 CHAPTER XV As long as Eduardo rulis this lande, Nikwit yu wile yekneu. Your sonus and husbandus shall be slain. Ambrox with bloda shall flowa. Yuliva yur agod and lawfala king, when in adversity. Likeme antoa the trua kausa stik. Anfor the trua kausa dia. CHATTERTON The calm of evening was again in singular contrast, while its gathering gloom was in singular unison with the passions of men. The sun was set, and the rays of the retiring luminary had ceased to gild the edges of the few clouds that had sufficient openings to admit the passage of its fading light. The canopy overhead was heavy and dense, promising another night of darkness, but the surface of the lake was scarcely disturbed by a ripple. There was a little air, though it scarce deserved to be termed wind. Still, being damp and heavy, it had a certain force. The party in the castle were as gloomy and silent as the scene. The two ransomed prisoners felt humbled and discolored, but their humility partook of the rancor of revenge. They were far more disposed to remember the indignity with which they had been treated during the last few hours of their captivity than to feel grateful for the previous indulgence. Then that keen-sighted monitor, conscience, by reminding them of the retributive justice of all they had endured, goaded them rather to turn the tables on their enemies than to accuse themselves. As for the others they were thoughtful, equally from regret and joy. Dear Slayer and Judith felt most of the former sensation, though from very different causes, while Hetty for the moment was perfectly happy. The Delaware had also lively pictures of felicity in the prospect of so soon regaining his betrothed. Under such circumstances, and in this mood, all were taking the evening meal. Old Tom cried hurry, bursting into a fit of boisterous laughter. You looked amazingly like a tethered bear as you was stretched on them hemlock-bows, and I only wonder you didn't growl more. Well, it's over, and scits and lamentations won't mend the matter. There's the black-guard ribbon-oak he that brought us off has an uncommon scalp, and I'd give as much for it myself as the colony. Yes, I feel as rich as the governor in these matters now, and will lay down with them doubloon for doubloon. Judith, darling, did you mourn for me much when I was in the hands of the Philopsteins? The last were a family of German descent on the Mohawk, to whom hurry had a great antipathy, and whom he had confounded with the enemies of Judea. Our tears have raised the lake, hurry, March, as you might have seen by the shore, turn, Judith, with a feigned levity that she was far from feeling. That heady and I should have grieved for father was to be expected, but we fairly reigned tears for you. We were sorry for poor hurry, as well as for father, Judith, put in her innocent and unconscious sister. True, girl, true. But we feel sorrow for everybody that's in trouble, you know, return the other in a quick, admonitory manner, and a low tone. Nevertheless, we are glad to see you, Master March, and out of the hands of the Philopsteins, too. Yes, they're a bad set, and so is the other brood of them down on the river. It's a wonderment to me how you got us off, dear Slayer, and I forgive you the interference that prevented my doing justice on that bag of bond for this small service. Let us into the secret that we may do you the same turn at need. Was it by lying or by coaxing? By neither hurry, but by buying. We paid a ransom for you both, and that, too, at a price so high you would well be on your guard again another captivement. Lest our stock of goods shouldn't hold out. A ransom! Old Tom has paid the fiddler, then, for nothing of mine would have bought off the hair much less the skin. I didn't think men as keen set as them vagabonds would let a fellow up so easy when they had him fairly at a close hug and floored. But money is money, and somehow it's unnatural hard to withstand. Indian or white man, it is pretty much the same. It must be owned, Judith. There's a considerable of human nature in mankind generally, after all. Hotter now rose in signing to dear Slayer as he led him to an inner room where in answer to his questions he first learned the price that had been paid for his release. The old man expressed neither resentment nor surprise at the in-road that had been made on his chest, though he did manifest some curiosity to know how far the investigations of its contents had been carried. He also inquired where the key had been found. The habitual frankness of dear Slayer prevented any perverication, and the conference soon terminated by the return of the two to the outer room, or that which served for the double purpose of parlor and kitchen. I wonder if it's peace or war between us and the savages, exclaimed hurry, just as dear Slayer, who had paused for a single instant, listened attentively, and was passing through the outer door without stopping. This given-up captives has a friendly look, and when men have traded together on a fair and honorable footing they ought to part friends, for that occasion at least. Come back, dear Slayer, and let us have your judgment, for I'm beginning to think more of you since your late behavior than I used to do. There's an answer to your question, hurry, since you're in such haste to come again to blows. As dear Slayer spoke he threw on the table on which the other was reclining with one elbow a sort of miniature faggot, composed of a dozen sticks, bound tightly together with a deerskin thong. March seized it eagerly, and holding it close to a blazing knot of pine that lay on the hearth, in which gave out all the light there was in the room, ascertained that the ends of the several sticks had been dipped in blood. If this isn't plain English, said the reckless frontier man, it's plain Indian. Here's what they call a declaration of war down at York, Judith. How did you come by this defiance, dear Slayer? Fairly enough. It lay not a minute since in what you call floating toms' door-yard. How came it there? It never fell from the clouds, Judith, as little toads sometimes do, and then it don't rain. You must prove where it come from, dear Slayer, or we shall suspect some design to skear them that would have lost their wits long ago, if fear could drive them away. Dear Slayer had approached a window and cast a glance out of it on the dark aspect of the lake. As if satisfied with what he beheld, he drew near hurry and took the bundle of sticks into his own hand, examining it attentively. Yes, this is an Indian declaration of war, sure enough, he said, and it's a proof how little you're suited to be on the path it has traveled, Harry March, that it has got here, and you never the wiser as to the means. The savages may have left the scalp on your head, but they must have taken off the ears. Else you'd have heard the stirring of the water made by the lad as he come off again on his two logs. His aren't was to throw these sticks at our door. As much as to say, we've struck the war-post since the trade, and the next thing will be to strike you. The prowling wolves, but hand me that rifle, Judith, and I'll send an answer back to the vagabonds through their messenger. Not while I stand by, Master March, coolly put in Dear Slayer, motioning for the other to forebear, faith is faith, whether given to a red skin or to a Christian. The lad lighted a knot and came off fairly under its blaze to give us this warning. And no man here should harm him while implied on such an errand. There's no use in words, for the boy is too cunning to leave the knot burning, now his business is done, and the night is already too dark for a rifle to have any certainty. That may be true enough as to a gun, but there's virtue still in a canoe, answered hurry, passing towards the door with enormous strides, carrying a rifle in his hands. The being doesn't live that she'll stop me from following and bringing back that reptile's scalp. The more on him that you crush in the egg, the fewer they'll be to dart at you in the woods. Judith trembled like the aspen. She scarce knew why herself, though there was the prospect of a scene of violence. For if hurry was fierce and overbearing in the consciousness of his vast strength, Dear Slayer had about him the calm determination that promises greater perseverance and a resolution more likely to affect its object. It was the stern, resolute eye of the latter, rather than the noisy vehemence of the first, that excited her apprehensions. Hurry soon reached the spot where the canoe was fastened, but not before Dear Slayer had spoken in a quick earnest voice to the serpent, in Delaware. The latter had been the first, in truth, to hear the sounds of the oars, and he had gone upon the platform in jealous watchfulness. The light satisfied him that a message was coming, and when the boy cast his bundle of sticks at his feet it neither moved his anger nor induced surprise. He merely stood at watch, rifle in hand, to make certain that no treachery lay behind the defiance. As Dear Slayer now called to him, he stepped into the canoe and quick as thought removed the paddles. Hurry was furious when he found that he was deprived of the means of proceeding. He first approached the Indian with loud menaces, and even Dear Slayer stood aghast at the probable consequences. March shook his sledgehammer fists, and flourished his arms as he drew near the Indian, and all expected he would attempt to fell the Delaware to the earth. One of them, at least, was well aware that such an experiment would be followed by immediate bloodshed. But even Hurry was awed by the stern composure of the chief, and he too knew that such a man was not to be outraged within punity. He therefore turned to vent his rage and Dear Slayer, where he foresaw no consequences so terrible. What might have been the result of this second demonstration, if completed, is unknown, since it was never made. Hurry! said a gentle soothing voice at his elbow. It's wicked to be so angry, and God will not overlook it. The Iroquois treated you well, and they didn't take your scalp, though you and Father wanted to take theirs. The influence of mildness on passion is well known. Had he too had earned a sort of consideration that had never before been enjoyed by her, through the self-devotion and decision of her recent conduct. Perhaps her established mental imbecility, by removing all distrust of a wish to control, aided her influence. Let the cause be as questionable as it might. The effect was sufficiently certain. Instead of throttling his old fellow-traveller, Hurry turned to the girl and poured out a portion of his discontent, if none of his anger, in her attentive ears. "'Tis too bad, Hetty,' he exclaimed, as bad as a county jail or a lack of beaver to get a creature into your very trap, then to see it get off. As much as six first-quality skins in Valley has paddled off on them clumsy logs, when twenty strokes of a well-turned paddle would overtake them. I say in Valley, for as to the boy in the way of nature he is only a boy, and is worth neither more nor less than one. Dear Slayer, you've been untrue to your friends, in letting such a chance slip through my fingers as well as your own.' The answer was given quietly, but with a voice as steady as a fearless nature and the consciousness of rectitude could make it. "'I should have been untrue to the right had I done otherwise,' returned the dear Slayer steadily. And neither you nor any other man has the authority to demand that much of me. The lad came on a lawful business, and the meanest red skin that roams the woods would be ashamed of not respecting his errand. But he's now far beyond your reach, Master March, and there's little use in talking, like a couple of women, of what can no longer be helped.' So saying, dear Slayer turned away like one resolved to waste no more words on the subject, while Hutter pulled Harry by the sleeve and led him into the ark. There they sat long in private conference. In the meantime the Indian and his friend had their secret consultation. For though it wanted some three or four hours to the rising of the star, the former could not abstain from canvassing his scheme and from opening his heart to the other. Judith, too, yielded to her softer feelings and listened to the whole of Hettie's artless narrative of what occurred after she landed. The woods had few terrors for either of these girls, educated as they had been, and accustomed, as they were, to look out daily at their rich expanse or to wander beneath their dark shades. But the elder sister felt that she would have hesitated about thus venturing alone into an Iroquois camp. Concerning Hettie was not very communicative. She spoke of her kindness and gentleness and of the meeting in the forest. But the secret of Chingochuk was guarded with the shrewdness and fidelity that many a sharper-witted girl might have failed to display. At length the several conferences were broken up by the reappearance of Hutter on the platform. Here he assembled the whole party and communicated as much of his intentions as he deemed expedient. Of the arrangement made by Deer Slayer, to abandon the castle during the night and to take refuge in the Ark, he entirely approved. It struck him as it had the others, as the only effectual means of escaping destruction. Now that the savages had turned their attention to the construction of rafts, no doubt could exist of there at least making an attempt to carry the building, and the message of the bloody sticks sufficiently showed their confidence in their own success. In short, the old man viewed the night as critical, and he called on all to get ready as soon as possible in order to abandon the dwellings temporarily, at least, if not forever. These communications made. Everything proceeded promptly and with intelligence. The castle was secured in the manner already described. The canoes were withdrawn from the dock and fastened to the Ark by the side of the other. The few necessaries that had been left in the house were transferred to the cabin. The fire was extinguished and all embarked. The vicinity of the hills, with their drapery of pines, had the effect to render nights that were obscure, darker than common on the lake. As usual, however, a belt of comparative light was etched through the center of the sheet, while it was within the shadows of the mountains that the gloom rested most heavily on the water. The island or castle stood in this belt of comparative light. But still the night was so dark as to cover the aperture of the Ark. At the distance of an observer on the shore her movements could not be seen at all, more particularly as a background of dark hillside filled up the perspective of every view that was taken diagonally or directly across the water. The prevailing wind on the lakes of that region is west, but owing to the avenues performed by the mountains it is frequently impossible to tell the true direction of the currents, as they often vary within very short distances and brief differences of time. This is truer in light of fluctuating puffs of air than in steady breezes, though the squalls of even the latter are familiarly known to be uncertain and baffling in all mountainous regions and narrow waters. On the present occasion Hutter himself as he shewed the Ark from her berth at the side of the platform, was at a loss to pronounce which way the wind blew. In common this difficulty was solved by the clouds, which floating high above the hilltops, as a matter of course, obeyed the currents. But now the whole vault of heaven seemed a massive gloomy wall, not an opening of any sort was visible. And Chingoch Cook was already trembling lest the non-appearance of the star might prevent his betrothed from being punctual to her appointment. Under these circumstances Hutter hoisted his sail seemingly with the sole intention of getting away from the castle as it might be dangerous to remain much longer in its vicinity. The air soon filled the cloth, and when the scowl was got under command and the sail was properly trimmed it was found that the direction was southerly, inclining towards the eastern shore. No better course offering for the purposes of the party the singular craft was suffered to skim the surface of the water in this direction for more than an hour when a change in the currents of the air drove them over towards the camp. Dear Slayer watched all the movements of Hutter and Harry with jealous attention. At first he did not know whether to ascribe the course they held to accident or to design. But he now began to suspect the latter. Familiar as Hutter was with the lake it was easy to deceive one who had little practice on the water, and let his intentions be what they might it was evident air two hours had elapsed that the ark had got sufficient space to be within a hundred rods of the shore, directly abreast of the known position of the camp. For a considerable time previously to reaching this point, Harry, who had some knowledge of the Algonquin language, had been in close conference with the Indian, and the result was now announced by the latter to Dear Slayer, who had been a cold, not to say distrusted, looker on, of all that past. My old father, and my young brother, the big pine, for so the Delaware had named March, want to see here on scalps at their belts, said Shingoch Cook to his friend. There is room for some on the girdle of the serpent, and his people will look for them when he goes back to his village. Their eyes must not be left long in a fog, but they must see what they look for. I know that my brother has a white hand. He will not strike even the dead. He will wait for us. When we come back he will not hide his face from shame for his friend. The great serpent of the Mohicans must be worthy to go on the war-path with Hawkeye. Aye, aye, serpent! I see how it is, that names to stick and in time I shall get to be known by it instead of Dear Slayer. Well, if such honors will come, the humblest of us all must be willing to abide by him. As for your looking for scalps, it belongs to your gifts, and I see no harm in it. Be merciful, serpent, howsoever. Be merciful, I beseech you. It surely can do no harm to a red skin's honor to show a little mercy. As for the old man, the father of two young women, who might ripen better feelings in his heart, and Harry March here, who pine as he is, might better bear the fruit of a more Christianized tree, as for them too, I leave them in the hands of the white man's god. Wasn't it for the bloody sticks? No man should go again the mingles this night, seeing that it would dishonor our faith and characters. But then the craved blood can't complain if blood is shed at their call. Still, serpent, you can be merciful. Don't begin your career with the wails of women and the cries of children. Bear yourself so that hisst will smile and not weep when she meets you. Go, then, and the man ito preserve you. My brother will stay here with the scow, Wa will soon be standing on the shore waiting, and Chingich Kuk must hasten. The Indian then joined his two co-adventurers, and first lowering the sale, they all three entered the canoe and left the side of the ark. Neither Hatter nor March spoke to dear Slayer concerning their object, or the probable length of their absence. All this had been confided to the Indian, who had acquitted himself of the trust with characteristic brevity. As soon as the canoe was out of sight, and that occurred ere the paddles had given a dozen strokes, dear Slayer made the best dispositions he could to keep the ark as nearly stationary as possible. And then he sat down in the end of the scow to chew the cut of his own bitter reflections. It was not long, however, before he was joined by Judith, who sought every occasion to be near him, managing her attack on his affections with the address that was suggested by native co-cotry, aided by no little practice, but which received much of its most dangerous power from the touch of feeling that threw around her manner, voice, accents, thoughts, and acts, the indescribable witchery of natural tenderness. Leaving the young hunter exposed to these dangerous assailants, it has become our more immediate business to follow the party in the canoe to the shore. The controlling influence that led Hatter and Hury to repeat their experiment against the camp was precisely that, which had induced the first attempt, a little heightened, perhaps, by the desire of revenge. But neither of these two rude beings, so ruthless in all things that touched the rights and interests of the red man, though possessing veins of human feeling on other matters, was much actuated by any other desire than a heartless longing for profit. Hury had felt angered at his sufferings when first liberated, it is true. But that emotion soon disappeared in the habitual love of gold, which he sought with the reckless avidity of a needy spendthrift, rather than with the ceaseless longings of a miser. In short, the motive that urged them both so soon to go against the Hurons was an habitual contempt of their enemy, acting on the unceasing cupidity of prodigality. The additional chances of success, however, had their place in the formation of the Second Enterprise. It was known that a large portion of the warriors, perhaps all, were encamped for the night abreast of the castle. And it was hoped that the scalps of helpless victims would be the consequence. To confess the truth, hotter in particular, he who had just left two daughters behind him, expected to find few besides women and children in the camp. The fact had been but slightly alluded to in his communications with Hury, and with Chingach Guk it had been kept entirely out of view. If the Indian thought of it at all, it was known only to himself. Hutter steered the canoe. Hury had manfully taken his post in the boughs, and Chingach Guk stood in the center. We say stood. For all three were so skilled in the management of that species of frail bark as to be able to keep erect positions in the midst of the darkness. The approach to the shore was made with great caution, and the landing effected in safety. The three now prepared their arms and began their tiger-like approach upon the camp. The Indian was on the lead. His two companions treading in his footsteps with a stealthy cautiousness of manner that rendered their progress almost literally noiseless, occasionally a dried twig snapped under the heavy weight of the gigantic Hury, or the blundering clumsiness of the old man. But had the Indian walked on air his step could not have seemed lighter. The great object was first to discover the position of the fire, which was known to be the center of the whole encampment. At length the keen eye of Chingach Guk caught a glimpse of this important guide. It was glimmering at a distance among the trunks of trees. There was no blaze, but merely a single smoldering brand, as suited the hour, the savages usually retiring and rising with the revolutions of the sun. As soon as the view was obtained of this beacon the progress of the adventurers became swifter and more certain. In a few minutes they got to the edge of the circle of little huts. Here they stopped to survey their ground and to concert their movements. The darkness was so deep as to render it difficult to distinguish anything but the glowing brand, the trunks of the nearest trees, and the endless canopy of leaves that veiled the clouded heaven. It was ascertained, however, that a hut was quite near, and Chingach Guk attempted to reconnoiter its interior. The manner in which the Indian approached the place that was supposed to contain enemies resembled the wily advances of the cat on the bird. As he drew near he stooped to his hands and knees, for the entrance was so low as to require this attitude, even as a convenience. Before thrusting his head inside, however, he listened long to catch the breathing of sleepers. No sound was audible, and this human serpent thrust his head in at the door or opening as another serpent would have peered in on the nest. Nothing rewarded the hazardous experiment, for after feeling cautiously with a hand the place was found to be empty. The Delaware proceeded in the same guarded manner to one or two more of the huts, finding all in the same situation. He then returned to his companions and informed them that the Hurons had deserted their camp. A little further inquiry corroborated this fact, and it only remained to return to the canoe. The different manner in which the adventurers bore the disappointment is worthy of a passing remark. The chief, who had landed solely with the hope of acquiring renown, stood stationary, leaning against a tree, waiting the pleasure of his companions. He was mortified, and a little surprised it is true, but he bore all with dignity, falling back for support on the sweeter expectations that still lay in reserve for that evening. It was true, he could not now hope to meet his mistress with the proofs of his daring and skill in his person, but he might still hope to meet her. And the warrior, who was zealous in the search, might always hope to be honored. On the other hand, hudder and hurry, who had been chiefly instigated by the basest of all human motives, the thirst of gain, could scarce control their feelings. They went prowling among the huts as if they expected to find some forgotten child, or careless sleeper. And again and again did they vent their spite on the insensible huts, several of which were actually torn to pieces, and scattered about the place. Nay, they even quarreled with each other, and fierce reproaches passed between them. It is possible some serious consequences might have occurred, had not the Delaware interfered to remind them of the danger of being so unguarded, and of the necessity of returning to the Ark. This checked the dispute, and in a few minutes they were paddling sullenly back to the spot where they hoped to find that vessel. It has been said that Judith took her place at the side of dear Slayer soon after the adventurers departed. For a short time the girl was silent, and the hunter was ignorant which of the sisters had approached him, but he soon recognized the rich, full spirited voice of the elder as her feelings escaped in words. "'This is a terrible life for women, dear Slayer,' she exclaimed. "'Wood to heaven I could see an end of it.' "'The life is well enough, Judith,' was the answer, being pretty much as it is used or abused. What would you wish to see in its place?' "'I should be a thousand times happier to live nearer to civilized beings, where there are farms and churches and houses built as it might be by Christian hands, and where my sleep at night would be sweet and tranquil. A dwelling near one of the forts would be far better than this dreary place where we live.' "'Nay, Judith, I can't agree too lightly in the truth of all this. If forts are good to keep off enemies, they sometimes hold enemies of their own. I don't think it would be for your good, or the good of Hetty, to live near one. And if I must say what I think, I'm afeard you are a little too near as it is.' Dear Slayer went on in his own steady earnest manner, for the darkness concealed the tints that colored the cheeks of the girl almost to the brightness of crimson, while her own great efforts suppressed the sounds of the breathing that nearly choked her. As for farms, they have their uses, and there's them that like to pass their lives on them. But what comfort can a man look for in a clearing that he can't find in double quantities in the forest? If air and room and light are a little craved, the windrows and the streams will furnish him. Or here are the lakes for such as have bigger longings in that way. But where are you to find your shades and laughing springs and leaping brooks and venerable trees a thousand years old in a clearing? You don't find them, but you find their disabled trunks marking the earth like headstones in a graveyard. It seems to me that the people who live in such places must be always thinking of their own ends, and of universal decay, and that too not of the decay that is brought about by time in nature, but the decay that follows waste and violence. Then as to churches they're good, I suppose, else wouldn't good men uphold them. But they are not altogether necessary. They call them the temples of the Lord, but Judith the whole earth is a temple of the Lord to such as have the right mind. Neither forts nor churches make people happier of themselves. Moreover, all is contradiction in the settlements, while all is concord in the woods. Forts and churches almost always go together, and yet their downright contradictions, churches being for peace and forts for war. No, no. Give me the strong places of the wilderness, which is the trees and the churches, too, which are arbors raised by the hand of nature. Woman is not made for scenes like these, dear slayer, scenes of which we shall have no end, as long as this war lasts. If you mean women of white color, I rather think you're not far from the truth, gal. But as for the females of the red men, such visitations are quite in character. Nothing would make hissed now, the bargained wife of Yonder Delaware happier than to know that he is at this moment prowling around his natural enemies, striving after a scalp. Surely, surely, dear slayer, she cannot be a woman and not feel concerned when she thinks the man she loves is in danger. She doesn't think of the danger, Judith, but of the honor. And when the heart is desperately set on such feelings why there is little room to crowd in fear, hissed is a kind, gentle, laughing, pleasant creature. But she loves honor, as well as any Delaware gal I ever knowed. She's to meet the serpent an hour hence, on the pint where had he landed. And no doubt she has her anxiety about it, like any other woman. But she'd be all the happier did she know that her lover was at this moment waylaying a mingle for his scalp. If you really believe this, dear slayer, no wonder you lay so much stress on gifts. Certain am I that no white girl could feel anything but misery while she believed her betrothed in danger of his life. Nor do I suppose even you, unmoved and calm as you ever seem to be, could be at peace if you believed your hissed in danger. That's a different matter. It is altogether a different matter, Judith. Woman is too weak and gentle to be intended to run such risks. And man must feel for her. Yes, I rather think that's as much red nature as it's white. But I have no hiss, nor am I like to have, for I hold it wrong to mix colors, any way except in friendship and services. In that you are and feel as a white man should. As for Harry, Harry, I do think it would be all the same to him, whether his wife were a squaw or a governor's daughter, provided she was a little comely, and could help to keep his craving stomach full. You do march injustice, Judith. Yes, you do. The poor fellow dotes on you. And when a man has rarely set his heart on such a creature, it isn't a mingle or even a Delaware gal that'll be likely to unsettle his mind. You may laugh at such man as Harry and I, for we're rough and unteached in the ways of books and other knowledge. But we've our good pints as well as our bad ones. An honest heart is not to be despised, gal, even though it be not versed in all the niceties that please the female fancy. You, dear Slayer. And to you, can you, for an instant, suppose I place you by the side of Harry March? No. No, I am not so far gone in dullness as that. No one, man or woman, could think of naming your honest heart, manly nature and simple truth, with the boisterous selfishness, greedy avarice and overbearing ferocity of Harry March. The very best that can be said of him is to be found in his name of hurry scurry, which if it means no great harm means no great good. Even my father, following his feelings with the other, as he is doing at this moment, well knows the difference between you. This I know, for he said as much to me in plain language. Judith was a girl of quick sensibilities and of impetuous feelings, and being under few of the restraints that curtail the manifestations of maiden emotions among those who are educated in the habits of civilised life. She sometimes betrayed the latter with a feeling that was so purely natural as to place it as far above the wiles of coquetry as it was superior to its heartlessness. She had now even taken one of the hard hands of the hunter and pressed it between both her own, with a warmth and earnestness that proved how sincere was her language. It was perhaps fortunate that she was checked by the very excess of her feelings, since the same power might have urged her on to avow all that her father had said. The old man not having been satisfied with making a comparison favourable to dear slayer, as between the hunter and hurry, but having actually, in his blunt, rough way, briefly advised his daughter to cast off the latter entirely and to think of the former as a husband. Both would not willingly have said this to any other man, but there was so much confidence awakened by the guileless simplicity of dear slayer that one of her nature founded a constant temptation to overstep the bounds of habit. She went no further, however, immediately relinquishing the hand and falling back on a reserve that was more suited to her sex and, indeed, to her natural modesty. Thank ye, Judith, thank ye with all my heart, returned the hunter, whose humility prevented him from placing any flattering interpretation on either the conduct or the language of the girl. Thank ye as much as if it was all true. Harry's sightly, yes, he's as sightly as the tallest pine of the mountains, and the serpent has named him accordingly. However, some fancy good looks, and some fancy good conduct only. Hurry has one advantage, and it depends on himself whether he'll have to other, or— Hark! That's your father's voice, Gail, and he speaks like a man who's riled at something. God save us from any more of these horrible scenes, exclaimed Judith, bending her face to her knees and endeavouring to exclude the discordant sounds by applying her hands to her ears. I sometimes wish I had no father. This was bitterly said, and the repinnings which extorted the words were bitterly felt. It is impossible to say what might next have escaped her had not a gentle low voice spoken at her elbow. Judith, I ought to have read a chapter to father and hurry, said the innocent but terrified speaker, and that would have kept them from going again on such an errand. Do you call to them, dear Slayer, and tell them I want them, and that it will be good for them both if they'll return and hearken to my words. ASME! Poor Hetty, you little know the cravens for gold and revenge if you believe they are so easily turned aside from their longings. But this is an uncommon business in more ways than one, Judith. I hear your father and hurry, growling like bears, and yet no noise comes from the mouth of the young chief. There's an end of secrecy, and yet his whoop, which ought to ring in the mountains according to rule in such circumstances, is silent. Justice may have alighted on him, and his death have saved the lives of the innocent. Not it, not it, the serpent is not the one to suffer if that's to be the law. Certainly there has been no onset, and is most likely that the camps deserted and the men are coming back disappointed. That accounts for the growls of hurry and the silence of the serpent. Just at this instant a fall of a paddle was heard in the canoe. For vexation made march reckless, dear Slayer felt convinced that his conjecture was true. The sail being down the ark had not drifted far, and ere many minutes he heard jingaj-gook in a low quiet tone directing Hutter how to steer in order to reach it. In less time than it takes to tell the fact, the canoe touched the scow, and the adventurers entered the latter. Dear Hutter nor hurry spoke of what had occurred, but the Delaware in passing his friend merely uttered the words, Fires Out, which if not literally true sufficiently explained the truth to his listener. It was now a question as to the course to be steered. A short surly conference was held when Hutter decided that the wisest way would be to keep in motion as the means most likely to defeat any attempt at a surprise, announcing his own and march's intention to requite themselves for the loss of sleep during their captivity by lying down. As the air still baffled in continued light, it was finally determined to sail before it, let it come in what direction it might, so long as it did not blow the ark upon the strand. This point settled the released prisoners helped to hoist the sail, and they threw themselves upon two of the pallets, leaving Dear Slayer and his friend to look after the movements of the craft. As neither of the latter was disposed to sleep, on account of the appointment with HIST, this arrangement was acceptable to all parties. That Judith and Hetty remained up also, in no manner impaired the agreeable features of this change. For some time the scowl rather drifted than sailed along the western shore following a light, southerly current of the air. The progress was slow, not exceeding a couple of miles in the hour, but the two men perceived that it was not only carrying them towards the point they desired to reach, but at a rate that was quite as fast as the hour yet rendered necessary. But little more was to be said the while, even by the girls. And that little had more reference to the rescue of HIST than to any other subject. The Indian was calm to the eye, but as minute after minute passed his feelings became more and more excited, until they reached a state that might have satisfied the demands of even the most exacting mistress. Dear Slayer kept the craft as much in the bays, as was prudent, for the double purpose of sailing within the shadows of the woods, and of detecting any signs of an encampment they might pass on the shore. In this manner they doubled one low point, and were already in the bay that was terminated north by the goal at which they aimed. The latter was still a quarter of a mile distant, when Chingich Kuk came silently to the side of his friend and pointed to a place directly ahead. A small fire was glimmering just within the verge of the bushes that lined the shore on the southern side of the point, leaving no doubt that the Indians had suddenly removed their camp to the very place, or at least the very projection of land, where HIST had given them the rendezvous. CHAPTER 16 OF THE DEAR SLAYER This is a LibriVox recording. All LibriVox recordings are in the public domain. For more information or to volunteer, please visit LibriVox.org. THE DEAR SLAYER BY JAMES FANAMORE COOPER CHAPTER XVI I hear thee babbling to the veil of sunshine and of flowers, but unto me thou brinkst a tale of visionary hours. WORDSWorth One discovery mentioned at the close of the preceding chapter was of great moment in the eyes of Dear Slayer and his friend. In the first place there was the danger almost of the certainty that hotter and hurry would make a fresh attempt on this camp, should they awake and ascertain its position. Then there was the increased risk of landing to bring off HIST. And there were the general uncertainty and additional hazards that must follow from the circumstance that their enemies had begun to change their positions. As the Delaware was aware that the hour was near when he ought to repair to the rendezvous, he no longer thought of trophies torn from his foes, and one of the first things arranged between him and his associate was to permit the two others to sleep on, lest they should disturb the execution of their plans by substituting some of their own. The ark moved slowly, and it would have taken fully a quarter of an hour to reach the point, at the rate at which they were going, thus affording time for a little forethought. The Indians, in the wish to conceal their fire from those who were thought to be still in the castle, had placed it so near the southern side of the point as to render it extremely difficult to shut it in by the bushes, though deerslayer varied the direction of the scow both to the right and to the left, in the hope of being able to effect that object. There's one advantage, Judith, in finding that fire so near the water, he said, while executing these little maneuvers, since it shows the mingos believe we are in the hut, and our coming on'em from this quarter will be an unlooked-for event. But it's lucky Harry March and your father are asleep, else we should have him prowling after scalps again. Ha! There! The bushes are beginning to shut in the fire, and now it can't be seen at all. Deerslayer waited a little to make sure that he had, at last, gained the desired position when he gave the signal agreed on, and Shinguchuk let go the Grapnel and lower the sail. The situation in which the Ark now lay had its advantages and its disadvantages. The fire had been hid by shearing towards the shore, and the latter was nearer perhaps than was desirable. Still, the water was known to be very deep farther off in the lake, and anchoring in deep water under the circumstances in which the party was placed was to be avoided, if possible. It was also believed no raft could be within miles, and though the trees in the darkness appeared almost to overhang the scow, it would not be easy to get off to her without using a boat. The intense darkness that prevailed so close in with the forest, too, served as an effectual screen, and so long as care was had not to make a noise, there was little or no danger of being detected. All these things, Deerslayer pointed out to Judith, instructing her as to the course she was to follow in the event of an alarm, for it was thought to the last degree inexpedient to arouse the sleepers, unless it might be in the greatest emergency. And now, Judith, we understand one another. It is time the serpent and I had taken to the canoe. The hunter concluded. The star is not risen yet. It's true. But it soon must, though none of us are likely to be any the wiser for it tonight, on account of the clouds. However, Hist has a ready mind, and she's one of them that doesn't always need to have a thing for her to see it. I'll warrant you she'll not be either two minutes or two feet out of the way, unless them jealous vagabonds the mingles have taken the alarm and put her as a stool-pigeon to catch us, or have hid her away in order to prepare her mind for a Huron instead of a Mohican husband. Deerslayer interrupted the girl earnestly. This is a most dangerous service. Why do you go on it at all? And then, while you know, Gal, we go to bring off Hist. The serpent's betrothed. The maid he means to marry, as soon as we get back to the tribe. That is all right for the Indian. But you do not mean to marry Hist. You are not betrothed. And why should two risk their lives and liberties to do that which one can just as well perform? Ah! Now I understand you, Judith. Yes. Now I begin to take the ID. You think as Hist is the serpent's betrothed, as they call it, and not mine, it's all together his affair. And as one man can paddle a canoe he ought to be left to go after his gal alone. But you forget this is our ironed here and the lake. And it would not tell well to forget an ironed just as the pinch came. Then, if love does count for so much with some people, particularly with young women, friendship counts for something, too, with other some. I dares to say the Delaware can paddle a canoe by himself and can bring off Hist by himself, and perhaps he would like that quite as well as to have me with him. But he couldn't circumvent circumventions, or stir up an ambushment, or fight with the savages and get his sweetheart at the same time, as well by himself as if he had a friend with him to depend on, even if that friend is no better than myself. No, no, Judith. You wouldn't desert one that counted on you at such a moment, and you can't in reason expect me to do it. I fear I believe you are right, dear Slayer, and yet I wish you were not to go, promise me one thing at least, and that is not to trust yourself among the savages, or to do anything more than to save the girl. That will be enough for once, and with that you ought to be satisfied. Lord bless you, gal. One would think it's heady that's talking and not the quick-witted and wonderful Judith hotter. But fright makes the wise silly, and the strong weak. Yes, I've seen proofs of that, time and again. Well, it's kind and soft-hearted of you, Judith, to feel this concern for a fellow creature, and I shall always say that you are kind and of true feelings. Let them that envy your good looks tell as many idle stories of you as they may. Dear Slayer, hastily said the girl interrupting him, though nearly choked by her own emotions. Do you believe all you hear about a poor motherless girl? Is the foul tongue of Harry Harry to blast my life? Not it, Judith, not it. I've told Harry it wasn't manful to backbite them he couldn't win by fair means, and that even an Indian is always tender touching a young woman's good name. If I had a brother he wouldn't dare to do it, exclaimed Judith, with eyes flashing fire. But finally me without any protector but an old man whose ears are getting to be as dull as his feelings he has his way as he pleases. Not exactly that, Judith, no, not exactly that, neither. No man, brother or stranger, would stand by and see as Farragal as yourself hunted down, without saying a word in her behalf. Harry's an honest in wanting to make you his wife, and the little he does let out again you comes more from jealousy, like, than from anything else. Smile on him when he awakes, and squeeze his hand only half as hard as you squeezed mine a bit ago. In my life on it the poor fellow will forget everything but your comeliness. Hot words don't always come from the heart, but often are from the stomach than anywhere else. Try him, Judith, when he awakes, and see the virtue of a smile. Dear Slayer laughed, in his own manner, as he concluded, and then he intimated to the patient-looking but really impatient chingoch-gook, his readiness to proceed. As the young man entered the canoe, the girl stood immovable as stone, lost in the musings that the language and manner of the other were likely to produce. The simplicity of the hunter had completely put her at fault. For, in her narrow sphere, Judith was an expert manager of the other sex, though in the present instance she was far more actuated by impulses, in all she had said and done, than by calculation. We shall not deny that some of Judith's reflections were bitter, though the sequel of the tale must be referred to in order to explain how merited or how keen were her sufferings. Chingoch-gook and his pale-faced friend set forth on their hazardous and delicate enterprise, with a coolness and method that would have done credit to men who were on their twentieth instead of being on their first war-path. As suited his relation to the pretty fugitive, in whose service they were engaged, the Indian took his place in the head of the canoe, while Deerslayer guided its movements in the stern. By this arrangement the former would be the first to land and, of course, the first to meet his mistress. The latter had taken his post without comment, but in secret influenced by the reflection that one who had so much at stake as the Indian might not possibly guide the canoe with the same steadiness and intelligence as another who had more command of his feelings. From the instant they left the side of the Ark the movements of the two adventurers were like the maneuvers of highly-drilled soldiers, who, for the first time, were called on to meet the enemy in the field. As yet, Chingoch-gook had never fired a shot in anger, and the debut of his companion in warfare is known to the reader. It is true, the Indian had been hanging about his enemy's camp for a few hours, on his first arrival, and he had even once entered it as related in the last chapter. But no consequences had followed either experiment. Now it was certain that an important result was to be affected, or a mortifying failure was to ensue. The rescue, or the continued captivity of HIST, depended on the enterprise. In a word it was virtually the maiden expedition of these two ambitious young forest soldiers, and while one of them set forth impelled by sentiments that usually carry men so far, both had all their feelings of pride and manhood enlisted in their success. Instead of steering in a direct line to the point, then distant from the Ark less than a quarter of a mile, Dearslayer laid the head of his canoe diagonally towards the center of the lake, with the view to obtain a position from which he might approach the shore, having his enemies in his front only. The spot where HED he had landed, and where HIST had promised to meet them, moreover, was on the upper side of the projection rather than on the lower, and to reach it would have required the two adventurers to double nearly the whole point, close in with the shore, had not this preliminary step been taken. So well was the necessity for this measure understood that Chingichka quietly paddled on, although it was adopted without consulting him, and apparently was taking him in a direction nearly opposite to that one might think he most wished to go. A few minutes sufficed, however, to carry the canoe the necessary distance, when both the young men ceased paddling, as it were, by instinctive consent, and the boat became stationary. The darkness increased rather than diminished, but it was still possible from the place where the adventurers lay to distinguish the outlines of the mountains. In vain did the Delaware turn his head eastward to catch a glimpse of the promised star, for notwithstanding the clouds broke a little near the horizon in that quarter of the heavens, the curtain continued so far drawn as effectually to conceal all behind it. In front, as was known by the formation of land above and behind it, lay the point, at the distance of about a thousand feet. No signs of the castle could be seen, nor could any movement in that quarter of the lake reach the ear. The latter circumstance might have been equally owing to the distance, which was several miles, or to the fact that nothing was in motion. As for the ark, though scarcely farther from the canoe than the point, it lay so completely buried in the shadows of the shore that it would not have been visible even had there been many degrees more of light than actually existed. The adventurers now held a conference in low voices, consulting together as to the probable time. Dear Slayer thought it wanted yet some minutes to the rising of the star. While the impatience of the chief caused him to fancy the night further advanced, and to believe that his betrothed was already waiting his appearance on the shore. As might have been expected, the opinion of the latter prevailed, and his friend disposed himself to steer for the place of Rendezvous. The utmost skill and precaution now became necessary in the management of the canoe. The paddles were lifted and returned to the water in a noiseless manner. And when within a hundred yards of the beach Chingichuk took in his, altogether laying his hand on his rifle in its stead. As they got still more within the belt of darkness that girded the woods, it was seen that they were steering too far north, and the course was altered accordingly. The canoe now seemed to move by instinct, so cautious and deliberate were all its motions. Still it continued to advance until its bows grated on the gravel of the beach, at the precise spot where Hattie had landed, and once her voice had issued the previous night, as the ark was passing. There was, as usual, a narrow strand, but bushes fringed the woods, and in most places overhung the water. Chingichuk stepped upon the beach and cautiously examined it for some distance on each side of the canoe. In order to do this he was often obliged to wade to his knees in the lake, but no hissed rewarded his search. When he returned he found his friend also on the shore. They next conferred in whispers, the Indian apprehending that they must have mistaken the place of rendezvous. But dear Slayer thought it was probable they had mistaken the hour. While he was yet speaking he grasped the arm of the Delaware, caused him to turn his head in the direction of the lake, and pointed towards the summits of the eastern mountains. The clouds had broken a little, apparently behind rather than above the hills, and the evening star was glittering among the branches of a pine. This was every way a flattering omen, and the young men leaned on their rifles listening intently for the sound of approaching footsteps. Voices they often heard, and mingled with them, were the suppressed cries of children, and the low but sweet laugh of Indian women. As the Native Americans are habitually cautious and seldom break out in loud conversation, the adventurers knew by these facts that they must be very near the encampment. It was easy to perceive that there was a fire within the woods, by the manner in which some of the upper branches of the trees were illuminated. But it was not possible, where they stood, to ascertain exactly how near it was to themselves. Once or twice it seemed as if stragglers from around the fire were approaching the place of rendezvous. But these sounds were either altogether illusion, or those who had drawn near returned again without coming to the shore. A quarter of an hour was passed in this state of intense expectation and anxiety, when dear Slayer proposed that they should circle the point in the canoe, and by getting a position close in where the camp could be seen, reconnoiter the Indians, and thus enable themselves to form some plausible conjectures for the non-appearance of HIST. The Delaware, however, resolutely refused to quit the spot, reasonably enough offering as a reason the disappointment of the girl, should she arrive in his absence. Dear Slayer felt for his friends' concern, and offered to make the circuit of the point by himself, leaving the latter concealed in the bushes to await the occurrence of any fortunate event that might favour his views. With this understanding, then, the party separated. As soon as dear Slayer was at his post again in the stern of the canoe, he left the shore with the same precautions, and in the same noiseless manner as he had approached it. On this occasion he did not go far from the land, the bushes affording a sufficient cover by keeping as close in as possible. Indeed, it would not have been easy to devise any means more favourable to reconnoitering round an Indian camp than those afforded by the actual state of things. The formation of the point permitted the place to be circled on three of its sides, and the progress of the boat was so noiseless as to remove any apprehensions from an alarm through sound. The most practised and guarded foot might stir a bunch of leaves or snap a dried stick in the dark, but a bark canoe could be made to float over the surface of smooth water, almost with the instinctive readiness and certainly with the noiseless movements of an aquatic bird. Dear Slayer had gotten nearly an alarm between the camp and the ark before he caught a glimpse of the fire. This came upon him suddenly, and a little unexpectedly, at first causing an alarm, lest he had in cautiously ventured within the circle of light it cast. But perceiving at a second glance that he was certainly safe from detection, so long as the Indians kept near the center of the illumination, he brought the canoe to a state of rest in the most favourable position he could find, and commenced his observations. We have written much, but in vain, concerning this extraordinary being, if the reader requires now to be told, that untutored as he was in the learning of the world, and simple as he ever showed himself to be in all matters touching the subtleties of conventional tastes, he was a man of strong, native, poetical feeling. He loved the woods for their freshness, their sublime solitudes, their vastness, and the impress that they everywhere bore of the divine hand of their creator. He seldom moved through them without pausing to dwell on some peculiar beauty that gave him pleasure, though seldom attempting to investigate the causes, and never did a day pass without his communing in spirit, and this too without the aid of forms or language, with the infinite source of all he saw, felt, and beheld. Thus constituted, in a moral sense, and of a steadiness that no danger could appall, or any crisis disturb, it is not surprising that the hunter felt a pleasure at looking on the scene he now beheld, that momentarily caused him to forget the object of his visit. This will more fully appear when we describe it. The canoe lay in front of a natural vista not only through the bushes that lined the shore, but of the trees also that afforded a clear view of the camp. It was by means of this same opening that the light had been first seen from the ark. In consequence of their recent change of ground, the Indians had not yet retired to their huts, but had been delayed by their preparations, which included lodging as well as food. A large fire had been made, as much to answer the purpose of tortures as for the use of their simple cookery. And at this precise moment it was blazing high and bright, having recently received a large supply of dried brush. The effect was to illuminate the arches of the forest, and to render the whole area occupied by the camp as light as if hundreds of tapers were burning. Most of the toil had ceased, and even the hungriest child had satisfied its appetite. In a word the time was that moment of relaxation and general indolence which is apt to succeed a hearty meal. And the labours of the day have ended. The hunters and the fishermen had been totally successful, and food that one great requisite of savage life being abundant, every other care appeared to have subsided in the sense of enjoyment dependent on this all-important fact. Dear Slayer saw at a glance that many of the warriors were absent. His acquaintance Riven Oak, however, was present, being seated in the foreground of a picture that Salvatore Rosa would have delighted to draw. His swarthy features illuminated as much by pleasure as by the torch-like flame, while he showed another of the tribe one of the elephants that had caused so much sensation among his people. A boy was looking over his shoulder, in dull curiosity, completing the group. More in the background, eight or ten warriors lay half recumbent on the ground, or sat with their backs reclining against trees, so many types of indolent repose. Their arms were near them all, sometimes leaning against the same trees as themselves, or relying across their bodies in careless preparation. But the group that most attracted the attention of Dear Slayer was that composed of the women and children. All the females appeared to be collected together, and almost as a matter of course their young were near them. The former laughed and chatted in their rebuked and quiet manner, though one who knew the habits of the people might have detected that everything was not going on in its usual train. Most of the young women seemed to be light-hearted enough, but one old hag was seated apart with a watchful, soured aspect which the hunter at once knew betokened that some duty of an unpleasant character had been assigned her by the chiefs. What that duty was he had no means of knowing, but he felt satisfied it must be in some measure connected with her own sex, the agent among the women generally being chosen for such offices and no other. As a matter of course Dear Slayer looked eagerly and anxiously for the form of hisst. She was nowhere visible though the light penetrated to considerable distances in all directions around the fire. Once or twice he started, as he thought he recognized her laugh, but his ears were deceived by the soft melody that is so common to the Indian female voice. At length the old woman spoke loud and angrily, and then he caught a glimpse of one or two dark figures in the background of trees, which turned as if obedient to the rebuke, and walked more within the circle of the light. A young warrior's form first came fairly into view, then followed by two youthful females, one of whom proved to be the Delaware girl. Dear Slayer now comprehended it all. Hisst was watched, possibly by her young companion, certainly by the old woman. The youth was probably some suitor of either her or her companion, but even his discretion was distrusted under the influence of his admiration. The known vicinity of those who might be supposed to be her friends, and the arrival of a strange red man on the lake had induced more than the usual care, and the girl had not been able to slip away from those who watched her in order to keep her appointment. Dear Slayer traced her uneasiness by her attempting once or twice to look up through the branches of the trees, as if endeavoring to get glimpses of the star she had herself named as the sign for meeting. All was vain, however, and after strolling about the camp a little longer and affected indifference the two girls quitted their male escort, and took seats among their own sex. As soon as this was done the old sentinel changed her place to one more agreeable to herself, a certain proof that she had hitherto been exclusively on watch. Dear Slayer now felt greatly at a loss how to proceed. He well knew that Chingach Kuk could never be persuaded to return to the ark without making some desperate effort for the recovery of his mistress, and his own generous feelings well disposed him to aid in such an undertaking. He thought he saw the signs of an intention among the females to retire for the night. And should he remain, and the fire continued to give out its light, he might discover the particular hut or arbor under which hissed reposed, a circumstance that would be of infinite use in their future proceedings. Should he remain, however, much longer where he was, there was great danger that the impatience of his friend would drive him into some active imprudence. At each instant, indeed, he expected to see the swarthy form of the Delaware appearing in the background, like the tiger prowling around the fold. Taking all things into consideration, therefore, he came to the conclusion that it would be better to rejoin his friend, and endeavor to temper his impetuosity by some of his own coolness and discretion. It required but a minute or two to put this plan in execution, the canoe returning to the strand some ten or fifteen minutes after it had left it. Contrary to his expectations, perhaps, Deerslayer found the Indian at his post, from which he had not stirred, fearful that his betrothed might arrive during his absence. A conference followed, in which Chingochuk was made acquainted with the state of things in the camp. When Hisst named the point as the place of meeting, it was with the expectation of making her escape from the old position, and of repairing to a spot that she expected to find without any occupants. But the sudden change of localities had disconcerted all her plans. A much greater degree of vigilance than had been previously required was now necessary, and the circumstance that an aged woman was on watch also denoted some special grounds of alarm. All these considerations, and many more that will readily suggest themselves to the reader, were briefly discussed before the young men came to any decision. The occasion, however, being one that required acts instead of words, the course to be pursued was soon chosen. Disposing of the canoe in such a manner that Hisst must see it, should she come to the place of meeting previously to their return, the young men looked to their arms and prepared to enter the wood. The whole projection into the lake contained about two acres of land, and the part that formed the point and on which the camp was placed did not compose a surface of more than half that size. It was principally covered with oaks, which, as is usual in the American forests, grew to a great height without throwing out a branch and then arched in a dense and rich foliage. Beneath, except the fringe of thick bushes along the shore, there was very little underbrush, though in consequence of their shape the trees were closer together than as common in regions where the axes been freely used, resembling tall, straight, rustic columns, upholding the usual canopy of leaves. The surface of the land was tolerably even, but it had a small rise near its center which divided it into a northern and southern half. On the latter the Hurons had built their fire, profiting by the formation to conceal it from their enemies, who, it will be remembered, were supposed to be in the castle, which bore northerly. A brook also came brawling down the sides of the adjacent hills, and found its way into the lake on the southern side of the point. It had cut for itself a deep passage through some of the higher portions of the ground, and in later days, when this spot has become subjected to the uses of civilization by its windings and shaded banks, it has become no mean accessory in contributing to the beauty of the place. This brook lay west of the encampment, and its waters found their way into the great reservoir of that region on the same side, and quite near to the spot shows him for the fire. All these peculiarities, so far as circumstances allowed, have been noted by Deer Slayer and explained to his friend. The reader will understand that the little rise in the ground that lay behind the Indian encampment greatly favored the secret advance of the two adventurers. It prevented the light of the fire diffusing itself on the ground directly in the rear, although the land fell away towards the water, so as to leave what might be termed the left or eastern flank of the position unprotected by this covering. We have said unprotected, though that is not properly the word, since the knoll behind the huts and the fire offered a cover for those who were now stealthily approaching, rather than any protection to the Indians. Deer Slayer did not break through the fringe of bushes immediately abreast of the canoe, which might have brought him too suddenly within the influence of the light, since the hillock did not extend to the water. But he followed the beach northerly until he got nearly on the opposite side of the tongue of land which brought him under the shelter of the low eclivity, and consequently more in the shadow. As soon as the friends emerged from the bushes they stopped to reconnoiter. The fire was still blazing behind the little ridge casting its light upward into the tops of the trees, causing an effect that was more pleasing than advantageous. Still the glare had its uses, for while the background was in obscurity, the foreground was in strong light, exposing the savages and concealing their foes. Profiting by the latter's circumstance, the young men advanced cautiously towards the ridge, Deer Slayer in front, for he insisted on this arrangement, lest the Delaware should be led by his feelings into some indiscretion. It required but a moment to reach the foot of the little ascent, and then commenced the most critical part of the enterprise. Moving with exceeding caution and trailing his rifle both to keep its barrel out of view and in readiness for service, the hunter put foot before foot until he got sufficiently high to overlook the summit, his own head being alone brought into the light. Chinggich Cook was at his side and both paused to take another close examination of the camp. In order, however, to protect themselves against any straggler in the rear, they placed their bodies against the trunk of an oak, standing on the side next to the fire. The view that Deer Slayer now obtained of the camp was exactly the reverse of that he had perceived from the water. The dim figures which he had formally discovered must have been on the summit of the ridge a few feet in advance of the spot where he was now posted, and a rounder were seated on Log's thirteen warriors, which accounted for all whom he had seen from the canoe. They were conversing with much earnestness among themselves, the image of the elephant passing from hand to hand. The first burst of savage wonder had abated, and the question now under discussion was the probable existence, the history, and the habits of so extraordinary an animal. We have not leisure to record the opinions of these rude men on a subject so consonant to their lives and experience. But little is hazarded in saying that they were quite as plausible and far more ingenious than half the conjectures that precede the demonstrations of science. However much they may have been at fault as to their conclusions and inferences, it is certain that they discussed the questions with a zealous and most undivided attention, for the time being all else was forgotten, and our adventurers could not have approached at a more fortunate instant. The females were collected near each other, much as Deer Slayer had last seen them, nearly in a line between the place where he now stood and the fire, the distance from the oak against which the young men leaned, and the warriors was about thirty yards, the women may have been half that number of yards nire. The latter, indeed, were so nearest to make the utmost circumspection as to motion and noise indispensable. Although they conversed in their low soft voices it was possible in the profound stillness of the woods even to catch passages of the discourse, and the light-hearted laugh that escaped the girls might occasionally have reached the canoe. Deer Slayer felt that the tremolo that passed through the frame of his friend, when the latter first caught the sweet sounds that issued from the plump, pretty lips of hissed. He even laid a hand on the shoulder of the Indian as a sort of admonition to command himself. As the conversation grew more earnest, each leaned forward to listen. The Hurons have more curious beasts than that, said one of the girls, contemptuously, for like the men they conversed of the elephant and his qualities. The Delawers will think this creature wonderful, but tomorrow no Huron tongue will talk of it. Our young men will find him if the animals dare to come near our wigwams. This was in fact addressed to Watawa, though she who spoke uttered the words with an assumed diffidence and humility that prevented her looking at the other. The Delawers are so far from letting such creatures come into their country, returned hissed, that no one has even seen their images there. Their young men would frighten away the images as well as the beasts. The Delawer young men, the nation is women, even the deer walk when they hear their hunters coming. Who has ever heard the name of a young Delawer warrior? This was said in good humor and with a laugh, but it was also said bitingly that hissed so felt it was apparent by the spirit betrayed in her answer. Who has ever heard the name of a young Delawer, she repeated earnestly? Tamanund himself. Though now as old as the pines on the hill or as the eagles in the air was once young, his name was heard from the great Salt Lake to the sweet waters of the West. What is the family of Unkas? Where is there another as great, though the palefaces have plowed up its greats and trodden on its bones? Do the eagles fly as high? Is the deer as swift or the panther as brave? Is there no young warrior of that race? Let the Huron maidens open their eyes wider, and they may see one called Chingachuk, who is as stately as a young ash, and as tough as the hickory. As the girl used her figurative language and told her companions to open their eyes and they would see the Delawer, dear Slayer thrust his fingers into the sides of his friend and indulged in a fit of his hearty benevolent laughter. The other smiled. But the language of the speaker was too flattering and the tones of her voice too sweet for him to be led away by any accidental coincidence. However ludicrous. The speech of his produced a retort, and the dispute, though conducted in good humor and without any of the coarse violence of tone and gesture that often impairs the charms of the sex in what is called civilized life, grew warm and slightly clamorous. In the midst of this scene the Delawer caused his friend to stoop, so as completely to conceal himself, and then he made a noise so closely resembling the little chirrup of the smallest species of the American squirrel. The dear Slayer himself, though he had heard the imitation a hundred times, actually thought it came from one of the little animals skipping about over his head. The sound is so familiar in the woods that none of the Hurons paid it the least attention. Hist, however, instantly ceased talking and sat motionless. Still she had sufficient self- command to abstain from turning her head. She had heard the signal by which her lover so often called her from the wigwam to the stolen interview, and it came over her senses and her heart as the serenade affects the maiden in the land of song. From that moment Chingoch Cook felt certain that his presence was known. This was affecting much, and he could now hope for a bolder line of conduct on the part of his mistress than she might dare to adopt under an uncertainty of his situation. It left no doubt of her endeavouring to aid him in his effort to release her. Dear Slayer arose as soon as the signal was given, and though he had never held that sweet communion which is known only to lovers, he was not slow to detect the great change that had come over the manner of the girl. She still affected to dispute, though it was no longer with spirit and ingenuity, but what she said was uttered more as allure to draw her antagonists on to an easy conquest than with any hopes of succeeding herself. Once or twice it is true her native readiness suggested a retort, or an argument that raised a laugh and gave her a momentary advantage. But these little sallies, the offspring of Mother Witt, served the better to conceal her real feelings, and to give to the triumph of the other party a more natural air than it might have possessed without them. At length the disputants became wearied, and they rose in a body as if about to separate. It was now that HIST, for the first time, ventured to turn her face in the direction whence the signal had come. In doing this her movements were natural but guarded, and she stretched her arm and yawned, as if overcome with a desire to sleep. The cheer up was again heard, and the girl felt satisfied as to the position of her lover, though the strong light in which she herself was placed, and the comparative darkness in which the adventurers stood prevented her from seeing their heads. The only portions of their forms that appeared above the ridge at all. The tree against which they were posted had a dark shadow cast upon it by the intervention of an enormous pine that grew between it and the fire, a circumstance which alone would have rendered objects within its cloud invisible at any distance. This dear slayer well knew, and it was one of the reasons why he had selected this particular tree. The moment was near when it became necessary for HIST to act. She was to sleep in a small hut, or bower, that had been built near where she stood, and her companion was the aged hag already mentioned. Once within the hut, with this sleepless old woman stretched across the entrance, as was her nightly practice, the hope of escape was nearly destroyed, and she might at any moment be summoned to her bed. Luckily at this instant one of the warriors called to the old woman by name, and bade her bring him water to drink. There was a delicious spring on the northern side of the point, and the hag took a gourd from a branch, and summoning HIST to her side she moved towards the summit of the ridge, intending to descend and cross the point to the natural fountain. All this was seen and understood by the adventurers, and they fell back into the obscurity concealing their persons by trees until the two females had passed them. In walking HIST was held tightly by the hand, as she moved by the tree that hid Chingach Cook and his friend the former felt for his tomahawk with the intention to bury it in the brain of the woman. But the other saw the hazard of such a measure, since a single scream might bring all the warriors upon them, and he was averse to the act on considerations of humanity. His hand therefore prevented the blow. Still, as the two moved past, the cherub was repeated, and the Huron woman stopped and faced the tree once the sounds seemed to proceed, standing at the moment within six feet of her enemies. She expressed her surprise that a squirrel should be in motion at so late an hour, and said it boated evil. HIST answered that she had heard the same squirrel three times within the last twenty minutes, and that she supposed it was waiting to obtain some of the crumbs left from the late supper. This explanation appeared satisfactory, and they moved towards the spring, the men following stealthily and closely. The gourd was filled, and the old woman was hurrying back, her hands still grasping the wrist of the girl, when she was suddenly seized so violently by the throat as to cause her to release her captive and to prevent her making any other sound than a sort of gurgling, suffocating noise. The serpent passed his arm around the waist of his mistress and dashed through the bushes with her on the north side of the point. Here he immediately turned along the beach and ran towards the canoe. A more direct course could have been taken, but it might have led to a discovery of the place of embarking. Dear Slayer kept playing on the throat of the old woman like the keys of an organ, occasionally allowing her to breathe, and then compressing his fingers again nearly to strangling. The brief intervals for breath, however, were well improved, and the hags succeeded in letting out a screech or two that served to alarm the camp. The tramp of the warriors, as they sprang from the fire, was plainly audible, and at the next moment three or four of them appeared on the top of the ridge, drawn against the background of light, resembling the dim shadows of the phantasma goria. It was now quite time for the hunter to retreat. Tripping up the heels of his captive and giving her throat a parting squeeze, quite as much in resentment at her indomitable efforts to sound the alarm as from any policy, he left her on her back and moved towards the bushes, his rifle at a poise, and his head over his shoulders like a lion at bay. END OF CHAPTER XVI