Even the
birds are, in common, mute, or when they do break the silence, it is in a
discordance that suits the character of their wild abode.
Through such a scene two men were industriously journeying, on the day
which succeeded the inroad last described. They marched as wont, one after
the other, the younger and more active leading the way through the
monotony of the woods, as accurately and as unhesitatingly as the mariner
directs his course by the aid of the needle over the waste of waters. He
in front was light, agile, and seemingly unwearied; while the one who
followed was a man of heavy mould, whose step denoted less practice in the
exercise of the forest, and possibly some failing of natural vigor.
"Thine eye, Narragansett, is an unerring compass by which to steer, and
thy leg a never-wearied steed;" said the latter, casting the but of his
musket on the end of a mouldering log, while he leaned on the barrel for
support. "If thou movest on the war-path with the same diligence as thou
usest in our errand of peace, well may the Colonists dread thy enmity.
Pages:
632
633
634
635
636
637
638
639
640
641
642
643
644
645
646
647
648
649
650
651
652
653
654
655
656