James Fenimore Cooper The Headsman [txt]

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"Thou hast saved all our lives, bold mariner," he said; "and there are
those in the bark who will know how to reward thy courage and skill,
Forget, then, thy dog, and indulge in a grateful heart to Maria and the
saints, that they have been our friends and thine in this exceeding
jeopardy."
"Father, I have eaten with the animal--slept with the animal--fought,
swum, and made merry with him, and I could now drown with him! What are
thy nobles and their gold to me, without my dog? The gallant brute will
die the death of despair, swimming about in search of the bark in the
midst of the darkness, until even one of his high breed and courage must
suffer his heart to burst."
"Christians have been called into the dread presence, unconfessed and
unshrived, to-night; and we should bethink us of their souls, rather than
indulge in this grief in behalf of one that, however faithful, ends but an
unreasoning and irresponsible existence."
All this was thrown away upon Maso, who crossed himself habitually at the
allusion to the drowned, but who did not the less bewail the loss of his
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dog, whom he seemed to love, like the affection that David bore for
Jonathan, with a love surpassing that of women. Perceiving that his
counsel was useless, the good Augustine turned away, to knee and offer up
his own orisons of gratitude, and to bethink him of the dead.
"Nettuno! _povera, carissima bestia!_" continued Maso, "whither art thou
swimming, in this infernal quarrel between the air and water? Would I were
with thee, dog! No mortal shall ever share the love I bore thee, _povero
Nettuno!_--I will never take another to my heart, like thee!"
The outbreaking of Maso's grief was sudden, and it was brief in its
duration. In this respect it might be likened to the hurricane that had
just passed. Excessive violence, in both cases, appeared to bring its own
remedy, for the irregular fitful gusts from the mountains had already
ceased, and were succeeded by a strong but steady gale from the north; and
the sorrow of Maso soon ended its characteristic plaints, to take a more
continued and even character.
During the whole of the foregoing scenes, the Common passengers had
crouched to the deck, partly in stupor, partly in superstitious dread,
and much of the time, from a positive inability to move without incurring
the risk of being driven from the defenceless vessel into the lake. But,
as the wind diminished in force, and the motion of the bark became more
regular, they rallied their senses, like men who had been in a trance, and
one by one they rose to their feet. About this time Adelheid heard the
sound of her father's voice, blessing her care, and consoling her sorrow.
The north wind blew away the canopy of clouds, and the stars shone upon
the angry Leman, bringing with them some such promise of divine aid as the
pillar of fire afforded to the Israelites in their passage of the Red Sea.
Such an evidence of returning peace brought renewed confidence. All in the
bark, passengers as well as crew, took courage at the benignant signs,
while Adelheid wept, in gratitude and joy, over the gray hairs of her
father.
Maso had now obtained complete command of the Winkelried, as much by the
necessity of the case, as by the unrivalled skill and courage he had
manifested during the fearful minutes of their extreme jeopardy. No sooner
did he succeed in staying his own grief, than he called the people about
him, and issued his orders for the new measures that had become necessary.
All who have ever been subject to their influence know that there is
nothing more uncertain than the winds. Their fickleness has passed into a
proverb; but their inconstancy, as well as their power, from the fanning
air to the destructive tornado, are to be traced to causes that are
sufficiently clear, though hid in their nature from the calculations of
our forethought. The tempest of the night was owing to the simple fact,
that a condensed and chilled column of the mountains had pressed upon the
heated substratum of the lake, and the latter, after a long resistance,
suddenly finding vent for its escape, had been obliged to let in the
cataract from above. As in all extraordinary efforts, whether physical or
moral, reaction would seem to be a consequence of excessive action, the
currents of air, pushed beyond their proper limits, were now setting back
again, like a tide on its reflux. This cause produced the northern gale
that succeeded the hurricane.
The wind that came from off the shores of Vaud was steady and fresh. The
barks of the Leman are not constructed for beating to windward, and it
might even have been questioned, whether the Winkelried would have borne
her canvass against so heavy a breeze. Maso, however, appeared to
understand himself thoroughly, and as he had acquired the influence which
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hardihood and skill are sure to obtain over doubt and timidity in
situations of hazard, he was obeyed by all on board with submission, if
not with zeal. No more was heard of the headsman or of his supposed agency
in the storm; and, as he prudently kept himself in the back-ground, so as
not to endanger a revival of the superstition of his enemies, he seemed
entirely forgotten.
The business of getting the anchors occupied a considerable time, for Maso
refused, now there existed no necessity for the sacrifice, to permit a
yarn to be cut; but, released from this hold on the water, the bark
whirled away, and was soon driving before the wind. The mariner was at the
helm, and, causing the head-sail to be loosened, he steered directly for
the rocks of Savoy. This manoeuvre excited disagreeable suspicions in the
minds of several on board, for the lawless character of their pilot had
been more than suspected in the course of their short acquaintance, and
the coast towards which they were furiously rushing known to be
iron-bound, and, in such a gale fatal to all who came rudely upon its
rocks. Half-an-hour removed their apprehensions. When near enough to the
mountains to feel their deadening influence on the gale, the natural
effect of the eddies, formed by their resistance to the currents, he
luffed-to and set his main-sail. Relieved by this wise precaution, the
Winkelried now wore her canvass gallantly, and she dashed along the shore
of Savoy with a foaming beak, shooting past ravine, valley, glen, and
hamlet, as if sailing in air.
In less than an hour, St. Gingoulph, or the village through which the
dividing line between the territories of Switzerland and those of the King
of Sardinia passes, was abeam, and the excellent calculations of the [ Pobierz całość w formacie PDF ]

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