CHAPTER XVI.
The raptures of a conqueror's mood
Rushed burning through his frame;
The depths of that green solitude
Its torrents could not tame,
Though stillness lay, with eve's last smile,
Round those far fountains of the Nile
--MRS HEMANS.
When the bee-hunter and Corporal Flint thus went forth in midnight,
from the "garrison" of Castle Meal (Chateau au Miel), as the latter
would have expressed it, it was with no great apprehension of
meeting any other than a four-footed enemy, notwithstanding the
blast of the horn the worthy corporal supposed he had heard. The
movements of the dog seemed to announce such a result rather than
any other, for Hive was taken along as a sort of guide. Le Bourdon,
however, did not permit his mastiff to run off wide, but, having the
animal at perfect command, it was kept close to his own person.
The two men first moved toward the grove of the Kitchen, much to
Hive's discontent. The dog several times halted, and he whined, and
growled, and otherwise manifested his great dislike to proceed in
that direction. At length so decided did his resistance become, that
his master said to his companion:
"It seems to me best, corporal, to let the mastiff lead us. I have
never yet seen him so set on not going in one way, and on going in
another. Hive has a capital nose, and we may trust him."
"Forward," returned the corporal, wheeling short in the direction of
the dog; "one thing should be understood, however, Bourdon, which is
this--you must act as light troops in this sortie, and I as the main
body. If we come on the inimy, it will be your duty to skrimmage in
front as long as you can, and then fall back on your resarves. I
shall depend chiefly on the baggonet, which is the best tool to put
an Injin up with; and as he falls back, before my charge, we must
keep him under as warm a fire as possible. Having no cavalry, the
dog might be made useful in movements to the front and on our
flanks."
"Pooh, pooh, corporal, you're almost as much set in the notions of
your trade as Parson Amen is set in his idees about the lost tribes.
In my opinion there'll be more tribes FOUND in these openings before
the summer is over than we shall wish to meet. Let us follow the
dog, and see what will turn up." Hive WAS followed, and he took a
direction that led to a distant point in the openings, where not
only the trees were much thicker than common, but where a small
tributary of the Kalamazoo ran through a ravine, from the higher
lands adjacent into the main artery of all the neighboring
watercourses. The bee-hunter knew the spot well, having often drank
at the rivulet, and cooled his brow in the close shades of the
ravine, when heated by exertions in the more open grounds. In short,
the spot was one of the most eligible for concealment, coolness, and
pure water, within several miles of Castle Meal. The trees formed a
spacious grove around it, and, by means of the banks, their summits
and leaves answered the purpose of a perfect screen to those who
might descend into the ravine, or, it would be better to say, to the
bottom. Le Bourdon was no sooner satisfied that his mastiff was
proceeding toward the great spring which formed the rivulet at the
head of the ravine mentioned, than he suspected Indians might be
there. He had seen signs about the spot, which wore an appearance of
its having been used as a place of encampment--or for "camping out,"
as it is termed in the language of the west--and, coupling the sound
of the horn with the dog's movements, his quick apprehension seized
on the facts as affording reasonable grounds of distrust.
Consequently he resorted to great caution, as he and the corporal
entered the wood which surrounded the spring, and the small oval bit
of bottom that lay spread before it, like a little lawn. Hive was
kept close at his master's side, though he manifested a marked
impatience to advance. "Now, corporal," said the bee-hunter in a low
tone, "I think we have lined some savages to their holes. We will go
round the basin and descend to the bottom, in a close wood which
grows there. Did you see that?"
"I suppose I did," answered the corporal, who was as firm as a rock.
"You meant to ask me if I saw fire?"
"I did. The red men have lighted their council fire in this spot,
and have met to talk around it. Well, let 'em hearken to each
other's thoughts, if they will; we shall be neither the better nor
the worse for it."
"I don't know that. When the commander-in-chief calls together his
principal officers, something usually comes of it. Who knows but
this very council is called in order to take opinions on the subject
of besieging or of storming our new garrison? Prudent soldiers
should always be ready for the worst."
"I have no fear, so long as Peter is with us. That chief is listened
to by every red-skin; and while we have him among us there will be
little to care for. But we are getting near to the bottom and must
work our way through these bushes with as little noise as possible.
I will keep the dog quiet."
The manner in which that sagacious animal now behaved was truly
wonderful. Hive appeared to be quite as much aware of the necessity
of extreme caution as either of the men, and did not once attempt to
precede his master his own length. On one or two occasions he
actually discovered the best passages, and led his companions
through them with something like the intelligence of a human being.
Neither growl nor bark escaped him; on the contrary, even the
hacking breathing of an impatient dog was suppressed, precisely as
if the animal knew how near he was getting to the most watchful ears
in the world.
After using the greatest care, the bee-hunter and the corporal got
just such a station as they desired. It was within a very few feet
of the edge of the cover, but perfectly concealed, while small
openings enabled them to see all that was passing in their front. A
fallen tree, a relic of somewhat rare occurrence in the openings of
Michigan, even furnished them with a seat, while it rendered their
position less exposed. Hive placed himself at his master's side,
apparently trusting to other senses than that of sight for his
information, since he could see nothing of what was going on in
front.
As soon as the two men had taken their stations, and began to look
about them, a feeling of awe mingled with their curiosity. Truly,
the scene was one so very remarkable and imposing that it might have
filled more intellectual and better fortified minds with some such
sensation. The fire was by no means large, nor was it particularly
bright; but sufficient to cast a dim light on the objects within
reach of its rays. It was in the precise centre of a bit of bottom
land of about half an acre in extent, which was so formed and
surrounded, as to have something of the appearance of the arena of a
large amphitheatre. There was one break in the encircling rise of
ground, it is true, and that was at a spot directly opposite the
station of le Bourdon and his companion, where the rill which flowed
from the spring found a passage out toward the more open ground.
Branches shaded most of the mound, but the arena itself was totally
free from all vegetation but that which covered the dense and
beautiful sward with which it was carpeted. Such is a brief
description of the natural accessories of this remarkable scene.
But it was from the human actors, and their aspects, occupations,
movements, dress, and appearance generally, that the awe which came
over both the bee-hunter and the corporal had its origin. Of these,
near fifty were present, offering a startling force by their numbers
alone. Each man was a warrior, and each warrior was in his paint.
These were facts that the familiarity of the two white men with
Indian customs rendered only too certain. What was still more
striking was the fact that all present appeared to be chiefs; a
circumstance which went to show that an imposing body of red men was
most likely somewhere in the openings, and that too at no great
distance. It was while observing and reflecting on all these things,
a suspicion first crossed the mind of le Bourdon that this great
council was about to be held, at that midnight hour, and so near his
own abode, for the purpose of accommodating Peter, whose appearance
in the dark crowd, from that instant, he began to expect.
The Indians already present were not seated. They stood in groups
conversing, or stalked across the arena, resembling so many dark and
stately spectres. No sound was heard among them, a circumstance that
added largely to the wild and supernatural aspect of the scene. If
any spoke, it was in a tone so low and gentle, as to carry the sound
no farther than to the ears that were listening; two never spoke at
the same time and in the same group, while the moccasin permitted no
footfall to be audible. Nothing could have been more unearthly than
the picture presented in that little, wood-circled arena, of velvet-
like grass and rural beauty. The erect, stalking forms, half naked,
if not even more; the swarthy skins; the faces fierce in the savage
conceits which were intended to strike terror into the bosoms of
enemies, and the glittering eyes that fairly sparkled in their
midst, all contributed to the character of the scene, which le
Bourdon rightly enough imagined was altogether much the most
remarkable of any he had ever been in the way of witnessing.
Our two spectators might have been seated on the fallen tree half an
hour, all of which time they had been gazing at what was passing
before their eyes; with positively not a human sound to relieve the
unearthly nature of the picture. No one spoke, coughed, laughed, or
exclaimed, in all that period. Suddenly, every chief stood still,
and all the faces turned in the same direction. It was toward the
little gateway of the rill, which being the side of the arena most
remote from the bee-hunter and the corporal, lay nearly in darkness
as respected them. With the red men it must have been different, for
THEY all appeared to be in intent expectation of some one from that
quarter. Nor did they have to wait long; for, in half a minute, two
forms came out of the obscurity, advancing with a dignified and
deliberate tread to the centre of the arena. As these newcomers got
more within the influence of the flickering light, le Bourdon saw
that they were Peter and Parson Amen. The first led, with a slow,
imposing manner, while the other followed, not a little bewildered
with what he saw. It may be as well to explain here, that the Indian
was coming alone to this place of meeting, when he encountered the
missionary wandering among the oaks, looking for le Bourdon and the
corporal, and, instead of endeavoring to throw off this unexpected
companion, he quietly invited him to be of his own party.
It was evident to le Bourdon, at a glance, that Peter was expected,
though it was not quite so clear that such was the fact as regarded
his companion. Still, respect for the great chief prevented any
manifestations of surprise or discontent, and the medicine-man of
the pale-faces was received with as grave a courtesy as if he had
been an invited guest. Just as the two had entered the dark circle
that formed around them, a young chief threw some dry sticks on the
fire, which blazing upward, cast a stronger light on a row of as
terrifically looking countenances as ever gleamed on human forms.
This sudden illumination, with its accompanying accessories, had the
effect to startle all the white spectators, though Peter looked on
the whole with a calm like that of the leafless tree, when the cold
is at its height, and the currents of the wintry air are death-like
still Nothing appeared to move HIM, whether expected or not; though
use had probably accustomed his eye to all the aspects in which
savage ingenuity could offer savage forms. He even smiled, as he
made a gesture of recognition, which seemed to salute the whole
group. It was just then, when the fire burned brightest, and when
the chiefs pressed most within its influence, that le Bourdon
perceived that his old acquaintances, the head-men of the
Pottawattamies, were present, among the other chiefs so strangely
and portentously assembled in these grounds, which he had so long
possessed almost entirely to himself.
A few of the oldest of the chiefs now approached Peter, and a low
conversation took place between them. What was said did not reach le
Bourdon, of course; for it was not even heard in the dark circle of
savages who surrounded the fire. The effect of this secret dialogue,
however, was to cause all the chiefs to be seated, each taking his
place on the grass; the whole preserving the original circle around
the fire. Fortunately, for the wishes of le Bourdon, Peter and his
companions took their stations directly opposite to his own seat,
thus enabling him to watch every lineament of that remarkable
chief's still more remarkable countenance. Unlike each and all of
the red men around him, the face of Peter was not painted, except by
the tints imparted by nature; which, in his case, was that of copper
a little tarnished, or rendered dull by the action of the
atmosphere. The bee-hunter could distinctly trace every lineament;
nor was the dark roving eye beyond the reach of his own vision. Some
attention was given to the fire, too, one of the younger chiefs
occasionally throwing on it a few dried sticks, more to keep alive
the flame, and to renew the light, than from any need of warmth. One
other purpose, however, this fire DID answer; that of enabling the
young chiefs to light the pipes that were now prepared; it seldom
occurring that the chiefs thus assembled without SMOKING around
their council-fire.
As this smoking was just then more a matter of ceremony than for any
other purpose, a whiff or two suffices for each chief; the smoker
passing the pipe to his neighbor as soon as he had inhaled a few
puffs. The Indians are models of propriety, in their happiest moods,
and every one in that dark and menacing circle was permitted to have
his turn with the pipe, before any other step was taken. There were
but two pipes lighted, and mouths being numerous, some time was
necessary in order to complete this ceremony. Still, no sign of
impatience was seen, the lowest chief having as much respect paid to
his feelings, as related to his attention, as the highest. At length
the pipes completed their circuit, even Parson Amen getting, and
using, his turn, when a dead pause succeeded. The silence resembled
that of a Quaker meeting, and was broken only by the rising of one
of the principal chiefs, evidently about to speak. The language of
the great Ojebway nation was used on this occasion, most of the
chiefs present belonging to some one of the tribes of that stock,
though several spoke other tongues, English and French included. Of
the three whites present, Parson Amen alone fully comprehended all
that was said, he having qualified himself in this respect, to
preach to the tribes of that people; though le Bourdon understood
nearly all, and even the corporal comprehended a good deal. The name
of the chief who first spoke at this secret meeting, which was
afterward known among the Ojebways by the name of the "Council of
the Bottom Land, near to the spring of gushing water," was Bear's
Meat, an appellation that might denote a distinguished hunter,
rather than an orator of much renown.
"Brothers of the many tribes of the Ojebways," commenced this
personage, "the Great Spirit has permitted us to meet in council.
The Manitou of our fathers is now among these oaks, listening to our
words, and looking in at our hearts. Wise Indians will be careful
what they say in such a presence, and careful of what they think.
All should be said and thought for the best. We are a scattered
nation, and the time is come when we must stop in our tracks, or
travel beyond the sound of each other's cries. If we travel beyond
the hearing of our people, soon will our children learn tongues that
Ojebway ears cannot understand. The mother talks to her child, and
the child learns her words. But no child can hear across a great
lake. Once we lived near the rising sun. Where are we now? Some of
our young men say they have seen the sun go down in the lakes of
sweet water. There can be no hunting-grounds beyond THAT spot; and
if we would live, we must stand still in our tracks. How to do this,
we have met to consider.
"Brothers, many wise chiefs and braves are seated at this council-
fire. It is pleasant to my eyes to look upon them. Ottawas,
Chippeways, Pottawattamies, Menominees, Hurons, and all. Our father
at Quebec has dug up the hatchet against the Yankees. The war-path
is open between Detroit and all the villages of the red men. The
prophets are speaking to our people, and we listen. One is here; he
is about to speak. The council will have but a single sense, which
will be that of hearing."
Thus concluding, Bear's Meat took his seat, in the same composed and
dignified manner as that in which he had risen, and deep silence
succeeded. So profound was the stillness, that, taken in connection
with the dark lineaments, the lustrous eyeballs that threw back the
light of the fire, the terrific paint and the armed hands of every
warrior present, the picture might be described as imposing to a
degree that is seldom seen in the assemblies of the civilized. In
the midst of this general but portentous calm, Peter arose. The
breathing of the circle grew deeper, so much so as to be audible,
the only manner in which the intensity of the common expectation
betrayed itself. Peter was an experienced orator, and knew how to
turn every minutiae of his art to good account. His every movement
was deliberate, his attitude highly dignified--even his eye seemed
eloquent.
Oratory! what a power art thou, wielded, as is so often the case, as
much for evil as for good. The very reasoning that might appear to
be obtuse, or which would be over looked entirely when written and
published, issuing from the mouth, aided by the feelings of sympathy
and the impulses of the masses, seems to partake of the wisdom of
divinity. Thus is it, also, with the passions, the sense of wrong,
the appeals to vengeance, and all the other avenues of human
emotion. Let them be addressed to the cold eye of reason and
judgment, in the form of written statements, and the mind pauses to
weigh the force of arguments, the justice of the appeals, the truth
of facts: but let them come upon the ear aided by thy art, with a
power concentrated by sympathy, and the torrent is often less
destructive in its course, than that of the whirlwind that thou
canst awaken!
"Chiefs of the great Ojebway nation, I wish you well," said Peter,
stretching out his arms toward the circle, as if desirous of
embracing all present. "The Manitou has been good to me. He has
cleared a path to this spring, and to this council-fire. I see
around it the faces of many friends. Why should we not all be
friendly? Why should a red man ever strike a blow against a red man?
The Great Spirit made us of the same color, and placed us on the
same hunting-grounds. He meant that we should hunt in company; not
take each other's scalps. How many warriors have fallen in our
family wars? Who has counted them? Who can say? Perhaps enough, had
they not been killed, to drive the pale-faces into the sea!"
Here Peter, who as yet had spoken only in a low and barely audible
voice, suddenly paused, in order to allow the idea he had just
thrown out to work on the minds of his listeners. That it was
producing its effect was apparent by the manner in which one stern
face turned toward another, and eye seemed to search in eye some
response to a query that the mind suggested, though no utterance was
given to it with the tongue. As soon, however, as the orator thought
time sufficient to impress that thought on the memories of the
listeners had elapsed, he resumed, suffering his voice gradually to
increase in volume, as he warmed with his subject.
"Yes," he continued, "the Manitou has been very kind. Who is the
Manitou? Has any Indian ever seen him? Every Indian has seen him. No
one can look on the hunting-grounds, on the lakes, on the prairies,
on the trees, on the game, without seeing his hand. His face is to
be seen in the sun at noonday; his eyes in the stars at night. Has
any Indian ever heard the Manitou? When it thunders, he speaks. When
the crash is loudest, then he scolds. Some Indian has done wrong.
Perhaps one red man has taken another red man's scalp!"
Another pause succeeded, briefer, and less imposing than the first,
but one that sufficed to impress on the listeners anew, the great
evil of an Indian's raising his hand against an Indian.
"Yes, there is no one so deaf as not to hear the voice of the Great
Spirit when he is angry," resumed Peter. "Ten thousands of buffalo
bulls, roaring together, do not make as much noise as his whisper.
Spread the prairies, and the openings, and the lakes, before him,
and he can be heard in all, and on all, at the same time.
"Here is a medicine-priest of the pale-faces; he tells me that the
voice of the Manitou reaches into the largest villages of his
people, beneath the rising sun, when it is heard by the red man
across the great lakes, and near the rocks of the setting sun. It is
a loud voice; woe to him who does not remember it. It speaks to all
colors, and to every people, and tribe, and nation.
"Brothers, that is a lying tradition which says, there is one
Manitou for a Sac, and another for the Ojebway--one Manitou for the
red man, and another for the pale-face. In this, we are alike. One
Great Spirit made all; governs all; rewards all; punishes all. He
may keep the happy hunting-grounds of an Indian separate from the
white man's heaven, for he knows that their customs are different,
and what would please a warrior would displease a trader; and what
would please a trader would displease a warrior. He has thought of
these things, and has made several places for the spirits of the
good, let their colors be what they may. Is it the same with the
places of the spirits of the bad? I think not. To me it would seem
best to let THEM go together, that they may torment one another. A
wicked Indian and a wicked pale-face would make a bad neighborhood.
I think the Manitou will let THEM go together.
"Brothers, if the Manitou keeps the good Indian and the good pale-
face apart in another world, what has brought them together in this?
If he brings the bad spirits of all colors together in another
world, why should they come together here, before their time? A
place for wicked spirits should not be found on earth. This is
wrong; it must be looked into.
"Brothers, I have now done; this pale-face wishes to speak, and I
have said that you would hear his words. When he has spoken his
mind, I may have more to tell you. Now, listen to the stranger. He
is a medicine-priest of the white men, and says he has a great
secret to tell our people--when he has told it, I have another for
their ears too. Mine must be spoken when there is no one near but
the children of red clay."
Having thus opened the way for the missionary, Peter courteously
took his seat, producing a little disappointment among his own
admirers, though he awakened a lively curiosity to know what this
medicine-priest might have to say on an occasion so portentous. The
Indians in the regions of the great lakes had long been accustomed
to missionaries, and it is probable that even some of their own
traditions, so far as they related to religious topics, had been
insensibly colored by, if not absolutely derived from, men of this
character; for the first whites who are known to have penetrated
into that portion of the continent were Jesuits, who carried the
cross as their standard and emblem of peace. Blessed emblem! that
any should so confound their own names and denunciatory practices
with the revealed truth, as to imagine that a standard so
appropriate should ever be out of season and place, when it is
proper for man to use aught, at all, that is addressed to his
senses, in the way of symbols, rites, and ceremonies! To the Jesuits
succeeded the less ceremonious and less imposing priesthood of
America, as America peculiarly was in the first years that followed
the Revolution. There is reason to believe that the spirit of God,
in a greater or less degree, accompanied all; for all were self-
denying and zealous, though the fruits of near two centuries of
labor have, as yet, amounted to little more than the promise of the
harvest at some distant day. Enough, however, was known of the
missionaries, and their views in general, to prepare the council, in
some small degree, for the forthcoming exhibition.
Parson Amen had caught some of the habits of the Indians, in the
course of years of communication and intercourse. Like them he had
learned to be deliberate, calm, and dignified in his exterior; and,
like them, he had acquired a sententious mode of speaking.
"My children," he said, for he deemed it best to assume the parental
character, in a scene of so great moment, "as Peter has told you,
the spirit of God is among you! Christians know that such has he
promised to be always with his people, and I see faces in this
circle that I am ready to claim as belonging to those who have
prayed with me, in days that are long past. If your souls are not
touched by divine love, it does not kill the hope I entertain of
your yet taking up the cross, and calling upon the Redeemer's name.
But, not for this have I come with Peter, this night. I am now here
to lay before you an all-important fact, that Providence has
revealed to me, as the fruit of long labor in the vineyard of study
and biblical inquiry. It is a tradition--and red men love
traditions--it is a tradition that touches your own history, and
which it will gladden your hearts to hear, for it will teach you how
much your nation and tribes have been the subject of the especial
care and love of the Great Spirit. When my children say, speak, I
shall be ready to speak."
Here the missionary took his seat, wisely awaiting a demonstration
on the part of the council, ere he ventured to proceed any further.
This was the first occasion on which he had ever attempted to
broach, in a direct form, his favorite theory of the "lost tribes."
Let a man get once fairly possessed of any peculiar notion, whether
it be on religion, political economy, morals, politics, arts, or
anything else, and he sees little beside his beloved principle,
which he is at all times ready to advance, defend, demonstrate, or
expatiate on. Nothing can be simpler than the two great dogmas of
Christianity, which are so plain that all can both comprehend them
and feel their truth. They teach us to love God, the surest way to
obey him, and to love our neighbor as ourselves. Any one can
understand this; all can see how just it is, and how much of moral
sublimity it contains. It is Godlike, and brings us near the very
essence of the Divinity, which is love, mercy, and truth. Yet how
few are content to accept the teachings of the Saviour in this
respect, without embarrassing them with theories that have so much
of their origin in human fancies. We do not mean by this, however,
that Parson Amen was so very wrong in bestowing a part of his
attention on that wonderful people, who, so early set apart by the
Creator as the creatures of his own especial ends, have already
played so great a part in the history of nations, and who are
designed, so far as we can penetrate revelation, yet to enact their
share in the sublime drama of human events.
As for the council, its members were moved by more than ordinary
curiosity to hear what further the missionary might have to say,
though all present succeeded admirably in suppressing the
exhibition of any interest that might seem weak and womanly. After a
decent delay, therefore, Bear's Meat intimated to the parson that it
would be agreeable to the chiefs present to listen to him further.
"My children, I have a great tradition to tell you," the missionary
resumed, as soon as on his feet again; "a very great and divine
tradition; not a tradition of man's, but one that came direct from
the Manitou himself. Peter has spoken truth; there is but one Great
Spirit; he is the Great Spirit of all colors, and tribes, and
nations. He made all men of the same clay." Here a slight sensation
was perceptible among the audience, most of whom were very decidedly
of a different opinion, on this point of natural history. But the
missionary was now so far warmed with his subject as to disregard
any slight interruption, and proceeded as if his listeners had
betrayed no feeling. "And he divided them afterward into nations and
tribes. It was then he caused the color of his creatures to change.
Some he kept white, as he had made them. Some he put behind a dark
cloud, and they became altogether black. Our wise men think that
this was done in punishment for their sins. Some he painted red,
like the nations on this continent." Here Peter raised a finger, in
sign that he would ask a question; for, without permission granted,
no Indian would interrupt the speaker. Indeed, no one of less claims
than Peter would hardly have presumed to take the step he now did,
and that because he saw a burning curiosity gleaming in the bright
eyes of so many in the dark circle.
"Say on, Peter," answered the missionary to this sign; "I will
reply."
"Let my brother say WHY the Great Spirit turned the Indian to a red
color. Was he angry with him? or did he paint him so out of love?"
"This is more than I can tell you, friends. There are many colors
among men, in different parts of the world, and many shades among
people of the same color. There are pale-faces fair as the lily, and
there are pale-faces so dark, as scarcely to be distinguished from
blacks. The sun does much of this; but no sun, nor want of sun, will
ever make a pale-face a red-skin, or a red skin a pale-face."
"Good--that is what we Indians say. The Manitou has made us
different; he did not mean that we should live on the same hunting-
grounds," rejoined Peter, who rarely failed to improve every
opportunity in order to impress on the minds of his followers the
necessity of now crushing the serpent in its shell.
"No man can say that," answered Parson Amen. "Unless my people had
come to this continent, the word of God could not have been preached
by me, along the shores of these lakes. But I will now speak of our
great tradition. The Great Spirit divided mankind into nations and
tribes. When this was done, he picked out one for his chosen people.
The pale-faces call that favorite, and for a long time much-favored
people, Jews. The Manitou led them through a wilderness, and even
through a salt lake, until they reached a promised land, where he
permitted them to live for many hundred winters. A great triumph was
to come out of that people--the triumphs of truth and of the law,
over sin and death. In the course of time--"
Here a young chief rose, made a sign of caution, and crossing the
circle rapidly, disappeared by the passage through which the rill
flowed. In about a minute he returned, showing the way into the
centre of the council to one whom all present immediately recognized
as a runner, by his dress and equipments. Important news was at
hand; yet not a man of all that crowd either rose or spoke, in
impatience to learn what it was!
