The difficulty arose from a
naive confession of Peter's, that he did not even wish to save any
but le Bourdon and Margery, and that he still desired the deaths of
all the others, himself!
CHAPTER XXIV.
For thou wert born of woman! Thou didst come,
O Holiest! to this world of sin and gloom,
Not in thy dread omnipotent array;
And not by thunders strewed
Was thy tempestuous road,
Nor indignation burnt before thee on thy way.
But thee, a soft and naked child,
Thy mother undefiled,
In the rude manger laid to rest
From off her virgin breast.
The blood of the bee-hunter curdled in his veins as he listened to
Peter's business-like and direct manner of treating this terrible
subject. Putting the most favorable view on his situation, it was
frightful to look on. Admitting that this fanatical savage were
sincere in all his professions of a wish to save him and Margery,
and le Bourdon did not, nay, COULD not doubt this, after his calm
but ferocious revelations; but, admitting all this to be true, how
was he to escape with his charming bride, environed as they were by
so large a band of hostile Indians? Then the thought of abandoning
his other companions, and attempting, in cold selfishness, to escape
with Margery alone, was more than he could bear.
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