Having slung their booty on the boughs of a wide-branching tree, and taken some refreshment from the supplies in the canoe, Micah declared himself good for a scramble up the hill to the feeding-ground, a proposition John readily accepted.
Over rock, bush and brier, up hill and down, for five hours, they pursued their way with unmitigated zeal and energy. They scaled the hill, cut by the gorge,--approaching, cautiously, its brow, overlooking the deer haunt. But they could perceive no trace of the herd.
"It"s abeout as I expected", said Micah, "them two little hinds we skeered, gin the alarm to the rest on "em and they"ve all skulked off to some covit or ruther. S"pose Captin", we jest make a surkit reound through the rest of these hills, maybe we"ll light on "em agin".
"Agreed", responded John.
They skirted the enclosure, but without a chance for another shot. As, about noon, they were rapidly descending the gorge, on their way back to the promontory, the scene of their morning success, Micah proposed that they should have "a nice brile out of that fat buck at the pint, and then put for the settlement".
"Not yet", said John. "Why, we are just getting into this glorious life. What"s your hurry, Mummychog?"
"Well, ye see", said Micah, "I can"t be gone from hum, no longer neow, any heow. Next week, I"ll try it with ye agin, if ye say so".
John acceded reluctantly to the arrangement, though his disappointment was somewhat mitigated by the prospect of another similar excursion.
The meal prepared by Micah, for their closing repast, considering the circ.u.mstances, might have been p.r.o.nounced as achieved in the highest style of art. Under a bright sky, shadowed by soft, quivering birch-trees, scattering broken lights all over their rustic table, never surely was a dinner eaten with greater gusto.
Life in the forest! ended all too soon. But thy memories live.
Memories redolent of youth, health, strength, freedom, and beauty, come through the long years, laden with dews, sunshine, and fragrance, and scatter over the time-worn spirit refreshment and delight.
As our voyagers were paddling up stream in the afternoon, in answer to questions put by John to Micah, respecting the Dubois family, he remarked--
"Them Doobyce"s came to the kentry, jest ten year before I did. Well, I"ve heerd say, the Square came fust. He didn"t set himself up for anything great at all, but explored reound the region a spell, and was kinder pleasant to most anybody he came across. Somehow, or "nuther, he had a kind of a kingly turn with him, that seemed jest as nateral as did to breathe, and ye could see that he warn"t no ways used to sech a wildcat sort of a place as Miramichi was then".
"I wonder that he remained here", said John.
"Well, the pesky critters reound here ruther took to him, and he bought a great lot o" land and got workmen and built a house, and fetched his wife and baby here. So they"ve lived here ever since. But they"re no more like the rest o" the people in these parts, than I"m like you, and it has allers been a mystery to me why they should stay.
But I s"pose they know their own bissiniss best. They"re allers givin"
to the poor, and they try to make the settlers more decent every way, but "taint been o" much use".
After a long, meditative pause, Micah said, "Neow Captin", I want yeou to answer me one question, honestly. I aint a goin" to ask any thing sarcy. Did ye ever in yer life see a harnsumer, witchiner critter than Miss Adele is?"
Micah fixed his keen eye triumphantly upon our hero, as if he was aware beforehand that but one response could be made. John surprised by the suddenness of the question, and somewhat confused, for the moment, by a vague consciousness that his companion had found the key to his thoughts, hesitated a little, but soon recovered sufficiently to parry the stroke.
"You don"t mean to say, Micah, that there"s any person for beauty and bewitchingness to be compared with Mrs. McNab?"
"Whew-ew", uttered Micah, while every line and feature in his countenance expressed ineffable scorn. He gave several extra strokes of the paddle with great energy. Suddenly, his grim features broke into a genial smile.
"Well, Captin"", he said, "ef yeou choose to play "possum that way, ye ken. But ye needn"t expect _me_ to believe in them tricks, cos I"m an old "un".
John laughed and replied, "Mummychog, Miss Adele Dubois is a perfect beauty. I can"t deny it".
"And a parf.e.c.k angel tew", said Micah.
"I don"t doubt it", said John, energetically. "When shall we reach the settlement, Micah?"
"Abeout three hours arter moonrise".
And just at that time our voyagers touched the spot they had started from the day before, and unloaded their cargo. They were received at the Dubois house with the compliments due to successful hunters.
CHAPTER XVIII.
THE PERSECUTION.
On the following afternoon, Mr. Norton preached to a larger and far more attentive audience than usual. The solemn warnings he had uttered and the fearful presentiments of coming evil he had expressed on the last occasion of a.s.sembling at the Grove, had been communicated from mouth to mouth. Curiosity, and perhaps some more elevated motive, had drawn a numerous crowd of people together to hear him.
He spoke to them plainly of their sinful conduct, particularizing the vices of intemperance, profanity, gambling, and Sabbath-breaking, to which many of them were addicted. He earnestly besought them to turn from these evil ways and accept pardon for their past transgressions and mercy through Christ. He showed them the consequences of their refusal to listen to the teachings and counsels of the book of G.o.d, and, at last, depicted to them, with great vividness, the awful glories and terrors of the day of final account,
"When the Judge shall come in splendor, Strict to mark and just to render".
As his mind dilated with the awful grandeur of the theme, his thoughts kindled to a white heat, and he flung off words that seemed to scorch and burn even the callous souls of those time-hardened transgressors.
He poured upon their ears, in tones of trumpet power and fulness, echoed from the hills around, the stern threatenings of injured justice; he besought them, in low, sweet, thrilling accents, to yield themselves heart and life to the Great Judge, who will preside in the day of impartial accounts, and thus avert his wrath and be happy forever.
At the close, he threw himself for a few moments upon the rustic bench appropriated to him, covered his face with his hands and seemed in silent prayer. The people involuntarily bent their heads in sympathy and remained motionless. Then, he rose and gave them the evening benediction.
Mr. Somers, his nephew, and Adele had been sitting under the shade of an odorous balm poplar, on the skirt of the crowd, at first watching its movements, and then drawn away from these observations, by the impressive discourse of Mr. Norton.
"What a clear, melodious voice he has!" said John in an undertone to Adele, as the missionary finished the opening service.
"Wait, until you hear its trumpet tones, Mr. Lansdowne. Those will come, by and by. They are magnificent. Please listen". And Adele placed a finger upon her lips, in token of silence.
John listened, at first, in obedience to her request, but he soon became enchained by the speaker.
After the discourse was concluded, the trio remained sitting as if spellbound, quite un.o.bservant of the crowd, slowly dispersing around them.
"What would that man have been, Ned", at length exclaimed John, "had he received the culture which such munificent gifts demand? Why, he would have been the orator of our nation".
"Ay, John", replied Mr. Somers, "but it is the solemn truth of his theme that gives him half his power".
"It is as if I had heard the _Dies irae_ chanted", said Adele.
As they walked on towards the house in silence, they encountered a company of persons, of which Mr. Dubois and the missionary were the centre. These two were conversing quite composedly, but the surrounding groups seemed to be under some excitement.
At the dispersion of the gathering at the Grove, as Mr. Norton was on his way to the quiet of his own room, Mr. Dubois had presented to him the bearer of a dispatch from Fredericton. The messenger said he had been instructed to announce that the Provincial Court was in session in that city, and that a complaint had been lodged with the grand jury against Mr. Norton, and he was requested to meet the charge immediately.
Mr. Norton was surprised, but said very calmly--
"Can you inform me, sir, what the charge is!"
"It is a charge for having preached in the Province of Brunswick, without a license".
"Can you tell me by whom the charge was brought?"