University of Virginia Library

9. CHAPTER IX.

“I was now as anxious to see Mr. Eckhardt as I had before
been afraid of his coming. He overstayed his time a little, being
nearer two weeks gone than one. He was a keen-sighted man.
His first words, when we were again alone together, were, `Well,
all's right on your part, Rayner. You are a good fellow—I see
that you will be my heir. You find that what I said of Rachel
is true; and nothing now remains but to see what she will say.
Have you been much together?'

“ `Pretty often. I reckon I've done little else than look after
her since you've been gone.'

“ `What! you hav'n't neglected your business, Rayner?'
said he, with a smile—`the cows, the horses?'

“ `They've had a sort of liberty,' says I.

“ `Bad signs for farming, however good for loving. You must
change your habits when you are married.'

“ `Ah! that's not yet,' said I, with a sigh. `I'm dub'ous, Mr.
Eckhardt, that Miss Rachel won't fancy me so soon as I do her!'

“He looked a little anxious, and didn't answer so quickly as
usual, and my heart felt as heavy then as if it was borne down
by a thousand pounds of lead. It wasn't much lightened when
he answered, with a sort of doubting,—

“ `Rachel,' said he, `has always heeded my counsel. She
knows my love for her—she has every confidence in my judgment.
You, Rayner, have some of those advantages which
young women are apt to admire. You are well made, youthful,
manly, and with a masculine grace and beauty which you owe
to the hunter life. These are qualities to recommend the young
of one sex to the young of the other. You have something more.
You are a sensible youth, with a native delicacy of feeling which,
more than any thing beside, will be apt to strike Rachel. It
struck me. I will not presume to say that you have won either
her eye or her heart—the eye of a woman is easy won at all

times, the heart slowly. Perhaps it may be safe to say that hearts
are not often won till after marriage. But, at all events, with
your personal claims, which I think considerable, and the docility
of Rachel, I have hopes that I can bring about an arrangement
which, I confess to you, I regard as greatly important to my
future purposes. We shall see.'

“At that moment I was quite too full of Rachel and my own
hopes, to consider the force of the remark which he last made.
I never troubled myself to ask what his purposes might be, beyond
the single one which we both had in view. When Mr.
Eckhardt met with Rachel, and, indeed, while he spoke with me,
I could observe that there was a gravity, like sadness, in his voice
and manner, which was not usual with him, or at least had not
shown itself in our previous meetings. He hesitated more frequently
in what he had to say. His eye was less settled, though
even brighter than before; and I noted the fact that he took his
pills three times as frequently as ever. Even when he spoke
with a show of jesting or playfulness, I noted that there was a
real sadness in what he looked, and even something of sadness
in what he said, or in his manner of saying it. Nothing but this
seriousness of look and manner kept me from thinking that he
was playing upon my backwoods ignorance, when he was speaking
my own good name and good qualities to my teeth. But
when I doubted and began to suspicion that he was running rigs
upon me, I had only to look into his face and see that he was
talking in the way of downright, matter-of-fact business.

“When he came, Rachel went to him and put her hand in his,
but she didn't speak. Nor did he at first. He only bent down
and kissed her forehead; and so he stood a while, holding her
hand in his, and talking to my father. It was a sight to see them
two. I couldn't stand it. There was something in it, I can't
tell you what, that looked so sadful. I went out and wiped the
water from my eyes. It seemed to me then, as if the old gentleman
was meditating something very distressing, and as if poor
Rachel was half dub'ous of it herself. After a little while, my
father came out and joined me, and we walked off together to the
stable.

“ `William,' says the old man, `these are strange people.

They seem very sweet, good people; at least the girl seems very
good, and is a very sweet girl; but there's something very
strange and very sorrowful about them.'

“I couldn't say any thing, for my heart was very full, and
the old man went forward.

“ `Now, what's more strange than for him to leave her here
with us? though, to be sure, we wouldn't see her harmed even
to the falling of a hair of her head—and I can answer for you,
Bill, as I can for myself; but it's not every body that will say
for us what we might feel for ourselves, and precious few fathers
would leave an only daughter here, in strange woods, with such
perfect strangers.'

“ `But she's not his daughter,' said I.

“ `It don't matter. It's very clear that he loves her as if she
was his daughter, and I reckon she's never known any other
father. Poor girl!—I'm sure I like her already so much that I
wish he'd leave her here altogether.'

“These last words of my father seemed to untie my tongue,
and I up and told him every syllable of what had taken place
between me and Mr. Eckhardt, from my first meeting with him
the day when I went to the river landing, up to the very moment
when we were talking. I didn't hide any thing, but told the
whole story of the cards, the gold, and the diamonds; and ended
by letting him know that if he should be so sorry to lose Rachel,
now that we both knew so much about her, it would go a mighty
deal harder with me. I told him all that Mr. Eckhardt had said
since his return, and what hopes I had that all would go as he
wished it. But the old man shook his head. He didn't like what
he heard about Mr. Eckhardt's gambling, and was very tight
upon me for letting myself be tempted to deal with him in the
same business. He didn't think the worse of Rachel, of course,
but he looked upon it as a sort of misfortune to be in any way
connected with a gambler.

“We hadn't much longer time for confabulating, for Mr.
Eckhardt now came from the house and joined us. He was a
man who always came jump to the business, whatever it was,
that he had in hand. But he wasn't a rough man, though a quick
one. He had a way of doing the bluntest things without roughing

the feelings. When he drew nigh, he took my father's arm
to lead him aside, speaking to me at the same time—`Rayner, go
to Rachel;—I have prepared her to see you. I will explain
every thing to your father, if you have not already done it; and
if you have, I still have something to say.'

“You may reckon I didn't stop to count the tracks after that.
I verily think that I made the door of the house in a hop-skip-and-jump
from the stable. Yet, when I got to the threshold, I stuck
—I stuck fast. I heard a low sweet sort of moaning from within,
and oh! how my heart smote me when I heard it. I thought to
myself, it's so cruel to force this poor girl's inclination. What
can she see in me? That was my question to myself, and it
made me mighty humble, I tell you, when I asked it. But that
very humbleness did me good, and gave me sort of strength. `If
she don't see any thing in me to favour,' was my thought, `at
least I'll show her that I'm not the mean-spirited creature to take
advantage of her necessity;' and when I thought in this manner, I
went forward with a bound, and stood before her. I took her
hand in mine, and said,—but Lord bless me, it's no use to try
and tell you what I said, for I don't know myself. The words
poured from me free enough. My heart was very full. I meant
to speak kindly and humbly, and do the thing generously, and I
reckon that, when the heart means what is right, and has a
straight purpose before it, the tongue can't go very far out of the
way. Nor did mine, if I am to judge of the effects which followed
it. It's enough for me to tell you, that, though the tears
wasn't altogether dried up in Rachel's eyes, her lips began to
smile; she let her hand rest in mine, and she said something, but
what it was, I can't tell you. It's enough to say that she let me
know that she thought that all that had been proposed by Mr.
Eckhardt was for her good and happiness, and she was willing to
consent to whatever he had said. He came in a little while after,
and seemed quite satisfied. He talked, as if he himself was
particularly pleased, but there was a very great earnestness in
his looks that awed and overpowered me. His eyes seemed very
much sunk, even in the short time he had been gone, the wrinkles
seemed to have doubled in number on his face; his form trembled
very much, and I could perceive that he took his pills from the little

box of silver twice as often as ever. He didn't give himself
or me much time to think over what was to happen, for he hadn't
been ten minutes returned to the house, after the matter was understood
all round, before he said to me in a whisper:

“ `Rayner, my lad, you are a good fellow; suppose you ride
off at once for your parson. You have one, your father tells me,
within a few miles. A smart gallop will bring him back with
you before sunset, and I would see you married to-night. I shall
have to leave you in the morning.'

“Ah! stranger, don't wonder if I made the dust fly after that!
That night we were married.