He was too old a forester to care how his food was dished,
so that he had wherewithal to satisfy his hunger.
Many were the merry tales he told and the songs he sung, to wile away the
time, till the daylight faded from the sky, and the deep blue heavens were
studded with bright stars, which were mirrored in countless hosts deep deep
down in that calm waveless river, while thousands of fireflies lighted up
the dark recesses of the forest's gloom. High in the upper air the hollow
booming of the night-hawk was heard at intervals, and the wild cry of the
night-owl from a dead branch, shouting to its fellow, woke the silence of
that lonely river scene.
The old trapper stretched before the crackling fire, smoked his pipe or
hummed some French voyageur's song. Beneath the shelter of the canoe
soundly slept the two girls; the dark cheek of the Indian girl pillowed on
the arm of her fairer companion, her thick tresses of raven hair mingling
with the silken ringlets of the white maiden. They were a lovely pair--one
fair as morning, the other dark as night,
How lightly did they spring from their low bed, wakened by the early song
of the forest birds! The light curling mist hung in fleecy volumes upon
the river, like a flock of sheep at rest--the tinkling sound of the heavy
dew-drops fell in mimic showers upon the stream.
Pages:
339
340
341
342
343
344
345
346
347
348
349
350
351
352
353
354
355
356
357
358
359
360
361
362
363