The wood was dark, rich, and had once
been highly polished, though the treatment it had received left
little gloss on its surface, and various scratches and indentations
proved the rough collisions that it had encountered with substances
still harder than itself. The corners were firmly bound with
steel, elaborately and richly wrought, while the locks, of which
it had no less than three, and the hinges, were of a fashion and
workmanship that would have attracted attention even in a warehouse
of curious furniture. This chest was quite large; and when Deerslayer
arose, and endeavored to raise an end by its massive handle, he
found that the weight fully corresponded with the external appearance.
"Did you never see that chest opened, Judith?" the young man
demanded with frontier freedom, for delicacy on such subjects was
little felt among the people on the verge of civilization, in that
age, even if it be today.
"Never. Father has never opened it in my presence, if he ever
opens it at all. No one here has ever seen its lid raised, unless
it be father; nor do I even know that he has ever seen it."
"Now you're wrong, Judith," Hetty quietly answered. "Father has
raised the lid, and I've seen him do it.
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