?

Natty seemed to yield to his destiny, for he sank his head on his chest, and followed the officer from the court room in silence. The crowd moved back for the passage of the prisoner, and when his tall form was seen descending from the outer door, a rush of the people to the scene of his disgrace followed.



CHAPTER XXXIV.



Ha! ha! look! he wears cruel garters!-Lear.

The punishments of the common law were still known, at the time of our tale, to the people of New York; and the whipping-post, and its companion, the stocks, were not yet supplanted by the more merciful expedients of the public prison. Immediately in front of the jail those relics of the older times were situated, as a lesson of precautionary justice to the evil-doers of the settlement.

Natty followed the constables to this spot, bowing his head in submission to a power that he was unable to op pose, and surrounded by the crowd that formed a circle about his person, exhibiting in their countenances strong curiosity. A constable raised the upper part of the stocks, and pointed with his finger to the holes where the old man was to place his feet. Without making the least objection to the punishment, the Leather-Stocking quietly seated himself on the ground, and suffered his limbs to be laid in the openings, without even a murmur; though he cast one glance about him, in quest of that sympathy that human nature always seems to require under suffering but he met no direct manifestations of pity, neither did he see any unfeeling exultation, or hear a single reproachful epithet. The character of the mob, if it could be called by such a name, was that of attentive subordination.

The constable was in the act of lowering the upper plank, when Benjamin, who had pressed close to the side of the prisoner, said, in his hoarse tone, as if seeking for some cause to create a quarrel:

Where away, master constable, is the use of clapping a man in them here bilboes? It neither stops his grog nor hurts his back; what for is it that you do the thing?

Tis the sentence of the court, Mr. Penguillium, and theres law for it, I spose.

Ay, ay, I know that theres law for the thing; but where away do you find the use, I say? it does no harm, and it only keeps a man by the heels for the small matter of two glasses

Is it no harm, Benny Pump, said Natty, raising his eyes with a piteous look in the face of the steward is it no harm to show off a man in his seventy-first year, like a tame bear, for the settlers to look on? Is it no harm to put an old soldier, that has served through the war of fifty-six, and seen the enemy in the seventy-six business, into a place like this, where the boys can point at him and say, I have known the time when he was a spectacle for the county? Is it no harm to bring down the pride of an honest man to be the equal of the beasts of the forest?

Benjamin stared about him fiercely, and could he have found a single face that expressed contumely, he would have been prompt to quarrel with its owner; but meeting everywhere with looks of sobriety, and occasionally of commiseration, he very deliberately seated himself by the side of the hunter, and, placing his legs in the two vacant holes of the stocks, he said:

Now lower away, master constable, lower away, I tell ye! If-so-be theres such a thing hereabouts, as a man that wants to see a bear, let him look and be dd, and he shall find two of them, and mayhap one of the same that can bite as well as growl.

But I have no orders to put you in the stocks, Mr. Pump, cried the constable; you must get up and let me do my duty.

Youve my orders, and what do you need better to meddle with my own feet? so lower away, will ye, and let me see the man that chooses to open his mouth with a grin on it.

There cant be any harm in locking up a creatur that will enter the pound, said the constable, laughing, and closing the stocks on them both.

It was fortunate that this act was executed with decision, for the whole of the spectators, when they saw Benjamin assume the position he took, felt an inclination for merriment, which few thought it worth while to suppress. The steward struggled violently for his liberty again, with an evident intention of making battle on those who stood nearest to him; but the key was already turned, and all his efforts were vain.

Hark ye, master constable, he cried, just clear away your bilboes for the small matter of a log-glass, will ye, and let me show some of them there chaps who it is they are so merry about

No, no, you would go in, and you cant come out, returned the officer, until the time has expired that the Judge directed for the keeping of the prisoner.

Benjamin, finding that his threats and his struggles were useless, had good sense enough to learn patience from the resigned manner of his companion, and soon settled himself down by the side of Natty, with a contemptuousness expressed in his hard features, that showed he had substituted disgust for rage. When the violence of the stewards feelings had in some measure subsided, he turned to his fellow- sufferer, and, with a motive that might have vindicated a worse effusion, he attempted the charitable office of consolation,

Taking it by and large, Master Bump-ho, its but a small matter after all, he said. Now, Ive known very good sort of men, aboard of the Boadishey, laid by the heels, for nothing, mayhap, but forgetting that theyd drunk their allowance already, when a glass of grog has come in their way. This is nothing more than riding with two anchors ahead, waiting for a turn in the tide, or a shift of wind, dye see, with a soft bottom and plenty of room for the sweep of your hawse. Now Ive seen many a man, for over-shooting his reckoning, as I told ye moored head and starn, where he couldnt so much as heave his broadside round, and mayhap a stopper clapped on his tongue too, in the shape of a pump-bolt lashed athwartship his jaws, all the same as an outrigger along side of a taffrel-rail.

The hunter appeared to appreciate the kind intentions of the other, though he could not understand his eloquence, and, raising his humbled countenance, he attempted a smile, as he said:

Anan!

Tis nothing, I say, but a small matter of a squall that will soon blow over, continued Benjamin. To you that has such a length of keel, it must be all the same as nothing; thof, seeing that I am little short in my lower timbers, theyve triced my heels up in such a way as to give me a bit of a cant. But what cares I, Master Bump-ho, if the ship strains a little at her anchor? its only for a dog-watch, and damme but shell sail with you then on that cruise after them said beaver. I'm not much used to small arms, seeing that I was stationed at the ammunition- boxes, being summat too low-rigged to see over the ham- mock-cloths; but I can carry the game, dye see, and mayhap make out to lend a hand with the traps; and if- so-be youre any way so handy with them as ye be with your boat-hook, twill be but a short cruise after all, I've squared the yards with Squire Dickens this morning, and I shall send him word that he neednt bear my name on the books again till such time as the cruise is over.

Youre used to dwell with men, Benny, said Leather-Stocking, mournfully, and the ways of the woods would be hard on you, if

Not a bitnot a bit, cried the steward; Im none of your fair- weather chaps, Master Bump-ho, as sails only in smooth water. When I find a friend, I sticks by him, dye see. Now, theres no better man a-going than Squire Dickens, and I love him about the same as I loves Mistress Hollisters new keg of Jamaiky. The steward paused, and turning his uncouth visage on the hunter, he surveyed him with a roguish leer of his eye, and gradually suffered the muscles of his hard features to relax, until his face was illuminated by the display of his white teeth, when he dropped his voice, and added; I say, Master Leather-

Stocking, tis fresher and livelier than any Hollands youll get in Garnsey. But well send a hand over and ask the woman for a taste, for Im so jammed in these here bilboes that I begin to want summat to lighten my upper works.

Natty sighed, and gazed about him on the crowd, that already began to disperse, and which had now diminished greatly, as its members scattered in their various pursuits. He looked wistfully at Benjamin, but did not reply; a deeply-seated anxiety seeming to absorb every other sensation, and to throw a melancholy gloom over his wrinkled features, which were working with the movements of his mind.

The steward was about to act on the old principle, that silence gives consent, when Hiram Doolittle, attended by Jotham, stalked out of the crowd, across the open space, and approached the stocks. The magistrate passed by the end where Benjamin was seated, and posted himself, at a safe distance from the steward, in front of the Leather- Stocking. Hiram stood, for a moment, cowering before the keen looks that Natty fastened on him, and suffering under an embarrassment that was quite new; when having in some degree recovered himself, he looked at the heavens, and then at the smoky atmosphere, as if it were only an ordinary meeting with a friend, and said in his formal, hesitating way:

Quite a scurcity of rain, lately; I some think we shall have a long drought ont.

Benjamin was occupied in untying his bag of dollars, and did not observe the approach of the magistrate, while Natty turned his face, in which every muscle was working, away from him in disgust, without answering. Rather encouraged than daunted by this exhibition of dislike, Hiram, after a short pause, continued:

The clouds look as if theyd no water in them, and the earth is dreadfully parched. To my judgment, therell be short crops this season, if the rain doesnt fail quite speedily.

The air with which Mr. Doolittle delivered this prophetical opinion was peculiar to his species. It was a jesuitical, cold, unfeeling, and selfish manner, that seemed to say, I have kept within the law, to the man he had so cruelly injured. It quite overcame the restraint that the old hunter had been laboring to impose on himself, and he burst out in a warm glow of indignation.

Why should the rain fall from the clouds, he cried, when you force the tears from the eyes of the old, the sick, and the poor! Away with yeaway with ye! you may be formed in the image of the Maker, but Satan dwells in your heart. Away with ye, I say! I am mournful, and the sight of ye brings bitter thoughts.

Benjamin ceased thumbing his money, and raised his head at the instant that Hiram, who was thrown off his guard by the invectives of the hunter, unluckily trusted his person within reach of the steward, who grasped one of his legs with a hand that had the grip of a vise, and whirled the magistrate from his feet, before he had either time to collect his senses or to exercise the strength he did really possess. Benjamin wanted neither proportions nor manhood in his head, shoulders, and arms, though all the rest of his frame appeared to be originally intended for a very different sort of a man. He exerted his physical powers on the present occasion, with much discretion; and, as he had taken his antagonist at a great disadvantage, the struggle resulted very soon in Benjamin getting the magistrate fixed in a posture somewhat similar to his own, and manfully placed face to face.

Youre a ships cousin, I tell ye, Master Doo-but-little, roared the steward; some such matter as a ships cousin, sir. I know you, I do, with your fair-weather speeches to Squire Dickens, to his face, and then you go and sarve out your grumbling to all the old women in the town, do ye? Aint it enough for any Christian, let him harbor never so much malice, to get an honest old fellow laid by the heels in this fashion, without carrying sail so hard on the poor dog, as if you would run him down as he lay at his anchors? But Ive logged many a hard thing against your name, master, and now the times come to foot up the days work, dye see; so square yourself, you lubber, square yourself, and well soon know whos the better man.

Jotham! cried the frightened magistrate Jotham! call in the constables. Mr. Penguillium, I command the peaceI order you to keep the peace.

There's been more peace than love atwixt us, master, cried the steward, making some very unequivocal demonstrations toward hostility; so mind yourself! square your self, I say! do you smell this here bit of a sledge-hammer?

Lay hands on me if you dare! exclaimed Hiram, as well as he could, under the grasp which the steward held on his throttle lay hands on me if you dare!

If you call this laying, master, you are welcome to the eggs, roared the steward.

It becomes our disagreeable duty to record here, that the acts of Benjamin now became violent; for he darted his sledge-hammer violently on the anvil of Mr. Doolittles countenance, and the place became in an instant a scene of tumult and confusion. The crowd rushed in a dense circle around the spot, while some ran to the court room to give the alarm, and one or two of the more juvenile part of the multitude had a desperate trial of speed to see who should be the happy man to communicate the critical situation of the magistrate to his wife.

Benjamin worked away, with great industry and a good deal of skill, at his occupation, using one hand to raise up his antagonist, while he knocked him over with the other; for he would have been disgraced in his own estimation, had he struck a blow on a fallen adversary. By this considerate arrangement he had found means to hammer the visage of Hiram out of all shape, by the time Richard succeeded in forcing his way through the throng to the point of combat. The sheriff afterward declared that, independently of his mortification as preserver of the peace of the county, at this interruption to its harmony, he was never so grieved in his life as when he saw this breach of unity between his favorites. Hiram had in some degree become necessary to his vanity, and Benjamin, strange as it may appear, he really loved. This attachment was exhibited in the first words that he uttered.

Squire Doolittle! Squire Doolittle! I am ashamed to see a man of your character and office forget himself so much as to disturb the peace, insult the court, and beat poor Benjamin in this manner!

At the sound of Mr. Jones voice, the steward ceased his employment, and Hiram had an opportunity of raising his discomfited visage toward the mediator. Emboldened by the sight of the sheriff, Mr. Doolittle again had recourse to his lungs.

Ill have law on you for this, he cried desperately; Ill have the law on you for this. I call on you, Mr. Sheriff, to seize this man, and I demand that you take his body into custody.

By this time Richard was master of the true state of the case, and, turning to the steward, he said reproach fully:

Benjamin, how came you in the stocks? I always thought you were mild and docile as a lamb. It was for your docility that I most esteemed you. Benjamin! Benjamin! you have not only disgraced yourself, but your friends, by this shameless conduct, Bless me! bless me! Mr. Doolittle, he seems to have knocked your face all of one side.

Hiram by this time had got on his feet again, and with out the reach of the steward, when he broke forth in violent appeals for vengeance. The offence was too apparent to be passed over, and the sheriff, mindful of the impartiality exhibited by his cousin in the recent trial of the Leather-Stocking, came to the painful conclusion that it was necessary to commit his major-domo to prison. As the time of Nattys punishment was expired, and Benjamin found that they were to be confined, for that night at least, in the same apartment, he made no very strong objection to the measure, nor spoke of bail, though, as the sheriff preceded the party of constables that conducted them to the jail, he uttered the following remonstrance:

As to being berthed with Master Bump-ho for a night or so, its but little I think of it, Squire Dickens, seeing that I calls him an honest man, and one as has a handy way with boat-hooks and rifles; but as for owning that a man desarves anything worse than a double allowance, for knocking that carpenters face a-one-side, as you call it, Ill maintain its agin reason and Christianity. If theres a bloodsucker in this 'ere county, its that very chap. Ay! I know him! and if he hasnt got all the same as dead wood in his headworks, he knows summat of me. Wheres the mighty harm, squire, that you take it so much to heart? Its all the same as any other battle, dye see sir, being broadside to broadside, only that it was foot at anchor, which was what we did in Port Pray a roads, when Suffring came in among us; and a suffring time he had of it before he got out again.

Richard thought it unworthy of him to make any reply to this speech, but when his prisoners were safely lodged in an outer dungeon, ordering the bolts to be drawn and the key turned, he withdrew.

Benjamin held frequent and friendly dialogues with different people, through the iron gratings, during the afternoon; but his companion paced their narrow limits, in his moccasins, with quick, impatient treads, his face hanging on his breast in dejection, or when lifted, at moments, to the idlers at the window, lighted, perhaps, for an instant, with the childish aspect of aged forgetfulness, which would vanish directly in an expression of deep and obvious anxiety.

At the close of the day, Edwards was seen at the window, in earnest dialogue with his friend; and after he de parted it was thought that he had communicated words of comfort to the hunter, who threw himself on his pallet and was soon in a deep sleep. The curious spectators had exhausted the conversation of the steward, who had drunk good fellowship with half of his acquaintance, and, as Natty was no longer in motion, by eight oclock, Billy Kirby, who was the last lounger at the window, retired into the Templeton Coffee-house, when Natty rose and hung a blanket before the opening, and the prisoners apparently retired for the night.



CHAPTER XXXV.



And to avoid the foes pursuit, With spurring put their cattle tot; And till all four were out of wind, And danger too, neer looked behind.Hudibras.

As the shades of evening approached, the jurors, wit nesses, and other attendants on the court began to disperse, and before nine oclock the village was quiet, and its streets nearly deserted. At that hour Judge Temple and his daughter, followed at a short distance by Louisa Grant, walked slowly down the avenue, under the slight shadows of the young poplars, holding the following discourse:

You can best soothe his wounded spirit, my child, said Marmaduke; but it will be dangerous to touch on the nature of his offence; the sanctity of the laws must be respected.

Surely, sir, cried the impatient Elizabeth, those laws that condemn a man like the Leather-Stocking to so severe a punishment, for an offence that even I must think very venial, cannot be perfect in themselves.

Thou talkest of what thou dost not understand, Elizabeth, returned her father. Society cannot exist without wholesome restraints. Those restraints cannot be inflicted without security and respect to the persons of those who administer them; and it would sound ill indeed to report that a judge had extended favor to a convicted criminal, because he had saved the life of his child.

I seeI see the difficulty of your situation, dear sir, cried the daughter; but, in appreciating the offence of poor Natty, I cannot separate the minister of the law from the man.

There thou talkest as a woman, child; it is not for an assault on Hiram Doolittle, but for threatening the life of a constable, who was in the performance of

It is immaterial whether it be one or the other, interrupted Miss Temple, with a logic that contained more feeling than reason; I know Natty to be innocent, and thinking so I must think all wrong who oppress him.

His judge among the number! thy father, Elizabeth?

Nay, nay, nay; do not put such questions to me; give me my commission, father, and let me proceed to execute it.

The Judge paused a moment, smiling fondly on his child, and then dropped his hand affectionately on her shoulder, as he answered:

Thou hast reason, Bess, and much of it, too, but thy heart lies too near thy head, But listen; in this pocketbook are two hundred dollars. Go to the prisonthere are none in this pace to harm theegive this note to the jailer, and, when thou seest Bumppo, say what thou wilt to the poor old man; give scope to the feeling of thy warm heart; but try to remember, Elizabeth, that the laws alone remove us from the condition of the savages; that he has been criminal, and that his judge was thy father.

Miss Temple made no reply, but she pressed the hand that held the pocket-book to her bosom, and, taking her friend by the arm, they issued together from the inclosure into the principal street of the village.

As they pursued their walk in silence, under the row of houses, where the deeper gloom of the evening effectually concealed their persons, no sound reached them, excepting the slow tread of a yoke of oxen, with the rattling of j a cart, that were moving along the street in the same direction with themselves, The figure of the teamster was just discernible by the dim light, lounging by the side of his cattle with a listless air, as if fatigued by the toil of the day. At the corner, where the jail stood, the progress of the ladies was impeded, for a moment, by the oxen, who were turned up to the side of the building, and given a lock of hay, which they had carried on their necks, as a reward for their patient labor, The whole of this was so natural, and so common, that Elizabeth saw nothing to induce a second glance at the team, until she heard the teamster speaking to his cattle in a low voice:

Mind yourself, Brindle; will you, sir! will you! The language itself was so unusual to oxen, with which all who dwell in a new country are familiar; but there was something in the voice, also, that startled Miss Temple On turning the corner, she necessarily approached the man, and her look was enabled to detect the person of Oliver Edwards, concealed under the coarse garb of a teamster. Their eyes met at the same instant, and, not- t withstanding the gloom, and the enveloping cloak of Elizabeth, the recognition was mutual.

Miss Temple! Mr. Edwards! were exclaimed simultaneously, though a feeling that seemed common to both rendered the words nearly inaudible.

Is it possible! exclaimed Edwards, after the moment of doubt had passed; do I see you so nigh the jail! but you are going to the rectory: I beg pardon, Miss Grant, I believe; I did not recognize you at first.

The sigh which Louisa tittered was so faint, that it was only heard by Elizabeth, who replied quickly, We are going not only to the jail, Mr. Edwards' but into it. We wish to show the Leather-Stocking that we do not forget his services, and that at the same time we must be just, we are also grateful. I suppose you are on a similar errand; but let me beg that you will give us leave to precede you ten minutes. Good-night, sir; I Iam quite sorry, Mr. Edwards, to see you reduced to such labor; I am sure my father would

I shall wait your pleasure, madam, interrupted the youth coldly. May I beg that you will not mention my being here?

Certainly, said Elizabeth, returning his bow by a slight inclination of her head, and urging the tardy Louisa forward. As they entered the jailers house, however, Miss Grant found leisure to whisper:

Would it not be well to offer part of your money to Oliver? half of it will pay the fine of Bumppo; and he is so unused to hardships! I am sure my father will subscribe much of his little pittance, to place him in a station that is more worthy of him.

The involuntary smile that passed over the features of Elizabeth was blended with an expression of deep and heartfelt pity. She did not reply, however, and the appearance of the jailer soon recalled the thoughts of both to the object of their visit.

The rescue of the ladies, and their consequent interest in his prisoner, together with the informal manners that prevailed in the country, all united to prevent any surprise on the part of the jailer, at their request for admission to Bumppo. The note of Judge Temple, however, would have silenced all objections, if he had felt them and he led the way without hesitation to the apartment that held the prisoners. The instant the key was put into the lock, the hoarse voice of Benjamin was heard, demanding:

Yo hoy! who comes there?

Some visitors that youll be glad to see, returned the jailer. What have you done to the lock, that it wont turn

Handsomely, handsomely, master, cried the steward: I have just drove a nail into a berth alongside of this here bolt, as a stopper, dye see, so that Master Doo-but little cant be running in and breezing up another fight atwixt us: for, to my account, therell be but a han-yan with me soon, seeing that theyll mulct me of my Spaniards, all the same as if Id over-flogged the lubber. Throw your ship into the wind, and lay by for a small matter, will ye? and Ill soon clear a passage.

The sounds of hammering gave an assurance that the steward was in earnest, and in a short time the lock yielded, when the door was opened.

Benjamin had evidently been anticipating the seizure of his money, for he had made frequent demands on the favorite cask at the Bold Dragoon, during the afternoon and evening, and was now in that state which by marine imagery is called half-seas-over. It was no easy thing to destroy the balance of the old tar by the effects of liquor, for, as he expressed it himself, he was too low-rigged not to carry sail in all weathers; but he was precisely in that condition which is so expressively termed muddy. When he perceived who the visitors were, he retreated to the side of the room where his pallet lay, and, regardless of the presence of his young mistress, seated himself on it with an air of great sobriety, placing his back firmly against the wall.

If you undertake to spoil my locks in this manner, Mr. Pump, said the jailer, I shall put a stopper, as you call it, on your legs, and tie you down to your bed.

What for should ye, master? grumbled Benjamin; Ive rode out one squall to-day anchored by the heels, and I wants no more of them. Wheres the harm o doing all the same as yourself? Leave that there door free out board, and youll find no locking inboard, Ill promise ye.

I must shut up for the night at nine, said the jailer, and its now forty-two minutes past eight. He placed the little candle on a rough pine table, and withdrew.

Leather-Stocking! said Elizabeth, when the key of the door was turned on them again, my good friend, Leather-Stocking! I have come on a message of gratitude. Had you submitted to the search, worthy old man, the death of the deer would have been a trifle, and all would have been well

Submit to the sarch! interrupted Natty, raising his face from resting on his knees, without rising from the corner where he had seated himself; dye think gal, I would let such a varmint into my hut? No, noI wouldnt have opened the door to your own sweet countenance then. But they are welcome to search among the coals and ashes now; theyll find only some such heap as is to be seen at every pot-ashery in the mountains.

The old man dropped his face again on one hand, and seemed to be lost in melancholy.

The hut can be rebuilt, and made better than before, returned Miss Temple; and it shall be my office to see it done, when your imprisonment is ended.

Can ye raise the dead, child? said Natty, in a sorrowful voice: can ye go into the place where youve laid your fathers, and mothers, and children, and gather together their ashes, and make the same men and women of them as afore? You do not know what tis to lay your head for more than forty years under the cover of the same logs, and to look at the same things for the better part of I a mans life. You are young yet, child, but you are one of the most precious of Gods creatures. I had hoped for ye that it might come to pass, but its all over now; this, put to that, will drive the thing quite out of his mind for ever.

Miss Temple must have understood the meaning of the old man better than the other listeners; for while Louisa stood innocently by her side, commiserating the griefs of the hunter, she bent her head aside, so as to conceal her features. The action and the feeling that caused it lasted but a moment.

Other logs, and better, though, can be had, and shall be found for you, my old defender, she continued. Your confinement will soon be over, and, before that time arrives, I shall have a house prepared for you, where I you may spend the close of your long and harmless life in ease and plenty.

Ease and plenty! house! repeated Natty, slowly. You mean well, you mean well, and I quite mourn that it cannot be; but he has seen me a sight and a laughing-stock for

Damn your stocks, said Benjamin, flourishing his bottle with one hand, from which he had been taking hasty and repeated draughts, while he made gestures of disdain with the other: who cares for his bilboes? Theres a leg that been stuck up on end like a jibboom for an hour. dye see, and whats it the worse fort, ha? canst tell me, whats it the worser, ha?

I believe you forget, Mr. Pump, in whose presence you are, said Elizabeth.

Forget you, Miss Lizzy? returned the steward; if I do, damme; you are not to be forgot, like Goody Pretty-bones, up at the big house there. I say, old sharpshooter, she may have pretty bones, but I cant say so much for her flesh, dye see, for she looks somewhat like anatomy with another mans jacket on. Now for the skin of her face, its all the same as a new topsail with a taut bolt-rope, being snug at the leeches, but all in a bight about the inner cloths,

PeaceI command you to be silent, sir! said Elizabeth.

Ay, ay, maam, returned the steward. You didnt say I shouldnt drink, though.

We will not speak of what is to become of others, said Miss Temple, turning again to the hunter but of your own fortunes, Natty. It shall be my care to see that you pass the rest of your days in ease and plenty.

Ease and plenty! again repeated the Leather-Stocking; what ease can there be to an old man, who must walk a mile across the open fields, before he can find a shade to hide him from a scorching sun! or what plenty is there where you hunt a day, and not start a buck, or see anything bigger than a mink, or maybe a stray fox! Ah! I shall have a hard time after them very beavers, for this fine. I must go low toward the Pennsylvania line in search of the creatures, maybe a hundred mile; for they are not to be got here-away. No, noyour betterments and clearings have druv the knowing things out of the country, and instead of beaver-dams, which is the nater of the animal, and according to Providence, you turn back the waters over the low grounds with your mill-dams, as if twas in man to stay the drops from going where He wills them to goBenny, unless you stop your hand from going so often to your mouth, you wont be ready to start when the time comes.

Harkee, Master Bump-ho, said the steward; dont you fear for Ben, When the watch is called, set me of my legs and give me the bearings and the distance of where you want me to steer, and Ill carry sail with the best of you, I will.

The time has come now, said the hunter, listening; I hear the horns of the oxen rubbing agin the side of the jail.

Well, say the word, and then heave ahead, shipmate, said Benjamin.

You wont betray us, gal? said Natty, looking simply into the face of Elizabeth you wont betray an old man, who craves to breathe the clear air of heaven? I mean no harm; and if the law says that I must pay the hundred dollars, Ill take the season through, but it shall be forthcoming; and this good man will help me.

You catch them, said Benjamin, with a sweeping gesture of his arm, and if they get away again, call me a slink, thats all.

But what mean you? cried thc wondering Elizabeth. Here you must stay for thirty days; but I have the money for your fine in this purse. Take it; pay it in the morning, and summon patience for your mouth. I will come often to see you, with my friend; we will make up your clothes with our own hands; indeed, indeed, you shall be comfortable.

Would ye, children? said Natty, advancing across the floor with an air of kindness, and taking the hand of Elizabeth, would ye be so kearful of an old man, and just for shooting a beast which cost him nothing? Such things doesnt run in the blood, I believe, for you seem not to forget a favor. Your little fingers couldnt do much on a buckskin, nor be you used to push such a thread as sinews. But if he hasnt got past hearing, he shalt hear it and know it, that he may see, like me, there is some who know how to remember a kindness,

Tell him nothing, cried Elizabeth, earnestly; if you love me, if you regard my feelings, tell him nothing. It is of yourself only I would talk, and for yourself only I act. I grieve, Leather-Stocking, that the law requires that you should be detained here so long; but, after all, it will be only a short month, and

A month? exclaimed Natty, opening his mouth with his usual laugh, not a day, nor a night, nor an hour, gal. Judge Temple may sintence, but he cant keep without a better dungeon than this. I was taken once by the French, and they put sixty-two of us in a block-house, nigh hand to old Frontinac; but twas easy to cut through a pine log to them that was used to timber. The hunter paused, and looked cautiously around the room, when, laughing again, he shoved the steward gently from his post, and removing the bedclothes, discovered a hole recently cut in the logs with a mallet and chisel. Its only a kick, and the outside piece is off, and then

Off! ay, off! cried Benjamin, rising from his stupor; well, heres off. Ay! ay! you catch em, and I'll hold on to them said beaver- hats,

I fear this lad will trouble me much, said Natty; twill be a hard pull for the mountain, should they take the scent soon, and he is not in a state of mind to run.

Run! echoed the steward; no, sheer alongside, and lets have a fight of it.

Peace! ordered Elizabeth.

Ay, ay, maam.

You will not leave us, surely, Leather-Stocking, continued Miss Temple; I beseech you, reflect that you will be driven to the woods entirely, and that you are fast getting old. Be patient for a little time, when you can go abroad openly, and with honor.

Is there beaver to be catched here, gal?

If not, here is money to discharge the fine, and in a month you are free. See, here it is in gold.

Gold! said Natty, with a kind of childish curiosity; its long sin Ive seen a gold-piece. We used to get the broad joes, in the old war, as plenty as the bears be now. I remember there was a man in Dieskaus army, that was killed, who had a dozen of the shining things sewed up in his shirt. I didnt handle them myself, but I seen them cut out with my own eyes; they was bigger and brighter than them be.

These are English guineas, and are yours, said Elizabeth; an earnest of what shall be done for you.

Me! why should you give me this treasure! said Natty, looking earnestly at the maiden.

Why! have you not saved my life? Did you not rescue me from the jaws of the beast? exclaimed Elizabeth, veiling her eyes, as if to hide some hideous object from her view.

The hunter took the money, and continued turning it in his hand for some time, piece by piece, talking aloud during the operation.

Theres a rifle, they say, out on the Cherry Valley, that will carry a hundred rods and kill. Ive seen good guns in my day, but none quite equal to that. A hundred rods with any sartainty is great shooting! Well, well Im old, and the gun I have will answer my time. Here, child, take back your gold. But the hour has come; I hear him talking to the cattle, and I must be going. You wont tell of us, galyou wont tell of us, will ye?

Tell of you! echoed Elizabeth. But take the money, old man; take the money, even if you go into the mountains.

No, no, said Natty, shaking his head kindly; I would not rob you so for twenty rifles. But theres one thing you can do for me, if ye will, that no other is at hand to do.

Name itname it.

Why, its only to buy a canister of powdertwill cost two silver dollars. Benny Pump has the money ready, but we darent come into the town to get it. Nobody has it but the Frenchman. 'Tis of the best, and just suits a rifle. Will you get it for me, gal?say, will you get it for me?

Will I? I will bring it to you, Leather-Stocking, though I toil a day in quest of you through the woods. But where shall I find you, and how?

Where? said Natty, musing a moment to-morrow on the Vision; on the very top of the Vision, Ill meet you, child, just as the sun gets over our heads. See that its the fine grain; youll know it by the gloss and the price.

I will do it, said Elizabeth, firmly.

Natty now seated himself, and placing his feet in the hole, with a slight effort he opened a passage through into the street. The ladies heard the rustling of hay, and well understood the reason why Edwards was in the capacity of a teamster.

Come, Benny, said the hunter: twill be no darker to-night, for the moon will rise in an hour.

Stay! exclaimed Elizabeth; it should not be said that you escaped in the presence of the daughter of Judge Temple. Return, Leather- Stocking, and let us retire be fore you execute your plan.

Natty was about to reply, when the approaching footsteps of the jailer announced the necessity of his immediate return. He had barely time to regain his feet, and to conceal the hole with the bedclothes, across which Benjamin very opportunely fell, before the key was turned, and the door of the apartment opened.

Isnt Miss Temple ready to go? said the civil jailer; its the usual hour for locking up.

I follow you, sir, returned Elizabeth good-night, Leather- Stocking.

Its a fine grain, gal, and I think twill carry lead further than common. I am getting old, and cant follow up the game with the step I used to could,

Miss Temple waved her hand for silence, and preceded Louisa and the keeper from the apartment. The man turned the key once, and observed that he would return and secure his prisoners, when he had lighted the ladies to the street. Accordingly they parted at the door of the building, when the jailer retired to his dungeons, and the ladies walked, with throbbing hearts, toward the corner.

Now the Leather-Stocking refuses the money, whispered Louisa, it can all be given to Mr. Edwards, and that added to