CHAPTER II.

Carl Rosenthrall was a wealthy citizen of New York. That is, rich when we consider the time in which he lived, when our mammoth city was little more than a good-sized village, and quite a thriving trade was carried on with the Indians along the river, and it was in this trade chiefly, that Carl Rosenthrall and his father before him, had made nearly all the wealth which Carl possessed.

But Carl Rosenthrall's business was not confined to trading with the Indians alone, he kept what would now be called a country store. A store where everything almost could be found, from a plough to a paper of needles.

Some ten years previous to the time when the events occurred which are recorded in the preceding chapter, and when Hellena Rosenthrall was about six years old, an Indian chief with whom Rosenthrall had frequent dealings, and whose name was Fire Cloud, came in to the merchant's house when he was at dinner with his family, and asked for something to eat, saying that he was hungry.

Now Fire Cloud, like the rest of his race, had an unfortunate liking for strong drink, and was a little intoxicated, and Rosenthrall not liking to be intruded upon at such a time by a drunken savage, ordered him out of the house, at the same time calling him a drunken brute, and making use of other language not very agreeable to the Indian.

The chief did as he was required, but in doing so, he put his hand on his tomahawk and at the same time turned on Rosenthrall a look that said as well as words could say, "Give me but the opportunity, and I'll bury this in your skull."

The chief, on passing out, seated himself for a moment on the stoop in front of the house.

While he was sitting there, little Hellena, with whom he had been a favorite, having often seen him at her father's store, came running out to him with a large piece of cake in her hand, saying:

"Here, No-No, Hellena will give you some cake."

No-No was the name by which the Indian was known to the child, having learned it from hearing the Indian make use of the name no, no, so often when trading with her father.

The Indian took the proffered cake with a smile, and as he did so lifted the child up in his arms and gazed at her steadily for a few moments, as if he wished to impress every feature upon his memory, and then sat her down again.

He was just in the act of doing this when the child's father came out of the dining-room.

Rosenthrall, imagining that the Indian was about to kidnap his daughter, or do her some violence, rushed out ordering him to put the child down, and be off about his business.

It was the recollection of this circumstance, taken in connection with the fact that Fire Cloud had been seen in the city on the day on which his daughter had disappeared, which led Rosenthrall to fix upon the old chief as the person who had carried off Hellena.

This opinion, as we have seen, was encouraged by Captain Flint for reasons of his own.

The facts in the case were these.

Rosenthrall, as Captain Flint had said, although for a long time one of his best customers, knowing to, and winking at his unlawful doings, having been elected a magistrate took it in to his head to be honest.

He had made money out of his connection with the smuggler and pirate, and he probably thought it best to break off the connection before it should be too late, and he should be involved in the ruin which he foresaw Captain Flint was certain to bring upon himself if he continued much longer in the reckless course he was now pursuing.

All this was understood by Captain Flint, and it was as he explained to his men, in order to get the upper hand of Rosenthrall, and thus prevent the danger which threatened him from that quarter, he had caused Hellena to be kidnapped, and conveyed to their grand hiding place, the cave in the side of the mountain.

Rosenthrall at this time resided in a cottage on the banks of the river, a short distance from his place of business, the grounds sloping down to the water.

These grounds were laid out into a flower garden where there was an arbor in which Hellena spent the greater part of her time during the warm summer evenings.

It was while lingering in this arbor rather later than usual that she was suddenly pounced upon by the two Indians employed by Captain Flint for the purpose, and conveyed to his vessel, which lay at anchor a short distance further up the river.

Captain Flint immediately set sail with his unwilling passenger, and in a few hours afterwards she was placed in the cave under the safe keeping of the squaw who presided over that establishment.

If the reader would like to know what kind of a looking girl Hellena Rosenthrall was at this time, I would say that a merrier, more animated, if not a handsomer face he never looked upon. She was the very picture of health and fine spirits.

Her figure was rather slight, but not spare, for her form was compact and well rounded, and her movements were as light and elastic as those of a deer.

Her complexion was fair, one in which you might say without any streak of fancy, the lily was blended with the rose.

Her eyes were blue and her hair auburn, bordering on the golden, and slightly inclined to wave rather than to curl.

Her nose was of moderate size and straight, or nearly so.

Some would say that her mouth was rather large, but the lips were so beautifully shaped, and then when she smiled she displayed such an exquisite set of the purest teeth, setting off to such advantage the ruby tinting of the lips, you felt no disposition to find fault with it.

We have spoken of Hellena's look as being one of animation and high spirits, and such was its general character, but for some time past a shadow of gloom had come over it.

Hellena was subject to the same frailties which are common to her sex. She had fallen in love!

The object of her affections was a young man some two or three years older than herself, and at first nothing occurred to mar their happiness, for the parents of both were in favor of the match.

As they were both young, however, it was decided to postpone their union for a year.

In the meantime, Henry Billings, the intended bridegroom, should make a voyage to Europe in order to transact some business for his father, who was a merchant trading with Amsterdam.

The vessel in which he sailed never reached her place of destination.

It was known that she carried out a large amount of money sent by merchants in New York, as remittances to those with whom they had dealings in Europe. This, together with certain facts which transpired shortly after the departure of the vessel, led some people to suspect that she had met with foul play somewhere on the high seas; and that not very far from port either.

Hellena, who happened to be in her father's store one day when Captain Flint was there, saw on his finger a plain gold ring which she was sure had belonged to her lover.

This fact she mentioned to her father after the captain had gone.

Her father at that time ridiculed her suspicions. But he afterwards remembered circumstances connected with the departure of the vessel, and the movements of Captain Flint about the same time, which taken in connection with the discovery made by his daughter, did seem to justify the dark suspicions created in the mind of his daughter.

But how was he to act under the circumstance? As a magistrate, it was his business to investigate the matter. But then there was the danger should he attempt to do so, of exposing his own connection with the pirate.

He must move cautiously.

And he did move cautiously, yet not so cautiously but he aroused the suspicions of Captain Flint, who, as we have seen, in order to secure himself against the danger which threatened him in that quarter, had carried off the daughter of the merchant.