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Page 23
In the meantime, Corporal Nixon, with the remainder of
the fishing party, was slowly descending the river,
hugging the eastern shore as closely as possible, in
order that, if attacked suddenly, they might, on the
instant, leap into the river, and covering themselves by
the boat, fight their enemies at less disadvantage. The
corporal himself and Weston kept a vigilant look out,
the one at the bow, the other at the stern, while the
four remaining men, Jackson, Philips, Green, and Cass
pulled so noiselessly that the dip of their oars, and
their unavoidable jar in the row-locks, could not be
heard at a distance of more than ten yards. At this slow
rate much time was necessarily consumed, so that it was
quite dark when they reached the traverse opposite the
farm, where Ephraim Giles had crossed some hours before,
and whither Collins had been dispatched to make
observations.
The patience of the latter had been much tried, for it
seemed an age had elapsed before his comrades made their
appearance. The sun was just setting as he reached the
innermost haystack, and his anxiety for his charge had
become intense. Seeing the canoe drawn up on the beach,
and the paddles in it, he had a strong inclination to
cross and procure some efficient relief for the insensible
boy, but the silence that reigned around the dwelling
awed him, and he checked the natural impulse. Not a soul
was to be seen, not a voice to be heard, not even the
barking of Loup Garou, the bleating of a sheep, or the
lowing of an ox. What could this mean? and was the fate
of the boy connected with that of the other inmates of
the farm? If so, where were they?
Another consideration induced Collins to suppress his
first impulse, and that was the apprehension that his
strange charge would be detained by Mr. Heywood, when
his only chance of recovery lay in the speedy examination,
and dressing his injuries by the surgeon of the garrison.
There was no alternative then, but to wait patiently for
the arrival of the boat into which the boy could be
placed; and so conveyed to the fort. Meanwhile, as the
night air was becoming chill, and a slight fog rising
from the water, the considerate soldier did all he could
to shield his protege from their pernicious effect.
Strewing on the ground a few armfuls of hay, taken from
the nearest of the stacks, around which the hungry cattle
now gathered, eager for their food, he extended on it
the yet inanimate form of the youth, embracing the body
in order to impart to it the benefit of animal heat and
in this position, his head being slightly raised, eagerly
endeavored to discern through the darkness not only what
might be seen on the opposite shore, but the approach of
the party in the boat.
The sun had now been down some time, and so dark was it
that, in that narrow space, obscured by the blending
shadows of the tall forests on either shore, it was
difficult, at five yards distance, to make out anything
on the water, unaccompanied by light or sound. This
silence was anything but agreeable to Collins, whose
imagination, excited by the later occurrences of the day,
was filled with, strange misgivings, as he looked in vain
for the customary lights in the farm-house. The fishing
party had never been out so late, and yet, at the first
fall of darkness, they had been accustomed to see the
place exhibiting at least one light; and the absence of
this now caused Collins heartily to wish himself in the
boat, and safely moored under cover of the fort. Not that
the soldier was influenced by the apprehension of personal
danger, but because the deep gloom, the solitude and
silence of the scene, coupled with his newly-awakened
interest in the almost corpse that lay in close contact
with his person, impressed him with a sort of superstitious
feeling, not at all lessened by the knowledge that his
only companion, at that moment, belonged rather to the
grave than to the upper earth.
At length his anxiety was relieved. The sound of the
oars, cautiously pulled, faintly met his ear, and then
the boat could be indistinctly seen approaching the canoe.
To this succeeded a low call uttered by the corporal.
Collins replied in a similar tone, and then bearing the
body of the boy, still enveloped in the bear skin, he in
less than a minute, rejoined his party.
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