May Martin, or, The money diggers a Green Mountain tale |
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| 11. | CHAPTER XI. |
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 | CHAPTER XI. May Martin, or, The money diggers |  |
11. CHAPTER XI.
We will now change the scene of our
little story which the events of this little
day were destined to bring to a fearful
determination.
On a road deeply embowered in the
heavy forest, about fifteen miles south of
the Harwood settlement, and half that
distance from the village before mentioned,
a solitary horseman in the afternoon
of the day so momentous to the fortunes
of our heroine, was pursuing his lonely
way towards the scenes we have just left.
The day was one of uncommon sultriness
even for the sultry month of August;
and the traveller occasionally
plucking a fresh bough from the overhanging
branches to keep off the flies
that were swarming around his vexed
horse, and stinging him at times to madness,
seemed to look with compassion on
and often appeared to repress the involuntary
motion which he frequently made
to urge him forward at a quicker pace.
`It is cruel,' at length said the rider
seemingly addressing his horse, `it is
cruel in me to force you on at this rate
in this suffocating air, merely to gratify
my selfish feelings—you have no loving
and loved one in prospect to incite your
steps to speed.' So saying he threw the
reins loosely on to the dripping mane of
the horse, and for the next mile amused
himself with watching the flies and endeavoring
with a sort of malicious pleasure
to strike down the most determined
of their band, as these little winged tormentors
were settling on their wincing
victim, and often goading him into a
trot.
Arriving now to where another road
from the eastward fell into the one he
was travelling, Ashley, for such, as the
reader has doubtless already anticipated,
to the settlement and intending to take
his mistress by an agreeable surprise, it
being considerably sooner than she had
reason to expect his return—Ashley, we
say, at this point of intersection was
joined by another horseman. The man
was considerably past the prime of life,
and his hair, indeed, began to be slightly
sprinkled by the frost of time; while his
features, really handsome and commanding,
wore something of the pensive and
thoughtful cast. Bowing with the respectful
ease peculiar to the well bred,
a class to which from both his dress and
demeanor, he very evidently belonged,
he fell in by the side of Ashley.
`Our travelling fortunes seem to unite
here,' said the stranger as a languid
smile played gently on his lips.
`That smile thought Ashley, and those
features too seem familiar to me—I must
have seen them, or something like them,
somewhere, though certainly I know not
vainly, in trying to recal some more definite
remembrance, or to account for the
impression thus received. After some
common-place conversation about roads,
distances and the like, the stranger observed,
`From some of your remarks, sir, I
am led to conclude that you are a resident
somewhere in the vicinity—may I
ask how far you proceed in this direction?'
`I am going to Harwood settlement,
as the place is called—it is my residence,
now something near twelve miles distant,'
replied Ashley.
`Indeed!' said the stranger, with evident
interest, `I too, propose going to
that place.'
`Do you?' asked the other, throwing
an inquiring glance on his companion as
if conjecturing his probable business, `a
proprietor of lands in the neighborhood,
I conclude we may call you, or perhaps
about to become a purchaser?'
`Or perhaps a curious traveller in
search of the novel and picturesque
among your wild mountains,' evasively
said the stranger with a good natured
smile.
`That smile again!' said Ashley to
himself; and he began to feel an undefinable
interest growing in his bosom towards
his new acquaintance.
`Do you know,' resumed the elder
traveller after a few moment's silence,
`do you know a family in your settlement
by the name of Martin?'
`Intimately,' replied Ashley with a
look in which some surprise as well as
inquiry was exhibited.
`Has he much of a family?'
`Rather small I should call it, sir,—
he has no children of his own.'
`Of his own?—has he those of others
living with him?'
Growing more and more surprised and
sensitive at the inquiries of the stranger
as they touched at every question nearer
his own feellugs, Ashley, with visible
emotion and some hesitation, replied,
`there is a young lady living with Mr.
Martin in the character of an adopted
daughter; or rather that was the case
when I left there about five weeks since.'
`Her name and age if you will sir?'
`They call her May, and after their
family name—her age lacks some months
of eighteen,' again replied Ashley in a
somewhat constrained and half jealous
tone and manner, which the stranger
seemed keenly to scrutinize.
`And this Martin removed hither from
the borders of New Hampshire where he
formerly resided?'
`He did.'
`The people there then told me correctly,'
said the stranger in an under tone
apparently communing with himself; `but,'
he continued again raising his voice to a
conversational pitch and turning to Ashley,
`but as you appear so familiar with
to tell me something of her character, and
the standing she maintains among you?'
`You would hardly ask those questions
about May Martin, sir, if you had
seen or heard much of her,' said Ashley,
somewhat resentfully. I could easily answer
them by merely reiterating the
unanimous voice of her neighbors; but
before you pursue your inquiries any
further, or at least before you expect answers
to such as you may be pleased to
put on the subject, I must beg of you to
tell me your motives for so doing. Miss
Martin is a valued friend of mine, and
is somewhat critically situated in the family
in which she resides, and I know not
what use may be made of the information
I am thus imparting to an entire
stranger. You will excuse my plainness,
I trust sir.'
The other turned a full and searching
look on Ashley, which was met by the
latter by one of equal scrutiny and something
of sternness and hauteur.
`You are right, probably, young gentleman,'
rejoined the elder traveller,
after they had pursued their way some
rods in constrained silence, `the interest
we sometimes feel in a particular subject
may lead us to forget the bounds which
it is prudent and proper should circumscribe
our intercourse with strangers;
but we will drop the subject now; perhaps
we may know more of each other
hereafter.'
Without allowing Ashley much chance
to puzzle himself in trying to make out
the character and objects of his companion,
or to reflect on the remarks which
had lallen from his lips, the latter immediately
directed the discourse to indifferent
subjects, and the conversation soon
relapsed into its former tone of amicableness;
though Ashley sometimes thought
he could perceive an anxiety on the part
of the other to draw out his information,
as well as to ascertain his views and
principles on the various points which
been started for the purpose.
It was nearly five o'clock in the afternoon
before our travellers arrived at the
snug little village, which, like most other
villages in Vermont, embosomed among
the rough hills and clustered round a
water-fall, served as the place of business
and trade,—the miniature emporium, in
fact, of Harwood settlement, and other
parts of the surrounding country to many
miles in extent. One glance sufficed to
tell Ashley that something of more than
ordinary occurrence was afoot among
the villagers. Here stood small clubs of
men engaged in low and earnest conversation,
there horses were being saddled
and led out in haste as if for some sudden
expedition, while numbers were passing
in and out the tavern, one room of
which, as seen through the open windows,
appeared to be occupied by a dense
crowd. Scarcely had Ashley reached
the ground and thrown the reins of his
running to his side and exclaiming in
tones of joyous exultation, `O Mr. Ashley
is come!' grasped with convulsive
eagerness the hand of his old friend in
both of his, and burst into tears.
`Why, my little friend David! is this
you here—but crying! how is this? what
has happened? and what is all this going
on here?' rapidly asked Ashley in surprise.
`God bless you, Ashley!' cried Mundle,
now rushing out of the house, `the
very man of all others on earth I have
been praying most to see! but come with
me—I have a story for your ear, and
there is not much time to be lost in the
telling, as you will think yourself, I presume,
when you have heard it.' So saying,
and taking the arm of our hero, bewildered
at what he saw and heard, he
led him aside, with little David wiping his
eyes, and still unable to speak for his
emotion, following them close at their
heels.
While Ashley was thus engaged, his
companion of the road had entered the
rude piazza which ran along the front of
the house, and seating himself on a bench
sat, apparently scanning the different faces
around him, and listening to such remarks
as fell within his hearing, as if willing
to gather the cause of the commotion
among the people, without concerning
himself so far as to make any direct
enquiries respecting it. He had not been
seated here but a moment, however, before
the former rushed by him into the
house and hastily bespoke a fresh horse
of the landlord, to be saddled with all
possible despatch. The horse was almost
instantly at the door; while Mundle,
with a stout assistant, who in the
mean time had got in readiness for a
start, now rode up and called on Ashley
to mount. As the latter was about
springing into his saddle, his late travelling
companion stepped quickly up and
touched him on the arm.
`Do you leave me, sir?' said he with
some earnestness.
`I must,' was the quick reply, `I have
just learned that which will urge me to
the settlement much faster than you
would wish to travel, but I shall see you
there tomorrow—good day, sir.'
`Nay, one moment—let me but ask
whom your unexpected intelligence concerns?'
`Myself.'
`No others?'
`One.'
`The young lady concerning whom I
enquired?'
`Most deeply.'
`Enough?—I attend you—landlord,
my horse instantly.'
`But your horse—he will hardly keep
pace with our fresh ones.'
`He shall at least try it, sir,' said the
stranger in a determined tone, as he now
received his horse from the expert waiter
and sprang into the saddle.
In another moment the little cavalcade
were clattering at full gallop up the
road towards the settlement, followed by
a wagon containing another assistant and
shrewd David, with cords and iron hand
cuffs to bind and secure the prisoner
or prisoners.
Before following them we will pause
an instant to bring up the events of our
story as they occurred at the village, be-before
Ashley's unexpected arrival.
David, it seems, had proceeded directly
to the village on leaving May that
morning. On arriving there, still at a
very early hour, he immediately went to
search out Mundle and Johnson, the executive
and judicial functionaries of the
law to whom he applied on his previous
visit to the village; but both of these
gentlemen had just ridden out, and, to
his great vexation, nobody could tell
where they had gone or when they would
return. Without the least thought of
yielding to this disappointment, the trusty
many long hours in an agony of impatience
and anxiety. And it was not till
about noon that he caught sight of them
approaching. He flew to meet and detain
them on the road till they listened
to his whole story.
`Well my lad,' said Mundle after he
had satisfied himself by many now readily
answered enquiries, `you have told
your story this time as you should do, to
have us believe it; though I see you
were not to blame for not doing so the
other day—I have had some hints of this
money digging up there before, and suspected
monkery; but good God! Johnson,
would you have believed there could
have been found a man in Vermont guilty
of the baseness of Martin towards a
girl who has all the claims of a daughter?
Thank heaven, however, there is
time enough yet, to stop all this, by just
caging my gentleman bridegroom and
his friend, before they dream of such accommodations.
make out a warrant, Johnson,
in no time—I will be ready to take
it before it is dry; and you, my boy,
home with me,—you deserve a dozen
dinners for your faithfulness to that noble
girl!'
After an hour spent in waiting for and
eating his dinner, and another or two in
looking up forms and writing a warrant,
the dilatory justice was about bringing
his labors to a close, when in came the
merchant holding in his hand a couple of
counterfeit dollars which he said had
just been passed at his store by a man
from Harwood settlement, and demanded
a warrant for his apprehension before
he left the place. Here was an interruption
that was not to be avoided, and
David, who had determined not to leave
the ground till he saw the sheriff on his
way, and who had watched the slow progress
of the justice with the most restless
impatience, as he now saw them
concern, and proceed to this new case,
lost all control of his feelings and fairly
cried with vexation and disappointment.
After a while, however, which seemed
another age to the poor boy, both warrants
were finished, and the sheriff despatched
to arrest in the first place the
last discovered candidate for his greeting
favors. But, though Mundle performed
his duty much more expeditiously than
the other, it was yet nearly five in the
afternoon before he had secured the prisoner,
placed him in the custody of others
before the court at the tavern, and
got released from his charge in order to
proceed to the settlement, which he was
just on the point of doing when Ashley
rode up to the door.
We will now follow the sheriff and his
posse, proceeding on with furious speed
to a more interesting scene of action.
Proceeding with all the speed they
could urge, being led on by Ashley who,
abode of his periled mistress before forever
too late, kept several rods in advance
calling loudly and repeatedly on the rest
to come on, they had not gone half their
distance before their horses, now recking
with sweat and covered with sheets of
foam, began to manifest great distress,
and show evident signs of giving out unless
speedily suffered to relax.
`Hold! hold up! Ashley,' exclaimed
Mundle, `this will never do—we gain
nothing by it. With this speed, and in
such a stifling heat as this, two miles
more and our horses drop dead under us.
And yours will be the first to fail, see!
how he already falters! A moment's
consideration convinced Ashley of the
justice of the sheriff's remarks and they
all immediately relaxed into a moderate
trot. It had been throughout, as before
remarked, a day of unusual heat and sultriness.
And now, although the sun had
been for some hours obscured by a deep
was still painfully oppressive. The atmosphere
indeed seemed every moment
to grow more murky and suffocating.—
Not a leaf, even of the ever-trembling
aspen, responded to a single vibration of
the deadened air, while the birds sat panting,
listless and mute on the boughs,
scarcely moving at the nearest approach
of man. And all nature seemed sunk into
one of those lethargic calms so ominous,
in the warmer latitudes, of the coming
tempest. Nor, in the present instance
were the more palpable indications
of a thunder storm much longer
wanting. Every moment darker and
broader sheets of vapor rose up majestically
from the west, casting a deeper
and more lurid shade over the earth;
and soon the low, deep peals of muttering
thunder came booming on the ear,
increasing each instant in loudness and
frequency. The company, now beginning
to be observant of the approaching
knoll which gave them, over the tops of
the intervening forest, an open and unobstructed
view of the western horizon.
One broad, black mass of upheaving
clouds lay directly in front, extending
round on either side to the north and
south as far as the eye could reach;
while in the centre of this fearful rack a
huge column of vapor, doubling and eddying
like a seething caldron, was rolring
up with the blackness and rapidity
of the smoke of burning pitch.
`Heavens and earth!' exclaimed Mundle
glancing at the scene before him,
`in fifteen minutes that terrific cloud
will burst upon us in all the fury of a
tornado—it is but two miles now—our
horses will stand it in this freshening
breeze—let us clear the woods, at least,
before the tempest strikes us.' And they
again applied whip and spur and put
their horses upon a keen run.
| CHAPTER XI. May Martin, or, The money diggers | |