Waltey

Prevod

Ko so Huroni leta 1806 prišli v Sandwich nasproti michiganske obale in se utaborili blizu cerkve za vsakoletni »praznik divjakov«, ki je bil predvsem verske narave, a so ga spremljali tudi pojedine, športne igre in popivanje, je neka starka iz plemena Angelique Couture napovedala, da bo kmalu tekla kri v potokih in da bodo belci in Indijanci drug drugemu stregli po življenju. V tistih časih s takšno prerokbo ni bilo težko zadeti resnice, in čeprav jo je Angelique ponovila prijateljem, si zaradi nje ni delala skrbi. Ko pa se je leta 1812 prikazal komet, je ljudi obšel strah — in to upravičeno, kajti kmalu je izbruhnila vojna z Anglijo. Dekletovi bratje so se bojevali pod rdečo zastavo, njen ljubi, Francois Navarre, pa pod zvezdami in progami.

Nekega dne je kruti general Proctor skozi Sandwich peljal ujetnike k Huronom, ki naj bi jih po svoji ustaljeni navadi usmrtili. Ko so šli mimo, stokajoč ob misli na usodo, ki jih je čakala, z razbolelimi nogami in prekriti s prahom, je Angelique skoraj omedlela, saj je med njimi prepoznala svojega ljubega. Tudi on jo je zagledal in Proctorju ni ušlo, da sta se prepoznala. Naj je njuna bridkost za hip omehčala njegovo divje srce ali pa jima je hotel bolečino še povečati s trenutnim okusom radosti, gotovo je le to, da je ob prihodu v tabor Francroisa na častno besedo izpustil do sončnega zahoda. Mladenič je pohitel k dekletovi hiši in eno uro sta bila srečna v svoji žalosti. Skušala ga je pregovoriti, naj prelomi dano besedo in pobegne, a je odklonil, in ko je sonce zahajalo, se je iztrgal iz njenega objema ter pohitel nazaj k tovarišem v nesreči.

Njegovi ječarji so ga zaradi tega častnega dejanja občudovali in če bi le hotel, bi ga bili takoj sprejeli v svoje pleme. Ker se za to ni odločil, so mu vsaj dovolili ostati nevezan. Komaj je sonce zašlo, je ob bregu pristalo več čolnov z novo skupino ujetnikov in Indijanci so z radostnimi kriki stekli k reki, da bi jih prignali v tabor. Francois je imel le bežno priložnost, a jo je izkoristil. V vsesplošnem razburjenju ga ni nihče opazoval. Zdaj ga častna beseda ni več vezala in z vso naglico je planil v gozd. Ni minila niti minuta, ko so odkrili, da ga ni, toda bil je prevešč gozda: izmenoma je tekel in se skrival, in ker mu je pomagala vse gostejša tema, je divjake kmalu pustil daleč za seboj.

Skupina Angležev je odšla k Angelique domov, prepričana, da se bo zagotovo vrnil k njej; vendar je bil preveč prebrisan za kaj takega in zaman so streljali navzgor v dimnike ter z bajoneti prebadali postelje. Angelique je ta vdor navdal z grozo, toda možem je bilo ukazano, naj ženski ne storijo nič žalega, in navsezadnje jo je razveseljevala misel, da je Francois pobegnil. Čez nekaj dni je na njena vrata prišel eden od Huronov in pomenljivo pokazal na svež skalp, ki mu je visel za pasom. V prepričanju, da je skalp njenega ljubega, je zbolela in začela hirati, nekega večera pa je na vratih zaslišala tiho trkanje. Odprla jih je in na pragu zagledala čepico.

Zraven ni bilo nobenega pisma, pa vendar ji je srce v prsih poskočilo in v lica se ji je vrnila barva, saj je prepoznala čepico svojega ljubega. Pozneje je izvedela, da se je Francois držal gozda, dokler ni prišel do kraja, kjer danes stoji Walkerville; tam je našel kanu in varno priveslal na ameriško stran. Pozneje se mu je pridružila v Detroitu in ob koncu vojne sta se poročila. Vso vojno je služil častno in v lastno zadovoljstvo, saj je imel priložnost poravnati marsikateri stari račun z rdečesuknjičniki in Indijanci.

Izvirnik

When the Hurons came to Sandwich, opposite the Michigan shore, in 1806, and camped near the church for the annual “festival of savages,” which was religious primarily, but incidentally gastronomic, athletic, and alcoholic, an old woman of the tribe foretold to Angelique Couture that, ere long, blood would be shed freely and white men and Indians would take each other's lives. That was a reasonably safe prophecy in those days, and, though Angelique repeated it to her friends, she did not worry over it. But when the comet of 1812 appeared the people grew afraid--and with cause, for the war soon began with England. The girl's brothers fought under the red flag; her lover, Francois Navarre, under the stars and stripes.

The cruel General Proctor one day passed through Sandwich with prisoners on his way to the Hurons, who were to put them to death in the usual manner. As they passed by, groaning in anticipation of their fate, foot-sore and covered with dust, Angelique nearly swooned, for among them she recognized her lover. He, too, had seen her, and the recognition had been noticed by Proctor. Whether his savage heart was for the moment softened by their anguish, or whether he wished to heighten their pain by a momentary taste of joy, it is certain that on reaching camp he paroled Francrois until sunset. The young man hastened to the girl's house, and for one hour they were sadly happy. She tried to make him break his parole and escape, but he refused, and as the sun sank he tore himself from her arms and hastened to rejoin his companions in misery.

His captors admired him for this act of honor, and had he so willed he could have been then and there received into their tribe. As it was, they allowed him to remain unbound. Hardly had the sun gone down when a number of boats drew up at the beach with another lot of prisoners, and with yells of rejoicing the Indians ran to the river to drive them into camp. Francois's opportunity was brief, but he seized it. In the excitement he had been unobserved. He was not under oath now, and with all speed he dashed into the wood. Less than a minute had elapsed before his absence was discovered, but he was a cunning woodman, and by alternately running and hiding, with gathering darkness in his favor, he had soon put the savages at a distance.

A band of English went to Angelique's home, thinking that he would be sure to rejoin her; but he was too shrewd for that, and it was in vain that they fired guns up the chimneys and thrust bayonets into beds. Angelique was terrified at this intrusion, but the men had been ordered not to injure the woman, and she was glad, after all, to think that Francois had escaped. Some days later one of the Hurons came to her door and pointed significantly to a fresh scalp that hung at his belt. In the belief that it was her lover's she grew ill and began to fade, but one evening there came a faint tap at the door. She opened it to find a cap on the door-step.

There was no writing, yet her heart rose in her bosom and the color came back to her cheeks, for she recognized it as her lover's. Later, she learned that Francois had kept to the forest until he reached the site of Walkerville, where he had found a canoe and reached the American side in safety. She afterward rejoined him in Detroit, and they were married at the end of the war, through which he served with honor and satisfaction to himself, being enabled to pay many old scores against the red-coats and the Indians.

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