Wild Western Scenes | Page 6

conversation that had been kept up for a great length of time, Glenn, unlike the rest of the company, sat at a distance and maintained a strict silence. Occasionally, as some of the extraordinary feats related of the person before him occurred to his memory, he turned his eyes in the direction of the great pioneer, and at each time observed the gaze of the woodsman fixed upon him. Nevertheless his habitual listlessness was not disturbed, and he pursued his peculiar train of reflections. Joe likewise treated the presence of the renowned Indian fighter with apparent unconcern, and being alone in his glory, dived the deeper into the saucepan.
Boone at length advanced to where Glenn was sitting, and after scanning his pale features, and his costly though not exquisitely-fashioned habiliments, thus addressed him:--
"Young man, may I inquire what brings thee to these wilds?"
"I am a freeman," replied Glenn, somewhat haughtily, "and may be influenced by that which brings other men hither."
"Nay, young man, excuse the freedom which all expect to exercise in this comparative wilderness; but I am very sure there is not another emigrant on this side of the Ohio who has been actuated by the same motives that brought thee hither. Others come to fell the forest oak, and till the soil of the prairie, that they may prepare a heritage for their children; but thy soft hands and slender limbs are unequal to the task; nor dost thou seem to have felt the want of this world's goods; and thou bringest no family to provide for. Thou hast committed that which banished thee from society, or found in society that which disgusted thee--speak, which of these?" said Boone, in accents, though not positively commanding, yet they produced a sense of reverence that subdued the rising indignation of Glenn, and looking upon the interrogator as the acknowledged host of the eternal wilds, and himself as a mere guest, who might be required to produce his testimonials of worthiness to associate with nature's most honest of men, he replied with calmness, though with subdued emotion--
"You are right, sir--it was the latter. I had heard that you were happy in the solitude of the mountain-shaded valley, or on the interminable prairies that greet the horizon in the distance, where neither the derision of the proud, the malice of the envious, nor the deceptions of pretended love and friendship, could disturb your peaceful meditations: and from amid the wreck of certain hopes, which I once thought no circumstances could destroy, I rose with a determined though saddened heart, and solemnly vowed to seek such a wilderness, where I could pass a certain number of my days engaging in the pursuits that might be most congenial to my disposition. Already I imagine I experience the happy effects of my resolution. Here the whispers of vituperating foes cannot injure, nor the smiles of those fondly cherished deceive."
"Your hand, young man," said Boone, with an earnestness which convinced Glenn that his tale was not imprudently divulged.
"Ho! what's the matter with _you_?" Boone continued, turning to Joe, who had just arisen from his supper, and was stretching back his shoulders.
"I got a licking from a bear to-night--but I don't mind it much since I've had a snack. But if ever I come across him in the daytime, I'll show him a thing or two," said Joe, with his fists doubled up.
"Pshaw! do you still entertain the ridiculous belief that it was really a bear you encountered?" inquired Glenn, with an incredulous smile.
"I'll swear to it!" replied Joe.
"Let me see your face," remarked Boone, turning him to where there was more light.
"Hollo! don't squeeze it so hard!" cried Joe, as Boone removed some of the coagulated blood that remained or the surface.
"There is no doubt about it--it was a bear, most certainly," said Boone; and examining the wound more closely, continued: "Here are the marks of his claws, plain enough: he might easily be captured to-morrow. Who will hunt him with me?"
"I will!" burst from the lips of nearly every one present.
"Huzza--revenge! I'll have revenge, huzza!" cried Joe, throwing round his hat.
"You will join us?" inquired Boone, turning to Glenn.
"Yes," replied Glenn; "I came hither provided with the implements to hunt; and as such is to be principally my occupation during my sojourn in this region, I could not desire a more happy opportunity than the present to make a beginning. And as it is my intention to settle near the ferry on the opposite shore, I am pleased to find that I shall not be far from one whose acquaintance I hoped to make, above all others."
"And you may not find me reluctant to cultivate a social intercourse, notwithstanding men think me a crabbed old misanthrope," replied Boone, pressing the extended hand of Glenn. They