The Prairie (Fiscle Part 3) Of 2 - J Fenimore Cooper (books to improve english TXT) 📗

Was Given To Consider,

Or Invent,  Just At This Spot,  As You May See By Yon Streak Of Flame,

Which Is Flashing Along Afore The Wind,  As If It Were On A Trail Of

Powder. It Is Not Many Minutes Since The Fire Has Passed Here Away,

And It May Be Well To Look At Our Primings,  Not That I Would Willingly

Combat The Tetons,  God Forbid! But If A Fight Needs Be,  It Is Always

Wise To Get The First Shot."

 

"This Has Been A Strange Beast,  Old Man," Said Paul,  Who Had Pulled

The Bridle,  Or Rather Halter Of His Steed,  Over The Second Carcass,

While The Rest Of The Party Were Already Passing,  In Their Eagerness

To Proceed; "A Strange Horse Do I Call It; It Had Neither Head Nor

Hoofs!"

 

"The Fire Has Not Been Idle," Returned The Trapper,  Keeping His Eye

Vigilantly Employed In Profiting By Those Glimpses Of The Horizon,

Which The Whirling Smoke Offered To His Examination. "It Would Soon

Bake You A Buffaloe Whole,  Or For That Matter Powder His Hoofs And

Horns Into White Ashes. Shame,  Shame,  Old Hector: As For The Captain's

Pup,  It Is To Be Expected That He Would Show His Want Of Years,  And I

May Say,  I Hope Without Offence,  His Want Of Education Too; But For A

Hound,  Like You,  Who Have Lived So Long In The Forest Afore You Came

Into These Plains,  It Is Very Disgraceful,  Hector,  To Be Showing Your

Teeth,  And Growling At The Carcass Of A Roasted Horse,  The Same As If

You Were Telling Your Master That You Had Found The Trail Of A Grizzly

Bear."

 

"I Tell You,  Old Trapper,  This Is No Horse; Neither In Hoofs,  Head,

Nor Hide."

 

"Anan! Not A Horse? Your Eyes Are Good For The Bees And For The Hollow

Trees,  My Lad,  But--Bless Me,  The Boy Is Right! That I Should Mistake

The Hide Of A Buffaloe,  Scorched And Crimpled As It Is,  For The

Carcass Of A Horse! Ah's Me! The Time Has Been,  My Men,  When I Would

Tell You The Name Of A Beast,  As Far As Eye Could Reach,  And That Too

With Most Of The Particulars Of Colour,  Age,  And Sex."

 

"An Inestimable Advantage Have You Then Enjoyed,  Venerable Venator!"

Observed The Attentive Naturalist. "The Man Who Can Make These

Distinctions In A Desert,  Is Saved The Pain Of Many A Weary Walk,  And

Often Of An Enquiry That In Its Result Proves Useless. Pray Tell Me,

Did Your Exceeding Excellence Of Vision Extend So Far As To Enable You

Part 3 Chapter 23 Pg 64

To Decide On Their Order,  Or Genus?"

 

"I Know Not What You Mean By Your Orders Of Genius."

 

"No!" Interrupted The Bee-Hunter,  A Little Disdainfully For Him,  When

Speaking To His Aged Friend; "Now,  Old Trapper,  That Is Admitting Your

Ignorance Of The English Language,  In A Way I Should Not Expect From A

Man Of Your Experience And Understanding. By Order,  Our Comrade Means

Whether They Go In Promiscuous Droves,  Like A Swarm That Is Following

Its Queen-Bee,  Or In Single File,  As You Often See The Buffaloes

Trailing Each Other Through A Prairie. And As For Genius,  I'm Sure

That Is A Word Well Understood,  And In Every Body's Mouth. There Is

The Congress-Man In Our District,  And That Tonguey Little Fellow,  Who

Puts Out The Paper In Our County,  They Are Both So Called,  For Their

Smartness; Which Is What The Doctor Means,  As I Take It,  Seeing That

He Seldom Speaks Without Some Considerable Meaning."

 

When Paul Finished This Very Clever Explanation He Looked Behind Him

With An Expression,  Which,  Rightly Interpreted,  Would Have Said--"You

See,  Though I Don't Often Trouble Myself In These Matters,  I Am No

Fool."

 

Ellen Admired Paul For Anything But His Learning. There Was Enough In

His Frank,  Fearless,  And Manly Character,  Backed As It Was By Great

Personal Attraction,  To Awaken Her Sympathies,  Without The Necessity

Of Prying Into His Mental Attainments. The Poor Girl Reddened Like A

Rose,  Her Pretty Fingers Played With The Belt,  By Which She Sustained

Herself On The Horse,  And She Hurriedly Observed,  As If Anxious To

Direct The Attentions Of The Other Listeners From A Weakness,  On Which

Her Own Thoughts Could Not Bear To Dwell--

 

"And This Is Not A Horse,  After All?"

 

"It Is Nothing More,  Nor Less,  Than The Hide Of A Buffaloe," Continued

The Trapper,  Who Had Been No Less Puzzled By The Explanation Of Paul,

Than By The Language Of The Doctor; "The Hair Is Beneath; The Fire Has

Run Over It As You See; For Being Fresh,  The Flames Could Take No

Hold. The Beast Has Not Been Long Killed,  And It May Be That Some Of

The Beef Is Still Hereaway."

 

"Lift The Corner Of The Skin,  Old Trapper," Said Paul,  With The Tone

Of One,  Who Felt,  As If He Had Now Proved His Right To Mingle His

Voice In Any Council; "If There Is A Morsel Of The Hump Left,  It Must

Be Well Cooked,  And It Shall Be Welcome."

 

The Old Man Laughed,  Heartily,  At The Conceit Of His Companion.

Thrusting His Foot Beneath The Skin,  It Moved. Then It Was Suddenly

Cast Aside,  And An Indian Warrior Sprang From Its Cover,  To His Feet,

With An Agility,  That Bespoke How Urgent He Deemed The Occasion.

 

 

 

Part 3 Chapter 24 Pg 65

             I Would It Were Bed-Time,  Hal,  And All Well.

                                                   --Shakspeare.

 

A Second Glance Sufficed To Convince The Whole Of The Startled Party,

That The Young Pawnee,  Whom They Had Already Encountered,  Again Stood

Before Them. Surprise Kept Both Sides Mute,  And More Than A Minute Was

Passed In Surveying Each Other,  With Eyes Of Astonishment,  If Not Of

Distrust. The Wonder Of The Young Warrior Was,  However,  Much More

Tempered And Dignified Than That Of His Christian Acquaintances. While

Middleton And Paul Felt The Tremor,  Which Shook The Persons Of Their

Dependant Companions,  Thrilling Through Their Own Quickened Blood,  The

Glowing Eye Of The Indian Rolled From One To Another,  As If It Could

Never Quail Before The Rudest Assaults. His Gaze,  After Making The

Circuit Of Every Wondering Countenance,  Finally Settled In A Steady

Look On The Equally Immovable Features Of The Trapper. The Silence Was

First Broken By Dr. Battius,  In The Ejaculation Of--"Order,  Primates;

Genus,  Homo; Species,  Prairie!"

 

"Ay--Ay--The Secret Is Out," Said The Old Trapper,  Shaking His Head,

Like One Who Congratulated Himself On Having Mastered The Mystery Of

Some Knotty Difficulty. "The Lad Has Been In The Grass For A Cover;

The Fire Has Come Upon Him In His Sleep,  And Having Lost His Horse,  He

Has Been Driven To Save Himself Under That Fresh Hide Of A Buffaloe.

No Bad Invention,  When Powder And Flint Were Wanting To Kindle A Ring.

I Warrant Me,  Now,  This Is A Clever Youth,  And One That It Would Be

Safe To Journey With! I Will Speak To Him Kindly,  For Anger Can At

Least Serve No Turn Of Ours. My Brother Is Welcome Again," Using The

Language,  Which The Other Understood; "The Tetons Have Been Smoking

Him,  As They Would A Racoon."

 

The Young Pawnee Rolled His Eye Over The Place,  As If He Were

Examining The Terrific Danger From Which He Had Just Escaped,  But He

Disdained To Betray The Smallest Emotion,  At Its Imminency. His Brow

Contracted,  As He Answered To The Remark Of The Trapper By Saying--

 

"A Teton Is A Dog. When The Pawnee War-Whoop Is In Their Ears,  The

Whole Nation Howls."

 

"It Is True. The Imps Are On Our Trail,  And I Am Glad To Meet A

Warrior,  With The Tomahawk In His Hand,  Who Does Not Love Them. Will

My Brother Lead My Children To His Village? If The Siouxes Follow On

Our Path,  My Young Men Shall Help Him To Strike Them."

 

The Young Pawnee Turned His Eyes From One To Another Of The Strangers,

In A Keen Scrutiny,  Before He Saw Fit To Answer So Important An

Interrogatory. His Examination Of The Males Was Short,  And Apparently

Satisfactory. But His Gaze Was Fastened Long And Admiringly,  As In

Their Former Interview,  On The Surpassing And Unwonted Beauty Of A

Being So Fair And So Unknown As Inez. Though His Glance Wandered,  For

Moments,  From Her Countenance To The More Intelligible And Yet

Extraordinary Charms Of Ellen,  It Did Not Fail To Return Promptly To

Part 3 Chapter 24 Pg 66

The Study Of A Creature Who,  In The View Of His Unpractised Eye And

Untutored Imagination,  Was Formed With All That Perfection,  With Which

The Youthful Poet Is Apt To Endow The Glowing Images Of His Brain.

Nothing So Fair,  So Ideal,  So Every Way Worthy To Reward The Courage

And Self-Devotion Of A Warrior,  Had Ever Before Been Encountered On

The Prairies,  And The Young Brave Appeared To Be Deeply And

Intuitively Sensible To The Influence Of So Rare A Model Of The

Loveliness Of The Sex. Perceiving,  However,  That His Gaze Gave

Uneasiness To The Subject Of His Admiration,  He Withdrew His Eyes,  And

Laying His Hand Impressively On His Chest,  He,  Modestly,  Answered--

 

"My Father Shall Be Welcome. The Young Men Of My Nation Shall Hunt

With His Sons; The Chiefs Shall Smoke With The Grey-Head. The Pawnee

Girls Will Sing In The Ears Of His Daughters."

 

"And If We Meet The Tetons?" Demanded The Trapper,  Who Wished To

Understand,  Thoroughly,  The More Important Conditions Of This New

Alliance.

 

"The Enemy Of The Big-Knives Shall Feel The Blow Of The Pawnee."

 

"It Is Well. Now Let My Brother And I Meet In Council,  That We May Not

Go On A Crooked Path,  But That Our Road To His Village May Be Like The

Flight Of The Pigeons."

 

The Young Pawnee Made A Significant Gesture Of Assent And Followed The

Other A Little Apart,  In Order To Be Removed From All Danger Of

Interruption From The Reckless Paul,  Or The Abstracted Naturalist.

Their Conference Was Short,  But,  As It Was Conducted In The

Sententious Manner Of The Natives,  It Served To Make Each Of The

Parties Acquainted With All The Necessary Information Of The Other.

When They Rejoined Their Associates,  The Old Man Saw Fit To Explain A

Portion Of What Had Passed Between Them,  As Follows--

 

"Ay,  I Was Not Mistaken," He Said; "This Good-Looking Young Warrior--

For Good-Looking And Noble-Looking He Is,  Though A Little Horrified

Perhaps With Paint--This Good-Looking Youth,  Then,  Tells Me He Is Out

On The Scout For These Very Tetons. His Party Was Not Strong Enough To

Strike The