The Lost Hunter Page 14

  CHAPTER XIII.

  "All these tales told in that dreamy undertone with which men talk in the dark, the countenances of the listeners only now and then receiving a casual gleam from the glare of a pipe, sunk deep in the mind of Ichabod."

  Legend of Sleepy Hollow

  It was on the village wharf that the coadjutors met. Basset, as hecontemplated the martial bearing of the General and the burly formof Gladding, felt comforted. The clouds that all day long had loweredabove his mental horizon parted, and patches of blue sky beganto appear. It was a cause of special gratulation to him, which herealized more sensibly in the darkness than by day, that assistance soimportant as Gladding's had been secured, and that without additionalexpense. He was confident now of an easy victory. The associatesjumped into the boat, the painter was cast off, the constable, asprincipal, took the steersman's seat, and Tom and Primus disposedthemselves to row.

  The night was neither clear nor dark, or rather was both by fits andstarts. Light fleecy clouds were constantly passing over the heavens,now gathering densely together and completely hiding the stars, andnow breaking up and revealing between the rifts then shining points. Alow wind softly moaned through the leafless trees on the banks of theSevern, sadly chiming in with the murmur of the tide, which rose quiteup to the Falls of the Yaupaae. In the indistinct light, just enoughto stimulate and keep in active play the imagination, softening awayall those harshnesses which the garish brilliancy of day discloses,and inviting the mind to supply with its own creations what is vagueand deficient, the village presented an appearance more attractive,if possible, than by day. Along the margin of the river, and upthe hill-sides, the lights scattered in every direction, and risingirregularly one above another, contended successfully with thestruggling stars to light the way of the adventurers; while a lowsound, the faint indication of life, hardly distinguishable from othernoises, rose from the village, for it was yet early in the night,and imparted a sense of security by the consciousness of humanpropinquity. But gradually, under the skillful strokes of the oars,the sounds became fainter and fainter, and one light after anotherdisappeared till, at a turn in the stream, the bold promontory ofOkommakemisit hid the town from view.

  A feeling of loneliness now, in spite of the presence of his twofriends, began to creep over the constable. So long as the lightshad been visible, he felt a strength derived from the vicinity of thehabitations of his fellow-beings, as if, were anything untoward tohappen, assistance was close at hand and ready to be proffered, butnow he might die a thousand deaths, and none be the wiser for hiswretched end. As these and other thoughts equally dismal chased eachother through his mind, the silence became more and more oppressive(for it was only now and then, hitherto, a word had been uttered), andit was with an emotion of thankfulness and relief he heard it brokenby the voice of Gladding.

  "I say, Primus," he said, "do you know where you are?"

  "I guess I does," answered the black, speaking from between his shutteeth, which the necessity of retaining the stump of a pipe he wassmoking compelled him to keep tight together, "I is on de river'joying a row wid two white genlmn."

  "Any fool knows that," said Tom, "though for the matter of theenjoyment, there might be two words about that. Some jugs has twohandles."

  "Well, if dat doesn't please you, I all in a shiver wid de cold. Mywood toe is almost freeze."

  "That's a plaguy curus thing," said Tom. "You know Jim Hardy. Well Ihearn him say he can feel the fingers in his hand that was ground offin the mill, just an much as in tother. I expect your experience ispretty much the same."

  "Dat's a fact," said Primus. "I can feel de foot and de toes just asmuch as ebber, only de leg is a sort o' kind o' shorter. Now, MissaGladding, you is a man ob gumption, can you splain dat?"

  "Sartin," said Tom, who didn't wish to appear ignorant to the presenceof the negro; "there's no great difficulty about that, though I ratherthink it takes more larning than you've got to onderstand the thing.You see," he added, recollecting as well as he could some Latin wordshe had heard used by the doctor, "the narves of the rigdum flagdum incircumnavigating through the humorous rusticus, deflastigated by thehorrentibus oribus sort o' twist the aures arrectos into asinos, andthat you see, to a man of larning makes the whole thing as clear asone of elder Sillyway's sarmons."

  Primus fairly caught his breath at Tom's display of learning, whorose considerably higher also in Basset's estimation. After somewhatrecovering from his astonishment, and as if he had been reflecting onthe subject, the General said--

  "Larning is a great ting, and perhaps you is right and perhaps youisn't, but I hear anoder way to 'count for it."

  "Out with it then," cried Tom.

  "White folks," said Primus, "hab one way to 'count for tings, andcolored pussons hab anoder way. Now I hear a colored pussun, who comeall de way from Africa, where dey onderstands dese tings, say it wasde jumbee."

  "The jumbee! What in natur's that!" inquired Basset, who had notbefore mingled in the conversation.

  "Now, none of your tricks, Prime," cried Tom, suspecting the negroof an intention to mystify them with a jargon like that he had palmedoff; "jumbee ain't Latin."

  "Nobody say it was," returned Primus, "I guess de old fellow nebberhab much chance to study Latin. He better 'quainted wid de shovel andde hoe. Dat mean in de Congo language, sperit."

  "Colored people are curus folks," ejaculated Basset

  "I don't see fairly what you're driving at yet," said Gladding."Suppose jumbee does mean sperit, what then?"

  "I mean dat de hand turn into a sperit. Don't you see, Missa Basset,"exclaimed Primus, suddenly poking his wooden leg at the constable, "desperit ob my leg?"

  "Don't, don't, Prime," cried the startled constable, drawing backand nearly falling in his fright into the water. "What's the use oftalking about sperits now? Come let us talk about something else."

  "Well," grinned Primus, "if you don't see de sperit, I feel him."

  "Don't talk so; you're spoiling all the pleasure of the sail by suchkind o' nonsense," urged Basset.

  "Don't you believe in sperits?" inquired the persevering General.

  "I tell ye I don't like to talk about such things now," respondedBasset.

  "Why I can give you chapter and varse for 'em," said Tom. "Youremember, Basset, all about Samuel and the witch o' Endor, and that'sauthority, I guess."

  "Well, if I do I don't care to be chattering all the time about 'em,though there's some says, they don't appear now as they used to in oldtimes."

  This was an unfortunate remark for the badgered Basset. His twofriends, as if it were of the extremest consequence to convert himfrom an opinion so heretical, opened for his benefit a whole budget ofghost stories In spite of most unwilling ears he was obliged to listenwith a fascinated reluctance to tales of supernatural wonders, in mostof which the narrators had themselves been actors, or derived theirinformation from persons, whose veracity it would be a sin to doubt.Among them was a legend told by Gladding, of a murdered fisherman,whose ghost he had seen himself, and which was said still to haunt thebanks of the Severn, and never was seen without bringing ill-luck. Itis the only one with which we will trouble our renders, and we relateit as a sort of specimen of the others:

  "You see," said Tom, "it was the spring o' the year, and the shadbegun to swim up stream, when I joined Sam Olmstead's company, andtook a share in his fishing. Well, things went on pretty well for awhile, it was fisherman's luck, fish one day, and none the next, andwe was, on the whole, tolerable satisfied, seeing there was no use tobe anything else, though towards the end, it's a fact, there wasn'tmany schools come along. We had built a sort o' hut of boards by theside of the river where we kept the nets, and where some on us sleptto look after the property. Well, my turn came to stay at the shanty,and I recollect the night just as well! It was coolish, not so coolas this, though something like it, for there was some clouds floatingaround, but it was a good deal lighter, 'cause the moon was in herthird quarter. I felt
sort o' lonesome there, all alone with the netsand the fish, and I don't know what I should have done but for someof the 'O be joyful' I had in a jug. I tried my best to fortify mystomach, and keep up my sperits agin the damp, but I didn't seem tosucceed. Finally, thinks I to myself, I'll go and take a snuff ofthe night air, perhaps it will set me up So I sort o' strolled downtowards the shore, and then I walked up a piece, and then I walkedback agin, and once in a while I'd step into the shanty and take apull at old Rye. Well, seeing as how it agreed with me, and I begun tofeel better, I kept making my walks longer and longer till I strolledto a considerable distance. It was in one of them turns I see theghost. I supposed afore that ghosts always appeared in white, but thisone didn't. He was dressed just like any other fisherman, in a darkgrey jacket and trowsers and a tarpaulin. It seemed to me at first hewanted to git out of the way, but I made tracks for him, for I didn'tthen a bit mistrust about its being a sperit, and halloed out, 'Who'sthat?' The sperit, as soon as he heard me, came straight up, and thenI noticed he had two fish dangling down by a string, and says he, ina sort o' hoarse voice, as if he'd caught cold lying in the ground,'It's me; it's the ghost of Jimmy Lanfear.' Well, when I heard himspeak so, my flesh began to kind o' crawl, though I didn't know but itmight be some fellow who had stole the shad out of the shanty, for Inever heard of ghosts carrying fish afore. So says I, 'What are youdoing with them fish?' Then, says he, 'Them ain't any real fish; seeif you can touch 'em.' And then he swung 'em round and round in themoonlight, and I did my best to catch 'em, but I might just as wellhave snatched at the moonshine, for my hands went right through 'emagin and agin, till I stubbed my toe, and fell somehow, and when I gotup, the sperit was gone. Then I knew it was Jim Lanfear's sperit,who was murdered years ago right opposite the spot where I asked you,Prime, if you knew where you was; and I was sartin the luck was all upfor that season, and sure enough it was, for we didn't make more'n twoor three hauls more of any consequence."

  "I am sure dere was one sperit dere," said Primus, in a musing way,and shaking his head.

  "Now, Prime, what do you mean by bobbing up and down your wool? Doyou intend to signify, you unbelieving old scamp, you doubt my word? Itell you I was no more corned than I am now. Why, if you want to, youcan see Jim almost any dark night. Perhaps he's walking along shorenow."

  "What dat?" cried Primus, pretending to see something on the land.

  Basset started, and strained his eyes through the darkness in thedirection indicated, but could discover nothing. The vision of Primusand Gladding was better.

  "Don't ye see someting," said the former, lowering his voice, "rightunder de bank. I can't just see de shape, but it seem as if it swim inde air widout legs. You eyes is younger, Missa Gladding; guess dey seefurder dan mine."

  "I can make him out now," whispered Gladding. "It's a man, sure asrates Golly!" he exclaimed, suddenly, "if it ain't Jim--look, Basset,look."

  The constable had listened in an agony of terror to the colloquy,and at the exclamation of Primus, availing himself of his post assteersman, turned the bow of the boat towards the opposite shore,to place as great an interval as possible between himself and thespectre. The action had not passed unnoticed, though neither of hiscompanions made any remark upon it. Repeatedly his head had flownround over his shoulder, to catch a glimpse of what he dredded tosee, but, notwithstanding the excitement of his imagination, he couldbehold nothing.

  "O, Tom! O, Prime!" exclaimed the poor fellow, "let us go home. I wishwe was fairly out of this scrape."

  "Why," said Tom, "we're 'most there now. We should be laughed at ifwe was to give it up so. Who's afraid o' sperits? They're nothing butmoonshine. I vow," he cried, pointing over the opposite side of theboat, "if he ain't there agin! Look, Basset."

  But Basset was too busy with his paddle to look. With a twist of hiswrist he had whirled the bow of the boat in the direction of the bankthey had just left, and was paddling away for dear life. This timehe appeared to arrive at the condition that the middle of the streamwould be the safest position, and having attained that, he kept, asnearly as he could judge, at equal distances from the banks. A shortspace only now remained to be passed over, and in a few moments theywere abreast of the island. Here the two men rested on their oars, anda whispered consultation was held, at the conclusion of which theboat was quietly pulled towards the goal. This was not done, however,without another attempt on the part of the constable to postponethe capture for that night, but the proposal was overruled by hisassociates, who scouted at his fears, and declared there was nodanger.

  Basset's nerves were in a shocking condition. The doleful storiescroaked into his ears the whole passage down; the darkness of thehour; Holden's terrible character; and the remoteness from anyassistance other than that of Gladding and Primus, in whom hisconfidence diminished every moment, conspired to throw him into theabjectest trepidation. But there was no retreat; Gladding was asobstinate as a mule, and as for the General, true to his militaryreputation, he insisted on advancing, and the unfortunate officer ofthe law, who was as much afflicted, with spiritual as with materialfears, found himself in a dilemma, the solution of which was takenaway from him. No alternative remained. He must, be the consequenceswhat they might, see the adventure through. Borrowing, therefore,courage from despair, with a timid step and palpitating heart, he leftthe boat and closely followed his companions.

  No light was visible, and the constable began to hope that Holdenwas away from home, and made the suggestion that since such wasundoubtedly the fact, they had better return and come another time.But Gladding, pointing to a canoe not before observed, convincedBasset of the contrary, and it was then agreed that they should firstaccording to the plan arranged approach the cabin and reconnoitrethrough the window. This being the post of danger was offered toBasset who however could be prevailed on by no entreaties to acceptit which finally forced Gladding to volunteer. They all stood now ona side of the hut where there was neither door nor window, being,indeed, the side they had been careful to approach in the boat.Gladding was to steal to one of the windows and after examining theinterior (if possible) to return and apprise them of his discoveries.Accordingly he started off.

  He had been gone but a few minutes when Primus began to be uneasy andproposed to change their position to one nearer the hut their figuresbeing too much exposed where they were, in consequence of standingin relief against the sky and water. The constable would gladly havestuck by the boat, as furnishing a means of retreat, but dared notremain alone. Reluctantly therefore, and cursing the obstinacy of theprovoking black he crouched his body towards the ground, and followedin the rear of the General, that brave officer seeming disposed totalk louder and make more noise generally than pleased his companionwho, from time to time, earnestly remonstrated with him on theimprudence.

  "What dat!" suddenly exclaimed Primus recoiling on the other andpointing with his hand directly in front.

  "Where? where?" whispered Basset, with his heart in his mouth raisinghimself, and catching bold of Primus' arm.

  "Hush!" said the General, "is dat a groan?"

  At that instant a tremendous blow was applied to the shoulders of theconstable which sent him flat upon his face, dragging the General whocaught a part of the application after him. As Basset fell hishat dropped off and a paper flew out which Primus picked up andimmediately pocketed, hastening then as fast as his wooden leg wouldpermit towards the boat which lay only four or five rods distant.There he found Gladding preparing to push off, and scrambling in, theyhad just succeeded in getting her afloat, when Basset, without his hatflung himself, in the extremity of his terror, headlong in, pitchingPrimus down upon the bottom, breaking his wooden leg, and capsizingTom into the water. It was so shoal that he found no difficulty ingetting in again, escaping with only a thorough ducking. It was now_sauve que peut_, and the three addressed themselves, so far as theirbewildered faculties would permit, to the business of escape.

  Thus closed the adventures of that disastrous night. All the way home
,Primus kept groaning over the loss of his leg, the only consolationhe could extract out of the calamity, being that it was easier to mendthan one of flesh, and cheaper, and upbraiding Basset with his hasteand carelessness. Gladding insisted on being landed in order toprevent, by exercise, taking cold, threatening in his turn theconstable, that if his clothes were spoiled he should come upon himfor the damage. Poor Basset, quite confounded by these harrowingevents, had not a word to answer, and replied only by shruggingand twisting his shoulders with pain. The departure of Tom made itnecessary for him to assist the negro in rowing back the boat, whichhe did with a handkerchief tied about his head, which Primus lent himand wincing with the soreness of his bones, the negro interspersedhis moans with expressions of sorrow over their ill luck and of wonderwhether it was Holden or the ghost of the fisherman that assaulted theconstable vowing he would "hab satisfacshum for de loss ob de leg."