It was like placing
a master-key in the hands of him who would go through the whole
tenement, for the purpose of purifying it.
CHAPTER XXVII.
Thou to whom every faun and satyr flies
For willing service; whether to surprise
The squatted hare, while in half sleeping fits,
Or upward ragged precipices flit
To save poor lambkins from the eagle's maw;
Or by mysterious enticement draw
Bewildered shepherds to their path again;--
--KEATS.
It can easily be understood that the party with the canoes were left
by Peter in a state of great anxiety. The distance between the site
of the hut and their place of concealment was but little more than a
quarter of a mile, and the yell of the savages had often reached
their ears, notwithstanding the cover of the woods. This proximity,
of itself, was fearful; but the uncertainty that le Bourdon felt on
the subject of Peter's real intentions added greatly to his causes
of concern. Of course, he knew but little of the sudden change that
had come over this mysterious chief's feelings; nor is it very
likely that he would have been able to appreciate it, even had the
fact been more fully stated.
Pages:
671
672
673
674
675
676
677
678
679
680
681
682
683
684
685
686
687
688
689
690
691
692
693
694
695