"Here is, indeed, the animal this day missing from our flock!" she
exclaimed, as the carcass of a sheep fell heavily on the ground.
"Ay; and killed with exceeding judgment, if not aptly dressed to our
hands. Mutton will not be wanting for the husking-feast, and the stalled
creature whose days were counted may live another season."
"And where didst find the slaughtered beast?"
"On the limb of a growing hickory. Eben Dudley, with all his sleight in
butchering, and in setting forth the excellence of his meats, could not
have left an animal hanging from the branch of a sapling, with greater
knowledge of his craft. Thou seest, but a single meal is missing from the
carcass, and that thy fleece is unharmed."
"This is not the work of a Pequod!" exclaimed Ruth, surprised at her own
discovery; "the red men do their mischief with less care."
"Nor has the tooth of wolf opened the veins of poor Straight-Horns. Here
has been judgment in the slaughtering, as well as prudence in
consumption of the food. The hand that cut so lightly, had intention of
a second visit.
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