CHAPTER XVIII

A HARD DAY'S MARCH

The dawn came with rosy promise of a fair day, a frost lying white over the grass-land, sufficient nip in the air to stir the blood. Before the others were aroused I examined the boat, which rested high in the mud where we had heaved it the evening previous. The cruel rent in the solid planking was such as to afford little hope of our ever being able to repair it. How the accident occurred I did not rightly comprehend, but we had been cast ashore on the western bank of that swift maelstrom. In the light of dawn, I gazed forth upon the whirlpool extending between the rock against which we had struck and the bank where I stood, in speechless wonder at the miracle of our rescue. Standing there in silence broken only by the wild tumult of the waters, I thought of Eloise tossed helpless in their merciless grip, and bowed my head humbly above the shattered boat, offering up a heartfelt petition. I was not in those days a man of prayer, yet the germ of my father's robust faith was ever in my blood, and love teaches many a good lesson. Certainly I felt better within my own heart for that instant of communion under the paling stars.

My head was yet bowed over the gunwale when the heavy footsteps of the Puritan sounded close at hand. I could not fail to remark a softness in his deep voice as he spoke, resting one hand upon my shoulder.

"Thou knowest not, friend Benteen, how it gladdens my old heart to find thee before the throne of grace. I fear thou art not greatly accustomed to look up unto God in time of trouble, yet doing so can never weaken thy arm for the moment of trial. Acknowledge the Lord of Hosts, nor dream thou wilt ever prove less of a man because thy heart responds to His many mercies."

"You speak truly," I returned soberly, feeling a new respect for him in that hour. "There is no better way in which to start the day; and, unless my eyes deceive me, this bids fair to prove a day of sore trial. Have you looked to the damage done the boat?"

"Nay," he returned earnestly, bending low to examine the rent. "I slept like a man in drink, and even now am scarcely well awakened. 'T is, indeed, a serious break, friend; one, I fear, which will prove beyond our remedying."

"Have you skill with tools?"

"It is one of my gifts; yet of what use in the wilderness where tools are not to be found? However, I will see what may be done, after we break our fast--there is little accomplished working on an empty stomach."

It was a morning of sorrowful labor; from the beginning a perfectly hopeless one. The planking had been so badly crushed that a portion was actually ground into powder, leaving a great gaping hole. To patch this we possessed no tool to shape the wood properly, or, indeed, any wood to shape, except the seats of the oarsmen. Nor did we possess nails. More than one expedient was resorted to with bits of canvas, wooden pegs, or whatsoever else we could lay hands upon, but our efforts resulted each time in sickening failure. At last, long before the sun had attained the zenith, the old preacher looked up, disappointment written on every line of his rough face, to say grimly:

"We waste toil, friends; the boat floats no more for all our labors. Nor do I deem it the will of the Lord we longer continue to wear ourselves out in vain effort to undo His work."

He wiped the beads of perspiration from his low forehead, pushing his hand through his matted hair.

"Were it not for the woman," he added more cheerfully, "the accident would not be so bad either. I am cramped by long boat service, and would welcome a stiff tramp to loosen out the joints of my legs."

I glanced across uneasily at Madame, for we were all seated on the grass in the sunshine, but could perceive nothing except encouragement in the clear depths of her brave eyes.

"Fear nothing on my account," she said quietly, instantly reading my thoughts as if my face were an open book. "I am strong, and shall not greatly mind the walking."

"At least you are strong of heart," I returned gravely. "But such a trip as now lies before us will test your power of endurance greatly. Yet what must be done is best done quickly, and there are unpleasant memories clustering about this spot, making me anxious to leave it before another night. Let each one speak frankly his thought as to our future course, so we may choose the route aright. De Noyan, you are a soldier, accustomed to places of difficulty and peril. What would you suggest?"

He was lying flat upon his back, hands clasped beneath his head, puffs of white smoke from his pipe curling lazily up into the blue sky; nor did he remove the stem from between his lips as he made easy answer.

"Faith, man, my service on campaign has ever been with the horse; nor am I fond of using my own limbs for travelling. It would be far easier, I think, to knock up the old boat here; then, with whatsoever else we might find in this God-forsaken wilderness, construct some sort of raft to upbear our company, and so drift down with the stream. _Parbleu_! it would be a relief from those cursed oars. If the load be too heavy, the preacher can be left behind; 't would be small loss."

"Your plan sounds bravely in words, Chevalier, but were we to attempt it, we should soon find ourselves in more serious stress than now,--ay! before we had covered the first day's journey. My Calvinistic friend, what advice have you for our guidance?"

The sectary's eyes were fastened upon the ragged line of hills at our back, and for the moment he made no response, his seamed face grave with thought.

"How far, Master Benteen," he queried finally, "do you make it from here to the mouth of this river?"

"Not much short of sixty leagues," I answered, after a bit of thinking. "The stream bends and twists so it is difficult to judge the true distance."

"It was a grievous journey," he admitted with a groan, "one I care not to travel again, unless it be revealed plainly to me as the will of the Lord. I name the distance full seventy leagues. What has been the main direction of our course?"

"To north of west."

"Ay! Are we, think you, thirty leagues to northward of where we left the Spaniards?"

"I should say yes, maybe ten leagues more."

"I doubt the extra ten, but even at thirty it would be foolishness to retrace all that hard-won distance merely for the sake of keeping in sight of this muddy stream, the very water of which is unfit for Christian stomach, and of no value otherwise. 'Tis my vote we strike directly east and north, following as straight a trail as possible until we find the great river. It should be as easy travelling as along this bank, and will bring us out above the Spanish lines of guard."

I know not how long I sat there gazing silently into his impassive leathern face, turning over within my own mind the argument of his words. He was neither woodsman nor mountaineer, yet possessed some judgment. Thus considering, I saw but one possible objection to his plan--lack of water or of game along the unknown route to be traversed. But serious scarcity of either was hardly to be expected at this season among the mountains, while the weary leagues of southing thus saved would make no small difference in the length and time of our journey.

"It appears to me our best hope," I admitted candidly. "It will involve clambering over rocks, yet yonder range does not appear high, nor of a width to keep us long in its shadow; besides, the lower reaches of this river are marshy leagues upon leagues, and to my mind walking will be easier if we take higher ground. It is all guesswork at the best. We know how impassable the trail will be below, and, even if we retrace our steps down the river, we shall have to make a wide detour to cross this mad stream. But wait; we have heard no word from Madame de Noyan."

She also was looking upon those cool, blue hills, apparently close at hand, but turned instantly at my addressing her, making quick and confident answer.

"My word is only this, Geoffrey Benteen: you are a woodsman, better capable of such decision than any woman whose life has been lived within the town. I go cheerfully wheresoever your choice lies."

It has ever been a source of strength to me to be thoroughly trusted by some other, and I instantly arose to my feet, feeling a new man under the inspiration of these heartsome words.

"Then that matter is decided," I announced, a ring of confidence in my voice. "We will break bread once more, and then commence our journey."

"_Sacre_!" ejaculated the Captain, yet lolling upon his back, "if it be like that same biscuit I had an hour since, breaking it will prove no small matter."

The blazing sun stood an hour low in the west when we divided our small stock of necessaries so as to transport them, and, with merely a last regretful glance at the damaged boat which had been our home so long, turned our faces hopefully toward those northern hills, commencing a journey destined to prove for more than one a trip unto death. God's way is best, and there is a noble purpose in it all; for had we that day been enabled to view the future, not a single step would we have taken, nor should I have had in my memory a tale worthy of being written down.

I led the little company, bearing rifle in hand, keeping vigilant outlook for game; De Noyan followed, where he might easily afford aid to his wife if she required the strength of his arm along the rough path; while the old Puritan, grumbling ever to himself, lumbered along well in the rear, although we were careful to keep within speaking distance of each other. We traversed a gently rising slope of grass land, with numerous rocks scattered over its surface, keeping as close as possible along the bank of the brawling stream, that we might make use of its narrow valley through the rocky bluffs, which threatened to bar our passage. These were no great distance away, so a steady gait--I set the pace slow not to distress Madame, who was cramped from long sitting within the boat--brought us in an hour to where our narrowing path was overhung and darkened by the closing in of gloomy mountain heights upon either side. It had an awesome look, like the yawning mouth of a cave, opening to intense darkness and mysterious danger. I saw a look almost of terror in Madame's eyes as she gazed, yet her lips uttered no protest, and I flung aside a desire to shrink back, with a muttered curse at my own folly. Saint Andrew! it is odd how superstition grips the best of us. Those rock walls, binding us within their scant confines as in a prison, were not particularly precipitous or high, yet our way was sufficiently perilous, leading along a contracted defile, the merest chasm, indeed, steep cliffs rising sheer on either side, merely the raging stream and a ribbonlike path between. The slight expanse of sky above was blue and clear, but it was sombre and gloomy enough down in that black hollow, where we made difficult progress amid loose bowlders.

Where this snake-like ravine widened out slightly we made choice for our first camp. We reached there near the sunset hour, although the sun itself had utterly vanished from our view long before, and we moved forward amid a semi-darkness most depressing. On the spot selected the towering wall of rock on our side of the little river overhung sufficiently to form a comfortable shelter at its base. I had a goodly supply of fresh pine boughs strewn so as to form a soft bed, while the Puritan busied himself gathering together ample materials for a fire, the reflected light of which caused the deep chasm where we rested to appear more gloomy than before, while scurrying night clouds closed us in as if imprisoned within a grave.

That evening was not devoted to much conversation. We were alike wearied from our long tramp, heavy-hearted, and strangely depressed by the desolate gloom of the rock cavern in which we lay. Even De Noyan yielded to this spirit of brooding and, after a faint effort at forced gayety, crept silently to his sleeping-place. The other two were not long in following him. I was thus left alone to keep the first watch of the night. Four lonelier, more miserable hours I do not remember serving at the call of duty. The round moon crept slowly through the black sky, until its soft, silvery beams rested, brighter than daylight had been in that gorge, in glowing radiance along the surface of the smooth, gleaming wall opposite, yet merely succeeded in rendering more weird and uncanny the sombre desolation. The night wind arose, causing the shadows of clinging pines to sway back and forth like spectral figures, while a solemn silence, awesome in its intensity, brooded over all, broken only by the noise of tumbling water, with occasional rasping of boughs against the face of the cliff. The fire died away into a few red embers, occasionally fanned into uncertain flame by breaths of air sucked up the gorge. By the time my guard ended I was so thoroughly unstrung that each flitting glimpse of deeper shadow tempted me to fire.

It was at midnight, or as close to that hour as I was capable of judging, when I aroused De Noyan and crawled into his place on the bed of boughs. I lay there watching him a brief space, as he walked over to the stream and plunged his face into the cool water. The last I recall previous to dropping off into deep slumber was how large his shadow loomed, silhouetted in the bright moonshine against a huge black bowlder directly in my front.

I know not the hour, yet I noted, even in awakening, that the moon had already passed from out the narrow ribbon of sky above, although still fringing in silver beauty the sharp summit of the crest, when a quick, nervous pressure upon my arm awoke me with a start of alarm. Lying at full length, his head uplifted, was De Noyan.

"Keep still, Benteen," he whispered, his voice vibrant with excitement, "and look yonder. In the name of all the fiends, what is that?"