John Alden

“ To touch you, is to touch me. She fully realizes that. Besides brother Thomas is her abject tool in most things; but some things even he would not allow."
Yes, Captain John Alden, son of that John Alden who was told by the pretty Puritan maiden, "Speak for yourself John," when he went pleading the love-suit of his friend Captain Miles Standish; John Alden, captain of the only vessel of war belonging to the colony, a man of large property, and occupying a place in the very front rank of Boston society, had been arrested for witchcraft! ”

“ A few hours of silence and solitude wrought a change, however, and John Alden, who held the position of prison-warden, came down the hill toward sunset with a request from the prisoner that he might see Master Lyford.
“The wolf would fain take counsel with the fox,” remarked Priscilla when her husband told her his errand. “And our over-amiable sheep-dogs will never say nay to such a modest request.”
“Pity but they made thee governor, Pris,” suggested John with a bovine smile intended to be sarcastical.
“Ay,” coolly replied his wife. “’Twould save some trouble. ”

“ It seems more like some wild fancy than the sober truth, to say that twelve men could, without striking a blow in anger, overcome no less than sixty wild savages, and yet such was the case, for John Alden is known to be a truthful man, and Captain Standish one who is not given to boasting. ”

“ A knock, and the door opens to admit JOHN ALDEN, nonchalant, disillusioned, and twenty-one.
JOHN: Good evening. Hope I don't bother you.
PRISCILLA: The only people who bother me are women who tell me I'm beautiful and men who don't.
JOHN: Not a very brilliant epigram—but still—yes, you ARE beautiful.
PRISCILLA: Of course, if it's an effort for you to say—
JOHN: Nothing is worthwhile without effort.
PRISCILLA: Sounds like Miles Standish; many things I do without effort are worthwhile; I am beautiful without the slightest effort. ”

“ Indeed, father bought a quintal of dun and another of white fish of him,” replied Alick, wondering what Betty and Sally were laughing about.
“Now I don’t see why the captain portioned them that fashion,” mused John Alden, rapidly distributing the fish into fourteen empty trenchers. “For doubtless he knows as well as I, or rather your mother knows as well as our housewife here, that the only way to cook your fish aright is to bind a good dunfish carefully between two whitefish, and steep the three all night in lukewarm water ”

“ Bradford states that he returned to England after "divers years" in New England, and died there. It has been suggested that he went very early to some of the other "plantations."
John Alden was of Southampton, England, was hired as "a cooper," was twenty-one years old in 1620, as determined by the year of his birth, 1599 ("Alden Memorial," p. 1) , and became the most prominent and useful of any of the English contingent of the MAY FLOWER company. ”

“ Sensitive, swift to resent, but as swift in atoning for error.{144}
Never so much as now was Miles Standish the friend of John Alden.” ”

“ for it is the fate of a woman
Long to be patient and silent, to wait like a ghost that is speechless,30
Till some questioning voice dissolves the spell of its silence.{100}
Hence is the inner life of so many suffering women
Sunless and silent and deep, like subterranean rivers
Running through caverns of darkness, unheard, unseen, and unfruitful,
Chafing their channels of stone, with endless and profitless murmurs.”35
Thereupon answered John Alden, the young man, the lover of women:
“Heaven forbid it, Priscilla; ”

“ Took from the nail on the wall his sword with its scabbard of iron,
Buckled the belt round his waist, and, frowning fiercely, departed.
Alden was left alone. He heard the clank of the scabbard
Growing fainter and fainter, and dying away in the distance. ”

“ This James would not do, for he reasoned that unless John came to his terms the combination tombstone would be of no good to anybody, and that if he remained firm John would come round to his proposal in time. ”

“ Moreover the evidence on the bank of the stream left no doubt that it was a well-known ford, where teams could cross with little difficulty. Wherefore Alden could probably do the same.
He decided to try it. Ever mindful of the inestimable value of the mail treasure, he adjusted them with much care about his neck, somewhat as if they were life preservers, and holding his light rifle in his hand, he stepped cautiously into the current like an elephant venturing upon a rickety bridge. ”

“ He located the beautiful orb well to his left instead of in front. He knew the explanation. He had started on the tramp of a big circle which he assuredly would have followed, but for the care he used.
The best explanation of this curious tendency is that every person is either right or left handed. When walking without the unsuspected guides that serve during daylight, one side displays a little more vigor than the other, and causes a deviation from a straight course.
Alden faced about like a soldier on drill, and took care that he did not wander astray again. ”

“ Wistfulness was in every line of her face and figure, from the small white-shod foot that rested upon the pedal to the glorious hair that shimmered and shone but still held its tangled lights safely in its silken strands. The long line from shoulder to wrist, the smooth, satiny texture of the rounded arm, bare below the elbow, the delicate hands, so beautifully cared-for, all seemed eloquent with yearning.
Alden, from his safe point of observation, feasted his soul to the full. The ivory whiteness of her neck shaded imperceptibly into the creamy lace of her gown. ”

“ Before that, Chadwick and his party will be at the next station, and so many miles ahead of us that we shan’t overtake them this side of Salt Lake City, if we do even there.
“Ross Brandley is running away from me!” exclaimed Alden slapping his knee; “there isn’t a doubt of it. He knew that if he stayed in camp nothing would prevent our meeting to-day, so he made the excuse of wishing to carry the mail to the next station. When he gets there he’ll wait for his friends, and be gone long before we can come up with him.” ”

“ Something in the femininity of her promise stirred the Master's heart a second, but he dismissed it.
"Either we shall return by nine, or never," he said calmly.
"Let me go, then!" whispered Alden. "Go, in place of you! You are more needed than I. Without you all these men are lost. Without me—they would not miss me, sir!"
"I cannot argue that point with you, Captain. We start at once." He turned to Rrisa, and in Arabic said:
"The road we are about to take may lead thee to Paradise. A sand-adder, a scorpion, or a bullet may be the means. Dost thou stand firm with me?" ”

“ Occasionally the stamp of a hoof sounded dully, but nothing else disturbed the watchers. In all directions on the level plain reigned the silence of the grave. The wide sweeping Platte, though not far off, coursed between its banks with no ripple or eddy that could be heard a hundred yards away. It was hard to believe that men were abroad in this silent world, hunting for a chance to slay their fellow creatures, but such was undoubtedly the fact.
The ever shifting shadows as the clouds [91] tumbled past the moon, tantalized Alden. ”

“ No matter how well mounted a party of Indians might be, none could overhaul the peerless Dick, whose graceful legs were again doubling under him with marvelous rapidity and carrying him and his burden as an eagle bears its eaglet on its broad back.
“Now, if I should have a flat sail on my right and left like a kite,” mused Alden, giving rein to his whimsical fancy, “this speed would lift us clear and we should skim through the air like a swallow. We should have to come down now and then, when the hoofs would give us another flip upward and away we should go. ”

“ The weapon that had been used gave out no sound and whether there was one assassin or a dozen must remain unknown to Alden.
The feeling which succeeded the first horrifying shock was one of profound pity for the victim. Young, vigorous, full of bounding life and hope, his cheering words lingered yet in the ears of the couple, and here he lay on the ground his life driven out by the arrow launched by a demon in wantonness, for Dick Lightfoot had never harmed a hair in the head of one of his kind. ”

“ It looked as if the Indian while crawling over the ground and hidden by the grass, had changed his mind and deliberately risen to his feet, where he must have known he would be in full view of the vigilant white men. What could it all mean?
The next moment, while Alden was staring at the strange sight, he recalled the orders of Shagbark.
“The minute ye’re sure it’s a redskin, shoot!”
Nothing could be easier than for the youth to bring his rifle to a level where he was screened by the darkness, and bring down the Indian as he would bring down any other game. But he could not do it. ”

“ When he glanced across the ravine, he saw his man, or rather two men. The warriors had [209] risen from behind an immense rock, the head and shoulders of one showing while the other stood fully revealed in the open. It looked as if he despised the youth and was challenging him to do his worst.
That one quick glance showed Alden that the redskin thus exposed was fitting another arrow to the string of his bow. His companion seemed to be acting the part of spectator.
“Two can play at that game!” muttered Alden, bringing the rifle of Dick Lightfoot to his shoulder and sighting at the miscreant. ”

“ Still it was likely the trail veered in that direction, for no mortal man ever saw a path that was straight, unless laid out by compass and rule.
There was an additional reason for not lighting a match, for it might catch the eye of some of the dusky prowlers. Consequently Alden pushed on stealthily and slowly. Frequently he paused and listened. The trail could change without his being aware of it, for in his situation he had no means of judging. His bright wits were ever on a strain and when he came to a series of boulders, he again stooped and felt of the ground. ”

“ One of them would not have ventured alone to the neighborhood. There might be a dozen, a score, or half a hundred who were formulating if they had not already formulated a plan to surprise and massacre every one of the whites. As to what that plan was he was as ignorant as the slumbering Jethro Mix.
All that Alden could do was use his eyes and hearing. No fear of his falling asleep, even if he did lean against the thick spokes of the wagon wheel. He knew better than to confine his attention to the spot where the warrior had appeared and vanished. ”

“ Their two children were Alden and “Vixey,” a sweet girl, eight years younger than her brother. In addition, Mr. Payne had a colored youth who had been turned over to him when an infant by his widowed mother, she having consented to become the wife of a big, lazy darky, with no love for other folks’ children.
Jethro Mix, although a year younger than Alden, was half a head taller, several inches bigger around, and more than twenty pounds heavier. It cannot be said he was bright, but he was strong, fond of every member of the family, indolent, and a good servant when forced to work. ”

“ SEVERAL facts saved Alden Payne from drowning. In the first place, the deep hole into which he stepped was only three or four feet across. The space was so slight indeed that his own momentum in walking threw him against the other side, where the water was shallower than before. Moreover, he was a powerful swimmer, but the strongest swimmer that ever lived could not sustain himself when incumbered by such heavy clothing, two mail pouches and a rifle. The youth promptly let go of the weapon, but clung to Uncle Sam’s property as if it were his very life. ”

“ Daddy! You're late yourself. I've won the bet and you've got to pay up! A five-pound box of chocolates! Remember! You promised! And a new pair of slippers for the party! Muth and I've been here a long time—and I had a flat tire, too, and a lot of trouble."
The gentleman stepped in and closed the door, gave a quick glance at the legs and the newspaper in the alcove, another toward the window where huddled the two women, and then faced toward the desk where for the instant his two daughters had so grouped themselves as to completely hide the white-faced girl from his vision. ”

“ In the effort to aid the sufferer, Alden now removed the saddle and mail pouches. With his rifle they formed quite a burden, but he was strong and rugged, and knew he could carry them as fast and probably faster than his companion would travel.
“I ought to leave you here,” reflected the youth, “and I should do so, if I knew my way: I need you as a guide and shall have to suit my pace to yours.”
Once more he nursed the foreleg and after a time, ’Ceph set it down. He hobbled forward a score of paces before the limp reappeared. After that he kept it up until his master called to him to stop. ”

“ Since the white man held his fire, the red one meant to use his own weapon.
At the instant the Indian began fitting the shaft to the string while still running, Alden shouted at the top of his voice. It was a warning which was understood and went through the fugitive like an electric shock. He bounded several feet in air, and dropped the arrow to the ground, but he did not lessen the haste with which he was speeding in order to pick it up.
All this occupied but a few brief minutes. The disgusted Dick had carried his rider to within ten feet of the fugitive and now eased his pace. ”

“ Chadwick’s party still in camp, but the leader was absent. In answer to Alden’s hurried questions he was told:
“His nephew has been missing since night before last, and he and one of his friends have gone in search of him.”
“And that is what I shall do!” said Alden, [330] with a flash of his eyes and a compression of his lips; “and I shall not return till I learn the truth.”
“And I’se gwine wid you,” added Jethro Mix.
“I don’t see that you can be of any help, but you may come if you wish. You owe the risk of your own life for the wrong you have done that noble fellow.” ”