stood motionless to listen. The door,
in truth, was opened, with singular caution, and, for an instant, Alida
saw nothing but a confused area in the centre of which appeared the
figure of a menacing and rapacious freebooter.

"Northern lights and moonshine!" growled Alderman Van Beverout, for it was
no other than the uncle of the heiress, whose untimely and unexpected
visit had caused her so much alarm. "This sky-watching, and turning of
night into day, will be the destruction of thy beauty, niece; and then we
shall see how plenty Patroons are for husbands! A bright eye and a
blooming cheek are thy stock in trade, girl; and she is a spendthrift of
both, who is out of her bed when the clock hath struck ten."

"Your discipline would deprive many a beauty of the means of using her
power," returned la demoiselle, smiling, as much at the folly of her
recent fears, as with affection for her reprover. "They tell me, that ten
is the witching time of night, for the necromancy of the dames of Europe."

"Witch me no witches! The name reminds one of the cunning Yankees, a race
that would outwit Lucifer himself, if left to set the conditions to their
bargain. Here is the Patroon, wishing to let in a family of the knaves
among the honest Dutchmen of his manor; and we have just settled a dispute
between us, on this subject, by making the lawful trial."

"Which, it may be proper to hope, dearest uncle, was not the trial by
battle?"

"Peace and olive-branches, no! The Patroon of Kinderhook is the last man
in the Americas, that is likely to suffer by the blows of Myndert Van
Beverout. I challenged the boy to hold a fine eel, that the blacks have
brought out of the river to help in breaking our morning fasts, that it
might be seen if he were fit to deal with the slippery rogues. By the
merit of the peaceable St. Nicholas! but the son of old Hendrick Van
Staats had a busy time of it! The lad griped the fish, as the ancient
tradition has it that thy uncle clenched the Holland florin, when my
father put it between my fingers, within the month, in order to see if the
true saving grace was likely to abide in the family for another
generation. My heart misgave me for a moment; for young Oloff has the fist
of a vice, and I thought the goodly names of the Harmans, and Rips,
Corneliuses, and Dircks of the manor rent-roll were likely to be
contaminated by the company of an Increase or a Peleg; but just as the
Patroon thought he had the watery