USA > Kentucky > Livingston County > Chronicles of a Kentucky settlement > Part 5
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" Oh, you've remembered more than enough," was the blushing reply : for Miss Howard was secretly annoyed by her sister's praise.
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"I can perhaps finish it for you," said Mr. Adair, addressing Ada. " As restless as a robin, as quiet as a dove, as pretty as a pink, and as blushing as-"
" Well, that 's not exactly it," interposed Ada, " but it comes close enough."
But Mr. Adair, observing that Miss Howard ap- peared somewhat embarrassed, and fearing lest he had made an unpleasant, if not imprudent speech, quietly added, still addressing Ada : "Oh, you spoke, a while ago, of fishing. Now, I must tell you, I am no Nim- rod, but I am so very fond of fishing that I always carry tackle with me ; and, if there is any stream near, I would like to try my luck, provided you will both go with me. Now what say you ?"
" At the base of yonder hills," replied Miss Howard, pointing to a range beyond her father's fields, "there is a creek in which, at times, there is good fishing ; and Ada and I would be glad to accompany you, but I fear we would only give you trouble and detract from your sport."
"Now, what do you say, Miss Ada ?" asked Mr. Adair.
"Oh, I'll go," she quickly answered, " provided you 'll agree to bait my hooks."
"Agreed then," said Mr. Adair. "And when shall we start ? It must be to-day ; for, loath as I am to leave you all, I must go to-morrow morning."
" I am sorry to know you will leave us so soon," said Miss Howard, with evident earnestness. " How- ever." she added, reflectively, "we hope to see you very often, now that you are going to make your home so near us."
" That is not determined yet," he replied, " but I
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certainly purpose remaining in Salem for some months, if not permanently ; and, you may be assured, I will see you all as often as I well can. But, now, what about our fishing excursion ? "
"I have been told," replied Miss Howard, "that early in the morning, or late in the evening, is the best time for fishing. I suppose about five o'clock, when the heat of the sun has subsided, will be the proper time to start. There are plenty of good cane poles about the house, for father, like yourself, cares nothing for hunting, but is a great fisherman, and he may pos- sibly go with us."
At dinner Mr. Howard expressed his regret that he could not accompany the fishing party ; then, turning to his guest, he added : "If, Joseph, you take these girls with you, you will catch no fish ! Don't you know that no woman can fish ? If she can, she won't. I never saw one that knew how to bait her hook prop- erly; never saw one that could hold the end of her pole out of the water two minutes at a time ! Then it's gabble-gabble-gabble ; and, if you happen to get a nibble, they are certain to neglect their own lines in order to tell you ex-act-ly how to catch your fish."
" Oh, papa !" exclaimed Ada, " how uncompli- mentary you are ! But there are some things which even you will admit ladies can do better than gentle- men."
"And what may those things be?" asked Mr. Adair.
" Oh ! for fear of getting up a discussion-and I do abominate discussions-I will only claim superiority for the ladies in knitting, darning, and sewing ou but- tons."
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" I don't think your mother would admit," growled Mr. Howard, but in an evidently good-humored way, " that you are very expert in such work."
" Now, papa," said the young lady, pulling him gently by the ear, " none of your tales out of school."
Mr. Howard soon arose to go about his work, and preparations were at once begun for the fishing excur- sion. Mr. Adair got out his tackle, and adjusted and tied the lines to the cane poles, while Nelson procured for them an abundant supply of angle-worms for bait. About four o'clock the sun was partially obscured by clouds, and the heat so mitigated that a start was made.
On their way through the intervening fields, Mr. Adair, after some good-humored badinage with Ada, said : " Now, I will make either of you a bet. You remember what your father said about ladies fishing ! I will not be so ungallant as to say he was correct, but I will bet neither of you can pull your first fish out of the water and land it safely without a scream or excla- mation of some sort."
" Done !" exclaimed the whilom timid Ada, who now felt much more free and easy in Mr. Adair's pres- ence than did her older sister. " What shall the bet be ? "
" That is for you to say. Anything you like."
" Well, let me see. I want a nice riding-whip. Sister Laura has one, but I have none."
At the mention of the riding-whip, Mr. Adair could not resist taking a covert glance at Miss Howard, who, observing it, and remembering the incident on the road, could not prevent a rosy blush from over- spreading her cheeks and adding to the provoking
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freshness of her lips. There was a magnetism in that blush, and in those lips, that sent the blood tingling through Adair's veins, but turning quickly to Miss Ada, he said : "All right ! I'll bet you a nice riding- whip, but against what ? "
" There now !" exclaimed the apparently crestfallen girl, " I must n't bet money, you know ; for that would be like real betting. And I don't know what you would like. If I could paint like sister, I would bet you a picture, in which there should be a stranger riding up to our house on a lame horse, and attended by a young lady."
" What a marvellous faculty the little witch has," thought Adair, "for slyly but gently stepping on a body's toes," but he said nothing, and Miss Ada soon continued :
" Or, better still, sitting at our table as if he did n't know who any of us were ; looking as grave as a judge, and all the time laughing in his sleeve at the surprise he had in store for us all, excepting sister ; and, by- the-way, I don't yet understand how you two got acquainted."
"Capital ! capital !" exclaimed Mr. Adair, who did not care to enter upon any explanation of the introduc- tion. " What a genius you have for invention, if not for execution ! But, as you can't paint the picture for me-which I regret, for I should certainly esteem it as a great treasure, -perhaps you might induce some one to paint it for you."
Miss Howard knew very well that the last suggestion was pointed at her, but for the life of her she could not readily have framed an answer. But Ada came to her relief by exclaiming :
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" Oh, that would never do ! You would not then appreciate it for my sake. I would say a pair of gloves, but I don't like to knit, and, besides, I'm sure I could never make them to fit. But, what say you to a little bag of pop-corn ? Do you love pop-corn ? "
" The very thing !" he replied; and then, in a mus- ing mood, went on : " When the winter comes on and I sit by the fire, and list to the wind as it whistles without, I'll get out my skillet and, first, make it hot, then pour in my pop-corn and stir it about. And as the grains open and show me their hearts, I'll think of the maiden -- "
" Who ought to be there," interposed Ada, " and help you to eat it; for, of all things, it is the most unsociable to pop corn and eat it alone. For such a mortal the grains should never 'show their hearts,' as you call popping open, but should puff up with indig- nation and keep their jackets on."
" But, stranger as I am," replied Mr. Adair, " how am I to help it ; what am I to do ? "
"Oh, you'll know plenty of people by that time," she answered. "Besides, you have n't won the pop- corn yet."
By this time they were at the creek ; at a point where, after passing in rippling murmurs o'er a shallow, rocky bed, the current ran against an overhanging rocky bank and formed a slowly revolving pool, in the centre of which was a collection of foam. The spot was well shaded not only by the projecting rocks but by the overhanging forest trees.
"Ah !" whispered Mr. Adair, "there is just the spot to catch a solitary trout. Suppose, Miss Ada, you try it. But, stop, let me bait your hook and adjust
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your cork. There now, drop your hook just beyond the foam and let it drift slowly towards this bank ; and remember our bet."
In went the hook as directed, and the cork floated slowly around, while the fixed stare and half-sup- pressed breathing of the slight and delicate girl showed how keen was her interest. Suddenly the cork dis- appeared ; a jerk ; and " I've got it !" burst from her lips. A moment later, and there dangled from a limb overhead a trout some eight or nine inches long, which was considered a fine one for that stream.
"Oh, Mr. Adair !" went on the excited girl, "can't you get it down for me ? If it should get off the hook, it would fall back into the water. And, oh ! isn't it a beauty ? "
Mr. Adair could n't resist a hearty laugh at the excited, pleading girl, and, exclaiming in tones of mock solemnity, "Oh, that pop-corn !" he soon freed the line and brought the fish safe to land.
" What did you mean," Ada wonderingly asked, " by saying just now, 'Oh, that pop-corn !' ? I haven't lost my bet, have I ? "
" I rather think you have," replied Mr. Adair, with assumed gravity. "Remember, you were to land the fish without screaming, or uttering any exclamation."
" Ves, but I could n't help it, you know ; it got caught in the limb ; and I had to say what I did."
" Grant that. But what about your exclamations, ' I've got it !' and ' Oh ! isn't it a beauty !' ?"
"Oh, those were assertions, and true ones at that ; not exclamations, were they, sister ? "
" You must not call upon me." replied Miss Howard, " to decide between you and Mr. Adair."
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" Well, what say you," interposed Mr. Adair, " to calling it a drawn bet ? That is, I to get the pop-corni and you to get the riding-whip ?"
"Agreed ! agreed ! And now won't you bait my hook again, and maybe I can catch another !"
" I doubt," he replied, "if there was more than one trout in so small a pool, and if there was, I fear we have frightened the others away ; but, hand me your hook, I will bait it, and you can try again."
Ada did try again ; but, receiving no bites, it took only a few minutes to exhaust her patience. The party, continuing their course down the stream, soon came to a long, dark, sheltered pool, under the brow of a steep hill, and across which there had fallen a large black oak tree, the top branches of which rested on the hillside where our party stopped to fish.
Mr. Adair, after baiting the ladies' hooks, pointed out the most likely-looking spots into which to throw their hooks. They were soon rewarded by catching a dozen or more small sun-perch.
So much of Mr. Adair's time was taken up by wait- ing on the ladies -- taking off their fish and rebaiting their hooks-that he had but little time to fish himself, yet he succeeded in catching three or four larger fish than any caught by his fair companions. This was a source of much surprise to Ada, who, pinning her faith to Mr. Adair, fished as close to him as she con- veniently could, never dreaming of rudeness or unfair- ness in doing so. She could not understand why it was the big fish chose his bait in preference to hers ! Nor could it be explained in any other way than by what is usually termed " fisherman's luck." Such luck is, however, in most cases, the result of a skill 5
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which, with many, is seemingly intuitive, and cannot be imparted.
After fishing for some time, Miss Howard said she intended walking out on the fallen tree, and fishing near the opposite shore where there was a clear space among the drift which had lodged against the fallen tree. It was indeed a "likely spot," and Mr. Adair had had his eyes on it for some time, but was unwilling to leave the ladies who so often required his assistance.
" I can easily assist you on to the fallen tree," he said, " and there would be little or no danger in your attempting to walk across ; but I fear, if you attempt to stand on the trunk, you may, in handling your pole or pulling out your fish, lose your balance and fall into the water."
" I will be very careful," she replied, " and if, when I get out on the trunk, I feel that there is any danger, I will immediately return." Then, folding up her line, and using her cane pole as a walking staff, she was soon, without any assistance, on the trunk, and walked very steadily to the desired spot, when she unwound her line and threw in her hook.
Mr. Adair, who had been watching Miss Howard very closely, then turned to Ada and said : " I think I had better go out on the log also ; for, even if no acci- dent, should happen, your sister has no bait with her and if she catches any fish she cannot well take them off the hook and throw them to the shore."
" Yes, please go," said Ada, who felt some uneasi- ness at her sister's position. "And," she added, jest- ingly, " be careful that you don't fall in ; for, if you do I won't promise to jump in and rescue you."
" All right !" was the smiling rejoinder ; " I '11 be
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careful for your sake ; and will return to your service whenever wanted." He then sprang upon the fallen tree, and well he did, for at that moment Miss Howard fell into the water.
She had scarcely thrown her hook into the clear space among the drift when she hooked a much larger fish than any they had yet caught. The fish, in its frantic efforts to prevent being drawn from its native element, dashed to and fro and soon fouled the line among the drift-wood ; and, not knowing this, Miss Howard gave such a vigorous pull that the line broke. This caused her to lose her balance, but, so active was she, that she would have recovered herself had not some decayed bark, on which she was standing, slipped from its trunk and precipitated her into the water, on the lower side of the fallen tree.
Adair sprang forward and extended his fishing-pole, crying to her to "take hold of it" : but, partially strangled as she was, she either did not hear or could not heed him. He was by no means an expert swim- mer, but at once plunged in to her assistance. When he had caught hold of her, she grasped him, and with her arms around his neck, clung to him with such tenacity that it was with much difficulty he could keep his head above water. In the meanwhile they had floated some fifteen to twenty feet from the fallen tree, to return to which he would have to swim against the current. Glancing hastily around, he saw that, below him, the banks on both sides were so high and steep that it would be difficult, if not impossible, for them to get out in that way. But, by following the course of the current for thirty or forty feet, he felt sure they would come to shallow water, and be able to walk.
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Then speaking in a peremptory manner to his almost unconscious burden " to put her hands on his shoul- ders, but not to grasp his arms or neck,"-which instructions she tried her best to obey, -he struck out, and, sure enough, his feet soon touched bottom and all danger was over; for Miss Howard, though badly strangled, was at no time entirely unconscious, and after a few minutes' rest on shore, was able to speak to her sister who was kneeling by her side.
Ada, on observing the accident to her sister, rushed around the border of the pool, in doing which she had to pass a point where the hillside was very steep, and happening to step on a loose stone, she fell, and would have rolled over the bank into the stream but for a small tree which stopped her progress, and against which she struck with such violence as to bruise her arm severely. She further sustained, from striking a sharp stone, a slight cut on her left cheek near the chin, which bled quite freely. She, however, suc- ceeded in reaching her sister by the time Mr. Adair had seated her on the soft grassy bank.
For a few moments after Miss Howard was seated she gazed about her in a somewhat dazed manner, until she observed the pale face of her sister, upon which there were traces of blood, when she cried out, " Oh, Ada ! what has happened ? what is the matter ? "
"Oh, thank God, you are safe, darling sister ! and I have only fallen and scratched my face. But, are you hurt in any way ?"
"No, not hurt, I only feel dizzy ; every thing around me seems to be moving-swimming!"
" That sensation," said Mr. Adair, "will soon pass off. But come, Miss Ada, let me look at that scratch,
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for it is still bleeding some." And taking her by the left arm-the bruised one-to assist her in rising, it caused her much pain.
"Oh, don't touch it !" she cried out ; "I hurt it badly when I fell."
" Do examine it, Mr. Adair," pleaded Miss Howard, who was now thoroughly alarmed.
The first glance showed traces of blood which had oozed through the sleeve of Ada's dress of printed calico. Adair, with his penknife, quickly split the sleeve from the shoulder to the wrist, leaving her small but white and beautifully rounded arm quite bare.
There was a large purple spot above the elbow, and below it a severe abrasion, but he could discover no evidence of any bones having been broken, of which he hastened to assure the sufferer. Then, seating Ada beside her sister, he tore off a strip of his wet pocket- handkerchief, and tied it around the arm over the abrasion. Then, going to the creek, he soon returned with a handful of soft black mud, which he spread, as a poultice. upon another strip of his handherchief, and bound it carefully over and around the bruised spot, which had the effect in a few moments of affording considerable relief.
Ada was outspoken in the expression of her thanks, winding up by saying, " Oh, how fortunate it is you were with us ! Again you have saved my sister's life ; and to poor wounded and bruised me "-she said with a faint, sweet smile -- " you have been the good Sam- aritan."
" And I," said Miss Howard, in a low tone and in an abstracted manner, -" yes, I ought to thank you, oh how much, but -- but-"
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" Come, come," interposed Mr. Adair, pleasantly. " Enough of thanks. It would almost have been worth the ducking if you had secured that fish, which was evidently a large one. Nor must you accuse yourself of recklessness, nor even carelessness, for you would not have fallen but for the slipping of the bark from the trunk of the tree. And as for you, Miss Ada," he added, addressing her, " the scar on your face is but small, has now ceased bleeding, and will never mar your beauty. As for that lame arm, it will only keep you from work for a few days, and will not prevent your talking just as much as you please. But you should not let that arm hang down by your side. Give me your handkerchief, and with that and the remain- ing strip of my own, I will soon fix you a sling for it."
The sling having been adjusted, and Ada's arm placed in a comfortable position, Adair resumed, " There now, that 's fixed nicely ! Now wait for a moment until I can collect our fish and tackle, and we will start for home."
On their way back but little was said. Mr. Adair did what he could to cheer up his companions, but Ada was now in some pain, and Miss Howard more reserved than usual ; and, when spoken to, had to arouse her- self as if from a deep reverie before she could reply, . and then, usually, in monosyllables.
On arriving at the house, Joseph, in a few words, explained to Mrs. Howard what had happened, omit- ting, however, to dwell upon the danger to which her daughter had been exposed ; but this, she readily con- jectured, and one look at that daughter brought from her the prompt declaration : " Yes, mother, he has again saved my life." Whereupon the good woman
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grasped Joseph by the hand, and in a faltering voice said : "Joseph, a mother thanks you with-all-her- heart." Then, as if to hide her own weakness, she suddenly turned to her daughter and said, almost sharply : "Go, Laura, at once to your room, and get on dry clothing. I will send you a glass of cherry cordial which you must drink, and then lie down and take a nap if you can." Then, turning again to Joseph, she said : "My husband and sons have cloth- ing from which you can select what you require. The articles shall be sent to your room at once." But he assured her he had everything in his saddle-bags which he required, and withdrew.
As soon as Mr. Adair had left the room, Ada ex- plained to her mother all that had happened ; about the fall ; what Mr. Adair had done for her, etc.
" Well, well !" exclaimed the mother. after listen- ing attentively to Ada's recital, "I thank the Lord you both had so cool and sensible a man with you ! The mud plaster is as good a thing as you could have on ; but I will look at it, and, if it is getting dry, will moisten it with some tepid water. Your arm, where it is skinned, must be bound up in a soft rag, greased with suet."
She had scarcely attended to this duty when her hus- band entered, to whom she hurriedly explained what had happened.
"I-wish-I-may -- be-dashed !" exclaimed Mr. Howard, " if they were not lucky to get off as well as they did."
To Joseph, when he afterwards met him, Mr. How- ard only said, " Sarah has told me all, and, my boy, I thank you"; and then turned away as if to
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relieve Joseph from the necessity of making any answer.
Mrs. Howard, after her interview with her husband, repaired to the room of her daughter to see how she was, and whether she had taken the cherry cordial, hoping thus to ward off a chill, which she feared would result from her having remained so long in her wet clothing. She found Laura re-dressed, and remained with her for some time in close and earnest conversa- tion. She then sought her husband, and had a few earnest words with him, when supper was an- nounced.
Miss Howard appeared at the table, but was still pale and unusually quiet ; Ada, however, had recov- ered her spirits, and told her father of her bet with Mr. Adair, and how it had been decided.
"No man," replied the father, "should ever make a bet with a woman. If she wins, she is the most exacting of creditors. If she loses, and can't squirm out of it, she is sure, openly or secretly, to accuse the man who requires payment of ungallantry, to say the least."
This apparently bitter speech had only the effect to occasion some merriment. As for Ada, she declared that her father could not decoy her into an argument ; that, in compromising the bet, she had accepted a proposition made by Mr. Adair, who was old enough to look after his own business.
"Oh !" exclaimed Mr. Adair, " that 's the unkind- est cut of all ! You have called me old."
"Oh, now," Ada answered, "you know that I don't mean really old : and, to make amends, I'll say / think you are exactly the right age."
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" For what ? " queried Adair, who seemed to be in a teasing mood.
"To pull out young ladies who fall into fishing pools, and to bind up the bruised arms of girls who roll down hill too fast," was the prompt reply.
" Yes," added Mr. Howard, "I cautioned Joseph before he started that, if he took you wild fillies along, he would have no luck, but I did not think he would be so unfortunate, and I'm sure it will be many a day before he makes another such venture."
" On the contrary," replied Joseph, "whenever the ladies feel like going a-fishing again, I hope they will let me know, for I would be delighted to give such apt pupils a few more lessons ; for, really, they were both so very quiet when fishing as to be acquitted of the sweeping charges you made at the dinner-table."
" Well, well," said Mr. Howard, "things do seem to have turned around ! Laura, here, has lost a por- tion of her tongue, but this pussy," indicating Ada, " has evidently found it, for I never heard her tongue wag so fast as it has since we sat down."
"Now, papa," exclaimed Ada, " you just stop try- ing to talk cross, for you don't frighten anybody. Sister has a headache ; and, as for me, if you don't like to hear me chatter, perhaps somebody else does. Don't you, mamma ? "
"Certainly I do," was the smiling reply. " And if you were to talk and laugh more, you would perhaps get heartier and stronger."
When supper was over Mr. Howard and Adair took a walk to the grass lot to see how the latter's horse was getting along, and found him much improved by his rest. It was then Adair told his kind host that he pur-
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posed leaving the following morning for town, but hoped to see him and his family again soon and quite often, for he now thought it almost certain he would make Salem his home.
" I have some business in town," replied Mr. How- ard, "and will go in with you in the morning, and introduce you to any of my friends or acquaintances I may see. And remember, once for all, I wish you to consider me at your service whenever I can aid or assist you in any way." And, without giving Adair a chance to thank him, he continued : "And there is an- other matter I must mention to you ; the green pebble, as you called it, which you gave to Laura when a baby. Some years ago a friend of mine, who professed to be something of a lapidary, examined it and pro- nounced it an emerald. I have since had it examined by others, and amongst them a Jew peddler, who offered two hundred dollars for it, and, I think, would have paid more for it, but he at once found it was not for sale. I have been advised to send it to some of the Eastern cities and have it cut ; but Laura has preferred to retain it as it was when presented to her. Now, she has no real use for such a gem, and you, in order to establish yourself in business, may need some money. I am therefore not only authorized to offer you the stone, but urge you to accept it, so that its value- which may be as much as five hundred to one thousand dollars-may be put to some practical use."
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