CHAPTER VIII

GENERAL NICOLAI AGAIN

EARLY the next morning, Freskel opened the door of Grubert's cottage, and found only Tonie in the kitchen.

"What is it, Freskel?" asked Tonie, who was lighting the fire and getting things ready for Blonda to prepare the breakfast.

"There is to be a great hunt in the forest, Tonie; some fine people from the Tzar's city came to Klingengolf yesterday, and they are all driving down to Carfoos in their Russian troika sledges, and here they will put on snow shoes, and go on foot into the wood and round among the hills, to look for beasts to slay; and Freskel will guide the hunters and find them a bear, and for that Freskel will have money—silver money!" And the lad's eyes gleamed avariciously.

"And what use hast thou for money?" asked Blonda, who at that moment entered the kitchen and heard Freskel's words.

"I want it to hoard; to hoard and to look at sometimes, so that I may hug myself to think how rich Freskel—the poor, foolish Freskel is," replied the youth, his whole full of a covetous greed, which gave it a strangely repulsive appearance.

"Then beware, my lad!" said Grubert's deep voice, for the woodman too had come downstairs, and now joined the little group. "For hark ye, Freskel Valden, the devil baits some of his deadliest traps with silver and gold, and the miser's heart is his very throne. Yes, beware, Freskel, for thou art in danger."

The lad looked from one to another of his friends with a half-puzzled, half-cunning look, which they could not understand. Then he was turning sulkily away, when Grubert said—

"Leave us not, Freskel, until thou hast broken thy fast. Come and share our meal; there is plenty for all."

So Freskel sat down with them.

And while they were eating, Blonda, suddenly remembering the disappearance of the linen, and thinking that Freskel might perhaps throw some light upon her loss, said, "By the bye, Freskel, such a strange thing has happened to me; I have lost some linen towelling I had woven. Did any beggar or stranger chance to come in while thou wert alone here a day or two ago, or didst thou perchance leave the door open when thine errand here was done? The roll could not have disappeared by itself, yet gone it most surely is."

Freskel gave no reply for a minute, but he put down the wooden spoon with which he was eating his barley porridge, and glanced round the table quickly, furtively.

"No," he said, at last, "Freskel knows nothing; how should a poor fool like Freskel know?" Then he gulped down his mug of milk, stuffed a bunch of rye bread into his pocket, and rose abruptly from the table.

"The hunt will be out," he said, "and I must go, for how will the grand city people find their way without Freskel to guide them?"

And seemingly glad to get away, he opened the door, and sprang across the threshold, and into the forest, to meet the party who had bespoken his services as leader.

Grubert and Tonie went out soon after breakfast, but shortly returned, saying that Philip Bexal had given all the woodmen a holiday on account of the hunt, so that no felling or carting of timber should disturb the game, or interfere with the sportsmen, who, he had heard, were some very grand people from the Court of St. Petersburg.

Thinking, however, that they might be of service in some way, and wishing, at all events, to see the sport, if they could do so without going too far from home, the father and son soon set forth again, asking Blonda to bring their dinner to them, and promising to meet her, as near one o'clock as possible, at a place known by the name of the Grey Cave, a deep, rocky hollow in a sort of cliff, at the back of which a chain of hills, full of boulders and fragments of stone, skirted the eastern side of the forest.

Blonda had plenty to do all the morning, and by noon she was quite glad to set her kitchen in order, pack up the dinner in a basket, and dress herself for going out. It was a cold day, and she was clothed even more warmly than usual, adding to her accustomed wraps a large, thick scarlet shawl, which she folded corner-wise and put round her head, crossing it over her chest, and loosely looping together the ends behind at the waist.

As she trotted away with her sheep-skin capote, her high over-all felt boots, her red shawl, her basket on her arm, and a stout stick in her hand, she looked like a very comfortable, substantial "Little Red Riding Hood," going forth to see the world, but far too sensible and experienced to be taken in by any sort of wolf which Finland could produce.

Blonda did not go into the wood at all, but kept along at the foot of the range of hills, wending her way in and out among the great blocks of stone, and avoiding the deep snowdrifts, which her practised eye easily detected. Arrived at the cave, she set down her basket on a flat stone, and creeping just within the arch of the cavern, for shelter from the keen wind, she sat down to rest a bit, for she had been on her feet all the morning, and now she was a little weary with her walk.

Suddenly she heard in the distance a baying of dogs; then there was silence, then again the barking quite near, and a minute after, two great, powerful hounds sprang out of the forest. For one instant they paused opposite the cave, eying Blonda curiously, their handsome heads erect, their hair bristling. She rose from her seat on the stone and made a step towards them; but that moment they put their noses to the snow once more, seemed to recover the scent, and dashed past her into the inner recesses of the Grey Cave.

For a minute or two, there was a great noise at the back of the cavern: eager scratching up of snow, barking and growling, and angry grunts.

By this time Blonda had left the cave, and now stood outside, and well to the left. It was a good thing that she did so, for all at once, there was a strange, shuffling, scrambling noise, and out of the cave there rushed a huge brown bear, followed by the dogs, which were worrying him, and trying to bite through his shaggy fur. At the same moment, from among the trees, there stepped a tall, commanding form, which the little girl recognised at once as that of General Nicolai.

The bear had shuffled by him and was in full retreat, when the young officer raised his gun and fired. The bullet wounded the beast without disabling it, and, furious with pain, the animal turned before the sportsman had time to load again. Shouldering one of the hounds aside and half stunning the other with a cuff, Bruin rushed back, reared up on his hind legs, and seizing the gun, bit and crushed it out of shape with his teeth, while he fixed the claws of one great paw in the fur-covered shoulder of his assailant.

It must have fared badly indeed with General Nicolai had not Blonda at that moment, seeing his peril, thought of a way to help him. She suddenly tore off her red shawl, and coming close up behind the bear, she dexterously threw the soft, clinging folds right over the great beast's head and face. In the same instant, the dogs attacked him once more, and poor Bruin, bewildered, blinded, and entangled, rolled over backwards, madly clawing the air.

Just then loud shouts, cries, and exclamations announced the arrival on the scene of the rest of the hunting party, who had been led off by Freskel and their dogs for some distance on a new trail, before they missed the general. By them, the poor bear was shortly despatched; and no sooner was he dead, than one of the newly-arrived gentleman, an elderly man, approached the young officer, and with respectful anxiety enquired if he were hurt. But, happily, the general's fur coat was thick, and the cloth of firm, close texture, so that the bear's claws had not penetrated far.

"So calm thine anxiety, my friend," said the young officer, laughing. "In no way do I find myself the worse for this encounter, though, without doubt, I must have been but for my little deliverer. See, there she stands, my brave little maid with the blue eyes. By my faith, that was something like presence of mind! Just at the critical moment she turned the fortunes of the fight in my favour. And now I look closer at this child," continued the young man, "methinks I have seen those innocent eyes and flaxen locks before. Is it so, little one?"

"It is even so, sir general," replied Blonda. "I am Blonda, daughter of Grubert Reuss."

"And when and where did we meet, little Blonda? Tell me that."

"Last summer, sir, in the grotto by the lake, just after Philip Bexal told you the story of the Isle of Ghosts."

"Ah, yes!" laughed the young man. "I cannot but remember thee now; thou hast once more chapter and verse for everything, even as thou hadst then. And said I not that I hoped one day to see thee again, and also make the acquaintance of thy father and brother, and visit you all in your home?"

"Yes, sir, you did indeed," replied Blonda; "and there are my father and brother, sir general; they are standing with Freskel Valden behind your friends of the hunt."

"Come forward, Grubert Reuss, and thy son too," said the young man, raising his voice a little. "Here, my good fellows, you have a daughter and a sister to be proud of. And thou also, thou strange lad, who shrinkest away out of sight, I would speak with thee," he added, beckoning to Freskel. "So Freskel Valden is thy name?"

"Yes, I am Freskel," replied the youth.

"Thou, too, art no stranger to me," said the officer; "long ago this little maid spoke of thee, saying how wise love made thee in many ways. Thou seest, Blondinka, I have not forgotten thy words. Nay, Freskel, hang not thy head. If thou think that thou art scarce deserving of all the kind things our little friend hath spoken of thee, see to it that at least thou deserve them in the future. And now, Grubert Reuss," continued the general, "lead on and show me the way to thy house. Many things have I seen in this part of my—of Finland, but the inside of a woodman's cottage is still to me an undiscovered country. And beside, I would have some further talk with my little friend here."

The elderly gentleman, who seemed to be the next in rank to the general, now ventured a few words of expostulation, which the young man did not take very well.

"Pray, who is master here? Tell me!" he said, drawing himself up haughtily.

"Your im—I beg pardon, general, I forgot; you scarce need to be told that I am always your servant to command."

"Then please to remember that in future," said the young officer sternly. "And now thou and the rest of my company return to Carfoos, unpack the provisions we brought with us, and order the sledges for Klingengolf. There will be no more sport to-day, and to-morrow we go in a different direction. I will join you at Carfoos later. My good friends here will accompany me, and show the way through the forest."

So saying, the young general turned from his own companions, and with Grubert, Tonie and Blonda walked to the cottage.

Arrived here, he sat by the kitchen stove and warmed himself, and learning, by some remark of Tonie's, that the family had not yet dined, he declared himself extremely hungry, and asked permission to join them in their repast. The dinner basket was accordingly unpacked, and the food shared among the four hungry people, Blonda adding some barley coffee and goat's milk as a treat in honour of the special occasion. The young general ate up his hunch of black bread to the last crumb, and thanked his host for the most delightful repast he had enjoyed for long enough.

Then he sat and chatted with the family for some time, asking many questions and showing a real interest in the replies given. At last, pulling out his watch, he declared it as time for him to go.

"But first, Grubert Reuss," said he, "I have a very pleasant duty to perform. In remembrance of thy little daughter's service to me this day, I ask thee to accept this pocket-book of Russian notes. The banker at Klingengolf will readily change them for thee into Finnish money. And as for my little maid with the forget-me-not eyes, let me give thee, child, something which may be of use to thee some day. I am much at the Court in St. Petersburg, and have some little influence there. If ever thou or thine, or any in whom thou mayest be interested, should be in trouble, apply to me, and I pledge myself to help thee, granting thee any boon thou dost ask, if it be but in my power."

So saying, the young general wrote a few words on a piece of paper (which he tore out of a memorandum-book), folded it small, then asked for a candle, and producing a bit of red wax, he proceeded to seal the letter, leaving upon the hot wax the impression of his great signet-ring. Lastly, he addressed it to General Nicolai, Winter Palace, St. Petersburg, and handing it to Blonda, told her to keep it safely, as she might want it some day. Then he took a kindly leave of her, and, accompanied by Grubert and Tonie, he started for Carfoos to join his party.

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