of glass, and made to be secured at a moment’s
warning, by means of thick stone shutters on the inside.
The fire-place was ample at the hearth, but the flue
through which the smoke escaped was small, and ran
in a serpentine direction up through the northern wall;
while the ceiling was overlaid with smooth flat stones,
fastened down with huge iron spikes, and supported
by strong wooden joists. The furniture consisted
of a few trunks, (which answered for seats,) two camp
beds, four barrels of hard biscuit, a few dishes and
cooking utensils, and a quantity of hunting implements.
Many times did Joe shake his head in wonderment as
this house was preparing for his reception. It
seemed to him too much danger was apprehended from
without, and it too much resembled a solitary, and
secure prison, should one be confined within.
Nevertheless, he was permitted to adopt his own plan
in the construction of a shelter for the horses.
And the retention of these animals was some relief
to his otherwise gloomy forebodings, when he beheld
the erection of his master’s suspicious tenement.
He superintended the building of a substantial and
comfortable stable. He had stalls, a small granary,
and a regular rack made for the accommodation of the
horses, and procured, with difficulty and no little
expense, a supply of provender. The space, including
the buildings, which had been cleared of the roots
and stones, for the purpose of cultivating a garden,
was about one hundred feet in diameter, and enclosed
by a circular row of posts driven firmly in the ground,
and rising some ten feet above the surface. These
were planted so closely together that even a squirrel
would have found it difficult to enter without climbing
over them. Indeed, Joe had an especial eye to
this department, having heard some awful tales of the
snakes that somewhat abounded in those regions in
the warm seasons.
One corner of the stable, wherein a quantity of straw
was placed, was appropriated for the comfort of the
dogs, Ringwood and Jowler, which had been presented
to Glenn by his obliging friend, after they had exhibited
their skill in the bear hunt.
When every thing was completed, preparatory for his
removal thither, Glenn dismissed his faithful artisans,
bestowing upon them a liberal reward for their labour,
and took possession of his castle. But, notwithstanding
the strange manner in which he proposed to spend his
days, and his habitual grave demeanour and taciturnity,
yet his kind tone, when he uttered a request, or ventured
a remark, on the transactions passing around him,
and his contempt for money, which he squandered with
a prodigal hand, had secured for him the good-will
of the ferrymen, and the friendship of the surrounding
emigrants. But there was one whose esteem had
no venal mixture in it. This was Mary, the old
ferryman’s daughter, a fair-cheeked girl of nineteen,
who never neglected an opportunity of performing a
kind office for her father’s temporary guest;
and when he and his man departed for their own tenement,
not venturing directly to bestow them on our hero,
she presented Joe with divers articles for their amusement
and comfort in their secluded abode, among which were
sundry live fowls, a pet fawn, and a kitten.