CHAPTER II.

Auckland Star, Volume XXI, Issue 4193, 24 November 1883, Page 6 (Supplement)

CHAPTER 11.

It -was a peculiarity of the Carquinei Wood that it stood apart and distinct in its gigantic individuality. Even where the integrity of its own singular species was Kot entirely preserved, it admitted no inferior trees. Nor was there any diminishing fringe on its outskirts; tha sentinelstot, guarded the few gateways of tha dim trails wore as monstrous as the Berried ranto drawn up in the heart of the forest Consequently tho red highway that skirted the eastern angle was bare and shadeless,, untal it slipped a league off into a watered valley and refreshed itself under lesser.^cafflorea and willows. It was here the newly-wm city of Excelsior, still in its cradle,.bad, like an infant. Herenles,. strangled .the ■ .serpentine North Fork of the American;: River and turned its life current into the ditches and flumes of the Excelsior1 nWK"'! ; Newest of the new houses th.it seemed to have accidentally formed its single, straggling street was tho residence.oftaeim Winslow Wynn, not unfrequentljj'•«*™J as "Father Wynn," pastor of the;tirst Baptist Church' Tho "pastoraee,, -. as it was cheerfully called, had the glarfflg distinction of being built of brick, ana .vn,f had been wickedly pointed o^'^r scoffers, tho only " fireproof" structure ffi town. This sarcasm was not,-Ww»>'-' supposed to be particularly distesteM W. "Father Wynn," who enjoyed thoepqta- , tion of being "hail fellow-weUjnet,^ : the rough mining element, whoMUedtaem by their Christian names, hadibeMfown to drink at the bar of ItoWb*^while engaged in the conversation 01» FT minont citizen, aud was popularly ,»*«J" have no ''Gospel starch "about Ban. tain conscious outcasts and trsniW^; were touched at this apparent nnbenawß of the spiritual authority. The n^teW of Father Wynn's faith were Jort jn« supposed catholicity of hiß.h«f»W- ---" A preacher that can jine a man «, ■i, i histin' liquor into him, without I«™| *S it, ought to be allowed to.^S ■: sinners, and splash about »a/f^!?H, . ■ as he likes," was the critiewmof ■*!»#£&< rconverts. Nevertheless, it was;tru»'?» Father Wynn was BOmewhatloHd»na»^? 9 ant [in his tolerance. It wa*^?touk, : was a little more rough, a little mowW*

' « hearty, a littlo moro impulsive utt lemow 'cany, true that oftEn b£firof his extreme liberality ■■■: '&.%&* equality partook somewhat ' ~ »nd brot?,;"' it is true that a few who -■""t'Cf been most bonoljtted by this ffllß, j^umel recorded him with a singular J* d ? truo that his liberality was insinuating quality, ac of an «SKh but little sacrifice; his accojnjxmiw collection taken up in a w^w saloon for the rebuilding of his destroyed by fire, gave him a • 9""T -u Tlarce enough, it must be conP°Pj to cover the sins of tho gamblers fessea>, „.. ; t was no t proved that he **"B^H«d any form of relief. But •^ frue that local history somehow PJKed him as an exponent of mining "^^titv without tho least reference to jfs& of the Christian miners themselves. m , g Überal , ]abits and ■La we're not, however, shared by his "^daughter, a motherless young lady of !r NelHe Wynn was in the eye of liceWor, an unapproachab c d,vinity,_ as • Sasible and cold as her father was im*tataf and familiar. An atmosphere of "find proud virginity made itself felt in the starched integrity of her spotTf.kirts, in her neatly gloved finger tips, ■llr clear amber eyes, in her imperious ULnios in her sensitive nostrils. Need it {Tgaid that the youth and middle age of Fscclsior were madly, because apparently Sessly, in love with For the rest Shad been expensively educated, was ignorant in two languages, with KB of music and 'rotating, and a natural and faultless taste Thlfßev. Mr Wynn was engaged in a '■ characteristic hearty parting with one of his Sat converts, upon his own doorstep, ■ i£fa admirable al fresco effect. He had ! totclappedhim on the shoulder. "Good- ; lie eood-bye, Charley, my boy, and keep in S e right path; not up, or down, or round the gildl. y°u know—ha, ha!—bu t straight L^ lots to the shining gate." He had mised his voice under the stimulus of a few admiring spectators, and backed his convert nkvfully against the wall. " You see ! we're goin' in to win—you bet. Good-bye! I'd ask y°u to step in and have a chat, but I've got my work to do, and so have you. The uospel mustn't keep us from that— mast it, Charley? ha, ha!" The convert (who elsewhere was a profane expressman, and had become quite imbecile under Mr Wynn's active heartiness and brotherly horse-play before spectators) managed, however, to feebly stammer with ablu&i something about" Miss Nellie." "Ah, Nellie. She, too, is at her tasks— trimming her lamps, you know, tho parable of the wise virgins," continued jSther Wynn, hastily, fearing that the OOnTert might takotlie illustration literally. "There, thero—good-bye. Keep in tho right path." And with a parting shove he dismissed Charley, and entered his own house. : That wise virgin, Nellie, had evidently finished with the lamp, as she was fully pressed and gloved and had a pink parasol in her hand as her father entered tho sittingworn. His bluff heartiness seemed to fade »way as he removed his soft broad-brimmed lot and glanced across the too fresh-looking ! apartment. There was a smell of mortar still in the air, and a faint suggestion that at any moment green grass might appear between the interstices of the red brick ■hearth. The room, yielding a little in the point of cold, seemed to share Miss Nellie's freshness, and, barring the pink parasol, set her off, as in a vestal's cell. '.■' "Isupposed you wouldn't care to see Brace, the expressman, so I got rid of him I at the door," Baid her father, drawing one of the new chairs toward him slowly, and sitting down carefully, as if it were a hithsrto untried experiment. Miss Nellie's face took a tint of interest. ;" Then he doesn't go with the coach to Indian Spring to-day ?" "No; why?" "I though of going over myself to get theßurnham girls to come to choir meeting,V replied Miss Nellie, carelessly, " and i ho might have been company." "He'd go now if he knew you were going," laid her father, "but it's just as well he shouldn't be needlessly encouraged. I : rather think that Sheriff Dunn is a little jealous of him. By tho way, the Sheriff is lanch bettor. I called to cheer him up today" (Mr Wynn had, in fact, tumultuously ■ accelerated the sick man's pulse), " and he talked of you as usual. In fact, he said he 'had only two things to get well for. One \ Was to catch and hang that woman Teresa, who shot him ; the other—can't you guess the other ?" he added, archly, with a faint suggestion of his other manner. Mas Nellie coldly could not. The Rev. Mr Wynn's archness vanished. "Don't be a fool," ho said, drily. "He wants to marry you, and you know it."

"Most of the men here do," responded Miss Nellie, without the least traco of coquetry. "Is the wedding or the hanging to take place first, or together—so he can officiate at both?"

" His share in the Union Ditch is worth a hundred thousand dollars," continued her father, "and if he isn't nominated for District Judge this fall, he's bound to go to the Legislature any way. I don't think a girl with your advantages and education can afford to throw away the chance of shining in Sacramento, San Francisco, or, in good time, perhaps in Washington." Miss Nellie's eyes did not retlect entire disapproval of this suggestion, although she replied with something of her father's practical quality: " Mr Dunn is not out of his bed yet, and they say Teresa's got away to Arizona, so there isn't any hurry." "Perhaps not. But see here, Nellie, I've some important news for you. You know your young friend of the Carquinez woods —Dorman, the botanist,, eh ? Well, Brace knows all about him. And what do you think he is ?"

Miss Nellie took upon herself a few extra degrees of cold, and didn't know. "An Injin! Yes, an out-and-out Cherokee.' You see, he calls himself Donnan—Low Dornaan. That's only French for ' sleeping water' —his Injin name, Low Dorman. "

" You mean l'Bau Donnante,' " said Nellie.

"■That's what I said. The chief called him 'Sleeping Water' when he was a boy, and p.ne of them French Canadian trappers translated it into French when he brought him to California to school. But he's an Injin, sure. No wonder he prefers to live in the woods."

"Well?" said Nellie. "Well," echoed hor father, impatiently. ' he's an Injin, I toll you, and you can't, of course, have anything to do with him. He mustn't come here again."

" But you forget," said Nellie, imperturbakly, "that it was you who invited him here, and were so much exercised over him. You remember you introduced him to the ■Bishop and those Eastern clergymen as, a Magnificent specimien of a young Californian. You forget what an occasion you made of his coming to church on Sunday, and how you made him come in his buckwin shirt and walk down the street with you after service!"

_" Yes, yes," said the Rev. Mr Wynn, hurriedly.

"AntJ." continued Nellie, carelessly how you made us s}Hg out of the gai^ o oook, Children of our Father's Fold,' and how you preached at him until ho actually got a colour !" '

"Yes," said her father; " but it wasn't known then he was an Injin, and they are frightfully unpopular with thoßo Southwostern men among whom we labour. Indeed, I am quite convinced that when Brace said 'the only good Injin was a dead one ' his expression, though extravagant perhaps really voiced the sentiments of tho majority It would be only kindness to the unfortunate creature to warn him from exposing himself to their rude but conscientous antagonism."

"Perhaps you'd better tell him, then, in your own popular way, which they all seem to understand so well," reeponded the daughter. Mr Wynn cast a quick glance at her, but there was no trace of irony in her face—nothing but a half-bored indifference as she walked toward the window. " I will go with you to the coach office," said her father, who generally gave these simple paternal duties the pronounced character of a public Christian example. " It's hardly worth while," replied Miss Nellio. " I've to stop at the Watsons', at the foot of the hill, and ask after the baby, so I shall go on to tho Crossing and pick up the coach when it passes. Good-bye."

Nevertheless, as soon as Nellie had departed, the Rev. Mr Wynn' proceeded to the coach office, and, publicly grasping the hand of Yuba Bill, the driver, commended his daughter to hie care in the name of the universal brotherhood of man and the Christian fraternity. Carried away by his heartiness, he forgot his previous caution and confided to the expressmen Miss Nellie's regrets that she was not to ha"vo that gentleman's company. The result was tlafc Mid) Nellie found the coach with its passengers awaiting her with uplifted hats and wreathed smiles at the Crossing, and the box seat (from which an unfortunate stranger, who had expensively paid for it, had been summarily ejected) at her service beside Yuba Bill, who had thrown away his cigar and donned a new pair of buckskin gloves to do her honour. But a more serious result to the young beauty was the effect of the Rev. !Mr Wynn's confidences upon the impulsive heart of Jack Brace, the expressman. It has been already intimated that it was hiß "day off." Unable to summarily *eassume his usual functions beside the driver without some practical reason.and ashamed to go so palpably as a mere passenger, he was forced to let the coach proceed without him. Discomfitted for the moment, ho was not, however, beaten. He had lost the blissful journey by her side, which would have been his professional right, bub—she was goring to Indian Spring; could ho not anticipate her there'? Might they not meet in the most accidental manner ? And what might not como from that meeting, away from the prying eyes of their own town? Mr Brace did not hesitate, but saddling his fleet Buckskin, by the tinio the stage had passed the Crossing in tho high rood he had mounted the hill and was dashing along the "cut off" in tho same direction, a full milo in advanco. Arriving at Indian Spring, he left his horse at a Mexican posada on the confines of the settlement, and from the piled debris of a tunnel excavation awaited tho slow arrival of the coach. On mature reflection ho could give no reason why he had not boldly awaited it at the Express office, except a certain bashful consciousness of hi« own folly, and a belief that it might be glaringly apparent to tho bystanders. When too coack arrived and he had overcome this consciousness, it was too late. Yuba Bill had discharged his passengers for Indian Spring and driven away,; Mies Nellie was in the settlement, but where? As timo passed he became more desperato and bold. Ho walked recklessly up and down the main street, glancing in at tho open doors of shops, and even in tho windows of private dwellings. It might have seemed a poor compliment to Miss Nellie, but it waa an evidence of his complete preoccupation ■when tho sight of a female face at the window, even though it was plain, or perhaps painted, caused his heart to bound, or the glancing of a skirt in tho distance quickened his feet and his pulses. Had Jack contented himself with remaining at Excelsior, ho might havo vaguely rogretted, but as soon becamo as vaguely accustomed to, Miss Nollio's absence. But it was not until his hitherto quiet and passive love took this first step of action that it fully declared itself. When he had made the tour of tho town a dozon timos unsuccessfully, he had perfectly made up his mind that marriage with Nellie or the fipoedy death of several peoplo, including jxissibly himself, was the only altornative. Ho regretted ho had not accompanied her ; ho regretted ho had not demanded where she was going ; he contemplated a oonrsu of future action that two hours ago would havo filled him with bashful terror. Thero was clearly but one thing to do—to declare his passion the instant he mot hor, and return with her to Excelsior an accepted suitor or not to return at all.

Suddenly he wag vexatiously conscious of hearing his name lazily called, and, looking up, found that he was on the outskirts of the town, and interrogated by two horsemen.

"Got down to walk, and the coach got away from you, Jack, eh ?"

A little ashamed of hie preoccupation, Brace stammered something about "collections." He did not recognise the men, but his own face, name, and business were familiar to everybody for fifty miles along the stage road.

"Well, you can settle a bet for us, I reckon. Bill Daere thar bet me five dollars and the drinks that a young gal we mot at the edge of the Carquinez Woods, dressed in a long, brown duster, and half-muffled up in a hood, was the daughter of Father Wynn, of Excelsior. I did not get a fair look at her, but it stands to reason that a high-toned young lady like Nellie Wynn don't go trapsing along the wood like a Pike country tramp. I took the bet. Maybe you know if she's here or in Excelsior f

Mr Brace felt himself turning pale with eagerness and excitement. But the near prospect of seeing her presently gave him back his caution, and he answered truthfully that he had left her in Excelsior, and that in his two hours' sojourn in Indian Spring he had not met ho* once. " But," he added, with a Californian's reverence for the sanctity of abet. "I reckon you'd better make it a stand-off for twenty-four hours, and 111 find out and let you know," which, it is only fair to say, he honestly intended to do.

Witli a hurried nod of parting, ho continued >n the direction of the woods. When he had satisfied himself that the strangers had entered the settlement and would not follow him for further explanation; he quickened his pace. In half an hour he passed between twoof the gigantic sentinels that guarded the entrance to a trail. Hero he paused to collect his thoughts. The woods were vast in extent, the trails dim and uncertain—at times apparently breaking off, or intersectihg another trail as faint as itself. Believing that Mies Nellio had diverged from the highway only a momentary excursion into the shade, and that she would not dare to penetrate its more sombre and unknown recesses, ho kept within sight of the skirting

plain. By degrees the sedate influence of the silent vaults seemed to depress him. Tho ardour of the chase began to flag. Under tho calm of their dim roof the fever of his veins began to subside. His pace slackened ;he reasoned more deliberately. It was by no means probable that the young woman in a brown duster was Nellio. It was not her habitual travelling dress; it was not like her to walk unattended in the road ; thero was nothing in her tastes and habits to take her into this gloomy forest, allowing that she had even entered it, and on this absolute question of hor identity the two witnesses wore divided. He stopped irresolutely and cast a last, long, half-despairing look around him. Hitherto he had given that part of the wood nearest tho plain his greatest attention. His glance now sought its darker recesses. Suddenly ho became breathless. Was it a beam of sunlight that had pierced tho groined roof above and now rested against the trunk of one of the dimmer more secluded giants ? No, it was moving ; even as he gazed it slipped away, glanced against another tree, passed across one of the vaulted aisles, and then was lost again. Brief as was the flimpso, he was not mistaken—it was the gure of a woman.

In another moment he was on her track, and soon had the satisfaction of seeing hor reappear at a lesser distance. But tho continual intervention of the massive trunks made the chase by no means an easy ono, and, as lie could not keep her always in sight, he was unable to follow or understand the one intelligent direction which she seemed to invariably keep. Nevertheless, he gained upon hor breathlessly, and, thanks to the bark-strewn floof, noiselessly. He was near enough to distinguish and recognise the dress she wore, a pale yellow that he hed admired _ when he fint saw her. It was Nellie, unmistakably ; if it were she of the brown duster, she had discarded it, perhaps for greater freedom. Ho was near enough to call out now, but a certain nervous timidity overcamo him—his lips grew dry. What should he say to her ? How account for his presence? "Miss Nellio, ono moment I" he gasped. She darted forward and—vanished.

At this moment he was not more than a dozen yards from her. Ho rushed to where she had been standing, but her disappearance was perfect and complete. Ho made a circuit of the group of trees within wlio.se radius she had last appeared, but thero was neither trace of her nor a suggestion of her modo of escape. He called aloud to her. The vacant woods lot his holpless voice dio in their unresponsive depths. Ho gazed into tho air and down at tho barkstrewn carpet at his feet. Liko most of his vocation, he was sparing of speoch, and epigrammatic after his fashion. Comprehending in ono swift but despairing flash of intelligence tho cxistenco of .some fateful power boyond his own weak endeavour, ho accepted its logical result with characteristic grimnese. threw his hat upon tho ground, put his hands in his pockots, and said: " Woll, I'm d-d !"

{To be Continued.)