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And it was no longer Seguin, the idler, the artisan of nothingness, whom Mathieu came to see there, it was his own son Ambroise, a man of creative energy, whose victory had been sought by the very forces of life, which had made him triumph there, installed him as the master in the home of the vanquished. When Mathieu and Denis arrived Ambroise was absent, but was expected home for lunch.
"They were given by the Spaniards of Sonora; but they are only translations or synonyms of their Indian appellations. That is common upon the frontier." "Why are they here?" I put this question with hesitation, as I knew there might be some peculiar history connected with the answer. "Partly," replied Seguin, "from gratitude, I believe, to myself.
Said he, the words of the Old Testament, "Increase and multiply," were not to be found in the New Testament, which was the true basis of the Christian religion. The first Christians, he declared, had held marriage in horror, and with them the Holy Virgin had become the ideal of womanhood. Seguin thereupon nodded approval and proceeded to give his opinions on feminine beauty.
In order to obtain a basis for the approximate calculation, we may assume, with Lavoisier and Seguin, that an adult man absorbs into his system 32 1/2 ounces of oxygen daily, that is, 46,037 cubic inches = 15,661 grains, French weight; and further, that the weight of the whole mass of his blood is 24 pounds, of which 80 per cent. is water.
We may be too late, for horses can hear each other miles off; and the slightest concussion vibrates afar through the elastic atmosphere of these high plateaux. We reach the caballada. What is Seguin doing? He has torn the blanket from under his saddle, and is muffling the head of his horse! We follow his example, without exchanging a word, for we know this is the only plan to pursue.
Near the trail, and overlooking it, a high mountain rises out of the plain. It is the Pinon. It was our design to reach this mountain, and "cacher" among the rocks, near a well-known spring, until our enemies should pass; but to effect this we would have to cross the war-trail, and our own tracks would betray us. Here was a difficulty which had not occurred to Seguin.
Stop here, youngster, and in an hour I shall send you a buck." "A buck at four o'clock? How are you to tell that?" And I felt that I opened my eyes as an oyster does his bivalve domicile at high water. "A buck! you are joking." "I never joke," said the Père Séguin with a hoarse grunt, walking away, and his face did not belie his words.
Not finding him there, should they not discover our tracks, they would return upon the war-trail to their country. This, we all saw, would render our expedition impracticable, as Dacoma's band alone outnumbered us; and should we meet them in their mountain fastnesses, we should have no chance of escape. For some time Seguin remained silent, with his eyes fixed on the ground.
Seguin was communicative. His spirits were high. His hopes were buoyant. The prospect of again embracing his long-lost child imbued him, as it were, with new life. He had not, he said, felt so happy for many years. "It is true," said he, in answer to a question I had put, "there is little known of this whole region, beyond the boundaries of the Mexican settlements.
He knows these diggin's better'n any o' us; an' he oughter know whur to cacher, I reckin. He's did that, I'll be boun'." "Ay, if he would," said I, thinking that Seguin might have followed the captives, and thrown away his life recklessly. "Don't be skeert about him, young fellur. The cap ain't a-gwine to put his fingers into a bee's nest whur thur's no honey; he ain't."
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