The Last of the Mohicans
by James Fenimore Cooper
Hypertext Meanings and Commentaries
from the Encyclopedia of the Self
by Mark Zimmerman

by James Fenimore Cooper

INTRODUCTION

It is believed that the scene of this tale, and most of the
information necessary to understand its allusions, are
rendered sufficiently obvious to the reader in the text
itself, or in the accompanying notes. Still there is so
much obscurity in the Indian traditions, and so much
confusion in the Indian names, as to render some explanation
useful.

Few men exhibit greater diversity, or, if we may so express
it, greater antithesis of character, than the native warrior
of North America. In war, he is daring, boastful, cunning,
ruthless, self-denying, and self-devoted; in peace, just,
generous, hospitable, revengeful, superstitious, modest, and
commonly chaste. These are qualities, it is true, which do
not distinguish all alike; but they are so far the
predominating traits of these remarkable people as to be
characteristic.

It is generally believed that the Aborigines of the American
continent have an Asiatic origin. There are many physical
as well as moral facts which corroborate this opinion, and
some few that would seem to weigh against it.

The color of the Indian, the writer believes, is peculiar to
himself, and while his cheek-bones have a very striking
indication of a Tartar origin, his eyes have not. Climate
may have had great influence on the former, but it is
difficult to see how it can have produced the substantial
difference which exists in the latter. The imagery of the
Indian, both in his poetry and in his oratory, is oriental;
chastened, and perhaps improved, by the limited range of his
practical knowledge. He draws his metaphors from the
clouds, the seasons, the birds, the beasts, and the
vegetable world. In this, perhaps, he does no more than any
other energetic and imaginative race would do, being
compelled to set bounds to fancy by experience; but the
North American Indian clothes his ideas in a dress which is
different from that of the African, and is oriental in
itself. His language has the richness and sententious
fullness of the Chinese. He will express a phrase in a
word, and he will qualify the meaning of an entire sentence
by a syllable; he will even convey different significations
by the simplest inflections of the voice.

Philologists have said that there are but two or three
languages, properly speaking, among all the numerous tribes
which formerly occupied the country that now composes the
United States. They ascribe the known difficulty one people
have to understand another to corruptions and dialects. The
writer remembers to have been present at an interview
between two chiefs of the Great Prairies west of the
Mississippi, and when an interpreter was in attendance who
spoke both their languages. The warriors appeared to be on
the most friendly terms, and seemingly conversed much
together; yet, according to the account of the interpreter,
each was absolutely ignorant of what the other said. They
were of hostile tribes, brought together by the influence of
the American government; and it is worthy of remark, that a
common policy led them both to adopt the same subject. They
mutually exhorted each other to be of use in the event of
the chances of war throwing either of the parties into the
hands of his enemies. Whatever may be the truth, as
respects the root and the genius of the Indian tongues, it
is quite certain they are now so distinct in their words as
to possess most of the disadvantages of strange languages;
hence much of the embarrassment that has arisen in learning
their histories, and most of the uncertainty which exists in
their traditions.

Like nations of higher pretensions, the American Indian
gives a very different account of his own tribe or race from
that which is given by other people. He is much addicted to
overestimating his own perfections, and to undervaluing
those of his rival or his enemy; a trait which may possibly
be thought corroborative of the Mosaic account of the
creation.

The whites have assisted greatly in rendering the traditions
of the Aborigines more obscure by their own manner of
corrupting names. Thus, the term used in the title of this
book has undergone the changes of Mahicanni, Mohicans, and
Mohegans; the latter being the word commonly used by the
whites. When it is remembered that the Dutch (who first
settled New York), the English, and the French, all gave
appellations to the tribes that dwelt within the country
which is the scene of this story, and that the Indians not
only gave different names to their enemies, but frequently
to themselves, the cause of the confusion will be
understood.

In these pages, Lenni-Lenape, Lenope, Delawares, Wapanachki,
and Mohicans, all mean the same people, or tribes of the
same stock. The Mengwe, the Maquas, the Mingoes, and the
Iroquois, though not all strictly the same, are identified
frequently by the speakers, being politically confederated
and opposed to those just named. Mingo was a term of
peculiar reproach, as were Mengwe and Maqua in a less
degree.

The Mohicans were the possessors of the country first
occupied by the Europeans in this portion of the continent.
They were, consequently, the first dispossessed; and the
seemingly inevitable fate of all these people, who disappear
before the advances, or it might be termed the inroads, of
civilization, as the verdure of their native forests falls
before the nipping frosts, is represented as having already
befallen them. There is sufficient historical truth in the
picture to justify the use that has been made of it.

In point of fact, the country which is the scene of the
following tale has undergone as little change, since the
historical events alluded to had place, as almost any other
district of equal extent within the whole limits of the
United States. There are fashionable and well-attended
watering-places at and near the spring where Hawkeye halted
to drink, and roads traverse the forests where he and his
friends were compelled to journey without even a path.
Glen's has a large village; and while William Henry, and
even a fortress of later date, are only to be traced as
ruins, there is another village on the shores of the
Horican. But, beyond this, the enterprise and energy of a
people who have done so much in other places have done
little here. The whole of that wilderness, in which the
latter incidents of the legend occurred, is nearly a
wilderness still, though the red man has entirely deserted
this part of the state. Of all the tribes named in these
pages, there exist only a few half-civilized beings of the
Oneidas, on the reservations of their people in New York.
The rest have disappeared, either from the regions in which
their fathers dwelt, or altogether from the earth.

There is one point on which we would wish to say a word
before closing this preface. Hawkeye calls the Lac du Saint
Sacrement, the "Horican."  As we believe this to be an
appropriation of the name that has its origin with
ourselves, the time has arrived, perhaps, when the fact
should be frankly admitted. While writing this book, fully
a quarter of a century since, it occurred to us that the
French name of this lake was too complicated, the American
too commonplace, and the Indian too unpronounceable, for
either to be used familiarly in a work of fiction. Looking
over an ancient map, it was ascertained that a tribe of
Indians, called "Les Horicans" by the French, existed in the
neighborhood of this beautiful sheet of water. As every
word uttered by Natty Bumppo was not to be received as rigid
truth, we took the liberty of putting the "Horican" into his
mouth, as the substitute for "Lake George."  The name has
appeared to find favor, and all things considered, it may
possibly be quite as well to let it stand, instead of going
back to the House of Hanover for the appellation of our
finest sheet of water. We relieve our conscience by the
confession, at all events leaving it to exercise its
authority as it may see fit.

CHAPTER 1

"Mine ear is open, and my heart prepared: The worst is
wordly loss thou canst unfold:--Say, is my kingdom lost?"
--Shakespeare

It was a feature peculiar to the colonial wars of North
America, that the toils and dangers of the wilderness were
to be encountered before the adverse hosts could meet. A
wide and apparently an impervious boundary of forests
severed the possessions of the hostile provinces of France
and England. The hardy colonist, and the trained European
who fought at his side, frequently expended months in
struggling against the rapids of the streams, or in
effecting the rugged passes of the mountains, in quest of an
opportunity to exhibit their courage in a more martial
conflict. But, emulating the patience and self-denial of
the practiced native warriors, they learned to overcome
every difficulty; and it would seem that, in time, there was
no recess of the woods so dark, nor any secret place so
lovely, that it might claim exemption from the inroads of
those who had pledged their blood to satiate their
vengeance, or to uphold the cold and selfish policy of the
distant monarchs of Europe.

Perhaps no district throughout the wide extent of the
intermediate frontiers can furnish a livelier picture of the
cruelty and fierceness of the savage warfare of those
periods than the country which lies between the head waters
of the Hudson and the adjacent lakes.

The facilities which nature had there offered to the march
of the combatants were too obvious to be neglected. The
lengthened sheet of the Champlain stretched from the
frontiers of Canada, deep within the borders of the
neighboring province of New York, forming a natural passage
across half the distance that the French were compelled to
master in order to strike their enemies. Near its southern
termination, it received the contributions of another lake,
whose waters were so limpid as to have been exclusively
selected by the Jesuit missionaries to perform the typical
purification of baptism, and to obtain for it the title of
lake "du Saint Sacrement."  The less zealous English thought
they conferred a sufficient honor on its unsullied
fountains, when they bestowed the name of their reigning
prince, the second of the house of Hanover. The two united
to rob the untutored possessors of its wooded scenery of
their native right to perpetuate its original appellation of
"Horican."*

* As each nation of the Indians had its language or
its dialect, they usually gave different names to the same
places, though nearly all of their appellations were
descriptive of the object. Thus a literal translation of
the name of this beautiful sheet of water, used by the tribe
that dwelt on its banks, would be "The Tail of the Lake."
Lake George, as it is vulgarly, and now, indeed, legally,
called, forms a sort of tail to Lake Champlain, when viewed
on the map. Hence, the name.

Winding its way among countless islands, and imbedded in
mountains, the "holy lake" extended a dozen leagues still
further to the south. With the high plain that there
interposed itself to the further passage of the water,
commenced a portage of as many miles, which conducted the
adventurer to the banks of the Hudson, at a point where,
with the usual obstructions of the rapids, or rifts, as they
were then termed in the language of the country, the river
became navigable to the tide.

While, in the pursuit of their daring plans of annoyance,
the restless enterprise of the French even attempted the
distant and difficult gorges of the Alleghany, it may easily
be imagined that their proverbial acuteness would not
overlook the natural advantages of the district we have just
described. It became, emphatically, the bloody arena, in
which most of the battles for the mastery of the colonies
were contested. Forts were erected at the different points
that commanded the facilities of the route, and were taken
and retaken, razed and rebuilt, as victory alighted on the
hostile banners. While the husbandman shrank back from the
dangerous passes, within the safer boundaries of the more
ancient settlements, armies larger than those that had often
disposed of the scepters of the mother countries, were seen
to bury themselves in these forests, whence they rarely
returned but in skeleton bands, that were haggard with care
or dejected by defeat. Though the arts of peace were
unknown to this fatal region, its forests were alive with
men; its shades and glens rang with the sounds of martial
music, and the echoes of its mountains threw back the laugh,
or repeated the wanton cry, of many a gallant and reckless
youth, as he hurried by them, in the noontide of his
spirits, to slumber in a long night of forgetfulness.

It was in this scene of strife and bloodshed that the
incidents we shall attempt to relate occurred, during the
third year of the war which England and France last waged
for the possession of a country that neither was destined to
retain.

The imbecility of her military leaders abroad, and the fatal
want of energy in her councils at home, had lowered the
character of Great Britain from the proud elevation on which
it had been placed by the talents and enterprise of her
former warriors and statesmen. No longer dreaded by her
enemies, her servants were fast losing the confidence of
self-respect. In this mortifying abasement, the colonists,
though innocent of her imbecility, and too humble to be the
agents of her blunders, were but the natural participators.
They had recently seen a chosen army from that country,
which, reverencing as a mother, they had blindly believed
invincible--an army led by a chief who had been selected
from a crowd of trained warriors, for his rare military
endowments, disgracefully routed by a handful of French and
Indians, and only saved from annihilation by the coolness
and spirit of a Virginian boy, whose riper fame has since
diffused itself, with the steady influence of moral truth,
to the uttermost confines of Christendom.* A wide frontier
had been laid naked by this unexpected disaster, and more
substantial evils were preceded by a thousand fanciful and
imaginary dangers. The alarmed colonists believed that the
yells of the savages mingled with every fitful gust of wind
that issued from the interminable forests of the west. The
terrific character of their merciless enemies increased
immeasurably the natural horrors of warfare. Numberless
recent massacres were still vivid in their recollections;
nor was there any ear in the provinces so deaf as not to
have drunk in with avidity the narrative of some fearful
tale of midnight murder, in which the natives of the forests
were the principal and barbarous actors. As the credulous
and excited traveler related the hazardous chances of the
wilderness, the blood of the timid curdled with terror, and
mothers cast anxious glances even at those children which
slumbered within the security of the largest towns. In
short, the magnifying influence of fear began to set at
naught the calculations of reason, and to render those who
should have remembered their manhood, the slaves of the
basest passions. Even the most confident and the stoutest
hearts began to think the issue of the contest was becoming
doubtful; and that abject class was hourly increasing in
numbers, who thought they foresaw all the possessions of the
English crown in America subdued by their Christian foes, or
laid waste by the inroads of their relentless allies.

* Washington, who, after uselessly admonishing the
European general of the danger into which he was heedlessly
running, saved the remnants of the British army, on this
occasion, by his decision and courage. The reputation
earned by Washington in this battle was the principal cause
of his being selected to command the American armies at a
later day. It is a circumstance worthy of observation, that
while all America rang with his well-merited reputation, his
name does not occur in any European account of the battle;
at least the author has searched for it without success. In
this manner does the mother country absorb even the fame,
under that system of rule.

When, therefore, intelligence was received at the fort which
covered the southern termination of the portage between the
Hudson and the lakes, that Montcalm had been seen moving up
the Champlain, with an army "numerous as the leaves on the
trees," its truth was admitted with more of the craven
reluctance of fear than with the stern joy that a warrior
should feel, in finding an enemy within reach of his blow.
The news had been brought, toward the decline of a day in
midsummer, by an Indian runner, who also bore an urgent
request from Munro, the commander of a work on the shore of
the "holy lake," for a speedy and powerful reinforcement.
It has already been mentioned that the distance between
these two posts was less than five leagues. The rude path,
which originally formed their line of communication, had
been widened for the passage of wagons; so that the distance
which had been traveled by the son of the forest in two
hours, might easily be effected by a detachment of troops,
with their necessary baggage, between the rising and setting
of a summer sun. The loyal servants of the British crown
had given to one of these forest-fastnesses the name of
William Henry, and to the other that of Fort Edward, calling
each after a favorite prince of the reigning family. The
veteran Scotchman just named held the first, with a regiment
of regulars and a few provincials; a force really by far too
small to make head against the formidable power that
Montcalm was leading to the foot of his earthen mounds. At
the latter, however, lay General Webb, who commanded the
armies of the king in the northern provinces, with a body of
more than five thousand men. By uniting the several
detachments of his command, this officer might have arrayed
nearly double that number of combatants against the
enterprising Frenchman, who had ventured so far from his
reinforcements, with an army but little superior in numbers.

But under the influence of their degraded fortunes, both
officers and men appeared better disposed to await the
approach of their formidable antagonists, within their
works, than to resist the progress of their march, by
emulating the successful example of the French at Fort du
Quesne, and striking a blow on their advance.

After the first surprise of the intelligence had a little
abated, a rumor was spread through the entrenched camp,
which stretched along the margin of the Hudson, forming a
chain of outworks to the body of the fort itself, that a
chosen detachment of fifteen hundred men was to depart, with
the dawn, for William Henry, the post at the northern
extremity of the portage. That which at first was only
rumor, soon became certainty, as orders passed from the
quarters of the commander-in-chief to the several corps he
had selected for this service, to prepare for their speedy
departure. All doubts as to the intention of Webb now
vanished, and an hour or two of hurried footsteps and
anxious faces succeeded. The novice in the military art
flew from point to point, retarding his own preparations by
the excess of his violent and somewhat distempered zeal;
while the more practiced veteran made his arrangements with
a deliberation that scorned every appearance of haste;
though his sober lineaments and anxious eye sufficiently
betrayed that he had no very strong professional relish for
the, as yet, untried and dreaded warfare of the wilderness.
At length the sun set in a flood of glory, behind the
distant western hills, and as darkness drew its veil around
the secluded spot the sounds of preparation diminished; the
last light finally disappeared from the log cabin of some
officer; the trees cast their deeper shadows over the mounds
and the rippling stream, and a silence soon pervaded the
camp, as deep as that which reigned in the vast forest by
which it was environed.

According to the orders of the preceding night, the heavy
sleep of the army was broken by the rolling of the warning
drums, whose rattling echoes were heard issuing, on the damp
morning air, out of every vista of the woods, just as day
began to draw the shaggy outlines of some tall pines of the
vicinity, on the opening brightness of a soft and cloudless
eastern sky. In an instant the whole camp was in motion;
the meanest soldier arousing from his lair to witness the
departure of his comrades, and to share in the excitement
and incidents of the hour. The simple array of the chosen
band was soon completed. While the regular and trained
hirelings of the king marched with haughtiness to the right
of the line, the less pretending colonists took their
humbler position on its left, with a docility that long
practice had rendered easy. The scouts departed; strong
guards preceded and followed the lumbering vehicles that
bore the baggage; and before the gray light of the morning
was mellowed by the rays of the sun, the main body of the
combatants wheeled into column, and left the encampment with
a show of high military bearing, that served to drown the
slumbering apprehensions of many a novice, who was now about
to make his first essay in arms. While in view of their
admiring comrades, the same proud front and ordered array
was observed, until the notes of their fifes growing fainter
in distance, the forest at length appeared to swallow up the
living mass which had slowly entered its bosom.

The deepest sounds of the retiring and invisible column
had ceased to be borne on the breeze to the listeners, and
the latest straggler had already disappeared in pursuit; but
there still remained the signs of another departure, before
a log cabin of unusual size and accommodations, in front of
which those sentinels paced their rounds, who were known to
guard the person of the English general. At this spot were
gathered some half dozen horses, caparisoned in a manner
which showed that two, at least, were destined to bear the
persons of females, of a rank that it was not usual to meet
so far in the wilds of the country. A third wore trappings
and arms of an officer of the staff; while the rest, from
the plainness of the housings, and the traveling mails with
which they were encumbered, were evidently fitted for the
reception of as many menials, who were, seemingly, already
waiting the pleasure of those they served. At a respectful
distance from this unusual show, were gathered divers groups
of curious idlers; some admiring the blood and bone of the
high-mettled military charger, and others gazing at the
preparations, with the dull wonder of vulgar curiosity.
There was one man, however, who, by his countenance and
actions, formed a marked exception to those who composed the
latter class of spectators, being neither idle, nor
seemingly very ignorant.

The person of this individual was to the last degree
ungainly, without being in any particular manner deformed.
He had all the bones and joints of other men, without any of
their proportions. Erect, his stature surpassed that of his
fellows; though seated, he appeared reduced within the
ordinary limits of the race. The same contrariety in his
members seemed to exist throughout the whole man. His head
was large; his shoulders narrow; his arms long and dangling;
while his hands were small, if not delicate. His legs and
thighs were thin, nearly to emaciation, but of extraordinary
length; and his knees would have been considered tremendous,
had they not been outdone by the broader foundations on
which this false superstructure of blended human orders was
so profanely reared. The ill-assorted and injudicious
attire of the individual only served to render his
awkwardness more conspicuous. A sky-blue coat, with short
and broad skirts and low cape, exposed a long, thin neck,
and longer and thinner legs, to the worst animadversions of
the evil-disposed. His nether garment was a yellow nankeen,
closely fitted to the shape, and tied at his bunches of
knees by large knots of white ribbon, a good deal sullied by
use. Clouded cotton stockings, and shoes, on one of the
latter of which was a plated spur, completed the costume of
the lower extremity of this figure, no curve or angle of
which was concealed, but, on the other hand, studiously
exhibited, through the vanity or simplicity of its owner.

From beneath the flap of an enormous pocket of a soiled vest
of embossed silk, heavily ornamented with tarnished silver
lace, projected an instrument, which, from being seen in
such martial company, might have been easily mistaken for
some mischievous and unknown implement of war. Small as it
was, this uncommon engine had excited the curiosity of most
of the Europeans in the camp, though several of the
provincials were seen to handle it, not only without fear,
but with the utmost familiarity. A large, civil cocked hat,
like those worn by clergymen within the last thirty years,
surmounted the whole, furnishing dignity to a good-natured
and somewhat vacant countenance, that apparently needed such
artificial aid, to support the gravity of some high and
extraordinary trust.

While the common herd stood aloof, in deference to the
quarters of Webb, the figure we have described stalked into
the center of the domestics, freely expressing his censures
or commendations on the merits of the horses, as by chance
they displeased or satisfied his judgment.

"This beast, I rather conclude, friend, is not of home
raising, but is from foreign lands, or perhaps from the
little island itself over the blue water?" he said, in a
voice as remarkable for the softness and sweetness of its
tones, as was his person for its rare proportions; "I may
speak of these things, and be no braggart; for I have been
down at both havens; that which is situate at the mouth of
Thames, and is named after the capital of Old England, and
that which is called 'Haven', with the addition of the word
'New'; and have seen the scows and brigantines collecting
their droves, like the gathering to the ark, being outward
bound to the Island of Jamaica, for the purpose of barter
and traffic in four-footed animals; but never before have I
beheld a beast which verified the true scripture war-horse
like this: 'He paweth in the valley, and rejoiceth in his
strength; he goeth on to meet the armed men. He saith among
the trumpets, Ha, ha; and he smelleth the battle afar off,
the thunder of the captains, and the shouting' It would seem
that the stock of the horse of Israel had descended to our
own time; would it not, friend?"

Receiving no reply to this extraordinary appeal, which in
truth, as it was delivered with the vigor of full and
sonorous tones, merited some sort of notice, he who had thus
sung forth the language of the holy book turned to the
silent figure to whom he had unwittingly addressed himself,
and found a new and more powerful subject of admiration in
the object that encountered his gaze. His eyes fell on the
still, upright, and rigid form of the "Indian runner," who
had borne to the camp the unwelcome tidings of the preceding
evening. Although in a state of perfect repose, and
apparently disregarding, with characteristic stoicism, the
excitement and bustle around him, there was a sullen
fierceness mingled with the quiet of the savage, that was
likely to arrest the attention of much more experienced eyes
than those which now scanned him, in unconcealed amazement.
The native bore both the tomahawk and knife of his tribe;
and yet his appearance was not altogether that of a warrior.
On the contrary, there was an air of neglect about his
person, like that which might have proceeded from great and
recent exertion, which he had not yet found leisure to
repair. The colors of the war-paint had blended in dark
confusion about his fierce countenance, and rendered his
swarthy lineaments still more savage and repulsive than if
art had attempted an effect which had been thus produced by
chance. His eye, alone, which glistened like a fiery star
amid lowering clouds, was to be seen in its state of native
wildness. For a single instant his searching and yet wary
glance met the wondering look of the other, and then
changing its direction, partly in cunning, and partly in
disdain, it remained fixed, as if penetrating the distant
air.

It is impossible to say what unlooked-for remark this short
and silent communication, between two such singular men,
might have elicited from the white man, had not his active
curiosity been again drawn to other objects. A general
movement among the domestics, and a low sound of gentle
voices, announced the approach of those whose presence alone
was wanted to enable the cavalcade to move. The simple
admirer of the war-horse instantly fell back to a low,
gaunt, switch-tailed mare, that was unconsciously gleaning
the faded herbage of the camp nigh by; where, leaning with
one elbow on the blanket that concealed an apology for a
saddle, he became a spectator of the departure, while a foal
was quietly making its morning repast, on the opposite side
of the same animal.

A young man, in the dress of an officer, conducted to their
steeds two females, who, as it was apparent by their
dresses, were prepared to encounter the fatigues of a
journey in the woods. One, and she was the more juvenile in
her appearance, though both were young, permitted glimpses
of her dazzling complexion, fair golden hair, and bright
blue eyes, to be caught, as she artlessly suffered the
morning air to blow aside the green veil which descended low
from her beaver.

The flush which still lingered above the pines in the
western sky was not more bright nor delicate than the bloom
on her cheek; nor was the opening day more cheering than the
animated smile which she bestowed on the youth, as he
assisted her into the saddle. The other, who appeared to
share equally in the attention of the young officer,
concealed her charms from the gaze of the soldiery with a
care that seemed better fitted to the experience of four or
five additional years. It could be seen, however, that her
person, though molded with the same exquisite proportions,
of which none of the graces were lost by the traveling dress
she wore, was rather fuller and more mature than that of her
companion.

No sooner were these females seated, than their attendant
sprang lightly into the saddle of the war-horse, when the
whole three bowed to Webb, who in courtesy, awaited their
parting on the threshold of his cabin and turning their
horses' heads, they proceeded at a slow amble, followed by
their train, toward the northern entrance of the encampment.
As they traversed that short distance, not a voice was heard
among them; but a slight exclamation proceeded from the
younger of the females, as the Indian runner glided by her,
unexpectedly, and led the way along the military road in her
front. Though this sudden and startling movement of the
Indian produced no sound from the other, in the surprise her
veil also was allowed to open its folds, and betrayed an
indescribable look of pity, admiration, and horror, as her
dark eye followed the easy motions of the savage. The
tresses of this lady were shining and black, like the
plumage of the raven. Her complexion was not brown, but it
rather appeared charged with the color of the rich blood,
that seemed ready to burst its bounds. And yet there was
neither coarseness nor want of shadowing in a countenance
that was exquisitely regular, and dignified and surpassingly
beautiful. She smiled, as if in pity at her own momentary
forgetfulness, discovering by the act a row of teeth that
would have shamed the purest ivory; when, replacing the
veil, she bowed her face, and rode in silence, like one
whose thoughts were abstracted from the scene around her.

CHAPTER 2

"Sola, sola, wo ha, ho, sola!"--Shakespeare

While one of the lovely beings we have so cursorily
presented to the reader was thus lost in thought, the other
quickly recovered from the alarm which induced the
exclamation, and, laughing at her own weakness, she inquired
of the youth who rode by her side:

"Are such specters frequent in the woods, Heyward, or is
this sight an especial entertainment ordered on our behalf?
If the latter, gratitude must close our mouths; but if the
former, both Cora and I shall have need to draw largely on
that stock of hereditary courage which we boast, even before
we are made to encounter the redoubtable Montcalm."

"Yon Indian is a 'runner' of the army; and, after the
fashion of his people, he may be accounted a hero," returned
the officer. "He has volunteered to guide us to the lake,
by a path but little known, sooner than if we followed the
tardy movements of the column; and, by consequence, more
agreeably."

"I like him not," said the lady, shuddering, partly in
assumed, yet more in real terror. "You know him, Duncan, or
you would not trust yourself so freely to his keeping?"

"Say, rather, Alice, that I would not trust you. I do know
him, or he would not have my confidence, and least of all at
this moment. He is said to be a Canadian too; and yet he
served with our friends the Mohawks, who, as you know, are
one of the six allied nations. He was brought among us, as
I have heard, by some strange accident in which your father
was interested, and in which the savage was rigidly dealt
by; but I forget the idle tale, it is enough, that he is now
our friend."

"If he has been my father's enemy, I like him still less!"
exclaimed the now really anxious girl. "Will you not speak
to him, Major Heyward, that I may hear his tones? Foolish
though it may be, you have often heard me avow my faith in
the tones of the human voice!"

"It would be in vain; and answered, most probably, by an
ejaculation. Though he may understand it, he affects, like
most of his people, to be ignorant of the English; and least
of all will he condescend to speak it, now that the war
demands the utmost exercise of his dignity. But he stops;
the private path by which we are to journey is, doubtless,
at hand."

The conjecture of Major Heyward was true. When they reached
the spot where the Indian stood, pointing into the thicket
that fringed the military road; a narrow and blind path,
which might, with some little inconvenience, receive one
person at a time, became visible.

"Here, then, lies our way," said the young man, in a low
voice. "Manifest no distrust, or you may invite the danger
you appear to apprehend."

"Cora, what think you?" asked the reluctant fair one. "If
we journey with the troops, though we may find their
presence irksome, shall we not feel better assurance of our
safety?"

"Being little accustomed to the practices of the savages,
Alice, you mistake the place of real danger," said Heyward.
"If enemies have reached the portage at all, a thing by no
means probable, as our scouts are abroad, they will surely
be found skirting the column, where scalps abound the most.
The route of the detachment is known, while ours, having
been determined within the hour, must still be secret."

"Should we distrust the man because his manners are not our
manners, and that his skin is dark?" coldly asked Cora.

Alice hesitated no longer; but giving her Narrangansett* a
smart cut of the whip, she was the first to dash aside the
slight branches of the bushes, and to follow the runner
along the dark and tangled pathway. The young man regarded
the last speaker in open admiration, and even permitted her
fairer, though certainly not more beautiful companion, to
proceed unattended, while he sedulously opened the way
himself for the passage of her who has been called Cora. It
would seem that the domestics had been previously
instructed; for, instead of penetrating the thicket, they
followed the route of the column; a measure which Heyward
stated had been dictated by the sagacity of their guide, in
order to diminish the marks of their trail, if, haply, the
Canadian savages should be lurking so far in advance of
their army. For many minutes the intricacy of the route
admitted of no further dialogue; after which they emerged
from the broad border of underbrush which grew along the
line of the highway, and entered under the high but dark
arches of the forest. Here their progress was less
interrupted; and the instant the guide perceived that the
females could command their steeds, he moved on, at a pace
between a trot and a walk, and at a rate which kept the sure-
footed and peculiar animals they rode at a fast yet easy
amble. The youth had turned to speak to the dark-eyed Cora,
when the distant sound of horses; hoofs, clattering over the
roots of the broken way in his rear, caused him to check his
charger; and, as his companions drew their reins at the same
instant, the whole party came to a halt, in order to obtain
an explanation of the unlooked-for interruption.

* In the state of Rhode Island there is a bay called
Narragansett, so named after a powerful tribe of Indians,
which formerly dwelt on its banks. Accident, or one of
those unaccountable freaks which nature sometimes plays in
the animal world, gave rise to a breed of horses which were
once well known in America, and distinguished by their habit
of pacing. Horses of this race were, and are still, in much
request as saddle horses, on account of their hardiness and
the ease of their movements. As they were also sure of
foot, the Narragansetts were greatly sought for by females
who were obliged to travel over the roots and holes in the
"new countries."

In a few moments a colt was seen gliding, like a fallow
deer, among the straight trunks of the pines; and, in
another instant, the person of the ungainly man, described
in the preceding chapter, came into view, with as much
rapidity as he could excite his meager beast to endure
without coming to an open rupture. Until now this personage
had escaped the observation of the travelers. If he
possessed the power to arrest any wandering eye when
exhibiting the glories of his altitude on foot, his
equestrian graces were still more likely to attract
attention.

Notwithstanding a constant application of his one armed heel
to the flanks of the mare, the most confirmed gait that he
could establish was a Canterbury gallop with the hind legs,
in which those more forward assisted for doubtful moments,
though generally content to maintain a loping trot. Perhaps
the rapidity of the changes from one of these paces to the
other created an optical illusion, which might thus magnify
the powers of the beast; for it is certain that Heyward, who
possessed a true eye for the merits of a horse, was unable,
with his utmost ingenuity, to decide by what sort of
movement his pursuer worked his sinuous way on his footsteps
with such persevering hardihood.

The industry and movements of the rider were not less
remarkable than those of the ridden. At each change in the
evolutions of the latter, the former raised his tall person
in the stirrups; producing, in this manner, by the undue
elongation of his legs, such sudden growths and diminishings
of the stature, as baffled every conjecture that might be
made as to his dimensions. If to this be added the fact
that, in consequence of the ex parte application of the
spur, one side of the mare appeared to journey faster than
the other; and that the aggrieved flank was resolutely
indicated by unremitted flourishes of a bushy tail, we
finish the picture of both horse and man.

The frown which had gathered around the handsome, open, and
manly brow of Heyward, gradually relaxed, and his lips
curled into a slight smile, as he regarded the stranger.
Alice made no very powerful effort to control her merriment;
and even the dark, thoughtful eye of Cora lighted with a
humor that it would seem, the habit, rather than the nature,
of its mistress repressed.

"Seek you any here?" demanded Heyward, when the other had
arrived sufficiently nigh to abate his speed; "I trust you
are no messenger of evil tidings?"

"Even so," replied the stranger, making diligent use of his
triangular castor, to produce a circulation in the close air
of the woods, and leaving his hearers in doubt to which of
the young man's questions he responded; when, however, he
had cooled his face, and recovered his breath, he continued,
"I hear you are riding to William Henry; as I am journeying
thitherward myself, I concluded good company would seem
consistent to the wishes of both parties."

"You appear to possess the privilege of a casting vote,"
returned Heyward; "we are three, while you have consulted no
one but yourself."

"Even so. The first point to be obtained is to know one's
own mind. Once sure of that, and where women are concerned
it is not easy, the next is, to act up to the decision. I
have endeavored to do both, and here I am."

"If you journey to the lake, you have mistaken your route,"
said Heyward, haughtily; "the highway thither is at least
half a mile behind you."

"Even so," returned the stranger, nothing daunted by this
cold reception; "I have tarried at 'Edward' a week, and I
should be dumb not to have inquired the road I was to
journey; and if dumb there would be an end to my calling."
After simpering in a small way, like one whose modesty
prohibited a more open expression of his admiration of a
witticism that was perfectly unintelligible to his hearers,
he continued, "It is not prudent for any one of my
profession to be too familiar with those he has to instruct;
for which reason I follow not the line of the army; besides
which, I conclude that a gentleman of your character has the
best judgment in matters of wayfaring; I have, therefore,
decided to join company, in order that the ride may be made
agreeable, and partake of social communion."

"A most arbitrary, if not a hasty decision!" exclaimed
Heyward, undecided whether to give vent to his growing
anger, or to laugh in the other's face. "But you speak of
instruction, and of a profession; are you an adjunct to the
provincial corps, as a master of the noble science of
defense and offense; or, perhaps, you are one who draws
lines and angles, under the pretense of expounding the
mathematics?"

The stranger regarded his interrogator a moment in wonder;
and then, losing every mark of self-satisfaction in an
expression of solemn humility, he answered:

"Of offense, I hope there is none, to either party: of
defense, I make none--by God's good mercy, having
committed no palpable sin since last entreating his
pardoning grace. I understand not your allusions about
lines and angles; and I leave expounding to those who have
been called and set apart for that holy office. I lay claim
to no higher gift than a small insight into the glorious art
of petitioning and thanksgiving, as practiced in psalmody."

"The man is, most manifestly, a disciple of Apollo," cried
the amused Alice, "and I take him under my own especial
protection. Nay, throw aside that frown, Heyward, and in
pity to my longing ears, suffer him to journey in our train.
Besides," she added, in a low and hurried voice, casting a
glance at the distant Cora, who slowly followed the
footsteps of their silent, but sullen guide, "it may be a
friend added to our strength, in time of need."

"Think you, Alice, that I would trust those I love by this
secret path, did I imagine such need could happen?"

"Nay, nay, I think not of it now; but this strange man
amuses me; and if he 'hath music in his soul', let us not
churlishly reject his company."  She pointed persuasively
along the path with her riding whip, while their eyes met in
a look which the young man lingered a moment to prolong;
then, yielding to her gentle influence, he clapped his spurs
into his charger, and in a few bounds was again at the side
of Cora.

"I am glad to encounter thee, friend," continued the maiden,
waving her hand to the stranger to proceed, as she urged her
Narragansett to renew its amble. "Partial relatives have
almost persuaded me that I am not entirely worthless in a
duet myself; and we may enliven our wayfaring by indulging
in our favorite pursuit. It might be of signal advantage to
one, ignorant as I, to hear the opinions and experience of a
master in the art."

"It is refreshing both to the spirits and to the body to
indulge in psalmody, in befitting seasons," returned the
master of song, unhesitatingly complying with her intimation
to follow; "and nothing would relieve the mind more than
such a consoling communion. But four parts are altogether
necessary to the perfection of melody. You have all the
manifestations of a soft and rich treble; I can, by especial
aid, carry a full tenor to the highest letter; but we lack
counter and bass! Yon officer of the king, who hesitated to
admit me to his company, might fill the latter, if one may
judge from the intonations of his voice in common dialogue."

"Judge not too rashly from hasty and deceptive appearances,"
said the lady, smiling; "though Major Heyward can assume
such deep notes on occasion, believe me, his natural tones
are better fitted for a mellow tenor than the bass you
heard."

"Is he, then, much practiced in the art of psalmody?"
demanded her simple companion.

Alice felt disposed to laugh, though she succeeded in
suppressing her merriment, ere she answered:

"I apprehend that he is rather addicted to profane song.
The chances of a soldier's life are but little fitted for
the encouragement of more sober inclinations."

"Man's voice is given to him, like his other talents, to be
used, and not to be abused. None can say they have ever
known me to neglect my gifts! I am thankful that, though my
boyhood may be said to have been set apart, like the youth
of the royal David, for the purposes of music, no syllable
of rude verse has ever profaned my lips."

"You have, then, limited your efforts to sacred song?"

"Even so. As the psalms of David exceed all other language,
so does the psalmody that has been fitted to them by the
divines and sages of the land, surpass all vain poetry.
Happily, I may say that I utter nothing but the thoughts and
the wishes of the King of Israel himself; for though the
times may call for some slight changes, yet does this
version which we use in the colonies of New England so much
exceed all other versions, that, by its richness, its
exactness, and its spiritual simplicity, it approacheth, as
near as may be, to the great work of the inspired writer. I
never abid in any place, sleeping or waking, without an
example of this gifted work. 'Tis the six-and-twentieth
edition, promulgated at Boston, Anno Domini 1744; and is
entitled, 'The Psalms, Hymns, and Spiritual Songs of the Old
and New Testaments; faithfully translated into English
Metre, for the Use, Edification, and Comfort of the Saints,
in Public and Private, especially in New England'."

During this eulogium on the rare production of his native
poets, the stranger had drawn the book from his pocket, and
fitting a pair of iron-rimmed spectacles to his nose, opened
the volume with a care and veneration suited to its sacred
purposes. Then, without circumlocution or apology, first
pronounced the word "Standish," and placing the unknown
engine, already described, to his mouth, from which he drew
a high, shrill sound, that was followed by an octave below,
from his own voice, he commenced singing the following
words, in full, sweet, and melodious tones, that set the
music, the poetry, and even the uneasy motion of his ill-
trained beast at defiance; "How good it is, O see, And how
it pleaseth well, Together e'en in unity, For brethren so to
dwell. "It's like the choice ointment, From the head to the
beard did go; Down Aaron's head, that downward went His
garment's skirts unto."

The delivery of these skillful rhymes was accompanied, on
the part of the stranger, by a regular rise and fall of his
right hand, which terminated at the descent, by suffering
the fingers to dwell a moment on the leaves of the little
volume; and on the ascent, by such a flourish of the member
as none but the initiated may ever hope to imitate. It
would seem long practice had rendered this manual
accompaniment necessary; for it did not cease until the
preposition which the poet had selected for the close of his
verse had been duly delivered like a word of two syllables.

Such an innovation on the silence and retirement of the
forest could not fail to enlist the ears of those who
journeyed at so short a distance in advance. The Indian
muttered a few words in broken English to Heyward, who, in
his turn, spoke to the stranger; at once interrupting, and,
for the time, closing his musical efforts.

"Though we are not in danger, common prudence would teach us
to journey through this wilderness in as quiet a manner as
possible. You will then, pardon me, Alice, should I
diminish your enjoyments, by requesting this gentleman to
postpone his chant until a safer opportunity."

"You will diminish them, indeed," returned the arch girl;
"for never did I hear a more unworthy conjunction of
execution and language than that to which I have been
listening; and I was far gone in a learned inquiry into the
causes of such an unfitness between sound and sense, when
you broke the charm of my musings by that bass of yours,
Duncan!"

"I know not what you call my bass," said Heyward, piqued at
her remark, "but I know that your safety, and that of Cora,
is far dearer to me than could be any orchestra of Handel's
music."  He paused and turned his head quickly toward a
thicket, and then bent his eyes suspiciously on their guide,
who continued his steady pace, in undisturbed gravity. The
young man smiled to himself, for he believed he had mistaken
some shining berry of the woods for the glistening eyeballs
of a prowling savage, and he rode forward, continuing the
conversation which had been interrupted by the passing
thought.

Major Heyward was mistaken only in suffering his youthful
and generous pride to suppress his active watchfulness. The
cavalcade had not long passed, before the branches of the
bushes that formed the thicket were cautiously moved
asunder, and a human visage, as fiercely wild as savage art
and unbridled passions could make it, peered out on the
retiring footsteps of the travelers. A gleam of exultation
shot across the darkly-painted lineaments of the inhabitant
of the forest, as he traced the route of his intended
victims, who rode unconsciously onward, the light and
graceful forms of the females waving among the trees, in the
curvatures of their path, followed at each bend by the manly
figure of Heyward, until, finally, the shapeless person of
the singing master was concealed behind the numberless
trunks of trees, that rose, in dark lines, in the
intermediate space.

CHAPTER 3

"Before these fields were shorn and till'd, Full to the brim
our rivers flow'd; The melody of waters fill'd The fresh and
boundless wood; And torrents dash'd, and rivulets play'd,
And fountains spouted in the shade."--Bryant

Leaving the unsuspecting Heyward and his confiding
companions to penetrate still deeper into a forest that
contained such treacherous inmates, we must use an author's
privilege, and shift the scene a few miles to the westward
of the place where we have last seen them.

On that day, two men were lingering on the banks of a small
but rapid stream, within an hour's journey of the encampment
of Webb, like those who awaited the appearance of an absent
person, or the approach of some expected event. The vast
canopy of woods spread itself to the margin of the river,
overhanging the water, and shadowing its dark current with a
deeper hue. The rays of the sun were beginning to grow less
fierce, and the intense heat of the day was lessened, as the
cooler vapors of the springs and fountains rose above their
leafy beds, and rested in the atmosphere. Still that
breathing silence, which marks the drowsy sultriness of an
American landscape in July, pervaded the secluded spot,
interrupted only by the low voices of the men, the
occasional and lazy tap of a woodpecker, the discordant cry
of some gaudy jay, or a swelling on the ear, from the dull
roar of a distant waterfall. These feeble and broken sounds
were, however, too familiar to the foresters to draw their
attention from the more interesting matter of their
dialogue. While one of these loiterers showed the red skin
and wild accouterments of a native of the woods, the other
exhibited, through the mask of his rude and nearly savage
equipments, the brighter, though sun-burned and long-faced
complexion of one who might claim descent from a European
parentage. The former was seated on the end of a mossy log,
in a posture that permitted him to heighten the effect of
his earnest language, by the calm but expressive gestures of
an Indian engaged in debate. his body, which was nearly
naked, presented a terrific emblem of death, drawn in
intermingled colors of white and black. His closely-shaved
head, on which no other hair than the well-known and
chivalrous scalping tuft* was preserved, was without
ornament of any kind, with the exception of a solitary
eagle's plume, that crossed his crown, and depended over the
left shoulder. A tomahawk and scalping knife, of English
manufacture, were in his girdle; while a short military
rifle, of that sort with which the policy of the whites
armed their savage allies, lay carelessly across his bare
and sinewy knee. The expanded chest, full formed limbs, and
grave countenance of this warrior, would denote that he had
reached the vigor of his days, though no symptoms of decay
appeared to have yet weakened his manhood.

* The North American warrior caused the hair to be
plucked from his whole body; a small tuft was left on the
crown of his head, in order that his enemy might avail
himself of it, in wrenching off the scalp in the event of
his fall. The scalp was the only admissible trophy of
victory. Thus, it was deemed more important to obtain the
scalp than to kill the man. Some tribes lay great stress on
the honor of striking a dead body. These practices have
nearly disappeared among the Indians of the Atlantic states.

The frame of the white man, judging by such parts as were
not concealed by his clothes, was like that of one who had
known hardships and exertion from his earliest youth. His
person, though muscular, was rather attenuated than full;
but every nerve and muscle appeared strung and indurated by
unremitted exposure and toil. He wore a hunting shirt of
forest-green, fringed with faded yellow*, and a summer cap
of skins which had been shorn of their fur. He also bore a
knife in a girdle of wampum, like that which confined the
scanty garments of the Indian, but no tomahawk. His
moccasins were ornamented after the gay fashion of the
natives, while the only part of his under dress which
appeared below the hunging frock was a pair of buckskin
leggings, that laced at the sides, and which were gartered
above the knees, with the sinews of a deer. A pouch and
horn completed his personal accouterments, though a rifle of
great length**, which the theory of the more ingenious whites
had taught them was the most dangerous of all firearms,
leaned against a neighboring sapling. The eye of the
hunter, or scout, whichever he might be, was small, quick,
keen, and restless, roving while he spoke, on every side of
him, as if in quest of game, or distrusting the sudden
approach of some lurking enemy. Notwithstanding the
symptoms of habitual suspicion, his countenance was not only
without guile, but at the moment at which he is introduced,
it was charged with an expression of sturdy honesty.

* The hunting-shirt is a picturesque smock-frock,
being shorter, and ornamented with fringes and tassels. The
colors are intended to imitate the hues of the wood, with a
view to concealment. Many corps of American riflemen have
been thus attired, and the dress is one of the most striking
of modern times. The hunting-shirt is frequently white.

** The rifle of the army is short; that of the hunter
is always long.

"Even your traditions make the case in my favor,
Chingachgook," he said, speaking in the tongue which was
known to all the natives who formerly inhabited the country
between the Hudson and the Potomac, and of which we shall
give a free translation for the benefit of the reader;
endeavoring, at the same time, to preserve some of the
peculiarities, both of the individual and of the language.
"Your fathers came from the setting sun, crossed the big
river*, fought the people of the country, and took the land;
and mine came from the red sky of the morning, over the salt
lake, and did their work much after the fashion that had
been set them by yours; then let God judge the matter
between us, and friends spare their words!"

* The Mississippi. The scout alludes to a tradition
which is very popular among the tribes of the Atlantic
states. Evidence of their Asiatic origin is deduced from
the circumstances, though great uncertainty hangs over the
whole history of the Indians.

"My fathers fought with the naked red man!" returned the
Indian, sternly, in the same language. "Is there no
difference, Hawkeye, between the stone-headed arrow of the
warrior, and the leaden bullet with which you kill?"

"There is reason in an Indian, though nature has made him
with a red skin!" said the white man, shaking his head like
one on whom such an appeal to his justice was not thrown
away. For a moment he appeared to be conscious of having
the worst of the argument, then, rallying again, he answered
the objection of his antagonist in the best manner his
limited information would allow:

"I am no scholar, and I care not who knows it; but, judging
from what I have seen, at deer chases and squirrel hunts, of
the sparks below, I should think a rifle in the hands of
their grandfathers was not so dangerous as a hickory bow and
a good flint-head might be, if drawn with Indian judgment,
and sent by an Indian eye."

"You have the story told by your fathers," returned the
other, coldly waving his hand. "What say your old men? Do
they tell the young warriors that the pale faces met the red
men, painted for war and armed with the stone hatchet and
wooden gun?"

"I am not a prejudiced man, nor one who vaunts himself on
his natural privileges, though the worst enemy I have on
earth, and he is an Iroquois, daren't deny that I am genuine
white," the scout replied, surveying, with secret
satisfaction, the faded color of his bony and sinewy hand,
"and I am willing to own that my people have many ways, of
which, as an honest man, I can't approve. It is one of
their customs to write in books what they have done and
seen, instead of telling them in their villages, where the
lie can be given to the face of a cowardly boaster, and the
brave soldier can call on his comrades to witness for the
truth of his words. In consequence of this bad fashion, a
man, who is too conscientious to misspend his days among the
women, in learning the names of black marks, may never hear
of the deeds of his fathers, nor feel a pride in striving to
outdo them. For myself, I conclude the Bumppos could shoot,
for I have a natural turn with a rifle, which must have been
handed down from generation to generation, as, our holy
commandments tell us, all good and evil gifts are bestowed;
though I should be loath to answer for other people in such
a matter. But every story has its two sides; so I ask you,
Chingachgook, what passed, according to the traditions of
the red men, when our fathers first met?"

A silence of a minute succeeded, during which the Indian sat
mute; then, full of the dignity of his office, he commenced
his brief tale, with a solemnity that served to heighten its
appearance of truth.

"Listen, Hawkeye, and your ear shall drink no lie. 'Tis
what my fathers have said, and what the Mohicans have done."
He hesitated a single instant, and bending a cautious glance
toward his companion, he continued, in a manner that was
divided between interrogation and assertion. "Does not this
stream at our feet run toward the summer, until its waters
grow salt, and the current flows upward?"

"It can't be denied that your traditions tell you true in
both these matters," said the white man; "for I have been
there, and have seen them, though why water, which is so
sweet in the shade, should become bitter in the sun, is an
alteration for which I have never been able to account."

"And the current!" demanded the Indian, who expected his
reply with that sort of interest that a man feels in the
confirmation of testimony, at which he marvels even while he
respects it; "the fathers of Chingachgook have not lied!"

"The holy Bible is not more true, and that is the truest
thing in nature. They call this up-stream current the tide,
which is a thing soon explained, and clear enough. Six
hours the waters run in, and six hours they run out, and the
reason is this: when there is higher water in the sea than
in the river, they run in until the river gets to be
highest, and then it runs out again."

"The waters in the woods, and on the great lakes, run
downward until they lie like my hand," said the Indian,
stretching the limb horizontally before him, "and then they
run no more."

"No honest man will deny it," said the scout, a little
nettled at the implied distrust of his explanation of the
mystery of the tides; "and I grant that it is true on the
small scale, and where the land is level. But everything
depends on what scale you look at things. Now, on the small
scale, the 'arth is level; but on the large scale it is
round. In this manner, pools and ponds, and even the great
fresh-water lakes, may be stagnant, as you and I both know
they are, having seen them; but when you come to spread
water over a great tract, like the sea, where the earth is
round, how in reason can the water be quiet? You might as
well expect the river to lie still on the brink of those
black rocks a mile above us, though your own ears tell you
that it is tumbling over them at this very moment."

If unsatisfied by the philosophy of his companion, the
Indian was far too dignified to betray his unbelief. He
listened like one who was convinced, and resumed his
narrative in his former solemn manner.

"We came from the place where the sun is hid at night, over
great plains where the buffaloes live, until we reached the
big river. There we fought the Alligewi, till the ground
was red with their blood. From the banks of the big river
to the shores of the salt lake, there was none to meet us.
The Maquas followed at a distance. We said the country
should be ours from the place where the water runs up no
longer on this stream, to a river twenty sun's journey
toward the summer. We drove the Maquas into the woods with
the bears. They only tasted salt at the licks; they drew no
fish from the great lake; we threw them the bones."

"All this I have heard and believe," said the white man,
observing that the Indian paused; "but it was long before
the English came into the country."

"A pine grew then where this chestnut now stands. The first
pale faces who came among us spoke no English. They came in
a large canoe, when my fathers had buried the tomahawk with
the red men around them. Then, Hawkeye," he continued,
betraying his deep emotion, only by permitting his voice to
fall to those low, guttural tones, which render his
language, as spoken at times, so very musical; "then,
Hawkeye, we were one people, and we were happy. The salt
lake gave us its fish, the wood its deer, and the air its
birds. We took wives who bore us children; we worshipped
the Great Spirit; and we kept the Maquas beyond the sound of
our songs of triumph."

"Know you anything of your own family at that time?"
demanded the white. "But you are just a man, for an Indian;
and as I suppose you hold their gifts, your fathers must
have been brave warriors, and wise men at the council-fire."

"My tribe is the grandfather of nations, but I am an unmixed
man. The blood of chiefs is in my veins, where it must stay
forever. The Dutch landed, and gave my people the fire-
water; they drank until the heavens and the earth seemed to
meet, and they foolishly thought they had found the Great
Spirit. Then they parted with their land. Foot by foot,
they were driven back from the shores, until I, that am a
chief and a Sagamore, have never seen the sun shine but
through the trees, and have never visited the graves of my
fathers."

"Graves bring solemn feelings over the mind," returned the
scout, a good deal touched at the calm suffering of his
companion; "and they often aid a man in his good intentions;
though, for myself, I expect to leave my own bones unburied,
to bleach in the woods, or to be torn asunder by the wolves.
But where are to be found those of your race who came to
their kin in the Delaware country, so many summers since?"

"Where are the blossoms of those summers!--fallen, one by
one; so all of my family departed, each in his turn, to the
land of spirits. I am on the hilltop and must go down into
the valley; and when Uncas follows in my footsteps there
will no longer be any of the blood of the Sagamores, for my
boy is the last of the Mohicans."

"Uncas is here," said another voice, in the same soft,
guttural tones, near his elbow; "who speaks to Uncas?"

The white man loosened his knife in his leathern sheath, and
made an involuntary movement of the hand toward his rifle,
at this sudden interruption; but the Indian sat composed,
and without turning his head at the unexpected sounds.

At the next instant, a youthful warrior passed between them,
with a noiseless step, and seated himself on the bank of the
rapid stream. No exclamation of surprise escaped the
father, nor was any question asked, or reply given, for
several minutes; each appearing to await the moment when he
might speak, without betraying womanish curiosity or
childish impatience. The white man seemed to take counsel
from their customs, and, relinquishing his grasp of the
rifle, he also remained silent and reserved. At length
Chingachgook turned his eyes slowly toward his son, and
demanded:

"Do the Maquas dare to leave the print of their moccasins in
these woods?"

"I have been on their trail," replied the young Indian, "and
know that they number as many as the fingers of my two
hands; but they lie hid like cowards."

"The thieves are outlying for scalps and plunder," said the
white man, whom we shall call Hawkeye, after the manner of
his companions. "That busy Frenchman, Montcalm, will send
his spies into our very camp, but he will know what road we
travel!"

"'Tis enough," returned the father, glancing his eye toward
the setting sun; "they shall be driven like deer from their
bushes. Hawkeye, let us eat to-night, and show the Maquas
that we are men to-morrow."

"I am as ready to do the one as the other; but to fight the
Iroquois 'tis necessary to find the skulkers; and to eat,
'tis necessary to get the game--talk of the devil and he
will come; there is a pair of the biggest antlers I have
seen this season, moving the bushes below the hill! Now,
Uncas," he continued, in a half whisper, and laughing with a
kind of inward sound, like one who had learned to be
watchful, "I will bet my charger three times full of powder,
against a foot of wampum, that I take him atwixt the eyes,
and nearer to the right than to the left."

"It cannot be!" said the young Indian, springing to his feet
with youthful eagerness; "all but the tips of his horns are
hid!"

"He's a boy!" said the white man, shaking his head while he
spoke, and addressing the father. "Does he think when a
hunter sees a part of the creature', he can't tell where the
rest of him should be!"

Adjusting his rifle, he was about to make an exhibition of
that skill on which he so much valued himself, when the
warrior struck up the piece with his hand, saying:

"Hawkeye! will you fight the Maquas?"

"These Indians know the nature of the woods, as it might be
by instinct!" returned the scout, dropping his rifle, and
turning away like a man who was convinced of his error. "I
must leave the buck to your arrow, Uncas, or we may kill a
deer for them thieves, the Iroquois, to eat."

The instant the father seconded this intimation by an
expressive gesture of the hand, Uncas threw himself on the
ground, and approached the animal with wary movements. When
within a few yards of the cover, he fitted an arrow to his
bow with the utmost care, while the antlers moved, as if
their owner snuffed an enemy in the tainted air. In another
moment the twang of the cord was heard, a white streak was
seen glancing into the bushes, and the wounded buck plunged
from the cover, to the very feet of his hidden enemy.
Avoiding the horns of the infuriated animal, Uncas darted to
his side, and passed his knife across the throat, when
bounding to the edge of the river it fell, dyeing the waters
with its blood.

"'Twas done with Indian skill," said the scout laughing
inwardly, but with vast satisfaction; "and 'twas a pretty
sight to behold! Though an arrow is a near shot, and needs
a knife to finish the work."

"Hugh!" ejaculated his companion, turning quickly, like a
hound who scented game.

"By the Lord, there is a drove of them!" exclaimed the
scout, whose eyes began to glisten with the ardor of his
usual occupation; "if they come within range of a bullet I
will drop one, though the whole Six Nations should be
lurking within sound! What do you hear, Chingachgook? for
to my ears the woods are dumb."

"There is but one deer, and he is dead," said the Indian,
bending his body till his ear nearly touched the earth. "I
hear the sounds of feet!"

"Perhaps the wolves have driven the buck to shelter, and are
following on his trail."

"No. The horses of white men are coming!" returned the
other, raising himself with dignity, and resuming his seat
on the log with his former composure. "Hawkeye, they are
your brothers; speak to them."

"That I will, and in English that the king needn't be
ashamed to answer," returned the hunter, speaking in the
language of which he boasted; "but I see nothing, nor do I
hear the sounds of man or beast; 'tis strange that an Indian
should understand white sounds better than a man who, his
very enemies will own, has no cross in his blood, although
he may have lived with the red skins long enough to be
suspected! Ha! there goes something like the cracking of a
dry stick, too--now I hear the bushes move--yes, yes,
there is a trampling that I mistook for the falls--and--
but here they come themselves; God keep them from the
Iroquois!"

CHAPTER 4

"Well go thy way: thou shalt not from this grove Till I
torment thee for this injury."--Midsummer Night's Dream.

The words were still in the mouth of the scout, when the
leader of the party, whose approaching footsteps had caught
the vigilant ear of the Indian, came openly into view. A
beaten path, such as those made by the periodical passage of
the deer, wound through a little glen at no great distance,
and struck the river at the point where the white man and
his red companions had posted themselves. Along this track
the travelers, who had produced a surprise so unusual in the
depths of the forest, advanced slowly toward the hunter, who
was in front of his associates, in readiness to receive
them.

"Who comes?" demanded the scout, throwing his rifle
carelessly across his left arm, and keeping the forefinger
of his right hand on the trigger, though he avoided all
appearance of menace in the act. "Who comes hither, among
the beasts and dangers of the wilderness?"

"Believers in religion, and friends to the law and to the
king," returned he who rode foremost. "Men who have
journeyed since the rising sun, in the shades of this
forest, without nourishment, and are sadly tired of their
wayfaring."

"You are, then, lost," interrupted the hunter, "and have
found how helpless 'tis not to know whether to take the
right hand or the left?"

"Even so; sucking babes are not more dependent on those who
guide them than we who are of larger growth, and who may now
be said to possess the stature without the knowledge of men.
Know you the distance to a post of the crown called William
Henry?"

"Hoot!" shouted the scout, who did not spare his open
laughter, though instantly checking the dangerous sounds he
indulged his merriment at less risk of being overheard by
any lurking enemies. "You are as much off the scent as a
hound would be, with Horican atwixt him and the deer!
William Henry, man! if you are friends to the king and have
business with the army, your way would be to follow the
river down to Edward, and lay the matter before Webb, who
tarries there, instead of pushing into the defiles, and
driving this saucy Frenchman back across Champlain, into his
den again."

Before the stranger could make any reply to this unexpected
proposition, another horseman dashed the bushes aside, and
leaped his charger into the pathway, in front of his
companion.

"What, then, may be our distance from Fort Edward?" demanded
a new speaker; "the place you advise us to seek we left this
morning, and our destination is the head of the lake."

"Then you must have lost your eyesight afore losing your
way, for the road across the portage is cut to a good two
rods, and is as grand a path, I calculate, as any that runs
into London, or even before the palace of the king himself."

"We will not dispute concerning the excellence of the
passage," returned Heyward, smiling; for, as the reader has
anticipated, it was he. "It is enough, for the present,
that we trusted to an Indian guide to take us by a nearer, though
blinder path, and that we are deceived in his knowledge. In
plain words, we know not where we are."

"An Indian lost in the woods!" said the scout, shaking his
head doubtingly; "When the sun is scorching the tree tops,
and the water courses are full; when the moss on every beech
he sees will tell him in what quarter the north star will
shine at night. The woods are full of deer-paths which run
to the streams and licks, places well known to everybody;
nor have the geese done their flight to the Canada waters
altogether! 'Tis strange that an Indian should be lost
atwixt Horican and the bend in the river! Is he a Mohawk?"

"Not by birth, though adopted in that tribe; I think his
birthplace was farther north, and he is one of those you
call a Huron."

"Hugh!" exclaimed the two companions of the scout, who had
continued until this part of the dialogue, seated immovable,
and apparently indifferent to what passed, but who now
sprang to their feet with an activity and interest that had
evidently got the better of their reserve by surprise.

"A Huron!" repeated the sturdy scout, once more shaking his
head in open distrust; "they are a thievish race, nor do I
care by whom they are adopted; you can never make anything
of them but skulls and vagabonds. Since you trusted
yourself to the care of one of that nation, I only wonder
that you have not fallen in with more."

"Of that there is little danger, since William Henry is so
many miles in our front. You forget that I have told you
our guide is now a Mohawk, and that he serves with our
forces as a friend."

"And I tell you that he who is born a Mingo will die a
Mingo," returned the other positively. "A Mohawk! No, give
me a Delaware or a Mohican for honesty; and when
they will fight, which they won't all do, having suffered
their cunning enemies, the Maquas, to make them women--but
when they will fight at all, look to a Delaware, or a
Mohican, for a warrior!"

"Enough of this," said Heyward, impatiently; "I wish not to
inquire into the character of a man that I know, and to whom
you must be a stranger. You have not yet answered my
question; what is our distance from the main army at
Edward?"

"It seems that may depend on who is your guide. One would
think such a horse as that might get over a good deal of
ground atwixt sun-up and sun-down."

"I wish no contention of idle words with you, friend," said
Heyward, curbing his dissatisfied manner, and speaking in a
more gentle voice; "if you will tell me the distance to Fort
Edward, and conduct me thither, your labor shall not go
without its reward."

"And in so doing, how know I that I don't guide an enemy and
a spy of Montcalm, to the works of the army? It is not every
man who can speak the English tongue that is an honest
subject."

"If you serve with the troops, of whom I judge you to be a
scout, you should know of such a regiment of the king as the
Sixtieth."

"The Sixtieth! you can tell me little of the Royal Americans
that I don't know, though I do wear a hunting-shirt instead
of a scarlet jacket."

"Well, then, among other things, you may know the name of
its major?"

"Its major!" interrupted the hunter, elevating his body like
one who was proud of his trust. "If there is a man in the
country who knows Major Effingham, he stands before you."

"It is a corps which has many majors; the gentleman you
name is the senior, but I speak of the junior of them all;
he who commands the companies in garrison at William Henry."

"Yes, yes, I have heard that a young gentleman of vast
riches, from one of the provinces far south, has got the
place. He is over young, too, to hold such rank, and to be
put above men whose heads are beginning to bleach; and yet
they say he is a soldier in his knowledge, and a gallant
gentleman!"

"Whatever he may be, or however he may be qualified for his
rank, he now speaks to you and, of course, can be no enemy
to dread."

The scout regarded Heyward in surprise, and then lifting his
cap, he answered, in a tone less confident than before--
though still expressing doubt.

"I have heard a party was to leave the encampment this
morning for the lake shore?"

"You have heard the truth; but I preferred a nearer route,
trusting to the knowledge of the Indian I mentioned."

"And he deceived you, and then deserted?"

"Neither, as I believe; certainly not the latter, for he is
to be found in the rear."

"I should like to look at the creature'; if it is a true
Iroquois I can tell him by his knavish look, and by his
paint," said the scout; stepping past the charger of
Heyward, and entering the path behind the mare of the
singing master, whose foal had taken advantage of the halt
to exact the maternal contribution. After shoving aside the
bushes, and proceeding a few paces, he encountered the
females, who awaited the result of the conference with
anxiety, and not entirely without apprehension. Behind
these, the runner leaned against a tree, where he stood the
close examination of the scout with an air unmoved, though
with a look so dark and savage, that it might in itself
excite fear. Satisfied with his scrutiny, the hunter soon
left him. As he repassed the females, he paused a moment to
gaze upon their beauty, answering to the smile and nod of
Alice with a look of open pleasure. Thence he went to the
side of the motherly animal, and spending a minute in a
fruitless inquiry into the character of her rider, he shook
his head and returned to Heyward.

"A Mingo is a Mingo, and God having made him so, neither the
Mohawks nor any other tribe can alter him," he said, when he
had regained his former position. "If we were alone, and
you would leave that noble horse at the mercy of the wolves
to-night, I could show you the way to Edward myself, within
an hour, for it lies only about an hour's journey hence; but
with such ladies in your company 'tis impossible!"

"And why? They are fatigued, but they are quite equal to a
ride of a few more miles."

"'Tis a natural impossibility!" repeated the scout; "I
wouldn't walk a mile in these woods after night gets into
them, in company with that runner, for the best rifle in the
colonies. They are full of outlying Iroquois, and your
mongrel Mohawk knows where to find them too well to be my
companion."

"Think you so?" said Heyward, leaning forward in the saddle,
and dropping his voice nearly to a whisper; "I confess I
have not been without my own suspicions, though I have
endeavored to conceal them, and affected a confidence I have
not always felt, on account of my companions. It was
because I suspected him that I would follow no longer;
making him, as you see, follow me."

"I knew he was one of the cheats as soon as I laid eyes on
him!" returned the scout, placing a finger on his nose, in
sign of caution.

"The thief is leaning against the foot of the sugar sapling,
that you can see over them bushes; his right leg is in a
line with the bark of the tree, and," tapping his rifle, "I
can take him from where I stand, between the angle and the
knee, with a single shot, putting an end to his tramping
through the woods, for at least a month to come. If I
should go back to him, the cunning varmint would suspect
something, and be dodging through the trees like a
frightened deer."

"It will not do. He may be innocent, and I dislike the act.
Though, if I felt confident of his treachery--"

"'Tis a safe thing to calculate on the knavery of an
Iroquois," said the scout, throwing his rifle forward, by a
sort of instinctive movement.

"Hold!" interrupted Heyward, "it will not do--we must
think of some other scheme--and yet, I have much reason to
believe the rascal has deceived me."

The hunter, who had already abandoned his intention of
maiming the runner, mused a moment, and then made a gesture,
which instantly brought his two red companions to his side.
They spoke together earnestly in the Delaware language,
though in an undertone; and by the gestures of the white
man, which were frequently directed towards the top of the
sapling, it was evident he pointed out the situation of
their hidden enemy. His companions were not long in
comprehending his wishes, and laying aside their firearms,
they parted, taking opposite sides of the path, and burying
themselves in the thicket, with such cautious movements,
that their steps were inaudible.

"Now, go you back," said the hunter, speaking again to
Heyward, "and hold the imp in talk; these Mohicans here will
take him without breaking his paint."

"Nay," said Heyward, proudly, "I will seize him myself."

"Hist! what could you do, mounted, against an Indian in the
bushes!"

"I will dismount."

"And, think you, when he saw one of your feet out of the
stirrup, he would wait for the other to be free? Whoever
comes into the woods to deal with the natives, must use
Indian fashions, if he would wish to prosper in his
undertakings. Go, then; talk openly to the miscreant, and
seem to believe him the truest friend you have on 'arth."

Heyward prepared to comply, though with strong disgust at
the nature of the office he was compelled to execute. Each
moment, however, pressed upon him a conviction of the
critical situation in which he had suffered his invaluable
trust to be involved through his own confidence. The sun
had already disappeared, and the woods, suddenly deprived of
his light*, were assuming a dusky hue, which keenly reminded
him that the hour the savage usually chose for his most
barbarous and remorseless acts of vengeance or hostility,
was speedily drawing near. Stimulated by apprehension, he
left the scout, who immediately entered into a loud
conversation with the stranger that had so unceremoniously
enlisted himself in the party of travelers that morning. In
passing his gentler companions Heyward uttered a few words
of encouragement, and was pleased to find that, though
fatigued with the exercise of the day, they appeared to
entertain no suspicion that their present embarrassment was
other than the result of accident. Giving them reason to
believe he was merely employed in a consultation concerning
the future route, he spurred his charger, and drew the reins
again when the animal had carried him within a few yards of
the place where the sullen runner still stood, leaning
against the tree.

* The scene of this tale was in the 42d degree of
latitude, where the twilight is never of long continuation.

"You may see, Magua," he said, endeavoring to assume an air
of freedom and confidence, "that the night is closing around
us, and yet we are no nearer to William Henry than when we
left the encampment of Webb with the rising sun.

"You have missed the way, nor have I been more fortunate.
But, happily, we have fallen in with a hunter, he whom you
hear talking to the singer, that is acquainted with the
deerpaths and by-ways of the woods, and who promises to lead
us to a place where we may rest securely till the morning."

The Indian riveted his glowing eyes on Heyward as he asked,
in his imperfect English, "Is he alone?"

"Alone!" hesitatingly answered Heyward, to whom deception
was too new to be assumed without embarrassment. "Oh! not
alone, surely, Magua, for you know that we are with him."

"Then Le Renard Subtil will go," returned the runner, coolly
raising his little wallet from the place where it had lain
at his feet; "and the pale faces will see none but their own
color."

"Go! Whom call you Le Renard?"

"'Tis the name his Canada fathers have given to Magua,"
returned the runner, with an air that manifested his pride
at the distinction. "Night is the same as day to Le Subtil,
when Munro waits for him."

"And what account will Le Renard give the chief of William
Henry concerning his daughters? Will he dare to tell the hot-
blooded Scotsman that his children are left without a guide,
though Magua promised to be one?"

"Though the gray head has a loud voice, and a long arm, Le
Renard will not hear him, nor feel him, in the woods."

"But what will the Mohawks say? They will make him
petticoats, and bid him stay in the wigwam with the women,
for he is no longer to be trusted with the business of a
man."

"Le Subtil knows the path to the great lakes, and he can
find the bones of his fathers," was the answer of the
unmoved runner.

"Enough, Magua," said Heyward; "are we not friends?
Why should there be bitter words between us? Munro has
promised you a gift for your services when performed, and I
shall be your debtor for another. Rest your weary limbs,
then, and open your wallet to eat. We have a few moments to
spare; let us not waste them in talk like wrangling women.
When the ladies are refreshed we will proceed."

"The pale faces make themselves dogs to their women,"
muttered the Indian, in his native language, "and when they
want to eat, their warriors must lay aside the tomahawk to
feed their laziness."

"What say you, Renard?"

"Le Subtil says it is good."

The Indian then fastened his eyes keenly on the open
countenance of Heyward, but meeting his glance, he turned
them quickly away, and seating himself deliberately on the
ground, he drew forth the remnant of some former repast, and
began to eat, though not without first bending his looks
slowly and cautiously around him.

"This is well," continued Heyward; "and Le Renard will have
strength and sight to find the path in the morning"; he
paused, for sounds like the snapping of a dried stick, and
the rustling of leaves, rose from the adjacent bushes, but
recollecting himself instantly, he continued, "we must be
moving before the sun is seen, or Montcalm may lie in our
path, and shut us out from the fortress."

The hand of Magua dropped from his mouth to his side, and
though his eyes were fastened on the ground, his head was
turned aside, his nostrils expanded, and his ears seemed
even to stand more erect than usual, giving to him the
appearance of a statue that was made to represent intense
attention.

Heyward, who watched his movements with a vigilant eye,
carelessly extricated one of his feet from the stirrup,
while he passed a hand toward the bear-skin covering of his
holsters.

Every effort to detect the point most regarded by the runner
was completely frustrated by the tremulous glances of his
organs, which seemed not to rest a single instant on any
particular object, and which, at the same time, could be
hardly said to move. While he hesitated how to proceed, Le
Subtil cautiously raised himself to his feet, though with a
motion so slow and guarded, that not the slightest noise was
produced by the change. Heyward felt it had now become
incumbent on him to act. Throwing his leg over the saddle,
he dismounted, with a determination to advance and seize his
treacherous companion, trusting the result to his own
manhood. In order, however, to prevent unnecessary alarm,
he still preserved an air of calmness and friendship.

"Le Renard Subtil does not eat," he said, using the
appellation he had found most flattering to the vanity of
the Indian. "His corn is not well parched, and it seems
dry. Let me examine; perhaps something may be found among
my own provisions that will help his appetite."

Magua held out the wallet to the proffer of the other. He
even suffered their hands to meet, without betraying the
least emotion, or varying his riveted attitude of attention.
But when he felt the fingers of Heyward moving gently along
his own naked arm, he struck up the limb of the young man,
and, uttering a piercing cry, he darted beneath it, and
plunged, at a single bound, into the opposite thicket. At
the next instant the form of Chingachgook appeared from the
bushes, looking like a specter in its paint, and glided
across the path in swift pursuit. Next followed the shout
of Uncas, when the woods were lighted by a sudden flash,
that was accompanied by the sharp report of the hunter's
rifle.

CHAPTER 5

..."In such a night Did Thisbe fearfully o'ertrip the dew;
And saw the lion's shadow ere himself."  Merchant of Venice

The suddenness of the flight of his guide, and the wild
cries of the pursuers, caused Heyward to remain fixed, for a
few moments, in inactive surprise. Then recollecting the
importance of securing the fugitive, he dashed aside the
surrounding bushes, and pressed eagerly forward to lend his
aid in the chase. Before he had, however, proceeded a
hundred yards, he met the three foresters already returning
from their unsuccessful pursuit.

"Why so soon disheartened!" he exclaimed; "the scoundrel
must be concealed behind some of these trees, and may yet be
secured. We are not safe while he goes at large."

"Would you set a cloud to chase the wind?" returned the
disappointed scout; "I heard the imp brushing over the dry
leaves, like a black snake, and blinking a glimpse of him,
just over ag'in yon big pine, I pulled as it might be on the
scent; but 'twouldn't do! and yet for a reasoning aim, if
anybody but myself had touched the trigger, I should call it
a quick sight; and I may be accounted to have experience in
these matters, and one who ought to know. Look at this
sumach; its leaves are red, though everybody knows the fruit
is in the yellow blossom in the month of July!"

"'Tis the blood of Le Subtil! he is hurt, and may yet fall!"

"No, no," returned the scout, in decided disapprobation of
this opinion, "I rubbed the bark off a limb, perhaps, but
the creature leaped the longer for it. A rifle bullet acts
on a running animal, when it barks him, much the same as one
of your spurs on a horse; that is, it quickens motion, and
puts life into the flesh, instead of taking it away. But
when it cuts the ragged hole, after a bound or two, there
is, commonly, a stagnation of further leaping, be it Indian
or be it deer!"

"We are four able bodies, to one wounded man!"

"Is life grievous to you?" interrupted the scout. "Yonder
red devil would draw you within swing of the tomahawks of
his comrades, before you were heated in the chase. It was
an unthoughtful act in a man who has so often slept with the
war-whoop ringing in the air, to let off his piece within
sound of an ambushment! But then it was a natural
temptation! 'twas very natural! Come, friends, let us move
our station, and in such fashion, too, as will throw the
cunning of a Mingo on a wrong scent, or our scalps will be
drying in the wind in front of Montcalm's marquee, ag'in
this hour to-morrow."

This appalling declaration, which the scout uttered with the
cool assurance of a man who fully comprehended, while he did
not fear to face the danger, served to remind Heyward of the
importance of the charge with which he himself had been
intrusted. Glancing his eyes around, with a vain effort to
pierce the gloom that was thickening beneath the leafy
arches of the forest, he felt as if, cut off from human aid,
his unresisting companions would soon lie at the entire
mercy of those barbarous enemies, who, like beasts of prey,
only waited till the gathering darkness might render their
blows more fatally certain. His awakened imagination,
deluded by the deceptive light, converted each waving bush,
or the fragment of some fallen tree, into human forms, and
twenty times he fancied he could distinguish the horrid
visages of his lurking foes, peering from their hiding
places, in never ceasing watchfulness of the movements of
his party. Looking upward, he found that the thin fleecy
clouds, which evening had painted on the blue sky, were
already losing their faintest tints of rose-color, while the
imbedded stream, which glided past the spot where he stood,
was to be traced only by the dark boundary of its wooded
banks.

"What is to be done!" he said, feeling the utter
helplessness of doubt in such a pressing strait; "desert me
not, for God's sake! remain to defend those I escort, and
freely name your own reward!"

His companions, who conversed apart in the language of their
tribe, heeded not this sudden and earnest appeal. Though
their dialogue was maintained in low and cautious sounds,
but little above a whisper, Heyward, who now approached,
could easily distinguish the earnest tones of the younger
warrior from the more deliberate speeches of his seniors.
It was evident that they debated on the propriety of some
measure, that nearly concerned the welfare of the travelers.
Yielding to his powerful interest in the subject, and
impatient of a delay that seemed fraught with so much
additional danger, Heyward drew still nigher to the dusky
group, with an intention of making his offers of
compensation more definite, when the white man, motioning
with his hand, as if he conceded the disputed point, turned
away, saying in a sort of soliloquy, and in the English
tongue:

"Uncas is right! it would not be the act of men to leave
such harmless things to their fate, even though it breaks up
the harboring place forever. If you would save these tender
blossoms from the fangs of the worst of serpents, gentleman,
you have neither time to lose nor resolution to throw away!"

"How can such a wish be doubted! Have I not already offered
--"

"Offer your prayers to Him who can give us wisdom to
circumvent the cunning of the devils who fill these woods,"
calmly interrupted the scout, "but spare your offers of
money, which neither you may live to realize, nor I to
profit by. These Mohicans and I will do what man's thoughts
can invent, to keep such flowers, which, though so sweet,
were never made for the wilderness, from harm, and that
without hope of any other recompense but such as God always
gives to upright dealings. First, you must promise two
things, both in your own name and for your friends, or
without serving you we shall only injure ourselves!"

"Name them."

"The one is, to be still as these sleeping woods, let what
will happen and the other is, to keep the place where we
shall take you, forever a secret from all mortal men."

"I will do my utmost to see both these conditions
fulfilled."

"Then follow, for we are losing moments that are as precious
as the heart's blood to a stricken deer!"

Heyward could distinguish the impatient gesture of the
scout, through the increasing shadows of the evening, and he
moved in his footsteps, swiftly, toward the place where he
had left the remainder of the party. When they rejoined the
expecting and anxious females, he briefly acquainted them
with the conditions of their new guide, and with the
necessity that existed for their hushing every apprehension
in instant and serious exertions. Although his alarming
communication was not received without much secret terror by
the listeners, his earnest and impressive manner, aided
perhaps by the nature of the danger, succeeded in bracing
their nerves to undergo some unlooked-for and unusual trial.
Silently, and without a moment's delay, they permitted him
to assist them from their saddles, and when they descended
quickly to the water's edge, where the scout had collected
the rest of the party, more by the agency of expressive
gestures than by any use of words.

"What to do with these dumb creatures!" muttered the white
man, on whom the sole control of their future movements
appeared to devolve; "it would be time lost to cut their
throats, and cast them into the river; and to leave them
here would be to tell the Mingoes that they have not far to
seek to find their owners!"

"Then give them their bridles, and let them range the
woods," Heyward ventured to suggest.

"No; it would be better to mislead the imps, and make them
believe they must equal a horse's speed to run down their
chase. Ay, ay, that will blind their fireballs of eyes!
Chingach--Hist! what stirs the bush?"

"The colt."

"That colt, at least, must die," muttered the scout,
grasping at the mane of the nimble beast, which easily
eluded his hand; "Uncas, your arrows!"

"Hold!" exclaimed the proprietor of the condemned animal,
aloud, without regard to the whispering tones used by the
others; "spare the foal of Miriam! it is the comely
offspring of a faithful dam, and would willingly injure
naught."

"When men struggle for the single life God has given them,"
said the scout, sternly, "even their own kind seem no more
than the beasts of the wood. If you speak again, I shall
leave you to the mercy of the Maquas! Draw to your arrow's
head, Uncas; we have no time for second blows."

The low, muttering sounds of his threatening voice were
still audible, when the wounded foal, first rearing on its
hinder legs, plunged forward to its knees. It was met by
Chingachgook, whose knife passed across its throat quicker
than thought, and then precipitating the motions of the
struggling victim, he dashed into the river, down whose
stream it glided away, gasping audibly for breath with its
ebbing life. This deed of apparent cruelty, but of real
necessity, fell upon the spirits of the travelers like a
terrific warning of the peril in which they stood,
heightened as it was by the calm though steady resolution of
the actors in the scene. The sisters shuddered and clung
closer to each other, while Heyward instinctively laid his
hand on one of the pistols he had just drawn from their
holsters, as he placed himself between his charge and those
dense shadows that seemed to draw an impenetrable veil
before the bosom of the forest.

The Indians, however, hesitated not a moment, but taking the
bridles, they led the frightened and reluctant horses into
the bed of the river.

At a short distance from the shore they turned, and were
soon concealed by the projection of the bank, under the brow
of which they moved, in a direction opposite to the course
of the waters. In the meantime, the scout drew a canoe of
bark from its place of concealment beneath some low bushes,
whose branches were waving with the eddies of the current,
into which he silently motioned for the females to enter.
They complied without hesitation, though many a fearful and
anxious glance was thrown behind them, toward the thickening
gloom, which now lay like a dark barrier along the margin of
the stream.

So soon as Cora and Alice were seated, the scout, without
regarding the element, directed Heyward to support one side
of the frail vessel, and posting himself at the other, they
bore it up against the stream, followed by the dejected
owner of the dead foal. In this manner they proceeded, for
many rods, in a silence that was only interrupted by the
rippling of the water, as its eddies played around them, or
the low dash made by their own cautious footsteps. Heyward
yielded the guidance of the canoe implicitly to the scout,
who approached or receded from the shore, to avoid the
fragments of rocks, or deeper parts of the river, with a
readiness that showed his knowledge of the route they held.
Occasionally he would stop; and in the midst of a breathing
stillness, that the dull but increasing roar of the
waterfall only served to render more impressive, he would
listen with painful intenseness, to catch any sounds that
might arise from the slumbering forest. When assured that
all was still, and unable to detect, even by the aid of his
practiced senses, any sign of his approaching foes, he would
deliberately resume his slow and guarded progress. At
length they reached a point in the river where the roving
eye of Heyward became riveted on a cluster of black objects,
collected at a spot where the high bank threw a deeper
shadow than usual on the dark waters. Hesitating to
advance, he pointed out the place to the attention of his
companion.

"Ay," returned the composed scout, "the Indians have hid the
beasts with the judgment of natives! Water leaves no trail,
and an owl's eyes would be blinded by the darkness of such a
hole."

The whole party was soon reunited, and another consultation
was held between the scout and his new comrades, during
which, they, whose fates depended on the faith and ingenuity
of these unknown foresters, had a little leisure to observe
their situation more minutely.

The river was confined between high and cragged rocks, one
of which impended above the spot where the canoe rested. As
these, again, were surmounted by tall trees, which appeared
to totter on the brows of the precipice, it gave the stream
the appearance of running through a deep and narrow dell.
All beneath the fantastic limbs and ragged tree tops, which
were, here and there, dimly painted against the starry
zenith, lay alike in shadowed obscurity. Behind them, the
curvature of the banks soon bounded the view by the same
dark and wooded outline; but in front, and apparently at no
great distance, the water seemed piled against the heavens,
whence it tumbled into caverns, out of which issued those
sullen sounds that had loaded the evening atmosphere. It
seemed, in truth, to be a spot devoted to seclusion, and the
sisters imbibed a soothing impression of security, as they
gazed upon its romantic though not unappalling beauties. A
general movement among their conductors, however, soon
recalled them from a contemplation of the wild charms that
night had assisted to lend the place to a painful sense of
their real peril.

The horses had been secured to some scattering shrubs that
grew in the fissures of the rocks, where, standing in the
water, they were left to pass the night. The scout directed
Heyward and his disconsolate fellow travelers to seat
themselves in the forward end of the canoe, and took
possession of the other himself, as erect and steady as if
he floated in a vessel of much firmer materials. The
Indians warily retraced their steps toward the place they
had left, when the scout, placing his pole against a rock,
by a powerful shove, sent his frail bark directly into the
turbulent stream. For many minutes the struggle between the
light bubble in which they floated and the swift current was
severe and doubtful. Forbidden to stir even a hand, and
almost afraid to breath, lest they should expose the frail
fabric to the fury of the stream, the passengers watched the
glancing waters in feverish suspense. Twenty times they
thought the whirling eddies were sweeping them to
destruction, when the masterhand of their pilot would bring
the bows of the canoe to stem the rapid. A long, a
vigorous, and, as it appeared to the females, a desperate
effort, closed the struggle. Just as Alice veiled her eyes
in horror, under the impression that they were about to be
swept within the vortex at the foot of the cataract, the
canoe floated, stationary, at the side of a flat rock, that
lay on a level with the water.

"Where are we, and what is next to be done!" demanded
Heyward, perceiving that the exertions of the scout had
ceased.

"You are at the foot of Glenn's," returned the other,
speaking aloud, without fear of consequences within the roar
of the cataract; "and the next thing is to make a steady
landing, lest the canoe upset, and you should go down again
the hard road we have traveled faster than you came up; 'tis
a hard rift to stem, when the river is a little swelled; and
five is an unnatural number to keep dry, in a hurry-skurry,
with a little birchen bark and gum. There, go you all on
the rock, and I will bring up the Mohicans with the venison.
A man had better sleep without his scalp, than famish in the
midst of plenty."

His passengers gladly complied with these directions. As
the last foot touched the rock, the canoe whirled from its
station, when the tall form of the scout was seen, for an
instant, gliding above the waters, before it disappeared in
the impenetrable darkness that rested on the bed of the
river. Left by their guide, the travelers remained a few
minutes in helpless ignorance, afraid even to move along the
broken rocks, lest a false step should precipitate them down
some one of the many deep and roaring caverns, into which
the water seemed to tumble, on every side of them. Their
suspense, however, was soon relieved; for, aided by the
skill of the natives, the canoe shot back into the eddy, and
floated again at the side of the low rock, before they
thought the scout had even time to rejoin his companions.

"We are now fortified, garrisoned, and provisioned," cried
Heyward cheerfully, "and may set Montcalm and his allies at
defiance. How, now, my vigilant sentinel, can see anything
of those you call the Iroquois, on the main land!"

"I call them Iroquois, because to me every native, who
speaks a foreign tongue, is accounted an enemy, though he
may pretend to serve the king! If Webb wants faith and
honesty in an Indian, let him bring out the tribes of the
Delawares, and send these greedy and lying Mohawks and
Oneidas, with their six nations of varlets, where in nature
they belong, among the French!"

"We should then exchange a warlike for a useless friend! I
have heard that the Delawares have laid aside the hatchet,
and are content to be called women!"

"Aye, shame on the Hollanders and Iroquois, who circumvented
them by their deviltries, into such a treaty! But I have
known them for twenty years, and I call him liar that says
cowardly blood runs in the veins of a Delaware. You have
driven their tribes from the seashore, and would now believe
what their enemies say, that you may sleep at night upon an
easy pillow. No, no; to me, every Indian who speaks a
foreign tongue is an Iroquois, whether the castle* of his
tribe be in Canada, or be in York."

* The principal villages of the Indians are still
called "castles" by the whites of New York. "Oneida castle"
is no more than a scattered hamlet; but the name is in
general use.

Heyward, perceiving that the stubborn adherence of the scout
to the cause of his friends the Delawares, or Mohicans, for
they were branches of the same numerous people, was likely
to prolong a useless discussion, changed the subject.

"Treaty or no treaty, I know full well that your two
companions are brave and cautious warriors! have they heard
or seen anything of our enemies!"

"An Indian is a mortal to be felt afore he is seen,"
returned the scout, ascending the rock, and throwing the
deer carelessly down. "I trust to other signs than such as
come in at the eye, when I am outlying on the trail of the
Mingoes."

"Do your ears tell you that they have traced our retreat?"

"I should be sorry to think they had, though this is a spot
that stout courage might hold for a smart scrimmage. I will
not deny, however, but the horses cowered when I passed
them, as though they scented the wolves; and a wolf is a
beast that is apt to hover about an Indian ambushment,
craving the offals of the deer the savages kill."

"You forget the buck at your feet! or, may we not owe their
visit to the dead colt? Ha! what noise is that?"

"Poor Miriam!" murmured the stranger; "thy foal was
foreordained to become a prey to ravenous beasts!"  Then,
suddenly lifting up his voice, amid the eternal din of the
waters, he sang aloud: "First born of Egypt, smite did he,
Of mankind, and of beast also: O, Egypt! wonders sent 'midst
thee, On Pharaoh and his servants too!"

"The death of the colt sits heavy on the heart of its
owner," said the scout; "but it's a good sign to see a man
account upon his dumb friends. He has the religion of the
matter, in believing what is to happen will happen; and with
such a consolation, it won't be long afore he submits to the
rationality of killing a four-footed beast to save the lives
of human men. It may be as you say," he continued,
reverting to the purport of Heyward's last remark; "and the
greater the reason why we should cut our steaks, and let the
carcass drive down the stream, or we shall have the pack
howling along the cliffs, begrudging every mouthful we
swallow. Besides, though the Delaware tongue is the same as
a book to the Iroquois, the cunning varlets are quick enough
at understanding the reason of a wolf's howl."

The scout, while making his remarks, was busied in
collecting certain necessary implements; as he concluded, he
moved silently by the group of travelers, accompanied by the
Mohicans, who seemed to comprehend his intentions with
instinctive readiness, when the whole three disappeared in
succession, seeming to vanish against the dark face of a
perpendicular rock that rose to the height of a few yards,
within as many feet of the water's edge.

CHAPTER 6

"Those strains that once did sweet in Zion glide; He wales a
portion with judicious care; And 'Let us worship God', he
says, with solemn air."--Burns

Heyward and his female companions witnessed this mysterious
movement with secret uneasiness; for, though the conduct of
the white man had hitherto been above reproach, his rude
equipments, blunt address, and strong antipathies, together
with the character of his silent associates, were all causes
for exciting distrust in minds that had been so recently
alarmed by Indian treachery.

The stranger alone disregarded the passing incidents. He
seated himself on a projection of the rocks, whence he gave
no other signs of consciousness than by the struggles of his
spirit, as manifested in frequent and heavy sighs.
Smothered voices were next heard, as though men called to
each other in the bowels of the earth, when a sudden light
flashed upon those without, and laid bare the much-prized
secret of the place.

At the further extremity of a narrow, deep cavern in the
rock, whose length appeared much extended by the perspective
and the nature of the light by which it was seen, was seated
the scout, holding a blazing knot of pine. The strong glare
of the fire fell full upon his sturdy, weather-beaten
countenance and forest attire, lending an air of romantic
wildness to the aspect of an individual, who, seen by the
sober light of day, would have exhibited the peculiarities
of a man remarkable for the strangeness of his dress, the
iron-like inflexibility of his frame, and the singular
compound of quick, vigilant sagacity, and of exquisite
simplicity, that by turns usurped the possession of his
muscular features. At a little distance in advance stood
Uncas, his whole person thrown powerfully into view. The
travelers anxiously regarded the upright, flexible figure of
the young Mohican, graceful and unrestrained in the
attitudes and movements of nature. Though his person was
more than usually screened by a green and fringed hunting-
shirt, like that of the white man, there was no concealment
to his dark, glancing, fearless eye, alike terrible and
calm; the bold outline of his high, haughty features, pure
in their native red; or to the dignified elevation of his
receding forehead, together with all the finest proportions
of a noble head, bared to the generous scalping tuft. It
was the first opportunity possessed by Duncan and his
companions to view the marked lineaments of either of their
Indian attendants, and each individual of the party felt
relieved from a burden of doubt, as the proud and
determined, though wild expression of the features of the
young warrior forced itself on their notice. They felt it
might be a being partially benighted in the vale of
ignorance, but it could not be one who would willingly
devote his rich natural gifts to the purposes of wanton
treachery. The ingenuous Alice gazed at his free air and
proud carriage, as she would have looked upon some precious
relic of the Grecian chisel, to which life had been imparted
by the intervention of a miracle; while Heyward, though
accustomed to see the perfection of form which abounds among
the uncorrupted natives, openly expressed his admiration at
such an unblemished specimen of the noblest proportions of
man.

"I could sleep in peace," whispered Alice, in reply, "with
such a fearless and generous-looking youth for my sentinel.
Surely, Duncan, those cruel murders, those terrific scenes
of torture, of which we read and hear so much, are never
acted in the presence of such as he!"

"This certainly is a rare and brilliant instance of those
natural qualities in which these peculiar people are said to
excel," he answered. "I agree with you, Alice, in thinking
that such a front and eye were formed rather to intimidate
than to deceive; but let us not practice a deception upon
ourselves, by expecting any other exhibition of what we
esteem virtue than according to the fashion of the savage.
As bright examples of great qualities are but too uncommon
among Christians, so are they singular and solitary with the
Indians; though, for the honor of our common nature, neither
are incapable of producing them. Let us then hope that this
Mohican may not disappoint our wishes, but prove what his
looks assert him to be, a brave and constant friend."

"Now Major Heyward speaks as Major Heyward should," said
Cora; "who that looks at this creature of nature, remembers
the shade of his skin?"

A short and apparently an embarrassed silence succeeded this
remark, which was interrupted by the scout calling to them,
aloud, to enter.

"This fire begins to show too bright a flame," he continued,
as they complied, "and might light the Mingoes to our
undoing. Uncas, drop the blanket, and show the knaves its
dark side. This is not such a supper as a major of the
Royal Americans has a right to expect, but I've known stout
detachments of the corps glad to eat their venison raw, and
without a relish, too*. Here, you see, we have plenty of
salt, and can make a quick broil. There's fresh sassafras
boughs for the ladies to sit on, which may not be as proud
as their my-hog-guinea chairs, but which sends up a sweeter
flavor, than the skin of any hog can do, be it of Guinea, or
be it of any other land. Come, friend, don't be mournful
for the colt; 'twas an innocent thing, and had not seen much
hardship. Its death will save the creature many a sore back
and weary foot!"

* In vulgar parlance the condiments of a repast are
called by the American "a relish," substituting the thing
for its effect. These provincial terms are frequently put
in the mouths of the speakers, according to their several
conditions in life. Most of them are of local use, and
others quite peculiar to the particular class of men to
which the character belongs. In the present instance, the
scout uses the word with immediate reference to the "salt,"
with which his own party was so fortunate as to be provided.

Uncas did as the other had directed, and when the voice of
Hawkeye ceased, the roar of the cataract sounded like the
rumbling of distant thunder.

"Are we quite safe in this cavern?" demanded Heyward. "Is
there no danger of surprise? A single armed man, at its
entrance, would hold us at his mercy."

A spectral-looking figure stalked from out of the darkness
behind the scout, and seizing a blazing brand, held it
toward the further extremity of their place of retreat.
Alice uttered a faint shriek, and even Cora rose to her
feet, as this appalling object moved into the light; but a
single word from Heyward calmed them, with the assurance it
was only their attendant, Chingachgook, who, lifting another
blanket, discovered that the cavern had two outlets. Then,
holding the brand, he crossed a deep, narrow chasm in the
rocks which ran at right angles with the passage they were
in, but which, unlike that, was open to the heavens, and
entered another cave, answering to the description of the
first, in every essential particular.

"Such old foxes as Chingachgook and myself are not often
caught in a barrow with one hole," said Hawkeye, laughing;
"you can easily see the cunning of the place--the rock is
black limestone, which everybody knows is soft; it makes no
uncomfortable pillow, where brush and pine wood is scarce;
well, the fall was once a few yards below us, and I dare to
say was, in its time, as regular and as handsome a sheet of
water as any along the Hudson. But old age is a great
injury to good looks, as these sweet young ladies have yet
to l'arn! The place is sadly changed! These rocks are full
of cracks, and in some places they are softer than at
othersome, and the water has worked out deep hollows for
itself, until it has fallen back, ay, some hundred feet,
breaking here and wearing there, until the falls have
neither shape nor consistency."

"In what part of them are we?" asked Heyward.

"Why, we are nigh the spot that Providence first placed them
at, but where, it seems, they were too rebellious to stay.
The rock proved softer on each side of us, and so they left
the center of the river bare and dry, first working out
these two little holes for us to hide in."

"We are then on an island!"

"Ay! there are the falls on two sides of us, and the river
above and below. If you had daylight, it would be worth the
trouble to step up on the height of this rock, and look at
the perversity of the water. It falls by no rule at all;
sometimes it leaps, sometimes it tumbles; there it skips;
here it shoots; in one place 'tis white as snow, and in
another 'tis green as grass; hereabouts, it pitches into
deep hollows, that rumble and crush the 'arth; and
thereaways, it ripples and sings like a brook, fashioning
whirlpools and gullies in the old stone, as if 'twas no
harder than trodden clay. The whole design of the river
seems disconcerted. First it runs smoothly, as if meaning
to go down the descent as things were ordered; then it
angles about and faces the shores; nor are there places
wanting where it looks backward, as if unwilling to leave
the wilderness, to mingle with the salt. Ay, lady, the fine
cobweb-looking cloth you wear at your throat is coarse, and
like a fishnet, to little spots I can show you, where the
river fabricates all sorts of images, as if having broke
loose from order, it would try its hand at everything. And
yet what does it amount to! After the water has been
suffered so to have its will, for a time, like a headstrong
man, it is gathered together by the hand that made it, and a
few rods below you may see it all, flowing on steadily
toward the sea, as was foreordained from the first
foundation of the 'arth!"

While his auditors received a cheering assurance of the
security of their place of concealment from this untutored
description of Glenn's,* they were much inclined to judge
differently from Hawkeye, of its wild beauties. But they
were not in a situation to suffer their thoughts to dwell on
the charms of natural objects; and, as the scout had not
found it necessary to cease his culinary labors while he
spoke, unless to point out, with a broken fork, the
direction of some particularly obnoxious point in the
rebellious stream, they now suffered their attention to be
drawn to the necessary though more vulgar consideration of
their supper.

* Glenn's Falls are on the Hudson, some forty or fifty
miles above the head of tide, or that place where the river
becomes navigable for sloops. The description of this
picturesque and remarkable little cataract, as given by the
scout, is sufficiently correct, though the application of
the water to uses of civilized life has materially injured
its beauties. The rocky island and the two caverns are
known to every traveler, since the former sustains the pier
of a bridge, which is now thrown across the river,
immediately above the fall. In explanation of the taste of
Hawkeye, it should be remembered that men always prize that
most which is least enjoyed. Thus, in a new country, the
woods and other objects, which in an old country would be
maintained at great cost, are got rid of, simply with a view
of "improving" as it is called.

The repast, which was greatly aided by the addition of a few
delicacies that Heyward had the precaution to bring with him
when they left their horses, was exceedingly refreshing to
the weary party. Uncas acted as attendant to the females,
performing all the little offices within his power, with a
mixture of dignity and anxious grace, that served to amuse
Heyward, who well knew that it was an utter innovation on
the Indian customs, which forbid their warriors to descend
to any menial employment, especially in favor of their
women. As the rights of hospitality were, however,
considered sacred among them, this little departure from the
dignity of manhood excited no audible comment. Had there
been one there sufficiently disengaged to become a close
observer, he might have fancied that the services of the
young chief were not entirely impartial. That while he
tendered to Alice the gourd of sweet water, and the venison
in a trencher, neatly carved from the knot of the
pepperidge, with sufficient courtesy, in performing the same
offices to her sister, his dark eye lingered on her rich,
speaking countenance. Once or twice he was compelled to
speak, to command her attention of those he served. In such
cases he made use of English, broken and imperfect, but
sufficiently intelligible, and which he rendered so mild and
musical, by his deep, guttural voice, that it never failed
to cause both ladies to look up in admiration and
astonishment. In the course of these civilities, a few
sentences were exchanged, that served to establish the
appearance of an amicable intercourse between the parties.

In the meanwhile, the gravity of Chingcachgook remained
immovable. He had seated himself more within the circle of
light, where the frequent, uneasy glances of his guests were
better enabled to separate the natural expression of his
face from the artificial terrors of the war paint. They
found a strong resemblance between father and son, with the
difference that might be expected from age and hardships.
The fierceness of his countenance now seemed to slumber, and
in its place was to be seen the quiet, vacant composure
which distinguishes an Indian warrior, when his faculties
are not required for any of the greater purposes of his
existence. It was, however, easy to be seen, by the
occasional gleams that shot across his swarthy visage, that
it was only necessary to arouse his passions, in order to
give full effect to the terrific device which he had adopted
to intimidate his enemies. On the other hand, the quick,
roving eye of the scout seldom rested. He ate and drank
with an appetite that no sense of danger could disturb, but
his vigilance seemed never to desert him. Twenty times the
gourd or the venison was suspended before his lips, while
his head was turned aside, as though he listened to some
distant and distrusted sounds--a movement that never
failed to recall his guests from regarding the novelties of
their situation, to a recollection of the alarming reasons
that had driven them to seek it. As these frequent pauses
were never followed by any remark, the momentary uneasiness
they created quickly passed away, and for a time was
forgotten.

"Come, friend," said Hawkeye, drawing out a keg from beneath
a cover of leaves, toward the close of the repast, and
addressing the stranger who sat at his elbow, doing great
justice to his culinary skill, "try a little spruce; 'twill
wash away all thoughts of the colt, and quicken the life in
your bosom. I drink to our better friendship, hoping that a
little horse-flesh may leave no heart-burnings atween us.
How do you name yourself?"

"Gamut--David Gamut," returned the singing master,
preparing to wash down his sorrows in a powerful draught of
the woodsman's high-flavored and well-laced compound.

"A very good name, and, I dare say, handed down from honest
forefathers. I'm an admirator of names, though the
Christian fashions fall far below savage customs in this
particular. The biggest coward I ever knew as called Lyon;
and his wife, Patience, would scold you out of hearing in
less time than a hunted deer would run a rod. With an
Indian 'tis a matter of conscience; what he calls himself,
he generally is--not that Chingachgook, which signifies
Big Sarpent, is really a snake, big or little; but that he
understands the windings and turnings of human natur', and
is silent, and strikes his enemies when they least expect
him. What may be your calling?"

"I am an unworthy instructor in the art of psalmody."

"Anan!"

"I teach singing to the youths of the Connecticut levy."

"You might be better employed. The young hounds go laughing
and singing too much already through the woods, when they
ought not to breathe louder than a fox in his cover. Can
you use the smoothbore, or handle the rifle?"

"Praised be God, I have never had occasion to meddle with
murderous implements!"

"Perhaps you understand the compass, and lay down the
watercourses and mountains of the wilderness on paper, in
order that they who follow may find places by their given
names?"

"I practice no such employment."

"You have a pair of legs that might make a long path seem
short! you journey sometimes, I fancy, with tidings for the
general."

"Never; I follow no other than my own high vocation, which
is instruction in sacred music!"

"'Tis a strange calling!" muttered Hawkeye, with an inward
laugh, "to go through life, like a catbird, mocking all the
ups and downs that may happen to come out of other men's
throats. Well, friend, I suppose it is your gift, and
mustn't be denied any more than if 'twas shooting, or some
other better inclination. Let us hear what you can do in
that way; 'twill be a friendly manner of saying good-night,
for 'tis time that these ladies should be getting strength
for a hard and a long push, in the pride of the morning,
afore the Maquas are stirring."

"With joyful pleasure do I consent', said David, adjusting
his iron-rimmed spectacles, and producing his beloved little
volume, which he immediately tendered to Alice. "What can
be more fitting and consolatory, than to offer up evening
praise, after a day of such exceeding jeopardy!"

Alice smiled; but, regarding Heyward, she blushed and
hesitated.

"Indulge yourself," he whispered; "ought not the suggestion
of the worthy namesake of the Psalmist to have its weight at
such a moment?"

Encouraged by his opinion, Alice did what her pious
inclinations, and her keen relish for gentle sounds, had
before so strongly urged. The book was open at a hymn not
ill adapted to their situation, and in which the poet, no
longer goaded by his desire to excel the inspired King of
Israel, had discovered some chastened and respectable
powers. Cora betrayed a disposition to support her sister,
and the sacred song proceeded, after the indispensable
preliminaries of the pitchpipe, and the tune had been duly
attended to by the methodical David.

The air was solemn and slow. At times it rose to the
fullest compass of the rich voices of the females, who hung
over their little book in holy excitement, and again it sank
so low, that the rushing of the waters ran through their
melody, like a hollow accompaniment. The natural taste and
true ear of David governed and modified the sounds to suit
the confined cavern, every crevice and cranny of which was
filled with the thrilling notes of their flexible voices.
The Indians riveted their eyes on the rocks, and listened
with an attention that seemed to turn them into stone. But
the scout, who had placed his chin in his hand, with an
expression of cold indifference, gradually suffered his
rigid features to relax, until, as verse succeeded verse, he
felt his iron nature subdued, while his recollection was
carried back to boyhood, when his ears had been accustomed
to listen to similar sounds of praise, in the settlements of
the colony. His roving eyes began to moisten, and before
the hymn was ended scalding tears rolled out of fountains
that had long seemed dry, and followed each other down those
cheeks, that had oftener felt the storms of heaven than any
testimonials of weakness. The singers were dwelling on one
of those low, dying chords, which the ear devours with such
greedy rapture, as if conscious that it is about to lose
them, when a cry, that seemed neither human nor earthly,
rose in the outward air, penetrating not only the recesses
of the cavern, but to the inmost hearts of all who heard it.
It was followed by a stillness apparently as deep as if the
waters had been checked in their furious progress, at such a
horrid and unusual interruption.

"What is it?" murmured Alice, after a few moments of
terrible suspense.

"What is it?" repeated Hewyard aloud.

Neither Hawkeye nor the Indians made any reply. They
listened, as if expecting the sound would be repeated, with
a manner that expressed their own astonishment. At length
they spoke together, earnestly, in the Delaware language,
when Uncas, passing by the inner and most concealed
aperture, cautiously left the cavern. When he had gone, the
scout first spoke in English.

"What it is, or what it is not, none here can tell, though
two of us have ranged the woods for more than thirty years.
I did believe there was no cry that Indian or beast could
make, that my ears had not heard; but this has proved that I
was only a vain and conceited mortal."

"Was it not, then, the shout the warriors make when they
wish to intimidate their enemies?" asked Cora who stood
drawing her veil about her person, with a calmness to which
her agitated sister was a stranger.

"No, no; this was bad, and shocking, and had a sort of
unhuman sound; but when you once hear the war-whoop, you
will never mistake it for anything else. Well, Uncas!"
speaking in Delaware to the young chief as he re-entered,
"what see you? do our lights shine through the blankets?"

The answer was short, and apparently decided, being given in
the same tongue.

"There is nothing to be seen without," continued Hawkeye,
shaking his head in discontent; "and our hiding-place is
still in darkness. Pass into the other cave, you that need
it, and seek for sleep; we must be afoot long before the
sun, and make the most of our time to get to Edward, while
the Mingoes are taking their morning nap."

Cora set the example of compliance, with a steadiness that
taught the more timid Alice the necessity of obedience.
Before leaving the place, however, she whispered a request
to Duncan, that he would follow. Uncas raised the blanket
for their passage, and as the sisters turned to thank him
for this act of attention, they saw the scout seated again
before the dying embers, with his face resting on his hands,
in a manner which showed how deeply he brooded on the
unaccountable interruption which had broken up their evening
devotions.

Heyward took with him a blazing knot, which threw a dim
light through the narrow vista of their new apartment.
Placing it in a favorable position, he joined the females,
who now found themselves alone with him for the first time
since they had left the friendly ramparts of Fort Edward.

"Leave us not, Duncan," said Alice: "we cannot sleep in such
a place as this, with that horrid cry still ringing in our
ears."

"First let us examine into the security of your fortress,"
he answered, "and then we will speak of rest."

He approached the further end of the cavern, to an outlet,
which, like the others, was concealed by blankets; and
removing the thick screen, breathed the fresh and reviving
air from the cataract. One arm of the river flowed through
a deep, narrow ravine, which its current had worn in the
soft rock, directly beneath his feet, forming an effectual
defense, as he believed, against any danger from that
quarter; the water, a few rods above them, plunging,
glancing, and sweeping along in its most violent and broken
manner.

"Nature has made an impenetrable barrier on this side," he
continued, pointing down the perpendicular declivity into
the dark current before he dropped the blanket; "and as you
know that good men and true are on guard in front I see no
reason why the advice of our honest host should be
disregarded. I am certain Cora will join me in saying that
sleep is necessary to you both."

"Cora may submit to the justice of your opinion though she
cannot put it in practice," returned the elder sister, who
had placed herself by the side of Alice, on a couch of
sassafras; "there would be other causes to chase away sleep,
though we had been spared the shock of this mysterious
noise. Ask yourself, Heyward, can daughters forget the
anxiety a father must endure, whose children lodge he knows
not where or how, in such a wilderness, and in the midst of
so many perils?"

"He is a soldier, and knows how to estimate the chances of
the woods."

"He is a father, and cannot deny his nature."

"How kind has he ever been to all my follies, how tender and
indulgent to all my wishes!" sobbed Alice. "We have been
selfish, sister, in urging our visit at such hazard."

"I may have been rash in pressing his consent in a moment of
much embarrassment, but I would have proved to him, that
however others might neglect him in his strait his children
at least were faithful."

"When he heard of your arrival at Edward," said Heyward,
kindly, "there was a powerful struggle in his bosom between
fear and love; though the latter, heightened, if possible,
by so long a separation, quickly prevailed. 'It is the
spirit of my noble- minded Cora that leads them, Duncan', he
said, 'and I will not balk it. Would to God, that he who
holds the honor of our royal master in his guardianship,
would show but half her firmness'!"

"And did he not speak of me, Heyward?" demanded Alice, with
jealous affection; "surely, he forgot not altogether his
little Elsie?"

"That were impossible," returned the young man; "he called
you by a thousand endearing epithets, that I may not presume
to use, but to the justice of which, I can warmly testify.
Once, indeed, he said--"

Duncan ceased speaking; for while his eyes were riveted on
those of Alice, who had turned toward him with the eagerness
of filial affection, to catch his words, the same strong,
horrid cry, as before, filled the air, and rendered him
mute. A long, breathless silence succeeded, during which
each looked at the others in fearful expectation of hearing
the sound repeated. At length, the blanket was slowly
raised, and the scout stood in the aperture with a
countenance whose firmness evidently began to give way
before a mystery that seemed to threaten some danger,
against which all his cunning and experience might prove of
no avail.

CHAPTER 7

"They do not sleep, On yonder cliffs, a grizzly band, I see
them sit."  Gray

"'Twould be neglecting a warning that is given for our good
to lie hid any longer," said Hawkeye "when such sounds are
raised in the forest. These gentle ones may keep close, but
the Mohicans and I will watch upon the rock, where I suppose
a major of the Sixtieth would wish to keep us company."

"Is, then, our danger so pressing?" asked Cora.

"He who makes strange sounds, and gives them out for man's
information, alone knows our danger. I should think myself
wicked, unto rebellion against His will, was I to burrow
with such warnings in the air! Even the weak soul who
passes his days in singing is stirred by the cry, and, as he
says, is 'ready to go forth to the battle' If 'twere only a
battle, it would be a thing understood by us all, and easily
managed; but I have heard that when such shrieks are atween
heaven and 'arth, it betokens another sort of warfare!"

"If all our reasons for fear, my friend, are confined to
such as proceed from supernatural causes, we have but little
occasion to be alarmed," continued the undisturbed Cora,
"are you certain that our enemies have not invented some new
and ingenious method to strike us with terror, that their
conquest may become more easy?"

"Lady," returned the scout, solemnly, "I have listened to
all the sounds of the woods for thirty years, as a man will
listen whose life and death depend on the quickness of his
ears. There is no whine of the panther, no whistle of the
catbird, nor any invention of the devilish Mingoes, that can
cheat me! I have heard the forest moan like mortal men in
their affliction; often, and again, have I listened to the
wind playing its music in the branches of the girdled trees;
and I have heard the lightning cracking in the air like the
snapping of blazing brush as it spitted forth sparks and
forked flames; but never have I thought that I heard more
than the pleasure of him who sported with the things of his
hand. But neither the Mohicans, nor I, who am a white man
without a cross, can explain the cry just heard. We,
therefore, believe it a sign given for our good."

"It is extraordinary!" said Heyward, taking his pistols from
the place where he had laid them on entering; "be it a sign
of peach or a signal of war, it must be looked to. Lead the
way, my friend; I follow."

On issuing from their place of confinement, the whole party
instantly experienced a grateful renovation of spirits, by
exchanging the pent air of the hiding-place for the cool and
invigorating atmosphere which played around the whirlpools
and pitches of the cataract. A heavy evening breeze swept
along the surface of the river, and seemed to drive the roar
of the falls into the recesses of their own cavern, whence
it issued heavily and constant, like thunder rumbling beyond
the distant hills. The moon had risen, and its light was
already glancing here and there on the waters above them;
but the extremity of the rock where they stood still lay in
shadow. With the exception of the sounds produced by the
rushing waters, and an occasional breathing of the air, as
it murmured past them in fitful currents, the scene was as
still as night and solitude could make it. In vain were the
eyes of each individual bent along the opposite shores, in
quest of some signs of life, that might explain the nature
of the interruption they had heard. Their anxious and eager
looks were baffled by the deceptive light, or rested only on
naked rocks, and straight and immovable trees.

"Here is nothing to be seen but the gloom and quiet of a
lovely evening," whispered Duncan; "how much should we prize
such a scene, and all this breathing solitude, at any other
moment, Cora! Fancy yourselves in security, and what now,
perhaps, increases your terror, may be made conducive to
enjoyment--"

"Listen!" interrupted Alice.

The caution was unnecessary. One more the same sound arose,
as if from the bed of the river, and having broken out of
the narrow bounds of the cliffs, was heard undulating
through the forest, in distant and dying cadences.

"Can any here give a name to such a cry?" demanded Hawkeye,
when the last echo was lost in the woods; "if so, let him
speak; for myself, I judge it not to belong to 'arth!"

"Here, then, is one who can undeceive you," said Duncan; "I
know the sound full well, for often have I heard it on the
field of battle, and in situations which are frequent in a
soldier's life. 'Tis the horrid shriek that a horse will
give in his agony; oftener drawn from him in pain, though
sometimes in terror. My charger is either a prey to the
beasts of the forest, or he sees his danger, without the
power to avoid it. The sound might deceive me in the
cavern, but in the open air I know it too well to be wrong."

The scout and his companions listened to this simple
explanation with the interest of men who imbibe new ideas,
at the same time that they get rid of old ones, which had
proved disagreeable inmates. The two latter uttered their
usual expressive exclamation, "hugh!" as the truth first
glanced upon their minds, while the former, after a short,
musing pause, took upon himself to reply.

"I cannot deny your words," he said, "for I am little
skilled in horses, though born where they abound. The
wolves must be hovering above their heads on the bank, and
the timorsome creatures are calling on man for help, in the
best manner they are able. Uncas"--he spoke in Delaware -
- "Uncas, drop down in the canoe, and whirl a brand among
the pack; or fear may do what the wolves can't get at to
perform, and leave us without horses in the morning, when we
shall have so much need to journey swiftly!"

The young native had already descended to the water to
comply, when a long howl was raised on the edge of the
river, and was borne swiftly off into the depths of the
forest, as though the beasts, of their own accord, were
abandoning their prey in sudden terror. Uncas, with
instinctive quickness, receded, and the three foresters held
another of their low, earnest conferences.

"We have been like hunters who have lost the points of the
heavens, and from whom the sun has been hid for days," said
Hawkeye, turning away from his companions; "now we begin
again to know the signs of our course, and the paths are
cleared from briers! Seat yourselves in the shade which the
moon throws from yonder beech--'tis thicker than that of
the pines--and let us wait for that which the Lord may
choose to send next. Let all your conversation be in
whispers; though it would be better, and, perhaps, in the
end, wiser, if each one held discourse with his own
thoughts, for a time."

The manner of the scout was seriously impressive, though no
longer distinguished by any signs of unmanly apprehension.
It was evident that his momentary weakness had vanished with
the explanation of a mystery which his own experience had
not served to fathom; and though he now felt all the
realities of their actual condition, that he was prepared to
meet them with the energy of his hardy nature. This feeling
seemed also common to the natives, who placed themselves in
positions which commanded a full view of both shores, while
their own persons were effectually concealed from
observation. In such circumstances, common prudence
dictated that Heyward and his companions should imitate a
caution that proceeded from so intelligent a source. The
young man drew a pile of the sassafras from the cave, and
placing it in the chasm which separated the two caverns, it
was occupied by the sisters, who were thus protected by the
rocks from any missiles, while their anxiety was relieved by
the assurance that no danger could approach without a
warning. Heyward himself was posted at hand, so near that
he might communicate with his companions without raising his
voice to a dangerous elevation; while David, in imitation of
the woodsmen, bestowed his person in such a manner among the
fissures of the rocks, that his ungainly limbs were no
longer offensive to the eye.

In this manner hours passed without further interruption.
The moon reached the zenith, and shed its mild light
perpendicularly on the lovely sight of the sisters
slumbering peacefully in each other's arms. Duncan cast the
wide shawl of Cora before a spectacle he so much loved to
contemplate, and then suffered his own head to seek a pillow
on the rock. David began to utter sounds that would have
shocked his delicate organs in more wakeful moments; in
short, all but Hawkeye and the Mohicans lost every idea of
consciousness, in uncontrollable drowsiness. But the
watchfulness of these vigilant protectors neither tired nor
slumbered. Immovable as that rock, of which each appeared
to form a part, they lay, with their eyes roving, without
intermission, along the dark margin of trees, that bounded
the adjacent shores of the narrow stream. Not a sound
escaped them; the most subtle examination could not have
told they breathed. It was evident that this excess of
caution proceeded from an experience that no subtlety on the
part of their enemies could deceive. It was, however,
continued without any apparent consequences, until the moon
had set, and a pale streak above the treetops, at the bend
of the river a little below, announced the approach of day.

Then, for the first time, Hawkeye was seen to stir. He
crawled along the rock and shook Duncan from his heavy
slumbers.

"Now is the time to journey," he whispered; "awake the
gentle ones, and be ready to get into the canoe when I bring
it to the landing-place."

"Have you had a quiet night?" said Heyward; "for myself, I
believe sleep has got the better of my vigilance."

"All is yet still as midnight. Be silent, but be quick."

By this time Duncan was thoroughly awake, and he immediately
lifted the shawl from the sleeping females. The motion
caused Cora to raise her hand as if to repulse him, while
Alice murmured, in her soft, gentle voice, "No, no, dear
father, we were not deserted; Duncan was with us!"

"Yes, sweet innocence," whispered the youth; "Duncan is
here, and while life continues or danger remains, he will
never quit thee. Cora! Alice! awake! The hour has come to
move!"

A loud shriek from the younger of the sisters, and the form
of the other standing upright before him, in bewildered
horror, was the unexpected answer he received.

While the words were still on the lips of Heyward, there had
arisen such a tumult of yells and cries as served to drive
the swift currents of his own blood back from its bounding
course into the fountains of his heart. It seemed, for near
a minute, as if the demons of hell had possessed themselves
of the air about them, and were venting their savage humors
in barbarous sounds. The cries came from no particular
direction, though it was evident they filled the woods, and,
as the appalled listeners easily imagined, the caverns of
the falls, the rocks, the bed of the river, and the upper
air. David raised his tall person in the midst of the
infernal din, with a hand on either ear, exclaiming:

"Whence comes this discord! Has hell broke loose, that man
should utter sounds like these!"

The bright flashes and the quick reports of a dozen rifles,
from the opposite banks of the stream, followed this
incautious exposure of his person, and left the unfortunate
singing master senseless on that rock where he had been so
long slumbering. The Mohicans boldly sent back the
intimidating yell of their enemies, who raised a shout of
savage triumph at the fall of Gamut. The flash of rifles
was then quick and close between them, but either party was
too well skilled to leave even a limb exposed to the hostile
aim. Duncan listened with intense anxiety for the strokes
of the paddle, believing that flight was now their only
refuge. The river glanced by with its ordinary velocity,
but the canoe was nowhere to be seen on its dark waters. He
had just fancied they were cruelly deserted by their scout,
as a stream of flame issued from the rock beneath them, and
a fierce yell, blended with a shriek of agony, announced
that the messenger of death sent from the fatal weapon of
Hawkeye, had found a victim. At this slight repulse the
assailants instantly withdrew, and gradually the place
became as still as before the sudden tumult.

Duncan seized the favorable moment to spring to the body of
Gamut, which he bore within the shelter of the narrow chasm
that protected the sisters. In another minute the whole
party was collected in this spot of comparative safety.

"The poor fellow has saved his scalp," said Hawkeye, coolly
passing his hand over the head of David; "but he is a proof
that a man may be born with too long a tongue! 'Twas
downright madness to show six feet of flesh and blood, on a
naked rock, to the raging savages. I only wonder he has
escaped with life."

"Is he not dead?" demanded Cora, in a voice whose husky
tones showed how powerfully natural horror struggled with
her assumed firmness. "Can we do aught to assist the
wretched man?"

"No, no! the life is in his heart yet, and after he has
slept awhile he will come to himself, and be a wiser man for
it, till the hour of his real time shall come," returned
Hawkeye, casting another oblique glance at the insensible
body, while he filled his charger with admirable nicety.
"Carry him in, Uncas, and lay him on the sassafras. The
longer his nap lasts the better it will be for him, as I
doubt whether he can find a proper cover for such a shape on
these rocks; and singing won't do any good with the
Iroquois."

"You believe, then, the attack will be renewed?" asked
Heyward.

"Do I expect a hungry wolf will satisfy his craving with a
mouthful! They have lost a man, and 'tis their fashion,
when they meet a loss, and fail in the surprise, to fall
back; but we shall have them on again, with new expedients
to circumvent us, and master our scalps. Our main hope," he
continued, raising his rugged countenance, across which a
shade of anxiety just then passed like a darkening cloud,
"will be to keep the rock until Munro can send a party to
our help! God send it may be soon and under a leader that
knows the Indian customs!"

"You hear our probable fortunes, Cora," said Duncan, "and
you know we have everything to hope from the anxiety and
experience of your father. Come, then, with Alice, into
this cavern, where you, at least, will be safe from the
murderous rifles of our enemies, and where you may bestow a
care suited to your gentle natures on our unfortunate
comrade."

The sisters followed him into the outer cave, where David
was beginning, by his sighs, to give symptoms of returning
consciousness, and then commending the wounded man to their
attention, he immediately prepared to leave them.

"Duncan!" said the tremulous voice of Cora, when he had
reached the mouth of the cavern. He turned and beheld the
speaker, whose color had changed to a deadly paleness, and
whose lips quivered, gazing after him, with an expression of
interest which immediately recalled him to her side.
"Remember, Duncan, how necessary your safety is to our own -
- how you bear a father's sacred trust--how much depends
on your discretion and care--in short," she added, while
the telltale blood stole over her features, crimsoning her
very temples, "how very deservedly dear you are to all of
the name of Munro."

"If anything could add to my own base love of life," said
Heyward, suffering his unconscious eyes to wander to the
youthful form of the silent Alice, "it would be so kind an
assurance. As major of the Sixtieth, our honest host will
tell you I must take my share of the fray; but our task will
be easy; it is merely to keep these blood-hounds at bay for
a few hours."

Without waiting for a reply, he tore himself from the
presence of the sisters, and joined the scout and his
companions, who still lay within the protection of the
little chasm between the two caves.

"I tell you, Uncas," said the former, as Heyward joined
them, "you are wasteful of your powder, and the kick of the
rifle disconcerts your aim! Little powder, light lead, and
a long arm, seldom fail of bringing the death screech from a
Mingo! At least, such has been my experience with the
creatur's. Come, friends: let us to our covers, for no man
can tell when or where a Maqua* will strike his blow."

* Mingo was the Delaware term of the Five Nations.
Maquas was the name given them by the Dutch. The French,
from their first intercourse with them, called them
Iroquois.

The Indians silently repaired to their appointed stations,
which were fissures in the rocks, whence they could command
the approaches to the foot of the falls. In the center of
the little island, a few short and stunted pines had found
root, forming a thicket, into which Hawkeye darted with the
swiftness of a deer, followed by the active Duncan. Here
they secured themselves, as well as circumstances would
permit, among the shrubs and fragments of stone that were
scattered about the place. Above them was a bare, rounded
rock, on each side of which the water played its gambols,
and plunged into the abysses beneath, in the manner already
described. As the day had now dawned, the opposite shores
no longer presented a confused outline, but they were able
to look into the woods, and distinguish objects beneath a
canopy of gloomy pines.

A long and anxious watch succeeded, but without any further
evidences of a renewed attack; and Duncan began to hope that
their fire had proved more fatal than was supposed, and that
their enemies had been effectually repulsed. When he
ventured to utter this impression to his companions, it was
met by Hawkeye with an incredulous shake of the head.

"You know not the nature of a Maqua, if you think he is so
easily beaten back without a scalp!" he answered. "If there
was one of the imps yelling this morning, there were forty!
and they know our number and quality too well to give up the
chase so soon. Hist! look into the water above, just where
it breaks over the rocks. I am no mortal, if the risky
devils haven't swam down upon the very pitch, and, as bad
luck would have it, they have hit the head of the island.
Hist! man, keep close! or the hair will be off your crown in
the turning of a knife!"

Heyward lifted his head from the cover, and beheld what he
justly considered a prodigy of rashness and skill. The
river had worn away the edge of the soft rock in such a
manner as to render its first pitch less abrupt and
perpendicular than is usual at waterfalls. With no other
guide than the ripple of the stream where it met the head of
the island, a party of their insatiable foes had ventured
into the current, and swam down upon this point, knowing the
ready access it would give, if successful, to their intended
victims.

As Hawkeye ceased speaking, four human heads could be seen
peering above a few logs of drift-wood that had lodged on
these naked rocks, and which had probably suggested the idea
of the practicability of the hazardous undertaking. At the
next moment, a fifth form was seen floating over the green
edge of the fall, a little from the line of the island. The
savage struggled powerfully to gain the point of safety,
and, favored by the glancing water, he was already
stretching forth an arm to meet the grasp of his companions,
when he shot away again with the shirling current, appeared
to rise into the air, with uplifted arms and starting
eyeballs, and fell, with a sudden plunge, into that deep and
yawning abyss over which he hovered. A single, wild,
despairing shriek rose from the cavern, and all was hushed
again as the grave.

The first generous impulse of Duncan was to rush to the
rescue of the hapless wretch; but he felt himself bound to
the spot by the iron grasp of the immovable scout.

"Would ye bring certain death upon us, by telling the
Mingoes where we lie?" demanded Hawkeye, sternly; "'Tis a
charge of powder saved, and ammunition is as precious now as
breath to a worried deer! Freshen the priming of your
pistols--the midst of the falls is apt to dampen the
brimstone--and stand firm for a close struggle, while I
fire on their rush."

He placed a finger in his mouth, and drew a long, shrill
whistle, which was answered from the rocks that were guarded
by the Mohicans. Duncan caught glimpses of heads above the
scattered drift-wood, as this signal rose on the air, but
they disappeared again as suddenly as they had glanced upon
his sight. A low, rustling sound next drew his attention
behind him, and turning his head, he beheld Uncas within a
few feet, creeping to his side. Hawkeye spoke to him in
Delaware, when the young chief took his position with
singular caution and undisturbed coolness. To Heyward this
was a moment of feverish and impatient suspense; though the
scout saw fit to select it as a fit occasion to read a
lecture to his more youthful associates on the art of using
firearms with discretion.

"Of all we'pons," he commenced, "the long barreled, true-
grooved, soft-metaled rifle is the most dangerous in
skillful hands, though it wants a strong arm, a quick eye,
and great judgment in charging, to put forth all its
beauties. The gunsmiths can have but little insight into
their trade when they make their fowling-pieces and short
horsemen's--"

He was interrupted by the low but expressive "hugh" of
Uncas.

"I see them, boy, I see them!" continued Hawkeye; "they are
gathering for the rush, or they would keep their dingy backs
below the logs. Well, let them," he added, examining his
flint; "the leading man certainly comes on to his death,
though it should be Montcalm himself!"

At that moment the woods were filled with another burst of
cries, and at the signal four savages sprang from the cover
of the driftwood. Heyward felt a burning desire to rush
forward to meet them, so intense was the delirious anxiety
of the moment; but he was restrained by the deliberate
examples of the scout and Uncas.

When their foes, who had leaped over the black rocks that
divided them, with long bounds, uttering the wildest yells,
were within a few rods, the rifle of Hawkeye slowly rose
among the shrubs, and poured out its fatal contents. The
foremost Indian bounded like a stricken deer, and fell
headlong among the clefts of the island.

"Now, Uncas!" cried the scout, drawing his long knife, while
his quick eyes began to flash with ardor, "take the last of
the screeching imps; of the other two we are sartain!"

He was obeyed; and but two enemies remained to be overcome.
Heyward had given one of his pistols to Hawkeye, and
together they rushed down a little declivity toward their
foes; they discharged their weapons at the same instant, and
equally without success.

"I know'd it! and I said it!" muttered the scout, whirling
the despised little implement over the falls with bitter
disdain. "Come on, ye bloody minded hell-hounds! ye meet a
man without a cross!"

The words were barely uttered, when he encountered a savage
of gigantic stature, of the fiercest mien. At the same
moment, Duncan found himself engaged with the other, in a
similar contest of hand to hand. With ready skill, Hawkeye
and his antagonist each grasped that uplifted arm of the
other which held the dangerous knife. For near a minute
they stood looking one another in the eye, and gradually
exerting the power of their muscles for the mastery.

At length, the toughened sinews of the white man prevailed
over the less practiced limbs of the native. The arm of the
latter slowly gave way before the increasing force of the
scout, who, suddenly wresting his armed hand from the grasp
of the foe, drove the sharp weapon through his naked bosom
to the heart. In the meantime, Heyward had been pressed in
a more deadly struggle. His slight sword was snapped in the
first encounter. As he was destitute of any other means of
defense, his safety now depended entirely on bodily strength
and resolution. Though deficient in neither of these
qualities, he had met an enemy every way his equal.
Happily, he soon succeeded in disarming his adversary, whose
knife fell on the rock at their feet; and from this moment
it became a fierce struggle who should cast the other over
the dizzy height into a neighboring cavern of the falls.
Every successive struggle brought them nearer to the verge,
where Duncan perceived the final and conquering effort must
be made. Each of the combatants threw all his energies into
that effort, and the result was, that both tottered on the
brink of the precipice. Heyward felt the grasp of the other
at his throat, and saw the grim smile the savage gave, under
the revengeful hope that he hurried his enemy to a fate
similar to his own, as he felt his body slowly yielding to a
resistless power, and the young man experienced the passing
agony of such a moment in all its horrors. At that instant
of extreme danger, a dark hand and glancing knife appeared
before him; the Indian released his hold, as the blood
flowed freely from around the severed tendons of the wrist;
and while Duncan was drawn backward by the saving hand of
Uncas, his charmed eyes still were riveted on the fierce and
disappointed countenance of his foe, who fell sullenly and
disappointed down the irrecoverable precipice.

"To cover! to cover!" cried Hawkeye, who just then had
despatched the enemy; "to cover, for your lives! the work is
but half ended!"

The young Mohican gave a shout of triumph, and followed by
Duncan, he glided up the acclivity they had descended to the
combat, and sought the friendly shelter of the rocks and
shrubs.

CHAPTER 8

"They linger yet, Avengers of their native land."--Gray

The warning call of the scout was not uttered without
occasion. During the occurrence of the deadly encounter
just related, the roar of the falls was unbroken by any
human sound whatever. It would seem that interest in the
result had kept the natives on the opposite shores in
breathless suspense, while the quick evolutions and swift
changes in the positions of the combatants effectually
prevented a fire that might prove dangerous alike to friend
and enemy. But the moment the struggle was decided, a yell
arose as fierce and savage as wild and revengeful passions
could throw into the air. It was followed by the swift
flashes of the rifles, which sent their leaden messengers
across the rock in volleys, as though the assailants would
pour out their impotent fury on the insensible scene of the
fatal contest.

A steady, though deliberate return was made from the rifle
of Chingachgook, who had maintained his post throughout the
fray with unmoved resolution. When the triumphant shout of
Uncas was borne to his ears, the gratified father raised his
voice in a single responsive cry, after which his busy piece
alone proved that he still guarded his pass with unwearied
diligence. In this manner many minutes flew by with the
swiftness of thought; the rifles of the assailants speaking,
at times, in rattling volleys, and at others in occasional,
scattering shots. Though the rock, the trees, and the
shrubs, were cut and torn in a hundred places around the
besieged, their cover was so close, and so rigidly
maintained, that, as yet, David had been the only sufferer
in their little band.

"Let them burn their powder," said the deliberate scout,
while bullet after bullet whizzed by the place where he
securely lay; "there will be a fine gathering of lead when
it is over, and I fancy the imps will tire of the sport
afore these old stones cry out for mercy! Uncas, boy, you
waste the kernels by overcharging; and a kicking rifle never
carries a true bullet. I told you to take that loping
miscreant under the line of white point; now, if your bullet
went a hair's breadth it went two inches above it. The life
lies low in a Mingo, and humanity teaches us to make a quick
end to the sarpents."

A quiet smile lighted the haughty features of the young
Mohican, betraying his knowledge of the English language as
well as of the other's meaning; but he suffered it to pass
away without vindication of reply.

"I cannot permit you to accuse Uncas of want of judgment or
of skill," said Duncan; "he saved my life in the coolest and
readiest manner, and he has made a friend who never will
require to be reminded of the debt he owes."

Uncas partly raised his body, and offered his hand to the
grasp of Heyward. During this act of friendship, the two
young men exchanged looks of intelligence which caused
Duncan to forget the character and condition of his wild
associate. In the meanwhile, Hawkeye, who looked on this
burst of youthful feeling with a cool but kind regard made
the following reply:

"Life is an obligation which friends often owe each other in
the wilderness. I dare say I may have served Uncas some
such turn myself before now; and I very well remember that
he has stood between me and death five different times;
three times from the Mingoes, once in crossing Horican, and
--"

"That bullet was better aimed than common!" exclaimed
Duncan, involuntarily shrinking from a shot which struck the
rock at his side with a smart rebound.

Hawkeye laid his hand on the shapeless metal, and shook his
head, as he examined it, saying, "Falling lead is never
flattened, had it come from the clouds this might have
happened."

But the rifle of Uncas was deliberately raised toward the
heavens, directing the eyes of his companions to a point,
where the mystery was immediately explained. A ragged oak
grew on the right bank of the river, nearly opposite to
their position, which, seeking the freedom of the open
space, had inclined so far forward that its upper branches
overhung that arm of the stream which flowed nearest to its
own shore. Among the topmost leaves, which scantily
concealed the gnarled and stunted limbs, a savage was
nestled, partly concealed by the trunk of the tree, and
partly exposed, as though looking down upon them to
ascertain the effect produced by his treacherous aim.

"These devils will scale heaven to circumvent us to our
ruin," said Hawkeye; "keep him in play, boy, until I can
bring 'killdeer' to bear, when we will try his metal on each
side of the tree at once."

Uncas delayed his fire until the scout uttered the word.

The rifles flashed, the leaves and bark of the oak flew into
the air, and were scattered by the wind, but the Indian
answered their assault by a taunting laugh, sending down
upon them another bullet in return, that struck the cap of
Hawkeye from his head. Once more the savage yells burst out
of the woods, and the leaden hail whistled above the heads
of the besieged, as if to confine them to a place where they
might become easy victims to the enterprise of the warrior
who had mounted the tree.

"This must be looked to," said the scout, glancing about him
with an anxious eye. "Uncas, call up your father; we have
need of all our we'pons to bring the cunning varmint from
his roost."

The signal was instantly given; and, before Hawkeye had
reloaded his rifle, they were joined by Chingachgook. When
his son pointed out to the experienced warrior the situation
of their dangerous enemy, the usual exclamatory "hugh" burst
from his lips; after which, no further expression of
surprise or alarm was suffered to escape him. Hawkeye and
the Mohicans conversed earnestly together in Delaware for a
few moments, when each quietly took his post, in order to
execute the plan they had speedily devised.

The warrior in the oak had maintained a quick, though
ineffectual fire, from the moment of his discovery. But his
aim was interrupted by the vigilance of his enemies, whose
rifles instantaneously bore on any part of his person that
was left exposed. Still his bullets fell in the center of
the crouching party. The clothes of Heyward, which rendered
him peculiarly conspicuous, were repeatedly cut, and once
blood was drawn from a slight wound in his arm.

At length, emboldened by the long and patient watchfulness
of his enemies, the Huron attempted a better and more fatal
aim. The quick eyes of the Mohicans caught the dark line of
his lower limbs incautiously exposed through the thin
foliage, a few inches from the trunk of the tree. Their
rifles made a common report, when, sinking on his wounded
limb, part of the body of the savage came into view. Swift
as thought, Hawkeye seized the advantage, and discharged his
fatal weapon into the top of the oak. The leaves were
unusually agitated; the dangerous rifle fell from its
commanding elevation, and after a few moments of vain
struggling, the form of the savage was seen swinging in the
wind, while he still grasped a ragged and naked branch of
the tree with hands clenched in desperation.

"Give him, in pity, give him the contents of another rifle,"
cried Duncan, turning away his eyes in horror from the
spectacle of a fellow creature in such awful jeopardy.

"Not a karnel!" exclaimed the obdurate Hawkeye; "his death
is certain, and we have no powder to spare, for Indian
fights sometimes last for days; "tis their scalps or ours!
and God, who made us, has put into our natures the craving
to keep the skin on the head."

Against this stern and unyielding morality, supported as it
was by such visible policy, there was no appeal. From that
moment the yells in the forest once more ceased, the fire
was suffered to decline, and all eyes, those of friends as
well as enemies, became fixed on the hopeless condition of
the wretch who was dangling between heaven and earth. The
body yielded to the currents of air, and though no murmur or
groan escaped the victim, there were instants when he grimly
faced his foes, and the anguish of cold despair might be
traced, through the intervening distance, in possession of
his swarthy lineaments. Three several times the scout
raised his piece in mercy, and as often, prudence getting
the better of his intention, it was again silently lowered.
At length one hand of the Huron lost its hold, and dropped
exhausted to his side. A desperate and fruitless struggle
to recover the branch succeeded, and then the savage was
seen for a fleeting instant, grasping wildly at the empty
air. The lightning is not quicker than was the flame from
the rifle of Hawkeye; the limbs of the victim trembled and
contracted, the head fell to the bosom, and the body parted
the foaming waters like lead, when the element closed above
it, in its ceaseless velocity, and every vestige of the
unhappy Huron was lost forever.

No shout of triumph succeeded this important advantage, but
even the Mohicans gazed at each other in silent horror. A
single yell burst from the woods, and all was again still.
Hawkeye, who alone appeared to reason on the occasion, shook
his head at his own momentary weakness, even uttering his
self-disapprobation aloud.

"'Twas the last charge in my horn and the last bullet in my
pouch, and 'twas the act of a boy!" he said; "what mattered
it whether he struck the rock living or dead! feeling would
soon be over. Uncas, lad, go down to the canoe, and bring
up the big horn; it is all the powder we have left, and we
shall need it to the last grain, or I am ignorant of the
Mingo nature."

The young Mohican complied, leaving the scout turning over
the useless contents of his pouch, and shaking the empty
horn with renewed discontent. From this unsatisfactory
examination, however, he was soon called by a loud and
piercing exclamation from Uncas, that sounded, even to the
unpracticed ears of Duncan, as the signal of some new and
unexpected calamity. Every thought filled with apprehension
for the previous treasure he had concealed in the cavern,
the young man started to his feet, totally regardless of the
hazard he incurred by such an exposure. As if actuated by a
common impulse, his movement was imitated by his companions,
and, together they rushed down the pass to the friendly
chasm, with a rapidity that rendered the scattering fire of
their enemies perfectly harmless. The unwonted cry had
brought the sisters, together with the wounded David, from
their place of refuge; and the whole party, at a single
glance, was made acquainted with the nature of the disaster
that had disturbed even the practiced stoicism of their
youthful Indian protector.

At a short distance from the rock, their little bark was to
be seen floating across the eddy, toward the swift current
of the river, in a manner which proved that its course was
directed by some hidden agent. The instant this unwelcome
sight caught the eye of the scout, his rifle was leveled as
by instinct, but the barrel gave no answer to the bright
sparks of the flint.

"'Tis too late, 'tis too late!" Hawkeye exclaimed, dropping
the useless piece in bitter disappointment; "the miscreant
has struck the rapid; and had we powder, it could hardly
send the lead swifter than he now goes!"

The adventurous Huron raised his head above the shelter of
the canoe, and, while it glided swiftly down the stream, he
waved his hand, and gave forth the shout, which was the
known signal of success. His cry was answered by a yell and
a laugh from the woods, as tauntingly exulting as if fifty
demons were uttering their blasphemies at the fall of some
Christian soul.

"Well may you laugh, ye children of the devil!" said the
scout, seating himself on a projection of the rock, and
suffering his gun to fall neglected at his feet, "for the
three quickest and truest rifles in these woods are no
better than so many stalks of mullein, or the last year's
horns of a buck!"

"What is to be done?" demanded Duncan, losing the first
feeling of disappointment in a more manly desire for
exertion; "what will become of us?"

Hawkeye made no other reply than by passing his finger
around the crown of his head, in a manner so significant,
that none who witnessed the action could mistake its
meaning.

"Surely, surely, our case is not so desperate!" exclaimed
the youth; "the Hurons are not here; we may make good the
caverns, we may oppose their landing."

"With what?" coolly demanded the scout. "The arrows of
Uncas, or such tears as women shed! No, no; you are young,
and rich, and have friends, and at such an age I know it is
hard to die! But," glancing his eyes at the Mohicans, "let
us remember we are men without a cross, and let us teach
these natives of the forest that white blood can run as
freely as red, when the appointed hour is come."

Duncan turned quickly in the direction indicated by the
other's eyes, and read a confirmation of his worst
apprehensions in the conduct of the Indians. Chingachgook,
placing himself in a dignified posture on another fragment
of the rock, had already laid aside his knife and tomahawk,
and was in the act of taking the eagle's plume from his
head, and smoothing the solitary tuft of hair in readiness
to perform its last and revolting office. His countenance
was composed, though thoughtful, while his dark, gleaming
eyes were gradually losing the fierceness of the combat in
an expression better suited to the change he expected
momentarily to undergo.

"Our case is not, cannot be so hopeless!" said Duncan; "even
at this very moment succor may be at hand. I see no
enemies! They have sickened of a struggle in which they
risk so much with so little prospect of gain!"

"It may be a minute, or it may be an hour, afore the wily
sarpents steal upon us, and it is quite in natur' for them
to be lying within hearing at this very moment," said
Hawkeye; "but come they will, and in such a fashion as will
leave us nothing to hope! Chingachgook"--he spoke in
Delaware--"my brother, we have fought our last battle
together, and the Maquas will triumph in the death of the
sage man of the Mohicans, and of the pale face, whose eyes
can make night as day, and level the clouds to the mists of
the springs!"

"Let the Mingo women go weep over the slain!" returned the
Indian, with characteristic pride and unmoved firmness; "the
Great Snake of the Mohicans has coiled himself in their
wigwams, and has poisoned their triumph with the wailings of
children, whose fathers have not returned! Eleven warriors
lie hid form the graves of their tribes since the snows have
melted, and none will tell where to find them when the
tongue of Chingachgook shall be silent! Let them draw the
sharpest knife, and whirl the swiftest tomahawk, for their
bitterest enemy is in their hands. Uncas, topmost branch of
a noble trunk, call on the cowards to hasten, or their
hearts will soften, and they will change to women!"

"They look among the fishes for their dead!" returned the
low, soft voice of the youthful chieftain; "the Hurons float
with the slimy eels! They drop from the oaks like fruit
that is ready to be eaten! and the Delawares laugh!"

"Ay, ay," muttered the scout, who had listened to this
peculiar burst of the natives with deep attention; "they
have warmed their Indian feelings, and they'll soon provoke
the Maquas to give them a speedy end. As for me, who am of
the whole blood of the whites, it is befitting that I should
die as becomes my color, with no words of scoffing in my
mouth, and without bitterness at the heart!"

"Why die at all!" said Cora, advancing from the place where
natural horror had, until this moment, held her riveted to
the rock; "the path is open on every side; fly, then, to the
woods, and call on God for succor. Go, brave men, we owe
you too much already; let us no longer involve you in our
hapless fortunes!"

"You but little know the craft of the Iroquois, lady, if you
judge they have left the path open to the woods!" returned
Hawkeye, who, however, immediately added in his simplicity,
"the down stream current, it is certain, might soon sweep us
beyond the reach of their rifles or the sound of their
voices."

"Then try the river. Why linger to add to the number of the
victims of our merciless enemies?"

"Why," repeated the scout, looking about him proudly;
"because it is better for a man to die at peace with himself
than to live haunted by an evil conscience! What answer
could we give Munro, when he asked us where and how we left
his children?"

"Go to him, and say that you left them with a message to
hasten to their aid," returned Cora, advancing nigher to the
scout in her generous ardor; "that the Hurons bear them into
the northern wilds, but that by vigilance and speed they may
yet be rescued; and if, after all, it should please heaven
that his assistance come too late, bear to him," she
continued, her voice gradually lowering, until it seemed
nearly choked, "the love, the blessings, the final prayers
of his daughters, and bid him not mourn their early fate,
but to look forward with humble confidence to the
Christian's goal to meet his children."  The hard, weather-
beaten features of the scout began to work, and when she had
ended, he dropped his chin to his hand, like a man musing
profoundly on the nature of the proposal.

"There is reason in her words!" at length broke from his
compressed and trembling lips; "ay, and they bear the spirit
of Christianity; what might be right and proper in a red-
skin, may be sinful in a man who has not even a cross in
blood to plead for his ignorance. Chingachgook! Uncas! hear
you the talk of the dark-eyed woman?"

He now spoke in Delaware to his companions, and his address,
though calm and deliberate, seemed very decided. The elder
Mohican heard with deep gravity, and appeared to ponder on
his words, as though he felt the importance of their import.
After a moment of hesitation, he waved his hand in assent,
and uttered the English word "Good!" with the peculiar
emphasis of his people. Then, replacing his knife and
tomahawk in his girdle, the warrior moved silently to the
edge of the rock which was most concealed from the banks of
the river. Here he paused a moment, pointed significantly
to the woods below, and saying a few words in his own
language, as if indicating his intended route, he dropped
into the water, and sank from before the eyes of the
witnesses of his movements.

The scout delayed his departure to speak to the generous
girl, whose breathing became lighter as she saw the success
of her remonstrance.

"Wisdom is sometimes given to the young, as well as to the
old," he said; "and what you have spoken is wise, not to
call it by a better word. If you are led into the woods,
that is such of you as may be spared for awhile, break the
twigs on the bushes as you pass, and make the marks of your
trail as broad as you can, when, if mortal eyes can see
them, depend on having a friend who will follow to the ends
of the 'arth afore he desarts you."

He gave Cora an affectionate shake of the hand, lifted his
rifle, and after regarding it a moment with melancholy
solicitude, laid it carefully aside, and descended to the
place where Chingachgook had just disappeared. For an
instant he hung suspended by the rock, and looking about
him, with a countenance of peculiar care, he added bitterly,
"Had the powder held out, this disgrace could never have
befallen!" then, loosening his hold, the water closed above
his head, and he also became lost to view.

All eyes now were turned on Uncas, who stood leaning against
the ragged rock, in immovable composure. After waiting a
short time, Cora pointed down the river, and said:

"Your friends have not been seen, and are now, most
probably, in safety. Is it not time for you to follow?"

"Uncas will stay," the young Mohican calmly answered in
English.

"To increase the horror of our capture, and to diminish the
chances of our release! Go, generous young man," Cora
continued, lowering her eyes under the gaze of the Mohican,
and perhaps, with an intuitive consciousness of her power;
"go to my father, as I have said, and be the most
confidential of my messengers. Tell him to trust you with
the means to buy the freedom of his daughters. Go! 'tis my
wish, 'tis my prayer, that you will go!"

The settled, calm look of the young chief changed to an
expression of gloom, but he no longer hesitated. With a
noiseless step he crossed the rock, and dropped into the
troubled stream. Hardly a breath was drawn by those he left
behind, until they caught a glimpse of his head emerging for
air, far down the current, when he again sank, and was seen
no more.

These sudden and apparently successful experiments had all
taken place in a few minutes of that time which had now
become so precious. After a last look at Uncas, Cora
turne,d and with a quivering lip, addressed herself to
Heyward:

"I have heard of your boasted skill in the water, too,
Duncan," she said; "follow, then, the wise example set you
by these simple and faithful beings."

"Is such the faith that Cora Munro would exact from her
protector?" said the young man, smiling mournfully, but with
bitterness.

"This is not a time for idle subtleties and false opinions,"
she answered; "but a moment when every duty should be
equally considered. To us you can be of no further service
here, but your precious life may be saved for other and
nearer friends."

He made no reply, though his eye fell wistfully on the
beautiful form of Alice, who was clinging to his arm with
the dependency of an infant.

"Consider," continued Cora, after a pause, during which she
seemed to struggle with a pang even more acute than any that
her fears had excited, "that the worst to us can be but
death; a tribute that all must pay at the good time of God's
appointment."

"There are evils worse than death," said Duncan, speaking
hoarsely, and as if fretful at her importunity, "but which
the presence of one who would die in your behalf may avert."

Cora ceased her entreaties; and veiling her face in her
shawl, drew the nearly insensible Alice after her into the
deepest recess of the inner cavern.

CHAPTER 9

"Be gay securely; Dispel, my fair, with smiles, the tim'rous
clouds, That hang on thy clear brow."--Death of Agrippina

The sudden and almost magical change, from the stirring
incidents of the combat to the stillness that now reigned
around him, acted on the heated imagination of Heyward like
some exciting dream. While all the images and events he had
witnessed remained deeply impressed on his memory, he felt a
difficulty in persuading him of their truth. Still ignorant
of the fate of those who had trusted to the aid of the swift
current, he at first listened intently to any signal or
sounds of alarm, which might announce the good or evil
fortune of their hazardous undertaking. His attention was,
however, bestowed in vain; for with the disappearance of
Uncas, every sign of the adventurers had been lost, leaving
him in total uncertainty of their fate.

In a moment of such painful doubt, Duncan did not hesitate
to look around him, without consulting that protection from
the rocks which just before had been so necessary to his
safety. Every effort, however, to detect the least evidence
of the approach of their hidden enemies was as fruitless as
the inquiry after his late companions. The wooded banks of
the river seemed again deserted by everything possessing
animal life. The uproar which had so lately echoed through
the vaults of the forest was gone, leaving the rush of the
waters to swell and sink on the currents of the air, in the
unmingled sweetness of nature. A fish-hawk, which, secure
on the topmost branches of a dead pine, had been a distant
spectator of the fray, now swooped form his high and ragged
perch, and soared, in wide sweeps, above his prey; while a
jay, whose noisy voice had been stilled by the hoarser cries
of the savages, ventured again to open his discordant
throat, as though once more in undisturbed possession of his
wild domains. Duncan caught from these natural
accompaniments of the solitary scene a glimmering of hope;
and he began to rally his faculties to renewed exertions,
with something like a reviving confidence of success.

"The Hurons are not to be seen," he said, addressing David,
who had by no means recovered from the effects of the
stunning blow he had received; "let us conceal ourselves in
the cavern, and trust the rest to Providence."

"I remember to have united with two comely maidens, in
lifting up our voices in praise and thanksgiving," returned
the bewildered singing-master; "since which time I have been
visited by a heavy judgment for my sins. I have been mocked
with the likensss of sleep, while sounds of discord have
rent my ears, such as might manifest the fullness of time,
and that nature had forgotten her harmony."

"Poor fellow! thine own period was, in truth, near its
accomplishment! But arouse, and come with me; I will lead
you where all other sounds but those of your own psalmody
shall be excluded."

"There is melody in the fall of the cataract, and the
rushing of many waters is sweet to the senses!" said David,
pressing his hand confusedly on his brow. "Is not the air
yet filled with shrieks and cries, as though the departed
spirits of the damned--"

"Not now, not now," interrupted the impatient Heyward, "they
have ceased, and they who raised them, I trust in God, they
are gone, too! everything but the water is still and at
peace; in, then, where you may create those sounds you love
so well to hear."

David smiled sadly, though not without a momentary gleam of
pleasure, at this allusion to his beloved vocation. He no
longer hesitated to be led to a spot which promised such
unalloyed gratification to his wearied senses; and leaning
on the arm of his companion, he entered the narrow mouth of
the cave. Duncan seized a pile of the sassafras, which he
drew before the passage, studiously concealing every
appearance of an aperture. Within this fragile barrier he
arranged the blankets abandoned by the foresters, darkening
the inner extremity of the cavern, while its outer received
a chastened light from the narrow ravine, through which one
arm of the river rushed to form the junction with its sister
branch a few rods below.

"I like not the principle of the natives, which teaches them
to submit without a struggle, in emergencies that appear
desperate," he said, while busied in this employment; "our
own maxim, which says, 'while life remains there is hope',
is more consoling, and better suited to a soldier's
temperament. To you, Cora, I will urge no words of idle
encouragement; your own fortitude and undisturbed reason
will teach you all that may become your sex; but cannot we
dry the tears of that trembling weeper on your bosom?"

"I am calmer, Duncan," said Alice, raising herself from the
arms of her sister, and forcing an appearance of composure
through her tears; "much calmer, now. Surely, in this
hidden spot we are safe, we are secret, free from injury; we
will hope everything from those generous men who have risked
so much already in our behalf."

"Now does our gentle Alice speak like a daughter of Munro!"
said Heyward, pausing to press her hand as he passed toward
the outer entrance of the cavern. "With two such examples
of courage before him, a man would be ashamed to prove other
than a hero."  He then seated himself in the center of the
cavern, grasping his remaining pistol with a hand
convulsively clenched, while his contracted and frowning eye
announced the sullen desperation of his purpose. "The
Hurons, if they come, may not gain our position so easily as
they think," he slowly muttered; and propping his head back
against the rock, he seemed to await the result in patience,
though his gaze was unceasingly bent on the open avenue to
their place of retreat.

With the last sound of his voice, a deep, a long, and almost
breathless silence succeeded. The fresh air of the morning
had penetrated the recess, and its influence was gradually
felt on the spirits of its inmates. As minute after minute
passed by, leaving them in undisturbed security, the
insinuating feeling of hope was gradually gaining possession
of every bosom, though each one felt reluctant to give
utterance to expectations that the next moment might so
fearfully destroy.

David alone formed an exception to these varying emotions.
A gleam of light from the opening crossed his wan
countenance, and fell upon the pages of the little volume,
whose leaves he was again occupied in turning, as if
searching for some song more fitted to their condition than
any that had yet met their eye. He was, most probably,
acting all this time under a confused recollection of the
promised consolation of Duncan. At length, it would seem,
his patient industry found its reward; for, without
explanation or apology, he pronounced aloud the words "Isle
of Wight," drew a long, sweet sound from his pitch-pipe, and
then ran through the preliminary modulations of the air
whose name he had just mentioned, with the sweeter tones of
his own musical voice.

"May not this prove dangerous?" asked Cora, glancing her
dark eye at Major Heyward.

"Poor fellow! his voice is too feeble to be heard above the
din of the falls," was the answer; "beside, the cavern will
prove his friend. Let him indulge his passions since it may
be done without hazard."

"Isle of Wight!" repeated David, looking about him with that
dignity with which he had long been wont to silence the
whispering echoes of his school; "'tis a brave tune, and set
to solemn words! let it be sung with meet respect!"

After allowing a moment of stillness to enforce his
discipline, the voice of the singer was heard, in low,
murmuring syllables, gradually stealing on the ear, until it
filled the narrow vault with sounds rendered trebly
thrilling by the feeble and tremulous utterance produced by
his debility. The melody, which no weakness could destroy,
gradually wrought its sweet influence on the senses of those
who heard it. It even prevailed over the miserable travesty
of the song of David which the singer had selected from a
volume of similar effusions, and caused the sense to be
forgotten in the insinuating harmony of the sounds. Alice
unconsciously dried her tears, and bent her melting eyes on
the pallid features of Gamut, with an expression of
chastened delight that she neither affected or wished to
conceal. Cora bestowed an approving smile on the pious
efforts of the namesake of the Jewish prince, and Heyward
soon turned his steady, stern look from the outlet of the
cavern, to fasten it, with a milder character, on the face
of David, or to meet the wandering beams which at moments
strayed from the humid eyes of Alice. The open sympathy of
the listeners stirred the spirit of the votary of music,
whose voice regained its richness and volume, without losing
that touching softness which proved its secret charm.
Exerting his renovated powers to their utmost, he was yet
filling the arches of the cave with long and full tones,
when a yell burst into the air without, that instantly
stilled his pious strains, choking his voice suddenly, as
though his heart had literally bounded into the passage of
his throat.

"We are lost!" exclaimed Alice, throwing herself into the
arms of Cora.

"Not yet, not yet," returned the agitated but undaunted
Heyward: "the sound came from the center of the island, and
it has been produced by the sight of their dead companions.
We are not yet discovered, and there is still hope."

Faint and almost despairing as was the prospect of escape,
the words of Duncan were not thrown away, for it awakened
the powers of the sisters in such a manner that they awaited
the results in silence. A second yell soon followed the
first, when a rush of voices was heard pouring down the
island, from its upper to its lower extremity, until they
reached the naked rock above the caverns, where, after a
shout of savage triumph, the air continued full of horrible
cries and screams, such as man alone can utter, and he only
when in a state of the fiercest barbarity.

The sounds quickly spread around them in every direction.
Some called to their fellows from the water's edge, and were
answered from the heights above. Cries were heard in the
startling vicinity of the chasm between the two caves, which
mingled with hoarser yells that arose out of the abyss of
the deep ravine. In short, so rapidly had the savage sounds
diffused themselves over the barren rock, that it was not
difficult for the anxious listeners to imagine they could be
heard beneath, as in truth they were above on every side of
them.

In the midst of this tumult, a triumphant yell was raised
within a few yards of the hidden entrance to the cave.
Heyward abandoned every hope, with the belief it was the
signal that they were discovered. Again the impression
passed away, as he heard the voices collect near the spot
where the white man had so reluctantly abandoned his rifle.
Amid the jargon of Indian dialects that he now plainly
heard, it was easy to distinguish not only words, but
sentences, in the patois of the Canadas. A burst of voices
had shouted simultaneously, "La Longue Carabine!" causing
the opposite woods to re-echo with a name which, Heyward
well remembered, had been given by his enemies to a
celebrated hunter and scout of the English camp, and who, he
now learned for the first time, had been his late companion.

"La Longue Carabine! La Longue Carabine!" passed from mouth
to mouth, until the whole band appeared to be collected
around a trophy which would seem to announce the death of
its formidable owner. After a vociferous consultation,
which was, at times, deafened by bursts of savage joy, they
again separated, filling the air with the name of a foe,
whose body, Heywood could collect from their expressions,
they hoped to find concealed in some crevice of the island.

"Now," he whispered to the trembling sisters, "now is the
moment of uncertainty! if our place of retreat escape this
scrutiny, we are still safe! In every event, we are
assured, by what has fallen from our enemies, that our
friends have escaped, and in two short hours we may look for
succor from Webb."

There were now a few minutes of fearful stillness, during
which Heyward well knew that the savages conducted their
search with greater vigilance and method. More than once he
could distinguish their footsteps, as they brushed the
sassafras, causing the faded leaves to rustle, and the
branches to snap. At length, the pile yielded a little, a
corner of a blanket fell, and a faint ray of light gleamed
into the inner part of the cave. Cora folded Alice to her
bosom in agony, and Duncan sprang to his feet. A shout was
at that moment heard, as if issuing from the center of the
rock, announcing that the neighboring cavern had at length
been entered. In a minute, the number and loudness of the
voices indicated that the whole party was collected in and
around that secret place.

As the inner passages to the two caves were so close to each
other, Duncan, believing that escape was no longer possible,
passed David and the sisters, to place himself between the
latter and the first onset of the terrible meeting. Grown
desperate by his situation, he drew nigh the slight barrier
which separated him only by a few feet from his relentless
pursuers, and placing his face to the casual opening, he
even looked out with a sort of desperate indifference, on
their movements.

Within reach of his arm was the brawny shoulder of a
gigantic Indian, whose deep and authoritative voice appeared
to give directions to the proceedings of his fellows.
Beyond him again, Duncan could look into the vault opposite,
which was filled with savages, upturning and rifling the
humble furniture of the scout. The wound of David had dyed
the leaves of sassafras with a color that the native well
knew as anticipating the season. Over this sign of their
success, they sent up a howl, like an opening from so many
hounds who had recovered a lost trail. After this yell of
victory, they tore up the fragrant bed of the cavern, and
bore the branches into the chasm, scattering the boughs, as
if they suspected them of concealing the person of the man
they had so long hated and feared. One fierce and wild-
looking warrior approached the chief, bearing a load of the
brush, and pointing exultingly to the deep red stains with
which it was sprinkled, uttered his joy in Indian yells,
whose meaning Heyward was only enabled to comprehend by the
frequent repetition of the name "La Longue Carabine!"  When
his triumph had ceased, he cast the brush on the slight heap
Duncan had made before the entrance of the second cavern,
and closed the view. His example was followed by others,
who, as they drew the branches from the cave of the scout,
threw them into one pile, adding, unconsciously, to the
security of those they sought. The very slightness of the
defense was its chief merit, for no one thought of
disturbing a mass of brush, which all of them believed, in
that moment of hurry and confusion, had been accidentally
raised by the hands of their own party.

As the blankets yielded before the outward pressure, and the
branches settled in the fissure of the rock by their own
weight, forming a compact body, Duncan once more breathed
freely. With a light step and lighter heart, he returned to
the center of the cave, and took the place he had left,
where he could command a view of the opening next the river.
While he was in the act of making this movement, the
Indians, as if changing their purpose by a common impulse,
broke away from the chasm in a body, and were heard rushing
up the island again, toward the point whence they had
originally descended. Here another wailing cry betrayed
that they were again collected around the bodies of their
dead comrades.

Duncan now ventured to look at his companions; for, during
the most critical moments of their danger, he had been
apprehensive that the anxiety of his countenance might
communicate some additional alarm to those who were so
little able to sustain it.

"They are gone, Cora!" he whispered; "Alice, they are
returned whence they came, and we are saved! To Heaven,
that has alone delivered us from the grasp of so merciless
an enemy, be all the praise!"

"Then to Heaven will I return my thanks!" exclaimed the
younger sister, rising from the encircling arm of Cora, and
casting herself with enthusiastic gratitude on the naked
rock; "to that Heaven who has spared the tears of a gray-
headed father; has saved the lives of those I so much love."

Both Heyward and the more temperate Cora witnessed the act
of involuntary emotion with powerful sympathy, the former
secretly believing that piety had never worn a form so
lovely as it had now assumed in the youthful person of
Alice. Her eyes were radiant with the glow of grateful
feelings; the flush of her beauty was again seated on her
cheeks, and her whole soul seemed ready and anxious to pour
out its thanksgivings through the medium of her eloquent
features. But when her lips moved, the words they should
have uttered appeared frozen by some new and sudden chill.
Her bloom gave place to the paleness of death; her soft and
melting eyes grew hard, and seemed contracting with horror;
while those hands, which she had raised, clasped in each
other, toward heaven, dropped in horizontal lines before
her, the fingers pointed forward in convulsed motion.
Heyward turned the instant she gave a direction to his
suspicions, and peering just above the ledge which formed
the threshold of the open outlet of the cavern, he beheld
the malignant, fierce and savage features of Le Renard
Subtil.

In that moment of surprise, the self-possession of Heyward
did not desert him. He observed by the vacant expression of
the Indian's countenance, that his eye, accustomed to the
open air had not yet been able to penetrate the dusky light
which pervaded the depth of the cavern. He had even thought
of retreating beyond a curvature in the natural wall, which
might still conceal him and his companions, when by the
sudden gleam of intelligence that shot across the features
of the savage, he saw it was too late, and that they were
betrayed.

The look of exultation and brutal triumph which announced
this terrible truth was irresistibly irritating. Forgetful
of everything but the impulses of his hot blood, Duncan
leveled his pistol and fired. The report of the weapon made
the cavern bellow like an eruption from a volcano; and when
the smoke it vomited had been driven away before the current
of air which issued from the ravine the place so lately
occupied by the features of his treacherous guide was
vacant. Rushing to the outlet, Heyward caught a glimpse of
his dark figure stealing around a low and narrow ledge,
which soon hid him entirely from sight.

Among the savages a frightful stillness succeeded the
explosion, which had just been heard bursting from the
bowels of the rock. But when Le Renard raised his voice in
a long and intelligible whoop, it was answered by a
spontaneous yell from the mouth of every Indian within
hearing of the sound.

The clamorous noises again rushed down the island; and
before Duncan had time to recover from the shock, his feeble
barrier of brush was scattered to the winds, the cavern was
entered at both its extremities, and he and his companions
were dragged from their shelter and borne into the day,
where they stood surrounded by the whole band of the
triumphant Hurons.

CHAPTER 10

"I fear we shall outsleep the coming morn As much as we this
night have overwatched!"--Midsummer Night's Dream

The instant the shock of this sudden misfortune had abated,
Duncan began to make his observations on the appearance and
proceedings of their captors. Contrary to the usages of the
natives in the wantonness of their success they had
respected, not only the persons of the trembling sisters,
but his own. The rich ornaments of his military attire had
indeed been repeatedly handled by different individuals of
the tribes with eyes expressing a savage longing to possess
the baubles; but before the customary violence could be
resorted to, a mandate in the authoritative voice of the
large warrior, already mentioned, stayed the uplifted hand,
and convinced Heyward that they were to be reserved for some
object of particular moment.

While, however, these manifestations of weakness were
exhibited by the young and vain of the party, the more
experienced warriors continued their search throughout both
caverns, with an activity that denoted they were far from
being satisfied with those fruits of their conquest which
had already been brought to light. Unable to discover any
new victim, these diligent workers of vengeance soon
approached their male prisoners, pronouncing the name "La
Longue Carabine," with a fierceness that could not be easily
mistaken. Duncan affected not to comprehend the meaning of
their repeated and violent interrogatories, while his
companion was spared the effort of a similar deception by
his ignorance of French. Wearied at length by their
importunities, and apprehensive of irritating his captors by
too stubborn a silence, the former looked about him in quest
of Magua, who might interpret his answers to questions which
were at each moment becoming more earnest and threatening.

The conduct of this savage had formed a solitary exception
to that of all his fellows. While the others were busily
occupied in seeking to gratify their childish passion for
finery, by plundering even the miserable effects of the
scout, or had been searching with such bloodthirsty
vengeance in their looks for their absent owner, Le Renard
had stood at a little distance from the prisoners, with a
demeanor so quiet and satisfied, as to betray that he had
already effected the grand purpose of his treachery. When
the eyes of Heyward first met those of his recent guide, he
turned them away in horror at the sinister though calm look
he encountered. Conquering his disgust, however, he was
able, with an averted face, to address his successful enemy.

"Le Renard Subtil is too much of a warrior," said the
reluctant Heyward, "to refuse telling an unarmed man what
his conquerors say."

"They ask for the hunter who knows the paths through the
woods," returned Magua, in his broken English, laying his
hand, at the same time, with a ferocious smile, on the
bundle of leaves with which a wound on his own shoulder was
bandaged. "'La Longue Carabine'! his rifle is good, and his
eye never shut; but, like the short gun of the white chief,
it is nothing against the life of Le Subtil."

"Le Renard is too brave to remember the hurts received in
war, or the hands that gave them."

"Was it war, when the tired Indian rested at the sugartree
to taste his corn! who filled the bushes with creeping
enemies! who drew the knife, whose tongue was peace, while
his heart was colored with blood! Did Magua say that the
hatchet was out of the ground, and that his hand had dug it
up?"

As Duncan dared not retort upon his accuser by reminding him
of his own premeditated treachery, and disdained to
deprecate his resentment by any words of apology, he
remained silent. Magua seemed also content to rest the
controversy as well as all further communication there, for
he resumed the leaning attitude against the rock from which,
in momentary energy, he had arisen. But the cry of "La
Longue Carabine" was renewed the instant the impatient
savages perceived that the short dialogue was ended.

"You hear," said Magua, with stubborn indifference: "the red
Hurons call for the life of 'The Long Rifle', or they will
have the blood of him that keep him hid!"

"He is gone--escaped; he is far beyond their reach."

Renard smiled with cold contempt, as he answered:

"When the white man dies, he thinks he is at peace; but the
red men know how to torture even the ghosts of their
enemies. Where is his body? Let the Hurons see his scalp."

"He is not dead, but escaped."

Magua shook his head incredulously.

"Is he a bird, to spread his wings; or is he a fish, to swim
without air! The white chief read in his books, and he
believes the Hurons are fools!"

"Though no fish, 'The Long Rifle' can swim. He floated down
the stream when the powder was all burned, and when the eyes
of the Hurons were behind a cloud."

"And why did the white chief stay?" demanded the still
incredulous Indian. "Is he a stone that goes to the bottom,
or does the scalp burn his head?"

"That I am not stone, your dead comrade, who fell into the
falls, might answer, were the life still in him," said the
provoked young man, using, in his anger, that boastful
language which was most likely to excite the admiration of
an Indian. "The white man thinks none but cowards desert
their women."

Magua muttered a few words, inaudibly, between his teeth,
before he continued, aloud:

"Can the Delawares swim, too, as well as crawl in the
bushes? Where is 'Le Gros Serpent'?"

Duncan, who perceived by the use of these Canadian
appellations, that his late companions were much better
known to his enemies than to himself, answered, reluctantly:
"He also is gone down with the water."

"'Le Cerf Agile' is not here?"

"I know not whom you call 'The Nimble Deer'," said Duncan
gladly profiting by any excuse to create delay.

"Uncas," returned Magua, pronouncing the Delaware name with
even greater difficulty than he spoke his English words.
"'Bounding Elk' is what the white man says, when he calls to
the young Mohican."

"Here is some confusion in names between us, Le Renard,"
said Duncan, hoping to provoke a discussion. "Daim is the
French for deer, and cerf for stag; elan is the true term,
when one would speak of an elk."

"Yes," muttered the Indian, in his native tongue; "the pale
faces are prattling women! they have two words for each
thing, while a red-skin will make the sound of his voice
speak to him."  Then, changing his language, he continued,
adhering to the imperfect nomenclature of his provincial
instructors. "The deer is swift, but weak; the elk is
swift, but strong; and the son of 'Le Serpent' is 'Le Cerf
Agile' Has he leaped the river to the woods?"

"If you mean the younger Delaware, he, too, has gone down
with the water."

As there was nothing improbable to an Indian in the manner
of the escape, Magua admitted the truth of what he had
heard, with a readiness that afforded additional evidence
how little he would prize such worthless captives. With his
companions, however, the feeling was manifestly different.

The Hurons had awaited the result of this short dialogue
with characteristic patience, and with a silence that
increased until there was a general stillness in the band.
When Heyward ceased to speak, they turned their eyes, as one
man, on Magua, demanding, in this expressive manner, an
explanation of what had been said. Their interpreter
pointed to the river, and made them acquainted with the
result, as much by the action as by the few words he
uttered. When the fact was generally understood, the
savages raised a frightful yell, which declared the extent
of their disappointment. Some ran furiously to the water's
edge, beating the air with frantic gestures, while others
spat upon the element, to resent the supposed treason it had
committed against their acknowledged rights as conquerors.
A few, and they not the least powerful and terrific of the
band, threw lowering looks, in which the fiercest passion
was only tempered by habitual self-command, at those
captives who still remained in their power, while one or two
even gave vent to their malignant feelings by the most
menacing gestures, against which neither the sex nor the
beauty of the sisters was any protection. The young soldier
made a desperate but fruitless effort to spring to the side
of Alice, when he saw the dark hand of a savage twisted in
the rich tresses which were flowing in volumes over her
shoulders, while a knife was passed around the head from
which they fell, as if to denote the horrid manner in which
it was about to be robbed of its beautiful ornament. But
his hands were bound; and at the first movement he made, he
felt the grasp of the powerful Indian who directed the band,
pressing his shoulder like a vise. Immediately conscious
how unavailing any struggle against such an overwhelming
force must prove, he submitted to his fate, encouraging his
gentle companions by a few low and tender assurances, that
the natives seldom failed to threaten more than they
performed.

But while Duncan resorted to these words of consolation to
quiet the apprehensions of the sisters, he was not so weak
as to deceive himself. He well knew that the authority of
an Indian chief was so little conventional, that it was
oftener maintained by physical superiority than by any moral
supremacy he might possess. The danger was, therefore,
magnified exactly in proportion to the number of the savage
spirits by which they were surrounded. The most positive
mandate from him who seemed the acknowledged leader, was
liable to be violated at each moment by any rash hand that
might choose to sacrifice a victim to the manes of some dead
friend or relative. While, therefore, he sustained an
outward appearance of calmness and fortitude, his heart
leaped into his throat, whenever any of their fierce captors
drew nearer than common to the helpless sisters, or fastened
one of their sullen, wandering looks on those fragile forms
which were so little able to resist the slightest assault.

His apprehensions were, however, greatly relieved, when he
saw that the leader had summoned his warriors to himself in
counsel. Their deliberations were short, and it would seem,
by the silence of most of the party, the decision unanimous.
By the frequency with which the few speakers pointed in the
direction of the encampment of Webb, it was apparent they
dreaded the approach of danger from that quarter. This
consideration probably hastened their determination, and
quickened the subsequent movements.

During his short conference, Heyward, finding a respite from
his gravest fears, had leisure to admire the cautious manner
in which the Hurons had made their approaches, even after
hostilities had ceased.

It has already been stated that the upper half of the island
was a naked rock, and destitute of any other defenses than a
few scattered logs of driftwood. They had selected this
point to make their descent, having borne the canoe through
the wood around the cataract for that purpose. Placing
their arms in the little vessel a dozen men clinging to its
sides had trusted themselves to the direction of the canoe,
which was controlled by two of the most skillful warriors,
in attitudes that enabled them to command a view of the
dangerous passage. Favored by this arrangement, they
touched the head of the island at that point which had
proved so fatal to their first adventurers, but with the
advantages of superior numbers, and the possession of
firearms. That such had been the manner of their descent
was rendered quite apparent to Duncan; for they now bore the
light bark from the upper end of the rock, and placed it in
the water, near the mouth of the outer cavern. As soon as
this change was made, the leader made signs to the prisoners
to descend and enter.

As resistance was impossible, and remonstrance useless,
Heyward set the example of submission, by leading the way
into the canoe, where he was soon seated with the sisters
and the still wondering David. Notwithstanding the Hurons
were necessarily ignorant of the little channels among the
eddies and rapids of the stream, they knew the common signs
of such a navigation too well to commit any material
blunder. When the pilot chosen for the task of guiding the
canoe had taken his station, the whole band plunged again
into the river, the vessel glided down the current, and in a
few moments the captives found themselves on the south bank
of the stream, nearly opposite to the point where they had
struck it the preceding evening.

Here was held another short but earnest consultation, during
which the horses, to whose panic their owners ascribed their
heaviest misfortune, were led from the cover of the woods,
and brought to the sheltered spot. The band now divided.
The great chief, so often mentioned, mounting the charger of
Heyward, led the way directly across the river, followed by
most of his people, and disappeared in the woods, leaving
the prisoners in charge of six savages, at whose head was Le
Renard Subtil. Duncan witnessed all their movements with
renewed uneasiness.

He had been fond of believing, from the uncommon forbearance
of the savages, that he was reserved as a prisoner to be
delivered to Montcalm. As the thoughts of those who are in
misery seldom slumber, and the invention is never more
lively than when it is stimulated by hope, however feeble
and remote, he had even imagined that the parental feelings
of Munro were to be made instrumental in seducing him from
his duty to the king. For though the French commander bore
a high character for courage and enterprise, he was also
thought to be expert in those political practises which do
not always respect the nicer obligations of morality, and
which so generally disgraced the European diplomacy of that
period.

All those busy and ingenious speculations were now
annihilated by the conduct of his captors. That portion of
the band who had followed the huge warrior took the route
toward the foot of the Horican, and no other expectation was
left for himself and companions, than that they were to be
retained as hopeless captives by their savage conquerors.
Anxious to know the worst, and willing, in such an
emergency, to try the potency of gold he overcame his
reluctance to speak to Magua. Addressing himself to his
former guide, who had now assumed the authority and manner
of one who was to direct the future movements of the party,
he said, in tones as friendly and confiding as he could
assume:

"I would speak to Magua, what is fit only for so great a
chief to hear."

The Indian turned his eyes on the young soldier scornfully,
as he answered:

"Speak; trees have no ears."

"But the red Hurons are not deaf; and counsel that is fit
for the great men of a nation would make the young warriors
drunk. If Magua will not listen, the officer of the king
knows how to be silent."

The savage spoke carelessly to his comrades, who were
busied, after their awkward manner, in preparing the horses
for the reception of the sisters, and moved a little to one
side, whither by a cautious gesture he induced Heyward to
follow.

"Now, speak," he said; "if the words are such as Magua
should hear."

"Le Renard Subtil has proved himself worthy of the honorable
name given to him by his Canada fathers," commenced Heyward;
"I see his wisdom, and all that he has done for us, and
shall remember it when the hour to reward him arrives. Yes!
Renard has proved that he is not only a great chief in
council, but one who knows how to deceive his enemies!"

"What has Renard done?" coldly demanded the Indian.

"What! has he not seen that the woods were filled with
outlying parties of the enemies, and that the serpent could
not steal through them without being seen? Then, did he not
lose his path to blind the eyes of the Hurons? Did he not
pretend to go back to his tribe, who had treated him ill,
and driven him from their wigwams like a dog? And when he
saw what he wished to do, did we not aid him, by making a
false face, that the Hurons might think the white man
believed that his friend was his enemy? Is not all this
true? And when Le Subtil had shut the eyes and stopped the
ears of his nation by his wisdom, did they not forget that
they had once done him wrong, and forced him to flee to the
Mohawks? And did they not leave him on the south side of the
river, with their prisoners, while they have gone foolishly
on the north? Does not Renard mean to turn like a fox on his
footsteps, and to carry to the rich and gray-headed
Scotchman his daughters? Yes, Magua, I see it all, and I
have already been thinking how so much wisdom and honesty
should be repaid. First, the chief of William Henry will
give as a great chief should for such a service. The medal*
of Magua will no longer be on tin, but of beaten gold; his
horn will run over with powder; dollars will be as plenty in
his pouch as pebbles on the shore of Horican; and the deer
will lick his hand, for they will know it to be vain to fly
from the rifle he will carry! As for myself, I know not how
to exceed the gratitude of the Scotchman, but I--yes, I
will--"

* It has long been a practice with the whites to
conciliate the important men of the Indians by presenting
medals, which are worn in the place of their own rude
ornaments. Those given by the English generally bear the
impression of the reigning king, and those given by the
Americans that of the president.

"What will the young chief, who comes from toward the sun,
give?" demanded the Huron, observing that Heyward hesitated
in his desire to end the enumeration of benefits with that
which might form the climax of an Indian's wishes.

"He will make the fire-water from the islands in the salt
lake flow before the wigwam of Magua, until the heart of the
Indian shall be lighter than the feathers of the humming-
bird, and his breath sweeter than the wild honeysuckle."

Le Renard had listened gravely as Heyward slowly proceeded
in this subtle speech. When the young man mentioned the
artifice he supposed the Indian to have practised on his own
nation, the countenance of the listener was veiled in an
expression of cautious gravity. At the allusion to the
injury which Duncan affected to believe had driven the Huron
from his native tribe, a gleam of such ungovernable ferocity
flashed from the other's eyes, as induced the adventurous
speaker to believe he had struck the proper chord. And by
the time he reached the part where he so artfully blended
the thirst of vengeance with the desire of gain, he had, at
least, obtained a command of the deepest attention of the
savage. The question put by Le Renard had been calm, and
with all the dignity of an Indian; but it was quite
apparent, by the thoughtful expression of the listener's
countenance, that the answer was most cunningly devised.
The Huron mused a few moments, and then laying his hand on
the rude bandages of his wounded shoulder, he said, with
some energy:

"Do friends make such marks?"

"Would 'La Longue Carbine' cut one so slight on an enemy?"

"Do the Delawares crawl upon those they love like snakes,
twisting themselves to strike?"

"Would 'Le Gros Serpent' have been heard by the ears of one
he wished to be deaf?"

"Does the white chief burn his powder in the faces of his
brothers?"

"Does he ever miss his aim, when seriously bent to kill?"
returned Duncan, smiling with well acted sincerity.

Another long and deliberate pause succeeded these
sententious questions and ready replies. Duncan saw that
the Indian hesitated. In order to complete his victory, he
was in the act of recommencing the enumeration of the
rewards, when Magua made an expressive gesture and said:

"Enough; Le Renard is a wise chief, and what he does will be
seen. Go, and keep the mouth shut. When Magua speaks, it
will be the time to answer."

Heyward, perceiving that the eyes of his companion were
warily fastened on the rest of the band, fell back
immediately, in order to avoid the appearance of any
suspicious confederacy with their leader. Magua approached
the horses, and affected to be well pleased with the
diligence and ingenuity of his comrades. He then signed to
Heyward to assist the sisters into the saddles, for he
seldom deigned to use the English tongue, unless urged by
some motive of more than usual moment.

There was no longer any plausible pretext for delay; and
Duncan was obliged, however reluctantly, to comply. As he
performed this office, he whispered his reviving hopes in
the ears of the trembling females, who, through dread of
encountering the savage countenances of their captors,
seldom raised their eyes from the ground. The mare of David
had been taken with the followers of the large chief; in
consequence, its owner, as well as Duncan, was compelled to
journey on foot. The latter did not, however, so much
regret this circumstance, as it might enable him to retard
the speed of the party; for he still turned his longing
looks in the direction of Fort Edward, in the vain
expectation of catching some sound from that quarter of the
forest, which might denote the approach of succor. When all
were prepared, Magua made the signal to proceed, advancing
in front to lead the party in person. Next followed David,
who was gradually coming to a true sense of his condition,
as the effects of the wound became less and less apparent.
The sisters rode in his rear, with Heyward at their side,
while the Indians flanked the party, and brought up the
close of the march, with a caution that seemed never to
tire.

In this manner they proceeded in uninterrupted silence,
except when Heyward addressed some solitary word of comfort
to the females, or David gave vent to the moanings of his
spirit, in piteous exclamations, which he intended should
express the humility of resignation. Their direction lay
toward the south, and in a course nearly opposite to the
road to William Henry. Notwithstanding this apparent
adherence in Magua to the original determination of his
conquerors, Heyward could not believe his tempting bait was
so soon forgotten; and he knew the windings of an Indian's
path too well to suppose that its apparent course led
directly to its object, when artifice was at all necessary.
Mile after mile was, however, passed through the boundless
woods, in this painful manner, without any prospect of a
termination to their journey. Heyward watched the sun, as
he darted his meridian rays through the branches of the
trees, and pined for the moment when the policy of Magua
should change their route to one more favorable to his
hopes. Sometimes he fancied the wary savage, despairing of
passing the army of Montcalm in safety, was holding his way
toward a well-known border settlement, where a distinguished
officer of the crown, and a favored friend of the Six
Nations, held his large possessions, as well as his usual
residence. To be delivered into the hands of Sir William
Johnson was far preferable to being led into the wilds of
Canada; but in order to effect even the former, it would be
necessary to traverse the forest for many weary leagues,
each step of which was carrying him further from the scene
of the war, and, consequently, from the post, not only of
honor, but of duty.

Cora alone remembered the parting injunctions of the scout,
and whenever an opportunity offered, she stretched forth her
arm to bend aside the twigs that met her hands. But the
vigilance of the Indians rendered this act of precaution
both difficult and dangerous. She was often defeated in her
purpose, by encountering their watchful eyes, when it became
necessary to feign an alarm she did not feel, and occupy the
limb by some gesture of feminine apprehension. Once, and
once only, was she completely successful; when she broke
down the bough of a large sumach, and by a sudden thought,
let her glove fall at the same instant. This sign, intended
for those that might follow, was observed by one of her
conductors, who restored the glove, broke the remaining
branches of the bush in such a manner that it appeared to
proceed from the struggling of some beast in its branches,
and then laid his hand on his tomahawk, with a look so
significant, that it put an effectual end to these stolen
memorials of their passage.

As there were horses, to leave the prints of their
footsteps, in both bands of the Indians, this interruption
cut off any probable hopes of assistance being conveyed
through the means of their trail.

Heyward would have ventured a remonstrance had there been
anything encouraging in the gloomy reserve of Magua. But
the savage, during all this time, seldom turned to look at
his followers, and never spoke. With the sun for his only
guide, or aided by such blind marks as are only known to the
sagacity of a native, he held his way along the barrens of
pine, through occasional little fertile vales, across brooks
and rivulets, and over undulating hills, with the accuracy
of instinct, and nearly with the directness of a bird. He
never seemed to hesitate. Whether the path was hardly
distinguishable, whether it disappeared, or whether it lay
beaten and plain before him, made no sensible difference in
his speed or certainty. It seemed as if fatigue could not
affect him. Whenever the eyes of the wearied travelers rose
from the decayed leaves over which they trod, his dark form
was to be seen glancing among the stems of the trees in
front, his head immovably fastened in a forward position,
with the light plume on his crest fluttering in a current of
air, made solely by the swiftness of his own motion.

But all this diligence and speed were not without an object.
After crossing a low vale, through which a gushing brook
meandered, he suddenly ascended a hill, so steep and
difficult of ascent, that the sisters were compelled to
alight in order to follow. When the summit was gained, they
found themselves on a level spot, but thinly covered with
trees, under one of which Magua had thrown his dark form, as
if willing and ready to seek that rest which was so much
needed by the whole party.

CHAPTER 11

"Cursed be my tribe If I forgive him."--Shylock

The Indian had selected for this desirable purpose one of
those steep, pyramidal hills, which bear a strong
resemblance to artificial mounds, and which so frequently
occur in the valleys of America. The one in question was
high and precipitous; its top flattened, as usual; but with
one of its sides more than ordinarily irregular. It
possessed no other apparent advantage for a resting place,
than in its elevation and form, which might render defense
easy, and surprise nearly impossible. As Heyward, however,
no longer expected that rescue which time and distance now
rendered so improbable, he regarded these little
peculiarities with an eye devoid of interest, devoting
himself entirely to the comfort and condolence of his
feebler companions. The Narragansetts were suffered to
browse on the branches of the trees and shrubs that were
thinly scattered over the summit of the hill, while the
remains of their provisions were spread under the shade of a
beech, that stretched its horizontal limbs like a canopy
above them.

Notwithstanding the swiftness of their flight, one of the
Indians had found an opportunity to strike a straggling fawn
with an arrow, and had borne the more preferable fragments
of the victim, patiently on his shoulders, to the stopping
place. Without any aid from the science of cookery, he was
immediately employed, in common with his fellows, in gorging
himself with this digestible sustenance. Magua alone sat
apart, without participating in the revolting meal, and
apparently buried in the deepest thought.

This abstinence, so remarkable in an Indian, when he
possessed the means of satisfying hunger, at length
attracted the notice of Heyward. The young man willingly
believed that the Huron deliberated on the most eligible
manner of eluding the vigilance of his associates. With a
view to assist his plans by any suggestion of his own, and
to strengthen the temptation, he left the beech, and
straggled, as if without an object, to the spot where Le
Renard was seated.

"Has not Magua kept the sun in his face long enough to
escape all danger from the Canadians?" he asked, as though
no longer doubtful of the good intelligence established
between them; "and will not the chief of William Henry be
better pleased to see his daughters before another night may
have hardened his heart to their loss, to make him less
liberal in his reward?"

"Do the pale faces love their children less in the morning
than at night?" asked the Indian, coldly.

"By no means," returned Heyward, anxious to recall his
error, if he had made one; "the white man may, and does
often, forget the burial place of his fathers; he sometimes
ceases to remember those he should love, and has promised to
cherish; but the affection of a parent for his child is
never permitted to die."

"And is the heart of the white-headed chief soft, and will
he think of the babes that his squaws have given him? He is
hard on his warriors and his eyes are made of stone?"

"He is severe to the idle and wicked, but to the sober and
deserving he is a leader, both just and humane. I have
known many fond and tender parents, but never have I seen a
man whose heart was softer toward his child. You have seen
the gray-head in front of his warriors, Magua; but I have
seen his eyes swimming in water, when he spoke of those
children who are now in your power!"

Heyward paused, for he knew not how to construe the
remarkable expression that gleamed across the swarthy
features of the attentive Indian. At first it seemed as if
the remembrance of the promised reward grew vivid in his
mind, while he listened to the sources of parental feeling
which were to assure its possession; but, as Duncan
proceeded, the expression of joy became so fiercely
malignant that it was impossible not to apprehend it
proceeded from some passion more sinister than avarice.

"Go," said the Huron, suppressing the alarming exhibition in
an instant, in a death-like calmness of countenance; "go to
the dark-haired daughter, and say, 'Magua waits to speak'
The father will remember what the child promises."

Duncan, who interpreted this speech to express a wish for
some additional pledge that the promised gifts should not be
withheld, slowly and reluctantly repaired to the place where
the sisters were now resting from their fatigue, to
communicate its purport to Cora.

"You understand the nature of an Indian's wishes," he
concluded, as he led her toward the place where she was
expected, "and must be prodigal of your offers of powder and
blankets. Ardent spirits are, however, the most prized by
such as he; nor would it be amiss to add some boon from your
own hand, with that grace you so well know how to practise.
Remember, Cora, that on your presence of mind and ingenuity,
even your life, as well as that of Alice, may in some
measure depend."

"Heyward, and yours!"

"Mine is of little moment; it is already sold to my king,
and is a prize to be seized by any enemy who may possess the
power. I have no father to expect me, and but few friends
to lament a fate which I have courted with the insatiable
longings of youth after distinction. But hush! we approach
the Indian. Magua, the lady with whom you wish to speak, is
here."

The Indian rose slowly from his seat, and stood for near a
minute silent and motionless. He then signed with his hand
for Heyward to retire, saying, coldly:

"When the Huron talks to the women, his tribe shut their
ears."

Duncan, still lingering, as if refusing to comply, Coras
said, with a calm smile:

"You hear, Heyward, and delicacy at least should urge you to
retire. Go to Alice, and comfort her with our reviving
prospects."

She waited until he had departed, and then turning to the
native, with the dignity of her sex in her voice and manner,
she added: "What would Le Renard say to the daughter of
Munro?"

"Listen," said the Indian, laying his hand firmly upon her
arm, as if willing to draw her utmost attention to his
words; a movement that Cora as firmly but quietly repulsed,
by extricating the limb from his grasp: "Magua was born a
chief and a warrior among the red Hurons of the lakes; he
saw the suns of twenty summers make the snows of twenty
winters run off in the streams before he saw a pale face;
and he was happy! Then his Canada fathers came into the
woods, and taught him to drink the fire-water, and he became
a rascal. The Hurons drove him from the graves of his
fathers, as they would chase the hunted buffalo. He ran
down the shores of the lakes, and followed their outlet to
the 'city of cannon' There he hunted and fished, till the
people chased him again through the woods into the arms of
his enemies. The chief, who was born a Huron, was at last a
warrior among the Mohawks!"

"Something like this I had heard before," said Cora,
observing that he paused to suppress those passions which
began to burn with too bright a flame, as he recalled the
recollection of his supposed injuries.

"Was it the fault of Le Renard that his head was not made of
rock? Who gave him the fire-water? who made him a villain?
'Twas the pale faces, the people of your own color."

"And am I answerable that thoughtless and unprincipled men
exist, whose shades of countenance may resemble mine?" Cora
calmly demanded of the excited savage.

"No; Magua is a man, and not a fool; such as you never open
their lips to the burning stream: the Great Spirit has given
you wisdom!"

"What, then, have I do to, or say, in the matter of your
misfortunes, not to say of your errors?"

"Listen," repeated the Indian, resuming his earnest
attitude; "when his English and French fathers dug up the
hatchet, Le Renard struck the war-post of the Mohawks, and
went out against his own nation. The pale faces have driven
the red-skins from their hunting grounds, and now when they
fight, a white man leads the way. The old chief at Horican,
your father, was the great captain of our war-party. He
said to the Mohawks do this, and do that, and he was minded.
He made a law, that if an Indian swallowed the fire-water,
and came into the cloth wigwams of his warriors, it should
not be forgotten. Magua foolishly opened his mouth, and the
hot liquor led him into the cabin of Munro. What did the
gray-head? let his daughter say."

"He forgot not his words, and did justice, by punishing the
offender," said the undaunted daughter.

"Justice!" repeated the Indian, casting an oblique glance of
the most ferocious expression at her unyielding countenance;
"is it justice to make evil and then punish for it? Magua
was not himself; it was the fire-water that spoke and acted
for him! but Munro did believe it. The Huron chief was tied
up before all the pale-faced warriors, and whipped like a
dog."

Cora remained silent, for she knew not how to palliate this
imprudent severity on the part of her father in a manner to
suit the comprehension of an Indian.

"See!" continued Magua, tearing aside the slight calico that
very imperfectly concealed his painted breast; "here are
scars given by knives and bullets--of these a warrior may
boast before his nation; but the gray-head has left marks on
the back of the Huron chief that he must hide like a squaw,
under this painted cloth of the whites."

"I had thought," resumed Cora, "that an Indian warrior was
patient, and that his spirit felt not and knew not the pain
his body suffered."

"When the Chippewas tied Magua to the stake, and cut this
gash," said the other, laying his finger on a deep scar,
"the Huron laughed in their faces, and told them, Women
struck so light! His spirit was then in the clouds! But
when he felt the blows of Munro, his spirit lay under the
birch. The spirit of a Huron is never drunk; it remembers
forever!"

"But it may be appeased. If my father has done you this
injustice, show him how an Indian can forgive an injury, and
take back his daughters. You have heard from Major Heyward
--"

Magua shook his head, forbidding the repetition of offers he
so much despised.

"What would you have?" continued Cora, after a most painful
pause, while the conviction forced itself on her mind that
the too sanguine and generous Duncan had been cruelly
deceived by the cunning of the savage.

"What a Huron loves--good for good; bad for bad!"

"You would, then, revenge the injury inflicted by Munro on
his helpless daughters. Would it not be more like a man to
go before his face, and take the satisfaction of a warrior?"

"The arms of the pale faces are long, and their knives
sharp!" returned the savage, with a malignant laugh: "why
should Le Renard go among the muskets of his warriors, when
he holds the spirit of the gray-head in his hand?"

"Name your intention, Magua," said Cora, struggling with
herself to speak with steady calmness. "Is it to lead us
prisoners to the woods, or do you contemplate even some
greater evil? Is there no reward, no means of palliating the
injury, and of softening your heart? At least, release my
gentle sister, and pour out all your malice on me. Purchase
wealth by her safety and satisfy your revenge with a single
victim. The loss of both his daughters might bring the aged
man to his grave, and where would then be the satisfaction
of Le Renard?"

"Listen," said the Indian again. "The light eyes can go
back to the Horican, and tell the old chief what has been
done, if the dark-haired woman will swear by the Great
Spirit of her fathers to tell no lie."

"What must I promise?" demanded Cora, still maintaining a
secret ascendancy over the fierce native by the collected
and feminine dignity of her presence.

"When Magua left his people his wife was given to another
chief; he has now made friends with the Hurons, and will go
back to the graves of his tribe, on the shores of the great
lake. Let the daughter of the English chief follow, and
live in his wigwam forever."

However revolting a proposal of such a character might prove
to Cora, she retained, notwithstanding her powerful disgust,
sufficient self-command to reply, without betraying the
weakness.

"And what pleasure would Magua find in sharing his cabin
with a wife he did not love; one who would be of a nation
and color different from his own? It would be better to take
the gold of Munro, and buy the heart of some Huron maid with
his gifts."

The Indian made no reply for near a minute, but bent his
fierce looks on the countenance of Cora, in such wavering
glances, that her eyes sank with shame, under an impression
that for the first time they had encountered an expression
that no chaste female might endure. While she was shrinking
within herself, in dread of having her ears wounded by some
proposal still more shocking than the last, the voice of
Magua answered, in its tones of deepest malignancy:

"When the blows scorched the back of the Huron, he would
know where to find a woman to feel the smart. The daughter
of Munro would draw his water, hoe his corn, and cook his
venison. The body of the gray-head would sleep among his
cannon, but his heart would lie within reach of the knife of
Le Subtil."

"Monster! well dost thou deserve thy treacherous name,"
cried Cora, in an ungovernable burst of filial indignation.
"None but a fiend could meditate such a vengeance. But thou
overratest thy power! You shall find it is, in truth, the
heart of Munro you hold, and that it will defy your utmost
malice!"

The Indian answered this bold defiance by a ghastly smile,
that showed an unaltered purpose, while he motioned her
away, as if to close the conference forever. Cora, already
regretting her precipitation, was obliged to comply, for
Magua instantly left the spot, and approached his gluttonous
comrades. Heyward flew to the side of the agitated female,
and demanded the result of a dialogue that he had watched at
a distance with so much interest. But, unwilling to alarm
the fears of Alice, she evaded a direct reply, betraying
only by her anxious looks fastened on the slightest
movements of her captors. To the reiterated and earnest
questions of her sister concerning their probable
destination, she made no other answer than by pointing
toward the dark group, with an agitation she could not
control, and murmuring as she folded Alice to her bosom.

"There, there; read our fortunes in their faces; we shall
see; we shall see!"

The action, and the choked utterance of Cora, spoke more
impressively than any words, and quickly drew the attention
of her companions on that spot where her own was riveted
with an intenseness that nothing but the importance of the
stake could create.

When Magua reached the cluster of lolling savages, who,
gorged with their disgusting meal, lay stretched on the
earth in brutal indulgence, he commenced speaking with the
dignity of an Indian chief. The first syllables he uttered
had the effect to cause his listeners to raise themselves in
attitudes of respectful attention. As the Huron used his
native language, the prisoners, notwithstanding the caution
of the natives had kept them within the swing of their
tomahawks, could only conjecture the substance of his
harangue from the nature of those significant gestures with
which an Indian always illustrates his eloquence.

At first, the language, as well as the action of Magua,
appeared calm and deliberative. When he had succeeded in
sufficiently awakening the attention of his comrades,
Heyward fancied, by his pointing so frequently toward the
direction of the great lakes, that he spoke of the land of
their fathers, and of their distant tribe. Frequent
indications of applause escaped the listeners, who, as they
uttered the expressive "Hugh!" looked at each other in
commendation of the speaker. Le Renard was too skillful to
neglect his advantage. He now spoke of the long and painful
route by which they had left those spacious grounds and
happy villages, to come and battle against the enemies of
their Canadian fathers. He enumerated the warriors of the
party; their several merits; their frequent services to the
nation; their wounds, and the number of the scalps they had
taken. Whenever he alluded to any present (and the subtle
Indian neglected none), the dark countenance of the
flattered individual gleamed with exultation, nor did he
even hesitate to assert the truth of the words, by gestures
of applause and confirmation. Then the voice of the speaker
fell, and lost the loud, animated tones of triumph with
which he had enumerated their deeds of success and victory.
He described the cataract of Glenn's; the impregnable
position of its rocky island, with its caverns and its
numerous rapids and whirlpools; he named the name of "La
Longue Carabine," and paused until the forest beneath them
had sent up the last echo of a loud and long yell, with
which the hated appellation was received. He pointed toward
the youthful military captive, and described the death of a
favorite warrior, who had been precipitated into the deep
ravine by his hand. He not only mentioned the fate of him
who, hanging between heaven and earth, had presented such a
spectacle of horror to the whole band, but he acted anew the
terrors of his situation, his resolution and his death, on
the branches of a sapling; and, finally, he rapidly
recounted the manner in which each of their friends had
fallen, never failing to touch upon their courage, and their
most acknowledged virtues. When this recital of events was
ended, his voice once more changed, and became plaintive and
even musical, in its low guttural sounds. He now spoke of
the wives and children of the slain; their destitution;
their misery, both physical and moral; their distance; and,
at last, of their unavenged wrongs. Then suddenly lifting
his voice to a pitch of terrific energy, he concluded by
demanding:

"Are the Hurons dogs to bear this? Who shall say to the wife
of Menowgua that the fishes have his scalp, and that his
nation have not taken revenge! Who will dare meet the
mother of Wassawattimie, that scornful woman, with his hands
clean! What shall be said to the old men when they ask us
for scalps, and we have not a hair from a white head to give
them! The women will point their fingers at us. There is a
dark spot on the names of the Hurons, and it must be hid in
blood!"  His voice was no longer audible in the burst of
rage which now broke into the air, as if the wood, instead
of containing so small a band, was filled with the nation.
During the foregoing address the progress of the speaker was
too plainly read by those most interested in his success
through the medium of the countenances of the men he
addressed. They had answered his melancholy and mourning by
sympathy and sorrow; his assertions, by gestures of
confirmation; and his boasting, with the exultation of
savages. When he spoke of courage, their looks were firm
and responsive; when he alluded to their injuries, their
eyes kindled with fury; when he mentioned the taunts of the
women, they dropped their heads in shame; but when he
pointed out their means of vengeance, he struck a chord
which never failed to thrill in the breast of an Indian.
With the first intimation that it was within their reach,
the whole band sprang upon their feet as one man; giving
utterance to their rage in the most frantic cries, they
rushed upon their prisoners in a body with drawn knives and
uplifted tomahawks. Heyward threw himself between the
sisters and the foremost, whom he grappled with a desperate
strength that for a moment checked his violence. This
unexpected resistance gave Magua time to interpose, and with
rapid enunciation and animated gesture, he drew the
attention of the band again to himself. In that language he
knew so well how to assume, he diverted his comrades from
their instant purpose, and invited them to prolong the
misery of their victims. His proposal was received with
acclamations, and executed with the swiftness of thought.

Two powerful warriors cast themselves on Heyward, while
another was occupied in securing the less active singing-
master. Neither of the captives, however, submitted without
a desperate, though fruitless, struggle. Even David hurled
his assailant to the earth; nor was Heyward secured until
the victory over his companion enabled the Indians to direct
their united force to that object. He was then bound and
fastened to the body of the sapling, on whose branches Magua
had acted the pantomime of the falling Huron. When the
young soldier regained his recollection, he had the painful
certainty before his eyes that a common fate was intended
for the whole party. On his right was Cora in a durance
similar to his own, pale and agitated, but with an eye whose
steady look still read the proceedings of their enemies. On
his left, the withes which bound her to a pine, performed
that office for Alice which her trembling limbs refused, and
alone kept her fragile form from sinking. Her hands were
clasped before her in prayer, but instead of looking upward
toward that power which alone could rescue them, her
unconscious looks wandered to the countenance of Duncan with
infantile dependency. David had contended, and the novelty
of the circumstance held him silent, in deliberation on the
propriety of the unusual occurrence.

The vengeance of the Hurons had now taken a new direction,
and they prepared to execute it with that barbarous
ingenuity with which they were familiarized by the practise
of centuries. Some sought knots, to raise the blazing pile;
one was riving the splinters of pine, in order to pierce the
flesh of their captives with the burning fragments; and
others bent the tops of two saplings to the earth, in order
to suspend Heyward by the arms between the recoiling
branches. But the vengeance of Magua sought a deeper and
more malignant enjoyment.

While the less refined monsters of the band prepared, before
the eyes of those who were to suffer, these well-known and
vulgar means of torture, he approached Cora, and pointed
out, with the most malign expression of countenance, the
speedy fate that awaited her:

"Ha!" he added, "what says the daughter of Munro? Her head
is too good to find a pillow in the wigwam of Le Renard;
will she like it better when it rolls about this hill a
plaything for the wolves? Her bosom cannot nurse the
children of a Huron; she will see it spit upon by Indians!"

"What means the monster!" demanded the astonished Heyward.

"Nothing!" was the firm reply. "He is a savage, a barbarous
and ignorant savage, and knows not what he does. Let us
find leisure, with our dying breath, to ask for him
penitence and pardon."

"Pardon!" echoed the fierce Huron, mistaking in his anger,
the meaning of her words; "the memory of an Indian is no
longer than the arm of the pale faces; his mercy shorter
than their justice! Say; shall I send the yellow hair to
her father, and will you follow Magua to the great lakes, to
carry his water, and feed him with corn?"

Cora beckoned him away, with an emotion of disgust she could
not control.

"Leave me," she said, with a solemnity that for a moment
checked the barbarity of the Indian; "you mingle bitterness
in my prayers; you stand between me and my God!"

The slight impression produced on the savage was, however,
soon forgotten, and he continued pointing, with taunting
irony, toward Alice.

"Look! the child weeps! She is too young to die! Send her
to Munro, to comb his gray hairs, and keep life in the heart
of the old man."

Cora could not resist the desire to look upon her youthful
sister, in whose eyes she met an imploring glance, that
betrayed the longings of nature.

"What says he, dearest Cora?" asked the trembling voice of
Alice. "Did he speak of sending me to our father?"

For many moments the elder sister looked upon the younger,
with a countenance that wavered with powerful and contending
emotions. At length she spoke, though her tones had lost
their rich and calm fullness, in an expression of tenderness
that seemed maternal.

"Alice," she said, "the Huron offers us both life, nay, more
than both; he offers to restore Duncan, our invaluable
Duncan, as well as you, to our friends--to our father--
to our heart-stricken, childless father, if I will bow down
this rebellious, stubborn pride of mine, and consent--"

Her voice became choked, and clasping her hands, she looked
upward, as if seeking, in her agony, intelligence from a
wisdom that was infinite.

"Say on," cried Alice; "to what, dearest Cora? Oh! that the
proffer were made to me! to save you, to cheer our aged
father, to restore Duncan, how cheerfully could I die!"

"Die!" repeated Cora, with a calmer and firmer voice "that
were easy! Perhaps the alternative may not be less so. He
would have me," she continued, her accents sinking under a
deep consciousness of the degradation of the proposal,
"follow him to the wilderness; go to the habitations of the
Hurons; to remain there; in short, to become his wife!
Speak, then, Alice; child of my affections! sister of my
love! And you, too, Major Heyward, aid my weak reason with
your counsel. Is life to be purchased by such a sacrifice?
Will you, Alice, receive it at my hands at such a price?
And you, Duncan, guide me; control me between you; for I am
wholly yours!"

"Would I!" echoed the indignant and astonished youth.
"Cora! Cora! you jest with our misery! Name not the horrid
alternative again; the thought itself is worse than a
thousand deaths."

"That such would be your answer, I well knew!" exclaimed
Cora, her cheeks flushing, and her dark eyes once more
sparkling with the lingering emotions of a woman. "What
says my Alice? for her will I submit without another
murmur."

Although both Heyward and Cora listened with painful
suspense and the deepest attention, no sounds were heard in
reply. It appeared as if the delicate and sensitive form of
Alice would shrink into itself, as she listened to this
proposal. Her arms had fallen lengthwise before her, the
fingers moving in slight convulsions; her head dropped upon
her bosom, and her whole person seemed suspended against the
tree, looking like some beautiful emblem of the wounded
delicacy of her sex, devoid of animation and yet keenly
conscious. In a few moments, however, her head began to
move slowly, in a sign of deep, unconquerable
disapprobation.

"No, no, no; better that we die as we have lived, together!"

"Then die!" shouted Magua, hurling his tomahawk with
violence at the unresisting speaker, and gnashing his teeth
with a rage that could no longer be bridled at this sudden
exhibition of firmness in the one he believed the weakest of
the party. The axe cleaved the air in front of Heyward, and
cutting some of the flowing ringlets of Alice, quivered in
the tree above her head. The sight maddened Duncan to
desperation. Collecting all his energies in one effort he
snapped the twigs which bound him and rushed upon another
savage, who was preparing, with loud yells and a more
deliberate aim, to repeat the blow. They encountered,
grappled, and fell to the earth together. The naked body of
his antagonist afforded Heyward no means of holding his
adversary, who glided from his grasp, and rose again with
one knee on his chest, pressing him down with the weight of
a giant. Duncan already saw the knife gleaming in the air,
when a whistling sound swept past him, and was rather
accompanied than followed by the sharp crack of a rifle. He
felt his breast relieved from the load it had endured; he
saw the savage expression of his adversary's countenance
change to a look of vacant wildness, when the Indian fell
dead on the faded leaves by his side.

CHAPTER 12

"Clo.--I am gone, sire, And anon, sire, I'll be with you
again."--Twelfth Night

The Hurons stood aghast at this sudden visitation of death
on one of their band. But as they regarded the fatal
accuracy of an aim which had dared to immolate an enemy at
so much hazard to a friend, the name of "La Longue Carabine"
burst simultaneously from every lip, and was succeeded by a
wild and a sort of plaintive howl. The cry was answered by
a loud shout from a little thicket, where the incautious
party had piled their arms; and at the next moment, Hawkeye,
too eager to load the rifle he had regained, was seen
advancing upon them, brandishing the clubbed weapon, and
cutting the air with wide and powerful sweeps. Bold and
rapid as was the progress of the scout, it was exceeded by
that of a light and vigorous form which, bounding past him,
leaped, with incredible activity and daring, into the very
center of the Hurons, where it stood, whirling a tomahawk,
and flourishing a glittering knife, with fearful menaces, in
front of Cora. Quicker than the thoughts could follow those
unexpected and audacious movements, an image, armed in the
emblematic panoply of death, glided before their eyes, and
assumed a threatening attitude at the other's side. The
savage tormentors recoiled before these warlike intruders,
and uttered, as they appeared in such quick succession, the
often repeated and peculiar exclamations of surprise,
followed by the well-known and dreaded appellations of:

"Le Cerf Agile! Le Gros Serpent!"

But the wary and vigilant leader of the Hurons was not so
easily disconcerted. Casting his keen eyes around the
little plain, he comprehended the nature of the assault at a
glance, and encouraging his followers by his voice as well
as by his example, he unsheathed his long and dangerous
knife, and rushed with a loud whoop upon the expected
Chingachgook. It was the signal for a general combat.
Neither party had firearms, and the contest was to be
decided in the deadliest manner, hand to hand, with weapons
of offense, and none of defense.

Uncas answered the whoop, and leaping on an enemy, with a
single, well-directed blow of his tomahawk, cleft him to the
brain. Heyward tore the weapon of Magua from the sapling,
and rushed eagerly toward the fray. As the combatants were
now equal in number, each singled an opponent from the
adverse band. The rush and blows passed with the fury of a
whirlwind, and the swiftness of lightning. Hawkeye soon got
another enemy within reach of his arm, and with one sweep of
his formidable weapon he beat down the slight and
inartificial defenses of his antagonist, crushing him to the
earth with the blow. Heyward ventured to hurl the tomahawk
he had seized, too ardent to await the moment of closing.
It struck the Indian he had selected on the forehead, and
checked for an instant his onward rush. Encouraged by this
slight advantage, the impetuous young man continued his
onset, and sprang upon his enemy with naked hands. A single
instant was enough to assure him of the rashness of the
measure, for he immediately found himself fully engaged,
with all his activity and courage, in endeavoring to ward
the desperate thrusts made with the knife of the Huron.
Unable longer to foil an enemy so alert and vigilant, he
threw his arms about him, and succeeded in pinning the limbs
of the other to his side, with an iron grasp, but one that
was far too exhausting to himself to continue long. In this
extremity he heard a voice near him, shouting:

"Extarminate the varlets! no quarter to an accursed Mingo!"

At the next moment, the breech of Hawkeye's rifle fell on
the naked head of his adversary, whose muscles appeared to
wither under the shock, as he sank from the arms of Duncan,
flexible and motionless.

When Uncas had brained his first antagonist, he turned, like
a hungry lion, to seek another. The fifth and only Huron
disengaged at the first onset had paused a moment, and then
seeing that all around him were employed in the deadly
strife, he had sought, with hellish vengeance, to complete
the baffled work of revenge. Raising a shout of triumph, he
sprang toward the defenseless Cora, sending his keen axe as
the dreadful precursor of his approach. The tomahawk grazed
her shoulder, and cutting the withes which bound her to the
tree, left the maiden at liberty to fly. She eluded the
grasp of the savage, and reckless of her own safety, threw
herself on the bosom of Alice, striving with convulsed and
ill-directed fingers, to tear asunder the twigs which
confined the person of her sister. Any other than a monster
would have relented at such an act of generous devotion to
the best and purest affection; but the breast of the Huron
was a stranger to sympathy. Seizing Cora by the rich
tresses which fell in confusion about her form, he tore her
from her frantic hold, and bowed her down with brutal
violence to her knees. The savage drew the flowing curls
through his hand, and raising them on high with an
outstretched arm, he passed the knife around the exquisitely
molded head of his victim, with a taunting and exulting
laugh. But he purchased this moment of fierce gratification
with the loss of the fatal opportunity. It was just then
the sight caught the eye of Uncas. Bounding from his
footsteps he appeared for an instant darting through the air
and descending in a ball he fell on the chest of his enemy,
driving him many yards from the spot, headlong and
prostrate. The violence of the exertion cast the young
Mohican at his side. They arose together, fought, and bled,
each in his turn. But the conflict was soon decided; the
tomahawk of Heyward and the rifle of Hawkeye descended on
the skull of the Huron, at the same moment that the knife of
Uncas reached his heart.

The battle was now entirely terminated with the exception of
the protracted struggle between "Le Renard Subtil" and "Le
Gros Serpent."  Well did these barbarous warriors prove that
they deserved those significant names which had been
bestowed for deeds in former wars. When they engaged, some
little time was lost in eluding the quick and vigorous
thrusts which had been aimed at their lives. Suddenly
darting on each other, they closed, and came to the earth,
twisted together like twining serpents, in pliant and subtle
folds. At the moment when the victors found themselves
unoccupied, the spot where these experienced and desperate
combatants lay could only be distinguished by a cloud of
dust and leaves, which moved from the center of the little
plain toward its boundary, as if raised by the passage of a
whirlwind. Urged by the different motives of filial
affection, friendship and gratitude, Heyward and his
companions rushed with one accord to the place, encircling
the little canopy of dust which hung above the warriors. In
vain did Uncas dart around the cloud, with a wish to strike
his knife into the heart of his father's foe; the
threatening rifle of Hawkeye was raised and suspended in
vain, while Duncan endeavored to seize the limbs of the
Huron with hands that appeared to have lost their power.
Covered as they were with dust and blood, the swift
evolutions of the combatants seemed to incorporate their
bodies into one. The death-like looking figure of the
Mohican, and the dark form of the Huron, gleamed before
their eyes in such quick and confused succession, that the
friends of the former knew not where to plant the succoring
blow. It is true there were short and fleeting moments,
when the fiery eyes of Magua were seen glittering, like the
fabled organs of the basilisk through the dusty wreath by
which he was enveloped, and he read by those short and
deadly glances the fate of the combat in the presence of his
enemies; ere, however, any hostile hand could descend on his
devoted head, its place was filled by the scowling visage of
Chingachgook. In this manner the scene of the combat was
removed from the center of the little plain to its verge.
The Mohican now found an opportunity to make a powerful
thrust with his knife; Magua suddenly relinquished his
grasp, and fell backward without motion, and seemingly
without life. His adversary leaped on his feet, making the
arches of the forest ring with the sounds of triumph.

"Well done for the Delawares! victory to the Mohicans!"
cried Hawkeye, once more elevating the butt of the long and
fatal rifle; "a finishing blow from a man without a cross
will never tell against his honor, nor rob him of his right
to the scalp."

But at the very moment when the dangerous weapon was in the
act of descending, the subtle Huron rolled swiftly from
beneath the danger, over the edge of the precipice, and
falling on his feet, was seen leaping, with a single bound,
into the center of a thicket of low bushes, which clung
along its sides. The Delawares, who had believed their
enemy dead, uttered their exclamation of surprise, and were
following with speed and clamor, like hounds in open view of
the deer, when a shrill and peculiar cry from the scout
instantly changed their purpose, and recalled them to the
summit of the hill.

"'Twas like himself!" cried the inveterate forester, whose
prejudices contributed so largely to veil his natural sense
of justice in all matters which concerned the Mingoes; "a
lying and deceitful varlet as he is. An honest Delaware
now, being fairly vanquished, would have lain still, and
been knocked on the head, but these knavish Maquas cling to
life like so many cats-o'-the-mountain. Let him go--let
him go; 'tis but one man, and he without rifle or bow, many
a long mile from his French commerades; and like a rattler
that lost his fangs, he can do no further mischief, until
such time as he, and we too, may leave the prints of our
moccasins over a long reach of sandy plain. See, Uncas," he
added, in Delaware, "your father if flaying the scalps
already. It may be well to go round and feel the vagabonds
that are left, or we may have another of them loping through
the woods, and screeching like a jay that has been winged."

So saying the honest but implacable scout made the circuit
of the dead, into whose senseless bosoms he thrust his long
knife, with as much coolness as though they had been so many
brute carcasses. He had, however, been anticipated by the
elder Mohican, who had already torn the emblems of victory
from the unresisting heads of the slain.

But Uncas, denying his habits, we had almost said his
nature, flew with instinctive delicacy, accompanied by
Heyward, to the assistance of the females, and quickly
releasing Alice, placed her in the arms of Cora. We shall
not attempt to describe the gratitude to the Almighty
Disposer of Events which glowed in the bosoms of the
sisters, who were thus unexpectedly restored to life and to
each other. Their thanksgivings were deep and silent; the
offerings of their gentle spirits burning brightest and
purest on the secret altars of their hearts; and their
renovated and more earthly feelings exhibiting themselves in
long and fervent though speechless caresses. As Alice rose
from her knees, where she had sunk by the side of Cora, she
threw herself on the bosom of the latter, and sobbed aloud
the name of their aged father, while her soft, dove-like
eyes, sparkled with the rays of hope.

"We are saved! we are saved!" she murmured; "to return to
the arms of our dear, dear father, and his heart will not be
broken with grief. And you, too, Cora, my sister, my more
than sister, my mother; you, too, are spared. And Duncan,"
she added, looking round upon the youth with a smile of
ineffable innocence, "even our own brave and noble Duncan
has escaped without a hurt."

To these ardent and nearly innocent words Cora made no other
answer than by straining the youthful speaker to her heart,
as she bent over her in melting tenderness. The manhood of
Heyward felt no shame in dropping tears over this spectacle
of affectionate rapture; and Uncas stood, fresh and blood-
stained from the combat, a calm, and, apparently, an unmoved
looker-on, it is true, but with eyes that had already lost
their fierceness, and were beaming with a sympathy that
elevated him far above the intelligence, and advanced him
probably centuries before, the practises of his nation.

During this display of emotions so natural in their
situation, Hawkeye, whose vigilant distrust had satisfied
itself that the Hurons, who disfigured the heavenly scene,
no longer possessed the power to interrupt its harmony,
approached David, and liberated him from the bonds he had,
until that moment, endured with the most exemplary patience.

"There," exclaimed the scout, casting the last withe behind
him, "you are once more master of your own limbs, though you
seem not to use them with much greater judgment than that in
which they were first fashioned. If advice from one who is
not older than yourself, but who, having lived most of his
time in the wilderness, may be said to have experience
beyond his years, will give no offense, you are welcome to
my thoughts; and these are, to part with the little tooting
instrument in your jacket to the first fool you meet with,
and buy some we'pon with the money, if it be only the barrel
of a horseman's pistol. By industry and care, you might
thus come to some prefarment; for by this time, I should
think, your eyes would plainly tell you that a carrion crow
is a better bird than a mocking-thresher. The one will, at
least, remove foul sights from before the face of man, while
the other is only good to brew disturbances in the woods, by
cheating the ears of all that hear them."

"Arms and the clarion for the battle, but the song of
thanksgiving to the victory!" answered the liberated David.
"Friend," he added, thrusting forth his lean, delicate hand
toward Hawkeye, in kindness, while his eyes twinkled and
grew moist, "I thank thee that the hairs of my head still
grow where they were first rooted by Providence; for, though
those of other men may be more glossy and curling, I have
ever found mine own well suited to the brain they shelter.
That I did not join myself to the battle, was less owing to
disinclination, than to the bonds of the heathen. Valiant
and skillful hast thou proved thyself in the conflict, and I
hereby thank thee, before proceeding to discharge other and
more important duties, because thou hast proved thyself well
worthy of a Christian's praise."

"The thing is but a trifle, and what you may often see if
you tarry long among us," returned the scout, a good deal
softened toward the man of song, by this unequivocal
expression of gratitude. "I have got back my old companion,
'killdeer'," he added, striking his hand on the breech of
his rifle; "and that in itself is a victory. These Iroquois
are cunning, but they outwitted themselves when they placed
their firearms out of reach; and had Uncas or his father
been gifted with only their common Indian patience, we
should have come in upon the knaves with three bullets
instead of one, and that would have made a finish of the
whole pack; yon loping varlet, as well as his commerades.
But 'twas all fore-ordered, and for the best."

"Thou sayest well," returned David, "and hast caught the
true spirit of Christianity. He that is to be saved will be
saved, and he that is predestined to be damned will be
damned. This is the doctrine of truth, and most consoling
and refreshing it is to the true believer."

The scout, who by this time was seated, examining into the
state of his rifle with a species of parental assiduity, now
looked up at the other in a displeasure that he did not
affect to conceal, roughly interrupting further speech.

"Doctrine or no doctrine," said the sturdy woodsman, "'tis
the belief of knaves, and the curse of an honest man. I can
credit that yonder Huron was to fall by my hand, for with my
own eyes I have seen it; but nothing short of being a
witness will cause me to think he has met with any reward,
or that Chingachgook there will be condemned at the final
day."

"You have no warranty for such an audacious doctrine, nor
any covenant to support it," cried David who was deeply
tinctured with the subtle distinctions which, in his time ,
and more especially in his province, had been drawn around
the beautiful simplicity of revelation, by endeavoring to
penetrate the awful mystery of the divine nature, supplying
faith by self-sufficiency, and by consequence, involving
those who reasoned from such human dogmas in absurdities and
doubt; "your temple is reared on the sands, and the first
tempest will wash away its foundation. I demand your
authorities for such an uncharitable assertion (like other
advocates of a system, David was not always accurate in his
use of terms). Name chapter and verse; in which of the holy
books do you find language to support you?"

"Book!" repeated Hawkeye, with singular and ill-concealed
disdain; "do you take me for a whimpering boy at the
apronstring of one of your old gals; and this good rifle on
my knee for the feather of a goose's wing, my ox's horn for
a bottle of ink, and my leathern pouch for a cross-barred
handkercher to carry my dinner? Book! what have such as I,
who am a warrior of the wilderness, though a man without a
cross, to do with books? I never read but in one, and the
words that are written there are too simple and too plain to
need much schooling; though I may boast that of forty long
and hard-working years."

"What call you the volume?" said David, misconceiving the
other's meaning.

"'Tis open before your eyes," returned the scout; "and he
who owns it is not a niggard of its use. I have heard it
said that there are men who read in books to convince
themselves there is a God. I know not but man may so deform
his works in the settlement, as to leave that which is so
clear in the wilderness a matter of doubt among traders and
priests. If any such there be, and he will follow me from
sun to sun, through the windings of the forest, he shall see
enough to teach him that he is a fool, and that the greatest
of his folly lies in striving to rise to the level of One he
can never equal, be it in goodness, or be it in power."

The instant David discovered that he battled with a
disputant who imbibed his faith from the lights of nature,
eschewing all subtleties of doctrine, he willingly abandoned
a controversy from which he believed neither profit nor
credit was to be derived. While the scout was speaking, he
had also seated himself, and producing the ready little
volume and the iron-rimmed spectacles, he prepared to
discharge a duty, which nothing but the unexpected assault
he had received in his orthodoxy could have so long
suspended. He was, in truth, a minstrel of the western
continent--of a much later day, certainly, than those
gifted bards, who formerly sang the profane renown of baron
and prince, but after the spirit of his own age and country;
and he was now prepared to exercise the cunning of his
craft, in celebration of, or rather in thanksgiving for, the
recent victory. He waited patiently for Hawkeye to cease,
then lifting his eyes, together with his voice, he said,
aloud:

"I invite you, friends, to join in praise for this signal
deliverance from the hands of barbarians and infidels, to
the comfortable and solemn tones of the tune called '
Northampton'."

He next named the page and verse where the rhymes selected
were to be found, and applied the pitch-pipe to his lips,
with the decent gravity that he had been wont to use in the
temple. This time he was, however, without any
accompaniment, for the sisters were just then pouring out
those tender effusions of affection which have been already
alluded to. Nothing deterred by the smallness of his
audience, which, in truth, consisted only of the
discontented scout, he raised his voice, commencing and
ending the sacred song without accident or interruption of
any kind.

Hawkeye listened while he coolly adjusted his flint and
reloaded his rifle; but the sounds, wanting the extraneous
assistance of scene and sympathy, failed to awaken his
slumbering emotions. Never minstrel, or by whatever more
suitable name David should be known, drew upon his talents
in the presence of more insensible auditors; though
considering the singleness and sincerity of his motive, it
is probably that no bard of profane song ever uttered notes
that ascended so near to that throne where all homage and
praise is due. The scout shook his head, and muttering some
unintelligible words, among which "throat" and "Iroquois"
were alone audible, he walked away, to collect and to
examine into the state of the captured arsenal of the
Hurons. In this office he was now joined by Chingachgook,
who found his own, as well as the rifle of his son, among
the arms. Even Heyward and David were furnished with
weapons; nor was ammunition wanting to render them all
effectual.

When the foresters had made their selection, and distributed
their prizes, the scout announced that the hour had arrived
when it was necessary to move. By this time the song of
Gamut had ceased, and the sisters had learned to still the
exhibition of their emotions. Aided by Duncan and the
younger Mohican, the two latter descended the precipitous
sides of that hill which they had so lately ascended under
so very different auspices, and whose summit had so nearly
proved the scene of their massacre. At the foot they found
the Narragansetts browsing the herbage of the bushes, and
having mounted, they followed the movements of a guide, who,
in the most deadly straits, had so often proved himself
their friend. The journey was, however, short. Hawkeye,
leaving the blind path that the Hurons had followed, turned
short to his right, and entering the thicket, he crossed a
babbling brook, and halted in a narrow dell, under the shade
of a few water elms. Their distance from the base of the
fatal hill was but a few rods, and the steeds had been
serviceable only in crossing the shallow stream.

The scout and the Indians appeared to be familiar with the
sequestered place where they now were; for, leaning their
rifle against the trees, they commenced throwing aside the
dried leaves, and opening the blue clay, out of which a
clear and sparkling spring of bright, glancing water,
quickly bubbled. The white man then looked about him, as
though seeking for some object, which was not to be found as
readily as he expected.

"Them careless imps, the Mohawks, with their Tuscarora and
Onondaga brethren, have been here slaking their thirst," he
muttered, "and the vagabonds have thrown away the gourd!
This is the way with benefits, when they are bestowed on
such disremembering hounds! Here has the Lord laid his
hand, in the midst of the howling wilderness, for their
good, and raised a fountain of water from the bowels of the
'arth, that might laugh at the richest shop of apothecary's
ware in all the colonies; and see! the knaves have trodden
in the clay, and deformed the cleanliness of the place, as
though they were brute beasts, instead of human men."

Uncas silently extended toward him the desired gourd, which
the spleen of Hawkeye had hitherto prevented him from
observing on a branch of an elm. Filling it with water, he
retired a short distance, to a place where the ground was
more firm and dry; here he coolly seated himself, and after
taking a long, and, apparently, a grateful draught, he
commenced a very strict examination of the fragments of food
left by the Hurons, which had hung in a wallet on his arm.

"Thank you, lad!" he continued, returning the empty gourd to
Uncas; "now we will see how these rampaging Hurons lived,
when outlying in ambushments. Look at this! The varlets
know the better pieces of the deer; and one would think they
might carve and roast a saddle, equal to the best cook in
the land! But everything is raw, for the Iroquois are
thorough savages. Uncas, take my steel and kindle a fire; a
mouthful of a tender broil will give natur' a helping hand,
after so long a trail."

Heyward, perceiving that their guides now set about their
repast in sober earnest, assisted the ladies to alight, and
placed himself at their side, not unwilling to enjoy a few
moments of grateful rest, after the bloody scene he had just
gone through. While the culinary process was in hand,
curiosity induced him to inquire into the circumstances
which had led to their timely and unexpected rescue:

"How is it that we see you so soon, my generous friend," he
asked, "and without aid from the garrison of Edward?"

"Had we gone to the bend in the river, we might have been in
time to rake the leaves over your bodies, but too late to
have saved your scalps," coolly answered the scout. "No,
no; instead of throwing away strength and opportunity by
crossing to the fort, we lay by, under the bank of the
Hudson, waiting to watch the movements of the Hurons."

"You were, then, witnesses of all that passed?"

"Not of all; for Indian sight is too keen to be easily
cheated, and we kept close. A difficult matter it was, too,
to keep this Mohican boy snug in the ambushment. Ah! Uncas,
Uncas, your behavior was more like that of a curious woman
than of a warrior on his scent."

Uncas permitted his eyes to turn for an instant on the
sturdy countenance of the speaker, but he neither spoke nor
gave any indication of repentance. On the contrary, Heyward
thought the manner of the young Mohican was disdainful, if
not a little fierce, and that he suppressed passions that
were ready to explode, as much in compliment to the
listeners, as from the deference he usually paid to his
white associate.

"You saw our capture?" Heyward next demanded.

"We heard it," was the significant answer. "An Indian yell
is plain language to men who have passed their days in the
woods. But when you landed, we were driven to crawl like
sarpents, beneath the leaves; and then we lost sight of you
entirely, until we placed eyes on you again trussed to the
trees, and ready bound for an Indian massacre."

"Our rescue was the deed of Providence. It was nearly a
miracle that you did not mistake the path, for the Hurons
divided, and each band had its horses."

"Ay! there we were thrown off the scent, and might, indeed,
have lost the trail, had it not been for Uncas; we took the
path, however, that led into the wilderness; for we judged,
and judged rightly, that the savages would hold that course
with their prisoners. But when we had followed it for many
miles, without finding a single twig broken, as I had
advised, my mind misgave me; especially as all the footsteps
had the prints of moccasins."

"Our captors had the precaution to see us shod like
themselves," said Duncan, raising a foot, and exhibiting the
buckskin he wore.

"Aye, 'twas judgmatical and like themselves; though we were
too expart to be thrown from a trail by so common an
invention."

"To what, then, are we indebted for our safety?"

"To what, as a white man who has no taint of Indian blood, I
should be ashamed to own; to the judgment of the young
Mohican, in matters which I should know better than he, but
which I can now hardly believe to be true, though my own
eyes tell me it is so."

"'Tis extraordinary! will you not name the reason?"

"Uncas was bold enough to say, that the beasts ridden by the
gentle ones," continued Hawkeye, glancing his eyes, not
without curious interest, on the fillies of the ladies,
"planted the legs of one side on the ground at the same
time, which is contrary to the movements of all trotting
four-footed animals of my knowledge, except the bear. And
yet here are horses that always journey in this manner, as
my own eyes have seen, and as their trail has shown for
twenty long miles."

"'Tis the merit of the animal! They come from the shores of
Narrangansett Bay, in the small province of Providence
Plantations, and are celebrated for their hardihood, and the
ease of this peculiar movement; though other horses are not
unfrequently trained to the same."

"It may be--it may be," said Hawkeye, who had listened
with singular attention to this explanation; "though I am a
man who has the full blood of the whites, my judgment in
deer and beaver is greater than in beasts of burden. Major
Effingham has many noble chargers, but I have never seen one
travel after such a sidling gait."

"True; for he would value the animals for very different
properties. Still is this a breed highly esteemed and, as
you witness, much honored with the burdens it is often
destined to bear."

The Mohicans had suspended their operations about the
glimmering fire to listen; and, when Duncan had done, they
looked at each other significantly, the father uttering the
never-failing exclamation of surprise. The scout ruminated,
like a man digesting his newly-acquired knowledge, and once
more stole a glance at the horses.

"I dare to say there are even stranger sights to be seen in
the settlements!" he said, at length "natur' is sadly abused
by man, when he once gets the mastery. But, go sidling or
go straight, Uncas had seen the movement, and their trail
led us on to the broken bush. The outer branch, near the
prints of one of the horses, was bent upward, as a lady
breaks a flower from its stem, but all the rest were ragged
and broken down, as if the strong hand of a man had been
tearing them! So I concluded that the cunning varments had
seen the twig bent, and had torn the rest, to make us
believe a buck had been feeling the boughs with his
antlers."

"I do believe your sagacity did not deceive you; for some
such thing occurred!"

"That was easy to see," added the scout, in no degree
conscious of having exhibited any extraordinary sagacity;
"and a very different matter it was from a waddling horse!
It then struck me the Mingoes would push for this spring,
for the knaves well know the vartue of its waters!"

"Is it, then, so famous?" demanded Heyward, examining, with
a more curious eye, the secluded dell, with its bubbling
fountain, surrounded, as it was, by earth of a deep, dingy
brown.

"Few red-skins, who travel south and east of the great lakes
but have heard of its qualities. Will you taste for
yourself?"

Heyward took the gourd, and after swallowing a little of the
water, threw it aside with grimaces of discontent. The
scout laughed in his silent but heartfelt manner, and shook
his head with vast satisfaction.

"Ah! you want the flavor that one gets by habit; the time
was when I liked it as little as yourself; but I have come
to my taste, and I now crave it, as a deer does the licks*.
Your high-spiced wines are not better liked than a red-skin
relishes this water; especially when his natur' is ailing.
But Uncas has made his fire, and it is time we think of
eating, for our journey is long, and all before us."

* Many of the animals of the American forests resort
to those spots where salt springs are found. These are
called "licks" or "salt licks," in the language of the
country, from the circumstance that the quadruped is often
obliged to lick the earth, in order to obtain the saline
particles. These licks are great places of resort with the
hunters, who waylay their game near the paths that lead to
them.

Interrupting the dialogue by this abrupt transition, the
scout had instant recourse to the fragments of food which
had escaped the voracity of the Hurons. A very summary
process completed the simple cookery, when he and the
Mohicans commenced their humble meal, with the silence and
characteristic diligence of men who ate in order to enable
themselves to endure great and unremitting toil.

When this necessary, and, happily, grateful duty had been
performed, each of the foresters stooped and took a long and
parting draught at that solitary and silent spring*, around
which and its sister fountains, within fifty years, the
wealth, beauty and talents of a hemisphere were to assemble
in throngs, in pursuit of health and pleasure. Then Hawkeye
announced his determination to proceed. The sisters resumed
their saddles; Duncan and David grapsed their rifles, and
followed on footsteps; the scout leading the advance, and
the Mohicans bringing up the rear. The whole party moved
swiftly through the narrow path, toward the north, leaving
the healing waters to mingle unheeded with the adjacent
brooks and the bodies of the dead to fester on the
neighboring mount, without the rites of sepulture; a fate
but too common to the warriors of the woods to excite either
commiseration or comment.

* The scene of the foregoing incidents is on the spot
where the village of Ballston now stands; one of the two
principal watering places of America.

CHAPTER 13

"I'll seek a readier path."--Parnell

The route taken by Hawkeye lay across those sandy plains,
relived by occasional valleys and swells of land, which had
been traversed by their party on the morning of the same
day, with the baffled Magua for their guide. The sun had
now fallen low toward the distant mountains; and as their
journey lay through the interminable forest, the heat was no
longer oppressive. Their progress, in consequence, was
proportionate; and long before the twilight gathered about
them, they had made good many toilsome miles on their
return.

The hunter, like the savage whose place he filled, seemed to
select among the blind signs of their wild route, with a
species of instinct, seldom abating his speed, and never
pausing to deliberate. A rapid and oblique glance at the
moss on the trees, with an occasional upward gaze toward the
setting sun, or a steady but passing look at the direction
of the numerous water courses, through which he waded, were
sufficient to determine his path, and remove his greatest
difficulties. In the meantime, the forest began to change
its hues, losing that lively green which had embellished its
arches, in the graver light which is the usual precursor of
the close of day.

While the eyes of the sisters were endeavoring to catch
glimpses through the trees, of the flood of golden glory
which formed a glittering halo around the sun, tinging here
and there with ruby streaks, or bordering with narrow
edgings of shining yellow, a mass of clouds that lay piled
at no great distance above the western hills, Hawkeye turned
suddenly and pointing upward toward the gorgeous heavens, he
spoke:

"Yonder is the signal given to man to seek his food and
natural rest," he said; "better and wiser would it be, if he
could understand the signs of nature, and take a lesson from
the fowls of the air and the beasts of the field! Our
night, however, will soon be over, for with the moon we must
be up and moving again. I remember to have fou't the
Maquas, hereaways, in the first war in which I ever drew
blood from man; and we threw up a work of blocks, to keep
the ravenous varmints from handling our scalps. If my marks
do not fail me, we shall find the place a few rods further
to our left."

Without waiting for an assent, or, indeed, for any reply,
the sturdy hunter moved boldly into a dense thicket of young
chestnuts, shoving aside the branches of the exuberant
shoots which nearly covered the ground, like a man who
expected, at each step, to discover some object he had
formerly known. The recollection of the scout did not
deceive him. After penetrating through the brush, matted as
it was with briars, for a few hundred feet, he entered an
open space, that surrounded a low, green hillock, which was
crowned by the decayed blockhouse in question. This rude
and neglected building was one of those deserted works,
which, having been thrown up on an emergency, had been
abandoned with the disappearance of danger, and was now
quietly crumbling in the solitude of the forest, neglected
and nearly forgotten, like the circumstances which had
caused it to be reared. Such memorials of the passage and
struggles of man are yet frequent throughout the broad
barrier of wilderness which once separated the hostile
provinces, and form a species of ruins that are intimately
associated with the recollections of colonial history, and
which are in appropriate keeping with the gloomy character
of the surrounding scenery. The roof of bark had long since
fallen, and mingled with the soil, but the huge logs of
pine, which had been hastily thrown together, still
preserved their relative positions, though one angle of the
work had given way under the pressure, and threatened a
speedy downfall to the remainder of the rustic edifice.
While Heyward and his companions hesitated to approach a
building so decayed, Hawkeye and the Indians entered within
the low walls, not only without fear, but with obvious
interest. While the former surveyed the ruins, both
internally and externally, with the curiosity of one whose
recollections were reviving at each moment, Chingachgook
related to his son, in the language of the Delawares, and
with the pride of a conqueror, the brief history of the
skirmish which had been fought, in his youth, in that
secluded spot. A strain of melancholy, however, blended
with his triumph, rendering his voice, as usual, soft and
musical.

In the meantime, the sisters gladly dismounted, and prepared
to enjoy their halt in the coolness of the evening, and in a
security which they believed nothing but the beasts of the
forest could invade.

"Would not our resting-place have been more retired, my
worthy friend," demanded the more vigilant Duncan,
perceiving that the scout had already finished his short
survey, "had we chosen a spot less known, and one more
rarely visited than this?"

"Few live who know the blockhouse was ever raised," was the
slow and musing answer; "'tis not often that books are made,
and narratives written of such a scrimmage as was here fou't
atween the Mohicans and the Mohawks, in a war of their own
waging. I was then a younker, and went out with the
Delawares, because I know'd they were a scandalized and
wronged race. Forty days and forty nights did the imps
crave our blood around this pile of logs, which I designed
and partly reared, being, as you'll remember, no Indian
myself, but a man without a cross. The Delawares lent
themselves to the work, and we made it good, ten to twenty,
until our numbers were nearly equal, and then we sallied out
upon the hounds, and not a man of them ever got back to tell
the fate of his party. Yes, yes; I was then young, and new
to the sight of blood; and not relishing the thought that
creatures who had spirits like myself should lay on the
naked ground, to be torn asunder by beasts, or to bleach in
the rains, I buried the dead with my own hands, under that
very little hillock where you have placed yourselves; and no
bad seat does it make neither, though it be raised by the
bones of mortal men."

Heyward and the sisters arose, on the instant, from the
grassy sepulcher; nor could the two latter, notwithstanding
the terrific scenes they had so recently passed through,
entirely suppress an emotion of natural horror, when they
found themselves in such familiar contact with the grave of
the dead Mohawks. The gray light, the gloomy little area of
dark grass, surrounded by its border of brush, beyond which
the pines rose, in breathing silence, apparently into the
very clouds, and the deathlike stillness of the vast forest,
were all in unison to deepen such a sensation. "They are
gone, and they are harmless," continued Hawkeye, waving his
hand, with a melancholy smile at their manifest alarm;
"they'll never shout the war-whoop nor strike a blow with
the tomahawk again! And of all those who aided in placing
them where they lie, Chingachgook and I only are living!
The brothers and family of the Mohican formed our war party;
and you see before you all that are now left of his race."

The eyes of the listeners involuntarily sought the forms of
the Indians, with a compassionate interest in their desolate
fortune. Their dark persons were still to be seen within
the shadows of the blockhouse, the son listening to the
relation of his father with that sort of intenseness which
would be created by a narrative that redounded so much to
the honor of those whose names he had long revered for their
courage and savage virtues.

"I had thought the Delawares a pacific people," said Duncan,
"and that they never waged war in person; trusting the
defense of their hands to those very Mohawks that you slew!"

"'Tis true in part," returned the scout, "and yet, at the
bottom, 'tis a wicked lie. Such a treaty was made in ages
gone by, through the deviltries of the Dutchers, who wished
to disarm the natives that had the best right to the
country, where they had settled themselves. The Mohicans,
though a part of the same nation, having to deal with the
English, never entered into the silly bargain, but kept to
their manhood; as in truth did the Delawares, when their
eyes were open to their folly. You see before you a chief
of the great Mohican Sagamores! Once his family could chase
their deer over tracts of country wider than that which
belongs to the Albany Patteroon, without crossing brook or
hill that was not their on; but what is left of their
descendant? He may find his six feet of earth when God
chooses, and keep it in peace, perhaps, if he has a friend
who will take the pains to sink his head so low that the
plowshares cannot reach it!"

"Enough!" said Heyward, apprehensive that the subject might
lead to a discussion that would interrupt the harmony so
necessary to the preservation of his fair companions; "we
have journeyed far, and few among us are blessed with forms
like that of yours, which seems to know neither fatigue nor
weakness."

"The sinews and bones of a man carry me through it all,"
said the hunter, surveying his muscular limbs with a
simplicity that betrayed the honest pleasure the compliment
afforded him; "there are larger and heavier men to be found
in the settlements, but you might travel many days in a city
before you could meet one able to walk fifty miles without
stopping to take breath, or who has kept the hounds within
hearing during a chase of hours. However, as flesh and
blood are not always the same, it is quite reasonable to
suppose that the gentle ones are willing to rest, after all
they have seen and done this day. Uncas, clear out the
spring, while your father and I make a cover for their
tender heads of these chestnut shoots, and a bed of grass
and leaves."

The dialogue ceased, while the hunter and his companions
busied themselves in preparations for the comfort and
protection of those they guided. A spring, which many long
years before had induced the natives to select the place for
their temporary fortification, was soon cleared of leaves,
and a fountain of crystal gushed from the bed, diffusing its
waters over the verdant hillock. A corner of the building
was then roofed in such a manner as to exclude the heavy dew
of the climate, and piles of sweet shrubs and dried leaves
were laid beneath it for the sisters to repose on.

While the diligent woodsmen were employed in this manner,
Cora and Alice partook of that refreshment which duty
required much more than inclination prompted them to accept.
They then retired within the walls, and first offering up
their thanksgivings for past mercies, and petitioning for a
continuance of the Divine favor throughout the coming night,
they laid their tender forms on the fragrant couch, and in
spite of recollections and forebodings, soon sank into those
slumbers which nature so imperiously demanded, and which
were sweetened by hopes for the morrow. Duncan had prepared
himself to pass the night in watchfulness near them, just
without the ruin, but the scout, perceiving his intention,
pointed toward Chingachgook, as he coolly disposed his own
person on the grass, and said:

"The eyes of a white man are too heavy and too blind for
such a watch as this! The Mohican will be our sentinel,
therefore let us sleep."

"I proved myself a sluggard on my post during the past
night," said Heyward, "and have less need of repose than
you, who did more credit to the character of a soldier. Let
all the party seek their rest, then, while I hold the
guard."

"If we lay among the white tents of the Sixtieth, and in
front of an enemy like the French, I could not ask for a
better watchman," returned the scout; "but in the darkness
and among the signs of the wilderness your judgment would be
like the folly of a child, and your vigilance thrown away.
Do then, like Uncas and myself, sleep, and sleep in safety."

Heyward perceived, in truth, that the younger Indian had
thrown his form on the side of the hillock while they were
talking, like one who sought to make the most of the time
allotted to rest, and that his example had been followed by
David, whose voice literally "clove to his jaws," with the
fever of his wound, heightened, as it was, by their toilsome
march. Unwilling to prolong a useless discussion, the young
man affected to comply, by posting his back against the logs
of the blockhouse, in a half recumbent posture, though
resolutely determined, in his own mind, not to close an eye
until he had delivered his precious charge into the arms of
Munro himself. Hawkeye, believing he had prevailed, soon
fell asleep, and a silence as deep as the solitude in which
they had found it, pervaded the retired spot.

For many minutes Duncan succeeded in keeping his senses on
the alert, and alive to every moaning sound that arose from
the forest. His vision became more acute as the shades of
evening settled on the place; and even after the stars were
glimmering above his head, he was able to distinguish the
recumbent forms of his companions, as they lay stretched on
the grass, and to note the person of Chingachgook, who sat
upright and motionless as one of the trees which formed the
dark barrier on every side. He still heard the gentle
breathings of the sisters, who lay within a few feet of him,
and not a leaf was ruffled by the passing air of which his
ear did not detect the whispering sound. At length,
however, the mournful notes of a whip-poor-will became
blended with the moanings of an owl; his heavy eyes
occasionally sought the bright rays of the stars, and he
then fancied he saw them through the fallen lids. At
instants of momentary wakefulness he mistook a bush for his
associate sentinel; his head next sank upon his shoulder,
which, in its turn, sought the support of the ground; and,
finally, his whole person became relaxed and pliant, and the
young man sank into a deep sleep, dreaming that he was a
knight of ancient chivalry, holding his midnight vigils
before the tent of a recaptured princess, whose favor he did
not despair of gaining, by such a proof of devotion and
watchfulness.

How long the tired Duncan lay in this insensible state he
never knew himself, but his slumbering visions had been long
lost in total forgetfulness, when he was awakened by a light
tap on the shoulder. Aroused by this signal, slight as it
was, he sprang upon his feet with a confused recollection of
the self-imposed duty he had assumed with the commencement
of the night.

"Who comes?" he demanded, feeling for his sword, at the
place where it was usually suspended. "Speak! friend or
enemy?"

"Friend," replied the low voice of Chingachgook; who,
pointing upward at the luminary which was shedding its mild
light through the opening in the trees, directly in their
bivouac, immediately added, in his rude English: "Moon comes
and white man's fort far--far off; time to move, when
sleep shuts both eyes of the Frenchman!"

"You say true! Call up your friends, and bridle the horses
while I prepare my own companions for the march!"

"We are awake, Duncan," said the soft, silvery tones of
Alice within the building, "and ready to travel very fast
after so refreshing a sleep; but you have watched through
the tedious night in our behalf, after having endured so
much fatigue the livelong day!"

"Say, rather, I would have watched, but my treacherous eyes
betrayed me; twice have I proved myself unfit for the trust
I bear."

"Nay, Duncan, deny it not," interrupted the smiling Alice,
issuing from the shadows of the building into the light of
the moon, in all the loveliness of her freshened beauty; "I
know you to be a heedless one, when self is the object of
your care, and but too vigilant in favor of others. Can we
not tarry here a little longer while you find the rest you
need? Cheerfully, most cheerfully, will Cora and I keep the
vigils, while you and all these brave men endeavor to snatch
a little sleep!"

"If shame could cure me of my drowsiness, I should never
close an eye again," said the uneasy youth, gazing at the
ingenuous countenance of Alice, where, however, in its sweet
solicitude, he read nothing to confirm his half-awakened
suspicion. "It is but too true, that after leading you into
danger by my heedlessness, I have not even the merit of
guarding your pillows as should become a soldier."

"No one but Duncan himself should accuse Duncan of such a
weakness. Go, then, and sleep; believe me, neither of us,
weak girls as we are, will betray our watch."

The young man was relieved from the awkwardness of making
any further protestations of his own demerits, by an
exclamation from Chingachgook, and the attitude of riveted
attention assumed by his son.

"The Mohicans hear an enemy!" whispered Hawkeye, who, by
this time, in common with the whole party, was awake and
stirring. "They scent danger in the wind!"

"God forbid!" exclaimed Heyward. "Surely we have had enough
of bloodshed!"

While he spoke, however, the young soldier seized his rifle,
and advancing toward the front, prepared to atone for his
venial remissness, by freely exposing his life in defense of
those he attended.

"'Tis some creature of the forest prowling around us in
quest of food," he said, in a whisper, as soon as the low,
and apparently distant sounds, which had startled the
Mohicans, reached his own ears.

"Hist!" returned the attentive scout; "'tis man; even I can
now tell his tread, poor as my senses are when compared to
an Indian's! That Scampering Huron has fallen in with one
of Montcalm's outlying parties, and they have struck upon
our trail. I shouldn't like, myself, to spill more human
blood in this spot," he added, looking around with anxiety
in his features, at the dim objects by which he was
surrounded; "but what must be, must! Lead the horses into
the blockhouse, Uncas; and, friends, do you follow to the
same shelter. Poor and old as it is, it offers a cover, and
has rung with the crack of a rifle afore to-night!"

He was instantly obeyed, the Mohicans leading the
Narrangansetts within the ruin, whither the whole party
repaired with the most guarded silence.

The sound of approaching footsteps were now too distinctly
audible to leave any doubts as to the nature of the
interruption. They were soon mingled with voices calling to
each other in an Indian dialect, which the hunter, in a
whisper, affirmed to Heyward was the language of the Hurons.
When the party reached the point where the horses had
entered the thicket which surrounded the blockhouse, they
were evidently at fault, having lost those marks which,
until that moment, had directed their pursuit.

It would seem by the voices that twenty men were soon
collected at that one spot, mingling their different
opinions and advice in noisy clamor.

"The knaves know our weakness," whispered Hawkeye, who stood
by the side of Heyward, in deep shade, looking through an
opening in the logs, "or they wouldn't indulge their
idleness in such a squaw's march. Listen to the reptiles!
each man among them seems to have two tongues, and but a
single leg."

Duncan, brave as he was in the combat, could not, in such a
moment of painful suspense, make any reply to the cool and
characteristic remark of the scout. He only grasped his
rifle more firmly, and fastened his eyes upon the narrow
opening, through which he gazed upon the moonlight view with
increasing anxiety. The deeper tones of one who spoke as
having authority were next heard, amid a silence that
denoted the respect with which his orders, or rather advice,
was received. After which, by the rustling of leaves, and
crackling of dried twigs, it was apparent the savages were
separating in pursuit of the lost trail. Fortunately for
the pursued, the light of the moon, while it shed a flood of
mild luster upon the little area around the ruin, was not
sufficiently strong to penetrate the deep arches of the
forest, where the objects still lay in deceptive shadow.
The search proved fruitless; for so short and sudden had
been the passage from the faint path the travelers had
journeyed into the thicket, that every trace of their
footsteps was lost in the obscurity of the woods.

It was not long, however, before the restless savages were
heard beating the brush, and gradually approaching the inner
edge of that dense border of young chestnuts which encircled
the little area.

"They are coming," muttered Heyward, endeavoring to thrust
his rifle through the chink in the logs; "let us fire on
their approach."

"Keep everything in the shade," returned the scout; "the
snapping of a flint, or even the smell of a single karnel of
the brimstone, would bring the hungry varlets upon us in a
body. Should it please God that we must give battle for the
scalps, trust to the experience of men who know the ways of
the savages, and who are not often backward when the war-
whoop is howled."

Duncan cast his eyes behind him, and saw that the trembling
sisters were cowering in the far corner of the building,
while the Mohicans stood in the shadow, like two upright
posts, ready, and apparently willing, to strike when the
blow should be needed. Curbing his impatience, he again
looked out upon the area, and awaited the result in silence.
At that instant the thicket opened, and a tall and armed
Huron advanced a few paces into the open space. As he gazed
upon the silent blockhouse, the moon fell upon his swarthy
countenance, and betrayed its surprise and curiosity. He
made the exclamation which usually accompanies the former
emotion in an Indian, and, calling in a low voice, soon drew
a companion to his side.

These children of the woods stood together for several
moments pointing at the crumbling edifice, and conversing in
the unintelligible language of their tribe. They then
approached, though with slow and cautious steps, pausing
every instant to look at the building, like startled deer
whose curiosity struggled powerfully with their awakened
apprehensions for the mastery. The foot of one of them
suddenly rested on the mound, and he stopped to examine its
nature. At this moment, Heyward observed that the scout
loosened his knife in its sheath, and lowered the muzzle of
his rifle. Imitating these movements, the young man
prepared himself for the struggle which now seemed
inevitable.

The savages were so near, that the least motion in one of
the horses, or even a breath louder than common, would have
betrayed the fugitives. But in discovering the character of
the mound, the attention of the Hurons appeared directed to
a different object. They spoke together, and the sounds of
their voices were low and solemn, as if influenced by a
reverence that was deeply blended with awe. Then they drew
warily back, keeping their eyes riveted on the ruin, as if
they expected to see the apparitions of the dead issue from
its silent walls, until, having reached the boundary of the
area, they moved slowly into the thicket and disappeared.

Hawkeye dropped the breech of his rifle to the earth, and
drawing a long, free breath, exclaimed, in an audible
whisper:

"Ay! they respect the dead, and it has this time saved their
own lives, and, it may be, the lives of better men too."

Heyward lent his attention for a single moment to his
companion, but without replying, he again turned toward
those who just then interested him more. He heard the two
Hurons leave the bushes, and it was soon plain that all the
pursuers were gathered about them, in deep attention to
their report. After a few minutes of earnest and solemn
dialogue, altogether different from the noisy clamor with
which they had first collected about the spot, the sounds
grew fainter and more distant, and finally were lost in the
depths of the forest.

Hawkeye waited until a signal from the listening
Chingachgook assured him that every sound from the retiring
party was completely swallowed by the distance, when he
motioned to Heyward to lead forth the horses, and to assist
the sisters into their saddles. The instant this was done
they issued through the broken gateway, and stealing out by
a direction opposite to the one by which they entered, they
quitted the spot, the sisters casting furtive glances at the
silent, grave and crumbling ruin, as they left the soft
light of the moon, to bury themselves in the gloom of the
woods.

CHAPTER 14

"Guard.--Qui est la? Puc.--Paisans, pauvres gens de
France."--King Henry VI

During the rapid movement from the blockhouse, and until the
party was deeply buried in the forest, each individual was
too much interested in the escape to hazard a word even in
whispers. The scout resumed his post in advance, though his
steps, after he had thrown a safe distance between himself
and his enemies, were more deliberate than in their previous
march, in consequence of his utter ignorance of the
localities of the surrounding woods. More than once he
halted to consult with his confederates, the Mohicans,
pointing upward at the moon, and examining the barks of the
trees with care. In these brief pauses, Heyward and the
sisters listened, with senses rendered doubly acute by the
danger, to detect any symptoms which might announce the
proximity of their foes. At such moments, it seemed as if a
vast range of country lay buried in eternal sleep; not the
least sound arising from the forest, unless it was the
distant and scarcely audible rippling of a water-course.
Birds, beasts, and man, appeared to slumber alike, if,
indeed, any of the latter were to be found in that wide
tract of wilderness. But the sounds of the rivulet, feeble
and murmuring as they were, relieved the guides at once from
no trifling embarrassment, and toward it they immediately
held their way.

When the banks of the little stream were gained, Hawkeye
made another halt; and taking the moccasins from his feet,
he invited Heyward and Gamut to follow his example. He then
entered the water, and for near an hour they traveled in the
bed of the brook, leaving no trail. The moon had already
sunk into an immense pile of black clouds, which lay
impending above the western horizon, when they issued from
the low and devious water-course to rise again to the light
and level of the sandy but wooded plain. Here the scout
seemed to be once more at home, for he held on this way with
the certainty and diligence of a man who moved in the
security of his own knowledge. The path soon became more
uneven, and the travelers could plainly perceive that the
mountains drew nigher to them on each hand, and that they
were, in truth, about entering one of their gorges.
Suddenly, Hawkeye made a pause, and, waiting until he was
joined by the whole party, he spoke, though in tones so low
and cautious, that they added to the solemnity of his words,
in the quiet and darkness of the place.

"It is easy to know the pathways, and to find the licks and
water-courses of the wilderness," he said; "but who that saw
this spot could venture to say, that a mighty army was at
rest among yonder silent trees and barren mountains?"

"We are, then, at no great distance from William Henry?"
said Heyward, advancing nigher to the scout.

"It is yet a long and weary path, and when and where to
strike it is now our greatest difficulty. See," he said,
pointing through the trees toward a spot where a little
basin of water reflected the stars from its placid bosom,
"here is the 'bloody pond'; and I am on ground that I have
not only often traveled, but over which I have fou't the
enemy, from the rising to the setting sun."

"Ha! that sheet of dull and dreary water, then, is the
sepulcher of the brave men who fell in the contest. I have
heard it named, but never have I stood on its banks before."

"Three battles did we make with the Dutch-Frenchman* in a
day," continued Hawkeye, pursuing the train of his own
thoughts, rather than replying to the remark of Duncan. "He
met us hard by, in our outward march to ambush his advance,
and scattered us, like driven deer, through the defile, to
the shores of Horican. Then we rallied behind our fallen
trees, and made head against him, under Sir William--who
was made Sir William for that very deed; and well did we pay
him for the disgrace of the morning! Hundreds of Frenchmen
saw the sun that day for the last time; and even their
leader, Dieskau himself, fell into our hands, so cut and
torn with the lead, that he has gone back to his own
country, unfit for further acts in war."

* Baron Dieskau, a German, in the service of France.
A few years previously to the period of the tale, this
officer was defeated by Sir William Johnson, of Johnstown,
New York, on the shores of Lake George.

"'Twas a noble repulse!" exclaimed Heyward, in the heat of
his youthful ardor; "the fame of it reached us early, in our
southern army."

"Ay! but it did not end there. I was sent by Major
Effingham, at Sir William's own bidding, to outflank the
French, and carry the tidings of their disaster across the
portage, to the fort on the Hudson. Just hereaway, where
you see the trees rise into a mountain swell, I met a party
coming down to our aid, and I led them where the enemy were
taking their meal, little dreaming that they had not
finished the bloody work of the day."

"And you surprised them?"

"If death can be a surprise to men who are thinking only of
the cravings of their appetites. We gave them but little
breathing time, for they had borne hard upon us in the fight
of the morning, and there were few in our party who had not
lost friend or relative by their hands."

"When all was over, the dead, and some say the dying, were
cast into that little pond. These eyes have seen its waters
colored with blood, as natural water never yet flowed from
the bowels of the 'arth."

"It was a convenient, and, I trust, will prove a peaceful
grave for a soldier. You have then seen much service on
this frontier?"

"Ay!" said the scout, erecting his tall person with an air
of military pride; "there are not many echoes among these
hills that haven't rung with the crack of my rifle, nor is
there the space of a square mile atwixt Horican and the
river, that 'killdeer' hasn't dropped a living body on, be
it an enemy or be it a brute beast. As for the grave there
being as quiet as you mention, it is another matter. There
are them in the camp who say and think, man, to lie still,
should not be buried while the breath is in the body; and
certain it is that in the hurry of that evening, the doctors
had but little time to say who was living and who was dead.
Hist! see you nothing walking on the shore of the pond?"

"'Tis not probable that any are as houseless as ourselves in
this dreary forest."

"Such as he may care but little for house or shelter, and
night dew can never wet a body that passes its days in the
water," returned the scout, grasping the shoulder of Heyward
with such convulsive strength as to make the young soldier
painfully sensible how much superstitious terror had got the
mastery of a man usually so dauntless.

"By heaven, there is a human form, and it approaches! Stand
to your arms, my friends; for we know not whom we
encounter."

"Qui vive?" demanded a stern, quick voice, which sounded
like a challenge from another world, issuing out of that
solitary and solemn place.

"What says it?" whispered the scout; "it speaks neither
Indian nor English."

"Qui vive?" repeated the same voice, which was quickly
followed by the rattling of arms, and a menacing attitude.

"France!" cried Heyward, advancing from the shadow of the
trees to the shore of the pond, within a few yards of the
sentinel.

"D'ou venez-vous--ou allez-vous, d'aussi bonne heure?"
demanded the grenadier, in the language and with the accent
of a man from old France.

"Je viens de la decouverte, et je vais me coucher."

"Etes-vous officier du roi?"

"Sans doute, mon camarade; me prends-tu pour un provincial!
Je suis capitaine de chasseurs (Heyward well knew that the
other was of a regiment in the line); j'ai ici, avec moi,
les filles du commandant de la fortification. Aha! tu en as
entendu parler! je les ai fait prisonnieres pres de l'autre
fort, et je les conduis au general."

"Ma foi! mesdames; j'en suis fƒche pour vous," exclaimed the
young soldier, touching his cap with grace; "mais--fortune
de guerre! vous trouverez notre general un brave homme, et
bien poli avec les dames."

"C'est le caractere des gens de guerre," said Cora, with
admirable self-possession. "Adieu, mon ami; je vous
souhaiterais un devoir plus agreable a remplir."

The soldier made a low and humble acknowledgment for her
civility; and Heyward adding a "Bonne nuit, mon camarade,"
they moved deliberately forward, leaving the sentinel pacing
the banks of the silent pond, little suspecting an enemy of
so much effrontery, and humming to himself those words which
were recalled to his mind by the sight of women, and,
perhaps, by recollections of his own distant and beautiful
France: "Vive le vin, vive l'amour," etc., etc.

"'Tis well you understood the knave!" whispered the scout,
when they had gained a little distance from the place, and
letting his rifle fall into the hollow of his arm again; "I
soon saw that he was one of them uneasy Frenchers; and well
for him it was that his speech was friendly and his wishes
kind, or a place might have been found for his bones among
those of his countrymen."

He was interrupted by a long and heavy groan which arose
from the little basin, as though, in truth, the spirits of
the departed lingered about their watery sepulcher.

"Surely it was of flesh," continued the scout; "no spirit
could handle its arms so steadily."

"It was of flesh; but whether the poor fellow still belongs
to this world may well be doubted," said Heyward, glancing
his eyes around him, and missing Chingachgook from their
little band. Another groan more faint than the former was
succeeded by a heavy and sullen plunge into the water, and
all was still again as if the borders of the dreary pool had
never been awakened from the silence of creation. While
they yet hesitated in uncertainty, the form of the Indian
was seen gliding out of the thicket. As the chief rejoined
them, with one hand he attached the reeking scalp of the
unfortunate young Frenchman to his girdle, and with the
other he replaced the knife and tomahawk that had drunk his
blood. He then took his wonted station, with the air of a
man who believed he had done a deed of merit.

The scout dropped one end of his rifle to the earth, and
leaning his hands on the other, he stood musing in profound
silence. Then, shaking his head in a mournful manner, he
muttered:

"'Twould have been a cruel and an unhuman act for a white-
skin; but 'tis the gift and natur' of an Indian, and I
suppose it should not be denied. I could wish, though it
had befallen an accursed Mingo, rather than that gay young
boy from the old countries."

"Enough!" said Heyward, apprehensive the unconscious sisters
might comprehend the nature of the detention, and conquering
his disgust by a train of reflections very much like that of
the hunter; "'tis done; and though better it were left
undone, cannot be amended. You see, we are, too obviously
within the sentinels of the enemy; what course do you
propose to follow?"

"Yes," said Hawkeye, rousing himself again; "'tis as you
say, too late to harbor further thoughts about it. Ay, the
French have gathered around the fort in good earnest and we
have a delicate needle to thread in passing them."

"And but little time to do it in," added Heyward, glancing
his eyes upwards, toward the bank of vapor that concealed
the setting moon.

"And little time to do it in!" repeated the scout. "The
thing may be done in two fashions, by the help of
Providence, without which it may not be done at all."

"Name them quickly for time presses."

"One would be to dismount the gentle ones, and let their
beasts range the plain, by sending the Mohicans in front, we
might then cut a lane through their sentries, and enter the
fort over the dead bodies."

"It will not do--it will not do!" interrupted the generous
Heyward; "a soldier might force his way in this manner, but
never with such a convoy."

"'Twould be, indeed, a bloody path for such tender feet to
wade in," returned the equally reluctant scout; "but I
thought it befitting my manhood to name it. We must, then,
turn in our trail and get without the line of their
lookouts, when we will bend short to the west, and enter the
mountains; where I can hide you, so that all the devil's
hounds in Montcalm's pay would be thrown off the scent for
months to come."

"Let it be done, and that instantly."

Further words were unnecessary; for Hawkeye, merely uttering
the mandate to "follow," moved along the route by which they
had just entered their present critical and even dangerous
situation. Their progress, like their late dialogue, was
guarded, and without noise; for none knew at what moment a
passing patrol, or a crouching picket of the enemy, might
rise upon their path. As they held their silent way along
the margin of the pond, again Heyward and the scout stole
furtive glances at its appalling dreariness. They looked in
vain for the form they had so recently seen stalking along
in silent shores, while a low and regular wash of the little
waves, by announcing that the waters were not yet subsided,
furnished a frightful memorial of the deed of blood they had
just witnessed. Like all that passing and gloomy scene, the
low basin, however, quickly melted in the darkness, and
became blended with the mass of black objects in the rear of
the travelers.

Hawkeye soon deviated from the line of their retreat, and
striking off towards the mountains which form the western
boundary of the narrow plain, he led his followers, with
swift steps, deep within the shadows that were cast from
their high and broken summits. The route was now painful;
lying over ground ragged with rocks, and intersected with
ravines, and their progress proportionately slow. Bleak and
black hills lay on every side of them, compensating in some
degree for the additional toil of the march by the sense of
security they imparted. At length the party began slowly to
rise a steep and rugged ascent, by a path that curiously
wound among rocks and trees, avoiding the one and supported
by the other, in a manner that showed it had been devised by
men long practised in the arts of the wilderness. As they
gradually rose from the level of the valleys, the thick
darkness which usually precedes the approach of day began to
disperse, and objects were seen in the plain and palpable
colors with which they had been gifted by nature. When they
issued from the stunted woods which clung to the barren
sides of the mountain, upon a flat and mossy rock that
formed its summit, they met the morning, as it came blushing
above the green pines of a hill that lay on the opposite
side of the valley of the Horican.

The scout now told the sisters to dismount; and taking the
bridles from the mouths, and the saddles off the backs of
the jaded beasts, he turned them loose, to glean a scanty
subsistence among the shrubs and meager herbage of that
elevated region.

"Go," he said, "and seek your food where natur' gives it to
you; and beware that you become not food to ravenous wolves
yourselves, among these hills."

"Have we no further need of them?" demanded Heyward.

"See, and judge with your own eyes," said the scout,
advancing toward the eastern brow of the mountain, whither
he beckoned for the whole party to follow; "if it was as
easy to look into the heart of man as it is to spy out the
nakedness of Montcalm's camp from this spot, hypocrites
would grow scarce, and the cunning of a Mingo might prove a
losing game, compared to the honesty of a Delaware."

When the travelers reached the verge of the precipices they
saw, at a glance, the truth of the scout's declaration, and
the admirable foresight with which he had led them to their
commanding station.

The mountain on which they stood, elevated perhaps a
thousand feet in the air, was a high cone that rose a little
in advance of that range which stretches for miles along the
western shores of the lake, until meeting its sisters miles
beyond the water, it ran off toward the Canadas, in confused
and broken masses of rock, thinly sprinkled with evergreens.
Immediately at the feet of the party, the southern shore of
the Horican swept in a broad semicircle from mountain to
mountain, marking a wide strand, that soon rose into an
uneven and somewhat elevated plain. To the north stretched
the limpid, and, as it appeared from that dizzy height, the
narrow sheet of the "holy lake," indented with numberless
bays, embellished by fantastic headlands, and dotted with
countless islands. At the distance of a few leagues, the
bed of the water became lost among mountains, or was wrapped
in the masses of vapor that came slowly rolling along their
bosom, before a light morning air. But a narrow opening
between the crests of the hills pointed out the passage by
which they found their way still further north, to spread
their pure and ample sheets again, before pouring out their
tribute into the distant Champlain. To the shout stretched
the defile, or rather broken plain, so often mentioned. For
several miles in this direction, the mountains appeared
reluctant to yield their dominion, but within reach of the
eye they diverged, and finally melted into the level and
sandy lands, across which we have accompanied our
adventurers in their double journey. Along both ranges of
hills, which bounded the opposite sides of the lake and
valley, clouds of light vapor were rising in spiral wreaths
from the uninhabited woods, looking like the smoke of hidden
cottages; or rolled lazily down the declivities, to mingle
with the fogs of the lower land. A single, solitary, snow-
white cloud floated above the valley, and marked the spot
beneath which lay the silent pool of the "bloody pond."

Directly on the shore of the lake, and nearer to its western
than to its eastern margin, lay the extensive earthen
ramparts and low buildings of William Henry. Two of the
sweeping bastions appeared to rest on the water which washed
their bases, while a deep ditch and extensive morasses
guarded its other sides and angles. The land had been
cleared of wood for a reasonable distance around the work,
but every other part of the scene lay in the green livery of
nature, except where the limpid water mellowed the view, or
the bold rocks thrust their black and naked heads above the
undulating outline of the mountain ranges. In its front
might be seen the scattered sentinels, who held a weary
watch against their numerous foes; and within the walls
themselves, the travelers looked down upon men still drowsy
with a night of vigilance. Toward the southeast, but in
immediate contact with the fort, was an entrenched camp,
posted on a rocky eminence, that would have been far more
eligible for the work itself, in which Hawkeye pointed out
the presence of those auxiliary regiments that had so
recently left the Hudson in their company. From the woods,
a little further to the south, rose numerous dark and lurid
smokes, that were easily to be distinguished from the purer
exhalations of the springs, and which the scout also showed
to Heyward, as evidences that the enemy lay in force in that
direction.

But the spectacle which most concerned the young soldier was
on the western bank of the lake, though quite near to its
southern termination. On a strip of land, which appeared
from his stand too narrow to contain such an army, but
which, in truth, extended many hundreds of yards from the
shores of the Horican to the base of the mountain, were to
be seen the white tents and military engines of an
encampment of ten thousand men. Batteries were already
thrown up in their front, and even while the spectators
above them were looking down, with such different emotions,
on a scene which lay like a map beneath their feet, the roar
of artillery rose from the valley, and passed off in
thundering echoes along the eastern hills.

"Morning is just touching them below," said the deliberate
and musing scout, "and the watchers have a mind to wake up
the sleepers by the sound of cannon. We are a few hours too
late! Montcalm has already filled the woods with his
accursed Iroquois."

"The place is, indeed, invested," returned Duncan; "but is
there no expedient by which we may enter? capture in the
works would be far preferable to falling again into the
hands of roving Indians."

"See!" exclaimed the scout, unconsciously directing the
attention of Cora to the quarters of her own father, "how
that shot has made the stones fly from the side of the
commandant's house! Ay! these Frenchers will pull it to
pieces faster than it was put together, solid and thick
though it be!"

"Heyward, I sicken at the sight of danger that I cannot
share," said the undaunted but anxious daughter. "Let us go
to Montcalm, and demand admission: he dare not deny a child
the boon."

"You would scarce find the tent of the Frenchman with the
hair on your head"; said the blunt scout. "If I had but one
of the thousand boats which lie empty along that shore, it
might be done! Ha! here will soon be an end of the firing,
for yonder comes a fog that will turn day to night, and make
an Indian arrow more dangerous than a molded cannon. Now,
if you are equal to the work, and will follow, I will make a
push; for I long to get down into that camp, if it be only
to scatter some Mingo dogs that I see lurking in the skirts
of yonder thicket of birch."

"We are equal," said Cora, firmly; "on such an errand we
will follow to any danger."

The scout turned to her with a smile of honest and cordial
approbation, as he answered:

"I would I had a thousand men, of brawny limbs and quick
eyes, that feared death as little as you! I'd send them
jabbering Frenchers back into their den again, afore the
week was ended, howling like so many fettered hounds or
hungry wolves. But, sir," he added, turning from her to the
rest of the party, "the fog comes rolling down so fast, we
shall have but just the time to meet it on the plain, and
use it as a cover. Remember, if any accident should befall
me, to keep the air blowing on your left cheeks--or,
rather, follow the Mohicans; they'd scent their way, be it
in day or be it at night."

He then waved his hand for them to follow, and threw himself
down the steep declivity, with free, but careful footsteps.
Heyward assisted the sisters to descend, and in a few
minutes they were all far down a mountain whose sides they
had climbed with so much toil and pain.

The direction taken by Hawkeye soon brought the travelers to
the level of the plain, nearly opposite to a sally-port in
the western curtain of the fort, which lay itself at the
distance of about half a mile from the point where he halted
to allow Duncan to come up with his charge. In their
eagerness, and favored by the nature of the ground, they had
anticipated the fog, which was rolling heavily down the
lake, and it became necessary to pause, until the mists had
wrapped the camp of the enemy in their fleecy mantle. The
Mohicans profited by the delay, to steal out of the woods,
and to make a survey of surrounding objects. They were
followed at a little distance by the scout, with a view to
profit early by their report, and to obtain some faint
knowledge for himself of the more immediate localities.

In a very few moments he returned, his face reddened with
vexation, while he muttered his disappointment in words of
no very gentle import.

"Here has the cunning Frenchman been posting a picket
directly in our path," he said; "red-skins and whites; and
we shall be as likely to fall into their midst as to pass
them in the fog!"

"Cannot we make a circuit to avoid the danger," asked
Heyward, "and come into our path again when it is passed?"

"Who that once bends from the line of his march in a fog can
tell when or how to find it again! The mists of Horican are
not like the curls from a peace-pipe, or the smoke which
settles above a mosquito fire."

He was yet speaking, when a crashing sound was heard, and a
cannon-ball entered the thicket, striking the body of a
sapling, and rebounding to the earth, its force being much
expended by previous resistance. The Indians followed
instantly like busy attendants on the terrible messenger,
and Uncas commenced speaking earnestly and with much action,
in the Delaware tongue.

"It may be so, lad," muttered the scout, when he had ended;
"for desperate fevers are not to be treated like a
toothache. Come, then, the fog is shutting in."

"Stop!" cried Heyward; "first explain your expectations."

"'Tis soon done, and a small hope it is; but it is better
than nothing. This shot that you see," added the scout,
kicking the harmless iron with his foot, "has plowed the
'arth in its road from the fort, and we shall hunt for the
furrow it has made, when all other signs may fail. No more
words, but follow, or the fog may leave us in the middle of
our path, a mark for both armies to shoot at."

Heyward perceiving that, in fact, a crisis had arrived, when
acts were more required than words, placed himself between
the sisters, and drew them swiftly forward, keeping the dim
figure of their leader in his eye. It was soon apparent
that Hawkeye had not magnified the power of the fog, for
before they had proceeded twenty yards, it was difficult for
the different individuals of the party to distinguish each
other in the vapor.

They had made their little circuit to the left, and were
already inclining again toward the right, having, as Heyward
thought, got over nearly half the distance to the friendly
works, when his ears were saluted with the fierce summons,
apparently within twenty feet of them, of:

"Qui va la?"

"Push on!" whispered the scout, once more bending to the
left.

"Push on!" repeated Heyward; when the summons was renewed by
a dozen voices, each of which seemed charged with menace.

"C'est moi," cried Duncan, dragging rather than leading
those he supported swiftly onward.

"Bete!--qui?--moi!"

"Ami de la France."

"Tu m'as plus l'air d'un ennemi de la France; arrete ou
pardieu je te ferai ami du diable. Non! feu, camarades,
feu!"

The order was instantly obeyed, and the fog was stirred by
the explosion of fifty muskets. Happily, the aim was bad,
and the bullets cut the air in a direction a little
different from that taken by the fugitives; though still so
nigh them, that to the unpractised ears of David and the two
females, it appeared as if they whistled within a few inches
of the organs. The outcry was renewed, and the order, not
only to fire again, but to pursue, was too plainly audible.
When Heyward briefly explained the meaning of the words they
heard, Hawkeye halted and spoke with quick decision and
great firmness.

"Let us deliver our fire," he said; "they will believe it a
sortie, and give way, or they will wait for reinforcements."

The scheme was well conceived, but failed in its effects.
The instant the French heard the pieces, it seemed as if the
plain was alive with men, muskets rattling along its whole
extent, from the shores of the lake to the furthest boundary
of the woods.

"We shall draw their entire army upon us, and bring on a
general assault," said Duncan: "lead on, my friend, for your
own life and ours."

The scout seemed willing to comply; but, in the hurry of the
moment, and in the change of position, he had lost the
direction. In vain he turned either cheek toward the light
air; they felt equally cool. In this dilemma, Uncas lighted
on the furrow of the cannon ball, where it had cut the
ground in three adjacent ant-hills.

"Give me the range!" said Hawkeye, bending to catch a
glimpse of the direction, and then instantly moving onward.

Cries, oaths, voices calling to each other, and the reports
of muskets, were now quick and incessant, and, apparently,
on every side of them. Suddenly a strong glare of light
flashed across the scene, the fog rolled upward in thick
wreaths, and several cannons belched across the plain, and
the roar was thrown heavily back from the bellowing echoes
of the mountain.

"'Tis from the fort!" exclaimed Hawkeye, turning short on
his tracks; "and we, like stricken fools, were rushing to
the woods, under the very knives of the Maquas."

The instant their mistake was rectified, the whole party
retraced the error with the utmost diligence. Duncan
willingly relinquished the support of Cora to the arm of
Uncas and Cora as readily accepted the welcome assistance.
Men, hot and angry in pursuit, were evidently on their
footsteps, and each instant threatened their capture, if not
their destruction.

"Point de quartier aux coquins!" cried an eager pursuer, who
seemed to direct the operations of the enemy.

"Stand firm, and be ready, my gallant Sixtieths!" suddenly
exclaimed a voice above them; "wait to see the enemy, fire
low and sweep the glacis."

"Father! father!" exclaimed a piercing cry from out the
mist: "it is I! Alice! thy own Elsie! Spare, oh! save
your daughters!"

"Hold!" shouted the former speaker, in the awful tones of
parental agony, the sound reaching even to the woods, and
rolling back in solemn echo. "'Tis she! God has restored
me to my children! Throw open the sally-port; to the field,
Sixtieths, to the field; pull not a trigger, lest ye kill my
lambs! Drive off these dogs of France with your steel."

Duncan heard the grating of the rusty hinges, and darting to
the spot, directed by the sound, he met a long line of dark
red warriors, passing swiftly toward the glacis. He knew
them for his own battalion of the Royal Americans, and
flying to their head, soon swept every trace of his pursuers
from before the works.

For an instant, Cora and Alice had stood trembling and
bewildered by this unexpected desertion; but before either
had leisure for speech, or even thought, an officer of
gigantic frame, whose locks were bleached with years and
service, but whose air of military grandeur had been rather
softened than destroyed by time, rushed out of the body of
mist, and folded them to his bosom, while large scalding
tears rolled down his pale and wrinkled cheeks, and he
exclaimed, in the peculiar accent of Scotland:

"For this I thank thee, Lord! Let danger come as it will,
thy servant is now prepared!"

CHAPTER 15

"Then go we in, to know his embassy; Which I could, with
ready guess, declare, Before the Frenchmen speak a word of
it,"--King Henry V

A few succeeding days were passed amid the privations, the
uproar, and the dangers of the siege, which was vigorously
pressed by a power, against whose approaches Munro possessed
no competent means of resistance. It appeared as if Webb,
with his army, which lay slumbering on the banks of the
Hudson, had utterly forgotten the strait to which his
countrymen were reduced. Montcalm had filled the woods of
the portage with his savages, every yell and whoop from whom
rang through the British encampment, chilling the hearts of
men who were already but too much disposed to magnify the
danger.

Not so, however, with the besieged. Animated by the words,
and stimulated by the examples of their leaders, they had
found their courage, and maintained their ancient
reputation, with a zeal that did justice to the stern
character of their commander. As if satisfied with the toil
of marching through the wilderness to encounter his enemy,
the French general, though of approved skill, had neglected
to seize the adjacent mountains; whence the besieged might
have been exterminated with impunity, and which, in the more
modern warfare of the country, would not have been neglected
for a single hour. This sort of contempt for eminences, or
rather dread of the labor of ascending them, might have been
termed the besetting weakness of the warfare of the period.
It originated in the simplicity of the Indian contests, in
which, from the nature of the combats, and the density of
the forests, fortresses were rare, and artillery next to
useless. The carelessness engendered by these usages
descended even to the war of the Revolution and lost the
States the important fortress of Ticonderoga opening a way
for the army of Burgoyne into what was then the bosom of the
country. We look back at this ignorance, or infatuation,
whichever it may be called, with wonder, knowing that the
neglect of an eminence, whose difficulties, like those of
Mount Defiance, have been so greatly exaggerated, would, at
the present time, prove fatal to the reputation of the
engineer who had planned the works at their base, or to that
of the general whose lot it was to defend them.

The tourist, the valetudinarian, or the amateur of the
beauties of nature, who, in the train of his four-in-hand,
now rolls through the scenes we have attempted to describe,
in quest of information, health, or pleasure, or floats
steadily toward his object on those artificial waters which
have sprung up under the administration of a statesman* who
has dared to stake his political character on the hazardous
issue, is not to suppose that his ancestors traversed those
hills, or struggled with the same currents with equal
facility. The transportation of a single heavy gun was
often considered equal to a victory gained; if happily, the
difficulties of the passage had not so far separated it from
its necessary concomitant, the ammunition, as to render it
no more than a useless tube of unwieldy iron.

* Evidently the late De Witt Clinton, who died
governor of New York in 1828.

The evils of this state of things pressed heavily on the
fortunes of the resolute Scotsman who now defended William
Henry. Though his adversary neglected the hills, he had
planted his batteries with judgment on the plain, and caused
them to be served with vigor and skill. Against this
assault, the besieged could only oppose the imperfect and
hasty preparations of a fortress in the wilderness.

It was in the afternoon of the fifth day of the siege, and
the fourth of his own service in it, that Major Heyward
profited by a parley that had just been beaten, by repairing
to the ramparts of one of the water bastions, to breathe the
cool air from the lake, and to take a survey of the progress
of the siege. He was alone, if the solitary sentinel who
paced the mound be excepted; for the artillerists had
hastened also to profit by the temporary suspension of their
arduous duties. The evening was delightfully calm, and the
light air from the limpid water fresh and soothing. It
seemed as if, with the termination of the roar of artillery
and the plunging of shot, nature had also seized the moment
to assume her mildest and most captivating form. The sun
poured down his parting glory on the scene, without the
oppression of those fierce rays that belong to the climate
and the season. The mountains looked green, and fresh, and
lovely, tempered with the milder light, or softened in
shadow, as thin vapors floated between them and the sun.
The numerous islands rested on the bosom of the Horican,
some low and sunken, as if embedded in the waters, and
others appearing to hover about the element, in little
hillocks of green velvet; among which the fishermen of the
beleaguering army peacefully rowed their skiffs, or floated
at rest on the glassy mirror in quiet pursuit of their
employment.

The scene was at once animated and still. All that
pertained to nature was sweet, or simply grand; while those
parts which depended on the temper and movements of man were
lively and playful.

Two little spotless flags were abroad, the one on a salient
angle of the fort, and the other on the advanced battery of
the besiegers; emblems of the truth which existed, not only
to the acts, but it would seem, also, to the enmity of the
combatants.

Behind these again swung, heavily opening and closing in
silken folds, the rival standards of England and France.

A hundred gay and thoughtless young Frenchmen were drawing a
net to the pebbly beach, within dangerous proximity to the
sullen but silent cannon of the fort, while the eastern
mountain was sending back the loud shouts and gay merriment
that attended their sport. Some were rushing eagerly to
enjoy the aquatic games of the lake, and others were already
toiling their way up the neighboring hills, with the
restless curiosity of their nation. To all these sports and
pursuits, those of the enemy who watched the besieged, and
the besieged themselves, were, however, merely the idle
though sympathizing spectators. Here and there a picket
had, indeed, raised a song, or mingled in a dance, which had
drawn the dusky savages around them, from their lairs in the
forest. In short, everything wore rather the appearance of
a day of pleasure, than of an hour stolen from the dangers
and toil of a bloody and vindictive warfare.

Duncan had stood in a musing attitude, contemplating this
scene a few minutes, when his eyes were directed to the
glacis in front of the sally-port already mentioned, by the
sounds of approaching footsteps. He walked to an angle of
the bastion, and beheld the scout advancing, under the
custody of a French officer, to the body of the fort. The
countenance of Hawkeye was haggard and careworn, and his air
dejected, as though he felt the deepest degradation at
having fallen into the power of his enemies. He was without
his favorite weapon, and his arms were even bound behind him
with thongs, made of the skin of a deer. The arrival of
flags to cover the messengers of summons, had occurred so
often of late, that when Heyward first threw his careless
glance on this group, he expected to see another of the
officers of the enemy, charged with a similar office but the
instant he recognized the tall person and still sturdy
though downcast features of his friend, the woodsman, he
started with surprise, and turned to descend from the
bastion into the bosom of the work.