drive the beasts as far from the clearing as we had thought. Come; since
thou wilt cling to my side, lay hand on the bridle of the horse, while I
ease him of his burthen."

As Content coolly proceeded to the task he had mentioned, the thoughts of
his wife were momentarily diverted from their other sources of uneasiness,
by the object which lay on the crupper of the nag and which, until now,
had entirely escaped her observation.

"Here is, indeed, the animal this day missing from our flock!" she
exclaimed, as the carcass of a sheep fell heavily on the ground.

"Ay; and killed with exceeding judgment, if not aptly dressed to our
hands. Mutton will not be wanting for the husking-feast, and the stalled
creature whose days were counted may live another season."

"And where didst find the slaughtered beast?"

"On the limb of a growing hickory. Eben Dudley, with all his sleight in
butchering, and in setting forth the excellence of his meats, could not
have left an animal hanging from the branch of a sapling, with greater
knowledge of his craft. Thou seest, but a single meal is missing from the
carcass, and that thy fleece is unharmed."

"This is not the work of a Pequod!" exclaimed Ruth, surprised at her own
discovery; "the red men do their mischief with less care."

"Nor has the tooth of wolf opened the veins of poor Straight-Horns. Here
has been judgment in the slaughtering, as well as prudence in
consumption of the food. The hand that cut so lightly, had intention of