CHAPTER XXVI

The Pathfinder

by James F. Cooper

CHAPTER XXVI, THE PATHFINDER by James F. Cooper
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You saw but sorrow in its waning form;
A working sea remaining from a storm,
Where now the weary waves roll o'er the deep,
And faintly murmur ere they fall asleep.
DRYDEN.


Men accustomed to a warfare like that we have been de-
scribing are not apt to be much under the influence of the
tender feelings while still in the field. Notwithstanding
their habits, however, more than one heart was with Mabel
in the block, while the incidents we are about to relate
were in the course of occurrence; and even the indispen-
sable meal was less relished by the hardiest of the soldiers
than it might have been had not the Sergeant been so near
his end.

As Pathfinder returned from the block, he was met by
Muir, who led him aside in order to hold a private discourse.
The manner of the Quartermaster had that air of supere-
rogatory courtesy about it which almost invariably denotes
artifice; for, while physiognomy and phrenology are but lame
sciences at the best, and perhaps lead to as many false as
right conclusions, we hold that there is no more infallible
evidence of insincerity of purpose, short of overt acts, than
a face that smiles when there is no occasion, and the tongue
that is out of measure smooth. Muir had much of this
manner in common, mingled with an apparent frankness
that his Scottish intonation of voice, Scottish accent, and
Scottish modes of expression were singularly adapted to
sustain. He owed his preferment, indeed, to a long-exer-
cised deference to Lundie and his family; for, while the
Major himself was much too acute to be the dupe of one
so much his inferior in real talents and attainments, most
persons are accustomed to make liberal concessions to the
flatterer, even while they distrust his truth and are per-
fectly aware of his motives. On the present occasion, the
contest in skill was between two men as completely the
opposites of each other in all the leading essentials of char-
acter as very well could be. Pathfinder was as simple as
the Quartermaster was practised; he was as sincere as the
other was false, and as direct as the last was tortuous.
Both were cool and calculating, and both were brave,
though in different modes and degrees; Muir never expos-
ing his person except for effect, while the guide included
fear among the rational passions, or as a sensation to be
deferred to only when good might come of it.

"My dearest friend," Muir commenced, -- "for ye'll be
dearer to us all, by seventy and sevenfold, after your late
conduct than ever ye were, -- ye've just established yourself
in this late transaction. It's true that they'll not be mak-
ing ye a commissioned officer, for that species of prefair-
ment is not much in your line, nor much in your wishes,
I'm thinking; but as a guide, and a counsellor, and a loyal
subject, and an expert marksman, yer renown may be said
to be full. I doubt if the commander-in-chief will carry
away with him from America as much credit as will fall to
yer share, and ye ought just to set down in content and
enjoy yoursal' for the remainder of yer days. Get mar-
ried, man, without delay, and look to your precious happi-
ness; for ye've no occasion to look any longer to your
glory. Take Mabel Dunham, for Heaven's sake, to your
bosom, and ye'll have both a bonnie bride and a bonnie
reputation."

"Why, Quartermaster, this is a new piece of advice to
come from your mouth. They've told me I had a rival in
you."

"And ye had, man, and a formidible one, too, I can tell
you, -- one that has never yet courted in vain, and yet one
that has courted five times. Lundie twits me with four,
and I deny the charge; but he little thinks the truth would
outdo even his arithmetic. Yes, yes, ye had a rival, Path-
finder; but ye've one no longer in me. Ye've my hearty
wishes for yer success with Mabel; and were the honest
Sergeant likely to survive, ye might rely on my good word
with him, too, for a certainty."

"I feel your friendship, Quartermaster, I feel your
friendship, though I have no great need of any favor with
Sergeant Dunham, who has long been my friend. I be-
lieve we may look upon the matter to be as sartain as most
things in war-time; for, Mabel and her father consenting,
the whole 55th couldn't very well put a stop to it. Ah's
me! the poor father will scarcely live to see what his heart
has so long been set upon."

"But he'll have the consolation of knowing it will come
to pass, in dying. Oh, it's a great relief, Pathfinder, for
the parting spirit to feel certain that the beloved ones left
behind will be well provided for after its departure. All
the Mistress Muirs have duly expressed that sentiment
with their dying breaths."

"All your wives, Quartermaster, have been likely to feel
this consolation."

"Out upon ye, man! I'd no' thought ye such a wag.
Well, well; pleasant words make no heart-burnings be-
tween auld fri'nds. If I cannot espouse Mabel, ye'll no
object to my esteeming her, and speaking well of her, and
of yoursal', too, on all suitable occasions and in all com-
panies. But, Pathfinder, ye'll easily understan' that a poor
deevil who loses sucha bride will probably stand in need
of some consolation?"

"Quite likely, quite likely, Quartermaster," returned
the simple-minded guide; "I know the loss of Mabel would
be found heavy to be borne by myself. It may bear hard
on your feelings to see us married; but the death of the
Sergeant will be likely to put it off, and you'll have time
to think more manfully of it, you will."

"I'll bear up against it; yes, I'll bear up against it,
though my heart-strings crack! and ye might help me,
man, by giving me something to do. Ye'll understand
that this expedition has been of a very peculiar nature;
for here am I, bearing the king's commission, just a volun-
teer, as it might be; while a mere orderly has had the
command. I've submitted for various reasons, though my
blood has boiled to be in authority, while ye war' battling,,
for the honor of the country and his Majesty's rights -- "

"Quartermaster," interrupted the guide, "you fell so
early into the enemy's hands that your conscience ought
to be easily satisfied on that score; so take my advice, and
say nothing about it."

"That's just my opinion, Pathfinder; we'll all say noth-
ing about it. Sergeant Dunham is _hors de combat_ -- "

"Anan?" said the guide.

"Why, the Sergeant can command no longer, and it will
hardly do to leave a corporal at the head of a victorious
party like this; for flowers that will bloom in a garden
will die on a heath; and I was just thinking I would claim
the authority that belongs to one who holds a lieutenant's
commission. As for the men, they'll no dare to raise any
objaction; and as for yoursal', my dear friend, now that
ye've so much honor, and Mabel, and the consciousness of
having done yer duty, which is more precious than all, I
expect to find an ally rather than one to oppose the
plan."

"As for commanding the soldiers of the 55th, Lieuten-
ant, it is your right, I suppose, and no one here will be
likely to gainsay it; though you've been a prisoner of war,
and there are men who might stand out ag'in giving up
their authority to a prisoner released by their own deeds.
Still no one here will be likely to say anything hostile to
your wishes."

"That's just it, Pathfinder; and when I come to draw
up the report of our success against the boats, and the de-
fence of the block, together with the general operations,
including the capitulation, ye'll no' find any omission of
your claims and merits."

"Tut for my claims and merits, Quartermaster! Lundie
knows what I am in the forest and what I am in the fort;
and the General knows better than he. No fear of me;
tell your own story, only taking care to do justice by
Mabel's father, who, in one sense, is the commanding officer
at this very moment."

Muir expressed his entire satisfaction with this arrange-
ment, as well as his determination to do justice by all, when
the two went to the group assembled round the fire. Here
the Quartermaster began, for the first time since leaving
Oswego, to assume some of the authority that might prop-
erly be supposed to belong to his rank. Taking the re-
maining corporal aside, he distinctly told that functionary
that he must in future be regarded as one holding the
king's commission, and directed him to acquaint his sub-
ordinates with the new state of things. This change in
the dynasty was effected without any of the usual symp-
toms of a revolution; for, as all well understood the Lieu-
tenant's legal claims to command, no one felt disposed to
dispute his orders. For reasons best known to themselves,
Lundie and the Quartermaster had originally made a differ-
ent disposition; and now, for reasons of his own, the latter
had seen fit to change it. This was reasoning enough for
soldiers, though the hurt received by Sergeant Dunham
would have sufficiently explained the circumstance had an
explanation been required.

All this time Captain Sanglier was looking after his own
breakfast with the resignation of a philosopher, the cool-
ness of a veteran, the ingenuity and science of a French-
man, and the voracity of an ostrich. This person had now
been in the colony some thirty years, having left France
in some such situation in his own army as Muir filled in
the 55th. An iron constitution, perfect obduracy of feel-
ing, a certain address well suited to manage savages, and
an indomitable courage, had early pointed him out to the
commander-in-chief as a suitable agent to be employed in
directing the military operations of his Indian allies. In
this capacity, then, he had risen to the titular rank of cap-
tain; and with his promotion had acquired a portion of
the habits and opinions of his associates with a facility and
an adaptation of self which are thought in America to be
peculiar to his countrymen. He had often led parties of
the Iroquois in their predatory expeditions; and his con-
duct on such occasions exhibited the contradictory results
of both alleviating the misery produced by this species of
warfare, and of augmenting it by the broader views and
greater resources of civilization. In other words, he
planned enterprises that, in their importance and conse-
quences, much exceeded the usual policy of the Indians,
and then stepped in to lessen some of the evils of his own
creating. In short, he was an adventurer whom cir-
cumstances had thrown into a situation where the callous
qualities of men of his class might readily show themselves
for good or for evil; and he was not of a character to baffle
fortune by any ill-timed squeamishness on the score of
early impressions, or to trifle with her liberality by unnec-
essarily provoking her frowns through wanton cruelty.
Still, as his name was unavoidably connected with many
of the excesses committed by his parties, he was generally
oonsidered in the American provinces a wretch who de-
lighted in bloodshed, and who found his greatest happiness
in tormenting the helpless and the innocent; and the name
of Sanglier, which was a sobriquet of his own adopting, or
of Flint Heart, as he was usually termed on the borders,
had got to be as terrible to the women and children of that
part of the country as those of Butler and Brandt became
at a later day.

The meeting between Pathfinder and Sanglier bore some
resemblance to that celebrated interview between Welling-
ton and Blucher which has been so often and graphically
told. It took place at the fire; and the parties stood ear-
nestly regarding each other for more than a minute with-
out speaking. Each felt that in the other he saw a formi-
dable foe; and each felt, while he ought to treat the other
with the manly liberality due to a warrior, that there was
little in common between them in the way of character as
well as of interests. One served for money and prefer-
ment; the other, because his life had been cast in the wil-
derness, and the land of his birth needed his arm and ex-
perience. The desire of rising above his present situation
never disturbed the tranquillity of Pathfinder; nor had he
ever known an ambitious thought, as ambition usually
betrays itself, until he became acquainted with Mabel.
Since then, indeed, distrust of himself, reverence for her,
and the wish to place her in a situation above that which
he then filled, had caused him some uneasy moments; but
the directness and simplicity of his character had early
afforded the required relief; and he soon came to feel that
the woman who would not hesitate to accept him for her
husband would not scruple to share his fortunes, however
humble. He respected Sanglier as a brave warrior; and
he had far too much of that liberality which is the result
of practical knowledge to believe half of what he had heard
to his prejudice, for the most bigoted and illiberal on every
subject are usually those who know nothing about it; but
he could not approve of his selfishness, cold-blooded calcu-
lations, and least of all of the manner in which he forgot
his "white gifts," to adopt those that were purely "red."
On the other hand, Pathfinder was a riddle to Captain
Sanglier. The latter could not comprehend the other's
motives; he had often heard of his disinterestedness, jus-
tice, and truth; and in several instances they had led him
into grave errors, on that principle by which a frank and
open-mouthed diplomatist is said to keep his secrets better
than one that is close-mouthed and wily.

After the two heroes had gazed at each other in the man-
ner mentioned, Monsieur Sanglier touched his cap; for
the rudeness of a border life had not entirely destroyed the
courtesy of manner he had acquired in youth, nor extin-
guished that appearance of _bonhomie_ which seems inbred
in a Frenchman.

"Monsieur le Pathfinder," said he, with a very decided
accent, though with a friendly smile, "_un militaire_ honor
_le courage, et la loyaute_. You speak Iroquois?"

"Ay, I understand the language of the riptyles, and can
get along with it if there's occasion," returned the literal
and truth-telling guide; "but it's neither a tongue nor a
tribe to my taste. Wherever you find the Mingo blood, in
my opinion, Master Flinty-heart, you find a knave. Well,
I've seen you often, though it was in battle; and I must
say it was always in the van. You must know most of our
bullets by sight?"

"Nevvair, sair, your own; _une balle_ from your honorable
hand be sairtaine deat'. You kill my best warrior on some
island."

"That may be, that may be; though I daresay, if the
truth was known, they would turn out to be great rascals.
No offence to you, Master Flinty-heart, but you keep des-
perate evil company."

"Yes, sair," returned the Frenchman, who, bent on say-
ing that which was courteous himself, and comprehending
with difficulty, was disposed to think he received a com-
pliment, "you too good. But _un brave_ always _comme ca_.
What that mean? ha! what that _jeune homme_ do?"

The hand and eye of Captain Sanglier directed the look
of Pathfinder to the opposite side of the fire, where Jasper,
just at that moment, had been rudely seized by two of the
soldiers, who were binding his arms under the direction of
Muir.

"What does that mean, indeed?" cried the guide, step-
ping forward and shoving the two subordinates away with
a power of muscle that would not be denied. "Who has
the heart to do this to Jasper Eau-douce? and who has
the boldness to do it before my eyes?"

"It is by my orders, Pathfinder," answered the Quarter-
master, "and I command it on my own responsibility.
Ye'll no' tak' on yourself to disrute the legality of orders
given by one who bears the king's commission to the
king's soldiers?"

"I'd dispute the king's words, if they came from the
king's own mouth, did he say that Jasper desarves this.
Has not the lad just saved all our scalps, taken us from
defeat, and given us victory? No, no, Lieutenant; if this
is the first use that you make of your authority, I, for
one, will not respect it."

"This savors a little of insubordination," answered Muir;
"but we can bear much from Pathfinder. It is true this
Jasper has _seemed_ to serve us in this affair, but we ought
not to overlook past transactions. Did not Major Duncan
himself denounce him to Sergeant Dunham before we
left the post? Have we not seen sufficient with our own
eyes to make sure of having been betrayed? and is it not
natural, and almost necessary, to believe that this young
man has been the traitor? Ah, Pathfinder! ye'll no' be
making yourself a great statesman or a great captain if
you put too much faith in appearances. Lord bless me!
Lord bless me! if I do not believe, could the truth be
come at, as you often say yourself, Pathfinder, that hypoc-
risy is a more common vice than even envy, and that's
the bane of human nature."

Captain Sanglier shrugged his shoulders; then he looked
earnestly from Jasper towards the Quartermaster, and
from the Quartermaster towards Jasper.

"I care not for your envy, or your hypocrisy, or even for
your human natur'," returned Pathfinder. "Jasper Eau-
douce is my friend; Jasper Eau-douce is a brave lad, and
an honest lad, and a loyal lad; and no man of the 55th
shall lay hands on him, short of Lundie's own orders,
while I'm in the way to prevent it. You may have au-
thority over your soldiers; but you have none over Jasper
and me, Master Muir."

"_Bon!_" ejaculated Sanglier, the sound partaking equally
of the energies of the throat and of the nose.

"Will ye no' hearken to reason, Pathfinder? Ye'll no'
be forgetting our suspicions and judgments; and here is
another circumstance to augment and aggravate them all.
Ye can see this little bit of bunting; well, where should
it be found but by Mabel Dunham, on the branch of a tree
on this very island, just an hour or so before the attack
of the enemy; and if ye'll be at the trouble to look at the
fly of the _Scud's_ ensign, ye'll just say that the cloth has
been cut from out it. Circumstantial evidence was never
stronger."

"_Ma foi, c'est un peu fort, ceci,_" growled Sanglier be-
tween his teeth.

"Talk to me of no ensigns and signals when I know the
heart," continued the Pathfinder. "Jasper has the gift
of honesty; and it is too rare a gift to be trifled with, like
a Mingo's conscience. No, no; off hands, or we shall see
which can make the stoutest battle; you and your men of
the 55th, or the Sarpent here, and Killdeer, with Jasper
and his crew. You overrate your force, Lieutenant Muir,
as much as you underrate Eau-douce's truth."

"_Tres bon!_"

"Well, if I must speak plainly, Pathfinder, I e'en must.
Captain Sanglier here and Arrowhead, this brave Tusca-
rora, have both informed me that this unfortunate boy is
the traitor. After such testimony you can no longer op-
pose my right to correct him, as well as the necessity of
the act."

"_Scelerat,_" muttered the Frenchman.

"Captain Sanglier is a brave soldier, and will not gain-
say the conduct of an honest sailor," put in Jasper. "Is
there any traitor here, Captain Flinty-heart?"

"Ay," added Muir, "let him speak out then, since ye
wish it, unhappy youth! that the truth may be known. I
only hope that ye may escape the last punishment when a
court will be sitting on your misdeeds. How is it, Cap-
tain; do ye, or do ye not, see a traitor amang us?"

"_Oui_ -- yes, sair -- _bien sur_."

"Too much lie!" said Arrowhead in a voice of thunder,
striking the breast of Muir with the back of his own hand
in a sort of ungovernable gesture; "where my warriors?
- where Yengeese scalp? Too much lie!"

Muir wanted not for personal courage, nor for a certain
sense of personal honor. The violence which had been in-
tended only for a gesture he mistook for a blow; for con-
science was suddenly aroused within him, and he stepped
back a pace, extending his hand towards a gun. His face
was livid with rage, and his countenance expressed the
fell intention of his heart. But Arrowhead was too quick
for him; with a wild glance of the eye the Tuscarora looked
about him; then thrust a hand beneath his own girdle,
drew forth a concealed knife, and, in the twinkling of an
eye, buried it in the body of the Quartermaster to the
handle. As the latter fell at his feet, gazing into his face
with the vacant stare of one surprised by death, Sanglier
took a pinch of snuff, and said in a calm voice, --

"_Voila l'affaire finie; mais,_" shrugging his shoulders,
"_ce n'est qu'un scelerat de moins._"

The act was too sudden to be prevented; and when Ar-
rowhead, uttering a yell, bounded into the bushes, the
white men were too confounded to follow. Chingach-
gook, however, was more collected; and the bushes had
scarcely closed on the passing body of the Tuscarora than
they were again opened by that of the Delaware in full
pursuit.

Jasper Western spoke French fluently, and the words
and manner of Sanglier struck him.

"Speak, Monsieur," said he in English; "_am_ I the
traitor?"

"_Le voila_," answered the cool Frenchman, "dat is our
_espion_ -- our _agent_ -- our friend -- _ma foi_ -- _c'etait un grand
scelerat_ -- _voici_."

While speaking, Sanglier bent over the dead body, and
thrust his hand into a pocket of the Quartermaster, out of
which he drew a purse. Emptying the contents on the
ground, several double-louis rolled towards the soldiers,
who were not slow in picking them up. Casting the purse
from him in contempt, the soldier of fortune turned
towards the soup he had been preparing with so much
care, and, finding it to his liking, he began to break his
fast with an air of indifference that the most stoical In-
dian warrior might have envied.