"Zane Grey - Betty Zane" - читать интересную книгу автора (Grey Zane)

trading the island in the river opposite the settlement for a barrel of
whiskey. Logan, the Mingo chief and friend of the whites, had smoked many
pipes of peace there with Colonel Zane. At a later period, when King Louis
Phillippe, who had been exiled from France by Napoleon, had come to America,
during the course of his melancholy wanderings he had stopped at Fort Henry a
few days. His stay there was marked by a fierce blizzard and the royal guest
passed most of his time at Colonel Zane's fireside. Musing by those roaring
logs perhaps he saw the radiant star of the Man of Destiny rise to its
magnificent zenith.

One cold, raw night in early spring the Colonel had just returned from one of
his hunting trips and the tramping of horses mingled with the rough voices of
the negro slaves sounded without. When Colonel Zane entered the house he was
greeted affectionately by his wife and sister. The latter, at the death of her
aunt in Philadelphia, had come west to live with her brother, and had been
there since late in the preceding autumn. It was a welcome sight for the eyes
of a tired and weary hunter. The tender kiss of his comely wife, the cries of
the delighted children, and the crackling of the fire warmed his heart and
made him feel how good it was to be home again after a three days' march in
the woods. Placing his rifle in a corner and throwing aside his wet hunting
coat, he turned and stood with his back to the bright blaze. Still young and
vigorous, Colonel Zane was a handsome man. Tall, though not heavy, his frame
denoted great strength and endurance. His face was smooth, his heavy eyebrows
met in a straight line; his eyes were dark and now beamed with a kindly light;
his jaw was square and massive; his mouth resolute; in fact, his whole face
was strikingly expressive of courage and geniality. A great wolf dog had
followed him in and, tired from travel, had stretched himself out before the
fireplace, laying his noble head on the paws he had extended toward the warm
blaze.

"Well! Well! I am nearly starved and mighty glad to get back," said the
Colonel, with a smile of satisfaction at the steaming dishes a negro servant
was bringing from the kitchen.

"We are glad you have returned," answered his wife, whose glowing face
testified to the pleasure she felt. "Supper is ready--Annie, bring in some
cream--yes, indeed, I am happy that you are home. I never have a moment's
peace when you are away, especially when you are accompanied by Lewis Wetzel."

"Our hunt was a failure," said the Colonel, after he had helped himself to a
plate full of roast wild turkey. "The bears have just come out of their
winter's sleep and are unusually wary at this time. We saw many signs of their
work, tearing rotten logs to pieces in search of grubs and bees' nests. Wetzel
killed a deer and we baited a likely place where we had discovered many bear
tracks. We stayed up all night in a drizzling rain, hoping to get a shot. I am
tired out. So is Tige. Wetzel did not mind the weather or the ill luck, and
when we ran across some Indian sign he went off on one of his lonely tramps,
leaving me to come home alone."

"He is such a reckless man," remarked Mrs. Zane.