Chapter 22

"Fear not, till Birnam Wood
Shall come to Dunsinane."

_Macbeth_.

I cannot say I was quite satisfied with the manner of Susquesus; nor, on
the other hand, was I absolutely uneasy. All might be well; and, if it were
not, the power of this man to injure us could not be very great. A new
occurrence, however, raised very unpleasant doubts of his honesty. Jumper
being out on a hunt, the Onondago was sent across to Ravensnest the next
trip, out of his turn; but, instead of returning, as had been the practice
of both, the next day, we saw no more of him for near a fortnight. As
we talked over this sudden and unexpected disappearance, we came to the
conclusion, that, perceiving he was distrusted, the fellow had deserted,
and would be seen no more. During his absence, we paid a visit to
Ravensnest ourselves, spending two or three happy days with the girls,
whom we found delighted with the wildness of their abode, and as happy as
innocence, health, and ceaseless interest in the forest and its habits,
could make them. Herman Mordaunt, having fortified his house sufficiently,
as he fancied, to remove all danger of an assault, returned with us to
Mooseridge, and passed two or three days in walking over and examining
the quality of the land, together with the advantages offered by the
water-courses. As for Mr. Worden and Jason, the former had gone to join the
army, craving the flesh-pots of a regimental mess, in preference to the
simple fare of the woods; while Jason had driven a hard bargain with Herman
Mordaunt for the possession of the mill-seat; which had been the subject of
frequent discussions between the parties, and about which the pedagogue had
deemed it prudent to draw on the wisdom of Mother Doortje. As the reader
may have some curiosity to know how such things were conducted in the
colony, in the year 1758, I will recapitulate the terms of the bargain that
was finally agreed on, signed and sealed.

Herman Mordaunt expected no emolument to himself, from Ravensnest, but
looked forward solely to a provision for posterity. In consequence of these
views, he refused to sell, but gave leases on such conditions as would
induce tenants to come into his terms, in a country in which land was far
plentier than men. For some reason, that never was very clear to me, he was
particularly anxious to secure Jason Newcome, and no tolerable terms seemed
extravagant to effect his purpose. It is not surprising, therefore,
that our miller in perspective got much the best of the bargain, as its
conditions will show.

The lease was for three lives, and twenty-one years afterwards. This would
have been thought equal to a lease for forty-two years, in that day, in
Europe; but experience is showing that it is, in