The Prairie (Fiscle Part 3) Of 2 by J Fenimore Cooper (top non fiction books of all time .TXT) 📖

Painful Journey Which Lay Before

Them,  The Old Man And Paul Prepared The Meal,  Which The Former Had

Advised Them To Take Before They Proceeded To Horse. These Several

Dispositions Were Not Long In Making,  And The Little Group Was Soon

Seated About A Repast Which,  Though It Might Want The Elegancies To

Which The Bride Of Middleton Had Been Accustomed,  Was Not Deficient In

The More Important Requisites Of Savour And Nutriment.

 

"When We Get Lower Into The Hunting-Grounds Of The Pawnees," Said The

Trapper,  Laying A Morsel Of Delicate Venison Before Inez,  On A Little

Trencher Neatly Made Of Horn,  And Expressly For His Own Use,  "We Shall

Find The Buffaloes Fatter And Sweeter,  The Deer In More Abundance,  And

All The Gifts Of The Lord Abounding To Satisfy Our Wants. Perhaps We

May Even Strike A Beaver,  And Get A Morsel From His Tail[*] By Way Of

A Rare Mouthful."

 

[*] The American Hunters Consider The Tail Of The Beaver The Most

    Nourishing Of All Food.

 

"What Course Do You Mean To Pursue,  When You Have Once Thrown These

Bloodhounds From The Chase?" Demanded Middleton.

 

"If I Might Advise," Said Paul,  "It Would Be To Strike A Water-Course,

And Get Upon Its Downward Current,  As Soon As May Be. Give Me A

Cotton-Wood,  And I Will Turn You Out A Canoe That Shall Carry Us All,

The Jackass Excepted,  In Perhaps The Work Of A Day And A Night. Ellen,

Part 3 Chapter 23 Pg 54

Here,  Is A Lively Girl Enough,  But Then She Is No Great Race-Rider;

And It Would Be Far More Comfortable To Boat Six Or Eight Hundred

Miles,  Than To Go Loping Along Like So Many Elks Measuring The

Prairies; Besides,  Water Leaves No Trail."

 

"I Will Not Swear To That," Returned The Trapper; "I Have Often

Thought The Eyes Of A Red-Skin Would Find A Trail In Air."

 

"See,  Middleton," Exclaimed Inez,  In A Sudden Burst Of Youthful

Pleasure,  That Caused Her For A Moment To Forget Her Situation,  "How

Lovely Is That Sky; Surely It Contains A Promise Of Happier Times!"

 

"It Is Glorious!" Returned Her Husband. "Glorious And Heavenly Is That

Streak Of Vivid Red,  And Here Is A Still Brighter Crimson; Rarely Have

I Seen A Richer Rising Of The Sun.

 

"Rising Of The Sun!" Slowly Repeated The Old Man,  Lifting His Tall

Person From Its Seat With A Deliberate Arid Abstracted Air,  While He

Kept His Eye Riveted On The Changing,  And Certainly Beautiful Tints,

That Were Garnishing The Vault Of Heaven. "Rising Of The Sun! I Like

Not Such Risings Of The Sun. Ah's Me! The Imps Have Circumvented Us

With A Vengeance. The Prairie Is On Fire!"

 

"God In Heaven Protect Us!" Cried Middleton,  Catching Inez To His

Bosom,  Under The Instant Impression Of The Imminence Of Their Danger.

"There Is No Time To Lose,  Old Man; Each Instant Is A Day; Let Us

Fly."

 

"Whither?" Demanded The Trapper,  Motioning Him,  With Calmness And

Dignity,  To Arrest His Steps. "In This Wilderness Of Grass And Reeds,

You Are Like A Vessel In The Broad Lakes Without A Compass. A Single

Step On The Wrong Course Might Prove The Destruction Of Us All. It Is

Seldom Danger Is So Pressing,  That There Is Not Time Enough For Reason

To Do Its Work,  Young Officer; Therefore Let Us Await Its Biddings."

 

"For My Own Part," Said Paul Hover,  Looking About Him With No

Equivocal Expression Of Concern,  "I Acknowledge,  That Should This Dry

Bed Of Weeds Get Fairly In A Flame,  A Bee Would Have To Make A Flight

Higher Than Common To Prevent His Wings From Scorching. Therefore,  Old

Trapper,  I Agree With The Captain,  And Say Mount And Run."

 

"Ye Are Wrong--Ye Are Wrong; Man Is Not A Beast To Follow The Gift Of

Instinct,  And To Snuff Up His Knowledge By A Taint In The Air,  Or A

Rumbling In The Sound; But He Must See And Reason,  And Then Conclude.

So Follow Me A Little To The Left,  Where There Is A Rise In The

Ground,  Whence We May Make Our Reconnoitrings."

 

The Old Man Waved His Hand With Authority,  And Led The Way Without

Further Parlance To The Spot He Had Indicated,  Followed By The Whole

Of His Alarmed Companions. An Eye Less Practised Than That Of The

Trapper Might Have Failed In Discovering The Gentle Elevation To Which

He Alluded,  And Which Looked On The Surface Of The Meadow Like A

Growth A Little Taller Than Common. When They Reached The Place,

However,  The Stinted Grass Itself Announced The Absence Of That

Part 3 Chapter 23 Pg 55

Moisture,  Which Had Fed The Rank Weeds Of Most Of The Plain,  And

Furnished A Clue To The Evidence By Which He Had Judged Of The

Formation Of The Ground Hidden Beneath. Here A Few Minutes Were Lost

In Breaking Down The Tops Of The Surrounding Herbage,  Which,

Notwithstanding The Advantage Of Their Position,  Rose Even Above The

Heads Of Middleton And Paul,  And In Obtaining A Look-Out That Might

Command A View Of The Surrounding Sea Of Fire.

 

The Frightful Prospect Added Nothing To The Hopes Of Those Who Had So

Fearful A Stake In The Result. Although The Day Was Beginning To Dawn,

The Vivid Colours Of The Sky Continued To Deepen,  As If The Fierce

Element Were Bent On An Impious Rivalry Of The Light Of The Sun.

Bright Flashes Of Flame Shot Up Here And There,  Along The Margin Of

The Waste,  Like The Nimble Coruscations Of The North,  But Far More

Angry And Threatening In Their Colour And Changes. The Anxiety On The

Rigid Features Of The Trapper Sensibly Deepened,  As He Leisurely

Traced These Evidences Of A Conflagration,  Which Spread In A Broad

Belt About Their Place Of Refuge,  Until He Had Encircled The Whole

Horizon.

 

Shaking His Head,  As He Again Turned His Face To The Point Where The

Danger Seemed Nighest And Most Rapidly Approaching,  The Old Man Said--

 

"Now Have We Been Cheating Ourselves With The Belief,  That We Had

Thrown These Tetons From Our Trail,  While Here Is Proof Enough That

They Not Only Know Where We Lie,  But That They Intend To Smoke Us Out,

Like So Many Skulking Beasts Of Prey. See; They Have Lighted The Fire

Around The Whole Bottom At The Same Moment,  And We Are As Completely

Hemmed In By The Devils As An Island By Its Waters."

 

"Let Us Mount And Ride," Cried Middleton; "Is Life Not Worth A

Struggle?"

 

"Whither Would Ye Go? Is A Teton Horse A Salamander That He Can Walk

Amid Fiery Flames Unhurt,  Or Do You Think The Lord Will Show His Might

In Your Behalf,  As In The Days Of Old,  And Carry You Harmless Through

Such A Furnace As You May See Glowing Beneath Yonder Red Sky? There

Are Siouxes,  Too,  Hemming The Fire With Their Arrows And Knives On

Every Side Of Us,  Or I Am No Judge Of Their Murderous Deviltries."

 

"We Will Ride Into The Centre Of The Whole Tribe," Returned The Youth

Fiercely,  "And Put Their Manhood To The Test."

 

"Ay,  It's Well In Words,  But What Would It Prove In Deeds? Here Is A

Dealer In Bees,  Who Can Teach You Wisdom In A Matter Like This."

 

"Now For That Matter,  Old Trapper," Said Paul,  Stretching His Athletic

Form Like A Mastiff Conscious Of His Strength,  "I Am On The Side Of

The Captain,  And Am Clearly For A Race Against The Fire,  Though It

Line Me Into A Teton Wigwam. Here Is Ellen,  Who Will--"

 

"Of What Use,  Of What Use Are Your Stout Hearts,  When The Element Of

The Lord Is To Be Conquered As Well As Human Men. Look About You,

Friends; The Wreath Of Smoke,  That Is Rising From The Bottoms,  Plainly

Part 3 Chapter 23 Pg 56

Says That There Is No Outlet From This Spot,  Without Crossing A Belt

Of Fire. Look For Yourselves,  My Men; Look For Yourselves; If You Can

Find A Single Opening,  I Will Engage To Follow."

 

The Examination,  Which His Companions So Instantly And So Intently

Made,  Rather Served To Assure Them Of Their Desperate Situation,  Than

To Appease Their Fears. Huge Columns Of Smoke Were Rolling Up From The

Plain,  And Thickening In Gloomy Masses Around The Horizon. The Red

Glow,  Which Gleamed Upon Their Enormous Folds,  Now Lighting Their

Volumes With The Glare Of The Conflagration,  And Now Flashing To

Another Point,  As The Flame Beneath Glided Ahead,  Leaving All Behind

Enveloped In Awful Darkness,  And Proclaiming Louder Than Words The

Character Of The Imminent And Approaching Danger.

 

"This Is Terrible!" Exclaimed Middleton,  Folding The Trembling Inez To

His Heart. "At Such A Time As This,  And In Such A Manner!"

 

"The Gates Of Heaven Are Open To All Who Truly Believe," Murmured The

Pious Devotee In His Bosom.

 

"This Resignation Is Maddening! But We Are Men,  And Will Make A

Struggle For Our Lives! How Now,  My Brave And Spirited Friend,  Shall

We Yet Mount And Push Across The Flames,  Or Shall We Stand Here,  And

See Those We Most Love Perish In This Frightful Manner,  Without An

Effort?"

 

"I Am For A Swarming Time,  And A Flight Before The Hive Is Too Hot To

Hold Us," Said The Bee-Hunter,  To Whom It Will Be At Once Seen That

Middleton Addressed Himself. "Come,  Old Trapper,  You Must Acknowledge

This Is But A Slow Way Of Getting Out Of Danger. If We Tarry Here Much

Longer,  It Will Be In The Fashion That The Bees Lie Around The Straw

After The Hive Has Been Smoked For Its Honey. You May Hear The Fire

Begin To Roar Already,  And I Know By Experience,  That When The Flame

Once Gets Fairly Into The Prairie Grass,  It Is No Sloth That Can

Outrun It."

 

"Think You," Returned The Old Man,  Pointing Scornfully At The Mazes Of

The Dry And Matted Grass Which Environed Them,  "That Mortal Feet Can

Outstrip The Speed Of Fire,  On Such A Path! If I Only Knew Now On

Which Side These Miscreants Lay!"

 

"What Say You,  Friend Doctor," Cried The Bewildered Paul,  Turning To

The Naturalist With That Sort Of Helplessness With Which The Strong

Are Often Apt To Seek Aid Of The Weak,  When Human Power Is Baffled By

The Hand Of A Mightier Being,  "What Say You; Have You No Advice To

Give Away,  In A Case Of Life And Death?"

 

The Naturalist Stood,  Tablets In Hand,  Looking At The Awful Spectacle

With As Much Composure As If The Conflagration Had Been Lighted In

Order To Solve The