The Prairie (Fiscle Part 3) Of 2 by J Fenimore Cooper (phonics reading books TXT) 📕

This Chief,  In Order To Join My Men."

"Then The Sooner We Part The Better. Horses Are Plenty On The Bottom.

Go; Make Your Choice,  And Leave Us In Peace."

"That Is Impossible,  While The Old Man,  Who Has Been A Friend Of My

Family Near Half A Century,  Is Left A Prisoner. What Has He Done,  That

He Too Is Not Released?

"Ask No Questions That May Lead To Deceitful Answers," Sullenly

Returned The Squatter; "I Have Dealings Of My Own With That Trapper,

That It May Not Befit An Officer Of The States To Meddle With. Go,

While Your Road Is Open."

"The Man May Be Giving You Honest Counsel,  And That Which It Concerns

You All To Hearken To," Observed The Old Captive,  Who Seemed In No

Uneasiness At The Extraordinary Condition In Which He Found Himself.

"The Siouxes Are A Numberless And Bloody-Minded Race,  And No One Can

Say How Long It May Be,  Afore They Will Be Out Again On The Scent Of

Revenge. Therefore I Say To You,  Go,  Also; And Take Especial Heed,  In

Crossing The Bottoms,  That You Get Not Entangled Again In The Fires,

For The Honest Hunters Often Burn The Grass At This Season,  In Order

That The Buffaloes May Find A Sweeter And A Greener Pasturage In The

Spring."

"I Should Forget Not Only My Gratitude,  But My Duty To The Laws,  Were

I To Leave This Prisoner In Your Hands,  Even By His Own Consent,

Without Knowing The Nature Of His Crime,  In Which We May Have All Been

His Innocent Accessaries."

"Will It Satisfy You To Know,  That He Merits All He Will Receive?"

"It Will At Least Change My Opinion Of His Character."

"Look Then At This," Said Ishmael,  Placing Before The Eyes Of The

Captain The Bullet That Had Been Found About The Person Of The Dead

Asa; "With This Morsel Of Lead Did He Lay Low As Fine A Boy As Ever

Gave Joy To A Parent's Eyes!"

"I Cannot Believe That He Has Done This Deed,  Unless In Self-Defence,

Or On Some Justifiable Provocation. That He Knew Of The Death Of Your

Son,  I Confess,  For He Pointed Out The Brake In Which The Body Lay,

But That He Has Wrongfully Taken His Life,  Nothing But His Own

Acknowledgment Shall Persuade Me To Believe."

"I Have Lived Long," Commenced The Trapper,  Who Found,  By The General

Pause,  That He Was Expected To Vindicate Himself From The Heavy

Imputation,  "And Much Evil Have I Seen In My Day. Many Are The

Prowling Bears And Leaping Panthers That I Have Met,  Fighting For The

Morsel Which Has Been Thrown In Their Way; And Many Are The Reasoning

Men,  That I Have Looked On Striving Against Each Other Unto Death,  In

Order That Human Madness Might Also Have Its Hour. For Myself,  I Hope,

There Is No Boasting In Saying,  That Though My Hand Has Been Needed In

Putting Down Wickedness And Oppression,  It Has Never Struck A Blow Of

Which Its Owner Will Be Ashamed To Hear,  At A Reckoning That Shall Be

Far Mightier Than This."

"If My Father Has Taken Life From One Of His Tribe," Said The Young

Pawnee,  Whose Quick Eye Had Read The Meaning Of What Was Passing,  In

The Bullet And In The Countenances Of The Others,  "Let Him Give

Himself Up To The Friends Of The Dead,  Like A Warrior. He Is Too Just

To Need Thongs To Lead Him To Judgment."

"Boy,  I Hope You Do Me Justice. If I Had Done The Foul Deed,  With

Which They Charge Me,  I Should Have Manhood Enough To Come And Offer

My Head To The Blow Of Punishment,  As All Good And Honest Red-Men Do

The Same." Then Giving His Anxious Indian Friend A Look,  To Re-Assure

Him Of His Innocence,  He Turned To The Rest Of His Attentive And

Interested Listeners,  As He Continued In English,  "I Have A Short

Story To Tell,  And He That Believes It Will Believe The Truth,  And He

That Disbelieves It Will Only Lead Himself Astray,  And Perhaps His

Neighbour Too. We Were All Out-Lying About Your Camp,  Friend Squatter,

As By This Time You May Begin To Suspect,  When We Found That It

Contained A Wronged And Imprisoned Lady,  With Intentions Neither More

Honest Nor Dishonest Than To Set Her Free,  As In Nature And Justice

She Had A Right To Be. Seeing That I Was More Skilled In Scouting Than

The Others,  While They Lay Back In The Cover,  I Was Sent Upon The

Plain,  On The Business Of The Reconnoitrings. You Little Thought That

One Was So Nigh,  Who Saw Into All The Circumventions Of Your Hunt; But

There Was I,  Sometimes Flat Behind A Bush Or A Tuft Of Grass,

Sometimes Rolling Down A Hill Into A Bottom,  And Little Did You Dream

That Your Motions Were Watched,  As The Panther Watches The Drinking

Deer. Lord,  Squatter,  When I Was A Man In The Pride And Strength Of My

Days,  I Have Looked In At The Tent Door Of The Enemy,  And They

Sleeping,  Ay,  And Dreaming Too,  Of Being At Home And In Peace! I Wish

There Was Time To Give You The Partic--"

"Proceed With Your Explanation," Interrupted Middleton.

"Ah! And A Bloody And Wicked Sight It Was. There I Lay In A Low Bed Of

Grass,  As Two Of The Hunters Came Nigh Each Other. Their Meeting Was

Not Cordial,  Nor Such As Men,  Who Meet In A Desert,  Should Give Each

Other; But I Thought They Would Have Parted In Peace,  Until I Saw One

Put His Rifle To The Other's Back,  And Do What I Call A Treacherous

And Sinful Murder. It Was A Noble And A Manly Youth,  That Boy--Though

The Powder Burnt His Coat,  He Stood The Shock For More Than A Minute,

Before He Fell. Then Was He Brought To His Knees,  And A Desperate And

Manful Fight He Made To The Brake,  Like A Wounded Bear Seeking A

Cover!"

"And Why,  In The Name Of Heavenly Justice,  Did You Conceal This?"

Cried Middleton.

"What! Think You,  Captain,  That A Man,  Who Has Spent More Than

Threescore Years In The Wilderness,  Has Not Learned The Virtue Of

Discretion. What Red Warrior Runs To Tell The Sights He Has Seen,

Until A Fitting Time? I Took The Doctor To The Place,  In Order To See

Whether His Skill Might Not Come In Use; And Our Friend,  The Bee-

Hunter,  Being In Company,  Was Knowing To The Fact That The Bushes Held

The Body."

"Ay; It Ar' True," Said Paul; "But Not Knowing What Private Reasons

Might Make The Old Trapper Wish To Hush The Matter Up,  I Said As

Little About The Thing As Possible,  Which Was Just Nothing At All."

"And Who Was The Perpetrator Of This Deed?" Demanded Middleton.

"If By Perpetrator You Mean Him Who Did The Act,  Yonder Stands The

Man; And A Shame,  And A Disgrace Is It To Our Race,  That He Is Of The

Blood And Family Of The Dead."

"He Lies! He Lies!" Shrieked Abiram. "I Did No Murder; I Gave But Blow

For Blow."

The Voice Of Ishmael Was Deep,  And Even Awful,  As He Answered--

"It Is Enough. Let The Old Man Go. Boys,  Put The Brother Of Your

Mother In His Place."

"Touch Me Not!" Cried Abiram. "I'll Call On God To Curse You If You

Touch Me!"

The Wild And Disordered Gleam Of His Eye,  At First Induced The Young

Men To Arrest Their Steps; But When Abner,  Older And More Resolute

Than The Rest,  Advanced Full Upon Him,  With A Countenance That Bespoke

The Hostile State Of His Mind,  The Affrighted Criminal Turned,  And,

Making An Abortive Effort To Fly,  Fell With His Face To The Earth,  To

All Appearance Perfectly Dead. Amid The Low Exclamations Of Horror

Which Succeeded,  Ishmael Made A Gesture Which Commanded His Sons To

Bear The Body Into The Tent.

"Now," He Said,  Turning To Those Who Were Strangers In His Camp,

"Nothing Is Left To Be Done,  But For Each To Go His Own Road. I Wish

You All Well; And To You,  Ellen,  Though You May Not Prize The Gift,  I

Say,  God Bless You!"

Middleton,  Awe-Struck By What He Believed A Manifest Judgment Of

Heaven,  Made No Further Resistance,  But Prepared To Depart. The

Arrangements Were Brief,  And Soon Completed. When They Were All Ready,

They Took A Short And Silent Leave Of The Squatter And His Family; And

Then The Whole Of The Singularly Constituted Party Were Seen Slowly

And Silently Following The Victorious Pawnee Towards His Distant

Villages.

                       And I Beseech You,

               Wrest Once The Law,  To Your Authority:

               To Do A Great Right,  Do A Little Wrong.

                                                   --Shakspeare.

Ishmael Awaited Long And Patiently For The Motley Train Of Hard-Heart

To Disappear. When His Scout Reported That The Last Straggler Of The

Indians,  Who Had Joined Their Chief So Soon As He Was At Such A

Distance From The Encampment As To Excite No Jealousy By Their

Numbers,  Had Gone Behind The Most Distant Swell Of The Prairie,  He

Gave Forth The Order To Strike His Tents. The Cattle Were Already In

The Gears,  And The Movables Were Soon Transferred To Their Usual

Places In The Different Vehicles. When All These Arrangements Were

Completed,  The Little Wagon,  Which Had So Long Been The Tenement Of

Inez,  Was Drawn Before The Tent,  Into Which The Insensible Body Of The

Kidnapper Had Been Borne,  And Preparations Were Evidently Made For The

Reception Of Another Prisoner. Then It Was,  As Abiram Appeared,  Pale,

Terrified,  And Tottering Beneath A Load Of Detected Guilt,  That The

Younger Members Of The Family Were First Apprised That He Still

Belonged To The Class Of The Living. A General And Superstitious

Impression Had Spread Among Them,  That His Crime Had Been Visited By A

Terrible Retribution From Heaven; And They Now Gazed At Him,  As At A

Being Who Belonged Rather To Another World,  Than As A Mortal,  Who,

Like Themselves,  Had Still To Endure The Last Agony Before The Great

Link Of Human Existence Could Be Broken. The Criminal Himself Appeared

To Be In A State,  In Which The Most Sensitive And Startling Terror Was

Singularly Combined With Total Physical Apathy. The Truth Was,  That

While His Person Had Been Numbed By The Shock,  His Susceptibility To

Apprehension Kept His Agitated Mind In Unrelieved Distress. When He

Found Himself In The Open Air,  He Looked