Reduced from an engraving 
 
EDITOR S PREFACE 
 
 James Fenimore Cooper was a brilliant story-teller and 
 a great writer, but he was also a tedious moralist and a 
 lover of detail. His novels, written in a period when six 
 or seven hundred pages were considered only a reasonable 
 allowance for an author, are to-day too longto attract young 
 readers, with whom his adventurous and exciting plots and 
 his Indian and pioneer characters should make him a 
 favorite. " The Deerslayer," the first of the Leatherstock- 
 ing Tales, has been abridged to about one half its original 
 length, in the hope that it may inspire enthusiasm for this 
 great American author among boys and girls. 
 
 The Leatherstocking Tales are Cooper s most distinctive 
 and original work. As Professor Bronson has well said, 
 " He was the creator of the novel of Indian adventure, and 
 his followers are not his rivals." His poetic instinct enabled 
 him not only to feel but to make his readers feel the won 
 derful romance of the American forest and of its Indian 
 inhabitant, who was being gradually driven back by the 
 relentless onward march of the white man. He saw the 
 charm of the pioneer spirit at its best, and brought it out 
 the more strongly by contrasting it with the selfish and 
 callous instinct for gain and for violence that sometimes 
 went with it. Most of all, he felt the harmony between the 
 characters of the forest dwellers and the wild, unpeopled 
 
 iii 
 
 207603 
 
iy THE DEERSLAYER 
 
 solitudes through which they roamed ; and the result for 
 his readers is a wonderful succession of nature descriptions. 
 
 Cooper s works can be improved rather than injured 
 by abridgment because he carried realism to an extreme. 
 In the present novel, for instance, he undertakes to carry 
 his seven characters through seven nights and seven days, 
 and never to lose sight of one for a moment. If one is 
 absent for a few minutes on some errand necessary for 
 the progress of the plot, he must, on his return, be placed 
 in a position where he can be informed by another of what 
 has occurred in his absence, and all the other five must 
 be occupied in some appropriate manner during the inter 
 val. This difficulty the editor has sought to obviate, and it 
 has been a pleasure to feel that as the work progressed 
 many lines of the picture which had been overlaid by a 
 mass of explanatory narrative stood out in more bold and 
 striking relief. To add to the usefulness of this volume 
 in the schools, the editor has made a study of the plot 
 from various points of view, which will be found, with 
 other matter, in the Appendix. 
 
 In one of their early editions Cooper s novels were 
 illustrated by Darley, who also illustrated, at about the 
 same time, Irving s " Sketch-Book " and Longfellow s 
 " Evangeline." We have been fortunate in being able 
 to obtain copies of these and other rare old engravings, 
 which are in such harmony with the spirit of the author. 
 
 M. F. L. 
 CAMBRIDGE, MASSACHUSETTS 
 
LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS 
 
 PAGE 
 
 PORTRAIT OF J. FENIMORE COOPER Frontispiece 
 
 By C. L. Elliott 
 
 THE DYING INDIAN 94 
 
 By F. O. C. Barley 
 
 THE OPENING OF THE CHEST 162 
 
 By F. O. C. Barley 
 
 THE BURIAL OF HETTY HUTTER 364 
 
 By J. Hamilton 
 
fi-i. 
 
 | cj , 
 THE DEERSLAYER/^^ 
 
 PART I. THE SURPRISE 
 
 7 
 
 CHAPTER I 
 
 The incidents of this tale occurred between the years 
 1740 and 1745, when the settled portions of the colony 
 of New York were confined to the four Atlantic counties, * 
 a narrow belt of country on each side of the Hudson, ex 
 tending from its mouth to the falls near its head, and to 
 a few advanced " neighborhoods " on the Mohawk and 
 the Schoharie. Broad belts of the virgin wilderness not 
 only reached the shores of the first river, but they even 
 crossed it, stretching away into New England, and afford 
 ing forest covers to the noiseless moccasin of the native 
 warrior, as he trod the secret and bloody warpath. A 
 bird s-eye view of the whole region of New York State, 
 west of the Hudson River, must then have offered one 
 vast expanse of woods, dotted by the glittering surfaces 
 of lakes, and intersected by the waving lines of rivers. 
 
 It was in such a vast solitude, where centuries of sum- ^L 
 mer suns had already warmed the tops of the noble oaks ^\ 
 and pines, that voices were heard calling to each other, 
 in the depths of a forest, of which the leafy surface lay 
 bathed in the brilliant light of a cloudless day in June, 
 while the trunks of the trees rose in gloomy grandeur in 
 
2 THE DEERSLAYER 
 
 the shades beneath. The calls were in different tones, evi 
 dently proceeding from two men who had lost their way, 
 and were searching in different directions for their path. 
 At length a shout proclaimed success, and presently a man 
 of gigantic mould broke out of the tangled labyrinth of a 
 small swamp, emerging into an opening that appeared to 
 have been formed partly by the ravages of the wind, and 
 partly by those of fire. This little area, which afforded a 
 good view of the sky, although it was pretty well filled 
 with dead trees, lay on the side of one of the high hills, 
 or low mountains, into which nearly the whole surface of 
 the adjacent country was broken. 
 
 " Here is room to breathe in ! " exclaimed the liberated 
 forester, as soon as he found himself under a clear sky, 
 shaking his huge frame like a mastiff that has just escaped 
 from a snowbank. " Hurrah, Deerslayer ! here is daylight 
 at last, and yonder is the lake." 
 
 These words were scarcely uttered when the second 
 forester dashed aside the bushes of the swamp, and ap 
 peared in the area. After making a hurried adjustment of 
 his arms and disordered dress, he joined his companion, 
 who had already begun his preparations for a halt. 
 
 11 Do you know this spot ? " demanded the one called 
 Deerslayer, "or do you shout at the sight of the sun ?" 
 
 " Both, lad, both ; I know the spot, and am not sorry 
 to see so useful a friend as the sun. Now we have got the 
 p ints of the compass in our minds once more, and twill 
 be our own faults if we let anything turn them topsy-turvy 
 ag in, as has just happened. My name is not Hurry Harry, 
 if this be not the very spot where the land-hunters camped 
 the last summer, and passed a week. See ! yonder are the 
 
THE SURPRISE 3 
 
 dead bushes of their bower, and here is the spring. Much 
 as I like the sun, boy, I ve no occasion for it to tell me 
 it is noon ; this stomach of mine is as good a timepiece 
 as is to be found in the colony, and it already p ints to 
 half-past twelve. So open the wallet, and let us wind up 
 for another six hours run." 
 
 At this suggestion, both set themselves about making 
 the preparations necessary for their usual frugal but hearty 
 meal. We will profit by this pause to give the reader some 
 idea of the appearance of the men, each of whom is des 
 tined to enact no insignificant part in our legend. It would 
 not have been easy to find a more noble specimen of vigor 
 ous manhood than was offered in the person of him who 
 called himself Hurry Harry. His real name was Henry 
 Mar^h ; but the frontiersmen having caught the practice 
 of giving sobriquets from the Indians, the appellation of 
 Hurry was far oftener applied to him, and not unfrequently 
 he was termed Hurry Skurry, a nickname he had obtained 
 from a dashing, reckless, offhand manner, and a physical 
 restlessness that kept him constantly on the move. His 
 stature exceeded six feet four, and being unusually well 
 proportioned, his strength fully realized the idea created 
 by his gigantic frame. His face was both good-humored 
 and handsome, and he had a bold, free air of independ 
 ence, that bordered on insolence. 
 
 Deerslayer, as Hurry called his companion, was a very 
 different person in appearance, as well as in character. In 
 stature he stood about six feet in his moccasins, but his 
 frame was comparatively light and slender, showing mus 
 cles, however, that promised unusual agility, if not unusual 
 strength. His face would have had little to recommend it 
 
4 THE DEERSLAYER 
 
 except youth, were it not for an expression that seldom 
 failed to win thq confidence of those with whom he came 
 in contact. This expression was simply that of guileless 
 truth, sustained by an earnestness of purpose, and a sin 
 cerity of feeling, that rendered it remarkable. 
 
 Both these frontier-men were still young, Hurry having 
 reached the age of six or eight and twenty, while Deer- 
 slayer was several years his junior. Their attire needs no 
 particular description, though it may be well to add that it 
 was composed in no small degree of dressed deerskins. 
 There was, notwithstanding, some attention to smartness 
 and the picturesque in the arrangements of Deerslayer s 
 dress, more particularly in the part connected with his arms 
 and accoutrements. His rifle was in perfect condition, the 
 handle of his hunting-knife was neatly carved, his powder- 
 horn was ornamented with suitable devices lightly cut into 
 the material, and his shot-pouch was decorated. with wam 
 pum. On the other hand, Hurry Harry wore everything 
 in a careless, slovenly manner, as if he felt a noble scorn 
 for the trifling accessories of dress and ornaments. 
 
 11 Come, Deerslayer, fall to, and prove that you have a 
 Delaware stomach, as you say you have had a Delaware 
 edication," cried Hurry, setting the example by opening 
 his mouth to receive a huge slice of cold venison steak ; 
 " fall to, lad, and prove your manhood on this poor devil 
 of a doe with your teeth, as you ve already done with 
 your rifle." 
 
 " Nay, nay, Hurry, there s little manhood in killing a 
 doe, and that too out of season," returned the other, dis 
 posing himself to comply. "The Delawares have given 
 me my name, not so much on account of a bold heart, as 
 
THE SURPRISE 5 
 
 on account of a quick eye and an active foot. There may 
 not be any cowardice in overcoming a deer, but sartain it 
 is there s no great valor." 
 
 " The Delawares themselves are no heroes," muttered 
 Hurry through his teeth, the mouth being too full to per 
 mit it to be fairly opened, " or they would never have 
 allowed them loping vagabonds, the Mingos, to make 
 them women." 
 
 " That matter is not rightly understood has never 
 been rightly explained," said Deerslayer earnestly; "the 
 Mingos fill the woods with their lies, and misconstruct 
 words and treaties. I have now lived ten years with the 
 Delawares, and know them to be as manful as any other 
 nation, when the proper time to strike comes." 
 
 " Harkee, Master Deerslayer, since we are on the sub 
 ject, we may as well open our minds to each other in a 
 man-to-man way ; answer me one question, you have had 
 so much luck among the game as to have gotten a title, it 
 would seem, but did you ever hit anything human or in 
 telligible ; did you ever pull trigger on an inimy that was 
 capable of pulling one upon you ? " 
 
 "To own the truth, I never did," answered Deerslayer 
 after a moment s hesitation ; " seeing that a fitting occa 
 sion never offered. The Delawares have been peaceable 
 since my sojourn with em, and I hold it to be onlaw- 
 ful to take the life of man, except in open and generous 
 warfare." 
 
 ^" What ! did you never find a fellow thieving among 
 your traps and skins, and do the law on him with your 
 own hands, by way of saving the magistrates trouble in 
 the settlements, and the rogue himself the cost of the suit ? " 
 
6 THE DEERSLAYER 
 
 "I am no trapper, Hurry," returned the young man 
 proudly ; "I live by the rifle, a we pon at which I will 
 not turn my back on any man of my years, atween the 
 Hudson and the St. Lawrence. I never offer a skin that 
 has not a hole in its head besides them which natur made 
 to see with or to breathe through." 
 
 Aye, aye, this is all very well, in the animal way, 
 though it makes but a poor figure alongside of scalps and 
 ambushes. Shooting an Indian from an ambush is acting 
 up to his own principles, and now we have what you call 
 a lawful war on our hands, the sooner you wipe that dis 
 grace off your character, the sounder will be your sleep ; 
 if it only come from knowing there is one inimy the less 
 prowling in the woods. I shall not frequent your society 
 long, friend Natty, unless you look higher than four-footed 
 beasts to practise your rifle on." 
 
 " Our journey is nearly ended, you say, Master March, 
 and we can part to-night, if you see occasion. I have a 
 fri nd waiting for me, who will think it no disgrace to 
 consort with a fellow-creatur that has never yet slain his 
 kind." 
 
 " I wish I knew what has brought that skulking Dela 
 ware into this part of the country so early in the season," 
 muttered Hurry to himself, in a way to show equally dis 
 trust and a recklessness of its betrayal. " Where did you 
 say the young chief was to give you the meeting ? " 
 
 " At a small round rock, near the foot of the lake, 
 where, they tell me, the tribes are given to resorting to 
 make their treaties, and to bury their hatchets. This rock 
 have I often heard the Delawares mention, though lake 
 and rock are equally strangers to me. The country is 
 
THE SURPRISE 7 
 
 claimed by both Mingos and Mohicans, and is a sort of 
 common territory to fish and hunt through, in time of 
 peace, though what it may become in war-time the Lord 
 only knows ! " 
 
 " Common territory ! " exclaimed Hurry, laughing aloud. 
 " I should like to know what T^W^ing Tr> m Hutt^r would 
 say to that ? He claims the lake as his own property, in 
 vartue of fifteen years possession ; and what Tom claims, 
 he 11 be very likely to maintain." 
 
 \^)By what I ve heard you say in years past, this Float 
 ing Tom must be an oncommon mortal. What s the 
 man s history and natur ? " 
 
 T Why, as to old Tom s human natur , it is not much 
 like other men s human natur , but more like a muskrat s 
 human natur , seeing that he takes more to the ways 
 of that animal than to the ways of any other fellow- 
 creatur . Some think he was a free liver on the salt 
 water, in his youth, and a companion of a sartain Kidd, 
 who was hanged for piracy, long afore you and I were 
 born, and that he came up into these regions, thinking 
 that the king s cruisers could never cross the moun 
 tains, and that he might enjoy the plunder peaceably 
 in the woods ; and he enjoys it, too, if plunder he 
 has really got, with his darters, in a very quiet and 
 comfortable way." 
 
 " Aye, he has darters, too ; I ve heard the Delawares, 
 who ve hunted this-a-way, tell their histories of these 
 young women. Is there no mother, Hurry ? " 
 
 " She has been dead these two good years, but it s 
 recommend enough to one woman to be the mother of 
 such a creatur as her darter, Judith Huttej ! " 
 
8 THE DEERSLAYER 
 
 "Aye, Judith was the name the Delawares mentioned, 
 though it was pronounced after a fashion of their own. 
 From their discourse, I do not think the girl would much 
 please my fancy." 
 
 " Thy fancy ! " exclaimed March, taking fire equally at 
 the indifference and at the presumption of his companion, 
 " what the devil have you to do with a fancy, and that, 
 too, consarning one like Judith ? You are but a boy a 
 sapling, that has scarce got root. Judith has had men 
 among her suitors ever since she was fifteen, which is 
 now near five years ; and will not be apt even to cast a 
 look upon a half -grown creatur like you ! " 
 
 "It is June, and there is not a cloud atween us and 
 the sun, Hurry, so all this heat is not wanted," answered 
 the other, altogether undisturbed; "any one may have a 
 fancy, and a squirrel has a right to make up his mind 
 touching a catamount." 
 
 " Aye, but it might not be wise, always, to let the cata 
 mount know it," growled March. " But you re young 
 and thoughtless, and I 11 overlook your ignorance. Come, 
 Deerslayer," he added, with a good-natured laugh, " we 
 are sworn fri nds, and will not quarrel about a light- 
 minded, jilting jade, just because she happens to be 
 handsome ; more especially *as you have never seen her. 
 Judith is only for a man whose teeth show the full 
 marks, and it s foolish to be afeard of a boy. What 
 did the Delawares say of the hussy ? for an Indian, ^ 
 after all, has his notions of woman-kind, as well as a 
 white man." 
 
 " They said she was fair to look on, and pleasant of 
 speech ; but over-given to admirers, and light-minded 
 
THE SURPRISE 9 
 
 " They are devils incarnate ! Now that s Judith s char 
 acter to a ribbon ! To own the truth to you, Deerslayer, I 
 should have married the gal two years since, if it had not 
 been for two particular things, one of which was this very 
 light-mindedness." 
 
 " And what may have been the other ? " demanded the 
 hunter, who continued to eat like one that took very little 
 interest in the subject. 
 
 " T other was an insartainty about her having me. 
 The hussy is handsome, and she knows it. Boy, not a 
 tree that is growing in these hills is straighter, or waves 
 in the wind with an easier bend, nor did you ever see the 
 doe that bounded with a more nat ral motion. But her 
 behavior has been such that sometimes I swear I 11 never 
 visit the .lake ag in." 
 
 " Which is the reason that you always come back ? " 
 
 " Ah, Deerslayer, if you know d all that I know con- 
 sarning Judith, you d find a justification for a little cussing. 
 Now, the officers sometimes stray over to the lake, from 
 the forts on the Mohawk, to fish and hunt, and then the 
 creatur seems beside herself ! You can see it in the man 
 ner in which she wears her finery, and the airs she gives 
 herself with the gallants." 
 
 " That is unseemly in a poor man s darter," returned 
 Deerslayer gravely, the officers are all gentry, and can 
 only look on such as Judith with evil intentions." 
 
 " There s the unsartainty, and the damper ! The clouds 
 that drive among these hills are not more unsartain. Not 
 a dozen white men have ever laid eyes upon her since she 
 was a child, and yet her airs, with two or three of these 
 officers, are extinguishers ! Could I bring my mind to be 
 
10 THE DEERSLAYER 
 
 easy about the officers, I would carry the gal off to the 
 Mohawk by force, make her marry me in spite of her 
 whiffling, and leave old Tom to the care of Hetty, his 
 other child, who, if she be not as handsome or as quick 
 witted as her sister, is much the more dutiful." 
 
 "Is there another bird in the same nest ? " asked Deer- 
 slayer. " The Delawares spoke to me only of one." 
 
 " That s nat ral enough, for while poor Hetty is comely, 
 she is at the best what I call on the varge of ignorance, 
 and sometimes she stumbles on one side of the line, and 
 sometimes on t other." 
 
 " Them are beings that the Lord has in his special 
 care," said Deerslayer solemnly; "for He looks carefully 
 to all who fall short of their proper share of reason. The 
 redskins honor and respect them who are so gifted, know 
 ing that the Evil Spirit delights more to dwell in an artful 
 body, than in one that has no cunning to work upon." 
 
 " I 11 answer for it, then, that he will not remain long 
 with poor Hetty. Yet old Tom has a feeling for the gal, 
 and so has Judith, quick-witted and glorious as she is 
 herself, and, harkee, Deerslayer, you know what the 
 hunters, and trappers, and peltry-men in general be ; and 
 their best friends will not deny that they are headstrong 
 and given to having their own way, without much bethink 
 ing em of other people s rights or feelin s, and yet I 
 don t think the man is to be found, in all this region, who 
 would harm Hetty Hutter, if he could ; no, not even a 
 redskin." 
 
 11 1 rejoice to hear it, fri nd Hurry, I rejoice to hear what 
 you say ; but as the sun is beginning to turn towards the 
 a ternoon s sky, had we not better strike the trail ag in, 
 
THE SURPRISE II 
 
 and make forward, that we may get an opportunity of 
 seeing these wonderful sisters ? " 
 
 Harry March giving a cheerful assent, the remnants of 
 the meal were soon collected ; then the travelers shouldered 
 their packs, resumed their arms, and, quitting the little area 
 of light, they again plunged into the deep shadows of the 
 forest. 
 
 CHAPTER II 
 
 
 
 Our two adventurers had not far to go. Hurry knew 
 the direction, as soon as he had found the open spot and 
 the spring, and he now led the way. The forest was dark, 
 but it was no longer obstructed by underbrush, and the 
 footing was firm and dry. After proceeding near a mile, 
 March stopped, and began to cast about him with an 
 inquiring look, examining the different objects with care, 
 and occasionally turning his eyes on the trunks of the 
 fallen trees, with which the ground was well sprinkled. 
 
 " This must be the place, Deerslayer," March at length 
 observed ; " here is a beech by the side of a hemlock, 
 with three pines at hand, and yonder is a white birch 
 with a broken top ; and yet I see no rock, nor any of the 
 branches bent down, as I told you would be the case." 
 
 " Broken branches are onskillful landmarks, as the least 
 exper enced know that branches don t often break of them 
 selves," returned the other; "and they also lead to sus 
 picion and discoveries. The Delawares never trust to 
 broken branches, unless it is in friendly times, and on an 
 open trail. As for the beeches, and pines, and hemlocks, 
 why, they are to be seen on all sides of us, not only by 
 twos and threes, but by forties and fifties and hundreds." 
 
12 THE DEERSLAYER 
 
 "Very true, Deerslayer, but you never calculate on 
 position. Here is a beech and a hemlock 
 
 "Yes, and there is another beech and a hemlock, as 
 loving as two brothers ; and yonder are others, for neither 
 tree is a rarity in these woods. I fear me, Hurry, you are 
 better at trapping beaver and shooting bears, than at lead 
 ing on a blindish sort of a trail. Ha ! there s what you 
 wish to find, a ter all ! " 
 
 " Now, Deerslayer, this is one of your Delaware pre 
 tensions, for hang me if I see anything but these trees, 
 which do seem to start up around us in a most onaccount- 
 able and perplexing manner." 
 
 " Look this-a-way, Hurry here, in a line with the 
 black oak don t you see the crooked sapling that is 
 hooked up in the branches of the bass-wood, near it ? 
 Now that sapling was once snow-ridden, and got the 
 bend by its weight ; but it never straightened itself, 
 and fastened itself in among the bass-wood branches 
 in the way you see. The hand of man did that act 
 of kindness for it." 
 
 " That hand was mine ! " exclaimed Hurry ; "I found 
 the slender young thing bent to the airth, like an unfor 
 tunate creatur borne down by misfortune, and stuck it up 
 where you see it. After all, Deerslayer, I must allow, 
 you re getting to have an oncommon good eye for the 
 woods ! " 
 
 1 T is improving, Hurry t is improving, I will ac 
 knowledge ; but t is only a child s eye, compared to some 
 I know. There s Tamenund, now, though a man so old 
 that few remember when he was in his prime, Tamenund 
 lets nothing escape his look, which is more like the scent 
 
THE SURPRISE 13 
 
 of a hound than the sight of an eye. Then Uncas, the 
 father of Chingachgook, and the lawful chief of the 
 Mohicans, is another that it is almost hopeless to pass 
 unseen." 
 
 " And who is this Chingachgook, of whom you talk so 
 much, Deerslayer?" asked Hurry, as he moved off in 
 the direction of the righted sapling ; "a loping redskin, 
 at the best, I make no question." 
 
 "Not so, Hurry, but the best of loping redskins, as you 
 call em. If he had his rights, he would be a great chief ; 
 but, as it is, he is only a brave and just-minded Delaware ; 
 respected, and even obeyed in some things, tis true, but 
 of a fallen race, and belonging to a fallen people. Ah ! 
 Harry March, twould warm the heart within you to sit 
 in their lodges of a winter s night, and listen to the tradi 
 tions of the ancient greatness and power of the Mohicans ! 
 But see ; this is the spot you come to find." 
 
 This remark cut short the discourse, and both the men 
 now gave all their attention to the object immediately 
 before them. Deerslayer pointed out to his companion 
 the trunk of a huge linden, or bass-wood, which had filled 
 its time, and fallen by its own weight. This tree, like so 
 many millions of its brethren, lay where it had fallen, and 
 was mouldering under the slow but certain influence of 
 the seasons. The decay, however, had attacked its centre, 
 even while it stood erect in the pride of vegetation, hol 
 lowing out its heart, as disease sometimes destroys the 
 vitals of animal life, even while a fair exterior is pre 
 sented to the observer. As the trunk lay stretched for 
 near a hundred feet along the earth, the quick eye of 
 the hunter detected this peculiarity, and, from this and 
 
14 THE DEERSLAYER 
 
 other circumstances, he knew it to be the tree of which 
 March was in search. 
 
 "Aye, here we have what we want," cried Hurry, look 
 ing in at the larger end of the linden ; " everything is as 
 snug as if it had been left in an old woman s cupboard. 
 Come, lend me a hand, Deerslayer, and we 11 be afloat in 
 half an hour." 
 
 Hurry removed some pieces of bark that lay before the 
 large opening in the tree, and the two then drew out a 
 bark canoe, containing seats, paddles, and other appliances, 
 even to fishing lines and rods. This vessel was by no 
 means small ; but such was its comparative lightness, and 
 so gigantic was the strength of Hurry, that the latter 
 shouldered it with seeming ease, declining all assistance, 
 even in the act of raising it to the awkward position in 
 which he was obliged to hold it. 
 
 " Lead ahead, Deerslayer," said March, "and open the 
 bushes ; the rest I can do for myself." 
 
 The other obeyed, and the men left the spot, Deer- 
 slayer clearing the way for his companion. In about ten 
 minutes they both broke suddenly into the brilliant light 
 of the sun, on a low gravelly point, that was washed by 
 water on quite half its outline. 
 
 An exclamation of surprise broke from the lips of 
 Deerslayer, an exclamation that was low and guardedly 
 made, however, for his habits were much more thought 
 ful and regulated than those of the reckless Hurry, when, 
 on reaching the margin of the lake, he beheld the view 
 that unexpectedly met his gaze. It was, in truth, suffi 
 ciently striking to merit a brief description. On a level 
 with the point lay a broad sheet of water, so placid and 
 
THE SURPRISE 15 
 
 limpid that it resembled a bed of the pure mountain 
 atmosphere, compressed into a setting of hills and woods. 
 Its length was about three leagues, while its breadth was 
 irregular, expanding to half a league, or even more, oppo 
 site to the point, and contracting to less than half that 
 distance, more to the southward. Of course, its margin 
 was irregular, being indented by bays, and broken by 
 many projecting, low points. At its northern, or nearest 
 end, it was bounded by an isolated mountain, lower land 
 falling off east and west, gracefully relieving the sweep of 
 the outline. Still the character of the country was moun 
 tainous ; high hills, or low mountains, rising abruptly from 
 the water, on quite nine tenths of its circuit; and even 
 beyond the parts of the shore that were comparatively low, 
 the background was high, though more distant. 
 
 But the most striking peculiarities of this scene were 
 its solemn solitude and sweet repose. On all sides, wher 
 ever the eye turned, nothing met it but the mirror-like 
 surface of the lake, the placid view of heaven, and the 
 dense setting of woods. So rich and fleecy were the out 
 lines of the forest, that scarce an opening could be seen, 
 the whole visible earth, from the rounded mountain-top to 
 the water s edge, presenting one unvaried hue of unbroken 
 verdure. As if vegetation -were not satisfied with a triumph 
 so complete, the trees overhung the lake itself ; and the 
 whole scene lay bathed in the sunlight, a glorious picture 
 of affluent forest grandeur, softened by the balminess of 
 June, and relieved by the beautiful variety afforded by the 
 presence of so broad an expanse of water. 
 
 " This is grand ! t is solemn ! tis an edication of 
 itself, to look upon ! " exclaimed Deerslayer, as he stood 
 
1 6 THE DEERSLAYER 
 
 leaning on his rifle, and gazed about ; not a tree dis- 
 , turbed even by redskin hand, as I can discover, but every 
 thing left in the ordering of the Lord, to live and die 
 \ according to his own designs and laws ! But what is this 
 I see off here, abreast of us, that seems too small for an 
 island, and too large for a boat, though it stands in the 
 midst of the water? " 
 
 "Why, that is what these gallanting gentry, from the 
 forts, call Muskrat Castle. T is old Tom s stationary 
 house, there being two ; this, which never moves, and 
 the other, that floats, being sometimes in one part of the 
 lake and sometimes in another. The last goes by the 
 name of the ark ; t is down south, no doubt, or anchored 
 in some of the bays. But the canoe is ready, and fifteen 
 minutes will carry two such paddles as yourn and mine 
 to the castle." 
 
 At this suggestion, Deerslayer helped his companion 
 to place the different articles in the canoe, which was 
 already afloat. This was no sooner done than the two 
 frontier-men embarked, and by a vigorous push sent the 
 light bark some eight or ten rods from the shore. Hurry 
 now took the seat in the stern, while Deerslayer placed 
 himself forward, and by leisurely but steady strokes of the 
 paddles, the canoe glided across the placid sheet, towards 
 the extraordinary-looking structure that the former had 
 styled Muskrat Castle. Several times the men ceased 
 paddling, and looked about them at the scene, as new 
 glimpses opened from behind points, enabling them to 
 see further down the lake, or to get broader views of the 
 wooded mountains. 
 
 "This is a sight to warm the heart!" exclaimed 
 
THE SURPRISE 17 
 
 Deerslayer, when they had thus stopped for the fourth 
 or fifth time; "the lake seems made to let us get an 
 insight into the noble forests ; and land and water alike 
 stand in the beauty of God s providence ! Right glad 
 am I that Chingachgook app inted our meeting on this 
 lake, for hitherto eye of mine never looked on such a 
 glorious spectacle." 
 
 " That s because you ve kept so much among the Dela- 
 wares, in whose country there are no lakes. Now, farther 
 north and farther west these bits of water abound ; and 
 you re young, and may yet live to see em." 
 
 " Have the governor s or the king s people given this 
 lake a name ? " asked Deerslayer suddenly, as if struck 
 with a new idea. " If they Ve not begun to blaze their 
 trees, and set up their compasses, and line off their maps, 
 it s likely they ve not bethought them to disturb natur 
 with a name." 
 
 " They ve not got to that, yet," replied Hurry, "though 
 the last time I went in with skins, one of the king s sur 
 veyors was questioning me consarning all the region 
 hereabouts." 
 
 " I m glad it has no name," resumed Deerslayer, " or, 
 at least, no paleface name ; for their christenings always 
 foretell waste and destruction. No doubt, hows ever, the 
 redskins have their modes of knowing it, and the hunters 
 and trappers, too ; they are likely to call the place by 
 something reasonable and resembling." 
 
 "As for the tribes," continued Hurry, "each has its 
 own tongue, and its own way of calling things ; and they 
 treat this part of the world just as they treat all others. 
 Among ourselves, we ve got to calling the place the 
 
1 8 THE DEERSLAYER 
 
 Glimmerglass, seeing that its whole basin is so often 
 fringed with pines, cast upward from its face ; as if it 
 would throw back the hills that hang over it." 
 
 " Aye, that is a good name," replied Deerslayer thought 
 fully. " Glimmerglass ! it has a pleasant sound to the ear. 
 I 11 warrant it was your fair Judith who thought of that 
 pretty conceit." 
 
 Both now pulled vigorously until they got within a hun 
 dred yards of the " castle." This singular edifice, which 
 had been facetiously named Muskrat Castle, stood in the 
 open lake, at a distance of fully a quarter of a mile from 
 the nearest shore. On every other side the water extended 
 much farther, the precise position being distant about two 
 miles from the northern end of the sheet, and nearly, if 
 not quite, a mile from its eastern shore. As there was not 
 the smallest appearance of any island, but the house stood 
 on piles with the water flowing beneath it, and Deerslayer 
 had already discovered that the lake was of a great depth, 
 he was fain to ask an explanation of this singular circum 
 stance. Hurry solved the difficulty by telling him that on 
 this spot alone, a long, narrow shoal, which extended for 
 a few hundred yards in a north and south direction, rose 
 within six or eight feet of the surface of the lake, and that 
 Hutter had driven piles into it, and placed his habitation 
 on them, for the purpose of security. 
 
 " The old fetov was burnt out three times, atween the 
 Indians and the hunters ; and in one affray with the red 
 skins he lost his only son, since which time he has taken 
 to the water for safety. No one can attack him here, 
 without coming in a boat, and the plunder and scalps 
 would scarce be worth the trouble of digging out canoes. 
 
THE SURPRISE 19 
 
 Then it s by no means sartain which would whip in such 
 a scrimmage, for old Tom is well supplied with arms and 
 ammunition, and the castle, as you may see, is a tight 
 breastwork agin light shot." 
 
 Deerslayer had some theoretical knowledge of frontier 
 warfare, and he saw that Hurry did not overrate the 
 strength of this position, since it would not be easy to 
 attack it without exposing the assailants to the fire of the 
 besieged. A good deal of art had also been manifested in 
 the disposition of the timber of which the building was 
 constructed and which afforded a protection much greater 
 than was usual to the ordinary log-cabins of the frontier. 
 The sides and ends were composed of the trunks of large 
 pines, cut about nine feet long, and placed upright, instead 
 of being laid horizontally, as was the practice of the coun 
 try. These logs were squared on three sides, and had 
 large tenons on each end. Massive sills were secured on 
 the heads of the piles, with suitable grooves dug out of 
 their upper surfaces, which had been squared for the pur 
 pose, and the lower tenons of the upright pieces were 
 placed in these grooves, giving them a secure fastening 
 below. Plates had been laid on the upper ends of the 
 upright logs, and were kept in their places by a similar 
 contrivance ; the several corners o f he structure being 
 well fastened by scarfing and pinning ch^ sills and plates. 
 The floors were made of smaller logs, similarly squared, 
 and the roof was composed of light poles, firmly united, 
 and well covered with bark. The effect of this ingenious 
 arrangement was to give its owner a house that could be 
 approached only by water, the sides of which were com 
 posed of logs closely wedged together, which were two 
 
20 THE DEERSLAYER 
 
 feet thick in their thinnest parts, and which could be 
 separated only by a deliberate and laborious use of human 
 hands, or by the slow operation of time. The outer sur 
 face of the building was rude and uneven, the logs being 
 of unequal sizes ; but the squared surfaces within gave 
 both the sides and floor as uniform an appearance as was 
 desired, either for use or show. The chimney was not the 
 least singular portion of the castle, as Hurry made his 
 companion observe, while he explained the process by 
 which it had been made. The material was a stiff clay, 
 properly worked, which had been put together in a mould 
 of sticks, and suffered to harden, a foot or two at a time, 
 commencing at the bottom. When the entire chimney 
 had thus been raised, and had been properly bound in 
 with outward props, a brisk fire was kindled, and kept 
 going until it was burned to something like a brick-red. 
 This had not been an easy operation, nor had it succeeded 
 entirely ; but by dint of filling the cracks with fresh clay, 
 a safe fireplace and chimney had been obtained in the 
 end. This part of the work stood on the log-floor, secured 
 beneath by an extra pile. 
 
 " Old Tom is full of contrivances," added Hurry, " and 
 he set his heart on the success of his chimney, which 
 threatened more than once to give out altogether ; but 
 parseverance will even overcome smoke ; and now he has 
 a comfortable cabin of it, though it did promise, at one 
 time, to be a chinky sort of a flue to carry flames and fire." 
 
 "You seem to know the whole history of the castle, 
 Hurry, chimney and sides," said Deerslayer, smiling; 
 " is love so overcoming that it causes a man to study 
 his sweetheart s habitation ? " 
 
THE SURPRISE 21 
 
 " Partly that, lad, and partly eyesight," returned the 
 good-natured giant, laughing. " I ought to know it, for I 
 raised no small part of the weight of them uprights with 
 my own shoulders. There was a large gang of us at the 
 lake the summer the old fellow built, and as we had often 
 eaten at his hearth, we thought we would just house him 
 comfortably, afore we went to Albany with our skins. 
 Yes, many is the meal I ve swallowed in Tom Hutter s 
 cabin : and good ones, too, for whatever their weaknesses 
 or follies, the girls have- a wonderful particular way about 
 a frying-pan or a gridiron ! " 
 
 While the parties were thus discoursing, the canoe had 
 been gradually drawing nearer, and was now so close as 
 to require but a single stroke of a paddle to reach the 
 landing. This was at a floored platform in front of the 
 entrance, that might have been some twenty feet square. 
 
 " Old Tom calls this sort of a wharf his dooryard," 
 observed Hurry, as he fastened the canoe, after he and 
 his companion had left it ; " and the gallants from the 
 forts have named it the castle court, though what a 
 1 court can have to do here is more than I can tell you, 
 seeing that there is no law. T is as I supposed ; not a 
 soul within, but the whole family is off on a v y ge of 
 discovery ! " 
 
 While Hurry was bustling about the " dooryard," ex- 
 am^ing the fishing-spears, rods, and nets, Deerslayer 
 enured the building. The interior, which was some 
 tw^ty feet by forty, was subdivided into several small 
 sleeping-rooms ; the apartment into which he first entered 
 serving equally for the ordinary uses of its inmates, and 
 for a kitchen. The furniture was of a strange mixture. 
 
22 THE DEERSLAYER 
 
 Most of it was rude, and to the last degree rustic ; but 
 there was a clock, with a handsome case of dark wood, in 
 a corner, and two or three chairs, with a table and bureau, 
 that had evidently come from some dwelling of more than 
 usual pretension. There was also a dark, massive chest. 
 The kitchen utensils were of the simplest kind, and far 
 from numerous, but every article was in its place, and 
 showed the nicest care in its condition. 
 
 After Deerslayer had cast a look about him in the outer 
 room, he raised a wooden latch, and entered a narrow 
 passage that divided the inner end of the house into two 
 equal parts. Frontier usages being no way scrupulous, the 
 young man now opened a door, and found himself in a 
 bedroom. A single glance sufficed to show that the apart 
 ment belonged to females. The bed was of the feathers 
 of wild geese, and rilled nearly to overflowing ; but it lay 
 in a rude bunk, raised only a foot from the floor. On one 
 side of it were arranged, on pegs, various dresses, of a 
 quality much superior to what one would expect to meet 
 in such a place, with ribbons and other similar articles to 
 correspond. Pretty shoes, with handsome silver buckles, 
 were not wanting ; and no less than six fans, of gay col 
 ors, were placed half open. Even the pillow, on this side 
 of the bed, was covered with finer linen than its compan 
 ion, and it was ornamented with a small ruffle. On the 
 opposite side of the bed everything was homely 
 viting, except through its perfect neatness. The 
 ments that were hanging from the pegs were of the coa/tsest 
 materials, while nothing seemed made for show. Deer- 
 slayer did not fail to note this distinction between the two 
 sides of the bed, and pondering on it in connection with 
 
THE SURPRISE 23 
 
 what he had heard of the characters of Hutter s two 
 daughters, he returned slowly and thoughtfully towards 
 the " dooryard," where Hurry Harry was still examining 
 the borderer s traps and fishing poles. 
 
 CHAPTER III 
 
 As soon as Hurry Harry had taken a sufficiently inti 
 mate survey of Floating Tom s implements, he summoned 
 his companion to the canoe, that they might go down the 
 lake in quest of the family. Previous to embarking, however, 
 he carefully examined the whole of the northern end of the 
 water with a ship s glass, that formed a part of Hutter s 
 effects. In this scrutiny no part of the shore was over 
 looked ; the bays and points in particular being subjected 
 to a closer inquiry than the rest of the wooded boundary. 
 
 1 T is as I thought," said Hurry, laying aside the glass, 
 "the old fellow is drifting about the south end this fine 
 weather, and has left the castle to defend itself. Well, now 
 we know that he is not up this-a-way, t will be but a small 
 matter to paddle down and hunt him up in his hiding-place." 
 
 " Does Master Hutter think it necessary to burrow on 
 this lake ? " inquired Deerslayer, stepping into the canoe ; 
 "to my eye it is such a solitude as one might open his 
 whole soul in, and fear no one to disarrange his thoughts 
 or his worship." 
 
 " You forget your friends, the Mingos, and all the 
 French savages. Is there a spot on arth, Deerslayer, to 
 which them disquiet rogues don t go ? Where is the lake, 
 that the blackguards don t find out ; and, having found out, 
 don t sooner or later discolor its water with blood ? " 
 
24 THE DEERSLAYER 
 
 " I hear no good character of them, sartainly, friend 
 Hurry, though I ve never been called on, as yet, to meet 
 them, or any other mortal, on the warpath. I dare to say 
 that such a lovely spot as this would not be likely to be 
 overlooked by such plunderers ; for though I ve not been 
 in the way of quarreling with them tribes myself, the 
 Delawares give me such an account of em that I ve 
 pretty much set em down, in my own mind, as thorough 
 miscreants." 
 
 " You may do that with a safe conscience, or, for that 
 matter, any other savage you may happen to meet." 
 
 Here Deerslayer protested, and as they went paddling 
 down the lake a hot discussion was maintained concerning 
 the respective merits of the palefaces and the redskins. 
 Hurry had all the prejudices and antipathies of a white 
 hunter, who generally regards the Indian as a sort of 
 natural competitor, and not unfrequently as a natural 
 enemy. As a matter of course, he was loud, clamorous, 
 dogmatical, and not very argumentative.! Deerslayer, on 
 the other hand, manifested a very different temper ; prov 
 ing, by the moderation of his language, the fairness of 
 his views, and the simplicity of his distinctions, that he 
 possessed every disposition to hear reason, and a strong, 
 innate desire to do justice,) Hurry followed up the discus 
 sion with such animatioii that, in his eagerness to prove 
 to his companion that Indians were not more than half 
 human and deserved little more consideration than the 
 wolves and deer with whom they shared the forests, he 
 would have forgotten the purpose of their quest, had not 
 Deerslayer interrupted his harangue with a remark in his 
 accustomed calm and even tones. " Ah, well ! tis useless 
 
talking, as each man will think for himself, and have his 
 say agreeable to his thoughts. Let us keep a good look 
 out for your friend Floating Tom, lest we pass him as he 
 lies hidden under this bushy shore." 
 
 Deerslayer had not named the borders of the lake 
 amiss. Along their whole length, the smaller trees over 
 hung the water, with their branches often dipping in the 
 transparent element. The banks were steep, even from 
 the narrow strand ; and the points and bays, too, were 
 sufficiently numerous to render the outline broken and 
 diversified. As the canoe kept close along the western 
 side of the lake, the expectations of the two adventurers 
 were kept constantly on the stretch, as neither could fore 
 tell what the next turning of a point might reveal. Their 
 progress was swift, the gigantic strength of Hurry enabling 
 him to play with the light bark as if it had been a feather, 
 while the skill of his companion almost equalized their 
 usefulness, notwithstanding the disparity in natural means. 
 
 Each time the canoe passed a point, Hurry turned a 
 look behind him, expecting to see the "ark" anchored, 
 or beached in the bay. He was fated to be disappointed, 
 however ; and they had got within a mile of the southern 
 end of the lake, or a distance of quite two leagues from 
 the "castle," which was now hidden from view by half a 
 dozen intervening projections of the land, when he sud 
 denly ceased paddling, as if uncertain in what direction 
 next to steer. 
 
 "It is possible that the old chap has dropped into the 
 river," said Hurry, after looking carefully along the whole 
 of the eastern shore, which was about a mile distant, and 
 open to hfs scrutiny for more than half its length ; "for 
 
26 THE DEERSLAYER 
 
 he has taken to trapping considerable, of late, and, barring 
 flood-wood, he might drop down it a mile or so ; though he 
 would have a most scratching time in getting back again ! " 
 
 " Where is this outlet ? " asked Deerslayer ; " I see no 
 opening in the banks or the trees that looks as if it would 
 let a river like the Susquehannah run through it." 
 
 " You don t see the outlet, because it passes atween 
 high, steep banks ; and the pines and hemlocks and bass- 
 woods hang over it, as a roof hangs over a house. If old 
 Tom is not in the Rat s Cove, he must have burrowed 
 in the river ; we 11 look for him first in the cove, and 
 then we 11 cross to the outlet." 
 
 As they proceeded, Hurry explained that there was a 
 shallow bay, formed by a long, low point, that had got the 
 name of the " Rat s Cove," from the circumstance of its 
 being a favorite haunt of the muskrat ; and which offered 
 so complete a cover for the " ark " that its owner was fond 
 of lying in it, whenever he found it convenient. 
 
 " As a man never knows who may be his visitors, in 
 this part of the country," said Hurry, " it s a great advan 
 tage to get a good look at em before they come too near. 
 Now it s war, such caution is more than commonly useful, 
 since a Canada man or a Mingo might get into his hut afore 
 he invited em. But Hutter is a first-rate lookouter, and 
 can pretty much scent danger, as a hound scents the deer. 
 But here is Rat s Cove," continued Hurry, as the canoe 
 glided round the extremity of the point, where the water 
 was so deep as actually to appear black : " and we shall 
 soon see the ark, for Tom loves to burrow up among the 
 rushes. We shall be in his nest in five minutes, although 
 the old fellow may be off among the traps himself." 
 
THE SURPRISE 27 
 
 If concealment were Mutter s purpose, Hurry might 
 well have felt almost certain of finding the ark in this bay, 
 since, anchored behind the trees that covered the narrow 
 strip of the point, it might have lain concealed from pry 
 ing eyes an entire summer. So complete, indeed, was the 
 cover, in this spot, that a boat hauled close to the beach, 
 within the point, and near the bottom of the bay, could by 
 possibility be seen from only one direction ; and that was 
 from a densely-wooded shore within the sweep of the 
 water, where strangers would be little apt to go. But he 
 proved a false prophet. The canoe completely doubled 
 the point, so as to enable the two travellers to command a 
 view of the whole cove or bay, for it was more properly 
 the last, and no object but those that nature had placed 
 there became visible. The placid water swept round in a 
 graceful curve, the rushes bent gently towards its surface, 
 and the trees overhung it as usual ; but all lay in the 
 soothing and sublime solitude of a wilderness. 
 
 The motion of the canoe had been attended with little 
 or no noise, the frontier-men habitually getting accustomed 
 to caution in most of their movements, and it now lay on 
 the glassy water appearing to float in air, partaking of the 
 breathing stillness that seemed to pervade the entire scene. 
 \ At this instant a dry stick was heard cracking on the nar 
 row strip of land that concealed the bay from the open 
 lake. Both the adventurers started, and each extended a 
 hand towards his rifle, the weapon never being out of 
 reach of the arm. 
 
 Twas too heavy for any light create , whispered 
 Hurry, "and it sounded like the tread of a man ! " 
 
 "Not so not so," returned Deerslayer ; " twas, as 
 
28 THE DEERSLAYER 
 
 you say, too heavy for one, but it was too light for the 
 other. Put your paddle in the water, and send the canoe 
 in, to that log ; I 11 land and cut off the creatur s retreat 
 up the p int, be it a Mingo, or be it only a muskrat." 
 
 As Hurry complied, Deerslayer was soon on the shore, 
 advancing into the thicket with a moccasined foot, and a 
 caution that prevented the least noise. In a minute he 
 was in the centre of the narrow strip of land, and moving 
 slowly down towards its end, the bushes rendering extreme 
 watchfulness necessary. Just as he reached the centre of 
 the thicket the dried twigs cracked again, and the noise 
 was repeated at short intervals, as if some creature having 
 life walked slowly towards the point. Hurry heard these 
 sounds also, and pushing the canoe off into the bay he 
 seized his rifle to watch the result. A breathless minute 
 succeeded after which a noble buck walked out of the 
 thicket, proceeded with a stately step to the sandy extrem 
 ity of the point, and began to slake his thirst from the 
 water of the lake. Hurry hesitated an instant ; then, rais 
 ing his rifle hastily to his shoulder, he took sight and 
 fired. The effect of this sudden interruption of the solemn 
 stillness of such a scene was not its least striking peculiar 
 ity. The report of the weapon had the usual sharp, short 
 sound of the rifle ; but when a few moments of silence 
 had succeeded the sudden crack, during which the noise 
 was floating in air across the water, it reached the rocks 
 of the opposite mountain, where the vibrations accumu 
 lated, and were rolled from cavity to cavity for miles 
 along the hills, seeming to awaken the sleeping thunders 
 of the woods. The buck merely shook his head at the 
 report of the rifle and the whistling of the bullet, for 
 
THE SURPRISE 29 
 
 never before had he come in contact with man ; but the 
 echoes of the hills awakened his distrust, and leaping for 
 ward, with his four legs drawn under his body, he fell at 
 once into deep water, and began to swim towards the foot 
 of the lake. .Hurry shouted and dashed forward in chase, 
 and for one or two minutes the water foamed around the 
 pursuer and the pursued. The former was dashing past 
 the point, when Deerslayer appeared on the sand, and 
 signed to him to return. 
 
 T was inconsiderate to pull a trigger afore we had 
 reconn itered the shore, and made sartain that no inimies 
 harbored near it," said the latter, as his companion slowly 
 and reluctantly complied. " This much I have 1 arned 
 from the Delawares, in the way of schooling and tradi 
 tions, even though I ve never yet been on a warpath. 
 And moreover, venison can hardly be called in season 
 now, and we do not want for food. They call me Deer- 
 slayer, I 11 own ; and perhaps I desarve the name, in the 
 way of understanding the creatur s habits, as well as for 
 sartainty in the aim ; but they can t accuse me of killing 
 an animal when there is no occasion for the meat or the 
 skin. I may be a slayer, it s true, but I m no slaughterer." 
 
 * T was an awful mistake to miss that buck ! " exclaimed 
 Hurry ; " I ve not done so onhandy a thing since I was 
 fifteen." 
 
 " Never lament it ; the creatur s death could have 
 done neither of us any good, and might have done us 
 harm. Them echoes are more awful in my ears than your 
 mistake, Hurry ; for they sound like the voice of natur 
 calling out agin a wasteful and onthinking action." 
 
 " You 11 hear plenty of such calls, if you tarry long 
 
30 THE DEERSLAYER 
 
 in this quarter of the world, lad," returned the other, 
 laughing. " The echoes repeat pretty much all that is 
 said or done on the Glimmerglass, in this calm summer 
 weather. If a paddle falls, you hear of it sometimes agin 
 and agin, as if the hills were mocking your clumsiness ; 
 and a laugh or a whistle comes out of them pines, when 
 they re in the humor to speak, in a way to make you 
 believe they can raally convarse." 
 
 " So much the more reason for being prudent and 
 silent. I do not think the inimy can have found their 
 way into these hills yet, for I don t know what they are 
 to gain by it ; but all the Delawares tell me that, as cour 
 age is a warrior s first vartue, so is prudence his second. 
 One such call, from the mountains, is enough to let a 
 whole tribe into the secret of our arrival." 
 
 " If it does no other good, it will warn old Tom to put 
 the pot over, and let him know visitors are at hand. 
 Come, lad ; get into the canoe, and we will hunt the 
 ark up while there is yet day." 
 
 Deerslayer complied, and the canoe left the spot. Its 
 head was turned diagonally across the lake, pointing 
 towards the southeastern curvature of the sheet. In that 
 direction the distance to the shore, or to the termination 
 of the lake, on the course the two were now steering, was 
 not quite a mile, and their progress being always swift, it 
 was fast lessening, under the skillful but easy sweeps of 
 the paddles. When about halfway across, a slight noise 
 drew the eyes of the men towards the nearest land, and 
 they saw that the buck was just emerging from the lake, 
 and wading towards the beach. In a minute the noble 
 animal shook the water from his flanks, gazed upwards at 
 
THE SURPRISE 31 
 
 the covering of trees, and, bounding against the bank, 
 plunged into the forest. 
 
 "That creatur goes off with gratitude in his heart," 
 said Deerslayer, " for natur tells him he has escaped a 
 great danger. You ought to have some of the same 
 feelin s, Hurry, to think your eye wasn t truer that 
 your hand was onsteady, when no good could come of 
 a shot that was intended onmeaningly, rather than in 
 reason." 
 
 " I deny the eye and the hand," cried March, with 
 some heat. " You ve got a little character, down among 
 the Delawares, there, for quickness and sartainty at a 
 deer ; but I should like to see you behind one of them 
 pines, and a full-painted Mingo behind another, each with 
 a cocked rifle and a-striving for the chance ! Them s the 
 situations, Nathaniel, to try the sight and the hand, for 
 they begin with trying the narves. I never look upon 
 killing a creatur as an explite ; but killing a savage is. 
 The time will come to try your hand, now we Ve got to 
 blows agin, and we shall soon know what a ven son repu 
 tation can do in the field. I deny that either hand or eye 
 was onsteady ; it was all a miscalculation of the buck, 
 which stood still when he ought to have kept in motion, 
 and so I shot ahead of him/ 
 
 " Have it your own way, Hurry ; all I contend for is, 
 that it s lucky. I dare say I shall not pull upon a human 
 mortal as steadily, or with as light a heart, as I pull upon 
 a deer." 
 
 " Who s talking of mortals, or of human beings at all, 
 Deerslayer ? I put the matter to you on the supposition 
 of an Injin. I dare say any man would have his feelin s 
 
32 THE DEERSLAYER 
 
 when it got to be life or death, agin another human 
 mortal ; but there would be no such scruples in regard to 
 an Injin ; nothing but the chance of his hitting you, or 
 the chance of your hitting him." 
 
 " I look upon the red-men to be quite as human as we 
 are ourselves, Hurry. They have their gifts, and their 
 religion, it s true ; but that makes no difference in the 
 end." 
 
 " Now look here, Deerslayer," cried Hurry, excitedly, 
 " you re a boy, and misled and misconsaited by Delaware 
 arts, and missionary ignorance. But this is what I call 
 reason. Here s three colors on arth : white, black, and 
 red. White is the highest color, and therefore the best 
 man ; black comes next, and is put to live in the neigh 
 borhood of the white man, as tolerable, and fit to be made 
 1 use of ; and red comes last, which shows that those that 
 I made em never expected an Indian to be accounted as 
 more than half human." 
 
 " God made us all, white, black, and red ; that I 11 
 gladly admit, and, no doubt, had his own wise intentions 
 in coloring us differently. Still I do say He made us all 
 men, and, in the main, much the same in feelin s ; though 
 I 11 not deny that He gave each race its gifts. A white 
 man s gifts are Christianized, while a redskin s are more 
 for the wilderness. Thus, it would be a great offense for 
 a white man to scalp the dead ; whereas it s a signal var- 
 tue in an Indian." 
 
 " That depends on your inimy. As for scalping, or 
 even skinning a savage, I look upon them pretty much 
 the same as cutting off the ears of wolves for the bounty, 
 or stripping a bear of its hide. And then you re out 
 
THE SURPRISE 33 
 
 significantly, as to taking the poll of a redskin in hand, 
 seeing that the very colony has offered a bounty for the 
 job ; all the same as it pays for wolves ears and crows 
 heads." 
 
 ." Aye, and a bad business it is, Hurry. Even the In 
 dians themselves cry shame on it, seeing it s agin a white 
 man s gifts. I do not pretend that all that white men do] 
 is properly Christianized, and" according to the lights given 
 "iHernTfor then they would be what they ought to be, which 
 we know they are_HQti.j3ut I will maintain that tradition, 
 ancTuse, and color, and laws, make such a difference in 
 races as to amount to gifts. In a state of lawful warfare, 
 such as we have lately got into, it is a duty to keep down 
 all compassionate feelin s, so far as life goes, agin either ; 
 but when it comes to scalps, it s a very different matter." 
 
 " just hearken to reason, if you please, Deerslayer, and 
 tell me if the colony can make an onlawful law ? A law 
 can no more be onlawful, than truth can be a lie." 
 
 " That sounds reasonable ; but it has a most onreason- 
 able bearing, Hurry. Laws don t all come from the same 
 quarter. God has given us his n, and some come frorri 
 the colony, and others come from the king and parlia- 
 jnent. When the colony s laws, pr even the king s laws, 
 run agin the laws of God, they get to be onlawful, and 
 ought not to be obeyed. I hold to a white man s respect 
 ing white laws, so long as they do not cross the track of a 
 law coming from a higher authority ; and for a red-man to 
 obey his own redskin usages, under the same privileges. 
 But when it comes to a white man s taking redskin usages, 
 I say he don t understand his own gifts. And in the end 
 each will be judged according to his deeds and his gifts." 
 
34 THE DEERSLAYER 
 
 " You may do as you please, and you may account your 
 self as a redskin s brother if you like ; but / hold em all to 
 be animals ; with nothing human about em but cunning. 
 That they have, I 11 allow ; but so has a fox, or even a 
 bear. I m older than you, and have lived longer in the 
 woods or, for that matter, have lived always there, and 
 am not to be told what an Injin is or what he is not." 
 
 Deerslayer too well knew the uselessness of attempting 
 to convince such a being of anything against his preju 
 dices, to feel a desire to undertake the task ; and he was 
 not sorry when the approach of the canoe to the south 
 eastern curve of the lake gave a new direction to his ideas. 
 They were now, indeed, quite near the place that March 
 had pointed out for the position of the outlet, and both 
 began to look for it with a curiosity that was increased by 
 the expectation of finding the ark. 
 
 It may strike the reader as a little singular, that the 
 place where a stream of any size passed through banks 
 that had an elevation of some twenty feet should be a 
 matter of doubt with men who could not now have been 
 more than two hundred yards distant from the precise 
 spot. It will be recollected, however, that the trees and 
 bushes here, as elsewhere, fairly overhung the water, mak 
 ing such a fringe to the lake as to conceal any little varia 
 tions from its general outline. 
 
 " I ve not been down at this end of the lake these two 
 summers," said Hurry, standing up in the canoe, the 
 better to look about him. " Aye, there s the rock, showing 
 its chin above the water, and I know that the river begins 
 in its neighborhood." 
 
 The men now plied the paddles again, and they were 
 
THE SURPRISE 35 
 
 presently within a few yards of the rock, floating towards 
 it, though their efforts were suspended. This rock was 
 not large, being merely some five or six feet high, only 
 half of which elevation rose above the lake. The incessant 
 washing of the water for centuries had so rounded its 
 summit, that it resembled a large beehive in shape, its 
 form being more than usually regular and even. Hurry 
 remarked, as they floated slowly past, that, this rock was 
 well known to all the Indians in that part of the country, 
 and that they were in the practice of using it as a mark 
 to designate the place of meeting, when separated by their 
 hunts and marches. 
 
 "And here is the river, Deerslayer," he continued, 
 "though so shut in by trees and bushes as to look more 
 like an ambush than the outlet of such a sheet as the 
 Glimmerglass." 
 
 Hurry had not badly described the place, which did 
 truly seem to be a stream lying in ambush.. The high 
 banks might have been a hundred feet asunder ; but, on 
 the western side, a small bit of low land extended so far 
 forward as to diminish the breadth of the stream to half 
 that width. As the bushes hung in the water beneath, 
 and pines that had the stature of church-steeples rose in 
 tall columns above, all inclining towards the light until 
 their branches intermingled, the eye, at a little distance, 
 could not easily detect any opening in the shore, to mark 
 the egress of the water. In the forest above, no traces of 
 this outlet were to be seen from the lake, the whole pre 
 senting the same connected and seemingly interminable 
 carpet of leaves. As the canoe slowly advanced, sucked 
 in by the current, it entered beneath an arch of trees, 
 
36 THE DEERSLAYER 
 
 through which the light from the heavens struggled by 
 casual openings, faintly relieving the gloom beneath. 
 
 "This is a nat ral ambush," half whispered Hurry, as 
 if he felt that the place was devoted to secrecy and watch 
 fulness ; " depend on it, old Tom has burrowed with the 
 ark somewhere in this quarter. We will drop down with 
 the current a short distance, and ferret him out." 
 
 " This seems no place for a vessel of any size," returned 
 the other ; "it appears to me that we shall have hardly 
 room enough for the canoe." 
 
 Hurry laughed at the suggestion, and, as it soon ap 
 peared, with reason ; for the fringe of bushes immediately 
 on the shore of the lake was no sooner passed, than the 
 adventurers found themselves in a narrow stream, of a 
 sufficient depth of limpid water, with a strong current, 
 and a canopy of leaves upheld by arches composed of the 
 limbs of hoary trees. Bushes lined the shores, as usual, 
 but they left sufficient space between them to admit -the 
 passage of anything that did not exceed twenty feet in 
 width, and to allow of a perspective ahead of eight or ten 
 times that distance. 
 
 Neither of our two adventurers used his paddle, except 
 to keep the light bark in the centre of the current, but 
 both watched each turning of the stream, of which there 
 were two or three within the first hundred yards, with 
 jealous vigilance. Turn after turn, however, was passed, 
 and the canoe had dropped down with the current some 
 little distance, when Hurry caught a bush, and arrested 
 its movement so suddenly and silently as to denote some 
 unusual motive for the act. Deerslayer laid his hand on 
 the stock of his rifle as soon as he noted this proceeding, 
 
THE SURPRISE 37 
 
 but it was quite as much with a hunter s habit as from 
 any feeling of alarm. 
 
 " There the old fellow is ! " whispered Hurry, pointing 
 with a finger, and laughing heartily, though he carefully 
 avoided making a noise, " ratting it away, just as I sup 
 posed ; up to his knees in the mud and water, looking to 
 the traps and the bait. But for the life of me I can see 
 nothing of the ark ; though I 11 bet every skin I take this 
 season, Jude isn t trusting her pretty little feet in the 
 neighborhood of that black mud. The gal s more likely 
 to be braiding her hair by the side of some spring, where 
 she can see her own good looks, and collect scornful feel 
 ings agin us men." 
 
 "You overjudge young women yes, you do, Hurry 
 who as often bethink them of their failings as they do 
 of their perfections. I dare to say this Judith, now, is no 
 such admirer of herself, and no such scorner of our sex 
 as you seem to think ; and that she is quite as likely to 
 be sarving her father in the house, wherever that may be, 
 as he is to be sarving her among the traps." 
 
 " It s a pleasure to hear truth from a man s tongue, if 
 it be only once in a girl s life," cried a pleasant, rich, and 
 yet soft female voice, so near the canoe as to make both 
 the listeners start. "As for you, Master Hurry, fair words 
 are so apt to choke you, that I no longer expect to hear 
 them from your mouth ; the last you uttered sticking in 
 your throat, and coming near to death. But I m glad to 
 see you keep better society than formerly, and that they 
 who know how to esteem and treat women are not ashamed 
 to journey in your company." 
 
 As this was said, a singularly handsome and youthful 
 
38 THE DEERSLAYER 
 
 female face was thrust through an opening in the leaves, 
 within reach of Deerslayer s paddle. Its owner smiled gra 
 ciously on the young man ; and the frown that she cast 
 on Hurry, though simulated and pettish, had the effect to 
 render her beauty more striking, by exhibiting the play 
 of an expressive but capricious countenance, one that 
 seemed to change from the soft to the severe, the mirthful 
 to the reproving, with facility and indifference. 
 
 A second look explained the nature of the surprise. 
 Unwittingly, the men had dropped alongside of the ark, 
 which had been purposely concealed in bushes cut and 
 arranged for the purpose ; and Judith Hutter had merely 
 pushed aside the leaves that lay before a window, in order 
 to show her face, and speak to them. 
 
 CHAPTER IV 
 
 The ark, as the floating habitation of the Hutters was 
 generally called, was a very simple contrivance. A large 
 flat, or scow, composed the buoyant part of the vessel ; 
 and in its centre, occupying the whole of its breadth and 
 about two thirds of its length, stood a low fabric, resem 
 bling the castle in construction, though made of materials 
 so light as barely to be bullet-proof. As the sides of the 
 scow were a little higher than usual, and the interior of 
 the cabin had no more elevation than was necessary for 
 comfort, this unusual addition had neither a very clumsy 
 nor a very obtrusive appearance. It was, in short, little 
 more than a modern canal-boat, though more rudely con 
 structed, of greater breadth than common, and bearing 
 about it the signs of the wilderness, in its bark-covered 
 
THE SURPRISE 39 
 
 posts and roof. The scow, however, had been put to 
 gether with some skill, being comparatively light for its 
 strength, and sufficiently manageable. The cabin was 
 divided into two apartments, one of which served for a 
 parlor, and the sleeping-room of the father, and the other 
 was appropriated to the uses of the daughters. A very 
 simple arrangement sufficed for the kitchen, which was 
 in one end of the scow, and removed from the cabin, 
 standing in the open air ; the ark being altogether a 
 summer habitation. 
 
 As soon as the canoe could be got round to the proper 
 opening, Hurry leaped on board, and in a minute was 
 closely engaged in a gay discourse with Judith, apparently 
 forgetful of the existence of all the rest of the world. 
 Meanwhile Deerslayer entered the ark with a slow step, 
 examining every arrangement with curious and scrutiniz 
 ing eyes. Step by step did he look into the construction 
 of this singular abode, and more than once his commen 
 dation escaped him in audible comments. The course of 
 his investigation brought him erelong to the end of the 
 scow opposite to that where he had left Hurry and Judith. 
 Here he found the other sister, employed on some coarse 
 needlework, seated beneath the leafy canopy of the cover. 
 
 Deerslayer had gathered from Hurry s remarks that 
 Hetty was considered to have less intellect than ordinarily 
 falls to the share of human beings ; and his education 
 among Indians had taught him to treat those who were 
 thus afflicted by Providence with more than common 
 tenderness. Nor was there anything in Hetty Hutter s 
 appearance, as so often happens, to weaken the interest 
 her situation excited. An idiot she could not properly be 
 
40 THE DEERSLAYER 
 
 termed, her mind being just enough enfeebled to lose 
 most of those traits that are connected with the more art 
 ful qualities, and to retain its ingenuousness and love of 
 truth. It had often been remarked of this girl, by the few 
 who had seen her and who possessed sufficient knowledge 
 to discriminate, that her perception of the right seemed 
 almost intuitive, while her aversion to the wrong formed so 
 distinctive a feature of her mind as to surround her with 
 an atmosphere of pure morality ; peculiarities that are not 
 unfrequent with persons who are termed feeble-minded ; as 
 if God had forbidden the evil spirits to invade a precinct so 
 defenseless, with the benign purpose of extending a direct 
 protection to those who had been left without the usual 
 aids of humanity. Her person, too, was agreeable, having 
 a strong resemblance to that of her sister, of which it was 
 a subdued and humble copy. If it had none of the bril 
 liancy of Judith s, the calm, quiet, almost holy expression 
 of her meek countenance seldom failed to win on the ob 
 server ; and few noted it long that did not begin to feel 
 a deep and lasting interest in the girl. 
 
 "You are Hetty Hutter," said Deerslayer gently. 
 " Hurry Harry has told me of you." 
 
 "Yes, I m Hetty Hutter," returned the girl, in a low, 
 sweet voice, "Judith Hutter s sister, and Thomas Hutter s 
 youngest daughter. What s your name ? " 
 
 ," That s a question more easily asked than it is an 
 swered, young woman ; seeing that I m so young, and 
 yet have borne more names than some of the greatest 
 chiefs in all America." 
 
 " But you ve got a name you don t throw away one 
 name before you come honestly by another ? " 
 
THE SURPRISE 41 
 
 " I hope not, gal I hope not. My names have come- 
 nat rally ; and I suppose the one I bear now will be of no 
 great lasting, since the Delawares seldom settle on a man s 
 raal title, until such time as he has an opportunity of show 
 ing his true natur , in the council or on the warpath ; 
 which has never behappened me ; seeing, firstly, because 
 I m not born a redskin, and have no right to sit in their 
 councilings, and am much too humble to be called on for 
 opinions from the great of my own color ; and, secondly, 
 because this is the first war that has befallen in my time, 
 and no inimy has yet inroaded far enough into the colony 
 to be reached by an arm even longer than mine." 
 
 " Tell me all your names," added Hetty, looking up at 
 him artlessly, " and, maybe, I 11 tell you your character." 
 
 " There is some truth in that, I 11 not deny, though it 
 often fails. Well, I ve no objection, and you shall hear 
 them all. In the first place, then, I m Christian, and 
 white-born, like yourself, and my parents had a name that 
 came down from father to son, as is a part of their gifts. 
 My father was called Bumppo ; and I was named after 
 him, of course, the given name being Nathaniel, or Natty, 
 as most people saw fit to tarm it." 
 
 "Yes, yes Natty and Hetty" interrupted the 
 girl quickly, and looking up from her work again, with 
 a smile: "you are Natty, and I m Hetty though you 
 are Bumppo, and I m Hutter. Bumppo is n t as pretty 
 as Hutter, is it ? " 
 
 "Why, that s as people fancy. Bumppo has no lofty 
 sound, I admit ; and yet men have bumped through the 
 world with it. I did not go by this name, hows ever, very 
 long ; for the Delawares soon found out, or thought they 
 
42 THE DEERSLAYER 
 
 found out, that I was not given to lying, and they called 
 me, firstly, "Straight- tongue." 
 
 " That s ajwdfname," interrupted Hetty, earnestly, and 
 in a positive manner ; " don t tell me there s no virtue 
 in names ! " 
 
 " I do not say that, for perhaps I desarved to be so 
 called, lies being no favorites with me, as they are with 
 some. After a while they found out that I was quick, of 
 foot, and then they called me The Pigeon ; which, you 
 know, has a swift wing, and flies in a direct line." 
 
 "That was a pretty name!" exclaimed Hetty; "pi 
 geons are pretty birds ! " 
 
 11 Then from carrying messages, and striking blind 
 trails, I got at last to following the hunters, when it was 
 thought I was quicker and surer at finding the game than 
 most lads, and then they called me the Lap-ear ; as, they 
 said, I partook of the sagacity of a hound." 
 
 " That s not so pretty," answered Hetty ; " I hope you 
 did n t keep that name long." 
 
 " Not after I was rich enough to buy a rifle," returned 
 the other, betraying a little pride through his usually quiet 
 and subdued manner ; " then it was seen I could keep a 
 wigwam in ven son ; and in time I got the name of Deer- 
 slayer, which is that I now bear ; homely as some will 
 think it, who set more valie on the scalp of a fellow-mortal 
 than on the horns of a buck." 
 
 "Well, Deerslayer, I m not one of them," answered 
 Hetty, simply; "Judith likes soldiers, and flary coats, 
 and fine feathers ; but they make me shudder, for their 
 business is to kill their- fellow-creatures. I like your calling 
 better ; and your last name is a very good one." 
 
THE SURPRISE 43 
 
 An interruption was put to this conversation by the sud 
 den appearance of the canoe of the ark s owner. H utter s 
 reception of Hurry Harry was such as to denote pleasure, 
 mingled with a little disappointment at his not having 
 made his appearance some days sooner. 
 
 " I looked for you last week," he said, in a half-grum 
 bling, half- welcoming manner ; "and was disappointed un 
 commonly that you did n t arrive. There came a runner 
 through, to warn all the trappers and hunters that the 
 colony and the Canadas were again in trouble ; and I felt 
 lonesome, up in these mountains, with three scalps to see 
 to, and only one pair of hands to protect them." 
 
 "That s reasonable," returned March; "and twas 
 feeling like a parent. No doubt, if I had two such dar 
 ters as Judith and Hetty, my exper ence would tell the 
 same story, though in gin ral I am just as well satisfied 
 with having the nearest neighbor fifty miles off, as when 
 he is within call." 
 
 " Notwithstanding, you did n t choose to come into the 
 wilderness alone, now you knew that the Canada savages 
 are likely to be stirring," returned Hutter, giving a sort 
 of distrustful, and at the same time inquiring glance at 
 Deerslayer. 
 
 " Why should I ? They say a bad companion, on a 
 journey, helps to shorten the path ; and this young man 
 I account to be a reasonably good one. This is Deer- 
 slayer, old Tom, a noted hunter among the Delawares, 
 Christian-born, and Christian-edicated, too. Should we 
 have occasion to defend our traps, and the territory, he 11 
 be useful in feeding us all ; for he s a reg lar dealer 
 in ven son." 
 
44 THE DEERSLAYER 
 
 "Young man, you are welcome," growled Tom, thrust 
 ing a hard, bony hand towards the youth, as a pledge of 
 his sincerity ; "in such times, a white face is a friend s, 
 and I count on you as a support. Children sometimes 
 make a stout heart feeble, and these two daughters^ of 
 mine give me more concern than all my traps, and skins, 
 and rights in the country." 
 
 "That s nat ral ! " cried Hurry. "Yes, Deerslayer, 
 you and I don t know it yet by experience ; but, on the 
 whole, I consider that as nat ral. If we had darters, 
 it s more than probable we should have some such feel- 
 in s, and I honor the man that owns em. As for Ju 
 dith, old man, I enlist at once as her soldier, and here is 
 Deerslayer to help you to take care of Hetty." 
 
 " Many thanks to you, Master March," returned the 
 beauty, in a full, rich voice, "many thanks to you; but 
 Judith H utter has the spirit and the experience that will 
 make her depend more on herself than on good-looking 
 rovers like you. Should there be need to face the sav 
 ages, do you land with my father, instead of burrowing 
 in the huts, under the show of defending us females, 
 and" 
 
 "Girl girl," interrupted the father, "quiet that glib 
 tongue of thine, and hear the truth. There are savages 
 on the lake shore already, and no man can say how near 
 to us they may be at this very moment, or when we may 
 hear more from them ! " 
 
 " If this be true, Master Hutter," said Hurry, whose 
 change of countenance denoted how serious he deemed the 
 information, "your ark is in a most misfortunate position, 
 for, though the cover did deceive Deerslayer and myself, 
 
THE SURPRISE 45 
 
 it would hardly be overlooked by a full-blooded Injin, 
 who was out seriously in s arch of scalps!" 
 
 " I think as you do, Hurry, and wish, with all my 
 heart, we lay anywhere else, at this moment, than in this 
 narrow, crooked stream, which has many advantages to 
 hide in, but which is almost fatal to them that are dis 
 covered. The savages are near us, moreover, and the 
 difficulty is, to get out of the river without being shot 
 down like deer standing at a lick!" 
 
 " Are you sartain, Master Hutter, that the redskins you 
 dread are,raal Canadas ? " asked Deerslayer, in a modest 
 but earnest manner. " Have you seen any, and can you 
 describe their paint ? " 
 
 " I have fallen in with the signs of their being in the 
 neighborhood, but have seen none of em. I was down 
 stream a mile or so, looking to my traps, when I struck 
 a fresh trail, crossing the corner of a swamp, and moving 
 northward. The man had not passed an hour ; and I 
 know d it for an Indian footstep, by the size of the foot, 
 and the intoe, even before I found a worn moccasin, 
 which its owner had dropped as useless. For that matter, 
 I found the spot where he halted to make a new one, 
 which was only a few yards from the place where he had 
 dropped the old one." 
 
 "That doesn t look much like a redskin on the war 
 path ! " returned the other, shaking his head. " An expe- 
 r enced warrior, at least, would have burned, or buried, or 
 sunk in the river such signs of his passage ; and your trail 
 is, quite likely, a peaceable trail. But the moccasin may 
 greatly relieve my mind, if you bethought you of bringing 
 it off. I ve come here to meet a young chief myself ; and 
 
46 THE DEERSLAYER 
 
 his course would be much in the direction you ve men 
 tioned. The trail may have been his n." 
 
 " Hurry Harry, you re well acquainted with this young 
 man, I hope, who has meetings with savages in a part of 
 the country where he has never been before ? " demanded 
 Hutter, in a tone and in a manner that sufficiently indi 
 cated the motive of the question. " Treachery is an 
 Indian virtue ; and the whites, that live much in their 
 tribes, soon catch their ways and practices." 
 
 "True true as the Gospel, old Tom; but not per 
 sonable to Deerslayer, who s a young man of, truth, if 
 he has no other ricommend. I 11 answer for his honesty, 
 whatever I may do for his valor in battle." 
 
 " I should like to know his errand in this strange 
 quarter of the country." 
 
 "That is soon told, Master Hutter," said the young 
 man calmly. " I think, moreover, you ve a right to ask 
 it. The father of two such darters, who occupies a lake, 
 after your fashion, has a right to inquire into a stranger s 
 business in his neighborhood, especially in times as seri 
 ous as these. So here it is, and soon and honestly told. 
 I m a young man, and, as yet, have never been on a 
 warpath ; but no sooner did the news come among the 
 Delawares that wampum and a hatchet were about to 
 be sent in to the tribe, than they wished me to go out 
 among the people of my own color, and get the exact 
 state of things for em. This I did, and, after delivering 
 my talk to the chiefs, on my return I met an officer of 
 the crown on the Schoharie, who had moneys to send to 
 some of the friendly tribes that live further west. This 
 was thought a good occasion for Chingachgook, a young 
 
THE SURPRISE 47 
 
 chief who had never struck a foe, and myself, to go on 
 our first warpath in company ; and an app intment was 
 made for us, by an old Delaware, to meet at the rock 
 near the foot of this lake. I 11 not deny that Chingach- 
 gook has another object in view, but it has no consarn 
 with any here, and is his secret, and not mine ; therefore 
 I 11 say no more about it. Chingachgook is to meet me 
 at the rock an hour afore sunset to-morrow evening, after 
 which we shall go our way together, molesting none but 
 the king s inimies, who are lawfully our own. Knowing 
 Hurry of old, who once trapped in our hunting-grounds, 
 and falling in with him on the Schoharie, just as he was 
 on the p int of starting for his summer ha nts, we agreed 
 to journey in company ; not so much from fear of the Min- 
 gos as from good fellowship, and, as he says, to shorten a 
 long road." 
 
 "And you think the trail I saw may have been that 
 of your friend, ahead of his time ? " said Hutter. 
 
 " That s my idee ; which may be wrong, but which 
 may be right. If I saw the moccasin, however, I could 
 tell in a minute whether it is made in the Delaware fash 
 ion or not." 
 
 " Here it is, then," said the quick-witted Judith, who 
 had already gone to the canoe in quest of it; "tell us 
 what it says ; friend or enemy. You look honest ; and / 
 believe all you say, whatever father may think." 
 
 " That s the way with you, Jude ; forever finding out 
 friends, where I distrust foes," grumbled Tom; "but, 
 speak out, young man, and tell us what you think of 
 the moccasin." 
 
 "That s not Delaware-made," returned Deerslayer, 
 
48 THE DEERSLAYER 
 
 examining the worn and rejected covering for the foot with 
 a cautious eye ; " I m too young on a warpath to be posi 
 tive, but I should say that moccasin has a northern look, 
 and comes from beyond the great lakes." 
 
 " If such is the case, we ought not to lie here a minute 
 longer than is necessary," said H utter, glancing through 
 the leaves of his cover, as if he already distrusted the 
 presence of an enemy on the opposite shore of the nar 
 row and sinuous stream. " It wants but an hour or so 
 of night, and to move in the dark will be impossible, 
 without making a noise that would betray us. Did you 
 hear the echo of a piece in the mountains, half-an-hour 
 since ? " 
 
 "Yes, old man, and heard the piece itself," answered 
 Hurry, who now felt the indiscretion of which he had 
 been guilty, " for the last was fired from my own 
 shoulder." 
 
 " I feared it came from the French Indians ; still it 
 may put them on the lookout, and be a means of discov 
 ering us. You did wrong to fire in war time, unless there 
 was good occasion." 
 
 " So I begin to think myself, Uncle Tom ; and yet, if 
 a man can t trust himself to let off his rifle in a wilder 
 ness that is a thousand miles square, lest some inimy 
 should hear it, where s the use in carrying one ? " 
 
 Hutter now held a long consultation with his two 
 guests, in which the parties came to a true understanding 
 of their situation. He explained the difficulty that would 
 exist in attempting to get the ark out of so swift and 
 narrow a stream, in the dark, without making a noise 
 that could not fail to attract Indian ears. 
 
THE SURPRISE 
 
 49 
 
 " I never drop down into this cover, which is handy 
 to my traps, and safer than the lake, from curious eyes, 
 without providing the means of getting out agin," he 
 continued ; " and that is easier done by a pull than a 
 push. My anchor is now lying above the suction, in the 
 open lake ; and here is a line, you see, to haul us up to 
 it. Without some such help, a single pair of hands would 
 make heavy work in forcing a scow like this up stream. 
 I have a sort of a crab, too, that lightens the pull, on occa 
 sion. Jude can use the oar astarn as well as myself ; and 
 when we fear no enemy, to get out of the river gives us 
 but little trouble." 
 
 "Well, old Tom," cried Hurry, "if we are to move, 
 the sooner we make a beginning, the sooner we shall know 
 whether we are to have our scalps for nightcaps, or not." 
 
 The, three men now set about their preparations to move 
 the arkf^The slight fastenings were quickly loosened ; and, 
 by hauling on the line, the heavy craft slowly emerged from 
 the cover. It was no sooner free from the incumbrance 
 of the branches, than it swung into the stream, sheering 
 quite close to the western shore, by the force of the current. 
 Not a soul on board heard the rustling of the branches, as 
 the cabin came against the bushes and trees of the west 
 ern bank, without a feeling of uneasiness ; for no one knew 
 at what moment, or in what place, a secret and murderous 
 enemy might unmask himself. Perhaps the gloomy light 
 that still struggled through the impending canopy of leaves, 
 or found its way through the narrow, ribbon-like opening, 
 which seemed to mark in the air above the course of the 
 river that flowed beneath, aided in augmenting the appear 
 ance of the danger ; for it was little more than sufficient 
 
50 THE DEERSLAYER 
 
 to render objects visible, without giving up all their outlines 
 at a glance. 
 
 No interruption followed the movement, however, and, 
 as the men continued to haul on the line, the ark passed 
 steadily ahead, the great breadth of the scow preventing 
 its sinking into the water, and from offering much resist 
 ance to the progress of the swift element beneath its bottom. 
 H utter, too, had adopted a precaution suggested by expe 
 rience, which might have done credit to a seaman, and 
 which completely prevented any of the annoyances and 
 obstacles which otherwise would have attended the short 
 turns of the river. As the ark descended, heavy stones, 
 attached to the line, were dropped in the centre of the 
 stream, forming local anchors, each of which was kept, 
 from dragging by the assistance of those above it, until 
 the uppermost of all was reached, which got its " backing " 
 from the anchor that lay well out in the lake. In conse 
 quence of this expedient, the ark floated clear of the in- 
 cumbrances of the shore, against which it would otherwise 
 have been unavoidably hauled at every turn, producing 
 embarrassments that Hutter, single-handed, would have 
 found it very difficult to overcome. 
 
 At every turn in the stream a stone was raised from the 
 bottom, when the direction of the scow changed to one 
 that pointed towards the stone that lay above. In this 
 manner did Hutter move forward with fair rapidity, oc 
 casionally urging his friends, in a low and guarded voice, 
 to increase their exertions, and then, as occasions offered, 
 warning them against efforts that might, at particular mo 
 ments, endanger all by too much zeal. In spite of their 
 long familiarity with the woods, the gloomy character of 
 
THE SURPRISE 51 
 
 the shaded river added to the uneasiness that each felt ; 
 and when the ark reached the first bend in the Susque- 
 hannah, and the eye caught a glimpse of the broader ex 
 panse of the lake, all felt a relief that perhaps none would 
 have been willing to confess. Here the last stone was 
 raised from the bottom, and the line led directly towards 
 the grapnel, which, as H utter had explained, was dropped 
 above the suction of the current. 
 
 "Thank God!" ejaculated Hurry, "there is daylight, 
 and we shall soon have a chance of seeing our inimies, if 
 we are to feel em." 
 
 " That is more than you or any man can say," growled 
 Hutter. " There is no spot so likely to harbor a party as 
 the shore around the outlet ; and the moment we clear 
 these trees and get into open water will be the most trying 
 time, since it will leave the enemy a cover, while it puts 
 us out of one. Judith, girl, do you and Hetty leave the 
 oar to take care of itself, and go within the cabin ; and 
 be mindful not to show your faces at a window ; for they 
 who will look at them won t stop to praise their beauty. 
 And now, Hurry, we 11 step into this outer room our 
 selves, and haul through the door, where we shall all be 
 safe, from a surprise, at least. Friend Deerslayer, as the 
 current is lighter, and the line has all the strain on it that 
 is prudent, do you keep moving from window to window, 
 taking care not to let your head be seen, if you set any 
 value on life. No one knows when or where we shall- 
 hear from our neighbors." 
 
 As Deerslayer took his stand at a window, the ark was 
 just passing through the narrowest part of the stream, a 
 point where the water first entered what was properly 
 
 
52 THE DEERSLAYER 
 
 termed the river, and where the trees fairly interlocked 
 overhead. It had reached the last curve of this leafy en 
 trance when, having examined all that could be seen of 
 the eastern bank of the river, he crossed the room to look 
 from the opposite window, at the western. His arrival at 
 this aperture was most opportune, for he had no sooner 
 placed his eye at a crack than a sight met his eye that 
 might well have alarmed a sentinel. At this point a sap 
 ling overhung the water in nearly a half circle, and on this 
 branch no less than six Indians had already appeared, 
 others standing ready to follow them as they left room ; 
 each evidently bent on running out on the trunk, and 
 dropping on the roof of the ark as it passed beneath. 
 This would have been an exploit of no great difficulty, for 
 the curve of the tree was such as to make the fall trifling. 
 When Deerslayer first saw this party, his knowledge of 
 Indian habits told him at once that they were all in 
 war-paint, and belonged to a hostile tribe. 
 
 " Pull, Hurry, " he cried ; " pull for your life ! Pull, 
 man, pull ! " 
 
 This call was made to one that the young man knew 
 had the strength of a giant. It was so earnest that both 
 Hutter and March felt it was not idly given, and they ap 
 plied all their force to the line. The scow redoubled its 
 motion, and seemed to glide from under the tree as if 
 conscious of the danger that was impending overhead. 
 Perceiving that they were discovered, the Indians uttered 
 a fearful war-whoop, and running forward on the tree, 
 leaped desperately toward their fancied prize. There were 
 six on the tree, and each made the effort. All but their 
 leader fell into the river more or less Distant from the 
 
THE SURPRISE 53 
 
 ark, when they came to their turn at the leaping-place. 
 The chief, however, who was farthest out on the tree, and 
 therefore first to leap, struck the scow just within the stern. 
 For a moment he lay, slightly stunned by the fall, and in 
 this brief interval, Judith rushed from the cabin, and, 
 throwing all her strength into the effort, she pushed the 
 intruder over the edge of the scow headlong into the river. 
 All this occupied less than a minute, when the arm of 
 Deerslayer was thrown around her waist, and she was 
 dragged swiftly within the protection of the cabin. This 
 retreat was not effected too soon. Scarcely were the two 
 in safety, when the forest was filled with yells, and bullets 
 began to patter against the logs. 
 
 The ark being in swift motion all this while, it was 
 already beyond danger of pursuit. H utter and March 
 now got out two small sweeps, and covered by the cabin, 
 they soon urged it far enough from the shore to be 
 entirely safe from exposure to rifle bullets, the only means 
 which, without a boat, their enemies had of injuring 
 them. 
 
 CHAPTER V 
 
 As soon as they were fairly out in the open lake a 
 consultation took place in the forward part of the scow. 
 All were now convinced that enemies were, in consider 
 able force, on the shores of the lake, and that no practicable 
 means of accomplishing their own destruction would be 
 neglected. As a matter of course, Hutter felt these truths 
 the deepest, his daughters having an habitual reliance on 
 his resources, and knowing too little to appreciate fully all 
 the risks they ran ; while his male companions were at 
 liberty to quit him at any moment they saw fit. 
 
54 THE DEERSLAYER 
 
 " We ve a great advantage over the Iroquois, or the 
 enemy, whoever they are, in being afloat," he began. 
 " There s not a canoe on the lake that I don t know 
 where it s hid ; and now yours is here, Hurry, there are 
 but three more on the land, and they re so snug in 
 hollow logs that I don t believe the Indians could find 
 them, let them try ever so long." 
 
 "There s no telling that no one can say that," put 
 in Deerslayer ; "a hound is not more sartain on the 
 scent than a redskin, when he expects to get anything 
 by it. Let this party see scalps afore em, or plunder, and 
 twill be a tight log that hides a canoe from their eyes." 
 
 "You re right, Deerslayer," cried Harry March; "you re 
 downright Gospel in this matter, and I rej ice that my 
 bunch of bark is safe enough here, within reach of my 
 arm. I calcilate they 11 be at all the rest of the canoes 
 afore to-morrow night, if they are in raal arnest to smoke 
 you out, old Tom, and we may as well overhaul our pad 
 dles for a pull." 
 
 Hutter made no immediate reply. He looked about 
 him in silence for quite a minute, examining the sky, 
 the lake, and the belt of forest which inclosed it like 
 one consulting their signs. Nor did he find any alarming 
 symptoms. The boundless woods were sleeping in the 
 deep repose of nature, the heavens were placid, but still 
 luminous with the light of the retreating sun, while the 
 lake looked more lovely and calm than it had before done 
 that day. 
 
 M Judith," called out the father, when he had taken this 
 close but short survey of the omens, " night is at hand ; 
 find our friends food ; a long march gives a sharp appetite." 
 
THE SURPRISE 55 
 
 11 We re not starving, Master Hutter," March observed, 
 " for we filled up just as we reached the lake, and for one, 
 I prefar the company of Jude even to her supper." 
 
 11 Natur is natur , objected Hutter, "and must be fed. 
 Judith, see to the meal, and take your sister to help you. 
 I ve a little discourse to hold with you, friends," he contin 
 ued, as soon as his daughters were out of hearing, "and 
 wish the girls away. You see my situation, and I should 
 like to hear your opinions concerning what is best to be 
 done. Three times have I been burnt out already, but 
 that was on the shore ; and I Ve considered myself as pretty 
 safe ever since I got the castle built, and the ark afloat. 
 My other accidents, however, happened in peaceable times, 
 being nothing more than such flurries as a man must 
 meet with, in the woods ; but this matter looks serious, 
 and your ideas would greatly relieve my mind." 
 
 " It s my notion, old Tom, that you, and your huts, and 
 your traps, and your whole possessions, hereaway, are in 
 desperate jippardy," returned the matter-of-fact Hurry, 
 who saw no use in concealment. " Accordin to my idees 
 of valie, they re altogether not worth half as much to-day 
 as they was yesterday, nor would I give more for em, 
 taking the pay in skins." 
 
 " I see, Harry March, I can only count on you as a 
 fair-weather friend ; and I suppose that your companion 
 will be of the same way of thinking," returned the other, 
 with a slight show of pride, that was not altogether with 
 out dignity ; " well, I must depend on Providence, which 
 will not turn a deaf ear, perhaps, to a father s prayers." 
 
 " If you ve understood Hurry, here, to mean that he 
 intends to desart you," said Deerslayer, with an earnest 
 
56 THE DEERSLAYER 
 
 simplicity that gave double assurance of its truth, "I think 
 you do him injustice, as I know you do me, in supposing 
 I would follow him was he so ontrue-hearted as to leave a 
 family of his own color in such a strait as this. I ve come 
 on this lake, Master Hutter, to rende vous a fri nd, and I 
 only wish he was here himself, as I make no doubt he will 
 be at sunset to-morrow, when you d have another rifle to 
 aid you ; an inexper enced one, I 11 allow, like my own, 
 but one that has proved true so often agin the game, 
 big and little, that I 11 answer for its sarvice agin mortals." 
 
 " May I depend on you to stand by me and my daugh 
 ters, then, Deerslayer ? " demanded the old man. 
 
 " That may you, Floating Tom, if that s your name ; 
 in this strait you may count on me, through all advarsi- 
 ties ; and I think Hurry does discredit to his natur and 
 wishes, if you can t count on him." 
 
 " Not he," cried Judith, thrusting her handsome face 
 out of the door ; "his nature is hurry, as well as his 
 name, and he 11 hurry off, as soon as he thinks his fine 
 figure in danger. Neither old Tom, nor his gals, will 
 depend much on Master March, now they know him, but 
 you they will rely on, Deerslayer ; for your honest face 
 and honest heart tell us that what you promise you will 
 perform." 
 
 This was said, as much, perhaps, in affected scorn for 
 Hurry, as in sincerity. Still, it was not said without 
 feeling. 
 
 "Leave us, Judith," Hutter ordered sternly, before 
 either of the young men could reply ; " leave us ; and do 
 not return until you come with the venison and fish. The 
 girl has been spoilt by the flattery of the officers, who 
 
THE SURPRISE 57 
 
 sometimes find their way up here, Master March, and 
 you 11 not think any harm of her silly words." 
 
 "You never said truer syllable, old Tom," retorted 
 Hurry, who smarted under Judith s observations; "the 
 devil-torkgued youngsters of the garrison have proved her 
 undoing ! I scarce know Jude any longer. But no matter ; 
 Deerslayer has not misconceived me, when he told you I 
 should be found at my post. I 11 not quit you, Uncle Tom, 
 just now, whatever may be my feelin s and intentions 
 respecting your eldest darter." 
 
 Hurry had a respectable reputation for prowess among 
 his associates, and Hutter heard this pledge with a satis 
 faction that was not concealed. Even the great personal 
 strength of such an aid became of moment, in moving the 
 ark, as well as in the species of hand-to-hand conflicts 
 that were not unfrequent in the woods. A minute before, 
 Hutter would have been well content to compromise his 
 danger, by entering into a compact to act only on the de 
 fensive ; but no sooner did he feel some security on this 
 point, than the restlessness of man induced him to think 
 of the means of carrying the war into the enemy s country. 
 
 " High prices are offered for scalps on both sides," he 
 observed, with a grim smile. " It isn t right, perhaps, to 
 take gold for human blood ; and yet, when mankind is 
 busy in killing one another, there can be no great harm 
 in adding a little bit of skin to the plunder. What s your 
 sentiments, Hurry, touching these p ints ? " 
 
 " That you ve made a vast mistake, old man, in calling 
 savage blood human blood, at all. I think no more of a 
 redskin s scalp than I do of a pair of wolf s ears ; and 
 would just as lief finger money for the one as for the 
 
58 THE DEERSLAYER 
 
 / 
 
 other. With white people t is different, for they ve a 
 nat ral avarsion to being scalped ; whereas your Indian 
 shaves his head in readiness for the knife, and leaves a 
 lock of hair by way of braggadocio, that one can lay hold 
 of in the bargain." 
 
 " That s manly, however, and I felt from the first that 
 we had only to get you on our side, to have you heart 
 and hand," returned Tom, losing all his reserve, as he 
 gained a renewed confidence in the disposition of his 
 companion. " Something more may turn up from this in 
 road of the redskins than they bargained for. Deerslayer, 
 I conclude you re of Hurry s way of thinking, and look 
 upon money arned in this way as being as likely to pass 
 as money arned in trapping or hunting." 
 
 " I ve no such feelin , nor any wish to harbor it, not 
 I," returned the other. " My gifts are not scalpers gifts, 
 but such as belong to my religion and color. I 11 stand by 
 you, old man, in the ark or in the castle, the canoe or the 
 woods, but I 11 not unhumanize my natur by falling into 
 ways that God intended for another race. If you and 
 Hurry have got any thoughts that lean towards the col 
 ony s gold, go by yourselves in s arch of it, and leave the 
 females to my care." 
 
 " The young man is right, Hurry," replied Tom ; " and 
 we can leave the children in his care. Now, my idea is just 
 this ; and I think you 11 agree that it is rational and cor 
 rect. There s a large party of these savages on the shore, 
 and, though I did n t tell it before the girls, for they re 
 womanish, and apt to be troublesome when anything like 
 real work is to be done, there s women among em. This 
 I know from moccasin prints ; and t is likely they are 
 
THE SURPRISE 59 
 
 hunters, after all, who have been out so long that they 
 know nothing of the war, or of the bounties." 
 
 " In which case, old Tom, why was their first salute an 
 attempt to cut all our throats ? " 
 
 " We don t know that their design was so bloody. It s 
 natural and easy for an Indian to fall into ambushes and 
 surprises, and, no doubt, they wished to get on board 
 the ark first, and to make their conditions afterwards. 
 That a disap inted savage should fire at us is in rule ; 
 and I think nothing of that. Besides, how often have they 
 burned me out, and robbed my traps aye, and pulled 
 trigger on me, in the most peaceful times ? " 
 
 The blackguards will do such things, I must allow; 
 and we pay em off pretty much in their own coin. Women 
 would not be on the warpath, sartainly ; and, so far, there s 
 reason in your idee." 
 
 " Nor would a hunter be in his war-paint," returned 
 Deerslayer. " I saw the Mingos, and know that they are 
 out on the trail of mortal men ; and not for beaver or deer." 
 
 " There you have it agin, old fellow," said Hurry. " In 
 the way of an eye, now, I d as soon trust this young man, 
 as trust the oldest settler in the colony ; if he says paint, 
 why paint it was." 
 
 " Then a hunting-party and a war-party have met, for 
 women must have been with em. It s only a few days 
 since the runner went through with the tidings of the 
 troubles ; and it may be that warriors have come out to 
 call in their women and children, to get an early blow." 
 
 "That would stand the courts, and is just the truth," 
 cried Hurry ; " you ve got it now, old Tom, and I should 
 like to hear what you mean to make out of it." 
 
60 THE DEERSLAYER 
 
 "The bounty," returned the other, in a cool, sullen 
 manner. " If there s women, there s children ; and big 
 and little have scalps ; the colony pays for all alike." 
 
 " More shame to it, that it should do so," interrupted 
 Deerslayer ; " more shame to it, that it don t understand 
 its gifts, and pay greater attention to the will of God." 
 
 " You must fight a man with his own we pons, Deer- 
 slayer," shouted Hurry; "if he s fierce, you must be 
 fiercer, and there s an end of it." 
 
 The disdainful manner of Hurry prevented a reply, 
 and he and the old man resumed the discussion of their 
 plans in a more quiet and confidential manner. This con 
 fidence lasted until Judith appeared, bearing the simple 
 but savory supper, of which all partook with hearty satis 
 faction. 
 
 An hour later the scene had greatly changed. The lake 
 was still placid and glassy, but the gloom of the hour had 
 succeeded to the soft twilight of a summer evening, and 
 all within the dark setting of the woods lay in the quiet 
 repose of night. The forests gave up no song, or cry, 
 or even murmur, but looked down from the hills on 
 the lovely basin they encircled, in solemn stillness ; and 
 the only sound that was audible was the regular dip of the 
 sweeps, at which Hurry and Deerslayer lazily pushed, im 
 pelling the ark towards the castle. Hutter had withdrawn 
 to the stern of the scow, in order to steer, but, finding 
 that the young men kept even strokes and held the de 
 sired course by their own skill, he permitted the oar to 
 drag in the water, took a seat on the end of the vessel and 
 lighted his pipe. He had not been thus placed many min 
 utes, ere Hetty came out of the cabin, and placed herself 
 
THE SURPRISE 6 1 
 
 at his feet, on a little bench that she brought with her. 
 The old man welcomed her by an affectionate gesture, 
 placing his hand kindly on her head ; an act that she 
 received in meek silence. 
 
 After a pause of several minutes, Hetty began to sing. 
 Her voice was low and tremulous, but it was earnest and 
 solemn. The words and the time were of the simplest 
 form, the first being a hymn that she had been taught by 
 her mother, and the last one of those natural melodies that 
 find favor with all classes, in every age, coming from and 
 being addressed to the feelings. H utter never listened to 
 this simple strain without finding his heart and manner 
 softened ; facts that his daughter well knew, and by which 
 she had often profited, through the sort of holy instinct 
 that enlightens the weak of mind, more especially in their 
 aims toward good. 
 
 Hetty s low sweet tones had not been raised many 
 moments, when the dip of the oars ceased, and the holy 
 strain arose singly on the breathing silence of the wilder 
 ness. As if she gathered courage with the theme, her 
 powers appeared to increase as she proceeded ; and though 
 nothing vulgar or noisy mingled in her melody, its strength 
 and melancholy tenderness grew on the ear, until the air 
 was filled with this simple homage of a soul that seemed 
 almost spotless. That the men forward were not indiffer 
 ent to this touching interruption was proved by their in 
 action ; nor did their oars again dip until the last of the 
 sweet sounds had actually died among the remarkable 
 shores, which, at that witching hour, would waft even the 
 lowest modulations of the human voice more than a mile. 
 H utter was much affected ; for rude as he was by early 
 
62 THE DEERSLAYER 
 
 habits, and even ruthless as he had got to be by long ex 
 posure to the practices of the wilderness, his nature was 
 of that fearful mixture of good and evil that so generally 
 enters into the moral composition of man. 
 
 " You are sad to-night, child," said the father, who al 
 ways spoke gently to this afflicted child of his, " we have 
 just escaped from enemies, and ought rather to rejoice." 
 
 " You can never do it, father ! " said Hetty, in a low, 
 remonstrating manner, taking his hard, knotty hand into 
 both her own ; " you have talked long with Harry March ; 
 but neither of you have the heart to do it !" 
 
 This is going beyond your means, foolish child ; you 
 must have been naughty enough to have listened, or you 
 could know nothing of our talk." 
 
 "Why should you and Hurry kill people especially 
 women and children ? " 
 
 " Peace, girl, peace ; we are at war, and we kill our en 
 emies in war lest they should kill us. One side or the 
 other must begin ; and they that begin first are most apt 
 to get the victory. You know nothing about these things, 
 poor Hetty, and had best say nothing." 
 
 "Judith says it is wrong, father ; and Judith has sense, 
 though I have none." 
 
 " Jude understands better than to talk to me of these 
 matters ; for she has sense, as you say, and knows I 11 not 
 bear it. Which would you prefer, Hetty ; to have your 
 own scalp taken, and sold to the French, or that we should 
 kill our enemies, and keep them from harming us ? " 
 
 "That s not it, father! Don t kill them, nor let them 
 kill us. Sell your skins, and get more, if you can ; but 
 don t sell human blood." 
 
THE SURPRISE 63 
 
 " Come, come, child ; let us talk of matters you under 
 stand. Your heart is good, child, and fitter for the settle 
 ments than for the woods ; while your reason is fitter for 
 the woods than for the settlements." 
 
 " Why has Judith more reason than I, father ? " 
 
 " Heaven help thee, child : this is more than I can 
 answer. God gives sense, and appearance, and all these 
 things ; and he grants them as he seeth fit. Dost thou 
 wish for more sense ? " 
 
 "Not I. The little I have troubles me; for when I 
 think the hardest, then I feel the unhappiest. I don t be 
 lieve thinking is good for me, though I do wish I was as 
 handsome as Judith ! " 
 
 " Why so, poor child ? Thy sister s beauty may cause 
 her trouble, as it caused her mother before her. It s no 
 advantage, Hetty, to be so marked for anything as to 
 become an object of envy, or to be sought after more 
 than others." 
 
 " Mother was good, if she was handsome," returned the 
 girl, the tears starting to her eyes, as usually happened 
 when she adverted to her deceased parent. 
 
 Old Hutter, if not equally affected, was moody and 
 silent at this allusion to his wife. He continued smoking, 
 without appearing disposed to make any answer, until his 
 simple-minded daughter repeated her remark, in a way to 
 show that she felt uneasiness lest he might be inclined to 
 deny her assertion. Then he knocked the ashes out of 
 his pipe, and laying his hand in a sort of rough kindness 
 on the girl s head, he made a reply. 
 
 " Thy mother was too good for this world," he said; 
 " though others might not think so. Her good looks did 
 
64 THE DEERSLAYER 
 
 not befriend her ; and you have no occasion to mourn 
 that you are not as much like her as your sister. Think 
 less of beauty, child, and more of your duty, and you 11 
 be as happy on this lake as you could be in the king s 
 palace." 
 
 " I know it, father ; but Hurry is so handsome and he 
 says beauty is everything in a young woman." 
 
 Hutter made an ejaculation expressive of dissatisfaction, 
 and went forward, passing through the house in order to 
 do so. Hetty s simple betrayal, both by word and even 
 more plainly by look, of her weakness in behalf of March 
 gave him uneasiness on a subject concerning which he 
 had never felt before, and he determined to come to an 
 explanation at once with his visitor regarding his inten 
 tions concerning the older sister, for whose hand he ap 
 peared at times to be an ardent suitor ; for directness of 
 speech and decision in conduct were two of the best qual 
 ities of this rude being, in whom the seeds of a better ed 
 ucation seemed to be constantly struggling upwards, to be 
 choked by the fruits of a life in which his hard struggles 
 for subsistence and security had steeled his feelings and 
 hardened his nature. When he reached the forward end 
 of the scow, he manifested an intention to relieve Deer- 
 slayer at the oar, directing the latter to take his own place 
 aft. By these changes the old man and Hurry were again 
 left alone, while the young hunter was transferred to the 
 other end of the ark. 
 
 Hetty had disappeared when Deerslayer reached his new 
 post, and for some little time he directed the course of the 
 slow-moving craft by himself. It was not long, however, 
 before Judith came out of the cabin, as if disposed to do 
 
THE SURPRISE 65 
 
 the honors of the place to a stranger engaged in the serv 
 ice of her family. The starlight was sufficient to permit 
 objects to be plainly distinguished when near at hand, and 
 the bright eyes of the girl had an expression of kindness 
 in them, when they met those of the youth, that the latter 
 was easily enabled to discover. Her rich hair shaded her 
 spirited and yet soft countenance, even at that hour ren 
 dering it the more beautiful as the rose is loveliest when 
 reposing amid the shadows and contrasts of its native 
 foliage. 
 
 11 1 thought I should have killed myself with laughing, 
 Deerslayer," the beauty abruptly, but coquettishly com 
 menced, "when I saw that Indian dive into the river! He 
 was a good-looking savage, too," the girl always dwelt 
 on personal beauty as a sort of merit, " and yet one 
 could n t stop to consider whether his paint would stand 
 water ! " 
 
 " And I thought they would have killed you with their 
 we pons, Judith," returned Deerslayer; "it was an awful 
 risk for a female to run in the face of a dozen Mingos ! " 
 
 " Did that make you come out of the cabin, in spite of 
 their rifles, too ? " asked the girl, with more real interest 
 than she would have cared to betray, though with an as 
 sumed indifference of manner. 
 
 "Men aren t apt to see females in danger, and not 
 come to their assistance. Even a Mingo knows that." 
 
 This sentiment was uttered with as much simplicity of 
 manner as of feeling, and Judith rewarded it with a smile 
 so sweet that even Deerslayer, who had imbibed a prejudice 
 against the girl in consequence of Hurry s suspicions of 
 her levity, felt its charm, notwithstanding half its winning 
 
66 THE DEERSLAYER 
 
 influence was lost in the feeble light. It at once created 
 a sort of confidence between them, and the discourse was 
 continued on the part of the hunter, without the lively 
 consciousness of the character of this coquette of the wil 
 derness, with which it had certainly commenced. 
 
 u You are a man of deeds, and not of words, I see 
 plainly, Deerslayer," continued the beauty, taking her seat 
 near the spot where the other stood, " and I foresee we 
 shall be very good friends. Hurry Harry has a tongue, 
 and, giant as he is, he talks more than he performs." 
 
 " March is your fri nd, Judith ; and fri nds should be 
 tender of each other, when apart." 
 
 " We all know what Hurry s friendship comes to ! Let 
 him have his own way in everything, and he s the best 
 fellow in the colony ; but head him off, as you say of the 
 deer, and he is master of everything near him but him 
 self. Hurry is no favorite of mine, Deerslayer ; and I 
 dare say, if the truth was known, and his conversation 
 about me repeated, it would be found that he thinks no 
 better of me than I own I do of him." 
 
 " March has his say of all things in natur , whether of 
 fri nd or foe," slowly and cautiously rejoined the hunter. 
 " He s one of them that speak as they feel while the 
 tongue s a-going, and that s sometimes different from 
 what they d speak if they took time to consider. Give me 
 a Delaware, Judith, for one that reflects and ruminates on 
 his idees ! Inmity has made him thoughtful, and a loose 
 tongue is no ricommend at their council fires." 
 
 " I dare say March s tongue goes free enough when it 
 gets on the subject of Judith H utter and her sister," said 
 the girl, rousing herself as if in careless disdain. " Young 
 
THE SURPRISE 67 
 
 women s good names are a pleasant matter of discourse 
 with some that would n t dare to be so open-mouthed if 
 there was a brother in the way. Master March may find 
 it pleasant to traduce us, but sooner or later he 11 repent ! " 
 
 " Nay, Judith, this is taking the matter up too much in 
 arnest. Hurry has never whispered a syllable agin the 
 good name of Hetty, to begin with " 
 
 " I see how it is I see how it is," impetuously inter 
 rupted Judith. " / am the one he sees fit to scorch with 
 his withering tongue ! Hetty, indeed ! Poor Hetty ! " she 
 continued, her voice sinking into low, husky tones, that 
 seemed nearly to stifle her in the utterance ; " she is be 
 yond and above his slanderous malice ! Poor Hetty ! If 
 God has created her feeble-minded, the weakness lies 
 altogether on the side of errors of which she seems to 
 know nothing. The earth never held a purer being than 
 Hetty Hutter, Deerslayer." 
 
 " I can believe it yes, I can believe that, Judith, and 
 I hope arnestly that the same can be said of her hand 
 some sister." 
 
 There was a soothing sincerity in the voice of Deerslayer, 
 which touched the girl s feelings ; nor did the allusion to 
 her beauty lessen the effect with one who only knew too 
 well the power of her personal charms. Nevertheless, the 
 still, small voice of conscience was not hushed, and it 
 prompted the answer which she made after giving herself 
 time to reflect. 
 
 " I dare say Hurry had some of his vile hints about the 
 people of the garrisons," she added. "He knows they are 
 gentlemen, and can never forgive any one for being what 
 he feels he can never become himself." 
 
68 THE DEERSLAYER 
 
 " Not in the sense of a king s officer, Judith, sartainly, 
 for March has no turn that-a-way ; but in the sense of re 
 ality, why may not a beaver-hunter be as respectable as a 
 governor ? Since you speak of it yourself, I 11 not deny 
 that he did complain of one as humble as you being so 
 much in the company of scarlet coats and silken sashes. 
 But t was jealousy that brought it out of him, and I do 
 think he mourned over it as any good man must." 
 
 Perhaps Deerslayer was not aware of the full meaning 
 that his earnest language conveyed. It is certain that he 
 did not see the color that crimsoned the whole of Judith s 
 fine face, nor detect the uncontrollable distress that imme 
 diately after changed its hue to deadly paleness. A min 
 ute or two elapsed in profound stillness, the splash of the 
 water seeming to occupy all the avenues of sound ; and 
 then Judith arose, and grasped the hand ofr the hunter, 
 almost convulsively, with one of her own. 
 
 " Deerslayer," she said, hurriedly, " I m glad the ice is 
 broken between us. They say that sudden friendships lead 
 to long enmities, but I do not believe it will turn out so 
 with us. I know not how it is but you are the first man 
 I ever met who did not seem to wish to flatter to wish 
 my ruin to be an enemy in disguise never mind ; say 
 nothing to Hurry, and another time we 11 talk together 
 again." 
 
 As the girl released her grasp, she vanished in the 
 house, leaving the astonished young man standing at the 
 steering-oar, as motionless as one of the pines on the hills. 
 So abstracted, indeed, had his thoughts become, that he 
 was hailed by Hutter to keep the scow s head in the right 
 (direction, before he remembered his actual situation. 
 
PART II. THE CAPTURE 
 
 CHAPTER I 
 
 Shortly after the disappearance of Judith, a light south 
 erly air arose, and Hutter set a large square-sail. The 
 effect on the ark was such as to supersede the necessity of 
 rowing ; and in about two hours the castle was seen, in 
 the darkness, rising out of the water, at the distance of a 
 hundred yards. The sail was then lowered, and by slow 
 degrees the scow drifted up to the building and was 
 secured. 
 
 The place was found in the quiet of midnight. No one 
 had visited it since Hurry and his companion left it. As 
 an enemy was known to be near, Hutter directed his 
 daughters to abstain from the use of lights, lest they 
 might prove beacons to direct their foes where they 
 might be found. 
 
 " In open daylight," he explained, " I shoflkl n t fear a 
 host of savages, when I was behind these stout logs, and 
 they were without any cover to skulk into, for I ve three 
 or four trusty weapons always loaded, and Kill-deer, in 
 particular, is a piece that never misses. But it s a differ 
 ent thing at night. A canoe may get upon us unseen in 
 the dark ; and the savages have so many cunning ways of 
 attacking, that I look upon it as bad enough to deal with 
 em under a bright sun. I built this dwelling in order to 
 
70 THE DEERSLAYER 
 
 have em at arm s length, in case we should ever get to 
 blows again. Some people think it s too open and ex 
 posed, but I m for anchoring out here, clear of underbrush 
 and thickets, as the surest means of making a safe berth." 
 
 " You were once a sailor, they tell me, old Tom ? " said 
 Hurry, in his abrupt manner, struck by one or two expres 
 sions that the other had just used, " and some people 
 believe you could give us strange accounts of inimies and 
 shipwrecks, if you d a mind to come out with all you 
 know ? " 
 
 " There are people in this world, Hurry," returned the 
 other evasively, "who live on other men s thoughts; and 
 some such often find their way into the woods. What I ve 
 been, or what I ve seen in youth, is of less matter now 
 than what the savages are. It s of more account to find 
 out what will happen in the next twenty-four hours than 
 to talk over what happened twenty-four years since." 
 
 "That s judgment," replied Hurry, good-naturedly; 
 "yes, that s sound judgment. Here s Judith and Hetty 
 to take case of, to say nothing of our own topknots ; let s 
 hear your plan." 
 
 In response the old man invited his two companions to 
 follow*hin1*l%ain into the scow, and here he opened his 
 project, keeping back the portion that he had reserved for 
 execution by Hurry and himself. 
 
 " The great object for people posted like ourselves is to 
 command the water," he commenced. " So long as there 
 is no other craft on the lake, a bark canoe is as good as a 
 man-of-war, since the castle will not be easily taken by 
 swimming. Now, there are but five canoes remaining in 
 these parts, two of which are mine, and one is Hurry s. 
 
THE CAPTURE 71 
 
 These three we have with us here ; one being fastened in 
 the canoe-dock beneath the house, and the other two being 
 alongside the scow. The other canoes are housed on the 
 shore in hollow logs, and the savages, who are such venom 
 ous enemies, will leave no likely place unexamined in the 
 morning, if they re serious in s arch of bounties " 
 
 " Now, friend Hutter," interrupted Hurry, "the Indian 
 don t live that can find a canoe that is suitably wintered. 
 I ve done something at this business before now, and 
 Deerslayer here knows that I am one that can hide a craft 
 in such a way that I can t find it myself." 
 
 " Very true, Hurry," put in the person to whom the 
 appeal had been made, " but you overlook the sarcum- 
 stance that if you could n t see the trail of the man who 
 did the job, / could. I m of Master Hutter s mind 
 that it s far wiser to mistrust a savage s ingenuity than to 
 build any great expectations on his want of eyesight. If 
 these two canoes can be got off to the castle, therefore, 
 the sooner it s done the better." 
 
 " Will you be of the party that s to do it ? " -demanded 
 Hutter, in a way to show that the proposal both surprised 
 and pleased him. 
 
 " Sartain. I m ready to enlist in any enterprise that s 
 not agin a white man s lawful gifts. Natur orders us to 
 defend our lives, and the lives of others, too, when there s 
 occasion and opportunity. I 11 follow you, Floating Tom, 
 into the Mingo camp, on such an arr nd, and will strive 
 to do my duty, should we come to blows ; though, never 
 having been tried in battle, I don t like to promise more 
 than I may be able to perform. We all know our wishes, 
 but none know their might till put to the proof." 
 
72 THE DEERSLAYER 
 
 11 That s modest and suitable, lad," exclaimed Hurry. 
 " You ve never yet heard the crack of an angry rifle ; 
 and, let me tell you, t is as different from the persuasion 
 of one of your venison speeches, as the laugh of Judith 
 Hutter, in her best humor, is from the scolding of a 
 Dutch housekeeper on the Mohawk. I don t expect you 11 
 prove much of a warrior, Deerslayer, though your equal 
 with the bucks and the does don t exist in all these parts. 
 As for the raal sarvice, however, you 11 turn out rather 
 rearward, according to my consait." 
 
 " We 11 see, Hurry, we 11 see," returned the other 
 cheerfully ; " having never been tried, I 11 wait to know, 
 before I form any opinion of myself ; and then there 11 be 
 sartainty, instead of bragging. I ve heard of them that 
 was valiant afore the fight, who did little in it ; and of 
 them that waited to know their own tempers, and found 
 that they were n t as bad as some expected, when put to 
 the proof." 
 
 "At any rate, we know you can use a paddle, young 
 man," said Hutter, " and that s all we shall ask of you to 
 night. Let us waste no more time, but get into the canoe, 
 and do, in place of talking." 
 
 Hutter led the way, and the boat was soon ready, with 
 Hurry and Deerslayer at the paddles. Before the old man 
 embarked himself, however, he held a conference of sev 
 eral minutes with Judith, entering the house for that pur 
 pose ; then, returning, he took his place in the canoe, 
 which left the side of the ark at the next instant. 
 
 It was midnight when the party set forth. The dark 
 ness had increased, though the night was still clear, and 
 the light of the stars sufficed for all the purposes of the 
 
THE CAPTURE 73 
 
 adventurers. H utter alone knew the places where the 
 canoes were hid, and he directed the course, while his two 
 athletic companions raised and dipped their paddles with 
 proper caution, lest the sound should be carried to the 
 ears of their enemies, across that sheet of placid water, 
 in the stillness of deep night. But the bark was too light 
 to require any extraordinary efforts, and skill supplying 
 the place of strength, in about half an hour they were 
 approaching the shore at a point near a league from the 
 castle. 
 
 " Lay on your paddles, men," said Hutter, in a low 
 voice, " and let us look about us for a moment. We must 
 now be all eyes and ears, for these vermin have noses like 
 bloodhounds." 
 
 The shores of the lake were examined closely, in order 
 to discover any glimmering of light that might have been 
 left in a camp ; and the men strained their eyes, in the 
 obscurity, to see if some thread of smoke was not still 
 stealing along the mountain-side, as it arose from the dying 
 embers of a fire. Nothing unusual could be traced ; and 
 as the position was at some distance from the outlet, or 
 the spot where the savages had been met, it was thought 
 safe to land. The paddles were plied again, and the bows 
 of the canoe ground upon the gravelly beach with a gentle 
 motion and a sound barely audible. Hutter and Hurry 
 immediately landed, the former carrying his own and his 
 friend s rifle, leaving Deerslayer in charge of the canoe. 
 The hollow log lay a little distance up the side of the 
 mountain, and the old man led the way towards it, using 
 so much caution as to stop at every third or fourth step, to 
 listen if any tread betrayed the presence of a foe. The 
 
74 THE DEERSLAYER 
 
 same death-like stillness, however, reigned on the mid 
 night scene, and the desired place was reached without an 
 occurrence to induce alarm. 
 
 "This is it," whispered Hutter, laying a foot on the 
 trunk of a fallen linden ; " hand me the paddles first, and 
 draw the boat out with care, for the wretches may have 
 left it for a bait, after all." 
 
 " Keep my rifle handy, but towards me, old fellow," 
 answered March. " If they attack me loaded, I shall 
 want to unload the piece at em, at least. And feel if 
 the pan is full." 
 
 " All s right," muttered the other ; " move slow, when 
 you get your load, and let me lead the way." 
 
 The canoe was drawn out of the log with the utmost 
 care, raised by Hurry to his shoulder, and the two began 
 to return to the shore, moving but a step at a time, lest 
 they should tumble down the steep declivity. The distance 
 was not great, but the descent was extremely difficult ; and, 
 towards the end of their little journey, Deerslayer was 
 obliged to land and meet them, in order to aid in lifting 
 the canoe through the bushes. With his assistance the task 
 was successfully accomplished, and the light craft soon 
 floated by the side of the other canoe. This was no sooner 
 done than all three turned anxiously towards the forest 
 and the mountain, expecting an enemy to break out of the 
 one, or to come rushing down the other. Still the silence 
 was unbroken, and they all embarked with the caution 
 that had been used in coming ashore. 
 
 Hutter now steered broad off towards the centre of the 
 lake. Having got a sufficient distance from the shore, he 
 cast his prize loose, knowing that it would drift slowly up 
 
THE CAPTURE 75 
 
 the lake before the light southerly air, and intending to find 
 it on his return. Thus relieved of his tow, the old man 
 held his way down the lake, steering towards the very 
 point where Hurry had made his fruitless attempt on the 
 life of the deer. As the distance from this point to the 
 outlet was less than a mile, it was like entering an enemy s 
 country ; and redoubled caution became necessary. They 
 reached the extremity of the point, however, and landed in 
 safety on the little gravelly beach already mentioned. Un 
 like the last place at which they had gone ashore, here was 
 no acclivity to ascend the mountains looming up in the 
 darkness quite a quarter of a mile further west, leaving a 
 margin of level ground between them and the strand. The 
 point itself, though long, and covered with tall trees, was 
 nearly flat, and for some distance only a few yards in 
 width. Hutter and Hurry landed as before, leaving their 
 companion in charge of the boat. 
 
 In this instance, the dead tree that contained the canoe 
 of which they had come in quest lay about halfway be 
 tween the extremity of the narrow slip of land and the 
 place where it joined the main shore ; and knowing that 
 there was water so near him on his left, the old man led 
 the way along the eastern side of the belt with some con 
 fidence, walking boldly, though still with caution. He had 
 landed at the point expressly to get a glimpse into the bay, 
 and to make certain that the coast was clear ; otherwise 
 he would have come ashore directly abreast of the hollow 
 tree. There was no difficulty in finding the latter, from 
 which the canoe was drawn as before, and instead of car 
 rying it down to the place where Deerslayer lay, it was 
 launched at the nearest favorable spot. As soon as it was 
 
76 THE DEERSLAYER 
 
 in the water, Hurry entered it, and paddled round to the 
 point, whither H utter also proceeded, following the beach. 
 As the three men had now in their possession all the 
 boats on the lake, their confidence was greatly increased, 
 and there was no longer the same feverish desire to quit 
 the shore, or the same necessity for extreme caution. 
 Their position on the extremity of the long, narrow bit of 
 land added to the feeling of security, as it permitted an 
 enemy to approach in only one direction : that in their 
 front, and under circumstances that would render discov 
 ery, with their habitual vigilance, almost certain. The 
 three now landed together, and stood grouped in consul 
 tation on the gravelly point. 
 
 We ve fairly treed the scamps," said Hurry, chuck 
 ling at their success ; " if they wish to visit the castle, let 
 em wade or swim ! Old Tom, that idee of your n, in bur 
 rowing out in the lake, was high proof, and carries a fine 
 bead. There be men who would think the land safer than 
 the water ; but, after all, reason shows it is n t ; the beaver, 
 and rats, and other 1 arned creatur s taking to the last when 
 hard pressed. I call our position now entrenched, and set 
 the Canadas at defiance." 
 
 " Let us paddle along this south shore," said Hutter, 
 " and see if there s no sign of an encampment ; but first 
 let me have a better look into the bay, for no one has been 
 far enough round the inner shore of the point to make 
 sure of that quarter yet." 
 
 As Hutter ceased speaking, all three moved in the di 
 rection he had named. Scarce had they fairly opened the 
 bottom of the bay, when a general start proved that their 
 eyes had lighted on a common object at the same instant. 
 
THE CAPTURE 77 
 
 It was no more than a dying brand, giving out its flicker 
 ing and failing light ; but at that hour, and in that place, it 
 left not a shadow of doubt that this fire had been kindled 
 at an encampment of the Indians. The situation, sheltered 
 from observation on all sides but one, and even on that 
 except for a very short distance, proved that more care had 
 been taken to conceal the spot than would be used for or 
 dinary purposes, and H utter, who knew that a spring was 
 near at hand, as well as one of the best fishing-stations on 
 the lake, immediately inferred that this encampment con 
 tained the women and children of the party. 
 
 That s not a warrior s encampment," he growled to 
 Hurry ; " and there s bounty enough sleeping round that 
 fire to make a heavy division of head-money. Send the lad 
 to the canoes, for there 11 come no good of him in such an 
 onset, and let us take the matter in hand at once, like men." 
 
 " There s judgment in your notion, old Tom, and I 
 like it to the back-bone. Deerslayer, do you get into the 
 canoe, lad, and paddle off into the lake with the spare one, 
 and set it adrift, as we did with the other ; after which 
 you can float along shore, as near as you can get to the 
 head of the bay, keeping outside the point, hows ever, and 
 outside the rushes, too. You can hear us when we want 
 you ; and if there s any delay, I 11 call like a loon yes, 
 that ll do it the call of a loon shall be the signal. If 
 you hear rifles, and feel like sogering, why, you may close 
 in, and see if you can make the same hand with the sav 
 ages that you do with the deer." 
 
 "If my wishes could be followed, this matter would 
 not be undertaken, Hurry " 
 
 " Quite true nobody denies it, boy ; but your wishes 
 
78 THE DEERSLAYER 
 
 cant be followed ; and that inds the matter. So just 
 canoe yourself off into the middle of the lake, and by the 
 time you get back there 11 be movements in that camp ! " 
 The young man set about complying with great reluc 
 tance and a heavy heart. He knew the prejudices of the 
 frontier-men too well, however, to attempt a remonstrance. 
 He paddled the canoe, therefore, silently, and with the 
 former caution, to a spot near the centre of the placid 
 sheet of water, and set the boat just recovered adrift, to 
 float towards the castle, before the light southerly air. 
 This expedient had been adopted, in both cases, under the 
 certainty that the drift could not carry the light barks more 
 than a league or two, before the return of light, when they 
 might easily be overtaken. In order to prevent any wan 
 dering savage from using them, by swimming off and get 
 ting possession, a possible, but scarcely a probable event, 
 all the paddles were retained. 
 
 No sooner had he set the recovered canoe adrift, than 
 Deerslayer turned the bows of his own towards the point 
 on the shore that had been indicated by Hurry. So light 
 was the movement of the little craft, and so steady the 
 sweep of its master s arm, that ten minutes had not elapsed 
 ere it was again approaching the land, having, in that brief 
 time, passed over fully half a mile of distance. As soon as 
 Deerslayer s eye caught a glimpse of the rushes, of which 
 there were many growing in the water a hundred feet 
 from the shore, he arrested the motion of the canoe, and 
 anchored his boat by holding fast to the delicate but tena 
 cious stem of one of the drooping plants. Here he re 
 mained, awaiting, with an intensity of suspense that can be 
 easily imagined, the result of the hazardous enterprise. 
 
THE CAPTURE 
 
 CHAPTER II 
 
 79 
 
 It would be difficult to convey to the minds of those 
 who have never witnessed it the sublimity that characterizes 
 the silence of a solitude as deep as that which now reigned 
 over the Glimmerglass. In the present instance this sub 
 limity was increased by the gloom of night, which threw 
 its shadowy and fantastic forms around the lake, the forest, 
 and the hills. Once as Deerslayer sat in his solitary canoe, 
 endeavoring to catch the smallest sound that might denote 
 the course of things on shore, he thought he heard the 
 cracking of a dried twig, but expectation was so intense it 
 might mislead him. In this manner minute after minute 
 passed, until the whole time since he left his companions 
 was extended to quite an hour and a half. Then there 
 came a sound that filled him equally with concern and sur 
 prise. The quavering call of a loon arose from the oppo 
 site side of the lake, evidently at no great distance from 
 its outlet. There was no mistaking the note ; shrill, trem 
 ulous, loud, and sufficiently prolonged, it seems the very 
 cry of warning. It is often raised, also, at night an ex 
 ception to the habits of most of the other feathered inmates 
 of the wilderness ; a circumstance which had induced 
 Hurry to select it as his own signal. There had been suf 
 ficient time, certainly, for the two adventurers to make 
 their way by land from the point where they had been left 
 to that whence the call had come, but it was not probable 
 that they would adopt such a course. Had the camp been 
 deserted they would have summoned Deerslayer to the 
 shore, and, did it prove to be peopled, there could be no 
 sufficient motive for circling it, in order to reembark at so 
 
80 THE DEERSLAYER 
 
 great a distance. Should he obey the signal, and be drawn 
 away from the landing, the lives of those who depended on 
 him might be the forfeit and, should he neglect the call, 
 on the supposition that it had been really made, the conse 
 quences might be equally disastrous, though from a differ 
 ent cause. In this indecision he waited, trusting that 
 the call, whether feigned or natural, would be speedily 
 renewed. Nor was he mistaken. A very few minutes 
 elapsed before the same shrill warning cry was repeated, 
 and from the same part of the lake. This time, being on 
 the alert, his senses were not deceived. Although he had 
 often heard admirable imitations of this bird, and was no 
 mean adept himself in raising its notes, he felt satisfied 
 that Hurry, to whose efforts in that way he had attended, 
 could never so completely and closely follow nature. He 
 determined, therefore, to disregard that cry, and to wait 
 for one less perfect and nearer at hand. 
 
 Deerslayer had hardly come to this determination, when 
 the profound stillness of night and solitude was broken by 
 a cry so startling, as to drive all recollection of the more 
 melancholy call of the loon from the listener s mind. It 
 was a shriek of agony, that came either from one of the 
 female sex, or from a boy so young as not yet to have 
 attained a manly voice. This appeal could not be mistaken. 
 Heart-rending terror if not writhing agony was in 
 the sounds, and the anguish that had awakened them 
 was as sudden as it was fearful. The young man released 
 his hold of the rush, and dashed his paddle into the water ; 
 to do he knew not what to steer he knew not whither. A 
 very few moments, however, removed his indecision. The 
 breaking of branches, the cracking of dried sticks, and the 
 
THE CAPTURE 8 1 
 
 fall of feet were distinctly audible ; the sounds appearing 
 to approach the water, though in a direction that led diag 
 onally towards the shore, and a little further north than the 
 spot that Deerslayer had been ordered to keep near. Fol 
 lowing this clue, the young man urged the canoe ahead, 
 paying but little attention to the manner in which he 
 might betray its presence. He had reached a part of the 
 shore, where its immediate bank was tolerably high and 
 quite steep. Men were evidently threshing through the 
 bushes and trees on the summit of this bank, following 
 the line of the shore, as if those who fled sought a favorable 
 place for descending. Just at this instant five or six rifles 
 flashed, and the opposite hills gave back, as usual, the 
 sharp reports in prolonged rolling echoes. One or two 
 shrieks, like those which escape the bravest when suddenly 
 overcome by unexpected anguish and alarm, followed ; and 
 then the threshing among the bushes was renewed, in a 
 way to show that man was grappling with man. 
 
 " Slippery devil ! " shouted Hurry with the fury of dis 
 appointment "his skin s greased ! I shan t grapple ! 
 Take that for your cunning ! " 
 
 The words were followed by the fall of some heavy ob 
 ject among the smaller trees that fringed the bank, appear 
 ing to Deerslayer as if his gigantic associate had hurled 
 an enemy from him in this unceremonious manner. Again 
 the flight and pursuit were renewed, and then the young 
 man saw a human form break down the hill; and rush sev 
 eral yards into the water. At this critical moment the 
 canoe was just near enough to the spot to allow this move 
 ment, which was accompanied by no little noise, to be 
 seen, and feeling that there he must take in his companion, 
 
82 THE DEERSLAYER 
 
 if anywhere, Deerslayer urged the canoe forward to the 
 rescue. His paddle had not been raised twice, when the 
 voice of Hurry was heard filling the air with imprecations, 
 and he rolled on the narrow beach, literally loaded down 
 with enemies. While prostrate, and almost smothered 
 with his foes, the athletic frontier-man gave his loon call, 
 in a manner that would have excited laughter under cir 
 cumstances less terrific. The figure in the water seemed 
 suddenly to repent his own flight, and rushed to the shore 
 to aid his companion, but was met and immediately over 
 powered by half a dozen fresh pursuers, who just then 
 came leaping down the bank. 
 
 " Let up, you painted riptyles let up ! " cried Hurry, 
 too hard pressed to be particular about the terms he used ; 
 "isn t it enough that I am withed like a saw-log that ye 
 must choke too ! " 
 
 This speech satisfied Deerslayer that his friends were 
 prisoners, and that to land would be to share their fate. 
 He was already within a hundred feet of the shore, when 
 a few timely strokes of the paddle not only arrested his 
 advance, but forced him off to six or eight times that dis 
 tance from his enemies. Luckily for him, all of the Indians 
 had dropped their rifles in the pursuit, or this retreat might 
 not have been effected with impunity ; though no one had 
 noted the canoe in the first confusion of the melee. 
 
 " Keep off the land, lad," called out Hutter ; "the girls 
 depend only on you, now ; you will want all your caution 
 to escape these savages. Keep off, and trust to the castle ; 
 and God prosper you, as you aid my children ! " 
 
 There was little sympathy in general between Hutter 
 and the young man, but the bodily and mental anguish 
 
THE CAPTURE 83 
 
 with which this appeal was made served at the moment to 
 conceal from the latter the former s faults. He saw only 
 the father in his sufferings, and resolved at once to give 
 a pledge of fidelity to his interests, and to be faithful to 
 his word. 
 
 11 Put your heart at ease, Master Hutter," he called out ; 
 "the gals shall be looked to, as well as the castle. The 
 inimy has got the shore, t is no use to deny, but he has n t 
 got the water. Providence has the charge of all, and no 
 one can say what will come of it ; but, if good-will can sarve / 
 you and your n, depend on that much. My exper ence is 
 small, but my will is good." 
 
 " Aye, aye, Deerslayer," returned Hurry, in his stento 
 rian voice, which was losing some of its heartiness, notwith 
 standing, " you mean well enough, but what can you 
 do ? If there s one savage on this lake shore, there s forty. 
 T won t be four-and-twenty hours, old fellow, afore these 
 foxes will be rafting off to storm your castle. As for old 
 Tom and myself, whether they 11 scalp us to-night, keep us 
 for the torture by fire, or carry us to Canada, is more than 
 any one knows but the devil that advises them how to act. 
 It s quite likely they 11 indivor to get two scalps off it, for 
 the bounty is a tempting thing, or old Tom and I would n t 
 be in this scrape. These savages are making signs, Deer- 
 slayer, for me to encourage you to come ashore with the 
 canoe ; but do you keep off where you are, and after day 
 light on no account come within two hundred yards " 
 
 This injunction of Hurry s was stopped by a hand being 
 rudely slapped against his mouth, the certain sign that some 
 one in the party sufficiently understood English to have 
 at length detected the drift of his discourse. Immediately 
 
84 THE DEERSLAYER 
 
 after, the whole group entered the forest, Hutter and 
 Hurry apparently making no resistance to the movement. 
 Just as the sounds of the cracking bushes were ceasing, 
 however, the voice of the father was again heard. 
 
 " As you re true to my children, God prosper you, 
 young man ! " were the words that reached Deerslayer s 
 ears ; after which he found himself left to follow the dic 
 tates of his own discretion. 
 
 Several minutes elapsed, in death-like stillness, when the 
 party on the shore had disappeared in the woods. Owing 
 to the distance rather more than two hundred yards 
 and the obscurity, Deerslayer had been able barely to dis 
 tinguish the group, and to see it retiring ; but even this 
 dim connection with human forms gave an animation to 
 the scene that was strongly in contrast to the absolute sol 
 itude that remained. Although the young man leaned for 
 ward to listen, holding his breath and condensing every 
 faculty in 1 the single sense of hearing, not another sound 
 reached his ears to denote the vicinity of human beings. It 
 seemed as if a silence that had never been broken reigned 
 on the spot again. 
 
 Deerslayer paused only for an instant. Then dropping 
 his paddle into the water, he turned the head of the canoe, 
 and proceeded slowly towards the centre of the lake. 
 When he believed himself to have reached a point in a line 
 with that where he had set the last canoe adrift, he changed 
 his direction northward, keeping the light air as nearly 
 on his back as possible. After paddling a quarter of a 
 mile in this direction, a dark object became visible on the 
 lake, a little to the right ; and turning on one side for the 
 purpose, he had soon secured his lost prize to his own 
 
THE CAPTURE 85 
 
 boat. Deerslayer now examined the heavens, the course 
 of the air, and the position of the two canoes. Finding 
 nothing in either to induce a change of plan, he lay down 
 and prepared to catch a few hours sleep, that the morrow 
 might find him equal to its exigencies. 
 
 Although the hardy and the tired sleep profoundly, even 
 in scenes of danger, it was some time before Deerslayer 
 lost his recollection. His mind dwelt on what had passed, 
 and his half-conscious faculties kept figuring the events of 
 the night, in a sort of waking dream. Suddenly he was 
 up and alert, for he fancied he heard the preconcerted sig 
 nal of Hurry summoning him to the shore. But all was 
 still as the grave again. The canoes were slowly drifting 
 northward, the thoughtful stars were glimmering in their 
 mild glory over his head, and the forest-bound sheet of 
 water lay embedded between its mountains, as calm and 
 melancholy as if never troubled by the winds, or bright 
 ened by a noonday sun. Once more the loon raised his 
 tremulous cry, near the foot of the lake, and the mystery 
 of the alarm was explained. Deerslayer adjusted his hard 
 pillow, stretched his form in the bottom of the canoe, 
 and slept. 
 
 CHAPTER III 
 
 Day had fairly dawned before the young man, whom we 
 have left in the situation described in the last chapter, again 
 opened his eyes. This was no sooner done than he started 
 up, and looked about him with the eagerness of one who sud 
 denly felt the importance of accurately ascertaining his pre 
 cise position. His rest had been deep and undisturbed, 
 and when he awoke, it was with a clearness of intellect 
 
86 THE DEERSLAYER 
 
 and a readiness of resources that were much needed at 
 that particular moment. The sun had not risen, it is true, 
 but the vault of heaven was rich with the winning softness 
 that "brings and shuts the day," while the whole air was 
 filled with the carols of birds. These sounds first told Deer- 
 slayer the risks he ran. The air, for wind it could scarce 
 be called, was still light, it is true, but it had increased 
 a little in the course of the night, and as the canoes were 
 mere feathers on the water, they had drifted twice the ex 
 pected distance ; and, what was still more dangerous, had 
 approached so near the base of the mountain that here 
 rose precipitously from the eastern shore as to render the 
 carols of the birds plainly audible. This was not the worst. 
 The third canoe had taken the same direction, and was 
 slowly drifting towards a point where it must inevitably 
 touch, unless turned aside by a shift of wind, or human 
 hands. It was already quite near the point, and a very few 
 strokes of the paddle sufficed to tell him that it must touch 
 before he could possibly overtake it. Just at this moment, 
 too, the wind inopportunely freshened, rendering the drift 
 of the light craft much more rapid than certain. Feeling 
 the impossibility of preventing a contact with the land, the 
 young man wisely determined not to heat himself with 
 unnecessary exertions ; but first looking to the priming of 
 his piece, he proceeded slowly and warily towards the 
 point, taking care to make a little circuit, that he might he 
 exposed on only one side, as he approached. 
 
 The canoe adrift being directed by no such intelligence, 
 pursued its proper way, and grounded on a small sunken 
 rock at the distance of three or four yards from the shore. 
 Just at that moment, Deerslayer had got abreast of t he 
 
THE CAPTURE 87 
 
 point, and turned the bows of his own boat to the land ; 
 first casting loose his tow, that his movements might be 
 unencumbered. The canoe hung an instant on the rock ; 
 then it rose a hair s breadth on an almost imperceptible 
 swell of the water, swung round, floated clear, and reached 
 the strand. All this the young man noted, but it neither 
 quickened his pulses nor hastened his hand. If any one 
 had been lying in wait for the arrival of the waif, he must 
 be seen, and the utmost caution in approaching the shore 
 became indispensable ; if no one was in ambush, hurry 
 was unnecessary. The point being nearly diagonally oppo 
 site to the Indian encampment, he hoped the last, though 
 the former was not only possible, but probable ; for the 
 savages had quite likely many scouts searching the shores 
 for craft to carry them off to the castle, and there was little 
 hope that either of the canoes would pass unseen. Indian 
 sagacity, too, needed no instruction to tell which way a 
 boat or a log would drift, when the direction of the wind 
 was known. As Deerslayer drew nearer and nearer to the 
 land, the stroke of his paddle grew slower, his eye became 
 more watchful, and his ears and nostrils almost dilated with 
 the effort to detect any lurking danger. 
 
 When about a hundred yards from the shore, Deerslayer 
 rose in the canoe, gave three or four vigorous strokes with 
 the paddle, sufficient of themselves to impel the bark to 
 land ; and then, quickly laying aside the instrument of 
 labor, he seized that of war. He was in the very act of 
 raising the rifle, when a sharp report was followed by the 
 buzz of a bullet, that passed so near his body as to cause 
 him involuntarily to start. The next instant Deerslayer 
 staggered, and fell his whole length in the bottom of the 
 
88 THE DEERSLAYER 
 
 canoe. A yell it came from a single voice followed, 
 and an Indian leaped from the bushes upon the open area 
 of the point, bounding towards the canoe. This was the 
 moment the young man desired. He rose on the instant, 
 and leveled his own rifle at his uncovered foe ; but his 
 \ finger hesitated about pulling the trigger on one whom he 
 held at such a disadvantage. This little delay, probably, 
 saved the life of the Indian, who bounded back into the 
 cover as swiftly as he had broken out of it. In the mean 
 time Deerslayer had been swiftly approaching the land, 
 and his own canoe reached the point just as his enemy dis 
 appeared. As its movements had not been directed, it 
 touched the shore a few yards from the other boat ; and 
 though the rifle of his foe had to be loaded, there was 
 not time to secure his prize, and to carry it beyond 
 danger, before he would be exposed to another shot. 
 Under the circumstances, therefore, he did not pause an 
 instant, but dashed into the woods and sought a cover. 
 
 On the immediate point there was a small open area, 
 partly in native grass, and partly beach, but a dense fringe 
 of bushes lined its upper side, where a man might easily 
 conceal himself. Deerslayer knew that his adversary must 
 be employed in reloading, unless he had fled. The former 
 proved to be the case, for the young man had no sooner 
 placed himself behind a tree, than he caught a glimpse 
 of the arm of the Indian, his body being concealed by an 
 oak, in the very act of forcing the leathered bullet home. 
 Nothing would have been easier than to spring forward, 
 and decide the affair by a close assault on his unprepared 
 foe, but every feeling of Deerslayer revolted at such a step, 
 although his own life had just been attempted from a cover. 
 
THE CAPTURE 89 
 
 He was y c t unpracticed in the ruthless expedients of sav 
 age warfare, and it struck him as an unfair advantage to 
 assail an unarmed foe. His color had heightened, his eye 
 frowned, his lips were compressed, and all his energies 
 were collected and ready ; but, instead of advancing to fire, 
 he dropped his rifle to the usual position of a sportsman 
 in readiness to catch his aim, and muttered to himself, 
 unconscious that he was speaking 
 
 " No, no that may be redskin warfare, but it s not a 
 Christian s gifts. Let the miscreant charge, and then we 11 
 take it out like men ; for the canoe he must not, and shall 
 not have. No, no ; let him have time to load, and God will 
 take care of the right ! " 
 
 All this time the Indian had been so intent on his own 
 movements that he was even ignorant that his enemy was 
 in the wood. His only apprehension was that the canoe 
 would be recovered and carried away before he might be 
 in readiness to prevent it. He had sought the cover from 
 habit, but was within a few feet of the fringe of bushes, 
 and could be at the margin of the forest in readiness to 
 fire in a moment. The distance between him and his en 
 emy was about fifty yards, and the trees were so arranged 
 by nature that the line of sight was not interrupted, except 
 by the particular trees behind which each party stood. 
 
 His rifle was no sooner loaded, than the savage glanced 
 around him, and advanced incautiously as regarded the 
 real, but stealthily as respected the fancied, position of 
 his enemy, until he was fairly exposed. Then Deerslayer 
 stepped from behind his own cover, and hailed him. 
 
 " This-a-way, redskin ; this-a-way, if you re looking for 
 me," he called out. " I m young in war, but not so young 
 
90 THE DEERSLAYER 
 
 as to stand on an open beach to be shot down r erce an owl 
 by daylight. It rests on yourself whether it s peace or war 
 atween us ; for my gifts are white gifts, and I m not one 
 of them that thinks it valiant to slay human mortals, singly, 
 in the woods." 
 
 The savage was a good deal startled by this sudden dis 
 covery of the danger he ran. He had a little knowledge of 
 English, however, and caught the drift of the other s mean-, 
 ing. He was also too well schooled to betray alarm, but, 
 dropping the butt of his rifle to the earth, with an air of 
 confidence, he made a gesture of lofty courtesy. All this was 
 done with the ease and self-possession of one accustomed 
 to consider no man his superior. In the midst of this con 
 summate acting, however, the volcano that raged within 
 caused his eyes to glare, and his nostrils to dilate, like 
 those of some wild beast that is suddenly prevented from 
 taking the fatal leap. 
 
 " Two canoes," he said, in the deep guttural tones of 
 his race, holding up the number of fingers he mentioned, 
 by way of preventing mistakes ; " one for you one for 
 me." 
 
 " No, no, Mingo, that will never do. You own neither ; 
 and neither shall you have, as long as I can prevent it. 
 I know it s war atween your people and mine, but that s 
 no reason why human mortals should slay each other, like 
 savage creatur s that meet in the woods ; go your way, 
 then, and leave me to go mine. The world is large enough 
 for us both ; and when we meet fairly in battle, why, the 
 Lord will order the fate of each of us." 
 
 " Good ! " exclaimed the Indian ; " my brother mission 
 ary great talk ; all about Manitou." 
 
THE CAPTURE 91 
 
 " Not so not so, warrior. I m only a hunter, as yet, 
 though afore the peace is made t is like enough there 11 
 be occasion to strike a blow at some of your people. Still, 
 I wish it to be done in fair fight." 
 
 " Good ! My brother very young but he is very wise. 
 Little warrior great talker. Chief, sometimes, in council. 
 Good ! " 
 
 As the Indian uttered his favorite exclamation of 
 " Good ! " they walked side by side, towards the shore. 
 There was no apparent distrust in the manner of either, 
 the Indian moving in advance, as if he wished to show his 
 companion that he did not fear turning his back to him. 
 When they reached the open ground, the former pointed 
 towards the boats, saying once more, 
 
 " Two canoes one for me, one for you. All have his 
 own." 
 
 " Not so fast, my friend," replied Deerslayer. " You re 
 mistaken in thinking that canoe s your own, and while 
 we re about it, I 11 just shove the canoe out of reach at 
 once, as the quickest way of settling difficulties." 
 
 While Deerslayer was speaking, he put a foot against 
 the end of the light boat, and giving a vigorous shove, he 
 sent it out into the lake a hundred feet or more, where, 
 taking the true current, it would necessarily float past the 
 point, and be in no further danger of coming ashore. The 
 savage started at this ready and decided expedient, and 
 his companion saw that he cast a hurried and fierce glance 
 at his own canoe, or that which contained the paddles. 
 The change of manner, however, was but momentary, and 
 then the Iroquois resumed his air of friendliness, and a 
 smile of satisfaction. 
 
92 THE DEERSLAYER 
 
 11 Good ! " he repeated, with stronger emphasis than 
 ever. " Young head, old mind. Know how to settle quar 
 rel. Farewell, brother. He go to house in water musk- 
 rat house Injin go to camp ; tell chiefs no find canoe." 
 
 Deerslayer was not sorry to hear this proposal, and he 
 took the offered hand of the Indian very willingly. The 
 parting words were friendly, and while the red man walked 
 calmly towards the wood, with the rifle in the hollow of his 
 arm, without once looking back in uneasiness or distrust, 
 the white man moved towards the remaining canoe, carry 
 ing his piece in the same pacific manner, it is true, but 
 keeping his eyes fastened on the movements of the other. 
 This distrust, however, seemed to be altogether uncalled 
 for, and as if ashamed to have entertained it, the young 
 man averted his look, and stepped carelessly up to his boat. 
 Here he began to push the canoe from the shore, and to 
 make his other preparations for departing. He might 
 have been thus employed a minute, when, happening to 
 turn his face towards the land, his quick and certain eye 
 told him at a glance the imminent jeopardy in which his 
 life was placed. The black, ferocious eyes of the savage 
 were glancing on him, like those of a crouching tiger, 
 through a small opening in the bushes, and the muzzle 
 of his rifle seemed already to be opening in a line with 
 his own body. 
 
 Then, indeed, the long practice of Deerslayer, as a 
 hunter, did him good service. Accustomed to fire with the 
 deer on the bound, and often when the precise position of 
 the animal s body had in a manner to be guessed at, he 
 used the same expedients here. To cock and poise his rifle 
 were the acts of a single moment and a single motion ; 
 
THE CAPTURE 93 
 
 then aiming almost without sighting, he fired into the 
 bushes where he knew a body ought to be, in order to 
 sustain the appalling countenance which alone was visible. 
 There was no time to raise the piece any higher, or to take 
 a more deliberate aim. So rapid were his movements that 
 both parties discharged their pieces at the same instant, 
 the concussions mingling in one report. The mountains, 
 indeed, gave back but a single echo. Deerslayer dropped 
 his piece, and stood with head erect, steady as one of the 
 pines in the calm of a June morning, watching the result ; 
 while the savage gave an appalling yell, leaped through 
 the bushes, and came bounding across the open ground, 
 flourishing a tomahawk. Still Deerslayer moved not, but 
 stood with his unloaded rifle fallen against his shoulders, 
 while, with a hunter s habits, his hands were mechanically 
 feeling for the powder-horn and charger. When about 
 forty feet from his enemy, the savage hurled his keen 
 weapon ; but it was with an eye so vacant, and a hand 
 so unsteady and feeble, that the young man caught it by 
 the handle as it was flying past him. At that instant the 
 Indian staggered and fell his whole length on the ground. 
 " I know d it I know d it!" exclaimed Deerslayer, 
 who was already preparing to force a fresh bullet into his 
 rifle ; "I know d it must come to this, as soon as I had 
 got the range from the creatur s eyes. A man sights sud 
 denly, and fires quick when his own life s in danger ; yes, 
 I know d it would come to this. I was about the hundredth 
 part of a second too quick for him, or it might have been bad 
 for me ! The riptyle s bullet has just grazed my side but 
 say what you will for or agin em, a redskin is by no means 
 as sartain with powder and ball as a white man. Their gifts 
 
94 THE DEERSLAYER 
 
 don t seem to lie that-a-way. Even Chingachgook, great 
 as he is in other matters, is n t downright deadly with 
 the rifle." 
 
 By this time the piece was reloaded, and Deerslayer, 
 after tossing the tomahawk into the canoe, advanced to his 
 victim, and stood over him, leaning on his rifle, in melan 
 in choly attention. It was the first fellow-creature against 
 whom he had ever seriously raised his own hand ; and 
 regret mingled with his triumph. The Indian was not 
 dead, though shot directly through the body. He lay on 
 his back motionless, but his eyes, now full of consciousness, 
 watched each action of his victor as the fallen bird 
 regards the fowler jealous of every movement. The man 
 probably expected the fatal blow which was to precede the 
 loss of his scalp ; or perhaps he anticipated that this latter 
 act of cruelty would precede his death. Deerslayer read 
 his thoughts ; and he found a melancholy satisfaction in 
 relieving the apprehensions of the helpless savage. 
 
 " No, no, redskin," he said ; " you ve nothing more to 
 fear from me. I am of a Christian stock, and scalping is 
 not of my gifts. I 11 just make sartain of your rifle, and 
 then come back and do you what sarvice I can. Though 
 here I can t stay much longer, as the crack of three rifles 
 will be apt to bring some of your devils down upon me." 
 
 The piece was found where its owner had dropped it, 
 and was immediately put into the canoe. Laying his own 
 rifle at its side, Deerslayer then returned and stood over 
 the Indian again. 
 
 " Water ! " ejaculated the unfortunate creature, " give 
 poor Injin water." 
 
 " Aye, water you shall have. I 11 just carry you down 
 
THE DYING INDIAN 
 
THE CAPTURE 95 
 
 to the lake that you may take your fill. This is the way, 
 they tell me, with all wounded people water is their 
 greatest comfort and delight." 
 
 So saying, Deerslayer raised the Indian in his arms, and 
 carried him to the lake. Here he first helped him to take 
 an attitude in which he could appease his burning thirst ; 
 after which he seated himself on a stone, and took the 
 head of his wounded adversary in his own lap, and endeav 
 ored to soothe his anguish in the best manner he could. 
 
 With a last effort the Indian warrior roused himself, 
 endeavoring to express his thankfulness for the other s 
 kindnesses. 
 
 " Good ! " he repeated, for this was an English word 
 much used by the savages, " good ! young head ; young 
 heart t too. Old heart tough ; no shed tear what he call 
 him ? " 
 
 " Deerslayer is the name I bear now, though the Dela- 
 wares have said that when I get back from this warpath, 
 I shall have a more manly title, provided I can arn 
 one." 
 
 That good name for boy poor name for warrior. 
 He get better quick. No fear there" the savage had 
 strength sufficient, under the strong excitement he felt, to 
 raise a hand and tap the young man on his breast, " eye 
 sartain finger lightning aim, death great warrior 
 soon. No Deerslayer Hawkeye Hawkeye Hawk- 
 eye. Shake hand." 
 
 Deerslayer or Hawkeye, as the youth was then first 
 named, for in after years he bore the appellation through 
 out all that region Deerslayer took the hand of the sav 
 age, whose last breath was drawn in that attitude. 
 
96 THE DEERSLAYER 
 
 " His spirit has fled ! " said Deerslayer, in a suppressed, 
 melancholy voice. Ah s me ! Well, to this we must 
 all come, sooner or later ; and he is happiest, let his skin 
 be of what color it may, who is best fitted to meet it. Here 
 ^ lies the body of no doubt a brave warrior, and the soul is 
 already flying towards its heaven or hell, whether that be 
 a happy hunting-ground, or a place scant of game, regions 
 of glory, according to Christian doctrine, or flames of 
 fire ! " 
 
 Deerslayer arose as soon as he had spoken. Then he 
 placed the body of the dead man in a sitting posture, with 
 its back against the little rock, taking the necessary care to 
 prevent it from falling or in any way settling into an atti 
 tude that might be thought unseemly by the sensitive, 
 though wild notions of a savage. 
 
 " No, no, warrior," he murmured, " hand of mine shall 
 never molest your scalp, and so your soul may rest in 
 peace on the p int of making a decent appearance when 
 .the body comes to join it, in your own land of spirits." 
 
 When this duty was performed, the young man stood 
 gazing at the grim countenance of his fallen foe. 
 
 " I didn t wish your life, redskin," he said, " but you 
 left me no choice atween killing or being killed. Each 
 party acted according to his gifts, I suppose. You were 
 treacherous, according to your natur in war, and I was a 
 little oversightful, as I m apt to be in trusting others. 
 Well, this is my first battle with a human mortal, though 
 it s not likely to be the last. I have fou t most of the 
 creatur s of the forest, such as bears, wolves, panthers, 
 and catamounts, but this is the beginning with the redskins. 
 
 
THE CAPTURE 97 
 
 Hawkeye ! That s not a bad name for a warrior, sounding 
 more manful and valiant than Deerslayer ! T would n t be 
 a bad title to begin with, and it has been fairly arned. If 
 twas Chingachgook, now, he might go home and boast 
 of his deeds, and the chiefs would name him Hawkeye in 
 a minute ; but it don t become white blood to brag, and 
 t is n t easy to see how the matter can be known unless I 
 do. Well, well, everything is in the hands of Provi 
 dence : still, I should like Chingachgook to know that 
 I have n t discredited the Delawares, or my training ! " 
 
 Soliloquy and reflection received a startling interruption, 
 however, by the sudden appearance of a second Indian on 
 the lake shore, a few hundred yards from the point. This 
 man, as soon as he saw himself discovered by Deerslayer, 
 gave a loud yell, which was answered by a dozen voices 
 from different parts of the mountain-side. There was no 
 longer any time for delay ; in another minute the boat was 
 quitting the shore under long and steady sweeps of the 
 paddle. 
 
 The dead Indian lay in grim quiet where Deerslayer 
 had left him, the warrior who had shown himself from the 
 forest had already vanished, and the woods themselves were 
 as silent and seemingly deserted as the day they came 
 fresh from the hands of their great Creator. This pro 
 found stillness, broken only by the sound of the hunter s 
 paddle-strokes, lasted, however, but a moment. When time 
 had been given to the scouts of the enemy to reconnoitre, 
 they burst out of the thicket upon the naked point, filling 
 the air with yells of fury at discovering the death of their 
 companion. These cries were immediately succeeded by 
 
98 THE DEERSLAYER 
 
 shouts of delight when they reached the body and cluscered 
 eagerly around it. Deerslayer was a sufficient adept in 
 the usages of the natives to understand the reason of the 
 change. The yell was the customary lamentation at the 
 loss of a warrior, the shout a sign of rejoicing that the con 
 queror had not been able to secure his scalp ; the trophy 
 without which a victory is never considered complete. The 
 distance at which the canoes lay prevented any attempts 
 to injure the conqueror. 
 
 As soon as Deerslayer believed himself to be at a safe 
 distance, he ceased his efforts, permitting the little bark to 
 drift, while he took a survey of the state of things. The 
 canoe first sent adrift was floating before the air, quite a 
 quarter of a mile above him, and a little nearer to the shore 
 than he wished, now that he knew more of the savages 
 were so near at hand. The canoe shoved from the point 
 was within a few yards of him, he having directed his own 
 course towards it on quitting the land. This nearest one 
 was soon in tow, when he proceeded in quest of the other, 
 which was all this time floating up the lake. The eye of 
 Deerslayer was no sooner fastened on this last boat, than it 
 struck him that it was nearer to the shore than it would 
 have been had it merely followed the course of the gentle 
 current of air. He began to suspect the influence of some 
 unseen current in the water, and he quickened his exer 
 tions, in order to regain possession of it before it could 
 drift in to a dangerous proximity to the woods. On get 
 ting nearer, he thought that the canoe had a perceptible 
 motion through the water, and, as it lay broadside to the 
 air, that this motion was taking it towards the land. A 
 
THE CAPTURE 99 
 
 few vigorous strokes of the paddle carried him still nearer, 
 when the mystery was explained. Something was evidently 
 in motion on the off-side of the canoe, or that which was 
 furthest from himself, and closer scrutiny showed that it 
 was a naked human arm. An Indian was lying in the bot 
 tom of the canoe, and was propelling it slowly but certainly 
 to the shore, using his hand as a paddle. Deerslayer 
 understood the whole artifice at a glance. A savage had 
 swum off to the boat while he was occupied with his en 
 emy on the point, got possession, and was using these 
 means to urge it to the shore. 
 
 Satisfied that the man in the canoe could have no arms, 
 Deerslayer did not hesitate to dash close alongside of the 
 retiring boat, without deeming it necessary to raise his own 
 rifle. As soon as the wash of the water, which he made 
 in approaching, became audible to the prostrate savage, 
 the latter sprang to his feet, and uttered a yell, and the 
 next instant his naked body disappeared in the water. 
 When he rose to take breath, it was at the distance of sev 
 eral yards from the canoe, and the hasty glance he threw 
 behind him denoted how much he feared the arrival of a 
 fatal messenger from the rifle of his foe. But the young 
 man made no indication of any hostile intention. Deliber 
 ately securing the canoe to the others, he began to paddle 
 from the shore ; and by the time the Indian reached the 
 land, and had shaken himself, like a spaniel on quitting 
 the water, his dreaded enemy was already beyond rifle-shot 
 on his way to the castle, paddling as fast as his tows 
 would allow him. 
 
 By this time the sun had not only risen, but it had 
 
100 THE DEERSLAYER 
 
 appeared over the eastern mountains and was shedding a 
 flood of glorious light on the lake, and bringing to Deer- 
 slayer s attention anew the picturesque appearance of the 
 castle with its rude, massive logs covered with their rough 
 bark, and the projecting roof. As he drew nearer to the 
 building he saw that Judith and Hetty stood on the plat 
 form, awaiting his approach with manifest anxiety. 
 
PART III. THE RANSOM 
 
 CHAPTER I 
 
 Neither of the girls spoke as Deerslayer stood before 
 them alone, his countenance betraying all the apprehension 
 he felt on account of two absent members of their party. 
 
 " Father ! " Judith at length exclaimed, succeeding in 
 uttering the word, as it might be by a desperate effort. 
 
 11 He s met with misfortune, and there s no use in con 
 cealing it," answered Deerslayer, in his direct and simple- 
 minded manner. " He and Hurry are in Mingo hands, 
 and Heaven only knows what s to be the tarmination. 
 I ve got the canoes safe, and that s a consolation, since 
 the vagabonds will have to swim for it, or raft off, to 
 come near this place. At sunset we 11 be reinforced by 
 Chingachgook, if I can manage to get him into a canoe ; 
 and then, I think, we two can answer for the ark and the 
 castle, till some of the officers in the garrisons hear of this 
 warpath, which sooner or later must be the case, when we 
 may look for succor from that quarter, if from no other." 
 
 "The officers ! " exclaimed Judith, impatiently, her color 
 deepening. " Who thinks or speaks of the heartless gal 
 lants now ? We are sufficient of ourselves to defend the 
 castle. But what of my father, and of poor Hurry Harry ? " 
 
 Deerslayer then commenced a succinct but clear narra 
 tive of all that occurred during the night, in no manner 
 
102 THE DEERSLAYER 
 
 concealing what had befallen his two companions, or his 
 own opinion of what might prove to be the consequences. 
 The girls listened with profound attention, but little was said 
 by either, and as soon as the recital was done, they busied 
 themselves in making the preparations for the morning 
 meal, of which all were in need, and especially Deerslayer 
 after the exertions of the night. The meal was nearly 
 ended before a syllable was uttered ; then Judith spoke. 
 
 " Father would have relished this fish ! " she exclaimed ; 
 " he says the salmon of the lakes is almost as good as the 
 salmon of the sea." 
 
 1 Your father has been acquainted with the sea, they 
 tell me, Judith," returned the young man. " Hurry Harry 
 tells me he was once a sailor." 
 
 Judith first looked perplexed ; then, with an impulse 
 towards confidence, she became suddenly communicative. 
 
 11 If Hurry knows anything of father s history, I would 
 he had told it to me ! " she cried. " Sometimes I think, 
 too, he was once a sailor, and then again I think he was 
 not. If that chest were open, or if it could speak, it might 
 let us into his whole history. But its fastenings are too 
 strong to be broken like pack-thread." 
 
 Deerslayer turned to the chest in question, and examined 
 it closely. Although discolored, and bearing proofs of 
 having received much ill-treatment, he saw that it was of 
 materials and workmanship altogether superior to anything 
 of the same sort he had ever before beheld. The wood 
 was dark, rich, and had once been highly polished, though 
 the treatment it had received left little gloss on its surface, 
 and various scratches -and indentations proved the rough 
 collisions that it had encountered with substances still 
 
THE RANSOM 103 
 
 harder than itself. The corners were firmly bound with 
 steel, elaborately and richly wrought, while the locks, of 
 which it had no less than three, and the hinges, were of 
 a fashion and workmanship that would have attracted 
 attention even in a warehouse of curious furniture. This 
 chest was quite large ; and when Deerslayer arose, and 
 endeavored to raise an end by its massive handle, he 
 found that the weight fully corresponded with the external 
 appearance. 
 
 "Did you never see that chest opened, Judith?" the 
 young man demanded. 
 
 11 Never. No one here has ever seen its lid raised, unless 
 it be father ; nor do I even know that he has ever seen it." 
 
 " Now, you re wrong, Judith," Hetty quietly answered. 
 " Father has raised the lid, and / ve seen him do it." 
 
 A feeling of manliness kept the mouth of Deerslayer 
 shut ; for, while he would not have hesitated about going 
 far beyond what would be thought the bounds of propriety, 
 in questioning the elder sister, he had just scruples about 
 taking what might be thought an advantage of the feeble 
 intellect of the younger. Judith, being under no such 
 restraint, however, turned quickly to the last speaker and 
 continued the discourse. 
 
 " When and where did you ever see that chest opened, 
 Hetty ? " 
 
 " Here, and again and again. Father often opens it 
 when you are away, though he don t in the least mind my 
 being by, and seeing all he does, as well as hearing all he 
 says." 
 
 " And what is it that he does, and what does he say ? " 
 
 " That I cannot telljw/, Judith," returned the other in 
 
104 THE DEERSLAYER 
 
 a low but resolute voice. "Father s secrets are not my 
 secrets." 
 
 "Secrets! This is stranger still, Deerslayer, that 
 father should tell them to Hetty, and not tell them to me ! " 
 
 11 There s good reason for that, Judith, though you re 
 not to know it. Father s not here to answer for himself, 
 and I 11 say no more about it," 
 
 Judith and Deerslayer looked surprised, and for a min 
 ute the first seemed pained. But, suddenly recollecting 
 herself, she turned away from her sister, as if in pity for 
 her weakness, and addressed the young man. 
 
 " You ve told but half your story," she said, earnestly. 
 We heard rifles under the eastern mountain ; the echoes 
 were full and long, and came so soon after the reports, 
 that the pieces must have been fired on or quite near to 
 the shore. Our ears are used to these signs, and are not 
 to be deceived." 
 
 " They ve done their duty, gal, this time ; yes, they ve 
 done their duty. Rifles have been sighted this morning, 
 aye, and triggers pulled, too, though not as often as they 
 might have been. One warrior has gone to his happy 
 hunting-grounds, and that s the whole of it. A man of 
 white blood and white gifts is not to be expected to boast 
 of his explites, and to flourish scalps." 
 
 " You have been fighting the savages, Deerslayer, singly 
 and by yourself ! " she said. "In your wish to take care 
 of us of Hetty of me, perhaps, you ve fought the 
 enemy ! " 
 
 " I ve fou t, Judith ; yes, I have fou t the inimy, and 
 that, too, for the first time in my life. However, what has 
 yet been done is no great matter, but should Chingachgook 
 
THE RANSOM 105 
 
 come to the rock this evening, as is agreed atween us, 
 and I get him off it onbeknown to the savages, or, if 
 known to them, agin their wishes and designs, then may 
 we all look to something like warfare, afore the Mingos 
 shall get possession of either the castle, or the ark, or 
 yourselves." 
 
 " Tell me more of this Chingachgook. Is it to-night 
 that you meet him and why does he come here ? " 
 
 " Aye, this evening at sunset at the meeting-rock at the 
 foot of the lake. As to why he comes here, I see no 
 harm in telling you and Hetty his errand. You must know 
 that Chingachgook is a comely Injin, and is much looked 
 upon and admired by the young women of his tribe, both 
 on account of his family, and on account of himself. Now 
 there is a chief that has a daughter called Wah-ta-Wah, 
 which is intarpreted into Hist-oh-Hist, in the English 
 tongue, the rarest gal among the Delawares, and the one 
 most sought a ter and craved for a wife by all the young 
 warriors of the nation. Well, Chingachgook, among others, 
 took a fancy to Wah-ta-Wah, and Wah-ta-Wah took a 
 fancy to him. Two moons ago, Wah-ta-Wah went with 
 her father and mother to fish for salmon on the western 
 streams, and while thus empl yed the gal vanished. For 
 several weeks we could get no tidings of her ; but here, 
 ten days since, a runner brought word that she had been 
 stolen by the inimy, who had adopted her, and wanted 
 her to marry a young Mingo. The message said that the 
 party intended to hunt and forage through this region for 
 a month or two, afore it went back into the Canadas, and 
 that if we could contrive to get on a scent in this quarter, 
 something might turn up that would lead to our getting 
 
106 THE DEERSLAYER 
 
 the maiden off. So that is why we chose this particular 
 meeting-place, and now we must plan how to get him off 
 safely." 
 
 As the hour when Chingachgook was expected still 
 remained distant, Deerslayer had time enough to examine 
 into the state of the defenses, and to make such additional 
 arrangements as the exigency of the moment seemed to 
 require. The experience and foresight of Hutter had left, 
 however, little to be done in these particulars ; and Judith 
 was sufficiently well acquainted with her father s schemes 
 of defense to be able to explain all the details to the young 
 man, and thus save him much time and trouble in his 
 preparations. 
 
 Little was to be apprehended during the day. They 
 knew that since they were* in possession of all the canoes 
 and of the ark, no other vessel was to be found on the lake. 
 Nevertheless, Deerslayer was well aware that a vessel was 
 soon made from the dead trees which were to be found in 
 abundance near the water, did the savages deem it expe 
 dient to expose themselves to the risks of an open assault ; 
 and this danger made him wish ardently for the presence 
 and succor of his Mohican friend. 
 
 CHAPTER II 
 
 At length the hour arrived when it became necessary 
 to proceed to the appointed place of meeting. Judith and 
 Hetty entered one of the canoes, the other two had 
 been floated into a locked enclosure where they were hid 
 den and secure, and Deerslayer, after making all fast 
 inside the dwelling with bolt and bar, appeared at a trap, 
 
THE RANSOM 107 
 
 from which he descended into the canoe. This done, he 
 fastened this door by which he had come out with a mas 
 sive staple and stout padlock. The three were now fastened 
 out of the dwelling, which could only be entered by vio 
 lence, or by following the course taken by the young man 
 in quitting it. 
 
 He next took a careful survey with the glass of the 
 entire shore of the lake, as far as his own position would 
 allow. Not a living thing was visible, a few birds excepted, 
 and even the last fluttered about in the shade of the trees, 
 as if unwilling to encounter the heat of a sultry afternoon. 
 
 " Nothing is stirring, hows ever," exclaimed Deerslayer, 
 as he finally lowered the glass, and prepared to enter the 
 ark. " If the vagabonds do harbor mischief in their minds, 
 they are too cunning to let it be seen ; it s true a raft may 
 be in preparation in the woods, but it has not yet been 
 brought down to the lake. They can t guess that we are 
 about to quit the castle, and, if they did, they ve no means 
 of knowing where we intend to go. Still, they ve eyes 
 and legs, and will see in what direction we steer, and 
 will be sartain to follow us. I shall strive to baffle em, 
 hows ever, by heading the scow in all manner of ways 
 first in one quarter and then in another until they get 
 to be a-leg-weary, and tired of tramping a ter us." 
 
 There was a gentle breeze from the north, and the sun 
 lay above the western hills, at an elevation that promised 
 rather more than two hours of day. The sailing of the ark 
 was never very swift, but a few minutes satisfied Deerslayer 
 that it was moving at the rate of some three or four miles 
 an hour, which if the wind held good would bring them 
 easily to the rock, a distance of a little more than two 
 
108 THE DEERSLAYER 
 
 leagues from the castle. In the guidance of the craft he 
 was as good as his word. By sheering it first to one side 
 of the lake, and then to the other, he endeavored to create 
 an uncertainty as to his object, so that the savages, who 
 were unquestionably watching his movements, would be at 
 a loss to know in which direction to hasten to meet him. 
 
 Until he came near the end of the lake, Deerslayer 
 stood as near the western shore as possible, with a view to 
 aiding this deception. Then causing Judith and Hetty to 
 enter the cabin, he suddenly threw the head of the scow 
 round, and began to make the best of his way towards 
 the outlet, where only twenty-four hours before he and his 
 companion had come in search of this same craft. When 
 distant some two hundred yards from the shore, he took 
 in his sail, and dropped his anchor, suffering the vessel, 
 however, to drift until the stern was within fifteen or 
 eighteen feet of the rock. He did not, however, venture 
 so hear the shore without taking every precaution to effect 
 a retreat in haste. He held the anchor-line in his hand, 
 and Judith was stationed at a loophole on the side of the 
 cabin next the shore, where she could watch the beach and 
 the rocks, and give timely notice of the approach of either 
 friend or foe. 
 
 The sun had not quite disappeared from the lake and 
 valley, and Deerslayer knew Indian punctuality too well 
 to anticipate any unmanly haste in his friend. The great 
 question was whether, surrounded by enemies as he was 
 known to be, he had escaped their toils. The occurrences of 
 the last twenty-four hours must be a secret to him, and, like 
 himself, Chingachgook was yet young on a warpath. It was 
 true, he came prepared to encounter the party that withheld 
 
THE RANSOM 
 
 his promised bride, but he had no means of ascertaining 
 the extent of the danger he ran, or the precise positions 
 occupied by either friends or foes. 
 
 "Is the rock empty, Judith ? " inquired Deerslayer, as 
 soon as he had checked the drift of the ark, deeming it 
 imprudent to venture unnecessarily near the shore. " Is 
 anything to be seen of the Delaware chief ? " 
 
 " Nothing, Deerslayer. Neither rock, shore, tree, nor 
 lake seems to have ever held a human form." 
 
 "Keep close, Judith keep close, Hetty a rifle has 
 a prying eye, a nimble foot, and a desperate fatal tongue. 
 Keep close, then, but keep up actyve looks, and 
 
 Deerslayer was interrupted by an exclamation from 
 Judith, 
 
 "What is t ? what is t, Judith?" he hastily de 
 manded. "Is anything to be seen ? " 
 
 " There is a man on the rock ! an Indian warrior in 
 his paint, and armed ! " 
 
 " Where does he wear his hawk s feather ? " eagerly 
 added Deerslayer, relaxing his hold of the line, in readi 
 ness to drift nearer the place of rendezvous. "Is it fast 
 to the warlock, or does he carry it above the left ear ? " 
 
 T is as you say, above the left ear ; he smiles, too, 
 and mutters the word Mohican. 
 
 " God be praised, tis the Sarpent at last! " exclaimed 
 the young man, suffering the line to slip through his hands, 
 until hearing a light bound, in the other end of the craft, 
 he instantly checked the rope, and began to haul it in again, 
 under the assurance that his object was effected. 
 
 At that moment the door of the cabin was opened 
 hastily, and the Indian who had stood on the rock, darting 
 
HO THE DEERSLAYER 
 
 through the little room, stood at Deerslayer s side, simply 
 uttering the exclamation " Hugh ! " At the next instant 
 Judith and Hetty shrieked, and the air was rilled with the 
 yell of twenty savages, who came leaping through the 
 branches down the bank, some actually falling headlong 
 into the water in their haste. 
 
 Pull, Deerslayer ! " cried Judith, "pull for life and 
 death the lake is full of savages wading after us ! " 
 
 The young men for Chingachgook immediately came 
 to his friend s assistance needed no second bidding ; but 
 applied themselves to their task with all their strength. 
 
 " What now, Judith ? what next ? Do the Mingos 
 still follow, or are we quit of em for the present ? " de 
 manded Deerslayer, when he felt the rope yielding, as if 
 the scow was going ahead. 
 
 " The scow moves ! and now the water deepens to the 
 armpits of the foremost ; still they rush forward, and will 
 seize the ark ! " 
 
 A slight scream, and then a joyous laugh followed from 
 the girl ; the first produced by a desperate effort of their 
 pursuers, and the last by its failure ; the scow, which had 
 now got fairly in motion, gliding ahead into deep water 
 out of the reach of the enemy. 
 
 They have vanished ! one, the last, is just burying 
 himself in the bushes of the bank there, he has disap 
 peared in the shadows of the trees ! You have got your 
 friend, and we are all safe ! " 
 
 The two men did not cease their exertions until the 
 anchor was pulled in, and the ark was well out in the open 
 lake again. Then Deerslayer turned to his friend, Chin 
 gachgook, a tall, handsome, and athletic young warrior, 
 
THE RANSOM 1 1 1 
 
 who had cast observant glances at the strange habitation 
 and at the two girls ; still he spoke not, and most of all 
 did he avoid the betrayal of any curiosity. 
 
 "Judith and Hetty," said Deerslayer, with an untaught, 
 natural courtesy, " this is the Mohican chief of whom 
 you ve heard me speak ; Chingachgook, as he is called, 
 which signifies the Big Sarpent so named for his wis 
 dom, and prudence, and cunning; my arliest and latest 
 friend." 
 
 Although Chingachgook both understood and spoke 
 English, he was not fluent in its use ; and when he had 
 met Judith s cordial shake of the hand, and Hetty s milder 
 welcome in the courteous manner that became a chief, he 
 turned away, apparently to await the moment when it might 
 suit his friend to enter into an explanation of his future in 
 tentions, and to give a narrative of what had passed since 
 their separation. The other understood his meaning, and 
 acted accordingly. 
 
 1 This wind will soon die away altogether, now the sun 
 is down," he said, "and there is no need of rowing agin 
 it. In half an hour or so, it will either be a flat calm or 
 the air will come off from the south shore, when we will 
 begin our journey back agin to the castle ; in the mean 
 while, the Delaware and I will talk over matters, and get 
 correct ideas of each other s notions consarning the course 
 we ought to take." 
 
 The girls withdrew into the cabin to prepare the even 
 ing meal, while the two young men took their seats on the 
 head of the scow, and began to converse in the language 
 of the Delawares. Deerslayer gave a brief narrative of the 
 events which had taken place since his arrival on the lake, 
 
1 1 2 THE DEERSLAYER 
 
 abstaining, however, from saying anything about his en 
 counter with, and victory over, the Iroquois ; but when 
 he had finished his friend asked searchingly, " And is 
 that all that the young paleface hunter has done on 
 the lake?" 
 
 The gaze that the Indian fastened on his companion was 
 so keen that it seemed to mock the gathering darkness of 
 the night. As the other furtively returned his look, he saw 
 the two black eyes glistening on him, like the balls of the 
 panther, or those of the penned wolf. He understood the 
 meaning of this glowing gaze, and answered evasively, as 
 he fancied would best become the modesty of a white 
 man s gifts. 
 
 1 T is as you suspect, Sarpent ; yes, t is somewhat that- 
 a-way. I have fell in with the inimy, and I suppose it may 
 be said I ve fou t them, too." 
 
 An exclamation of delight and exultation escaped the 
 Indian ; and then, laying his hand eagerly on the arm of 
 his friend, he asked if there were any scalps taken. 
 
 " That I will maintain, in the face of all the Delaware 
 tribe, old Tamenund, and your father, the great Uncas, 
 as well as the rest, is agin white gifts ! My scalp is on my 
 head, as you can see, Sarpent, and that was the only scalp 
 that was in danger, when one side was altogether Christian 
 and white." 
 
 "Did no warrior fall? Deerslayer did not get his 
 name by being slow of sight, or clumsy with the rifle ! " 
 
 " In that particular, chief, you re nearer reason, and 
 therefore nearer being right. I may say one Mingo fell." 
 
 " A chief ! " demanded the other, with startling vehe 
 mence. 
 
THE RANSOM 113 
 
 " Nay, that s more than I know or can say. He was art 
 ful, and treacherous, and stout-hearted, and may well have 
 gained popularity enough with his people to be named to 
 that rank. The man fou t well, though his eye was n t quick 
 enough for one who had had his schooling in your company, 
 Delaware." 
 
 " My brother and friend struck the body ? " 
 
 " That was uncalled for, seeing that the Mingo died in 
 my arms. The truth may as well be said at once ; he fou t 
 like a man of red gifts, and I fou t like a man with gifts of 
 my own color. God gave me the victory ; I could n t fly 
 in the face of his providence by forgetting my birth and 
 natur . White He made me, and white I shall live and die." 
 
 " Good ! Deerslayer is a paleface, and has paleface hands. 
 A Delaware will look for the scalp, and hang it on a pole, 
 and sing a song in his honor, when we go back to our peo 
 ple. The honor belongs to the tribe ; it must not be lost." 
 
 "This is easy talking, but twill not be as easy doing. 
 The Mingo s body is in the hands of his fri nds, and, no 
 doubt, is hid in some hole, where Delaware cunning will 
 never be able to get at the scalp." 
 
 The young man then gave his friend a succinct, but 
 clear account of the event of the morning, concealing only, 
 with a careful attention to avoid the Indian habit of boast 
 ing, all mention of the new name bestowed on him by the 
 dying warrior. Chingachgook again expressed his satis 
 faction at the honor won by his friend, and then took up 
 the narrative in his turn. His account was clear and short, 
 beginning with the history of his departure from the vil 
 lages of his people, and his arrival in the valley of the Sus- 
 quehannah. On reaching the latter, which was at a point 
 
114 THE DEERSLAYER 
 
 only half a mile south of the outlet, he had soon struck a 
 trail, which gave him notice of the probable vicinity of en 
 emies. Yet although the Delaware as we shall call him, 
 since the Mohican tribe of which he was a chief had become 
 for the time being part of the greater Delaware nation 
 had been closely watching his enemies for hours, their 
 sudden and close pursuit, as he reached the scow, was as 
 much a matter of surprise to himself as it had been to his 
 friend. He could only account for it by the fact of their 
 being more numerous than he had at first supposed, and 
 by their having out parties, of the existence of which he 
 was ignorant. He had seen and watched the ark from the 
 moment it hove in sight, though he was necessarily igno 
 rant of the presence of his friend upon it. The uncertainty 
 of its movements, and the fact that it was unquestionably 
 managed by white men, led him to conjecture the truth, 
 however, and he held himself in readiness to get on board 
 whenever a suitable occasion might offer. As the sun drew 
 near the horizon he repaired to the rock, where, on emerg 
 ing from the forest, he was gratified to find the ark lying 
 apparently in readiness to receive him. 
 
 "Well, Sarpent," asked Deerslayer, when the other 
 had ended his narrative, " as you ve been scouting around 
 these Mingos, have you anything to tell us of their captyves ; 
 the father of these young women and another, who, I con 
 clude, is the lover of one of em ? " 
 
 11 Chingachgook has seen them. An old man and a 
 young warrior, the falling hemlock and the tall pine." 
 
 "You re not so much out, Delaware; you re not so 
 much out. Old Hutter is decaying of a sartainty, though 
 many solid blocks might be hewn out of his trunk yet ; 
 
THE RANSOM 1 1 5 
 
 and, as for Hurry Harry, so far as height, and strength, 
 and comeliness go, he may be called the pride of the 
 human forest. Were the men bound, or in any manner 
 suffering torture ? " 
 
 "It is not so, Deerslayer. The Mingos are too many 
 to cage their game. Some watch, some sleep, some scout, 
 some hunt. The palefaces are treated like brothers to-day ; 
 to-morrow they will lose their scalps." 
 
 "Yes, that s red natur , and must be submitted to! 
 Judith and Hetty, here s comforting tidings for you, the 
 Delaware telling me that neither your father nor Hurry 
 Harry is in suffering ; but, bating the loss of liberty, as 
 well off as we are ourselves. Of course they are kept in 
 the camp ; otherwise they do much as they please." 
 
 " I rejoice to hear this, Deerslayer," returned Judith, 
 " and now we are joined by your friend, I make no man 
 ner of question that we shall find an opportunity to ransom 
 the prisoners. If there are any women in the camp, I have 
 articles of dress that will catch their eyes ; and, should the 
 worst come to the worst, we can open the good chest, which, 
 I think, will be found to. hold things that may tempt the 
 chiefs." 
 
 " Would the savages let father go, if Judith and I gave 
 them all our best things ? " demanded Hetty, in her inno 
 cent, mild manner. 
 
 " Their women might interfere, good Hetty ; yes, their 
 women might interfere with such an ind in view. But tell 
 me, Sarpent, how it is as to squaws among the knaves ; 
 have they many of their own women in the camp ? " 
 
 " Six," replied the Indian, holding up all the fingers of 
 one hand, and the thumb of the other ; "besides this" The 
 
Il6 THE DEERSLAYER 
 
 last number denoted his betrothed ; whom, with the poetry 
 and truth of nature, he described by laying his hand on his 
 own heart. 
 
 " Did you see her, chief did you get a glimpse of her 
 pleasant countenance, or come close enough to her ear to 
 sing in it the song she loves to hear ? " 
 
 " No, Deerslayer, the trees were too many, and leaves 
 covered their boughs, like clouds hiding the heavens in a 
 storm. But," and the young warrior turned his dark face 
 towards his friend, with a smile on it that illuminated its 
 fierce-looking paint and naturally stern lineaments with a 
 bright gleam of human feeling, - " Chingachgook heard 
 the laugh of Wah-ta-Wah ; he knew it from the laugh of 
 the women of the Iroquois. It sounded in his ears like the 
 chirp of the wren." 
 
 " Aye, trust a lovyer s ear for that ; and a Delaware s 
 ear for all sounds that are ever heard in the woods. I 
 know not why it is so, Judith, but when young men 
 and I dare to say it may be all the same with young women 
 too but when they get to have kind feelin s towards each 
 other, it s wonderful how pleasant the laugh or the speech 
 becomes to the other person. I ve seen grim warriors lis 
 tening to the chattering .and the laughing of young gals as 
 if it was church music." 
 
 " Andjj/0, Deerslayer," said Judith quickly ; " havejjw/ 
 never felt how pleasant it is to listen to the laugh of the 
 girl you love ? " 
 
 " Lord bless you, gal ! why I ve never lived enough 
 among my own color to drop into them sort of feelin s, 
 no, never ! I dare to say, they are nat ral and right ; but 
 to me there s no music so sweet as the sighing of the, wind 
 
THE RANSOM 117 
 
 in the tree-tops, and the rippling of a stream from a full, 
 sparkling, natyve fountain of pure fresh water ; unless, in 
 deed," he continued, dropping his head for an instant in 
 a thoughtful manner, " unless, indeed, it be the open 
 mouth of a sartain hound, when I m on the track of a fat 
 buck. No, Judith, my sweetheart is in the forest, hanging 
 from the boughs of the trees, in a soft rain in the dew 
 on the open grass the clouds that float about in the blue 
 heavens the birds that sing in the woods the sweet 
 springs where I slake my thirst and in all the other - 
 glorious gifts that come from God s providence ! " 
 
 Both men now arose, the hour having arrived when it 
 became prudent to move the ark further from the land. It 
 was quite dark ; the heavens having become clouded and 
 the stars hid. The north wind had ceased, as was usual, 
 with the setting of the sun, and a light air arose from the 
 south. This change favoring the design of Deerslayer, he 
 lifted his anchor, and the scow immediately and quite per 
 ceptibly began to drift more into the lake. The sail was set, 
 when the motion of the craft increased to a rate not much 
 less than two miles in the hour. As this superseded the 
 necessity of rowing, Deerslayer, Chingachgook, and Judith 
 seated themselves in the stern of the scow, where the first 
 governed its movements by holding the oar. Here they 
 discoursed on their future movements, and on the means 
 that ought to be used in order to effect the liberation of 
 their friends. 
 
 In this manner half an hour passed, during which time 
 the ark had been slowly stealing over the water, the dark 
 ness thickening around it; though it was easy to see that 
 the gloom of the forest at the southern end of the lake was 
 
Il8 THE DEERSLAYER 
 
 getting to be distant, while the mountains that lined the 
 sides of the beautiful basin were overshadowing it, nearly 
 from side to side. There was, indeed, a narrow stripe of 
 water, in the centre of the lake, where the dim light that 
 was still shed from the heavens fell upon its surface, in a 
 line extending north and south ; and along this faint tract 
 a sort of inverted milky-way, in which the obscurity was 
 not quite as dense as in other places the scow held her 
 course, he who steered well knowing that it led in the di 
 rection he wished to go. The peculiarities at length caught 
 the attention of Judith and the Deerslayer, and the conver 
 sation ceased, to allow each to gaze at the solemn stillness 
 and deep repose of nature. 
 
 1 T is a gloomy night," observed the girl, after a pause 
 of several minutes. " I hope we may be able to find the 
 castle." 
 
 11 Little fear of our missing that, if we keep this path, 
 in the middle of the lake," returned the young man. 
 " Natur has made us a road here, and, dim as it is, 
 there 11 be little difficulty in following it." 
 
 " Do you hear nothing, Deerslayer ? It seemed as if 
 the water was stirring quite near us ! " 
 
 " Sartainly something did move the water, oncommon 
 like ; it must have been a fish. Ha ! that sounds like a 
 paddle, used with more than common caution ! " 
 
 At this moment the Delaware bent forward and pointed 
 significantly into the boundary of gloom, as if some object 
 had suddenly caught his eye. Both Deerslayer and Judith 
 followed the direction of his gesture, and each got a view 
 of a canoe at the same instant. The glimpse of this star 
 tling neighbor was dim, and, to eyes less practiced, it might 
 
THE RANSOM 119 
 
 have been uncertain ; though to those in the ark the object 
 was evidently a canoe, with a single individual in it ; the 
 latter standing erect and paddling. How many lay con 
 cealed in its bottom, of course could not be known. Flight, 
 by means of oars, from a bark canoe impelled by vigorous 
 and skillful hands, was utterly impracticable, and each of 
 the men seized his rifle in expectation of a conflict. 
 
 " I can easily bring down the paddler," whispered Deer- 
 slayer, " but we 11 first hail him and ask his arr nd." 
 Then raising his voice, he continued in a solemn manner, 
 " Hold ! If you come nearer I must fire, though contrary 
 to my wishes, and then sartain death will follow. Stop 
 paddling, and answer ! " 
 
 " Fire, and slay a poor defenseless girl," returned a soft, 
 tremulous female voice, " and God will never forgive you ! 
 Go your way, Deerslayer, and let me go mine." 
 
 " Hetty! " exclaimed the young man and Judith in a 
 breath ; and the former sprang instantly to the spot where 
 he had left the canoe they had been towing. It was gone, 
 and he understood the whole affair. As for the fugitive, 
 frightened at the menace, she ceased paddling, and re 
 mained dimly visible, resembling a spectral outline of a 
 human form standing on the water. 
 
 " What can this mean, Judith ? " demanded Deerslayer. 
 " Why has your sister taken the canoe, and left us ? " 
 
 " You know she is feeble-minded, poor girl ! and she 
 has her own ideas of what ought to be done. She loves 
 her father more than most children love their parents 
 and then "- 
 
 " Then what, girl ? This is a trying moment ; one in 
 which truth must be spoken ! " 
 
120 THE DEERSLAYER 
 
 Judith felt a generous and womanly regret at betraying 
 her sister, and she hesitated ere she spoke again. But 
 once more urged by Deerslayer, and conscious herself of 
 all the risks the whole party was running by the indis 
 cretion of Hetty, she could refrain no longer. 
 
 " Then I fear poor, weak-minded Hetty has not been 
 altogether able to see the vanity, and madness, and folly 
 that lie hid behind the handsome face and fine form of 
 Hurry Harry. She talks of him in her sleep, and some 
 times betrays the inclination in her waking moments." 
 
 11 You think, Judith, that your sister is now bent on some 
 mad scheme to serve her father and Hurry, which will, in 
 all likelihood, give them riptyles, the Mingos, the master 
 ship of a canoe ? " 
 
 " Such, I fear, will turn out to be the fact, Deerslayer. 
 Poor Hetty has hardly sufficient cunning to outwit a 
 savage." 
 
 All this while the canoe, with the form of Hetty erect 
 in one end of it, was dimly perceptible ; though the greater 
 drift of the ark rendered it at each instant less and less 
 distinct. It was evident no time was to be lost, lest it 
 should altogether disappear. The rifles were now laid 
 aside as useless ; the two men seizing the oars, and sweep 
 ing the head of the scow round in the direction of the canoe. 
 Judith, accustomed to the office, flew to the other end of 
 the ark and placed herself at what might be called the 
 helm. Hetty took the alarm at these preparations, which 
 could not be made without noise, and started off like a 
 bird that had been suddenly put up by the approach of 
 unexpected danger. 
 
THE RANSOM 121 
 
 As Deerslayer and his companion rowed with the energy 
 of those who felt the necessity of straining every nerve, and 
 Hetty s strength was impaired by a nervous desire to es 
 cape, the chase would have quickly terminated in the 
 capture of the fugitive had not the girl made several 
 short and unlooked-for deviations in her course. These 
 turnings gave her time, and they had also the effect of 
 gradually bringing both canoe and ark within the deeper 
 gloom cast by the shadows from the hills. They also 
 gradually increased the distance between the fugitive and 
 her pursuers, until Judith called out to her companions 
 to cease rowing, for she had completely lost sight of 
 the canoe. 
 
 When this mortifying announcement was made, Hetty 
 was actually so near as to understand every syllable her 
 sister uttered ; though the latter had used the precaution 
 of speaking as low as circumstances would allow her to do, 
 and make herself heard. Hetty stopped paddling at the 
 same moment, and waited the result with an impatience 
 that was breathless, equally from her late exertions and 
 her desire to land. A dead silence immediately fell on 
 the lake ; during which the three in the ark were using 
 their senses differently in order to detect the position of 
 the canoe. Judith leant forward to listen, in the hope of 
 catching some sound that might betray the direction in 
 which her sister was stealing away ; while her two com 
 panions brought their eyes as near as possible to a level 
 with the water, in order to detect any object that might 
 be floating on its surface. All was vain, however, for 
 neither sound nor sight rewarded their efforts. All this 
 
122 THE DEERSLAYER 
 
 time Hetty, who had not the cunning to sink into the 
 canoe, stood erect, a finger pressed on her lips, gazing in 
 the direction in which the voices had been heard, resem 
 bling a statue of profound and timid attention. Her inge 
 nuity had barely sufficed to enable her to seize the canoe 
 and to quit the ark in the noiseless manner related ; and 
 then it appeared to be momentarily exhausted. Even the 
 doubling of the canoe had been as much the consequence 
 of an uncertain hand, and of nervous agitation, as of any 
 craftiness or calculation. 
 
 The pause continued several minutes, during which 
 Deerslayer and the Delaware conferred together in the lan 
 guage of the latter. Then the oars dipped again, and the 
 ark moved away, rowing with as little noise as possible. 
 It steered westward, a little southerly, or in the direction 
 of the encampment of the enemy. Having reached a point 
 at no great distance from the shore, and where the obscu 
 rity was intense on account of the proximity of the land, 
 it lay there near an hour, in waiting for the expected ap 
 proach of Hetty, who, it was thought, would make the 
 best of her way to that spot as soon as she believed her 
 self relieved from the danger of pursuit. No success re 
 warded this little blockade, however ; neither appearance 
 nor sound denoting the passage of the canoe. Disap 
 pointed at this failure, and conscious of the importance 
 of getting possession of the fortress before it could be 
 seized by the enemy, Deerslayer now took his way towards 
 the castle, with the apprehension that all his foresight in 
 securing the canoes would be defeated by this unguarded 
 and alarming movement on the part of the feeble-minded 
 Hetty. 
 
THE RANSOM 12^ 
 
 <J 
 
 CHAPTER III 
 
 Fear, as much as calculation, had induced Hetty to cease 
 paddling, when she found that her pursuers did not know 
 in which direction to proceed. She remained stationary, 
 until the ark had pulled in near the encampment, when 
 she resumed the paddle, and with cautious strokes made 
 the best of her way towards the western shore. Yet feeble 
 minded as she was, she had worked out, partly through 
 instinctive caution, and partly through long familiarity 
 with the lake, a plan that would have done credit to a 
 wiser brain. She was perfectly aware of the importance 
 of keeping the canoes from falling into the hands of the 
 Iroquois, and had hit upon the expedient of landing at a 
 long gravelly point which thrust itself into the lake, about 
 a league below the outlet. From this point a canoe, if set 
 adrift with a southerly air, would float clear of the land, 
 and drift towards the castle, or at any rate towards the 
 northern end of the lake where Deerslayer could see it 
 from the castle. 
 
 The girl was quite an hour finding her way to the point ; 
 but she was no sooner on the gravelly beach than she 
 prepared to set the canoe adrift. While in the act of push 
 ing it from her, she heard low voices that seemed to come 
 from among the trees behind her. Startled at this unex 
 pected danger, Hetty was on the point of springing into 
 the canoe again, in order to seek safety in flight, when she 
 thought she recognized the tones of Judith s melodious 
 voice. Bending forward so as to catch the sounds more 
 directly, they evidently came from the water ; and then she 
 understood that the ark was approaching, and so close 
 
124 THE DEERSLAYER 
 
 to the western shore as necessarily to cause it to pass the 
 point within twenty yards of the spot where she stood. Here, 
 then, was all she could desire ; the canoe was shoved off into 
 the lake, leaving its late occupant alone on the narrow strand. 
 
 When this act of self-devotion was performed, Hetty 
 did not retire. Flight at any moment was perfectly easy, 
 as twenty steps would bury her in the forest. But in the 
 darkness it was impossible to see anything at a distance 
 of a few feet. She remained, therefore, watching with 
 intense anxiety the result of her expedient, intending to 
 call the attention of the others to the canoe with her voice, 
 should they appear to pass without observing it. The ark 
 approached under its sail again on its way to the castle, as 
 its occupants had given up hope of finding Hetty. Deer- 
 slayer was standing in its bow, with Judith near him, and 
 the Delaware at the helm. 
 
 It was Deerslayer who first saw the empty canoe. 
 
 " Judith, there s a canoe ! " he whispered. 
 
 " It must be that in which Hetty fled," she replied. 
 " She must have landed and set it adrift." 
 
 " Keep the scow straight, Delaware," commanded 
 Deerslayer; "steer as straight as your bullet flies when 
 sent agin a buck ; there, I have it." 
 
 The canoe was seized, and immediately secured again 
 to the side of the ark. At the next moment the sail was 
 lowered, and the motion of the ark arrested, by means of 
 the oars. 
 
 " Hetty ! " called out Judith, concern and affection be 
 traying itself in her tones ; " are you within hearing, sister? 
 for God s sake answer, and let me hear the sound of 
 your voice again ! Hetty ! dear Hetty ! " 
 
THE RANSOM 125 
 
 " I m here, Judith here on the shore, where it will 
 be useless to follow me, as I will hide in the woods." 
 
 " Oh ! Hetty, what is t you do ! Remember t is draw 
 ing near midnight, and that the woods are filled with 
 savages and wild beasts ! " 
 
 " Neither will harm a poor half-witted girl, Judith. God 
 is as much with me here as He would be in the ark, or in 
 the hut. I am going to help my father and Hurry Harry, 
 who will be tortured and slain, unless some one cares for 
 them." 
 
 " We all care for them, and intend to-morrow to send 
 them a flag of truce to buy their ransom. Come back then, 
 sister; trust to us, who have better heads than you, and 
 who will do all we can for father." 
 
 " I know your head is better than mine, Judith, for mine 
 is very weak, to be sure ; but I must go to father and 
 Hurry. Do you and Deerslayer keep the castle, sister ; 
 leave me in the hands of God." 
 
 "God is with us all, Hetty in the castle, or on the 
 shore father as well as ourselves ; and it is sinful not to 
 trust to His goodness. You can do nothing in the dark ; 
 will lose your way in the forest, and perish for want of 
 food." 
 
 " God will not let that happen to a poor child that goes 
 to serve her father, sister. I must try and find the savages." 
 
 " Come back, for this night only; in the morning we 
 will put you ashore, and leave you to do as you may think 
 right." 
 
 " You say so, Judith, and you think so ; but you would 
 not. Your heart would soften, and you d see tomahawks 
 and scalping-knives in the air. Besides, I Ve got a thing 
 
126 THE DEERSLAYER 
 
 to tell the Indian chief that will answer all our wishes ; 
 and I m afraid I may forget it if I don t tell it to him at 
 once. You 11 see that he will let father go as soon as he 
 hears it ! " 
 
 " Poor Hetty ! What can. you say to a ferocious savage, 
 that will be likely to change his bloody purpose ! " 
 
 " That which will frighten him, and make him let father 
 go," returned the simple-minded girl, positively. "You ll 
 see, sister ; you 11 see how soon it will bring him to, like 
 a gentle child ! " 
 
 " Will you tell me, Hetty, what you intend to say ? " 
 asked Deerslayer ; "I know the savages well, and can form 
 some idee how far fair words will be likely, or not, to work 
 on their bloody natur s." 
 
 " Well, then," answered Hetty, dropping her voice to 
 a low, confidential tone ; for the stillness of the night and 
 the nearness of the ark permitted her to do this, and still 
 to be heard, "well, then, Deerslayer, as you seem a 
 good and honest young man, I will tell you. I mean not 
 to say a word to any of the savages until I get face to face 
 with their head chief, let them plague me with as many 
 questions as they please ; no -I 11 answer none of them, 
 unless it be to tell them to lead me to their wisest man. 
 Then, Deerslayer, I 11 tell him that God will not forgive 
 murder and thefts ; and that if father and Hurry did go 
 after the scalps of the Iroquois, he must return good for 
 evil, for so the Bible commands, else he will go into ever 
 lasting punishment. When he hears this, and feels it to 
 be true, as feel it he must, how long will it be before he 
 sends father and Hurry and me to the shore, opposite the 
 castle, telling us all three to go our way in peace ? " 
 
THE RANSOM 127 
 
 The last question was put in a triumphant manner ; and 
 then the simple minded girl laughed at the impression she 
 never doubted that her project had made on her auditors. 
 Deerslayer was dumfounded at this proof of guileless fee 
 bleness of mind. For a moment all were silent with sur 
 prise. Then Judith called her sister by name once more. 
 But no answer was given to the call. 
 
 By the snapping of twigs, and the rustling of leaves, 
 Hetty had evidently quitted the shore, and was already 
 burying herself in the forest. To follow would have been 
 useless. After a short and melancholy discussion, the sail 
 was again set, and the party reached the castle in less than 
 an hour. Here all was found as it had been left. Judith 
 occupied a solitary bed that night, bedewing the pillow 
 with her tears, as she thought with many bitter regrets of 
 the innocent girl who had been her companion from child 
 hood, but who was now wandering alone in the forest. 
 
 CHAPTER IV 
 
 When Hetty left the shore, she took her way unhesita 
 tingly into the woods with a nervous apprehension of 
 being followed. Luckily, this course was the best she 
 could have hit on, since it was the only one that led her 
 from the point. The night was so intensely dark, beneath 
 the branches of the trees, that her progress was very slow, 
 and the direction she went altogether a matter of chance, 
 after the first few yards. The formation of the ground, 
 however, did not permit her to deviate far from the line 
 in which she desired to proceed. On one hand, it was 
 soon bounded by the acclivity of the hill ; while the lake 
 
128 THE DEERSLAYER 
 
 on the other served as a guide. For two hours did this 
 single-hearted and simple-minded girl toil through the 
 mazes of the forest ; sometimes finding herself on the 
 brow of the bank that bounded the water, and at others 
 struggling up an ascent that warned her to go no further 
 in that direction, since it necessarily ran at right angles to 
 the course on which she wished to proceed. Her feet often 
 slid from beneath her, and she got many falls, though 
 none to do her injury ; but, by the end of the period men 
 tioned, she had become so weary as to want strength to 
 go any further. Rest was indispensable ; and she set about 
 preparing a bed, with the readiness and coolness of one to 
 whom the wilderness presented no unnecessary terrors, 
 because of its familiarity and the freedom from appre 
 hension which went with her simplicity. 
 
 As soon as Hetty had collected a sufficient number of 
 the dried leaves to protect her person from the damps of 
 the ground, she kneeled beside the humble pile, clasped 
 her raised liands in an attitude of deep devotion, and 
 in a soft, low, but audible voice, repeated the Lord s 
 prayer. 
 
 This duty done, she wrapped about her a heavy, coarse 
 mantle, lay down, and disposed herself to sleep. In a few 
 moments she dropped asleep, and lay hour after hour in 
 a tranquillity as undisturbed and a rest as sweet as if 
 watched over by the guardian care of that mother who had 
 so recently been taken from her. Not once did her soft 
 eyes open, until the gray of the dawn came struggling 
 through the tops of the trees, falling on their lids, and, 
 united to the freshness of a summer s morning, giving the 
 usual summons to awake. The girl murmured in her sleep, 
 
THE RANSOM 129 
 
 threw an arm forward, smiled as gently as an infant in its 
 cradle, but still slumbered. In making this unconscious 
 gesture, her hand fell on some object that was warm, and, 
 in the half-unconscious state in which she lay, she con 
 nected the circumstance with her habits. At the next 
 moment, a rude attack was made on her side, as if a root 
 ing animal were thrusting its snout beneath, with a desire 
 to force her position ; and then, uttering the name of 
 "Judith," she awoke. As the startled girl arose to a sit 
 ting attitude, she perceived that some dark object sprang 
 from her, scattering the leaves and snapping the fallen 
 twigs in its haste. Opening her eyes, and recovering from 
 the first confusion and astonishment of her situation, 
 Hetty perceived a cub of the common brown bear, balanc 
 ing itself on its hinder legs and still looking towards her, 
 as if doubtful whether it would be safe to trust itself near 
 her person again. The first impulse of Hetty, who had 
 been mistress of several of these cubs, was to run and seize 
 the little creature as a prize, but a loud growl "warned her 
 of the danger of such a procedure. Recoiling a few 
 steps, the girl looked hurriedly round, and perceived the 
 dam with two more cubs watching her movements, with 
 fiery eyes, at no great distance. Much as she longed to 
 catch the little animal up in her arms and play with it, she 
 had self-command enough to refrain ; and recollecting her 
 errand, she tore herself away from the group and, after 
 kneeling and offering a short prayer, proceeded on her 
 course along the margin of the lake, of which she now 
 caught glimpses again through the trees. To her surprise, 
 though not to her alarm, the family of bears arose and 
 followed her steps, keeping a short distance behind her, 
 
130 THE DEERSLAYER 
 
 apparently watching every movement as if they had a near 
 interest in all she did. 
 
 In this manner, escorted by the dam and cubs, the girl 
 proceeded nearly a mile, thrice the distance she had been 
 able to achieve in the darkness during the same period of 
 time. She then reached a brook that had dug a channel 
 for itself into the earth, and went brawling into the lake, 
 between steep and high banks, covered with trees. Here 
 Hetty performed her ablutions ; then drinking of the pure 
 mountain water, she went her way, refreshed and lighter 
 of heart, still attended by her singular companions. Her 
 course now lay along a broad and nearly level terrace, 
 which stretched from the top of the bank that bounded 
 the water, and Hetty knew by this circumstance that she 
 was getting near to the encampment ; had she not, the 
 bears would have given her warning of the vicinity of 
 human beings. Snuffing the air, the dam refused to follow 
 any further, though the girl looked back and invited her 
 to come by signs, and even by direct appeals made in her 
 own sweet voice. It was while making her way slowly 
 through some bushes, in this manner, with averted face 
 and eyes riveted on the immovable animals, that the girl 
 suddenly found her steps arrested by a human hand, that 
 was laid lightly on her shoulder. 
 
 " Where go?" said a soft female voice, speaking hur 
 riedly, and in concern. " Indian red-man savage 
 wicked warrior that-a-way . 
 
 This unexpected salutation alarmed the girl no more 
 than the presence of the fierce inhabitants of the woods. 
 It took her a little by surprise, it is true, but the Indian 
 woman who had stopped her was little likely to excite 
 
THE RANSOM 131 
 
 terror. It was a girl not much older than herself, whose 
 smile was sunny as Judith s in her brightest moments, 
 and whose voice was melody itself. She was dressed in a 
 calico mantle, that effectually protected all the upper part 
 of her person, while a short petticoat of blue cloth edged 
 with gold lace, that fell no lower than her knees, leggings 
 of the same, and moccasins of deerskin, completed her 
 attire. Her hair fell in long dark braids down her shoulders 
 and back, and was parted above a low smooth forehead, in 
 a way to soften the expression of eyes that were full of 
 archness and natural feeling. Her face was oval, with deli 
 cate features ; the teeth were even and white ; while her 
 voice, as has been already intimated, was soft as the sigh 
 ing of the night air, a characteristic of the females of her 
 race, but which was so conspicuous in herself as to have 
 procured for her the name of Wah-ta-Wah. 
 
 In a word, this was the betrothed of Chingachgook ; 
 who, having succeeded in lulling their suspicions, was per 
 mitted to wander around the encampment of her captors. 
 This indulgence was in accordance with the general policy 
 of the red-man, who well knew, moreover, that her trail 
 could have been followed, in the event of flight. It will 
 also be remembered that the Iroquois, or Hurons, as it 
 would be better to call them, were entirely ignorant of the 
 proximity of her lover ; a fact, indeed, that she did not 
 know herself. 
 
 "Where go?" repeated Wah-ta-Wah, returning the 
 smile of Hetty, in her own gentle, winning manner ; 
 " wicked warrior that-a-way good warrior far off." 
 
 11 What s your name ? " asked Hetty, with the simplic 
 ity of a child. 
 
132 THE DEERSLAYER 
 
 " Wah-ta-Wah, that say Hist-oh-Hist in your tongue. 
 I no Mingo good Delaware Yengeese friend. Mingo 
 cruel, and love scalp for blood Delaware love him for 
 honor. Come here, where no eyes." 
 
 Wah-ta-Wah now led her companion towards the lake, 
 descending the bank so as to place its overhanging trees 
 and bushes between them and any probable observers ; nor 
 did she stop until they were both seated, side by side, on a 
 fallen log, one end of which actually lay buried in the water. 
 
 "\Why you come for?" the young Indian eagerly in 
 quired ; " where you come from ? " 
 
 Hetty told her tale in her own simple and truth-loving 
 manner. She explained the situation of her father, and 
 stated her desire to serve him, and, if possible, to procure 
 his release. 
 
 " Why your father come to Mingo camp in night ? " 
 asked the Indian girl, with a directness, which, if not bor 
 rowed from the other, partook largely of its sincerity. 
 "He know it war-time, and he no boy he no want beard 
 no want to be told Iroquois carry tomahawk, and knife, 
 and rifle. Why he come night time, seize me by hair, and 
 try to scalp Delaware girl ? " 
 
 " You ! " said Hetty, almost sickening with horror ; did 
 he seize yo^l did he try to scalp you ? " 
 
 " Why no ? Delaware scalp sell for much as Mingo 
 scalp. Governor no tell difference. Wicked t ing for 
 paleface to scalp. No his gifts, as the good Deerslayer 
 alway tell me." 
 
 " And do you know the Deerslayer? " said Hetty, col 
 oring with delight and surprise, forgetting her regrets at 
 the moment, in the influence of this new feeling. " I know 
 
THE RANSOM 133 
 
 him, too. He is now in the ark, with Judith, and a Dela 
 ware who is called the Big Serpent. A bold and handsome 
 warrior is this Serpent, too ! " 
 
 Spite of the rich deep color that nature had bestowed 
 on the Indian beauty, the tell-tale blood deepened on her 
 cheeks, until the blush gave new animation and intelli 
 gence to her jet-black eyes. Raising a finger in an attitude 
 of warning, she dropped her voice, already so soft and 
 sweet, nearly to a whisper, as she continued the discourse. 
 
 " Chingachgook ! " returned the Delaware girl, sighing 
 out the harsh name, in sounds so softly guttural as to 
 cause it to reach the ear in melody. "His father, Uncas 
 great chief of the Mohicans next to old Tamenund ! 
 More as warrior, not so much gray hair, and less at coun 
 cil-fire. You know Serpent ? " 
 
 " He joined us last evening, and was in the ark with 
 me for two or three hours before I left it. I m afraid he 
 has come after scalps as well as my poor father and Hurry 
 Harry ! " 
 
 " Why he should n t, ha ? Chingachgook red warrior, 
 very red scalp make his honor be sure he take him." 
 
 "Then," said Hetty, earnestly, "he will be as wicked 
 as any other. God will not pardon in a red man what he 
 will not pardon in a white man." 
 
 " No true," returned the Delaware girl, with a warmth 
 that nearly amounted to passion, "no true, I tell you! 
 The Manitou smile and please when he see young warrior 
 come back from the warpath, with two, ten, hundred scalp 
 on a pole ! Chingachgook father take scalp, grandfather 
 take scalp all old chief take scalp ; and Chingachgook 
 take as many scalp as he can carry, himself ! " 
 
134 THE DEERSLAYER 
 
 " Then, Hist, his sleep of nights must be terrible to 
 think of ! No one can be cruel and hope to be forgiven." 
 
 "No cruel plenty forgiven," returned Wah-ta-Wah, 
 stamping her little foot on the stony strand, and shaking 
 her head in a way to show how completely feminine feel 
 ing, in one of its aspects, had got the better of feminine 
 feeling in another. " I tell you, Serpent brave ; he go 
 home this time with four, yes, two scalp." 
 
 " And is that his errand here ? Did he really come all 
 this distance, across mountains and valleys, rivers and lakes, 
 to torment his fellow-creatures, and do so wicked a thing ? " 
 
 This question at once appeased the growing ire of the 
 half -off ended Indian beauty. At first she looked around 
 her suspiciously, as if distrusting eavesdroppers ; then she 
 gazed wistfully into the face of her attentive companion, 
 whose simplicity and guilelessness made her countenance 
 rarely winning. Then yielding to an impulse of tenderness 
 she threw her arms around Hetty, and embraced her with 
 an outpouring emotion so natural that it was only equaled 
 by its warmth. 
 
 "You good," whispered the young Indian ; " you good, 
 I know ; it s so long since Wah-ta-Wah have a friend 
 a sister anybody to speak her heart to ! You Hist friend : 
 don t I say trut ? " 
 
 11 1 never had a friend," answered Hetty, returning the 
 warm embrace with unfeigned earnestness ; "I ve a sister, 
 but no friend. Judith loves me, and I love Judith ; but 
 that s natural, and as we are taught in the Bible ; but I 
 should like to have a friend ! I 11 be your friend, with all 
 my heart ; for I like your voice, and your smile, and your 
 way of thinking in everything except about the scalps"- 
 
THE RANSOM 135 
 
 "No t ink more of him no say more of scalp," in 
 terrupted Hist, soothingly; "you paleface, I redskin; 
 we bring up different fashion. Deerslayer and Chingach- 
 gook great friend, and no the same color. My name Wah- 
 ta-Wah I told you ; what your name, pretty paleface ? " 
 
 " I am called Hetty, though Judith says my real name is 
 Esther. I don t understand why Esther and Hetty are 
 the same, but Judith says it s in the Bible so ; and I m not 
 full-witted, so I don t expect to understand everything." 
 
 Hist gazed at the gentle, simple girl for quite a minute, 
 without speaking ; when the truth appeared to flash all at 
 once on the mind of the young Indian maid. Pity, rever 
 ence, and tenderness seemed struggling together in her 
 breast ; then, rising suddenly, she indicated a wish to her 
 companion that she would accompany her to the camp, 
 which was situated at no great distance. This unexpected 
 change, from the precaution that Hist had previously man 
 ifested a desire to use in order to prevent being seen, to 
 an open exposure of the person of her friend, arose from 
 the perfect conviction that no Indian would harm a being 
 whom the Great Spirit had disarmed, by depriving it of 
 its strongest defense, reason. 
 
 Hetty accompanied her new friend without apprehen 
 sion or reluctance. It was her wish to reach the camp ; 
 and, sustained by her motives, she felt no more concern for 
 the consequences than did her companion herself, now the 
 latter was apprised of the character of the protection that 
 the paleface maiden carried with her. Still, as they proceeded 
 slowly along a shore that was tangled with overhanging 
 bushes, Hist endeavored to caution her new-found friend, 
 who she now feared would in her simplicity relate too much. 
 
136 THE DEERSLAYER 
 
 " Hist prisoner, and Mingo got big ear. No speak of 
 Chingachgook when they by. Promise Hist that, good 
 Hetty." 
 
 "I know I know," returned Hetty, half-whispering 
 in her eagerness to let the other see she understood the 
 necessity of caution. " I know Deerslayer and the Ser 
 pent mean to get you away from the Iroquois ; and you 
 wish me not to tell the secret." 
 
 " How you know?" said Hist, hastily, vexed at the 
 moment that the other was not even more feeble-minded 
 than was actually the case. " How you know ? Better not 
 talk of any but fader and Hurry ; Mingo understand dat ; 
 he no understand / udder. Promise you no talk about 
 what you no understand." 
 
 " But I do understand this, Hist ; and so I must talk 
 about it. Deerslayer as good as told father all about it, in 
 my presence ; and as nobody told me not to listen, I over 
 heard it all, as I did Hurry and father s discourse about 
 the scalps." 
 
 " Very bad for paleface to talk about scalps, and very 
 bad for young woman to hear ! Now you love Hist, I 
 know, Hetty, and so, among Injins, when love hardest 
 never talk most." 
 
 " That s not the way among white people, who talk 
 most about them they love best. I suppose it s because 
 I m only half-witted that I don t see the reason why it 
 should be so different among red people." 
 
 " That what Deerslayer call gift. One gift to talk, 
 t udder gift to hold tongue. Hold-tongue your gift, 
 among Mingos. If Serpent want to see Hist, so Hetty 
 want to see Hurry. Good girl never tell .secret of friend." 
 
THE RANSOM 137 
 
 Hetty understood this appeal ; and she promised the 
 Delaware girl not to make any allusion to the presence of 
 Chingachgook, or to the motive of his visit to the lake. 
 
 " Maybe he get off Hurry and fader, as well as Hist, if 
 let him have his way," whispered Wah-ta-Wah to her 
 companion, in a confiding, flattering way, just as they got 
 near enough to the encampment to hear the voices of sev 
 eral of their own sex, who were apparently occupied in 
 the usual toils of women of their class. " T ink of dat, 
 Hetty, and put two, twenty finger on mouth. No get 
 friends free without Serpent do it." 
 
 A better expedient could not have been adopted to se 
 cure the silence and discretion of Hetty than that which 
 was now presented to her mind. As the liberation of her 
 father and the young frontier-man was the great object of 
 her adventure, she felt the connection between it and the 
 services of the Delaware ; and with an innocent laugh, she 
 nodded her head, and in the same suppressed manner 
 promised a due attention to the wishes of her friend. 
 Thus assured, Hist tarried no longer, but immediately and 
 openly led the way into the encampment of her captors. 
 
 CHAPTER V 
 
 That the party to which Hist compulsorily belonged was 
 not one that was regularly on the warpath was evident by 
 the presence of females. It was a small fragment of a tribe 
 that had been hunting and fishing within the English limits, 
 where it was found by the commencement of hostilities be 
 tween the English and the French a struggle that would 
 involve all tribes allied with either side. These Indians 
 
138 THE DEERSLAYER 
 
 had therefore passed the winter and spring living within 
 the territory of their enemies. When the runner arrived 
 with the news that war had broken out, they adopted a 
 plan which showed deep Indian sagacity. To have fled in 
 a direct line for the Canadas would have exposed them to 
 the dangers of a direct pursuit and the chiefs had deter 
 mined to adopt the expedient of penetrating deeper into a 
 region that had now become dangerous, in the hope of be 
 ing able to retire in the rear of their pursuers instead of 
 having them on their trail. The presence of the women 
 had induced the attempt at this ruse, the strength of these 
 feebler members of the party being unequal to the effort of 
 escaping from the pursuit of warriors. When the reader 
 remembers the vast extent of the American wilderness at 
 that early day, he will perceive that it was possible for 
 even a tribe to remain months undiscovered in particular 
 portions of it ; nor was there great danger of encountering 
 a foe, the usual precautions being observed. 
 
 The encampment to which Hist was leading her new 
 friend was therefore only temporary, as the party was con 
 tinually on the move. One fire, that had been kindled 
 against the roots of a living oak, sufficed for the whole 
 party, the weather being too mild to require it for any pur 
 pose but cooking. Scattered around this centre of attraction 
 were some fifteen or twenty low huts perhaps kennels 
 would be a better word into which their different owners 
 crept at night, and which were also intended to meet the 
 exigencies of a storm. These little huts were made of the 
 branches of trees, put together with some ingenuity, and 
 they were uniformly topped with bark that had been 
 stripped from fallen trees, of which every virgin forest 
 
THE RANSOM 139 
 
 possesses hundreds, in all stages of decay. Of furniture 
 they had next to none. Cooking utensils of the simplest 
 sort were lying near the fire ; a few articles of clothing 
 were to be seen in or around the huts ; rifles, horns, 
 and pouches leaned against the trees, or were suspended 
 from- the lower branches ; and the carcasses of two or 
 three deer were stretched to view on the same natural 
 shambles. 
 
 As the encampment was in the midst of a dense wood, 
 the eye could not take in the whole effect at a glance ; but 
 hut after hut started out of the gloomy picture, as one 
 gazed about him in quest of objects. There was no centre, 
 unless the fire might be so considered no open area 
 where the possessors of this rude village might congre 
 gate ; but all was dark, covert, and cunning, like its own 
 ers. A few children strayed from hut to hut, giving the 
 spot a little the air of domestic life ; and the suppressed 
 laugh and low voices of the women occasionally broke in 
 upon the deep stillness of the sombre forest. As for the 
 men, they either ate, slept, or examined their arms. They 
 conversed but little, and then usually apart, or in groups 
 withdrawn from the females ; whilst an air of untiring, 
 innate watchfulness and apprehension of danger seemed 
 to be blended even with their slumbers. 
 
 As the two girls came near the encampment, Hetty 
 uttered a slight exclamation on catching a view of the per 
 son of her father. He was seated on the ground with his 
 back to a tree, and Hurry stood near him, indolently whit 
 tling a twig. Apparently, they were as much at liberty as 
 any others in or about the camp ; and one unaccustomed 
 to Indian usages would have mistaken them for visitors, 
 
140 THE DEERSLAYER 
 
 instead of supposing them to be captives. Wah-ta-Wah 
 led her new friend quite near them, and then modestly 
 withdrew, that her own presence might be no restraint on 
 her feelings. But Hetty was not sufficiently familiar with 
 caresses or outward demonstrations of fondness, to indulge 
 in any outbreaking of feeling. She merely approached and 
 stood at her father s side without speaking. The old man 
 expressed neither alarm nor surprise at her sudden appear 
 ance. In these particulars he had caught the stoicism of 
 the Indians ; well knowing that there was no more certain 
 mode of securing their respect than by imitating their self- 
 command. Nor did the savages themselves betray the least 
 sign of surprise at this sudden appearance of a stranger 
 among them. Still, a few warriors collected, and it was 
 evident, by the manner in which they glanced at Hetty as 
 they conversed together, that she was the subject of their 
 discourse. 
 
 H utter was inwardly much moved by the conduct of 
 Hetty, though he affected so much indifference of manner. 
 He recollected her gentle appeal to him before he left the 
 ark, and knowing the simple, single-hearted fidelity of his 
 child, he understood why she had come. 
 
 "This is not well, Hetty," he said. "You should not 
 have come hither ; these are fierce Iroquois and they will 
 not understand your nature or your intentions ! " 
 
 " Tell me, father," returned the girl, looking furtively 
 about her, as if fearful of being overheard, " did God let 
 you do the cruel errand on which you came ? I want 
 much to know this, that I may speak to the Indians 
 plainly if He did not. Did you and Hurry get any 
 scalps, father ? " 
 
THE RANSOM 141 
 
 " If that will set your mind at peace, child, I can answer 
 you, no. I had caught the young creatur who came here 
 with you, but her screeches soon brought down upon me 
 a troop of the wild-cats that was too much for any single 
 Christian to withstand. If that will do you any good, we 
 are as innocent of having taken a scalp this time as I make 
 no doubt we shall also be innocent of receiving the bounty." 
 
 " Thank you for that, father ! Now I can speak boldly 
 to the Iroquois, and with an easy conscience. I hope 
 Hurry, too, has not been able to harm any of the Indians ? " 
 
 "Why, as to that matter, Hetty," returned the indi 
 vidual in question, " you ve put it pretty much in the 
 natyve character of the religious truth. Hurry has not 
 been able, and that is the long and short of it." 
 
 " It s best so, Hurry," she said. " It is best father and 
 you should be quiet and peaceable till I have spoken to the 
 Iroquois, when all will be well and happy. I don t wish 
 either of you to follow, but leave me to myself. As soon 
 as all is settled, and you are at liberty to go back to the 
 castle, I will come and let you know it." 
 
 Hetty spoke with so much simple earnestness and seemed 
 so confident of success, that both the listeners felt more 
 disposed to attach an importance to her mediation than 
 might otherwise have happened. When she manifested 
 an intention to quit them, therefore, and join the group 
 of chiefs, they offered no obstacle. 
 
 When Hist for so we love best to call her quitted 
 her companion, she strayed near one or two of the elder 
 warriors, who had shown her most kindness in her cap 
 tivity the principal man of whom had even offered to 
 adopt her as his child, if she would consent to become a 
 
142 THE DEERSLAYER 
 
 Huron. In taking this direction the shrewd girl did so to 
 invite inquiry. She was too well trained in the habits of 
 her people to obtrude the opinions of one of her sex and 
 years on men and warriors ; but Hetty had hardly reached 
 the side of her father before the Delaware girl was brought 
 within the circle of the warriors by a secret but significant 
 gesture. Here she was questioned as to the presence of 
 her companion, and the motives that had brought her to 
 the camp. This was all that Hist desired. She explained 
 the manner in which she had detected the weakness of 
 Hetty s reason, rather exaggerating than lessening the de 
 ficiency in her intellect ; and then she related in general 
 terms the object of the girl in venturing among her 
 enemies. The effect was all that the speaker expected ; 
 her account investing the person and character of their 
 visitor with a sacredness and respect that she well knew 
 would prove her protection. As soon as her own purpose 
 was attained Hist withdrew to a distance, though she did 
 not for a moment relax her watchfulness. 
 
 As Hetty approached the chiefs they opened their little 
 circle with an ease and deference of manner that would 
 have done credit to men of more courtly origin. A fallen 
 tree lay near, and the oldest of the warriors made a quiet 
 sign for the girl to be seated on it, taking his place at her 
 side with the gentleness of a father. The others arranged 
 themselves around the two with grave dignity ; and then 
 the girl, who had sufficient observation to perceive that 
 such a course was expected of her, began to reveal the 
 object of her visit. The moment she opened her mouth 
 to speak, however, the old chief gave a gentle sign for her 
 to forbear, said a few words to one of his juniors, and then 
 
THE RANSOM 143 
 
 waited in silent patience until the latter had summoned 
 Hist to act as interpreter, a role which she was only too 
 glad to be allowed to take, as she hoped to be able, by arti 
 fice if need be, to shelter Hetty and to conceal the fact of 
 the presence of her betrothed, should Hetty forget herself 
 and betray too much. But Hetty s errand was of a very 
 different nature. 
 
 As soon as Hist was seated by the side of Hetty, the 
 old chief desired her to ask " the fair young paleface " 
 what had brought her among the Iroquois, and what they 
 could do to serve her. 
 
 "Tell them, Hist, who I am Thomas Hutter s 
 youngest daughter ; Thomas H utter, the oldest of their 
 two prisoners ; he who owns the castle and the ark, and 
 who has the best right to be thought the owner of these 
 hills and that lake, since he has dwelt so long, and trapped 
 so long, and fished so long among them. They 11 know 
 whom you mean by Thomas Hutter, if you tell them that. 
 And then tell them that I ve come here to convince them 
 they ought not to harm father and Hurry, but let them go 
 in peace, and to treat them as brothers, rather than as ene 
 mies. Now tell them all this plainly, Hist, and fear noth 
 ing for yourself or me ; God will protect us." 
 
 Wah-ta-Wah did as the other desired, taking care to 
 render the words of her friend as literally as possible into 
 the Iroquois tongue, a language she used with a readiness 
 almost equal to that with which she spoke her own. The 
 chiefs heard this opening explanation with grave decorum ; 
 the two who had a little knowledge of English intimating 
 their satisfaction with the interpreter by furtive but sig 
 nificant glances of the eyes. 
 
144 THE DEERSLAYER 
 
 " And now, Hist," continued Hetty, as soon as it was 
 intimated to her that she might proceed ; " and now, Hist, 
 I wish you to tell these red-men, word for word, what I 
 am about to say. Tell them first, that father and Hurry 
 came here with an intention to take as many scalps as they 
 could ; for the wicked governor and the province have 
 offered money for scalps, whether of warriors or women, 
 men or children ; and the love of gold was too strong for 
 their hearts to withstand it. Tell them this, dear Hist, 
 just as you have heard it from me, word for word." 
 
 Wah-ta-Wah hesitated about rendering this speech as 
 literally as had been desired ; but detecting the intelli 
 gence of those who understood English, she was com 
 pelled to comply. This admission of the errand of their 
 prisoners produced, however, no visible effect on the 
 countenances of the listeners. 
 
 "And now, Hist," resumed Hetty, "you can tell them 
 more. They know that father and Hurry did not succeed ; 
 and therefore they can bear them no grudge for any harm 
 that has been done. If they had slain their children and 
 wives, it would not alter the matter ; and I m not certain 
 that what I am about to tell them would not have more 
 weight had there been mischief done. But ask them first, 
 Hist, if they know there is a God who reigns over the whole 
 earth and is ruler and chief of all who live, let them be red 
 or white, or what color they may." 
 
 Wah-ta-Wah looked a little surprised at this question ; 
 for the idea of the Great Spirit is seldom long absent from 
 the mind of an Indian girl. She put the question, however, 
 and received a grave answer in the affirmative. 
 
 ; This is right," continued Hetty, "and my duty will 
 
THE RANSOM 145 
 
 now be light. This Great Spirit, as you call our God, has 
 caused a book to be written, that we call a Bible ; and in 
 this book have been set down all his commandments, and 
 his holy will and pleasure, and the rules by which all men 
 are to live, and directions how to govern the thoughts even, 
 and the wishes, and the will. Here, this is one of these 
 holy books, and you must tell the chiefs what I am about 
 to read to them from its sacred pages." 
 
 As Hetty concluded, she reverently unrolled a small 
 English Bible from its envelope of coarse calico ; treating 
 the volume with the sort of external respect that a Roman 
 ist would be apt to show to a religious relic. As she slowly 
 proceeded in her task, the grim warriors watched each move 
 ment with riveted eyes ; and when they saw the little vol 
 ume appear, a slight expression of surprise escaped one or 
 two of them. But Hetty held it out towards them in tri 
 umph, as if she expected the sight would produce a visible 
 miracle ; and then she turned eagerly to her new friend, in 
 order to renew the discourse. 
 
 " This is the sacred volume, Hist," she said, " and these 
 words and lines, and verses and chapters, all came from 
 God." 
 
 "Why Great Spirit no send book to Injin, too?" de 
 manded Hist. 
 
 " Why ? " answered Hetty, a little bewildered by a ques 
 tion so unexpected. " Why ? Ah ! you know the Indians 
 don t know how to read." 
 
 If Hist was not satisfied with the explanation, she did 
 not deem the point of sufficient importance to be pressed, 
 but sat patiently awaiting the further arguments of the 
 paleface enthusiast. 
 
146 THE DEERSLAYER 
 
 " You can tell these chiefs, that throughout this book, 
 men are ordered to forgive their enemies ; to treat them 
 as they would brethren ; and never to injure their fellow- 
 creatures, more especially on account of revenge, or any 
 evil passion. Do you think you can tell them this, so that 
 they will understand it, Hist ? " 
 
 1 Tell him well enough ; but he no very easy to understand." 
 
 " I will now read to the warriors some of the verses that 
 it is good for them to know," continued the girl, whose 
 manner grew more solemn and earnest as she proceeded ; 
 " and they will remember that they are the words of the 
 Great Spirit. First, then, ye are commanded to Love thy 
 neighbor as thyself Tell them that, dear Hist." 
 
 " Neighbor for Injin no mean paleface," answered the 
 Delaware girl, with more decision than she had hitherto 
 thought it necessary to use. " Neighbor mean Iroquois 
 for Iroquois, Mohican for Mohican, paleface for paleface. 
 No need tell chief anything else." 
 
 " You forget, Hist, these are the words of the Great 
 Spirit, and the chiefs must obey them as well as others. 
 Here is another commandment : Whosoever shall smite 
 thee on the right cheek, turn to him the other also. 
 
 "What that mean?" demanded Hist, with the quick 
 ness of lightning. 
 
 Hetty explained that it was an order not to resent in 
 juries, but rather to submit to receive fresh wrongs from 
 the offender. 
 
 "And hear this too, Hist," she added, " Love your 
 enemies, bless them that curse you, do good to them that 
 hate yoii, and pray for them which despitefully use you 
 and persecute you 
 
THE RANSOM 147 
 
 By this time Hetty had become excited. Her eye 
 gleamed with the earnestness of her feelings, her cheeks 
 flushed, and her voice, usually so low and modulated, became 
 stronger and more impressive. With the Bible she had been 
 early made familiar by her mother ; and she now turned 
 from passage to passage with surprising rapidity, taking care 
 to cull such verses as taught the sublime lessons of Chris 
 tian charity and Christian forgiveness. To translate half 
 she said, in her pious earnestness, Wah-ta-Wah would 
 have found impracticable, had she made the effort ; but 
 she gave a brief translation of the substance of what had 
 been both read and said. 
 
 It will be scarcely necessary to tell the reader the effect 
 that such novel duties would be likely to produce among 
 a group of Indian warriors, with whom it was a species of 
 religious principle never to forget a benefit or to forgive 
 an injury. Fortunately, the previous explanations of Hist 
 had prepared the minds of the Hurons for something 
 extravagant ; and there were one or two old men who had 
 heard similar doctrines from the missionaries. 
 
 11 This is the Good Book of the palefaces," observed 
 one of these chiefs, taking the volume from the unresist-. 
 ing hand of Hetty, who gazed anxiously at his face, while 
 he turned the leaves, as if she expected to witness some 
 visible results from the circumstance. " This is the law by 
 which my white brethren profess to live ? " 
 
 Hist, to whom this question was addressed, answered 
 simply in the affirmative. 
 
 "Tell my young sister," said the Huron, looking di 
 rectly at Hist, "that my name is Rivenoak, and that I will 
 open my mouth and say a few words." 
 
148 THE DEERSLAYER 
 
 " The Iroquois chief Rivenoak go to speak my pale 
 face friend listen," said Hist. 
 
 " I rejoice to hear it ! " exclaimed Hetty. " God has 
 touched his heart, and he will let father and Hurry go ! " 
 
 " This is the paleface law," resumed the chief. " It tells 
 him to do good to them that hurt him ; when his brother 
 asks him for his rifle, to give him the powderhorn too. 
 Such is the paleface law ? " 
 
 "Not so not so," answered Hetty earnestly, when 
 these words had been interpreted. " There is not a word 
 about rifles in the whole book ; and powder and bullets 
 give offense to the Great Spirit." 
 
 11 Why, then, does the paleface use them ? If he is 
 ordered to give double to him that asks only for one thing, 
 why does he take double from the poor Indians, who ask 
 for no thing ? He comes from beyond the rising sun, with 
 his book in his hand, and he teaches the red-man to read 
 it ; but why does he forget himself all it says ? When the 
 Indian gives, he is never satisfied ; and now he offers gold 
 for the scalps of our women and children, though he calls us 
 beasts if we take the scalp of a warrior killed in open war." 
 
 When Hetty had got this formidable question fairly 
 presented to her mind in the translation, and Hist did her 
 duty with more than usual readiness on this occasion, it 
 scarcely need be said that she was sorely perplexed. 
 
 " What shall I tell them, Hist ? " she asked, implor 
 ingly; " I know that all I have read from the book is true ; 
 and yet it would n t seem so, would it, by the conduct of 
 those to whom the book was given ? " 
 
 " Give em paleface reason," returned Hist, ironically, 
 "that always good for one side ; though he bad for t other." 
 
THE RANSOM 149 
 
 " No, no, Hist, there can t be two sides to truth and 
 yet it does seem strange ! I m certain I have read the 
 verses right, and no one would be so wicked as to print 
 the word of God wrong. That can never be, Hist." 
 
 " Well, to poor Injin girl it seem everything can be to 
 palefaces," returned the other coolly. " One time ey say 
 white, and one time ey say black. Why, never can be?" 
 
 Hetty was more and more embarrassed, until, overcome 
 with the apprehension that she had failed in her object, 
 and that the lives of her father and Hurry would be the 
 forfeit of some blunder of her own, she burst into tears. 
 From that moment the manner of Hist lost all its irony 
 and cool indifference, and she became the fond caressing 
 friend again. Throwing her arms around the afflicted girl, 
 she attempted to soothe her sorrows by the scarcely ever 
 failing remedy of female sympathy. 
 
 "Stop cry no cry," she said, wiping the tears from 
 the face of Hetty, as she would have performed the same 
 office for a child, and stopping to press her, occasionally, 
 to her own warm bosom with the affection of a sister ; 
 "why you so trouble? You no make he book, if he be 
 wrong ; and you no make he paleface, if he be wicked. 
 There wicked red man, and wicked white man no color 
 all good no color all wicked. Chiefs know that well 
 enough." 
 
 Hetty soon recovered from this sudden burst of grief, 
 and then her mind reverted to the purpose of her visit, 
 with its single-hearted earnestness. Perceiving that the 
 grim-looking chiefs were still standing around her, in 
 grave attention, she hoped that another effort to convince 
 them of the right might be successful. 
 
150 THE DEERSLAYER 
 
 "Listen, Hist," she said, struggling to suppress her 
 sobs, and to speak distinctly ; " tell the chiefs that it mat 
 ters not what the wicked do right is right the words 
 of the Great Spirit are the words of the Great Spirit 
 and no one can go harmless for doing an evil act because 
 another has done it before him ! Render good for evil? 
 says this book ; and that is the law for the red man as 
 well as for the white man." 
 
 " Never hear such law among Delaware, or among Iro- 
 quois," answered Hist, soothingly. " No good to tell chiefs 
 any such law as dat. Tell em somet ing they believe." 
 
 Hist was about to proceed, notwithstanding, when a tap 
 on the shoulder, from the finger of the oldest chief, and 
 a gesture in the direction of her hut indicated to her that, 
 for the time being at least, the girls were to withdraw from 
 the council. 
 
 CHAPTER VI 
 
 We left the occupants of the castle and the ark buried 
 in sleep. Once or twice in the course of the night, it is 
 true, Deerslayer or the Delaware arose and looked out 
 upon the tranquil lake, when, finding all safe, each re 
 turned to his pallet. At the first signs of the dawn, the 
 former arose, however, and ere the sun had shown him 
 self over the eastern hills, all three were up and afoot. 
 The meeting at the morning meal was silent, grave, and 
 thoughtful. Judith showed by her looks that she had 
 passed an unquiet night, while the two men had the fu 
 ture before them, with its unseen and unknown events. 
 A few words of courtesy passed between Deerslayer and 
 the girl in the course of the breakfast, but no allusion was 
 
THE RANSOM 151 
 
 made to their situation. At length Judith introduced the 
 subject. 
 
 "It would be dreadful, Deerslayer," the girl abruptly 
 exclaimed, " should anything serious befall my father and 
 Hetty ! We cannot remain quietly here and leave them in 
 the hands of the Iroquois, without bethinking us of some 
 means of serving them." 
 
 " I m ready, Judith, to sarve them, could the way to do 
 it be pointed out. It s no trifling matter to fall into red 
 skin hands, when men set out on an arr nd like that which 
 took Hutter and Hurry ashore ; that I know as well as an 
 other, and I would n t wish my worst inimy in such a strait, 
 much less them with whom I ve journeyed and eat and 
 slept. Have you any scheme that you would like to have 
 the Sarpent and me indivor to carry out ? " 
 
 " I know of no other means to release the prisoners than 
 by bribing the Iroquois. They are not proof against pres 
 ents ; and we might offer enough, perhaps, to make them 
 think it better to carry away what to them will be rich 
 gifts than to carry away poor prisoners ; if, indeed, they 
 should carry them away at all ! " 
 
 " This is well enough, Judith ; yes, it s well enough, if 
 the inimy is to be bought, and we can find articles to make 
 the purchase with. Your father has a convenient lodge, 
 and it is most cunningly placed ; though it does n t seem 
 overstocked with riches that will be likely to buy his ran 
 som. There s the piece he calls Killdeer might count for 
 something, and I understand there s a keg of powder about, 
 which might be a make-weight, sartain ; and yet two able- 
 bodied men are not to be bought off for a trifle the price 
 of two scalps would purchase a keg of powder and a rifle ; 
 
152 THE DEERSLAYER 
 
 though I 11 not say one of the latter altogether as good as 
 Killdeer there, which your father va nts as oncommon, and 
 onequaled-like. But fair powder, and a pretty sartain rifle ; 
 and the red-men are not expart enough in fire-arms to 
 know the difference." 
 
 " But you overlook my own clothes, Deerslayer ; and 
 they, I think, might go far with the women of the Iroquois." 
 
 " No doubt they would ; no doubt they would, Judith," 
 returned the other, looking at her keenly, as if he would 
 ascertain whether she were really capable of making such 
 a sacrifice. " But are you sartain, gal, you could find it in 
 your heart to part with your own finery for such a purpose ? 
 You re handsome oncommon in that way, one might ob- 
 sarve, and do no harm to the truth ; and they that have 
 beauty like to have that which will adorn it. Are you sar 
 tain you could find it in your heart to part with your finery ? " 
 
 "You must keep all your favorable opinions for the 
 Delaware girls, Deerslayer, if you seriously think thus of 
 those of your own color," she said, with flashing eye, and 
 a flush that mounted to her temples. "Try me; if you 
 find that I regret either ribbon or feather, silk or muslin, 
 then may you think what you please of my heart, and say 
 what you think. But t is as you say, Deerslayer ; the In 
 dians will not be likely to give up their prisoners without 
 a heavier bribe than my clothes can offer, and father s rifle 
 and powder. There is the chest." 
 
 " Aye, there is the chist, as you say, Judith ; and when 
 the question gets to be between a secret and a scalp, I 
 should think most men would prefar keeping the last. 
 Did your father ever give you any downright command 
 consarning that chist ? " 
 
THE RANSOM 153 
 
 " Never." 
 
 T is a rare chist, and altogether of curious build," re 
 turned Deerslayer, rising and approaching the thing in 
 question, on which he seated himself, with a view to ex 
 amine it with greater ease. " Chingachgook, this is no 
 wood that comes of any forest that you or I have ever 
 trailed through ! T is n t the black walnut ; and yet it s 
 quite as comely, if not more so, did the smoke and the 
 treatment give it fair play." 
 
 The Delaware drew near, felt of the wood, examined 
 its grain, endeavored to indent the surface with a nail, 
 and passed his hand curiously over the steel bands, the 
 heavy padlocks, and the other novel peculiarities of the 
 massive box. 
 
 "No nothing like this grows in these regions," re 
 sumed Deerslayer ; " I ve seen all the oaks, both the 
 maples, the elms, the bass-wood, all the walnuts, the but 
 ternuts, and every tree that has a substance and color, 
 wrought into some form or other ; but never have I be 
 fore seen such a wood as this ! Judith, the chist itself would 
 buy your father s freedom, or Iroquois cur osity is n t as 
 strong as redskin cur osity, in general ; especially in the 
 matter of woods." 
 
 " The purchase might be cheaper made, perhaps, Deer- 
 slayer. The chest is full, and it would be better to part 
 with half than to part with the whole. Besides, father - 
 I know not why but father values* that chest highly." 
 
 "He would seem to prize what it holds more than the 
 chist itself, judging by the manner in which he treats the 
 outside and secures the inside. Here are three locks, 
 Judith ; is there no key ? " 
 
154 THE DEERSLAYER 
 
 "I ve never seen one; and yet key there must be, 
 since Hetty told us she had often seen the chest opened." 
 
 " Keys no more lie in the air, or float on the water, 
 than humans, gal ; if there is a key, there must be a place 
 in which it is kept." 
 
 11 That is true, and it might not be difficult to find it, 
 did we dare to search ! " 
 
 " This is for you, Judith ; it is altogether for you. If the 
 chist has articles for ransom, it seems to me they would be 
 wisely used in redeeming their owner s life, or even in sav 
 ing his scalp ; but that is a matter for your judgment, and 
 not for our n. When the lawful owner of a trap, or a buck, 
 or a canoe, is n t present, his next of kin becomes his rip- 
 risentatyve, by all the laws of the woods. We therefore 
 leave you to say whether the chist shall or shall not be 
 opened." 
 
 tl Deerslayer, if we can find the key, I will authorize you 
 to open the chest, and to take such things from it as you 
 may think will buy father s ransom." 
 
 " First find the key, gal ; we 11 talk of the rest a ter- 
 wards. Sarpent, you ve eyes like a fly, and a judgment 
 that s seldom out ; can you help us in calculating where 
 Floating Tom would be apt to keep the key of a chist 
 that he holds to be as private as this ? " 
 
 The Delaware had taken no part in the discourse until 
 he was thus directly appealed to, when he quitted the chest, 
 which had continued to attract his attention, and cast about 
 him for the place in which a key would be likely to be con 
 cealed under such circumstances. As Judith and Deer- 
 slayer were not idle the while, the whole three were soon 
 engaged in an anxious and spirited search. As it was 
 
THE RANSOM 155 
 
 certain that the desired key was not to be found in any of 
 the common drawers or closets, of which there were several 
 in the building, none looked there, but all turned their in 
 quiries to those places that struck them as ingenious hid 
 ing-places, and more likely to be used for such a purpose. 
 In this manner the outer room was thoroughly but fruit 
 lessly examined, when they entered the sleeping apart 
 ment of Hutter. This part of the rude building was 
 better furnished than the rest of the structure, containing 
 several articles that had been especially devoted to the 
 service of the deceased wife of its owner ; but as Judith 
 had all the rest of the keys it was soon rummaged, with 
 out bringing to light the particular key desired. 
 
 They now entered the bedroom of the daughters. Chin- 
 gachgook was immediately struck with the contrast between 
 the articles, and the arrangement of that side of the room 
 that might be called Judith s, and that which more prop 
 erly belonged to Hetty. A slight exclamation escaped 
 him, and pointing in each direction, he alluded to the 
 fact in a low voice, speaking to his friend in the Delaware 
 tongue. 
 
 "As you think, Sarpent," answered Deerslayer, whose 
 remarks we always translate into English, preserving as 
 much as possible of the peculiar phraseology and manner 
 of the man. " T is just so, as any one may see ; and tis 
 all founded in natur . One sister loves finery, some say, 
 overmuch ; while t other is as meek and lowly as God 
 ever created goodness and truth. Yet, after all, I dare say 
 that Judith has her vartues, and Hetty has her failin s." 
 
 " And the Feeble-Mind has seen the chest opened ? " 
 inquired Chingachgook, with curiosity in his glance. 
 
156 THE DEERSLAYER 
 
 " Sartain ; that much I ve heard from her own lips ; 
 and, for that matter, so have you. It seems her father 
 does n t misgive her discretion, though he does that of 
 his eldest darter." 
 
 11 Then the key is hid only from the Wild Rose ? " for 
 so Chingachgook had begun gallantly to term Judith, in 
 his private discourse with his friend. 
 
 "That sit! That s just it ! One he trusts, and the other 
 he does n t. There s red and white in that, Sarpent ; all 
 tribes and nations agreeing in trusting some, and refusing to 
 trust other some. It depends on character and judgment." 
 
 " Where could a key be put, so little likely to be found 
 by the Wild Rose, as among coarse clothes ? " 
 
 Deerslayer started, and turning to his friend with admi 
 ration expressed in every lineament of his face, he fairly 
 laughed, in his silent but hearty manner, at the ingenuity 
 and readiness of the conjecture. 
 
 "Your name s well bestowed, Sarpent yes, tis well 
 bestowed ! Sure enough, where would a lover of finery be 
 so little likely to s arch, as among garments as coarse and 
 unseemly as these of poor Hetty ? Take the garments 
 down, Delaware." 
 
 Chingachgook did as desired, but no key was found. 
 A coarse pocket, apparently empty, hung on the adjoining 
 peg, and this was next examined. By this time, the atten 
 tion of Judith was called in that direction, and she spoke 
 hurriedly, and like one who wished to save unnecessary 
 trouble. 
 
 " These are only the clothes of poor Hetty, dear simple 
 girl ! " she said ; " nothing we seek would be likely to be 
 there." 
 
THE RANSOM 157 
 
 The words were hardly out of the mouth of the speaker, 
 when Chingachgook drew the desired key from the pocket. 
 Judith was too quick of apprehension not to understand the 
 reason a hiding-place so simple and exposed had been used. 
 The blood rushed to her face, as much with resentment, 
 perhaps, as with shame ; and she bit her lip, though she 
 continued silent. Deerslayer and his friend now discov 
 ered the delicacy of men of native refinement, neither 
 smiling, or even by a glance betraying how completely he 
 understood the motives and ingenuity of this clever artifice. 
 The former, who had taken the key from the Indian, led 
 the way into the adjoining room, and applying it to a lock, 
 ascertained that the right instrument had actually been 
 found. There were three padlocks, each of which, how 
 ever, was easily opened by this single key. Deerslayer re 
 moved them all, loosened the hasps, raised the lid a little 
 to make certain it was loose, and then he drew back from 
 the chest several feet, signing to his friend to follow. 
 
 " This is a family chist, Judith," he said, " and tis like 
 to hold family secrets. The Sarpent and I will go into the 
 ark, and look to the canoes, and paddles, and oars ; while 
 you can examine it by yourself, and find out whether any 
 thing that will be a make-weight in a ransom is or is not 
 among the articles. When you ve got through, give us a 
 call, and we 11 all sit in council together, touching the valie 
 of the articles." 
 
 11 Stop, Deerslayer," exclaimed the girl, as he was about 
 to withdraw ; " not a single thing will I touch I will not 
 even raise the lid unless you are present. Father and 
 Hetty have seen fit to keep the inside of this chest a se 
 cret from me, and I am much too proud to pry into their 
 
158 THE DEERSLAYER 
 
 hidden treasures, unless it were for their own good. But 
 on no account will I open the chest alone. Stay with me, 
 then ; I want witnesses of what I do." 
 
 " I rather think, Sarpent, that the gal is right! Confi 
 dence and reliance beget security, but suspicion is like to 
 make us all wary. Judith has a right to ask us to be pres 
 ent ; and should the chist hold any of Master Hutter s 
 secrets, they will fall into the keeping of two as close- 
 mouthed young men as are to be found. We will stay 
 with you, Judith but first let us take a look at the lake 
 and the shore, for this chist will not be emptied in a 
 minute." 
 
 The two men now went out on the platform, and Deer- 
 slayer swept the shore with the glass, while the Indian 
 gravely turned his eye on the water and the woods in 
 quest of any sign that might betray the machinations of 
 their enemies. Nothing was visible, and, assured of their 
 temporary security, the three collected around the chest 
 again, with the avowed object of opening it. 
 
 Finding that both her companions were watching her 
 movements in grave silence, Judith placed a hand on the 
 lid, and endeavored to raise it. Her strength, however, 
 was insufficient, and at her request Deerslayer applied his 
 strength to the effort, and succeeded in raising the lid 
 against the timbers of the house, where he took care to 
 secure it by a sufficient prop. Judith fairly trembled, as 
 she cast her first glance at the interior ; and she felt a 
 temporary relief in discovering that a piece of canvas that 
 was carefully tucked in around the edges effectually con 
 cealed all beneath it. The chest was apparently well stored, 
 however, the canvas lying within an inch of the lid. 
 
THE RANSOM 159 
 
 "Here s a full cargo," said Deerslayer, eying the ar 
 rangement ; " and we had needs go to work leisurely, and 
 at our ease. Sarpent, bring some stools, while I spread 
 this blanket on the floor, and then we 11 begin work or 
 derly and in comfort." 
 
 The Delaware complied ; Deerslayer civilly placed a 
 stool for Judith, took one himself, and commenced the 
 removal of the canvas covering. This was done deliber 
 ately, and in as cautious a manner as if it were believed 
 that fabrics of a delicate construction lay hidden beneath. 
 When the canvas was removed, the first articles that 
 came in view were some of the habiliments of the male 
 sex. These were of fine materials, and, according to the 
 fashions of the age, were gay in colors and rich in orna 
 ments. One coat, in particular, was of scarlet, and had 
 buttonholes worked in gold thread. Still it was not mili 
 tary, but was part of the attire of a civilian of condition, 
 at a period when social rank was rigidly respected in dress. 
 Chingachgook could not refrain from an exclamation of 
 pleasure, as soon as Deerslayer opened this coat, and held 
 it up to view ; for, notwithstanding all his trained self- 
 command, the splendor of the vestment was too much for 
 the philosophy of an Indian. Deerslayer turned quickly, 
 and regarded his friend with a momentary displeasure at 
 this sign of weakness. Then he spoke indulgently. 
 
 T is his gift ! yes, t is the gift of a redskin to love 
 finery, and he is not to be blamed. This is an extrornary 
 garment, too ; and extrornary things get up extrornary feel- 
 in s. I think this will do, Judith ; for the Indian heart is 
 hardly to be found in all America that can withstand colors 
 like these and glitter like that. If this coat was ever made 
 
160 THE DEERSLAYER 
 
 for your father, you ve come honestly by the taste for finery, 
 you have." 
 
 "That coat was never made for father," answered the 
 girl, quickly ; " it is much too long ; while father is short 
 and square." 
 
 " Cloth was plenty, if it was, and glitter cheap," answered 
 Deerslayer, with his silent, joyous laugh. " Sarpent, this 
 garment was made for a man of your size, and I should 
 like to see it on your shoulders." 
 
 Chingachgook, nothing loath, submitted to the trial ; 
 throwing aside his blanket to deck his person in a coat 
 that was originally intended for a gentleman. The trans 
 formation was ludicrous ; but as men are seldom struck 
 with incongruities in their own appearance, the Delaware 
 studied this change in a common glass, with grave interest 
 and evident satisfaction. 
 
 " Off with it, Sarpent off with it," resumed the inflexi 
 ble Deerslayer; "such garments as little become you as 
 they would become me. Your gifts are for paint, and 
 hawk s feathers, and blankets, and wampum ; and mine 
 are for doublets of skins, tough leggings, and sarviceable 
 moccasins. Lay the coat down on the blanket, Sarpent, 
 and let us look further into the chist." 
 
 The tempting garment, one surely that was never in 
 tended for Hutter, was laid aside, and the examination 
 proceeded. A beautiful dress of brocade, a little the worse 
 from negligent treatment, followed ; and this time open ex 
 clamations of delight escaped the lips of Judith. Much as 
 the girl had been addicted to dress, never before had she 
 beheld a tissue or tints to equal those that were now so un 
 expectedly placed before her eyes. Following the Indian s 
 
THE RANSOM l6l 
 
 example, she withdrew into her own room, where she soon 
 got rid of her own neat gown of linen, and stood forth in 
 the gay tints of the brocade, which happened to fit her well. 
 When she returned, both Deerslayer and Chingachgook 
 arose in surprise, each permitting exclamations of wonder 
 and pleasure to escape him, in a way so unequivocal as to 
 add new lustre to the eyes of Judith, by flushing her cheeks 
 with a glow of triumph. Affecting, however, not to notice 
 the impression she had made, the girl seated herself with 
 the stateliness of a queen, desiring that the chest might be 
 looked into further. 
 
 " I don t know a better way to treat with the Mingos, 
 gal," cried Deerslayer, "than to send you ashore as you 
 be, and to tell em that a queen has arrived among em ! 
 They 11 give up old Hutter and Hurry, and Hetty too, at 
 such a spectacle ! " 
 
 " I thought your tongue too honest to flatter, Deer- 
 slayer," returned the girl, gratified at this admiration more 
 than she would have cared to own. " One of the chief 
 reasons of my respect for you was your love for truth." 
 
 " And tis truth, and solemn truth, Judith, and nothing 
 else. Never did eyes of mine gaze on as glorious a lookin 
 creatur as you be yourself, at this very moment. I ve seen 
 beauties in my time, too, both white and red, and them 
 that was renowned and talked of far and near ; but never 
 have I beheld one that could hold any comparison with 
 what you are at this blessed instant, Judith, never." 
 
 The glance of delight which the girl bestowed on the 
 frank-speaking hunter in no degree lessened the effect of 
 her charms ; and as the humid eyes blended with it a look 
 of sensibility, perhaps Judith never appeared more truly 
 
1 62 THE DEERSLAYER 
 
 lovely than at that moment. When the girl had returned 
 to her room to divest herself of her finery, the two men 
 discussed the propriety of penetrating any further into the 
 chest. Judith on her return in her own simple linen frock 
 argued that if they knew all that the chest held they could 
 determine better what course to take, and her judgment pre 
 vailed. They came now to a second piece of canvas, be 
 neath which the articles that lay uppermost were a pair of 
 pistols, curiously inlaid with silver. While Chingachgook 
 was handling these instruments, M child guns " as he 
 called them, Deerslayer had opened a small bag, from 
 which he was taking, one by one, the pieces of a set of 
 chessmen. They were of ivory, much larger than com 
 mon, and exquisitely wrought. Each piece represented 
 the character or thing after which it is named, the 
 knights being mounted, the castles stood on elephants, 
 and even the pawns possessed the heads and busts of men. 
 The set was not complete, and a few fractures betrayed .bad 
 usage ; but all that was left had been carefully put away and 
 preserved. Even Judith expressed wonder as these novel 
 objects were placed before her eyes, and Chingachgook 
 faMy forgot his Indian dignity in admiration and delight. 
 The latter took up each piece and examined it with never- 
 tiring satisfaction, pointing out to the girl the more ingen 
 ious and striking portions of the workmanship. But the 
 elephants gave him the greatest pleasure. The " Hughs ! " 
 that he uttered as he passed his fingers over their trunks 
 and ears and tails were very distinct ; nor did he fail to 
 note the pawns, which were armed as archers. This exhibi 
 tion lasted several minutes, during which time Judith and 
 the Indian had all the rapture to themselves. Deerslayer 
 
THE OPENING OF THE CHEST 
 
THE RANSOM 163 
 
 sat silent, thoughtful, and even gloomy, though his eyes 
 followed each movement of the two principal actors, not 
 ing every new peculiarity about the pieces as they were 
 held up to view. Not an exclamation of pleasure nor a 
 word of condemnation passed his lips. At length his com 
 panions observed his silence, and then, for the first time 
 since the chessmen had been discovered, did he speak. 
 
 "Judith," he asked earnestly, "did your parents ever 
 talk to you of religion ? " 
 
 The girl colored, but replied simply and with sincerity. 
 
 " My mother did, often," she said ; " my father, never. 
 I thought it made my mother sorrowful to speak of our 
 prayers and duties, but my father has never opened his 
 mouth on such matters before or since her death." 
 
 "That I can believe that I can believe. He has no 
 God no such God as it becomes a man of white skin to 
 worship, or even a redskin. Them things are idols ! " 
 
 Judith started, and for a moment she seemed seriously 
 hurt. Then she reflected, and in the end she laughed. 
 
 "And you think, Deerslayer, that these ivory toys are 
 my father s gods ? I have heard of idols, and know what 
 they are." 
 
 " Them are idols ! " repeated the other positively. 
 " Why should your father keep em if he does n t worship 
 em ? " 
 
 " Would he keep his gods in a bag, and locked up in a 
 chest ? No, no, Deerslayer ; my poor father carries his god 
 with him wherever he goes, and that is in his own cravings. 
 These things may really be idols I think they are, my 
 self, from what I have heard and read of idolatry, but they 
 have come from some distant country, like all the other 
 
1 64 THE DEERSLAYER 
 
 articles, and have fallen into Thomas Hutter s hands when 
 he was a sailor." 
 
 "I m glad of it I am downright glad to hear it, 
 
 Judith. The old man is of my color and nation, and I 
 
 wish to sarve him ; but as one who denied all his gifts in 
 
 \ the way of religion, it would have come hard to do so. 
 
 \That animal seems to give you great satisfaction, Sarpent, 
 
 though it s an idolatrous head, at the best." 
 
 "It is an elephant," interrupted Judith ; " I ve often 
 seen pictures of such animals at the garrisons." 
 
 " Elephant, or no elephant, tis an idol," returned the 
 hunter, " and not fit to remain in Christian keeping." 
 
 " Good for Iroquois ! " said Chingachgook, parting with 
 one of the castles with reluctance, as his friend took it 
 from him to replace it in the bag. " Elephon buy whole 
 tribe buy Delaware, almost! " 
 
 "Aye, that it would, as any one who comprehends red 
 skin natur must know," answered Deerslayer ; "but the 
 man that passes false money, Sarpent, is as bad as he who 
 makes it. I know that a few of these idols, perhaps one 
 of them elephants, would go far towards buying Thomas 
 Hutter s liberty, but it goes agin conscience to pass such 
 counterfeit money. Perhaps no Injin tribe hereaway is 
 downright idolaters, but there s some that come so near 
 it that white gifts ought to be particular about encouraging 
 them in their mistake." 
 
 " After all," said Judith, " these pieces of ivory may not 
 be idols at all. I remember, now, to have seen one of the 
 officers at the garrison, with a set of fox and geese made 
 in some such a design as these ; and here is something 
 hard, wrapped in cloth, that may belong to your idols." 
 
THE RANSOM 165 
 
 Deerslayer took the bundle the girl gave him, and, un 
 rolling it, he found the board within. Like the pieces, it 
 was large, rich, and inlaid with ebony and ivory. Putting 
 the whole in conjunction, the hunter, though not without 
 many misgivings, slowly came over to Judith s opinion, and 
 finally admitted that the fancied idols must be merely the 
 curiously carved men of some unknown game. 
 /JThis discovery of the uses of the extraordinary looking 
 little images settled the affair of the proposed ransom. It 
 was agreed generally that nothing could be more likely to 
 tempt the Iroquois than the elephants in particular. Luckily, 
 the whole of the castles were among the pieces, and these 
 four tower-bearing animals it was finally determined should 
 be the ransom offered. The remainder of the men, and, 
 indeed, all the rest of the articles in the chest, were to be 
 kept out of view, and to be resorted to only as a last appeal. 
 As soon as these preliminaries were settled, everything but 
 what was intended for the bribe was carefully replaced in 
 the chest, all the covers were " tucked in " as they had been 
 found, and the chest was closed and locked once more. 
 
 CHAPTER VII 
 
 More than an hour had been consumed by Judith and 
 Deerslayer in settling the course to be pursued, and in re 
 turning everything to its place in the chest. Deerslayer, 
 indeed, appeared to be the first who was conscious of the 
 time that was being thus wasted, and to call the attention 
 of his companions to the necessity of doing something to 
 wards putting the plan of ransoming into execution. Chin- 
 gachgook had remained in Hutter s bedroom, where the 
 
1 66 THE DEERSLAYER 
 
 elephants were laid, to feast his eyes with the images of 
 animals so wonderful and so novel. 
 
 "Well, Judith," said Deerslayer, rising, after the inter 
 view had lasted much longer than even he himself suspected, 
 tis pleasant convarsing with you, and settling all these 
 matters, but duty calls us another way. All this time, 
 Hurry and your father, not to say Hetty " 
 
 The word was cut short in the speaker s mouth, for, at 
 that critical moment, a light step was heard on the platform 
 or courtyard, a human figure darkened the doorway, and 
 Hetty herself stood before him. The low exclamation that 
 escaped Deerslayer, and the slight scream of Judith, were 
 hardly uttered, when an Indian youth, between the ages of 
 fifteen and seventeen, stood beside her. These two en 
 trances had been made with moccasined feet, and conse 
 quently almost without noise ; but, unexpected and stealthy 
 as they were, they had not the effect to disturb Deerslayer s 
 self-possession. His first measure was to speak rapidly in 
 Delaware to his friend, cautioning him to keep out of sight, 
 while he stood on his guard ; the second was to step to the 
 door to ascertain the extent of the danger. No one else, 
 however, had come ; and a simple contrivance, in the shape 
 of a raft that lay floating at the side of the ark, at once ex 
 plained the means that had been used in bringing Hetty 
 off. Two dead and dry, and consequently buoyant, logs of 
 pine were bound together with pins and withes, and a little 
 platform of riven chestnut had been rudely placed on their 
 surfaces. Here Hetty had been seated on a billet of wood, 
 while the young Iroquois had rowed the primitive and slow- 
 moving but perfectly safe craft from the shore. As soon 
 as Deerslayer had taken a close survey of this raft, and 
 
THE RANSOM 167 
 
 satisfied himself nothing else was near, he shook his head, 
 and muttered, in his soliloquizing way, 
 
 " This comes of prying into another man s chist ! Had 
 we been watchful and keen-eyed, such a surprise could 
 never have happened ; and getting this much from a boy 
 teaches us what we may expect when the old warriors set 
 themselves fairly about their sarcumventions. It opens the 
 way, hows ever, to a treaty for the ransom, and I will hear 
 what Hetty has to say." 
 
 Judith, as soon as her surprise and alarm had a little 
 abated, discovered a proper share of affectionate joy at 
 the return of her sister. At Judith s request Hetty took 
 a seat, and entered into an account of her adventures since 
 they had parted. Her narrative was clear and simple, al 
 though told with an utter absence of suspicion of anything 
 but openness and friendliness on the part of the Indians. 
 They had told her that what she had read from the Good 
 Book was right and that they would gladly come out to the 
 castle to hear more of it. But first Deerslayer must lend 
 them some canoes in which to bring the prisoners and 
 their women to the castle to hear this word read. It was 
 to make this proposal that they had sent Hetty out on the 
 raft with the boy. 
 
 When Hetty had finished her story Deerslayer turned 
 to Judith. 
 
 tf And the woods are full of the vagabonds, waiting to 
 know what is to be the upshot," he said. "We compre 
 hend this affair, now, Judith but I 11 first get rid of 
 this young Canadian bloodsucker, and then we 11 settle 
 our own course. Do you and Hetty leave us together, 
 first bringing me the elephants, which the Sarpent is 
 
1 68 THE DEERSLAYER 
 
 admiring ; for t will never do to let this loping deer be 
 alone a minute, or he 11 borrow a canoe without asking." 
 Judith did as desired, first bringing the pieces, and re 
 tiring with her sister into their own room. Deerslayer had 
 acquired some knowledge of most of the Indian dialects of 
 that region, and he knew enough of the Iroquois to hold 
 a dialogue in the language. Beckoning to the lad, there 
 fore, he caused him to take a seat on the chest, when he 
 placed two of the castles suddenly before him. Up to that 
 moment, this youthful savage had not expressed a single 
 intelligible emotion or fancy. There were many things in 
 and about the place that were novelties to him, but he had 
 maintained his self-command with philosophical composure. 
 It is true, Deerslayer had detected his dark eye scanning 
 the defenses and the arms, but the scrutiny had been made 
 with such an air of innocence, in such a gaping, indolent, 
 boyish manner, that no one but a man who had himself 
 been taught in a similar school would have even suspected 
 his object. The instant, however, the eyes of the savage 
 fell upon the wrought ivory, and the images of the wonder 
 ful, unknown beasts, surprise and admiration got the mas 
 tery of him, and he permitted an exclamation of rapture to 
 escape him. Then he checked himself, like one who had 
 been guilty of an indecorum. After this, his eyes ceased 
 to wander, but became riveted on the elephants, one of 
 which, after a short hesitation, he even presumed to 
 handle. Deerslayer did not interrupt him for quite ten 
 minutes ; knowing that the lad was taking such note of 
 the curiosities as would enable him to give the most mi 
 nute and accurate description of their appearance to his 
 seniors, on his return. When he thought sufficient time 
 
THE RANSOM 169 
 
 had been allowed to produce the desired effect, the hunter 
 laid a finger on the naked knee of the youth, and drew his 
 attention to himself. 
 
 " Listen," he said ; " I want to talk with my young friend 
 from the Canadas. Let him forget that wonder for a min 
 ute. Can you tell me, boy, what your chiefs intend to do 
 with these captyves, or haven t they yet made up their 
 minds ? " 
 
 The lad looked a moment at the hunter with a little sur 
 prise ; then he coolly put the end of his forefinger on his 
 own head, just above the left ear, and passed it round his 
 crown, with an accuracy and readiness that showed how 
 well he had been drilled in the peculiar art of his race. 
 
 " When ? " demanded Deerslayer. "And why not take 
 them to your wigwams ? " 
 
 " Road too long, and full of palefaces. Wigwam full, 
 and scalps sell high. Small scalp, much gold." 
 
 "Well, that explains it yes, that does explain it. 
 There s no need of being any plainer. Now, you know, 
 lad, that the oldest of your prisoners is the father of 
 these two young women, and the other is the suitor of 
 one of them. The gals nat rally wish to save the scalps 
 of such fri nds, and they will give them two ivory 
 creatur s as ransom ; one for each scalp. Go back and 
 tell this to your chiefs, and bring me the answer before 
 the sun sets." 
 
 The boy entered zealously into this project, evidently 
 desiring greatly to have such a treasure in his tribe, and 
 Deerslayer was satisfied with the impression he had made. 
 It is true, the lad proposed to carry one of the elephants 
 with him, as a specimen of the other, but to this his brother 
 
THE DEERSLAYER 
 
 negotiator was too sagacious to consent, well knowing that 
 it might never reach its destination if confided to such 
 hands. This little difficulty was soon arranged, and the 
 boy prepared to depart. As he stood on the platform 
 ready to step aboard of the raft, he hesitated, and turned 
 short with a proposal to borrow a canoe, as the means 
 most likely to shorten the negotiation. Deerslayer quietly 
 refused the request, and, after lingering a little longer, 
 the boy rowed slowly away from the castle, taking the 
 direction of a thicket on the shore, that lay less than 
 half a mile distant. Deerslayer seated himself on a 
 stool, and watched the progress of the ambassador; 
 sometimes closely scanning the whole line of shore, as 
 far as eye could reach, and then placing an elbow on 
 a knee, he remained a long time with his chin resting 
 on the hand. 
 
 During the interview between Deerslayer and the lad, 
 a different scene took place in the adjoining room. Hetty 
 had inquired for the Delaware and had gone to speak to 
 him. The reception which Chingachgook gave his visitor 
 was respectful and gentle. He understood her character ; 
 and, no doubt, his disposition to be kind to such a being 
 was increased by the hope of learning some tidings of his 
 betrothed. As soon as the girl entered she took a seat, 
 and invited the Indian to place himself near her. 
 
 "You are Chingachgook the Great Serpent of the 
 Delawares, aren t you?" the girl commenced. "You 
 mtist be ; for there is no other red-man here, and she 
 thought Chingachgook would come." 
 
 " Chin-gach-gook," pronouncing the name slowly, and 
 dwelling on each syllable ; " Great Serpent, Yengeese 
 
THE RANSOM 171 
 
 tongue. Did any tongue name Chingachgook, Drooping- 
 Lily ? " for so the chief had named poor Hetty. "Was 
 his name sung by a little bird among the Iroquois ? " 
 
 " Chin-gach-gook," repeated Hetty, in the same deliber 
 ate manner. " Yes, so Hist called it, and you must be the 
 chief." 
 
 " Wah-ta-Wah," added the Delaware, " Wah-ta-Wah, or 
 Hist-oh-Hist." 
 
 "You make it sound differently from me. But never 
 mind ; I did hear the bird you speak of sing, Great 
 Serpent." 
 
 " Will my sister say words of song ? What she sing 
 most how she look often she laugh ? " 
 
 " She sang Chin-gach-gook oftener than anything else ; 
 and she told me to say, in a very low voice, that you mustn t 
 trust the Iroquois in anything. They are more artful than 
 any Indians she knows. Then she says that there is a 
 large bright star that comes over the hill, about an hour 
 after dark," Hist had pointed out the planet Jupiter, 
 without knowing it, "and just as that star comes in 
 sight, she will be on the point where I landed last night, 
 and that you must come for her, in a canoe." 
 
 " Good ! Chingachgook understand well enough, now, 
 but he understand better if my sister sing to him agin." 
 
 Hetty repeated her words, more fully explaining what 
 star was meant, and mentioning the part of the point 
 where he was to venture ashore. Chingachgook listened 
 intently, but before there was time for him to ask more 
 news of his betrothed, the voice of Deerslayer was heard 
 calling on his friend, in the outer room. At this summons 
 the Serpent arose to obey, and Hetty joined her sister. 
 
172 THE DEERSLAYER 
 
 CHAPTER VIII 
 
 Deerslayer had summoned his friend that they might 
 have a sort of council of war, in which they could settle 
 their future course. In the dialogue that followed, the 
 parties mutually made each other acquainted with what 
 had passed in their several interviews. Chingachgook was 
 told the history of the treaty about the ransom ; and Deer- 
 slayer heard the whole of Hetty s communications. The 
 latter listened with generous interest to his friend s hopes, 
 and promised cheerfully all the assistance he could lend. 
 
 1 T is our main arr nd, Sarpent, as you know ; this 
 battling for the castle and old Hutter s darters coming in 
 as a sort of accident. Yes yes I 11 be actyve in 
 helping little Hist, who s not only one of the best and 
 handsomest maidens of the tribe, but the very best and 
 handsomest. Now let us calculate our movements a little, 
 for we shall soon either have a truce and a peace, or we 
 shall come to an actyve and bloody war. You see the 
 vagabonds can make logs sarve their turn, as well as the 
 best raftsmen on the rivers ; and it would be no great 
 explite for them to invade us in a body. I ve been think 
 ing of the wisdom of putting all old Tom s stores into the 
 ark, of barring and locking up the castle, and of taking to 
 the ark altogether. That is movable, and by keeping the 
 sail up, and shifting places, we might worry through a 
 great many nights without them Canada wolves finding 
 a way into our sheep fold." 
 
 Chingachgook listened to this plan with approbation. 
 Did the negotiation fail there was now little hope that the 
 night would pass without an assault ; and the enemy had 
 
THE RANSOM 173 
 
 sagacity enough to understand that, in carrying the castle, 
 they would probably become masters of all it contained, 
 the offered ransom included, and still retain the advantages 
 they had hitherto gained. Some precaution of the sort 
 appeared to be absolutely necessary ; for now the numbers 
 of the Iroquois were known, a night attack could scarcely 
 be successfully met. It would be impossible to prevent 
 the enemy from getting possession of the canoes and the 
 ark, and the latter itself would be a hold in which the 
 assailants would be as effectually protected against bullets 
 as were those in the building. This decision was no sooner 
 come to than it was communicated to Judith. The girl had 
 no serious objection to make, and all four set about the 
 measures necessary to carrying the plan into execution. 
 The reader will readily understand that Floating Tom s 
 worldly goods were of no great amount. A couple of beds, 
 some wearing apparel, the arms and ammunition, a few 
 cooking utensils, with the mysterious but half-examined 
 chest, formed the principal items. These were all soon 
 removed, the ark having been hauled on the eastern side 
 of the building, so that the transfer could be made without 
 being seen from the shore. It was thought unnecessary 
 to disturb the heavier and coarser articles of furniture, as 
 they were not required in the ark, and were of but little 
 value in themselves. As great caution was necessary in 
 removing the different objects, most of which were passed 
 out of a window with a view to conceal what was going on, 
 it required two or three hours before all could be effected. 
 By the expiration of that time the raft made its appearance, 
 moving from the shore. Deerslayer immediately had re 
 course to the glass, by the aid of which he perceived that 
 
174 THE DEERSLAYER 
 
 two warriors were on it, though they appeared to be un 
 armed. The progress of the raft was slow, a circumstance 
 that formed one of the great advantages that would be. 
 possessed by the scow in any future collision between 
 them, the movements of the latter being comparatively 
 swift and light. As there was time to make the dispo 
 sitions for the reception of the two dangerous visitors, 
 everything was prepared for them long before they had 
 got near enough to be hailed. The Serpent and the girls 
 retired into the building, where the former stood near the 
 door, well provided with rifles ; while Judith watched the 
 proceedings without through a loop. As for Deerslayer, he 
 had brought a stool to the edge of the platform, at the 
 point towards which the raft was advancing, and taken his 
 seat, with his rifle leaning carelessly between his legs. 
 
 As the raft drew nearer, every means possessed by the 
 party in the castle was resorted to, in order to ascertain if 
 their visitors had any firearms. Neither Deerslayer nor 
 Chingachgook could discover any ; but Judith, unwilling 
 to trust to simple eyesight, thrust the glass through the 
 loop, and directed it towards the hemlock boughs that lay 
 between the two logs of the raft, forming a sort of floor 
 ing, as well as a seat for the use of the rowers. When the 
 heavy-moving craft was within fifty feet of him, Deerslayer 
 hailed the Hurons, directing them to cease rowing, it not 
 being his intention to permit them to land. Compliance, 
 of course, was necessary, and the two grim-looking warriors 
 instantly quitted their seats, though the raft continued 
 slowly to approach, until it had driven in much nearer to 
 the platform. 
 
 "Are ye chiefs?" demanded Deerslayer, with dignity. 
 
THE RANSOM 175 
 
 " Are ye chiefs ? or have the Mingos sent me warriors 
 without names on such an arr nd ? If so, the sooner ye 
 go back the sooner the one will be likely to come that a 
 warrior can talk with." 
 
 " Hugh ! " exclaimed the elder of the two on the raft, 
 rolling his glowing eyes over the different objects that 
 were visible in and about the castle, with a keenness that 
 showed how little escaped him. " My brother is very 
 proud, but Rivenoak is a name to make a Delaware turn 
 pale." 
 
 " That s true, or it s a lie, Rivenoak, as it may be ; but 
 I am not likely to turn pale, seeing that I was born pale. 
 What s your arr nd, and why do you come among light 
 bark canoes on logs that are not even dug out ? " 
 
 u The Iroquois are not ducks, to walk on water ! Let 
 the palefaces give them a canoe, and they 11 come in a 
 canoe." 
 
 " That s more rational, than likely to come to pass. 
 We have but four canoes, and being four persons, that s 
 only one for each of us. You are welcome, Iroquois, on 
 your logs ! " 
 
 " Thanks my young paleface warrior he has got a 
 name how do the chiefs call him ? " 
 
 Deerslayer hesitated a moment, his pride and honesty 
 struggling with his sense of what modesty required. Then 
 he smiled, muttered between his teeth, and looking up, he 
 said, 
 
 " Mingo, like all who are young and actyve, I ve been 
 known by different names, at different times. One of 
 your warriors, whose spirit started for the happy-grounds 
 of your people as lately as yesterday morning, thought I 
 
176 THE DEERSLAYER 
 
 desarved to be known by the name of Hawkeye ; and this 
 because my sight happened to be quicker than his own, 
 when it got to be life or death atween us." 
 
 Chingachgook, who was attentively listening to all that 
 passed, heard and understood that this was what his friend 
 in his modesty had refrained from telling him, and on a 
 future occasion he questioned him more closely concerning 
 the matter. When he had got the whole truth, he did not 
 fail to communicate it to the tribe, from which time the 
 young hunter was universally known among the Delawares 
 by an appellation so honorably earned. But that is after 
 the period of our story. 
 
 " My brother, Hawkeye, has sent a message to the 
 Hurons," resumed Rivenoak, "and it has made their 
 hearts very glad. They hear he has images of beasts with 
 two tails ! Will he show them to his friends ? " 
 
 " Inimies would be truer," returned Deerslayer ; "but 
 sound is n t sense, and does little harm. Here is one of 
 the images ; I toss it to you under faith of treaties. If it s 
 not returned, the rifle will settle the p int atween us." 
 
 The Iroquois acquiesced in the conditions, and the little 
 piece of ivory was soon successfully transferred from one 
 hand to the other ; and then followed another scene on the 
 raft, in which astonishment and delight got the mastery 
 of Indian stoicism. For a few minutes the two grim old 
 warriors apparently lost the consciousness of their situation 
 in the intense scrutiny they bestowed on a material so fine, 
 work so highly wrought, and an animal so extraordinary. 
 The lip of the moose is, perhaps, the nearest approach to 
 the trunk of the elephant that is to be found in the 
 American forest ; but this resemblance was far from being 
 
THE RANSOM 177 
 
 sufficiently striking to bring the new creature within the 
 range of their habits and ideas, and the more they studied 
 the image the greater was their astonishment. Nor did 
 these children of the forest mistake the structure on the 
 back of the elephant for a part of the animal. They were 
 familiar with horses and oxen, and had seen towers in the 
 Canadas, and found nothing surprising in creatures of 
 burden. Still, by a very natural association, they supposed 
 the carving meant to represent that the animal they saw 
 was of a strength sufficient to carry a fort on its back ; a 
 circumstance that in no degree lessened their wonder. 
 
 " Has my paleface brother any more such beasts? " at 
 last the senior of the Iroquois asked, in a sort of petition 
 ing manner. 
 
 "There s more where these came from, Mingo," was 
 the answer; "one is enough, however, to buy off fifty 
 scalps." 
 
 " One of my prisoners is a great warrior tall as a pine 
 strong as the moose active as a deer fierce as the 
 panther. Some day he 11 be a great chief, and lead the 
 army of King George ! " 
 
 "Tut tut Mingo; Hurry Harry is Hurry Harry, 
 and you 11 never make more than a corporal of him, if you 
 do that. He s tall enough, of a sartainty ; but that s of 
 no use, as he only hits his head agin the branches as he 
 goes through the forest. He s strong, too ; but a strong 
 body is n t a strong head, and the king s generals are not 
 chosen for their sinews. He s swift, if you will, but a rifle 
 bullet is swifter ; and as for f erceness, it s no great ricom- 
 mend to a soldier ; they that think they feel the stoutest 
 often givin out at the pinch. No no you 11 never 
 
178 THE DEERSLAYER 
 
 make Hurry s scalp pass for more than a good head of 
 curly hair, and a rattlepate beneath it ! " 
 
 " My old prisoner very wise king of the lake great 
 warrior, wise counselor ! " 
 
 " Well, there s them that might gainsay all this, too, 
 Mingo. A very wise man would n t be apt to be taken in 
 so foolish a manner as befell Master Hutter ; and if he 
 gives good counsel, he must have listened to very bad in 
 that affair. There s only one king of this lake, and he s 
 a long way off, and is n t likely ever to see it. Floating 
 Tom is some such king of this region, as the wolf that 
 prowls through the woods is king of the. forest. A beast 
 with two tails is well worth two such scalps ! " 
 
 " But my brother has another beast. He will give two," 
 holding up as many fingers, " for old father." 
 
 " Floating Tom is no father of mine, but he 11 fare none 
 the worse for that. As for giving two beasts for his scalp, 
 and each beast with two tails, it is quite beyond reason. 
 Think yourself well off, Mingo, if you make a much worse 
 trade." 
 
 By this time the self-command of Rivenoak had got the 
 better of his wonder, and he began to fall back on his usual 
 habits of cunning, in order to drive the best bargain he 
 could. It would be useless to relate more than the sub 
 stance of the desultory dialogue that followed, in which the 
 Indian manifested no little management, in endeavoring 
 to recover the ground lost under the influence of surprise. 
 He even affected to doubt whether any original for the 
 image of the beast existed, and asserted that the oldest 
 Indian had never heard a tradition of any such animal. As 
 is not uncommon on such occasions, one of the parties got 
 
THE RANSOM 179 
 
 a little warm in the course of the discussion ; for Deer- 
 slayer met all the arguments and prevarications of his 
 subtle opponent with his own cool directness of manner 
 and unmoved love of truth. What an elephant was he 
 knew little better than the savage ; but he perfectly under 
 stood that the carved pieces of ivory must have some such 
 value in the eyes of an Iroquois as a bag of gold, or a pack 
 age of beaver-skins, would in those of a trader. Under the 
 circumstances, therefore, he felt it to be prudent not to con 
 cede too much at first, since there existed a nearly un 
 conquerable obstacle to making the transfers, even after the 
 contracting parties had actually agreed upon the terms. 
 Keeping this difficulty in view, he held the extra chessmen 
 in reserve as a means of smoothing any difficulty in the 
 moment of need. 
 
 At length the savage pretended that further negotiation 
 was useless, since he could not be so unjust to his tribe as 
 to part with the honor and emoluments of two excellent, 
 full-grown male scalps, for a consideration so trifling as a 
 toy like that he had seen and he prepared to take his 
 departure. Both parties now felt as men are wont to feel, 
 when a bargain that each is anxious to conclude is on the 
 eve of being broken off in consequence of too much perti 
 nacity in the way of management. The effect of the dis 
 appointment was very different, however, on the respective 
 individuals. Deerslayer was mortified, and filled with re 
 gret, for he not only felt for the prisoners, but he also 
 felt deeply for the two girls. The conclusion of the treaty, 
 therefore, left him melancholy and full of regret. With 
 the savage, his defeat produced the desire of revenge. In 
 a moment of excitement, he loudly announced his intention 
 
l8o THE DEERSLAYER 
 
 to say no more ; and he felt equally enraged with himself 
 and with his cool opponent, that he had permitted a pale 
 face to manifest more indifference and self-command than 
 an Indian chief. When he began to urge his raft away 
 from the platform, his countenance lowered, and his eye 
 glowed even while he affected a smile of amity and a 
 gesture of courtesy at parting. 
 
 It took some little time to start the raft, and while this 
 was doing by the silent Indian, Rivenoak stalked over the 
 hemlock boughs that lay between the logs, in sullen feroc 
 ity, eying keenly the while the hut, the platform, and the 
 person of his late disputant. Once he spoke in low, quick 
 terms to his companion, and he stirred the boughs with 
 his feet, like an animal that is restive. At that moment 
 the watchfulness of Deerslayer had a little abated, for he 
 sat musing on the means of renewing the negotiation 
 without giving too much advantage to the other side. It 
 was, perhaps, fortunate for him that the keen and bright 
 eyes of Judith were as vigilant as ever. At the instant 
 when the young man was least on his guard, and his 
 enemy was the most on the alert, she called out in a 
 warning voice to the former, most opportunely giving 
 the alarm. 
 
 "Be on your guard, Deerslayer ! " the girl cried ; " I 
 see rifles, with the glass, beneath the hemlock brush, and 
 the Iroquois is loosening them with his feet ! " 
 
 It was evident, by the sudden manner in which his feet 
 ceased their treacherous occupation, and in which the 
 countenance of Rivenoak changed from sullen ferocity to 
 a smile of courtesy, that the call of the girl was understood. 
 Signing to his companion to cease his efforts to set the 
 
THE RANSOM l8l 
 
 logs in motion, he advanced to the end of the raft which 
 was nearest to the platform, and spoke. 
 
 " Why should Rivenoak and his brother leave any cloud 
 between them ? " he said. " They are both wise, both 
 brave, and both generous ; they ought to part friends. 
 One beast shall be the price of one prisoner." 
 
 " And, Mingo," answered the other, delighted to renew 
 the negotiation on almost any terms, and determined to 
 clench the bargain if possible by a little extra liberality, 
 " you 11 see that a paleface knows how to pay a full price, 
 when he trades with an open heart and an open hand. 
 Keep the beast that you had forgotten to give back to me 
 as you were about to start, and which I forgot to ask for on 
 account of consarn at parting in anger. Show it to your 
 chiefs. When you bring us our fri nds two more shall be 
 added to it and"- hesitating a moment in distrust of 
 the expediency of so great a concession, then deciding in 
 its favor "and, if we see them afore the sun sets, we 
 may find a fourth to make up an even number." 
 
 This settled the matter. Every gleam of discontent van 
 ished from the dark countenance of the Iroquois. The 
 piece already in his possession was again examined, and 
 an ejaculation of pleasure showed how much he was 
 pleased with this termination of the affair. After repeat 
 ing the terms of agreement, the two Indians finally took 
 their departure, moving slowly towards the shore. 
 
 " Can any faith be put in such wretches ? " asked Judith, 
 when she and Hetty had come out on the platform, and 
 were standing at the side of Deerslayer watching the dull 
 movement of the logs. "Will they not rather keep the 
 toy they have, and send us off some bloody proofs of their 
 
1 82 THE DEERSLAYER 
 
 getting the better of us in cunning, by way of boasting ? 
 I ve heard of acts as bad as this." 
 
 "No doubt, Judith; no manner of doubt, if it wasn t 
 for Indian natur . But I m no judge of a redskin, if that 
 two-tailed beast does n t set the whole tribe in some such 
 stir as a stick raises in a beehive ! Now, there s the Sar- 
 pent ; a man with narves like flint, and no more cur osity 
 in every-day consarns than is befitting prudence. Why, he 
 was so overcome with the sight of the creatur , carved as 
 it is in bone, that I felt ashamed for him! That s just 
 their gifts, however, and one can t well quarrel with a man 
 for his gifts, when they. are lawful. Chingachgook will 
 soon get over his weakness, and remember that he s a 
 chief, and that he comes of a great stock, and has a re 
 nowned name to support and uphold; but, as for yonder 
 scamps, there 11 be no peace among em until they think 
 they ve got possession of everything of the natur of that 
 bit of carved bone that s to be found among Thomas 
 Hutter s stores ! " 
 
 The prospects of success were now so encouraging as 
 to raise the spirits of all in the castle, though a due watch 
 fulness on the movements of the enemy was maintained. 
 Hour passed after hour, notwithstanding, and the sun had 
 once more begun to fall towards the summits of the west 
 ern hills, and yet no signs were seen of the return of the 
 raft. By dint of sweeping the shore with the glass, Deer- 
 slayer at length discovered a place in the dense and dark 
 woods, where, he entertained no doubt, the Iroquois were 
 assembled in considerable numbers. It was near the thicket 
 whence the raft had issued, and a little rill that trickled 
 into the lake announced the vicinity of a spring. Here, 
 
THE RANSOM 183 
 
 then, the savages were probably holding their consultation, 
 and the decision was to be made that went to settle the 
 question of life or death for the prisoners. 
 
 The result justified Deerslayer s conjecture. Not long 
 before the sun had finally disappeared, the two logs were 
 seen coming out of the thicket again ; and, as they drew 
 near, Judith announced that her father and Hurry, both of 
 them pinioned, lay on the bushes in the centre. Even 
 after the conditions were so well understood, and matters 
 had proceeded so far, the actual transfer of the prisoners 
 was not a duty to be executed without difficulty. The 
 Iroquois were compelled to place great reliance on the 
 good faith of their foes, though it was reluctantly given, 
 and was yielded to necessity rather than to confidence. It 
 is probable the arrangement never could have been com 
 pleted, had not the honest countenance and manner of 
 Deerslayer wrought their usual effect on Rivenoak. 
 
 " My brother knows I put faith in him! sa id the latter 
 as he advanced with Hutter, whose legs had been released 
 to enable the old man to ascend to the platform. " One 
 scalp one more beast." 
 
 " Stop, Mingo," interrupted the hunter, " keep your 
 prisoner a moment. I have to go and seek the means 
 of payment." 
 
 This errand was, however, in part an excuse. Deer- 
 slayer left the platform, and entering the house, he directed 
 Judith to collect all the arms, and to conceal them in her 
 own room. He then spoke earnestly to the Delaware, who 
 stood on guard as before, near the entrance of the build 
 ing, put the three remaining castles in his pocket, and 
 returned. 
 
1 84 THE DEERSLAYER 
 
 "You are welcome back to your old abode, Master Hut- 
 ter," said Deerslayer, as he helped the other up on the 
 platform, passing into the hand of Rivenoak, at the same 
 time, another of the castles. " You 11 find your darters 
 right glad to see you." 
 
 Here the hunter stopped speaking and broke out into 
 a hearty fit of his silent and peculiar laughter. Hurry s 
 legs were just released and he had been placed on his feet. 
 So tightly had the ligatures been drawn, that the use of 
 his limbs was not immediately recovered, and the young 
 giant presented, in good sooth, a very helpless and a 
 somewhat ludicrous picture. 
 
 " You look like a girdled pine in a clearin , Hurry 
 Harry, that is rocking in a gale," said Deerslayer. 
 
 " Harkee, Deerslayer," returned the other fiercely ; "it 
 will be prudent for you to deal less in mirth and more in 
 friendship on this occasion. Act like a Christian, for once, 
 and not like a laughing gal in a country school when the 
 master s back is turned, and just tell me whether there s 
 any feet or not at the end of these legs of mine. I think I 
 can see them, but as for feelin , they might as well be down 
 on the banks of the Mohawk as where they seem to be." 
 
 " You ve come off whole, Hurry, and that s not a 
 little," answered the other, secretly passing to the Indian 
 the remainder of the stipulated ransom, and making an 
 earnest sign, at the same moment, for him to commence 
 his retreat. " You ve come off whole, feet and all, and 
 are only a little numb, from a tight fit of the withes. 
 Natur 11 soon set the blood in motion, and then you may 
 begin to dance, to celebrate what I call a most wonderful 
 and onexpected deliverance from a den of wolves." 
 
THE RANSOM 185 
 
 Deerslayer released the arms of his friends, as each 
 landed, and the two were now stamping and limping about 
 on the platform, growling, and uttering denunciations, as 
 they endeavored to help the returning circulation. They 
 had been tethered too long, however, to regain the use of 
 their limbs in a moment ; and the Indians being quite as 
 diligent on their return as on their advance, the raft was 
 fully a hundred yards from the castle when Hurry, turning 
 accidentally in that direction, discovered how fast it was 
 getting beyond the reach of his vengeance. By this time 
 he could move with tolerable facility, though still numb 
 and awkward. Hastily he seized the rifle that leaned 
 against the shoulder of Deerslayer, and attempted to cock 
 and present it. The young hunter was too quick for him. 
 Seizing the piece he wrenched it from the hands of the 
 giant ; not, however, until it had gone off in the struggle, 
 when pointed directly upwards. The instant the gun went 
 off Hurry yielded, and stumped towards the house as fast 
 as his benumbed limbs would carry him. But he had been 
 anticipated by Judith. The whole stock of Hutter s arms 
 had been removed, and was already secreted, agreeably to 
 Deerslayer s directions. In consequence of this precau 
 tion, so wisely taken by Deerslayer who knew the character 
 of the man with whom he had to deal, no means offered 
 by which March could put his treacherous designs into 
 execution. 
 
 Disappointed in his vengeance, Hurry seated himself, 
 and like H utter, for half an hour, he was too much occu 
 pied in endeavoring to restore trie circulation, and in re 
 gaining the use of his limbs, to indulge in any other reflec 
 tions. By the end of this time the raft had disappeared, 
 
1 86 THE DEERSLAYER 
 
 and night was beginning to throw her shadows once more 
 over the whole sylvan scene. Before darkness had com 
 pletely set in, and while the girls were preparing the eve 
 ning meal, Deerslayer related to H utter an outline of the 
 events that had taken .place, and gave him a history of 
 the means he had adopted for his ransom and also for 
 the security of his children and property. 
 
PART IV. THE MIDNIGHT 
 EXPEDITION 
 
 CHAPTEk I 
 
 The sun had set when the party in the castle reassem 
 bled, and the canopy overhead was ieavy and dense, prom 
 ising another night of darkness. The evening was calm, 
 and the surface of the lake was scarcely disturbed by a 
 ripple. The gloom and silence of the scene were in sin 
 gular accord with the feelings of the members of the party. 
 The two ransomed prisoners felt humbled and dishonored, 
 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 in 
 dulgence. As for the others they were thoughtful equally 
 from regret and joy. Deerslayer 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 pros- 
 pecjt of so soon regaining his betrothed. As H utter rose 
 to go indoors for a moment, the silence was broken by 
 Hurry Harry. 
 
 " Old Tom ! " he cried, bursting into a fit of boisterous 
 laughter, " you looked amazin ly like a tethered bear, as 
 you was stretched on them hemlock boughs, and I only 
 
 187 
 
1 88 THE DEERSLAYEg. 
 
 wonder you didn t growl more. Well, it s over, and 
 sythes and lamentations won t mend the matter ! There s 
 the blackguard Rivenoak, he that brought- us off, has an 
 oncommon scalp, and I d give as much for it myself as 
 the colony. Judith, darling, did you mourn for me much, 
 when I was in the hands of the heathen ? " 
 
 " Our tears have raised the lake, Harry March, as you 
 might have seen by the shore. !" returned Judith, with a 
 feigned levity that she was far from feeling. " That Hetty 
 and I should have grieved for father was to be expected ; 
 but we fairly rained 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," returned the other in a 
 quick, admonitory manner, and a low tone. "Neverthe 
 less, we are glad to see you, Master March, and out of 
 the hands of the heathen, too." 
 
 " Yes, they re a bad set, and so is the other brood of 
 em, down on the river. What I wonder is if it s peace 
 or war between us and the savages ! " continued Hurry, 
 just as Deerslayer, who had risen for an instant and 
 listened attentively, was passing through the outer door. 
 " This givin up captives has a friendly look, and when 
 men have traded together, on a fair and honorable footing, 
 they ought to part fri nds, for that occasion, at least. 
 Come back, Deerslayer, and let us have your judgment, 
 for I m beginnin 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 agin to blows." 
 
THE MIDNIGHT EXPEDITION 189 
 
 As Deerslayer spoke, he threw on the table on which 
 the other was reclining with one elbow a sort of miniature 
 fagot, composed of a dozen sticks bound tightly together 
 with a deerskin thong. March seized it eagerly, and hold 
 ing it close to a blazing knot of pine that lay on the hearth, 
 and 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 is n t plain English," said the reckless frontier- 
 man, " it s plain Injin ! Here s what they call a diclira- 
 tion of war, down at York, Judith. How did you come by 
 this defiance, Deerslayer ? " 
 
 " Fairly enough. It lay, not a minut since, in what you 
 call Floatin Tom s dooryard." 
 
 "How came it there ? It never fell from the clouds 
 surely." 
 
 Deerslayer 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 agin, on his two logs. His arr nd 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" 
 
190 THE DEERSLAYER 
 
 " The prowling wolves ! But hand me that rifle, Judith, 
 and I 11 send an answer back to the vagabonds through 
 their messenger." 
 
 ft Not while I stand by, Master March," coolly put in 
 Deerslayer, motioning for the other to forbear. " Faith 
 is faith, whether given to a redskin 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 empl yed on such an arr nd. 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 sartainty." 
 
 " 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 shall stop me from 
 following, and bringing back that riptyle s scalp. The more 
 on em that you crush in the egg, the fewer there 11 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 vio 
 lence ; for, if Hurry was fierce and overbearing in the 
 consciousness of his vast strength, Deerslayer had about 
 him the calm determination that promises greater perse 
 verance, and a resolution more likely to effect its object. 
 It was the stern, resolute eye of the latter, rather than the 
 noisy vehemence of the first, that excited her apprehen 
 sions. Hurry soon reached the spot where the canoe was 
 fastened, but not before Deerslayer 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 
 
THE MIDNIGHT EXPEDITION 191 
 
 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 Deerslayer 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 de 
 prived of the means of proceeding. He first approached 
 the Indian with loud menaces, and even Deerslayer stood 
 aghast at the probable consequences. March shook his 
 sledge-hammer 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 im 
 mediate 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 with impunity ; he therefore turned 
 to vent his rage on Deerslayer, where he foresaw n o con 
 sequences 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 did n t take your scalp, 
 though you and father wanted to take theirs." 
 
 The influence of mildness on passion is well known, and 
 was in this case instantaneous. Instead of throttling his old 
 fellow-traveler, Hurry turned to the girl, and poured out 
 a portion of his discontent, if none of his anger, in her 
 attentive ears. 
 
192 THE DEERSLAYER 
 
 Tis too bad, Hetty!" he exclaimed; "as bad as a 
 county jail, or a lack of beaver, to get a creatur into your 
 very trap, and then to see it get off. As much as six first 
 quality skins, in valie, has paddled off on them clumsy 
 logs, when twenty strokes of a well-turned paddle would 
 overtake em. I say in valie, for as to the boy, in the way 
 of natur he is only a boy, and is worth neither more nor 
 less than one. Deerslayer, you Ve been ontrue to your 
 fri nds in letting such a chance slip through my fingers 
 as well as your own." 
 
 But Deerslayer had turned away, and Hutter, who had 
 been summoned to the platform by the disturbance, now 
 pulled Hurry 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 con 
 sultation ; for, though it wanted some three or four hours 
 to the rising of the star, there were plans to be made, that 
 they might not fail to meet and rescue Hist at the time 
 she had set. 
 
 At length the several conferences were broken up by the 
 reappearance of Hutter on the platform. Here he assem 
 bled the whole party, and communicated as much of his 
 intentions as he deemed expedient. Of the arrangement 
 made by Deerslayer, 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 their 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 
 
THE MIDNIGHT EXPEDITION 193 
 
 old man viewed the night as critical, and he called on all 
 to get ready as soon as possible, in order to abandon the 
 dwelling, 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 com 
 parative light was stretched through the centre 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 departure of the ark. 
 At the distance of an observer on the shore, her move 
 ments could not be seen at all, more particularly as a back 
 ground of dark hillside filled up the perspective of every 
 view that was taken diagonally or directly across the water. 
 
 It was now a question as to the course to be steered. 
 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 cap 
 tivity, by lying down. As the air still baffled and 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 
 
194 THE DEERSLAYER 
 
 prisoners helped to hoist the sail, and then threw themselves 
 on two of the pallets, leaving Deerslayer and his friend to 
 look after the movements of the craft, an arrangement 
 which their private plans made doubly acceptable to them. 
 That Judith and Hetty remained up also in no manner 
 impaired the agreeable features of this change. 
 
 For some time the scow 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. Deerslayer kept the craft as much in 
 the bays as was prudent, in order to sail within the shadows 
 of the woods. 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 Chingachgook 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 II 
 
 The discovery mentioned at the close of the preceding 
 chapter was of great moment in the eyes of Deerslayer 
 and his friend. In the first place, there was the danger, 
 almost the certainty, that H utter and Hurry would make 
 
THE MIDNIGHT EXPEDITION 195 
 
 a fresh attempt on this camp should they awake and as 
 certain 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. One of the first things agreed upon be 
 tween Deerslayer and the Indian was to permit the other 
 two to sleep on, lest their thirst for revenge interfere 
 with the execution of Chingachgook s project, of which it 
 will be remembered they had as yet no knowledge. 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 ma- 
 nceuvers ; " since it shows the Mingos believe we are in 
 the hut, and our coming on em from this quarter will be 
 an onlooked-for event. But tis lucky Harry March and 
 your father are asleep, else we should have em prowling 
 after scalps agin. 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 certain that he had 
 at last gained the desired position, when he gave the signal 
 agreed on, and Chingachgook let go the anchor and low 
 ered the sail. The intense darkness that prevailed so close 
 
196 THE DEERSLAYER 
 
 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. This Deerslayer 
 pointed out to Judith, even instructing her as to the course 
 she was to follow in the event of an alarm. 
 
 " And now, Judith, as we understand one another, it is 
 time the Sarpent and I had taken to the canoe," the 
 hunter concluded. " The star has not risen yet, it s true, 
 but it soon must ; though none of us are likely to be any 
 the wiser fur it to-night, on account of the clouds. How- 
 s ever, Hist has a ready mind, and she s one of them that 
 doesn t always need to have a thing afore her to see it. 
 I 11 warrant you she 11 not be either two minutes or two 
 feet out of the way, unless them jealous vagabonds, the 
 Mingos, have taken the alarm and hid her away, in order 
 to prepare her mind for a Huron instead of a Mohican 
 husband." 
 
 Chingachgook and his paleface 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 warpath. 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 the first to meet his mistress. A few 
 minutes sufficed 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 
 
THE MIDNIGHT EXPEDITION 197 
 
 lay, to distinguish the outlines of 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 a distance of about 
 a thousand feet. 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 
 Chingachgook 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, the canoe now seemed 
 to move by instinct, so cautious and deliberate were all its 
 motions, until in a moment its bows grated on the gra vel of 
 the beach. There was, as usual, a narrow strand, but bushes 
 fringed the woods and in most places overhung the water. 
 
 Chingachgook 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. No Hist 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. Deer- 
 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 directioji of 
 the lake, and pointed towards the summits of the eastern 
 mountains. The clouds had broken a little, apparently be 
 hind rather than above the hills and the selected star was 
 
198 THE DEERSLAYER 
 
 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 foot 
 steps. 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 con 
 versation, the adventurers knew by these facts that they 
 must be very near the encampment. It was easy to per 
 ceive 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 quar 
 ter of an hour was passed in this state of intense expec 
 tation and anxiety, when Deerslayer proposed that they 
 should circle the point in the canoe ; and by getting a 
 position close in, where the camp could be seen, recon 
 noitre 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, 
 plausibly enough offering as a reason the disappointment 
 of the girl should she arrive in his absence. Deerslayer 
 felt for his friend s concern, and offered to make the cir 
 cuit of the point by himself, leaving the latter concealed 
 in the bushes to await the occurrence of any fortunate 
 event that might favor his views. With this understand 
 ing, then, the parties separated. 
 
THE MIDNIGHT EXPEDITION 199 
 
 As soon as Deerslayer 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 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 favorable to reconnoitring 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 practiced 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 readi 
 ness, and certainly with the noiseless movements, of an 
 aquatic bird. 
 
 Deerslayer had got nearly in a line 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 incautiously 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 centre of the illumination, he 
 brought the canoe to a state of rest. 
 
 The canoe now 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, 
 
200 THE DEERSLAYER 
 
 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 torches 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. 
 
 Deerslayer saw at a glance that many of the warriors 
 were absent. His acquaintance, Rivenoak, however, was 
 present, being seated in the foreground of a picture that 
 Salvator 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 inclining against trees so many 
 types of indolent repose. Their arms were near them, 
 sometimes leaning against the same trees as themselves, 
 or were lying across their bodies, in careless preparation. 
 But the group that most attracted the attention of Deer- 
 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 
 
THE MIDNIGHT EXPEDITION 2OI 
 
 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. 
 
 Deerslayer looked eagerly and anxiously for the form of 
 Hist. 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 two youth 
 ful females, one of whom proved to be the Delaware girl. 
 Deerslayer now comprehended it all. Hist 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. Deerslayer 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 
 
202 THE DEERSLAYER 
 
 a little longer, in 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. 
 
 Deerslayer now felt greatly at a loss how to proceed. He 
 well knew that Chingachgook 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 continue to give out its light, he might discover the 
 particular hut, or arbor, under which Hist reposed ; a cir 
 cumstance that would be of infinite use in their future pro 
 ceedings. Should he remain, however, much longer where 
 he was, there was great danger that the impatience of his 
 friend would drive him into some act of 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 consid 
 eration, therefore, he came to the conclusion it would be 
 better to rejoin his friend, and endeavor to temper his im 
 petuosity 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 min 
 utes 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 Chingachgook was made 
 
THE MIDNIGHT EXPEDITION 203 
 
 acquainted with the state of things in the camp. When 
 .Hist 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 her plans. A much greater degree of vigi 
 lance than had been previously required was now neces 
 sary, and the circumstance that an aged woman was 
 on watch also denoted some special grounds of alarm. All 
 these considerations were briefly discussed, and the course 
 to be pursued was soon chosen. Disposing of the canoe in 
 such a manner that Hist 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, 
 going in a roundabout way in order to approach the camp 
 from the rear. A little rise in the ground that lay behind 
 the encampment greatly favored their secret advance. 
 
 As soon as the friends emerged from the bushes, they 
 stopped to reconnoitre. The fire was still blazing behind 
 the little ridge, casting its light upward into the tops of 
 the trees, producing 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 circumstance, the young men ad 
 vanced cautiously towards the ridge, Deerslayer in front, 
 for he insisted on this arangement, lest the Delaware 
 should be led by his feelings into some indiscretion. It re 
 quired but a moment to reach the foot of the little ascent, 
 and then commenced the most critical part of the enter 
 prise. Moving with exceeding caution, and trailing his rifle, 
 
204 THE DEERSLAYER 
 
 both to keep its barrel out of view and in readiness for 
 service, the hunter put foot before foot, until he had got 
 sufficiently high to overlook the summit, his own head be 
 ing alone brought into the light. Chingachgook 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 the fire. 
 
 The view that Deerslayer now obtained of the camp 
 was exactly the reverse of that he had perceived from the 
 water. The dim figures which he had formerly discovered 
 must have been on the summit of the ridge, a few feet in 
 advance of the spot where he was now posted. The fire was 
 still blazing brightly, and around it were seated on logs thir 
 teen warriors, which accounted for all whom he had seen 
 from the canoe. They were conversing with much earnest 
 ness 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 habits of so extraordi 
 nary an animal. 
 
 The females were collected near each other, much as 
 Deerslayer 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 to the 
 warriors was about thirty yards ; the women may have 
 been half that number of yards nigher, so near that it 
 was possible, in the profound stillness of the woods, even 
 to catch passages of the discourse. Deerslayer felt the 
 tremor that passed through the frame of his friend when 
 the latter first caught the sweet sounds that issued from 
 
THE MIDNIGHT EXPEDITION 205 
 
 the plump, pretty lips of Hist. 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 Dela- 
 wares will think this creature wonderful, but to-morrow no 
 Huron tongue will talk of it. Our young men will find 
 him if the animal dares to come near our wigwams ! " 
 
 " The Delawares are so far from letting such creatures 
 come into their country," returned Hist, " that no one has 
 even seen their images there ! Their young men would 
 frighten away the images as well as the beasts." 
 
 " The Delaware 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 Delaware 
 warrior ? " 
 
 This was said in good-humor, and with a laugh ; but it 
 was also said bitingly. That Hist so felt it was apparent 
 by the spirit betrayed in her answer. 
 
 "Who has ever heard the name of a young Delaware?" 
 she repeated earnestly. " Tamenund 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 Uncas ? Where is another as great, though the pale 
 faces have ploughed up its graves, 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 
 
206 THE DEERSLAYER 
 
 they may see one called Chingachgook, 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 
 Delaware, Deerslayer 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 coinci 
 dence, however ludicrous. The speech of Hist produced 
 a retort, and the dispute, though still good-humored, grew 
 warm and slightly clamorous. In the midst of this scene 
 the Delaware 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, that Deerslayer 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, in 
 stantly 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 Chingachgook felt certain that his 
 presence was known. This was effecting 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 un 
 certainty of his situation. Deerslayer, too, was not slow to 
 
THE MIDNIGHT EXPEDITION 207 
 
 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 ut 
 tered more as a lure to draw her antagonists on to an easy 
 conquest than with any hopes of succeeding herself. 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- move 
 ments were natural but guarded, and she stretched her 
 arm and yawned, as if overcome with a desire to sleep. 
 The chirrup 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 dark 
 ness in which the adventurers stood, prevented her from 
 seeing them. 
 
 The moment was near when it became necessary for 
 Hist to act. She was to sleep in a small hut, 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 mo 
 ment 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 deli 
 cious 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, intend 
 ing 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 
 
208 THE DEERSLAYER 
 
 by trees, until the two females had passed them. In walk 
 ing, Hist was held tightly by the hand. As she moved by 
 the tree that hid Chingachgook and his friend, the former 
 repeated the chirrup to indicate his position, and the Hu 
 ron woman stopped and faced the tree whence 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 boded 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 ap 
 peared 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 hand 
 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 round 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. 
 
 Deerslayer s part in the enterprise was plainly to endeavor 
 to keep the old woman from sounding an alarm until 
 his friend should have safely reached the canoe. This he 
 did by playing on her throat as on the keys of an organ, 
 occasionally allowing her to breathe, and then compress 
 ing his fingers again nearly to strangling her. 
 
 The brief intervals for breath, however, were well im 
 proved, and the hag succeeded in letting out a screech or 
 
THE MIDNIGHT EXPEDITION 209 
 
 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 phantasmagoria. 
 It was now quite time for the hunter to retreat. Tripping 
 up the heels of his captive, and giving her throat a part 
 ing squeeze, 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. 
 
 CHAPTER III 
 
 To gain the beach, and to follow it round to the place 
 where Chingachgook was already in the canoe with Hist, 
 anxiously waiting his appearance, took Deerslayer but a 
 moment. Laying his rifle in the bottom of the canoe, he 
 stooped to give the latter a vigorous shove from the shore, 
 when a powerful Indian leaped through the bushes, alight 
 ing like a panther on his back. With a generosity which 
 was so much a part of his character as to be instinctive, 
 Deerslayer threw all his force into a desperate effort, 
 shoved the canoe off with a power that sent it a hundred 
 feet from the shore as it might be in an instant, and 
 fell forward into the lake himself, face downward ; his 
 assailant necessarily following him. 
 
 Although the water was deep within a few yards of the 
 beach, it was not more than breast-high as close in as the 
 spot where the two combatants fell. Still this was quite 
 sufficient to destroy one who had sunk under the great 
 disadvantages in which Deerslayer was placed. His hands 
 
210 THE DEERSLAYER 
 
 were free, however, and the savage was compelled to re 
 linquish his hug to keep his own face above the surface. 
 For half a minute there was a desperate struggle, and then 
 both stood erect, grasping each other s arms, in order to 
 prevent the use of the deadly knife in the darkness. What 
 might have been the issue of this severe personal struggle 
 cannot be known, for half a dozen savages came leaping 
 into the water to the aid of their friend, and Deerslayer 
 yielded himself a prisoner with a dignity that was as 
 remarkable as his self-devotion. 
 
 To quit the lake and lead their new captive to the fire 
 occupied the Indians but another minute. So much en 
 gaged were they all with the struggle and its consequences 
 that the canoe was unseen, though it still lay so near the 
 shore as to render every syllable that was uttered perfectly 
 intelligible to the Delaware and his betrothed ; and the 
 whole party left the spot, some continuing the pursuit after 
 Hist, along the beach, though most proceeded to the light. 
 Here Deerslayer s antagonist so far recovered his breath 
 and his recollection, for he had been throttled nearly to 
 strangulation, as to relate the manner in which the girl 
 had got off. It was now too late to assail the other fugi 
 tives, for no sooner was his friend led into the bushes than 
 the Delaware placed his paddle in the water, and the light 
 canoe glided noiselessly away, holding its course towards 
 the centre of the lake, until safe from shot, after which it 
 sought the ark. 
 
 When Deerslayer reached the fire, he found himself 
 surrounded by no less than eight grim savages, among 
 whom was his old acquaintance Rivenoak. As soon as the 
 latter caught a glimpse of the captive s countenance, he 
 
THE MIDNIGHT EXPEDITION 21 1 
 
 spoke apart to his companions, and a low but general ex 
 clamation of pleasure and surprise escaped them. They 
 knew that the conqueror of their late friend, he who had 
 fallen on the opposite side of the lake, was in their hands, 
 and subject to their mercy or vengeance. There was no 
 little admiration mingled in the ferocious looks that were 
 thrown on the prisoner, an admiration that was as much 
 excited by his present composure as by his past deeds. 
 This scene may be said to have been the commencement 
 of the great and terrible reputation that Deerslayer, or 
 Hawkeye, as he was afterwards called, enjoyed among 
 all the tribes of New York and Canada. 
 
 The arms of Deerslayer were not pinioned, and he was 
 left the free use of his hands, his knife having been first 
 removed. The only precaution that was taken to secure 
 his person was untiring watchfulness, and a strong rope of 
 bark that passed from ankle to ankle, not so much to pre 
 vent his walking as to place an obstacle in the way of his 
 attempting to escape by any sudden leap. Even this extra 
 provision against flight was not made until the captive had 
 been brought to the light and his character ascertained. It 
 was, in fact, a compliment to his prowess, and he felt 
 proud of the distinction. That he might be bound when 
 the warriors slept he would have thought probable, but to 
 be bound in the moment of capture showed that he was 
 already, and thus early, attaining a name. While the 
 young Indians were fastening the rope, he wondered if 
 Chingachgook would have been treated in the same man 
 ner, had he too fallen into the hands of the enemy. Nor 
 did the reputation of the young paleface rest altogether on 
 his success in the previous combat, or in his discriminating 
 
212 THE DEERSLAYER 
 
 and cool manner of managing the late negotiation ; for it 
 had deceived a great accession by the occurrences of the 
 night. Ignorant of the movements of the ark, and of the 
 accident that had brought their fire into view, the Iroquois 
 attributed the discovery of their new camp to the vigilance 
 of so shrewd a foe. The manner in which he ventured 
 upon the point, the abstraction or escape of Hist, and 
 most of all the self-devotion of the prisoner, united to the 
 readiness with which he had sent the canoe adrift, were so 
 many important links in the chain of facts on which his 
 growing fame was founded. 
 
 While the warriors consulted together, near at hand, all 
 those who had been out having returned to report that no 
 signs of any other prowlers near the camp were to be 
 found, Deerslayer was permitted to seat himself on the end 
 of a log, near the fire, in order to dry his clothes, his late 
 adversary standing opposite, now holding articles of his own 
 scanty vestments to the heat, and now feeling his throat, 
 on which the marks of his enemy s fingers were still quite 
 visible. In this state of things, the old woman, whose 
 name was Shebear, in plain English, approached Deer- 
 slayer with her fists clenched and her eyes flashing fire. 
 Although Deerslayer had not permanently injured her, 
 he had temporarily caused her to suffer, and had thus 
 aroused all the fury of a woman not likely to overlook 
 such treatment. 
 
 " Skunk of the palefaces," commenced this exasperated 
 fury, shaking her fist under the nose of the impassible 
 hunter, "you are not even a woman. Your friends, the 
 Delawares, are only women, and you are their sheep. Your 
 own people will not own you, and no tribe of red-men 
 
THE MIDNIGHT EXPEDITION 213 
 
 would have you in their wigwams ; you skulk among 
 petticoated warriors. You slay our brave friend who has 
 left us ? no his great soul scorned to fight you, and 
 left his body rather than have the shame of slaying you ! 
 But the blood that you spilt when the spirit was not look 
 ing on has not sunk into the ground. It must be buried in 
 your groans ! What music do I hear ? Those are not the 
 wailings of a red-man ! no red warrior groans so much 
 like a hog. They come from a paleface throat a Yen- 
 geese bosom, and sound as pleasant as girls singing. Dog 
 
 - skunk woodchuck mink hedgehog pig - 
 toad spider Yengee " 
 
 Here the old woman, having expended her breath, and 
 exhausted her epithets, was fain to pause a moment, though 
 both her fists were shaken in the prisoner s face, and the 
 whole of her wrinkled countenance was filled with fierce 
 resentment. Deerslayer looked upon these impotent at 
 tempts to arouse him with indifference, but he well under 
 stood that he was to be the subject of all her means of 
 annoyance, if not of positive injury, so long as he re 
 mained in the power of his enemies. He was, however, 
 spared any further attack at present, by the interposition 
 of Rivenoak, who shoved aside the hag, bidding her quit 
 the spot, and prepared to take his seat at the side of his 
 prisoner. 
 
 " My paleface friend is very welcome," said the Indian, 
 with a covert smile ; " he is welcome. The Hurons keep 
 a hot fire to dry the white man s clothes." 
 
 " I thank you, Huron, or Mingo, as I most like to call 
 you," returned the other ; " I thank you for the welcome, 
 and I thank you for the fire. Each is good in its way, and 
 
214 THE DEERSLAYER 
 
 the last is very good, when one has been in a spring as 
 cold as the Glimmerglass. Even Huron warmth may be 
 pleasant, at such a time, to a man with a Delaware heart." 
 
 " My brother Hawkeye is not a woman ; why does he 
 live with the Delawares ? " 
 
 " Providence placed me among the Delawares young, 
 Mingo ; and, bating what Christian usages demand of my 
 color and gifts, I hope to live and die in their tribe. Still, 
 I do not mean to throw away altogether my natyve rights, 
 and shall strive to do a paleface s duty in redskin society." 
 
 " Good ! a Huron is a redskin, as well as a Delaware. 
 Hawkeye is more of a Huron than of a woman." 
 
 " I suppose you know, Mingo, your own meaning if 
 you don t, I make no question tis well known to Satan. 
 But if you wish to get anything out of me, speak plainer, 
 for bargains cannot be made blindfolded or tongue-tied." 
 
 "Good! Hawkeye has not a forked tongue, and he likes 
 to say what he thinks. He is an acquaintance of the Musk- 
 rat," this was a name by which all the Indians desig 
 nated Hutter, " and he has lived in his wigwam ; but 
 he is not a friend. He wants no scalps, like a miserable 
 Indian, but fights like a stout-hearted paleface. The Musk- 
 rat is neither white nor red ; neither a beast nor a fish. 
 He is a water-snake ; sometimes in the spring and some 
 times on the land. He looks for scalps like an outcast. 
 Hawkeye can go back and tell him how he has outwitted 
 the Hurons, how he has escaped ; and when his eyes are 
 in a fog, when he can t see as far as from his cabin to the 
 woods, then Hawkeye can open the door for the Hurons. 
 And how will the plunder be divided ? Why, Hawkeye 
 will carry away the most, and the Hurons will take what 
 
THE MIDNIGHT EXPEDITION 215 
 
 he may choose to leave behind him. The scalps can go 
 to Canada, for a paleface has no satisfaction in them" 
 
 "Well, well, Rivenoak, for so I hear em tarm you, 
 this is plain English enough, though spoken in Iroquois. 
 I understand all you mean, now, and must say it out- 
 devils even Mingo deviltry ! No doubt, t would be easy 
 enough to go back and tell the Muskrat that I had got 
 away from you, and gain some credit, too, by the explite." 
 
 " Good ! that is what I want the paleface to do." 
 
 "Yes yes that s plain enough. I know what you 
 want me to do, without more words. When inside the 
 house, and eating the Muskrat s bread, and laughing and 
 talking with his pretty darters, I might put his eyes into so 
 thick a fog that he could n t even see the door, much less 
 the land." 
 
 "Good! Hawkeye should have been born a Huron! 
 His blood is not more than half white ! " 
 
 ; There you re out, Huron ; yes, there you re as much 
 out, as if you mistook a wolf for a catamount. I m white 
 in blood, heart, natur , and gifts, though a little redskin 
 in feelin s and habits. But when old Hutter s eyes are 
 well befogged, and his pretty darters, perhaps, in a deep 
 sleep, and Hurry Harry, the Great Pine, as you Indians 
 tarm him, is dreaming of anything but mischief, and all 
 suppose Hawkeye is acting as a faithful sentinel, all I 
 have to do is to set a torch somewhere in sight for a 
 signal, open the door, and let in the Hurons to knock 
 em all on the head." 
 
 " Surely my brother is mistaken ; he cannot be white ! 
 He is worthy to be a great chief among the Hurons ! " 
 
 " That is true enough, I dare to say, if he could do all 
 
216 THE UEERSLAYER 
 
 this. Now, harkee, Huron, and for once hear a few honest 
 words from the mouth of a plain man. I am a Christian 
 born, and them that come of such a stock, and that listen 
 to the words that were spoken to their fathers, and will 
 be spoken to their children, until arth and all it holds 
 perishes, can never lend themselves to such wickedness. 
 Sarcumventions in war may be, and are lawful ; but sar- 
 cumventions, and deceit, and treachery, among fri nds, are 
 fit only for the paleface devils. I know that there are white 
 men enough to give you this wrong idee of our natur , 
 but such are ontrue to their blood and gifts, and ought to 
 be, if they are not, outcasts and vagabonds. No upright 
 paleface could do what you wish, and to be as plain with 
 you as I wish to be, in my judgment no upright Delaware 
 either; with a Mingo it may be different." 
 
 The Huron listened to his rebuke with obvious disgust ; 
 but he had his ends in view, and was too wily to lose all 
 chance of effecting them by a precipitate avowal of resent 
 ment. Affecting to smile, he seemed to listen eagerly ; 
 and with an air of pondering on what he had heard, he 
 quitted his prisoner, and joining the rest of his warriors 
 he communicated to them the substance of his conversa 
 tion with the prisoner. In a few moments he returned, 
 assuming his former position on the log at the side of 
 Deerslayer. Here he continued silent for a little time, 
 maintaining the grave reserve of an Indian chief. 
 
 " Hawkeye is right," the Iroquois at length began ; 
 " his sight is so strong that he can see truth in a dark 
 night, and our eyes have been blinded. He is an owl, dark 
 ness hiding nothing from him. He ought not to strike 
 his friends, He is right." 
 
THE MIDNIGHT EXPEDITION 2l ; 
 
 " I m glad you think so, Mingo," returned the other, 
 "for a traitor, in my judgment, is worse than a coward. 
 I care as little for the Muskrat as one paleface ought to 
 care for another ; but I care too much for him to ambush 
 him in the way you wished. In short, according to my 
 idees, any sarcumvention, except open-war sarcumven- 
 tions, are agin both law, and what we whites call gos 
 pel, too." 
 
 " My paleface brother is right ; he is no Indian to for 
 get his Manitou and his color. The Hurons know that 
 they have a great warrior for their prisoner, and they will 
 treat him as one. If he is to be tortured, his torments 
 shall be such as no common man can bear ; if he is to be 
 treated as a friend, it will be the friendship of chiefs." 
 
 As the Huron uttered this extraordinary assurance of 
 consideration his eye furtively glanced at the countenance 
 of his listener, in order to discover how he stood the 
 compliment. Although Deerslayer was sufficiently well 
 acquainted with the Indian notions of what constituted 
 respect, in matters connected with the treatment of cap 
 tives, so that he felt his blood chill at the announcement, 
 yet he maintained an aspect so steeled that his quick- 
 sighted enemy could discover in it no signs of weakness. 
 
 " God has put me in your hands, Huron," the captive 
 at length answered, " and I suppose you will act your will 
 on me. I shall not boast of what I can do, under torment, 
 for I ve never been tried, and no man can say till he has 
 been ; but I 11 do my endivors not to disgrace the people 
 among whom I got my training. Hows ever, I wish you 
 now to bear witness, that I m altogether of white blood, 
 and, in a nat ral way, of white gifts, too ; so, should I be 
 
218 THE DEERSLAYER 
 
 overcome and forget myself, I hope you 11 lay the fault 
 where it properly belongs ; and in no manner put it on 
 the Delawares, or their allies and friends the Mohicans. 
 We re all created with more or less weakness, and I m 
 afeard it s a paleface s to give in under great bodily tor 
 ment, when a redskin will sing his songs, and boast of his 
 deeds in the very teeth of his foes ! " 
 
 " We shall see. Hawkeye has a good countenance, and 
 he is tough but why should he be tormented when the 
 Hurons love him ? He is not born their enemy ; and the 
 death of one warrior will not cast a cloud between them 
 forever." 
 
 11 So much the better, Huron ; so much the better. 
 Still, I don t wish to owe anything to a mistake about 
 each other s meaning. It is so much the better that you 
 bear no malice for the loss of a warrior who fell in war ; 
 and yet it is ontrue that there is no inmity lawful inmity, 
 I mean, atween us. So far as I have redskin feelin s at 
 all, I ve Delaware feelin s ; and I leave you to judge for 
 yourself, how far they are likely to be fri ndly to the 
 Mingos " 
 
 Deerslayer ceased, for a sort of spectre stood before 
 him that put a stop to his words, and, indeed, caused him 
 for a moment to doubt the fidelity of his boasted vision. 
 Hetty Hutter was standing at the side of the fire, as 
 quietly as if she belonged to the tribe, and as if it were 
 not the middle of the night. 
 
 As the hunter and the Indian sat together, the girl had 
 approached unnoticed by them, doubtless from the beach, 
 and had advanced to the fire with the fearlessness that be 
 longed to her simplicity, and which was certainly justified 
 
THE MIDNIGHT EXPEDITION 219 
 
 by the treatment formerly received from the Indians. 
 As soon as Rivenoak perceived the girl, he sent two of 
 the younger warriors out to reconnoitre, lest her appear 
 ance should be the forerunner of another attack. He then 
 motioned to Hetty to draw near. 
 
 " I hope your visit is a sign that the Sarpent and Hist 
 are in safety, Hetty," said Deerslayer, as soon as the girl 
 had complied with the Huron s request. " I don t think 
 you d come ashore agin on the arr nd that brought you 
 here afore." 
 
 "Judith told me to come this time, Deerslayer," Hetty 
 replied ; " she paddled me ashore herself, in a canoe, as 
 soon as the Serpent had shown her Hist, and told his 
 story. She bid me come to see you, and to try and per 
 suade the savages to take more elephants to let you off ; 
 but I ve brought the Bible with me that will do more 
 than all the elephants in father s chest ! " 
 
 " And your father, good little Hetty and Hurry ; did 
 they know of your arr nd ? " 
 
 " Nothing. Both are asleep ; and Judith and the Ser 
 pent thought it best they should not be woke, less they 
 might want to come again after scalps, when Hist had 
 told them how few warriors and how many women and 
 children there were in the camp. Judith would give me 
 no peace till I had come ashore, to see what .had hap 
 pened to you." 
 
 " Well, that s kind as consarns Judith ! But I m sorry 
 /she sent you, for I m afeard you 11 not find it so easy to 
 go back again this time. They re a venomous set of 
 riptyles, and their p ison s none the milder for the loss 
 of Hist." 
 
220 THE DEERSLAYER 
 
 " Now you put me in mind of a part of my errand that 
 I had almost forgotten, Deerslayer. Judith told me to ask 
 you what you thought the Hurons would do with you if 
 you could n t be bought off, and what jv^hacl best do to 
 serve you. Yes, this was the most important pa*{; of the 
 errand what she had best do in order to serve, you." 
 
 "That s as you think, Hetty; but it s no matter. 
 Young women are apt to lay most stress on what most 
 touches their feelin s ; but no matter; have it your own 
 way, so you be but careful not to let the vagabonds get 
 the mastery of a canoe. When you get back to the ark, 
 tell em to keep close, and to keep moving too, most 
 especially at night. Many hours can t go by without the 
 troops on the river hearing of this party, and then your 
 fri nds may look for relief. T is but a day s march from 
 the nearest garrison, and true soldiers will never lie idle 
 with the foe in their neighborhood. This is my advice, 
 and you must say to your father and Hurry that scalp- 
 hunting will be a poor business now, as the Mingos are 
 up and awake, and nothing can save em till the troops 
 come except keeping a good belt of water atween em and 
 the savages." 
 
 " What shall I tell Judith about you, Deerslayer ? I 
 know she will send me back again, if I don t bring her 
 the truth about you" 
 
 " Then tell her the truth. I see no reason Judith Hutter 
 should n t hear the truth about me as well as a lie. I m 
 a captyve in Indian hands, and Providence only knows 
 what will come of it ! Harkee, Hetty," dropping his voice 
 and speaking still more confidentially, "you are a little 
 weak-minded, it must be allowed, but you know something 
 
THE MIDNIGHT EXPEDITION 221 
 
 of Injins. Here I am in their hands, after having slain 
 one of their stoutest warriors, and they ve been endivoring 
 to work upon me, through fear of consequences, to betray 
 your father and all in the ark. I understand the black 
 guards as well as if they told it all out plainly with their 
 tongues. They hold up avarice afore me on one side, and 
 fear on t other, and think honesty will give way atween 
 em both. But let your father and Hurry know tis all 
 useless ; as for the Sarpent, he knows it already." 
 
 " But what shall I tell Judith ? She will certainly send 
 
 me back if I don t satisfy her mind." 
 
 A j 
 " Well, tell Judith the same. No doubt the savages will 
 
 try the torments to make me give in, and to revenge the 
 loss of their warrior, but I must hold out agin nat ral weak 
 ness in the best manner I can. You may tell Judith to feel 
 no consarn on my account it will cojne hard, I know, 
 seeing that a white man s gifts don t run to boasting and 
 singing under torment, for he generally feels smallest when 
 he suffers most but you may tell her not to have any 
 consarn. I think I shall make out to stand it ; and she 
 may rely on this, let me give in as much as I may, and 
 prove completely that I am white, by wailings, and howl- 
 ings, and even tears, yet I 11 never fall so far as to betray 
 my fri nds. When it gets to burning holes in the flesh 
 with heated ramrods, and to hacking the body, and tearing 
 the hair out by the roots, natur may get the upper hand, 
 so far as groans and complaints are consarned, but there 
 the triumph of the vagabonds will ind; nothing short of 
 God s abandoning him to the devils can make an honest 
 man ontrue to his color and duty." 
 
 Hetty listened with great attention, and her mild but 
 
222 THE DEERSLAYER 
 
 speaking countenance manifested a strong sympathy in the 
 anticipated agony of the supposititious sufferer. At first 
 she seemed at a loss how to act ; then, taking a hand of 
 Deerslayer s, she affectionately recommended to him to 
 borrow her Bible, and to read it while the savages were 
 inflicting their torments. The offer was gently declined, 
 and Rivenoak being about to join them, Deerslayer re 
 quested the girl to leave him first enjoining her again 
 to tell those in the ark to have full confidence in his 
 fidelity. Hetty now walked away, and approached the 
 group of females with as much confidence and self- 
 possession as if she were a native of the tribe. 
 
 CHAPTER IV 
 
 The young men who had been sent out to reconnoitre, 
 on the sudden appearance of Hetty, soon returned to 
 report their want of success in making any discovery. A 
 watch was set, therefore, and all but the sentinels disposed 
 themselves to sleep. 
 
 Sufficient care was had to the safe keeping of the cap 
 tive without inflicting on him any unnecessary suffering ; 
 and as for Hetty, she was permitted to find a place among 
 the Indian girls, in the best manner she could. She was 
 supplied by a kindly squaw with a skin, and made her own 
 bed on a pile of boughs a little apart from the huts. Here 
 she was soon in a profound sleep, like all around her. 
 
 There were now thirteen men in the party, and three 
 kept watch at a time. One remained in shadow, not far 
 from the fire, however. His duty was to guard the cap 
 tive, to take care that the fire neither blazed up so as to 
 
THE MIDNIGHT EXPEDITION 223 
 
 illuminate the spot, nor yet became wholly extinguished ; 
 and to keep an eye generally on the state of the camp. 
 Another passed from one beach to the other, crossing the 
 base of the point ; while the third kept moving slowly 
 around the strand on its outer extremity, to prevent a 
 repetition of the surprise that had already taken place 
 that night. 
 
 It was some hours later when Hetty awoke, and leaving 
 her bed of skin and boughs, walked innocently and openly 
 to the embers of the fire, stirring the latter, as the cool 
 ness of the night and the woods had a little chilled her. 
 As the flame shot up, it lighted the swarthy countenance 
 of the Huron on watch, whose dark eyes glistened under 
 its light, like the balls of a panther that is pursued to his 
 den with burning brands. But Hetty felt no fear, and she 
 approached the spot where the Indian stood. Her move 
 ments were so natural, and so perfectly devoid of any of 
 the stealthiness of cunning or deception, that he imagined 
 she had merely arisen on account of the coolness of the 
 night, a common occurrence in a camp, and the one of 
 all others, perhaps, the least likely to excite suspicion. 
 Hetty spoke to him, but he understood no English. She 
 then gazed near a minute at the sleeping captive, and 
 moved slowly away in a sad and melancholy manner. 
 
 The girl took no pains to conceal her movements. Any 
 ingenious expedient of this nature, quite likely, exceeded 
 her powers ; still her step was habitually light, and scarcely 
 audible. As she took the direction of the extremity of 
 the point, or the place where she had landed in the first 
 adventure, and where Hist had embarked, the sentinel saw 
 her light form gradually disappear in the gloom without 
 
224 THE DEERSLAYER 
 
 uneasiness or changing his own position. He knew that 
 others were on the lookout, and he did not believe that 
 one who had twice come into the camp voluntarily, and 
 had already left it openly, would take refuge in flight. 
 
 Hetty soon found her way to the beach, and by follow 
 ing the margin of the water, encountered the Indian who 
 paced the strand as sentinel. This was a young warrior, 
 and when he heard her light tread coming along the 
 gravel he approached swiftly, though with anything but 
 menace in his manner. The darkness was so intense 
 that it was not easy to discover forms, within the shadows 
 of the woods, at the distance of twenty feet, and quite 
 impossible to distinguish persons until near enough to 
 touch them. The young Huron manifested disappoint 
 ment when he found whom he had met ; for, truth to 
 say, he was expecting his favorite, who had promised to 
 relieve the ennui of a midnight watch with her presence. 
 This man was also ignorant of English, but he was at 
 no loss to understand why the girl should be up at that 
 hour. Such things were usual in an Indian village and 
 camp, where sleep is as irregular as the meals. Then 
 poor Hetty s known imbecility, as in most things con 
 nected with the savages, stood her friend on this occasion. 
 Vexed at his disappointment, and impatient of the pres 
 ence of one he thought an intruder, the young warrior 
 signed for the girl to move forward, holding the direction 
 of the beach. Hetty complied, and came in a moment to 
 the place where the canoes had come ashore. Here she 
 spoke softly, but another footstep had caught the lover s 
 ear, and he was already nearly beyond the sound of the 
 girl s silvery voice. 
 
THE MIDNIGHT EXPEDITION 225 
 
 " Here I am, Judith," she said, "and there is no one 
 near me." 
 
 Her voice was hushed by a " Hist! " that came from 
 the water, and then she caught a dim view of the canoe, 
 which approached noiselessly, and soon grated on the 
 shingle with its bow. The moment the weight of Hetty 
 was felt in the light craft, the canoe withdrew, stern fore 
 most, as if possessed of life and volition, until it was a 
 hundred yards from the shore. Then it turned, and held 
 its way towards the ark. For several minutes nothing was 
 uttered ; but, believing herself to be in a favorable posi 
 tion to confer with her sister, Judith began a discourse 
 which she had been burning to commence ever since they 
 quitted the point. 
 
 "Here we are safe, Hetty," she said, "and may talk 
 without the fear of being overheard. You must speak 
 low, however, for sounds are heard far on the water in a 
 still night. I was so close to the point, some of the time, 
 while you were on it, that I have heard the voices of the 
 warriors, and I heard your shoes on the gravel of the 
 beach, even before you spoke. But tell me, Hetty, did 
 you see and speak with Deerslayer ? " 
 
 " Oh, yes, there he was seated near the fire, with his 
 legs tied, though they left his arms free to move them 
 as he pleased." 
 
 "Well, what did he tell you, child? Speak quick; I 
 am dying to know what message he sent me. Did you 
 tell him / sent you ashore, Hetty, and how much concern 
 I feel for his misfortune ? " asked the other, impatiently. 
 
 " I believe I did, Judith ; but you know I am feeble 
 minded, and I may have forgotten. I did tell him you 
 
226 THE DEERSLAYER 
 
 brought me ashore. And he told me a great deal that I 
 was to say to you, which I remember well, for it made my 
 blood run cold to hear him. He told me to say that his 
 friends I suppose you are one of them, sister" 
 
 "How can you torment me thus, Hetty ! Certainly, I 
 am one of the truest friends he has on earth." 
 
 " Torment you ! yes, now I remember all about it. I 
 am glad you used that word, Judith, for it brings it all 
 back to my mind. Well, he said he might be tormented 
 by the savages, but he would try to bear it as becomes 
 a Christian white man, and that no one need be af card , 
 why does Deerslayer call it afeard, when mother always 
 taught us to say afraid ? " 
 
 " Never mind, dear Hetty, never mind that now ! " 
 cried the other, almost gasping for breath. " Did Deer- 
 slayer really tell you that he thought the savages would 
 put him to the torture ? Recollect now, well, Hetty, for 
 this is a most awful and serious thing." 
 
 " Yes, he did ; and I remember it by your speaking 
 about my tormenting you. Oh, I felt very sorry for him, 
 and Deerslayer took it all so quietly and without noise ! " 
 
 Judith bowed her face between her hands, and groaned. 
 
 "Tortured he shall not be," she cried, while Judith 
 Hutter lives, and can find means to prevent it." 
 
 The conversation was drawn out until the elder sister 
 had extracted from the younger every fact the feeble fac 
 ulties of the latter permitted her to retain, and to commu 
 nicate. When Judith could think of no more questions to 
 ask, the canoe was paddled towards the scow. The intense 
 darkness of the night, and the deep shadows which the 
 hills and forest cast upon the water, rendered it difficult 
 
THE MIDNIGHT EXPEDITION 227 
 
 to find the vessel ; anchored, as it had been, as close to 
 the shore as a regard to safety rendered prudent. Judith 
 was expert in the management of a bark canoe, the light 
 ness of which demanded skill rather than strength ; and 
 she forced her own little vessel swiftly over the water. 
 Still no ark was seen. Several times the sisters fancied 
 they saw it looming up in the obscurity, like a low black 
 rock, but on each occasion it was found to be either an 
 optical illusion or some swell of the foliage on the shore. 
 
 " Perhaps father has thought us in our cabin asleep, 
 Judith, and has moved away to go home," suggested 
 Hetty. " You know we often move the ark in the night." 
 
 This is true, Hetty, and it must be as you suppose. 
 There is a little more southern air than there was, and 
 they have gone up the lake " 
 
 Judith stopped, for, as the last word was on her tongue, 
 the scene was suddenly lighted, though only for a single 
 instant, by a flash. The crack of a rifle succeeded, and then 
 followed the roll of the echo along the eastern mountains. 
 Almost at the same moment a piercing female cry arose 
 in the air in a prolonged shriek. The awful stillness that 
 succeeded was, if possible, more appalling than the fierce 
 and sudden interruption of the deep silence of midnight. 
 Resolute as she was, both by nature and habit, Judith 
 scarce breathed, while poor Hetty hid her face and 
 trembled. 
 
 "That was a woman s cry, Hetty," said the former, 
 solemnly, " and it was a cry of anguish ! If the ark has 
 moved from this spot, it can only have gone north with 
 this air, and the gun and shriek came from the point. 
 Can anything have befallen Hist ? " 
 
228 THE DEERSLAYER 
 
 " Let us go and see, Judith ; she may want our assist 
 ance for besides herself, there are none but men in 
 the ark." 
 
 It was not a moment for hesitation, and ere Judith had 
 ceased speaking her paddle was in the water. The dis 
 tance to the point, in a direct line, was not great, and the 
 impulses under which the girls worked were too exciting 
 to allow them to waste the precious moments in useless 
 precautions. They paddled incautiously, for them, but 
 the same excitement kept others from noting their move 
 ments. Presently a glare of light caught the eye of 
 Judith through an opening in the bushes, and steering 
 by it she so directed the canoe as to keep it visible, 
 while she got as near the land as was either prudent 
 or necessary. 
 
 The scene that was now presented to the observation of 
 the girls was within the woods, on the side of the decliv 
 ity so often mentioned, and in plain view from the boat. 
 Here all in the camp were collected, some six or eight car 
 rying torches of fat-pine, which cast a strong but funereal 
 light on all beneath the arches of the forest. With her 
 back supported against a tree, and sustained on one side 
 by the young sentinel whose remissness had suffered Hetty 
 to escape, sat the female whose expected visit had pro 
 duced his delinquency. By the glare of the torch that was 
 held near her face, it was evident that she was in the ago 
 nies of death, while the blood that trickled from her bared 
 bosom betrayed the nature of the injury she had received. 
 The pungent, peculiar smell of gunpowder, too, was still 
 quite perceptible in the heavy damp night air. There 
 could be no question that she had been shot. As to the 
 
THE MIDNIGHT EXPEDITION 229 
 
 effect, that was soon still more apparent, the head of the 
 victim dropping, and the body sinking in death. Then all 
 the torches but one were extinguished a measure of 
 prudence ; and the melancholy train that bore the body to 
 the camp was just to be distinguished by the glimmering 
 light that remained. 
 
 Judith sighed heavily and shuddered, as her paddle 
 again dipped, and the canoe moved cautiously around the 
 point. A sight had afflicted her senses, and now haunted 
 her imagination, that was still harder to be borne than 
 even the untimely fate and passing agony of the deceased 
 girl. She had seen, under the strong glare of all the 
 torches, the erect form of Deerslayer, standing, with com 
 miseration, and as she thought with shame depicted on 
 his countenance, near the dying female. He betrayed 
 neither fear nor backwardness, himself ; but it was appar 
 ent by the glances cast at him by the warriors that fierce 
 passions were struggling in their bosoms. All this seemed 
 to be unheeded by the captive, but it remained impressed 
 on the memory of Judith throughout the night. 
 
 No canoe was met hovering near the point. A stillness 
 and darkness, as complete as if the silence of the forest 
 had never been disturbed, or the sun had never shone on 
 that retired region, now reigned on the point, and on the 
 gloomy water, the slumbering woods, and even the murky 
 sky. No more could be done, therefore, than to seek a 
 place of safety ; and this was only to be found in the 
 centre of the lake. Paddling in silence to that spot, the 
 canoe was suffered to drift northerly, while the girls 
 sought such repose as their situation and feelings would 
 permit. 
 
230 THE DEERSLAYER 
 
 CHAPTER V 
 
 The fears of Judith concerning the disappearance of the 
 ark and the manner in which the Indian girl had met her 
 death were accurate in the main. After sleeping several 
 hours, her father and March awoke. This occurred soon 
 after she had left the ark to go in quest of her sister, and 
 when of course Chingachgook and his betrothed were on 
 board. From the Delaware the old man learned the posi 
 tion of the camp, and the recent events, as well as the ab 
 sence of his daughters. The latter gave him no concern ; 
 for he relied greatly on the sagacity of the eldest, and the 
 known impunity with which the younger passed among the 
 savages. Long familiarity with danger, too, had blunted his 
 sensibilities. Nor did he seem much to regret the captivity 
 of Deerslayer ; for while he knew how material his aid might 
 be in a defense, the difference in their views on the morality 
 of the woods had not left much sympathy between them. 
 He would have rejoiced to know the position of the camp 
 before it had been alarmed by the escape of Hist, but it 
 would be too hazardous now to venture to land ; and he 
 reluctantly relinquished for the night the ruthless designs 
 that captivity and revenge had excited him to entertain. 
 In this mood H utter took a seat in the head of the scow, 
 where he was quickly joined by Hurry ; leaving the Ser 
 pent and Hist in quiet possession of the other extremity 
 of the vessel. Hurry was filled with resentment and anger 
 when he heard from Hutter the story of what had hap 
 pened while he slept. Nor could he brook the idea of 
 being so near the camp of his enemies without at least 
 going in to reconnoitre if nothing more. It was at his 
 
THE MIDNIGHT EXPEDITION 231 
 
 suggestion, therefore, that the ark had been moved, and 
 it was his hand which had fired the fatal shot. 
 
 It had happened in this wise. Floating Tom had sailed 
 the ark along as near the land as the depth of the water 
 and the overhanging branches would allow. It was im 
 possible to distinguish anything that stood within the 
 shadows of the shore ; but the forms of the sail and of 
 the hut were discerned by the young sentinel on the beach 
 who has already been mentioned. In the moment of sud 
 den surprise, a deep Indian exclamation escaped him. In 
 that spirit of recklessness and ferocity that formed the 
 essence of Hurry s character, he dropped his rifle and 
 fired. The shriek announced the effects of the random 
 shot of March, and it also proclaimed that the victim 
 was a woman. Hurry himself was startled at these un 
 looked-for consequences ; and for a moment he was sorely 
 disturbed by conflicting sensations. At first he laughed, 
 in reckless and rude-minded exultation ; and then con 
 science, that monitor planted in our breasts by God, shot 
 a pang to his heart. For a minute the mind of this crea 
 ture was a sort of chaos as to feeling, not knowing what 
 to think of its own act ; and then the obstinacy and pride 
 of one of his habits interposed to assert their usual ascend 
 ency. He struck the butt of his rifle on the bottom of the 
 scow with a species of defiance, and began to whistle a low 
 air with an affectation of indifference. All this time the 
 ark was in motion, and it was already opening the bay 
 above the point, and was consequently quitting the land. 
 
 Hurry s companions did not view his conduct with the 
 same indulgence as that with which he appeared disposed to 
 regard it himself. H utter growled out his dissatisfaction, 
 
232 THE DEERSLAYER 
 
 for the act led to no advantage, while it threatened to 
 render the warfare more vindictive than ever. Still he 
 commanded himself, the captivity of Deerslayer rendering 
 the arm of the offender of double consequence to him at 
 that moment. Chingachgook arose, and for a single in 
 stant the ancient animosity of tribes was forgotten in a 
 feeling of color ; but he recollected himself in season to 
 prevent any of the fierce consequences that for a passing 
 moment he certainly meditated. Not so with Hist. Rush 
 ing through the hut, or cabin, the girl stood at the side of 
 Hurry almost as soon as his rifle touched the bottom of 
 the scow ; and with a fearlessness that did credit to her 
 heart she poured out her reproaches with the generous 
 warmth of a woman. 
 
 "What for you shoot?" she said. "What Huron gal 
 do, dat you kill him ? What you t ink Manitou say ? 
 What you t ink Manitou feel ? What Iroquois do ? No 
 get honor no get camp no get prisoner no get 
 battle no get scalp no get not ing at all. Blood come 
 after blood ! You big as great pine Huron gal little slen 
 der birch why you fall on her and crush her ? You t ink 
 Huron forget it ? No ; redskin never forget. Never for 
 get friend ; never forget enemy. Red-man Manitou in 
 dat. Why you so wicked, great paleface ? " 
 
 Hurry had never been so daunted as by this close and 
 warm attack of the Indian girl, whose presence he had 
 hardly noticed before. It is true that she had a powerful 
 ally in his conscience ; and while she spoke earnestly, it 
 was in tones so feminine as to deprive him of any pretext 
 for unmanly anger. Instead of resenting or answering 
 flippantly the simple but natural appeal of Hist, he walked 
 
THE MIDNIGHT EXPEDITION 233 
 
 away like one who disdained entering into a controversy 
 with a woman. 
 
 In the meanwhile the ark swept onward, and by the 
 time the scene with the torches \vas enacting beneath the 
 trees it had reached the open lake ; Floating Tom causing 
 it to sheer further from the land, with a sort of instinctive 
 dread of retaliation. An hour now passed in gloomy 
 silence, no one appearing disposed to break it. Hist had 
 retired to her pallet, and Chingachgook lay sleeping in 
 the forward part of the scow. H utter and Hurry alone re 
 mained awake. The former now felt some little concern 
 about his daughters ; but, on the whole, this uncertainty 
 did not much disturb him, as he had the reliance already 
 mentioned on the intelligence of Judith. 
 
 It was the season of the shortest nights, and it was not 
 long before the deep obscurity which precedes the day be 
 gan to yield to the returning light. As soon as the light 
 was sufficiently strong to allow of a distinct view of the 
 lake, H utter turned the head of the ark directly towards the 
 castle, with the intention of taking possession for the day 
 at least, as the place most favorable for meeting his daugh 
 ters, and for carrying on his operations against the Indians. 
 By this time, Chingachgook was up, and Hist was heard 
 stirring among the furniture of the kitchen. At this mo 
 ment, too, to render the appearances generally auspicious, 
 the canoe of Judith was seen floating northward in the 
 broadest part of the lake, having actually passed the scow 
 in the darkness. Hutter got his glass, and took a long 
 and anxious survey to ascertain if his daughters were in 
 the light craft, or not ; and a slight exclamation like that 
 of joy escaped him, as he caught a glimpse of what he 
 
234 THE DEERSLAYER 
 
 rightly conceived to be a part of Judith s dress above the 
 top of the canoe. At the next instant the girl arose, and 
 was seen gazing about her, like one assuring herself of 
 her situation. A minute later Hetty was seen on her 
 knees, in the other end of the canoe, repeating the prayers 
 that had been taught her in childhood by a misguided but 
 repentant mother. As Hutter laid down the glass, still 
 drawn to its focus, the Serpent raised it to his eye and 
 turned it towards the canoe. It was the first time he had 
 ever used such an instrument, and Hist understood by his 
 " Hugh ! " the expression of his face, and his entire mien, 
 that something wonderful had excited his admiration. It 
 is well known that the American Indians, more particu 
 larly those of superior character and stations, singularly 
 maintain their self-possession and stoicism in the midst 
 of the flood of marvels that present themselves in their 
 occasional visits to the abodes of civilization ; and Chin- 
 gachgook had imbibed enough of this impassibility to sup 
 press any very undignified manifestation of surprise. With 
 Hist, however, no such law was binding, and when her 
 lover managed to bring the glass in a line with a canoe, 
 and her eye was applied to the smaller end, the girl started 
 back in alarm ; then she clapped her hands with delight, 
 and a laugh, the usual attendant of untutored admiration, 
 followed. A few minutes sufficed to enable this quick 
 witted girl to manage the instrument for herself, and she 
 directed it at every prominent object that struck her fancy. 
 Finding a rest in one of the windows, she and the Dela 
 ware first surveyed the lake ; then the shores, the hills, 
 and finally the castle attracted their attention. After a 
 long steady gaze at the latter, Hist took away her eye, 
 
THE MIDNIGHT EXPEDITION 235 
 
 arid spoke to her lover in a low, earnest manner. Chin- 
 gachgook immediately placed his eye to the glass, and his 
 look even exceeded that of his betrothed in length and 
 intensity. Again they spoke together confidentially, ap 
 pearing to compare opinions, after which the glass was 
 laid aside, and the young warrior quitted the cabin to join 
 H utter and Hurry. 
 
 The ark was slowly but steadily advancing, and the 
 castle was materially within half a mile, when Chingach- 
 gook joined the two white men in the stern of the scow. 
 His manner was calm, but it was evident that he had 
 something to communicate. Hurry was generally prompt 
 to speak, and according to custom, he took the lead on 
 this occasion. 
 
 " Out with it, redskin," he cried, in his usual rough 
 manner. " Have you discovered a chipmunk in a tree, or 
 is there a salmon-trout swimming under the bottom of the 
 scow ? You find what a paleface can do in the way of eyes, 
 now, Sarpent, and must n t wonder that they can see the 
 land of the Indians from afar off." 
 
 " No good to go to castle," put in Chingachgook with 
 emphasis, the moment the other gave him an opportunity 
 of speaking. " Huron there." 
 
 "The devil he is ! If this should turn out to be true, 
 Floating Tom, a pretty trap were we about to pull down 
 on our heads ! Huron there ! well, this may be so ; but 
 no signs can I see of anything near or about the old hut 
 but logs, water, and bark bating two or three windows 
 and one door." 
 
 H utter called for the glass and took a careful survey of 
 the spot before he ventured an opinion at all ; then he 
 
236 THE DEERSLAYER 
 
 somewhat cavalierly expressed his dissent from that given 
 by the Indian. 
 
 " You ve got this glass wrong end foremost, Delaware," 
 continued Hurry ; " neither the old man nor I can see 
 any trail in the lake." 
 
 " No trail water make no trail," said Hist, eagerly. 
 " Stop boat no go too near Huron there ! " 
 
 " Aye, that s it ! Stick to the same tale and more 
 people will believe you. I hope, Sarpent, you and your 
 gal will agree in telling the same story arter marriage as 
 well as you do now. Huron there ! whereabouts is he 
 to be seen in the padlock, or the chains, or the logs ? " 
 
 " No see moccasin ! " said Hist, impatiently, "why no 
 look and see him ? " 
 
 " Give me the glass, Hurry," interrupted H utter, " and 
 lower the sail. It is seldom that an Indian woman med 
 dles, and when she does there is generally a cause for it. 
 There is, truly, a moccasin floating against one of the 
 piles ; and it may or may not be a sign that the castle 
 has n t escaped visitors in our absence. Moccasins are no 
 rarities, however, for I wear em, myself,. and Deerslayer 
 wears em, and you wear em, March ; and for that mat 
 ter so does Hetty, quite as often as she wears shoes ; 
 though I never yet saw Judith thrust her pretty foot in 
 a moccasin." 
 
 Hurry had lowered the sail, and by this time the ark was 
 within two hundred yards of the castle, setting in nearer 
 and nearer each moment. Each now took the glass in turn, 
 and the castle and everything near it was subjected to a 
 scrutiny still more rigid than ever. There the moccasin 
 lay, beyond a question, floating so lightly and preserving 
 
THE MIDNIGHT EXPEDITION 237 
 
 its form so well that it was scarcely wet. It had caught 
 by a piece of the rough bark of one of the piles on the 
 exterior of the water-palisade that formed the dock already 
 mentioned, which circumstance alone prevented it from 
 drifting away before the air. There were many modes, 
 however, of accounting for the presence of the moccasin 
 without supposing it to have been dropped by an enemy. 
 It might have fallen from the platform even while Hutter 
 was in possession of the place, and drifted to the spot 
 where it was now seen, remaining unnoticed until detected 
 by the acute vision of Hist. It might have drifted from 
 a distance, up or down the lake, and accidentally become 
 attached to the pile or palisade. It might have been thrown 
 from a window and alighted in that particular place ; or it 
 might certainly have fallen from a scout or an assailant 
 during the past night, who was obliged to abandon it to 
 the lake in the deep obscurity which then prevailed. 
 
 All these conjectures passed from Hutter to Hurry, 
 the former appearing disposed to regard the omen as a 
 little sinister, while the latter treated it with his usual 
 reckless disdain. As for the Indian, he was of opinion 
 that the moccasin should be viewed as one would regard 
 a trail in the woods which might or might not equally 
 prove to be threatening. Hist, however, had something 
 available to propose. She declared her readiness to take 
 a canoe, to proceed to the palisade, and bring away the 
 moccasin, when its ornaments would show whether it 
 came from the Canadas or not. Both the white men were 
 disposed to accept this offer ; but the Delaware interfered 
 to prevent the risk. If such a service was to be under 
 taken, it best became a warrior to expose himself in its 
 
238 THE DEERSLAYER 
 
 execution ; and he gave his refusal to let his betrothed 
 proceed, much in the quiet but brief manner in which an 
 Indian husband issues his commands. 
 
 " Well, then, Delaware, go yourself if you re so tender 
 of your squaw," put in the unceremonious Hurry. "That 
 moccasin must be had, or Floating Tom will keep off here 
 at arm s length till the hearth cools in his cabin. It s but 
 a little deerskin arter all, and cut this-a-way or that-a-way, 
 it s not a skear-crow to frighten true hunters from their 
 game. What say you, Sarpent, shall you or I canoe it ? " 
 
 "Let red-man go. Better eyes than paleface know 
 Huron trick better, too." 
 
 " That I 11 gainsay, to the hour of my death ! A white 
 man s eyes, and a white man s nose, and for that matter 
 his sight and ears, are all better than an Injin s when 
 fairly tried. Time and agin have I put that to the proof, 
 and what is proved is sartain. Still I suppose the poorest 
 vagabond going, whether Delaware or Huron, can find 
 his way to yonder hut and back agin ; and so, Sarpent, 
 use your paddle and welcome." 
 
 Chingachgook was already in the canoe, and he dipped 
 the implement the other named into the water, just as 
 Hurry s limber tongue ceased. The Indian chief paddled 
 steadily towards the palisades, keeping his eye on the 
 different loops of the building. Each instant he expected 
 to see the muzzle of a rifle protruded, or to hear its 
 sharp crack ; but he succeeded in reaching the piles in 
 safety. Here he was, in a measure, protected, having the 
 heads of the palisades between him and the hut ; and the 
 chances of any attempt on his life, while thus covered, 
 were greatly diminished. The canoe had reached the piles 
 
THE MIDNIGHT EXPEDITION 239 
 
 with its head inclining northward and at a short distance 
 from the moccasin. Instead of turning to pick up the 
 latter, the Delaware slowly made the circuit of the whole 
 building, deliberately examining every object that should 
 betray the presence of enemies, or the commission of 
 violence. Not a single sign could be discovered, however, 
 to confirm the suspicions that had been awakened. The 
 stillness of desertion pervaded the building ; not a fasten 
 ing was displaced ; not a window had been broken. The 
 door looked as secure as at the hour when it was closed 
 by H utter, and even the gate of the dock had all the 
 customary fastenings. In short, the most wary and jealous 
 eye could detect no other evidence of the visit of enemies 
 than that which was connected with the appearance of the 
 floating moccasin. 
 
 The Delaware was now greatly at a loss how to pro 
 ceed. At one moment, as he came round in front of the 
 castle, he was on the point of stepping up on the plat 
 form, and of applying his ^eye to one of the loops, with a 
 view of taking a direct personal inspection of the state of 
 things within ; but he hesitated. Though of little experi 
 ence in such matters himself, he had heard so much of 
 Indian artifices through traditions, had listened with such 
 breathless interest to the narration of the escapes of the 
 elder warriors, and, in short, was so well schooled in the 
 theory of his calling, that it was almost impossible for 
 him to make any gross blunder on such an occasion. 
 Relinquishing the momentary intention to land, the chief 
 slowly pursued his course round the palisades. As he 
 approached -the moccasin having now nearly completed 
 the circuit of the building he threw the ominous article 
 
240 THE DEERSLAYER 
 
 into the canoe, "by a dexterous and almost imperceptible 
 movement of his paddle. He was now ready to depart; 
 but retreat was even more dangerous than the approach, 
 as the eye could no longer be riveted on the loops. If 
 there was really any one in the castle, the motive of the 
 Delaware in reconnoitring must be understood ; and it 
 was the wisest way, however perilous it might be, to retire 
 with an air of confidence, as if all distrust were terminated 
 by the examination. Such, accordingly, was the course 
 adopted by the Indian, who paddled deliberately away, 
 taking the direction of the ark, suffering no nervous 
 impulse to quicken the motions of his arms, or to induce 
 him to turn even a furtive glance behind him. 
 
 Joy sparkled in Hist s dark eyes, and a smile lighted 
 her pretty mouth, as she saw the Great Serpent of the 
 Delawares step unharmed into the ark ; but, after the 
 custom of Indian women, she neither spoke nor moved. 
 
 "Well, Sarpent," cried Hurry, always the first to speak, 
 " what news from the Muskrats ? Did they show their 
 teeth, as you surrounded their dwelling ? " 
 
 " I no like him," sententiously returned the Delaware. 
 " Too still. So still, can see silence ! " 
 
 "That s downright Injin as if anything could make 
 less noise than nothing ! If you ve no better reason than 
 this to give, Old Tom had better hoist his sail, and go 
 and get his breakfast under his own roof. What has 
 become of the moccasin ? " 
 
 " Here," returned Chingachgook, holding up his prize 
 for the general inspection. 
 
 The moccasin was examined, and Hist confidently pro 
 nounced it to be Huron, by the manner in which the 
 
THE MIDNIGHT EXPEDITION 241 
 
 porcupine s quills were arranged on its front. H utter, and 
 the Delaware, too, were decidedly of the same opinion. 
 Admitting all this, however, it did not necessarily follow 
 that its owners were in the castle. The moccasin might 
 have drifted from a distance, or it might have fallen from 
 the foot of some scout, who had quitted the place when 
 his errand was accomplished. In short, it explained 
 nothing, while it awakened so much distrust. 
 
 Under these circumstances, Hutter and Harry were not 
 men to be long deterred from proceeding, by proofs as 
 slight as that of the moccasin. They hoisted the sail again, 
 and the ark was soon in motion, heading towards the 
 castle. The wind, or air, continued light, and the move 
 ment was sufficiently slow to allow of a deliberate survey 
 of the building as the scow approached. 
 
 The same deathlike silence reigned, and it was difficult 
 to fancy that anything possessing animal life could be in 
 or around the place. Unlike the Serpent, whose imagina 
 tion had acted through his traditions until he was ready to 
 perceive an artificial in a natural stillness, the others saw 
 nothing to apprehend in a tranquillity that, in truth, merely 
 denoted the repose, of inanimate objects. The accessories 
 of the scene, too, were soothing and calm, rather than ex 
 citing. The day had not yet advanced so far as to bring 
 the sun above the horizon, but the heavens, the atmos 
 phere, and the woods and lake, were all seen under that 
 softening light which immediately precedes his appearance, 
 and which, perhaps, is the most witching period of the 
 four-and-twenty hours. It is the moment when everything 
 is distinct, even the atmosphere seeming to possess a liquid 
 lucidity, the hues appearing gray and softened. 
 
242 THE DEERSLAYER 
 
 CHAPTER VI 
 
 The moment the head of the scow was within reach of 
 the castle, Hurry was on the platform, stamping his feet, 
 and proclaiming his indifference to the whole Huron tribe 
 in his customary noisy, dogmatical manner. H utter had 
 hauled a canoe up to the head of the scow, and was already 
 about to undo the fastenings of the gate, in order to enter 
 within the dock. March had no other motive in landing 
 than a senseless bravado, and having shaken the door in 
 a manner to put its solidity to the proof, he joined Hutter 
 in the canoe, and began to aid him in opening the gate. 
 On entering the canoe, Hutter had placed a line in the 
 Delaware s hand, intimating that the other was to fasten 
 the ark to the platform and to lower the sail. Instead of 
 following these directions, however, Chingachgook left the 
 sail standing, and throwing the bight of the rope over the 
 head of a pile, he permitted the ark to drift round until it 
 lay against the defenses in a position where it could be 
 entered only by means of a boat. 
 
 A single shove sent the canoe from the gate to the trap 
 beneath the castle. Here Hutter found all fast, neither 
 padlock nor chain nor bar having been molested. The key 
 was produced, the locks removed, the chain loosened, and 
 the trap pushed upward. Hurry now thrust his head in at 
 the opening ; the arms followed, and the colossal legs rose 
 without any apparent effort. At the next instant, his heavy 
 foot was heard stamping in the passage above ; that which 
 separated the chambers of the father and daughters, and 
 into which the trap opened. He then gave a shout of 
 triumph. 
 
THE MIDNIGHT EXPEDITION 243 
 
 " Come on, old Tom," the reckless woodsman called 
 om within the building ; " here s your tenement, safe 
 and ^ound ; aye, and as empty as a nut that has passed 
 half am hour in the paws of a squirrel ! The Delaware brags 
 of Keing able to see silence ; let him come here, and he 
 may feel it in the bargain." 
 
 Any silence where you are, Hurry Harry," returned 
 Huttei-:, thrusting his head in at the hole, "ought to be 
 both seen and felt, for it s unlike any other silence." 
 
 ",-Come, come, old fellow ; hoist yourself up, and we 11 
 opeln doors and windows and let in the fresh air to brighten 
 up {matters. " 
 
 A moment of silence succeeded, and a noise like that 
 produced by the fall of a heavy body followed. A deep 
 execration from Hurry succeeded, and then the whole in 
 terior of t the building seemed alive. The noises that now 
 so suddenly broke the stillness within could not be mis 
 taken. They resembled those that would be produced by 
 a struggle^ between tigers in a cage. Once or twice the 
 Indian yellj was given, but it seemed smothered, and as if 
 it proceeded from exhausted or compressed throats ; and, 
 in a single, instance, another execration came from the 
 throat of H^urry. It appeared as if bodies were constantly 
 thrown upojn the floor with violence, as often rising to re 
 new the struggle. Chingachgook felt greatly at a loss what 
 to do. He had all the arms in the ark, H utter and Hurry 
 having proceeded without their rifles ; but there was no 
 means of using them, or of passing them to the hands 
 of their owners. The combatants were literally caged, 
 rendering it almost as impossible, under the circumstances, 
 to get out, as to get into the building. At this instant 
 
244 THE DEERSLAYER 
 
 the door flew open and the fight was transferred to the 
 platform, the light, and the open air. 
 
 A Huron had undone the fastenings of the door/, and 
 three or four of his tribe rushed after him upon the nar 
 row space. The body of another followed, pitched htead- 
 long through the door, with terrific violence. Then Mairch 
 appeared, raging like a lion at bay, and for an instant frreed 
 from his numerous enemies. Hutter was already evidently 
 a captive and bound. There was now a pause i in the 
 struggle, which resembled a lull in a tempest. The? ne 
 cessity of breathing was common to all, and the comibat- 
 ants stood watching each other, like mastiffs that tyave 
 been driven from their holds, and are waiting for a faivor- 
 able opportunity of renewing them. 
 
 Hurry was the first to resume hostilities, and his onset 
 was furious. He seized the nearest Huron by the waist, 
 raised him entirely from the platform, and hurled! him into 
 the water, as if he had been a child. In half a minute two 
 more were at his side, one of whom received a grave in 
 jury by falling on the friend who had just preceded him. 
 But four enemies remained, and in a hand-to-hand con 
 flict, in which no arms were used but those which nature 
 had furnished, Hurry believed himself fully able to cope 
 with that number of redskins. 
 
 Hurrah! Old Tom," he shouted; "the rascals are 
 taking to the lake, and I 11 soon have em all swimming ! " 
 As these words were uttered, a violent, kick in the face 
 sent back the injured Indian, who had caught at the edge 
 of the platform and was endeavoring to raise himself to 
 its level, helplessly and hopelessly into the water. A blow, 
 sent into the pit of another s stomach, doubled him up 
 
THE MIDNIGHT EXPEDITION 245 
 
 like a fvorm ; and but two able-bodied foes remained to 
 be dealt tvith: -One of these, however, was not only the 
 largest^ and str6ngest of the Hurons, but he was also the 
 most experienced, of the warriors present, and that one 
 whose smews were the best strung in fights, and by 
 marches on the wajpath. This man fully appreciated the 
 gigantic strength of his opponent, and had carefully hus 
 banded his own. I Ic was also equipped in the best manner 
 for such a conflict, standing in nothing but his breech- 
 cloth, the model of a naked and beautiful statue of agility 
 and strength. To grasp- him required additional dexterity 
 and unusual forcer Still Hurry did not hesitate ; but the 
 kick, that had actuary destroyed one fellow-creature, was 
 no sooner given than he closed in with this formidable 
 antagonist, endeavoring to force him into the water also. 
 The struggle that succeeded was truly frightful. So fierce 
 did it immediately become, and so quick and changeful 
 were the evolutions of the athletes, that the remaining 
 savage had no chance for interfering had he possessed the 
 desire ; but he was an inexperienced youth, and wonder 
 and apprehension held him spellbound. 
 
 Hurry first attempted to throw his antagonist. With 
 this view he seized him by the throat and an arm, and en 
 deavored to trip him. The effect was frustrated by the 
 agile movements of the Huron, who had clothes to grasp 
 by, and whose feet avoided the attempt with a nimbleness 
 equal to that with which it was made. Then followed a 
 sharp struggle, in which no efforts were distinctly visible, 
 the limbs and bodies of the combatants assuming so 
 many attitudes and contortions as to defeat observation. 
 This confused but fierce rally lasted less than a minute, 
 
246 THE DEERSLAYER 
 
 however, when Hurry, furious at having his strength baf 
 fled by the agility and nakedness of his foe, made a .-des 
 perate effort, which sent the Huron from him, -hurling his 
 body violently against the logs of the hut, The concussion 
 was so great as momentarily to confute the latter s facul 
 ties. The pain, too, extorted a deeppgrpan ; #& ^unusual 
 concession to agony to escape a red-maij in th# heat of 
 battle. Still he rushed forward again, to meet his enemy, 
 conscious that his safety rested o $is resolution. Hurry 
 now seized the other by the waisjs, raised him. bodily from 
 the platform, and fell with his OWG groat weight on the 
 form beneath. This additional shock o -far stunned the 
 sufferer that his gigantic white opponent now had him 
 completely at his mercy. 
 
 Passing his hands round the throat of his victim, he 
 compressed them with the strength of a vice, fairly dou 
 bling the head of the Huron over the edge of the plat 
 form, until the chin was uppermost, with the infernal 
 strength he expended. An instant sufficed to show the 
 consequences. The eyes of the sufferer seemed to start 
 forward, his tongue protruded, and his nostrils dilated 
 nearly to splitting. At this instant a rope of bark, hav 
 ing an eye, was passed dexterously within the two arms of 
 Hurry ; the end threaded the eye, forming a noose, and 
 his elbows were drawn together behind his back, with a 
 power that all his gigantic strength could not resist. Al 
 most at the same instant a similar fastening secured his 
 ankles, and his body was rolled to the centre of the plat 
 form as helplessly, and as cavalierly, as if it were a log of 
 wood ; and his rescued antagonist began again to breathe. 
 
 Hurry owed his defeat and capture to the intensity with 
 
THE MIDNIGHT EXPEDITION 247 
 
 which he had concentrated all his powers on his fallen 
 foe. While thus occupied, the two Indians he had hurled 
 into the water mounted to the heads of the piles, along 
 which they passed, and joined their companion on the 
 platform. The latter had so far rallied his faculties as to 
 have got the ropes, which were in readiness for use as the 
 others appeared, and they were applied in the manner 
 related, as Hurry lay pressing his enemy down with his 
 whole weight, intent only on strangling him. Thus were 
 the tables turned, in a single moment ; he who had been 
 so near achieving victory lying helpless, bound, and a cap 
 tive. So fearful had been the efforts of the paleface, and 
 so prodigious the strength he exhibited, that even as he 
 lay tethered like a sheep before them, they regarded him 
 with respect and not without dread. 
 
 CHAPTER VII 
 
 Chingachgook and his betrothed witnessed the whole 
 of this struggle from the ark. When the three Hurons 
 were about to pass the cords around the arms of the 
 prostrate Hurry, the Delaware sought his rifle ; but before 
 he could use it the white man was bound, and the mis 
 chief was done. The canoe of the girls, by the time the 
 struggle on the platform had ceased, was within three 
 hundred yards of the castle, and here Judith ceased pad 
 dling, the evidences of strife first becoming apparent to 
 the eyes. She and Hetty were standing erect, anxiously 
 endeavoring to ascertain what had occurred, but unable to 
 satisfy their doubts, from the circumstance that the build 
 ing in a great measure concealed the scene of action. 
 
248 THE DEERSLAYER 
 
 The parties in the ark and in the canoe were indebted 
 to the ferocity of Hurry s attack for their momentary se 
 curity. In any ordinary case, the girls would have been 
 immediately captured ; only the attack of Hurry on the 
 principal man of the party had saved them from the at 
 tention of the other Indians. Now it was of the last impor 
 tance that Judith and her sister should seek immediate 
 refuge in the ark, where the defenses offered a temporary 
 shelter at least. 
 
 Chingachgook lost no time in hoisting the sail. What 
 ever might be in reserve for him, there could be no ques 
 tion that it was every way desirable to get the ark at such 
 a distance from the castle, as to reduce his enemies to 
 the necessity of approaching the former in the canoe, 
 which the chances of war had so inopportunely for his 
 wishes and security thrown into their hands. The appear 
 ance of the opening sail seemed first to arouse the Hu- 
 rons from their apathy ; and by the time the head of the 
 scow had fallen off before the wind, which it did unfor 
 tunately in the wrong direction, bringing it within a few 
 yards of the platform, Hist found it necessary to warn her 
 lover of the importance of covering his person against the 
 rifles of his foes. This was a danger to be avoided under 
 all circumstances, and so much the more, because the 
 Delaware found that Hist would not take to the cover 
 herself, so long as he remained exposed. Accordingly, 
 Chingachgook abandoned the scow to its own movements, 
 forced Hist into the cabin, the doors of which he immedi 
 ately secured, and then he looked about him for the rifles. 
 
 As the ark swung slowly round, the head caught be 
 tween two of the piles, which projected several feet beyond 
 
THE MIDNIGHT EXPEDITION 249 
 
 the platform, and hung there. At this moment the Dela 
 ware was vigilantly watching through a loophole for an op 
 portunity to fire, and the Hurons, who had withdrawn to 
 the shelter of the building to do the same, were similarly 
 occupied. The exhausted warrior reclined against the hut, 
 there having been no time to remove him, and Hurry lay, 
 almost as helpless as a log, tethered like a sheep on its 
 way to the slaughter, near the middle of the platform. 
 
 " Run out one of the poles, Sarpent, if Sarpent you be," 
 said Hurry, amid the groans that the tightness of the liga 
 tures was beginning to extort from him ; " run out one of 
 the poles, and shove the head of the scow off, and you 11 
 drift clear of us and, when you ve done that good turn 
 for yourself, just finish this gagging blackguard for me" 
 
 The appeal of Hurry, however, had no other effect than 
 to draw the attention of Hist to his situation. This quick 
 witted creature comprehended it at a glance. His ankles 
 were bound with several turns of stout bark rope, and his 
 arms, above the elbows, were similarly secured behind 
 his back, barely leaving him a little play of the hands 
 and wrists. Putting her mouth near a loop, she said, in 
 a low but distinct voice : 
 
 " Why you don t roll here, and fall in scow ? Chingach- 
 gook shoot Huron if he chase ! " 
 
 " By the Lord, gal, that s a judgmatical thought, and 
 it shall be tried, if the starn of your scow will come a little 
 nearer. Put a bed at the bottom for me to fall on." 
 
 This was said at a happy moment, for, tired of waiting, 
 all the Indians made a rapid discharge of their rifles, 
 almost simultaneously, injuring no one, though several 
 bullets passed through the loops. Hist had heard part of 
 
250 THE DEERSLAYER 
 
 Hurry s words, but most of what he said was lost in the 
 sharp reports of the firearms. She undid the bar of the 
 door that led to the stern of the scow, but did not dare to 
 expose her person. All this time the head of the ark hung, 
 but by a gradually decreasing hold, as the other end swung 
 slowly round, nearer and nearer to the platform. Hurry, 
 who now lay with his face towards the ark, occasionally 
 writhing and turning over like one in pain, evolutions he 
 had performed ever since he was secured, watched every 
 change, and at last he saw that the whole vessel was free, 
 and was begining to grate slowly along the sides of the 
 piles. The attempt was desperate, but it seemed the only 
 chance for escaping torture and death, and it suited the 
 reckless daring of the man s character. Waiting to the 
 last moment, in order that the stern of the scow might 
 fairly rub against the platform, he began to writhe again as 
 if in intolerable suffering, execrating all Indians in general, 
 and the Hurons in particular, and then he suddenly and 
 rapidly rolled over and over, taking the direction of the 
 stern of the scow. Unfortunately, Hurry s shoulders required 
 more space to revolve in than his feet, and by the time he 
 reached the edge of the platform, his direction had so far 
 changed as to carry him clear of the ark altogether ; and the 
 rapidity of his revolutions and the emergency admitting of no 
 delay, he fell into the water. At this instant, Chingachgook, 
 by an understanding with his betrothed, drew the fire of the 
 Hurons again, not a man of whom saw the manner in which one 
 whom they knew to be effectually tethered had disappeared. 
 The moment Hurry was in motion, Hist foresaw the 
 consequences, and instantly she bethought her of the means 
 of saving him. She opened the door at the very moment 
 
THE MIDNIGHT EXPEDITION 251 
 
 the rifles were ringing in her ears, and protected by the 
 intervening cabin, she stepped into the stern of the scow 
 in time to witness the fall of Hurry into the lake. Catch 
 ing up a coil of spare rope, she threw it in the direction 
 of the helpless Hurry. The line fell on the head and body 
 of the sinking man, and he not only succeeded in grasp 
 ing separate parts of it with his hands, but he actually got 
 a portion of it between his teeth. Hurry was an expert 
 swimmer, and, tethered as he was, he resorted to the 
 very expedient that philosophy and reflection would have 
 suggested. He had fallen on his back, and instead of 
 floundering and drowning himself by desperate efforts to 
 walk on the water, he permitted his body to sink as low as 
 possible, and was already submerged, with the exception 
 of his face, when the line reached him. The movement 
 of the ark soon tightened the rope, and of course he was 
 dragged gently ahead, holding even pace with the scow. 
 It has been said that the Hurons did not observe the 
 sudden disappearance of Hurry. In his present situation 
 he was not only hid from view by the platform, but as the 
 ark drew slowly ahead, impelled by a sail that was now 
 filled, he received the same friendly service from the piles. 
 The Hurons, indeed, were too intent on endeavoring to 
 slay their Delaware foe by sending a bullet through some 
 one of the loops or crevices of the cabin, to bethink them 
 of one whom they fancied so thoroughly tied. Chingach- 
 gook was similarly occupied, and remained as ignorant as 
 his enemies of the situation of Hurry. As the ark grated 
 along the rifles sent their little clouds of smoke from one 
 cover to the other, but the eyes and movements of the 
 opposing parties were too quick to permit any injury to be 
 
252 THE DEERSLAYER 
 
 done. At length one side had the mortification, and the 
 other the pleasure, of seeing the scow swing clear of the 
 piles altogether, when it immediately moved away, with 
 materially accelerated motion, towards the north. 
 
 Chingachgook now first learned the critical condition of 
 Hurry ; and Hist, who was already forward for that pur 
 pose, immediately began to pull upon the line. At this 
 moment Hurry was towing fifty or sixty feet astern, with 
 nothing but his face above water. As he was dragged out 
 clear of the castle and the piles, he was first perceived by 
 the Hurons, who raised a hideous yell and commenced a 
 fire on what may very well be termed the floating mass. 
 It was at the same instant that Hist began to pull upon 
 the line forward a circumstance that probably saved 
 Hurry s life. The first bullet struck the water directly on 
 the spot where the broad chest of the young giant was 
 visible through the water, and might have pierced his 
 heart had the angle at which it was fired been less acute. 
 Instead of penetrating the lake, however, it glanced from 
 its smooth surface, rose, and actually buried itself in the 
 logs of the cabin, near the spot at which Chingachgook 
 had shown himself the minute before, while clearing the 
 line from the cleat. A second, and a third, and a fourth 
 bullet followed, all meeting with the same resistance from 
 the surface of the water ; though Hurry sensibly felt the 
 violence of the blows they struck upon the lake so immedi 
 ately above, and sp near his breast. Discovering their mis 
 take, the Hurons now changed their plan, and aimed at 
 the uncovered face ; but by this time Hist was pulling on 
 the line, the target advanced, and the deadly missiles still 
 fell upon the water. In another moment the body was 
 
THE MIDNIGHT EXPEDITION 253 
 
 dragged past the end of the scow and became concealed. 
 As for the Delaware and Hist, they worked perfectly 
 covered by the catyn, and in less time than it requires to 
 tell it they had hauled the huge frame of Hurry to the 
 place they occupied. Chingachgook stood in readiness 
 with his keen knife, and bending over the side of the scow 
 he soon severed the bark that bound the limbs of the bor 
 derer. To raise him high enough to reach the edge of the 
 boat, and to aid him in entering, were less easy tasks, as 
 Hurry s arms were still nearly useless ; but both were done 
 in time, when the liberated man staggered forward, and 
 fell, exhausted and helpless, into the bottom of the scow. 
 
 The moment the Hurons lost sight of the body of 
 Hurry, they gave a common yell of disappointment, and 
 three of the most active of their number ran to the trap 
 and entered the canoe. By the time they had found the 
 paddles and embarked, Hurry was in the scow, and the 
 Delaware had his rifles again in readiness. 
 
 When the three Hurons emerged from behind the pal 
 isades, and found themselves on the open lake, and under 
 the necessity of advancing unprotected on the ark, if they 
 persevered in the original design, their ardor sensibly 
 cooled. In a bark canoe they were totally without cover, 
 and Indian discretion was entirely opposed to such a 
 sacrifice of life as would most probably follow any attempt 
 to assault an enemy entrenched as effectually as the Dela 
 ware. Instead of following the ark, therefore, they seemed 
 suddenly to decide to give chase to the girls, whose canoe 
 was about a quarter of a mile distant from the ark, as Ju 
 dith in her uncertainty of what was happening had deemed 
 it wiser not to venture too near. 
 
254 THE DEERSLAYER 
 
 At the moment when the Hurons so suddenly changed 
 their mode of attack, their canoe was not in the best 
 possible racing trim. There were but two paddles, and the 
 third man was so much extra and useless cargo. Then the 
 difference in weight between the sisters and the other two 
 men, more especially in vessels so extremely light, almost 
 neutralized any difference that might proceed from the 
 greater strength of the Hurons, and rendered the trial of 
 speed far from being as unequal as it might seem, especially 
 as the girls, from long habit, used the paddles with great dex 
 terity. When Judith saw that they were being followed, she 
 excited Hetty to aid her with her utmost skill and strength. 
 
 " Why should we run, Judith ? " asked the simple- 
 minded girl ; " the Hurons have never harmed me, nor 
 do I think they ever will." 
 
 "That may be true as to you, Hetty, but it will prove 
 very different with me. Kneel down and say your prayer, 
 and then rise and do your utmost to help escape. Think 
 of me, dear girl, too, as you pray." 
 
 Judith gave these directions from a mixed feeling ; 
 first, because she knew that her sister ever sought the 
 support of her Great Ally, in trouble ; and next, because 
 a sensation of feebleness and dependence suddenly came 
 over her own proud spirit, in that moment of apparent 
 desertion and trial. The prayer was quickly said, how 
 ever, and the canoe was soon in rapid motion. Still, 
 neither party resorted to their greatest exertions from the 
 outset, both knowing that the chase was likely to be 
 arduous and long, for a few minutes had sufficed to show 
 the Hurons that the girls were expert, and that it would 
 require all their skill and energies to overtake them. 
 
THE MIDNIGHT EXPEDITION 255 
 
 Judith had inclined towards the eastern shore at the 
 commencement of the chase, with a vague determination 
 of landing and flying to the woods, as a last resort ; but 
 as she approached the land, the certainty that scouts must 
 be watching her movements made her reluctance to adopt 
 such an expedient unconquerable. Then she was still 
 fresh, and had sanguine hopes of being able to tire out her 
 pursuers. With such feelings, she gave a sweep with her 
 paddle, and sheered off from the fringe of dark hemlocks, 
 beneath the shades of which she was so near entering, and 
 held her way again more towards the centre of the lake. 
 This seemed the instant favorable for the Hurons to make 
 their push, as it gave them the entire breadth of the sheet 
 to do it in. The canoes now flew ; Judith making up for 
 what she wanted in strength, by her great dexterity and 
 self-command. For half a mile the Indians gained no ma 
 terial advantage, but the continuance of so great exertions 
 for so many minutes sensibly affected all concerned. Here 
 the Indians resorted to an expedient that enabled them to 
 give one of their party time to breathe, by shifting their 
 paddles from hand to hand, and this, too, without sen 
 sibly relaxing their efforts. Judith occasionally looked be 
 hind her, and she saw this expedient practiced. It caused 
 her immediately to distrust the result, since her powers of 
 endurance were not likely to hold out against those of men 
 who had the means of relieving each other ; still she per 
 severed, allowing no very visible consequences immediately 
 to follow the change. 
 
 As yet the Indians had not been able to get nearer to 
 the girls than two hundred yards. But before she had 
 gained the centre of the lake, Judith perceived that the 
 
256 THE DEERSLAYER 
 
 Hurons were drawing sensibly nearer and nearer. She 
 was not a girl to despair ; but there was an instant when 
 she thought of yielding, with the wish of being carried to 
 the camp where she knew the Deerslayer to be a captive ; 
 but the thought of the means she intended to employ 
 to procure his release stimulated her to renewed ex 
 ertions. The outburst of speed to which she was thus 
 freshly impelled was so great that the Hurons began to be 
 convinced all their powers must be exerted, or they would 
 suffer the disgrace of being baffled by women. Making a 
 furious effort, under the mortification of such a conviction, 
 one of the stronger of their party broke his paddle, at the 
 very moment when he had taken it from the hand of a 
 comrade, to relieve him. This at once decided the matter ; 
 a canoe containing three men, and having but one paddle, 
 being utterly unable to overtake fugitives like the daughters 
 of Thomas Hutter. 
 
 "There, Judith ! " exclaimed Hetty, who saw the acci 
 dent, " I hope, now, you will own that praying is useful ! 
 The Hurons have broke a paddle, and they never can 
 overtake us." 
 
 " I never denied it, poor Hetty ; and sometimes wish, 
 in bitterness of spirit, that I had prayed more myself, and 
 thought less of my beauty. As you say, we are now safe, 
 and need only go a little south and take breath." 
 
 This was done ; the enemy giving up the pursuit the 
 instant the accident occurred. Instead of following Ju 
 dith s canoe, which was now lightly skimming over the 
 water towards the south, the Hurons turned their bows 
 towards the shore, where they soon arrived and landed. 
 The ark was now quite a mile to the northward, and 
 
THE MIDNIGHT EXPEDITION 257 
 
 Judith, uncertain whether it was manned by friends or 
 foes, decided to proceed to the castle. 
 
 Notwithstanding the seeming desertion of the castle, 
 Judith approached it with extreme caution. When within 
 a hundred yards of the building, the girls began to encircle 
 it, in order to make sure that it was empty. No canoe was 
 nigh, and this emboldened them to draw nearer and nearer, 
 until they had gone round the piles and reached the plat 
 form. 
 
 " Do you go into the house, Hetty," said Judith, " and 
 see that the savages are gone. They will not harm you ; 
 and if any of them are still here, you can give me the 
 alarm. I do not think they will fire on a poor defenseless 
 girl, and I at least may escape, until I shall be ready to go 
 among them of my own accord." 
 
 Hetty did as desired, Judith retiring a few yards from 
 the platform the instant her sister landed, in readiness for 
 flight. But the last was unnecessary, not a minute elapsing 
 before Hetty returned to communicate that all was safe. 
 
 " I ve been in all the rooms, Judith," said the latter, 
 earnestly, "and they are empty, except father s ; he is in 
 his own chamber, sleeping, though not as quietly as we 
 could wish." 
 
 " Has anything happened to father ? " demanded Judith, 
 as her foot touched the platform, speaking quick, for her 
 nerves were in a state to be easily alarmed. 
 
 Hetty seemed concerned, and she looked furtively about 
 her, as if unwilling any one but a child should hear what 
 she had to communicate, and even that she should learn 
 it abruptly. 
 
 "You know how it is with father, sometimes, Judith," 
 
258 THE DEERSLAYER 
 
 she said. " When overtaken with liquor he does n t always 
 know what he says or does ; and he seems to be overtaken 
 with liquor, now." 
 
 " That is strange ! Would the savages have drunk with 
 him, and then leave him behind ? But t is a grievous sight 
 to witness, Hetty, and we will not go near him till he wakes." 
 
 A groan from the inner room, however, changed this 
 resolution, and the girls ventured near. H utter was seated, 
 reclining in a corner of a narrow room, with his shoulders 
 supported by the angle, and his head fallen heavily on his 
 chest. Judith moved forward with a sudden impulse, and 
 removed a canvas cap that was forced so low on his head 
 as to conceal his face, and, indeed, all but his shoulders. 
 The instant this obstacle was taken away, the quivering 
 and raw flesh, the bared veins and muscles, and all the 
 other disgusting signs of mortality, as they are revealed 
 by tearing away the skin, showed he had been scalped, 
 though still living. 
 
 CHAPTER VIII 
 
 The reader must imagine the horror that daughters 
 would experience at unexpectedly beholding the shocking 
 spectacle that was placed before the eyes of Judith and 
 Hetty. We shall pass over the first emotions, the first acts 
 of filial piety, and proceed with the narrative, by imagining 
 rather than relating most of the revolting features of the 
 scene. The mutilated and ragged head was bound up, the 
 unseemly blood was wiped from the face of the sufferer, 
 the other appliances required by appearances and care 
 were resorted to, and there was time to consider the 
 horrible situation. 
 
THE MIDNIGHT EXPEDITION 259 
 
 There are moments of vivid consciousness, when the 
 stern justice of God stands forth in colors so prominent 
 as to defy any attempts to veil them from the sight, how 
 ever unpleasant they may appear, or however anxious we 
 may be to avoid recognizing it. Such was now the fact 
 with Judith and Hetty, who both perceived the decrees of 
 a retributive Providence, in the manner of their father s 
 suffering, as a punishment for his own recent attempts on 
 the Iroquois. This was seen and felt by Judith, with the 
 keenness of perception and sensibility that were suited to 
 her character ; while the impression made on the simpler 
 mind of her sister was perhaps less lively, though it might 
 well have proved more lasting. 
 
 " Oh, Judith," exclaimed the weak-minded girl, as soon 
 as their first care had been bestowed on the sufferer. 
 " Father went for scalps, himself, and now where is his 
 own ? The Bible might have foretold this dreadful 
 punishment! " 
 
 11 Hush ! Hetty hush ! poor sister ; he opens his eyes ; 
 he may hear and understand you. T is as you say and 
 think ; but t is too dreadful to speak of ! " 
 
 " Water ! " ejaculated Hutter, as it might be by a des 
 perate effort, that rendered his voice frightfully deep and 
 strong, for one as near death as he evidently was ; " water ! 
 foolish girls will you let me die of thirst ? " 
 
 Water was brought and administered to the sufferer ; the 
 first he had tasted in hours of physical anguish. It had the 
 double effect of clearing his throat, and of momentarily reviv 
 ing his sinking system. His eyes opened with that anxious, 
 distended gaze which is apt to accompany the passage of a 
 soul surprised by death, and he seemed disposed to speak. 
 
260 THE DEERSLAYER 
 
 11 Father," said Judith, inexpressibly pained by his de 
 plorable situation, and this so much the more from her 
 ignorance of what remedies ought to be applied, " Father, 
 can we do anything for you ? Can Hetty and I relieve 
 your pain ? " 
 
 11 Father ! " slowly repeated the old man. " No, Judith 
 no, Hetty I m no father. She was your mother, but 
 I m no father. Look in the chest t is all there give 
 me more water." 
 
 The girls complied ; and Judith, whose early recollec 
 tions extended further back than her sister s, and who, 
 on every account, had more distinct impressions of the 
 past, felt an uncontrollable impulse of joy as she heard 
 these words. There had never been much sympathy 
 between her reputed father and herself, and suspicions 
 of this very truth had often glanced across her mind, 
 in consequence of dialogues she had overheard between 
 Hutter and her mother. It might be going too far to say 
 she had never loved him ; but it is not so to add, that 
 she rejoiced it was no longer a duty. With Hetty the 
 feeling was different. Incapable of making all the distinc 
 tions of her sister, her very nature was full of affection, 
 and she had loved her reputed parent, though far less 
 tenderly than the real parent ; and it grieved her, now, 
 to hear him declare he was not naturally entitled to that 
 love. She felt a double grief, as if his death and his words 
 together were twice depriving her of parents. Yielding to 
 her feelings, the poor girl went aside and wept. 
 
 The very opposite emotions of the two girls kept both 
 silent for a long time. Judith gave water to the sufferer 
 frequently, and she forebore to urge him with questions. 
 
THE MIDNIGHT EXPEDITION 261 
 
 At length Hetty dried her tears, and came and seated 
 herself on a stool by the side of the dying man, who had 
 been placed at his length on the floor, with his head sup 
 ported by some worn vestments that had been left in the 
 house. 
 
 "Father," she said, "you will let me call you father, 
 though you say you are not one, father, shall I read the 
 Bible to you ? mother always said the Bible was good 
 for people in trouble. She was often in trouble herself, 
 and then she made me read the Bible to her for Judith 
 was n t as fond of the Bible as I am and it always did 
 her good. Many is the time I ve known mother begin to 
 listen with the tears streaming from her eyes, and end with 
 smiles and gladness. Oh, father, you don t know how 
 much good the Bible can do, for you ve never tried it, 
 now I 11 read a chapter, and it will soften your heart, as 
 it softened the hearts of the Hurons." 
 
 While poor Hetty had so much reverence for, and faith 
 in, the virtue of the Bible, her intellect was too shallow to 
 enable her fully to appreciate its beauties, or to fathom its 
 profound and sometimes mysterious wisdom. Her selec 
 tions from the Bible, therefore, were commonly distin 
 guished by the simplicity of her own mind, and were 
 oftener marked for containing images of known and pal 
 pable things, than for any of the higher cast of moral 
 truths with which the pages of that wonderful book abound. 
 Her mother had been fond of the book of Job, and Hetty 
 had, in a great measure, learned to read by the frequent 
 lessons she had received from the different chapters of 
 this venerable and sublime poem, now believed to be the 
 oldest book in the world. On this occasion, the poor girl 
 
262 THE DEERSLAYER 
 
 was submissive to her training, and she turned to that 
 well-known part of the sacred volume. In selecting the 
 particular chapter, she was influenced by the heading, and 
 she chose that which stands in our English version as 
 "Job excuseth his desire of death." This she read steadily, 
 from beginning to end, in a sweet, low, and plaintive voice. 
 
 The very opening sentence Is there not an appointed 
 time to man on earth ? was startling. The solemn words, 
 / have sinned ; what shall I do unto thee, O thou pre 
 server of men ? Why hast thou set me as a mark against 
 thee, so that I am a burden to myself? struck H utter 
 more perceptibly than the others ; and, though too obscure 
 for one of his blunted feelings and obtuse mind either to 
 feel or to comprehend in their fullest extent, they had a 
 directness of application to his own state that caused him 
 to wince under them. 
 
 "Don t you feel better now, father?" asked Hetty, 
 closing the volume. " Mother was always better when she 
 had read the Bible." 
 
 "Water," returned H utter ; "give me water, Judith. 
 I wonder if my tongue will always be so hot ! Hetty, is n t 
 there something in the Bible about cooling the tongue of 
 a man who was burning in hell-fire ? " 
 
 Judith turned away, shocked ; but Hetty eagerly sought 
 the passage, which she read aloud to the conscience-stricken 
 victim of his own avaricious longings. 
 
 " That s it, poor Hetty ; yes, that s it. My tongue 
 wants cooling, now; what will it be hereafter?" 
 
 This appeal silenced even the confiding Hetty, for she 
 had no answer ready for a confession so fraught with 
 despair. Water, so long as it could relieve the sufferer, it 
 
THE MIDNIGHT EXPEDITION 263 
 
 was in the power of the sisters to give ; and, from time 
 to time, it was offered to the lips of the sufferer as he asked 
 for it. Even Judith prayed. As for Hetty, as soon as she 
 found that her efforts to make her father listen to her texts 
 were no longer rewarded with success, she knelt at his side, 
 and devoutly repeated the words which the Saviour has left 
 behind Him as a model for human petitions. This she 
 continued to do, at intervals, as long as it seemed to her 
 that the act could benefit the dying man. H utter, however, 
 lingered longer than the girls had believed possible, when 
 they first found him. At times he spoke intelligibly, though 
 his lips oftener moved in utterance of sounds that carried 
 no distinct impressions to the mind. Judith listened 
 intently, and she heard the words " husband," " death," 
 " pirate," " law," " scalps," and several others of a similar 
 import, though there was no sentence to tell the precise 
 connection in which they were used. Still, they were suffi 
 ciently expressive to be understood by one whose ears had 
 not escaped all the rumors that had been circulated to her 
 reputed father s discredit, and whose comprehension was 
 as quick as her faculties were attentive. 
 
 During the whole of the painful hour that succeeded, 
 neither of the sisters bethought her sufficiently of the 
 Hurons to dread their return. It seemed as if their deso 
 lation and grief placed them above the danger of such an 
 interruption ; and when the sound of oars was at length 
 heard, even Judith, who alone had any reason to appre 
 hend the enemy, did not start, but at once understood that 
 the ark was near. She went upon the platform fearlessly ; 
 for, should it turn out that Hurry was not there, and that 
 the Hurons were masters of the scow also, escape was 
 
264 THE DEERSLAYER 
 
 impossible. Then she had the sort of confidence that is 
 inspired by extreme misery. But there was no cause for any 
 new alarm, Chingachgook, Hist, and Hurry all standing 
 in the open part of the scow, cautiously examining the 
 building, to make certain of the absence of the enemy. 
 They, too, had seen the departure of the Hurons, as well 
 as the approach of the canoe of the girls. A word sufficed 
 to explain that there was nothing to be apprehended, and 
 the ark was soon moored in her old berth. 
 
 Judith said not a word concerning the condition of her 
 father, but Hurry knew her too well not to understand that 
 something was more than usually wrong. He led the way, 
 though with less of his confident bold manner than usual, 
 into the house, and penetrating to the inner room found 
 H utter lying on his back, with Hetty sitting at his side fan 
 ning him with pious care. The events of the morning had 
 sensibly changed the manner of Hurry. Notwithstanding 
 his skill as a swimmer, and the readiness with which he 
 had adopted the only expedient that could possibly save 
 him, the helplessness of being in the water, bound hand 
 and foot, had produced some such an effect on him as the 
 near approach of punishment is known to produce on most 
 criminals, leaving a vivid impression of the horrors of death 
 upon his mind, and this, too, in connection with a picture 
 of bodily helplessness ; the daring of this man being far 
 more the offspring of past physical powers than of the energy 
 of the will, or even of natural spirit. Such heroes invariably 
 lose a large portion of their courage with the failure of their 
 strength ; and, though Hurry was now unfettered, and as vig 
 orous as ever, events were too recent to permit the recollec 
 tion of his late deplorable condition to be at all weakened. 
 
THE MIDNIGHT EXPEDITION 265 
 
 Hurry was not only shocked when he found his late as 
 sociate in this desperate situation, but he was greatly sur 
 prised. During the struggle in the building he had been 
 far too much occupied himself to learn what had befallen 
 his comrade, and, as no deadly weapon had been used in 
 his particular case, but every effort had been made to cap 
 ture him without injury, he naturally believed that Hutter 
 had been overcome and taken prisoner. As a matter of 
 fact, Hutter had made so violent a stand that the Indian 
 chief who was struggling with him had been obliged to 
 use a knife to stab him, since he could not overcome 
 him otherwise. Having wounded him severely, he scalped 
 him to secure the usual trophy, and left him to die. 
 
 Death, in the silence and solemnity of a chamber, was 
 a novelty to Hurry. Notwithstanding the change in his 
 feelings, the manners of a life could not be altogether cast 
 aside in a moment, and the unexpected scene extorted a 
 characteristic speech from the borderer. 
 
 " How now ! old Tom," he said, " have the vagabonds 
 got you at an advantage, where you re not only down, but 
 are likely to be kept down ! I thought you a captyve, it s 
 true, but never supposed you so hard run as this ! " 
 
 Hutter opened his glassy eyes, and stared wildly at the 
 speaker. A flood of confused recollections rushed on his 
 wavering mind at the sight of his late comrade. It was 
 evident that he struggled with his own images, and knew 
 not the real from the unreal. 
 
 " Who are you ? " he asked in a husky whisper, his fail 
 ing strength refusing to aid him in a louder effort of his 
 voice. " Who are you ? You look like the mate of the 
 Snow he was a giant, too, and near overcoming us." 
 
266 THE DEERSLAYER 
 
 " I m your mate, Floating Tom, and your comrade, but 
 have nothing to do with any snow. It s summer now, and 
 Harry March always quits the hills as soon after the frosts 
 set in as is convenient." 
 
 " I know you Hurry Skurry ; I 11 sell you a scalp ! a 
 sound one, and of a full grown man ; what 11 you give ? " 
 
 " Poor Tom ! That scalp business has n t turned out at 
 all profitable, and I ve pretty much concluded to give it up, 
 and to follow a less bloody calling." 
 
 " Have you got any scalp ? Mine s gone ; how does it 
 feel to have a scalp ? I know how it feels to lose one 
 fire and flames about the brain and a wrenching at the 
 heart; no, no kill/m-/, Hurry, and scalp afterwards" 
 
 Once more Hutter opened his eyes and even tried to 
 feel about him with his hands, a sign that sight was failing. 
 A minute later his breathing grew ghastly ; a pause totally 
 without respiration followed ; and then succeeded the last 
 long-drawn sigh. The spirit of Thomas Hutter had passed 
 from the body. 
 
 CHAPTER IX 
 
 The day passed by without futher interruption the 
 Hurons, though possessed of a canoe, appearing so far sat 
 isfied with their success as to have relinquished all immedi 
 ate designs on the castle. It would not have been a safe 
 undertaking, indeed, to approach it under the rifles of 
 those it was now known to contain, and it is probable that 
 the truce was more owing to this circumstance than to any 
 other. In the meanwhile, the preparations were made for 
 the interment of Hutter. To bury him on the land was 
 impracticable, and it was Hetty s wish that his body should 
 
THE MIDNIGHT EXPEDITION 267 
 
 lie by the side of that of her mother in the lake. Judith had 
 not meddled with the arrangement, but had left every 
 necessary disposition to the others. The hour chosen for 
 the rude ceremony was just as the sun was setting. When 
 Judith was told that all was ready, she went upon the 
 platform, passive to the request of her sister, and then 
 she first took heed of the arrangement. The body was in 
 the scow, enveloped in a sheet, and quite a hundred-weight 
 of stones, that had been taken from the fireplace, were in 
 closed with it in order that it might sink. No other prep 
 aration seemed to be thought necessary, though Hetty 
 carried her Bible beneath her arm. 
 
 The progress of the ark had something of the stately 
 solemnity of a funeral procession, the dip of the oars being 
 measured, and the movement slow and steady. The wash 
 of the water, as the blades rose and fell, kept time with 
 the efforts of Hurry, and might have been likened to the 
 measured tread of mourners. Then the tranquil scene was 
 in beautiful accordance with a rite that ever associates with 
 itself the idea of God. At that instant, the lake had not 
 even a single ripple on its glassy surface, and the broad 
 panorama of woods seemed to look down on the holy tran 
 quillity of the hour and ceremony in melancholy stillness. 
 Judith was affected to tears, and even Hurry, though he 
 hardly knew why, was troubled. Hetty preserved the out 
 ward signs of tranquillity, but her inward grief greatly sur 
 passed that of her sister, since her affectionate heart loved 
 more from habit and long association than from the usual 
 connections of sentiment and taste. Hist was serious, atten 
 tive, and interested, for she had often seen the interments 
 of the palefaces, though never one that promised to be as 
 
268 THE DEERSLAYER 
 
 peculiar as this ; while the Delaware, though grave, and 
 also observant in his demeanor, was stoical and calm. 
 
 Hetty acted as pilot, directing Hurry how to proceed to 
 find that spot in the lake which she was in the habit of 
 terming "mother s grave," for it had been her custom to 
 repair to the place frequently after nightfall, and, anchor 
 ing her canoe, to sit and hold fancied conversations with 
 the deceased, sing sweet hymns to the evening air, and 
 repeat the prayers that the being who now slumbered be 
 low had taught her in infancy. At the proper time she 
 approached March, whispering : 
 
 " Now, Hurry, you can stop rowing. We have passed 
 the stone on the bottom, and mother s grave is near." 
 
 The ark turned slowly round under Hurry s guidance, 
 and was brought to a full stop. 
 
 There was no other priest than nature at that wild and 
 singular funeral rite. March cast his eyes below, and 
 through the transparent medium of the clear water, which 
 was almost as pure as air, he saw what Hetty was accus 
 tomed to call "mother s grave." It was a low, straggling 
 mound of earth, fashioned by no spade, out of a corner of 
 which gleamed a bit of the white cloth that formed the 
 shroud of the dead. The body had been lowered to the 
 bottom, and H utter brought earth from the shore and let 
 it fall upon it, until all was concealed. In this state the 
 place had remained until the movement of the waters 
 revealed the solitary sign of the uses of the spot that has 
 just been mentioned. March signified to Judith that all was 
 ready, received her directions to proceed, and, with no other 
 assistant than his own vast strength, raised the body and bore 
 it to the end of the scow. Two parts of a rope were passed 
 
THE MIDNIGHT EXPEDITION 269 
 
 beneath the legs and shoulders, as they are placed beneath 
 coffins, and then the corpse was slowly lowered beneath the 
 surface of the lake. 
 
 "Not there Harry March no, not there" said Ju 
 dith, shuddering involuntarily; "do not lower it quite so 
 near the spot where mother lies ! " 
 
 " Why not, Judith ? " asked Hetty, earnestly. " They 
 lived together in life, and should lie together in death." 
 
 "No no Harry March, further off further off. 
 Poor Hetty, you know not what you say. Leave me to 
 order this." 
 
 " I know I am weak-minded, Judith, and that you are 
 clever but, surely a husband should be placed near a 
 wife. Mother always said that this was the way they bury 
 in Christian churchyards." 
 
 This little controversy was conducted earnestly, but in 
 smothered voices, as if the speakers feared that the dead 
 might overhear them. Judith could not contend with her 
 sister at such a moment, but a significant gesture from her 
 induced March to lower the body at a little distance from 
 that of his wife ; when he withdrew the cords, and the act 
 was performed. 
 
 " There s an end of Floating Tom ! " exclaimed Hurry, 
 bending over the scow, and gazing through the water at 
 the body. " He was a brave companion on a scout, and a 
 notable hand with traps. Don t weep, Judith don t be 
 overcome, Hetty, for the righteousest of us all must die ; and 
 when the time comes, lamentations and tears can t bring 
 the dead to life. Your father will be a loss to you, no 
 doubt ; most fathers are a loss, especially to onmarried 
 darters ; but there s a way to cure that evil, and you re 
 
270 THE DEERSLAYER 
 
 both too young and handsome to live long without finding 
 it out. When it s agreeable to hear what an honest and 
 onpretending man has to say, Judith, I should like to talk 
 a little with you apart." 
 
 Judith had scarce attended to this rude attempt of Hur 
 ry s at consolation. She was weeping at the recollection 
 of her mother s early tenderness, and painful images of 
 long-forgotten lessons and neglected precepts were crowd 
 ing her mind. The words of Hurry, however, recalled her 
 to the present time. Earlier in the day she had communi 
 cated to him with all possible brevity the fact that she was 
 not Thomas Hutter s daughter. Now she gazed intently 
 for a moment at the young man, dried her eyes, and led 
 the way to the other end of the scow, signifying her wish 
 for him to follow. Here she took a seat, and motioned 
 for March to place himself at her side. The decision and 
 earnestness with which all this was done a little intimidated 
 her companion, and Judith found it necessary to open the 
 subject herself. 
 
 " You wish to speak to me of marriage, Harry March," 
 she said, and I have come here, over the grave of my 
 parents, as it might be no, no over the grave of my 
 poor, dear, dear mother, to hear what you have to say." 
 
 " This is oncommon, and you have a skearful way with 
 you, this evening, Judith," answered Hurry, more disturbed 
 than he would have cared to own ; " but truth is truth, 
 and it shall come out, let what will follow. You well know, 
 gal, that I ve long thought you the comeliest young woman 
 my eyes ever beheld, and that I ve made no secret of 
 that fact, either here on the lake, out among the hunters 
 and trappers, or in the settlements." 
 
THE MIDNIGHT EXPEDITION 271 
 
 " Yes, yes, I ve heard this before, and I suppose it to 
 be true," answered Judith, with a sort of feverish impa 
 tience. 
 
 " When a young man holds such language of any par 
 ticular young woman, it s reasonable to calculate he sets 
 store by her." 
 
 "True true, Hurry; all this you ve told me, again 
 and again." 
 
 " Well, if it s agreeable, I should think a woman 
 could n t hear it too often. They all tell me this is the 
 way with your sex ; that nothing pleases them more than 
 to repeat, over and over, for the hundredth time, how 
 much you like em, unless it be to talk to em of their 
 good looks ! " 
 
 " No doubt we like both, on most occasions ; but this 
 is an uncommon moment, Hurry, and vain words should 
 not be too freely used. I would rather hear you speak 
 plainly." 
 
 " You shall have your own way, Judith, and I some 
 suspect you always will. I ve often told you that I not 
 only like you better than any other young woman going, 
 or, for that matter, better than all the young women going ; 
 but you must have obsarved, Judith, that I never asked you, 
 in up and down tarms, to marry me." 
 
 " I have observed both," returned the girl, a smile 
 struggling about her beautiful mouth, in spite of the sin 
 gular and engrossing intentness which caused her cheeks 
 to flush and lighted her eyes with a brilliancy that was al 
 most dazzling ; " I have observed both, and have thought 
 the last remarkable for a man^f Harry March s decision 
 and fearlessness." 
 
272 THE DEERSLAYER 
 
 " There s been a reason, gal, and it s one that troubles 
 me even now nay, don t flush up so, and look fierylike, 
 for there are thoughts which will stick long in any man s 
 mind, as there be words .which will stick in his throat ; but 
 then, agin, there s feelin s that will get the better of em 
 all, and to these feelin s I find I must submit. You ve 
 no longer a father, or a mother, Judith ; and it s morally 
 impossible that you and Hetty could live here, alone, allow 
 ing it was peace and the Iroquois was quiet ; but, as mat 
 ters stand, not only would you starve, but you d both be 
 prisoners, or scalped, afore a week was out. It s time to 
 think of a change and a husband, and if you 11 accept of 
 me, all that s past shall be forgotten, and there s an end 
 on t." 
 
 Judith had difficulty in repressing her impatience until 
 this rude declaration and offer were made, which she evi 
 dently wished to hear, and which she now listened to with 
 a willingness that might well have excited hope. She 
 hardly allowed the young man to conclude, so eager was 
 she to bring him to the point, and so ready to answer. 
 
 "There, Hurry, that s enough," she said, raising a 
 hand, as if to stop him ; "I understand you as well as 
 if you were to talk a month. Y r ou prefer me to other girls, 
 and you wish me to become your wife." 
 
 " You put it in better words than I can do, Judith, and 
 I wish you to fancy them said, just as you most like to 
 hear em." 
 
 "They re plain enough, Hurry, and tis fitting they 
 should be so. This is no place to trifle or deceive in. Now, 
 listen to my answer, which shall be as sincere as your offer. 
 There is a reason, March, why I should never " 
 
THE MIDNIGHT EXPEDITION 273 
 
 " I suppose I understand you, Judith ; but if I m will 
 ing to overlook that reason, it s no one s consarn but mine. 
 Now don t brighten up like the sky at sundown ; for no 
 offense is meant, and none should be taken." 
 
 " I do not brighten up, and will not take offense," said 
 Judith, struggling to repress her indignation. " There is 
 a reason why I should not, cannot, ever be your wife, 
 Hurry, that you seem to overlook, and which it is my duty 
 now to tell you, as plainly as you have asked me to consent 
 to become so. J^do not, and I am certain that I never 
 shall, love you well enough to marry you. No man can 
 wish for a wife who does not prefer him to all other men ; 
 and when I tell you this frankly, I suppose you yourself 
 will thank me for my sincerity." 
 
 " O Judith, them flaunting, gay, scarlet-coated officers 
 of the garrisons have done all this mischief ! " 
 
 " Hush, March ; do not calumniate a daughter over her 
 mother s grave. Do not, when I only wish to treat you 
 fairly, give me reason to call for evil on your head, in bit 
 terness of heart ! Do not forget that I am a woman, and 
 that you are a man ; and that I have neither father nor 
 brother to revenge your words." 
 
 " Well, there is something in the last, and I 11 say no 
 more. Take time, Judith, and think better on this." 
 
 " I want no time ; my mind has long been made up, 
 and I have only waited for you to speak plainly, to answer 
 plainly. We now understand each other, and there is no 
 use in saying any more." 
 
 The impetuous earnestness of the girl awed the young 
 man, for never before had he seen her so serious and de 
 termined. In most of their previous interviews she had 
 
274 THE DEERSLAYER 
 
 met his advances with evasion or sarcasm ; but these 
 Hurry had mistaken for female coquetry, and had supposed 
 might easily be converted into consent. The struggle had 
 been with himself, about offering ; nor had he ever seri 
 ously believed it possible that Judith would refuse to be 
 come the wife of the handsomest man on all that frontier. 
 Now that the refusal came, and that in terms so decided 
 as to put all caviling out of the question, if not absolutely 
 dumfounded he was so much mortified and surprised as 
 to feel no wish to attempt to change her resolution. 
 
 "The Glimmerglass has now no great call for me," he 
 exclaimed, after a minute s silence. " Old Tom is gone ; 
 the Hurons are as plenty on shore as pigeons in the woods, 
 and altogether, it is getting to be an onsuitable place." 
 
 "Then leave it. You see it surrounded by dangers, and 
 there is no reason why you should risk your life for others. 
 Nor do I know that you can be of any service to us. Go 
 to-night ; we 11 never accuse you of having done anything 
 forgetful or unmanly." 
 
 " If I do go, twill be with a heavy heart on your ac 
 count, Judith ; I would rather take you with me." 
 
 " That is not to be spoken of any longer, March ; but I 
 will land you in one of the canoes, as soon as it is dark, 
 and you can strike a trail for the nearest garrison. When 
 you reach the fort, if you send a party " 
 
 Judith smothered the words, for she felt that it was hu 
 miliating to be thus exposing herself to the comments and 
 reflections of one who was not disposed to view her conduct 
 in connection with all in these garrisons with an eye of favor. 
 Hurry, however, caught the idea ; and, without perverting 
 it, as the girl dreaded, he answered to the purpose. 
 
THE MIDNIGHT EXPEDITION 275 
 
 " I understand ivhat you would say, and why you don t 
 say it," he replied. " If I get safe to the fort, a party 
 shall start on the trail of these vagabonds, and I 11 come 
 with it myself ; for I should like to see you and Hetty in 
 a place of safety, before we part forever." 
 
 "Ah, Harry March, had you always spoken thus, felt 
 thus, my feelings towards you might have been different ! " 
 
 " Is it too late, now, Judith ? I m rough, and a woods 
 man ; but we all change under different treatment from 
 what we have been used to." 
 
 11 It is too late, March. I can never feel towards you, 
 or any other man but one, as you would wish to have me. 
 There, I ve said enough, surely, and you will question me 
 no further. As soon as it is dark, I or the Delaware will 
 put you on the shore ; you will make the best of your 
 way to the Mohawk, and the nearest garrison, and send 
 all you can to our assistance. And, Hurry, we are now 
 friends, and I may trust you, may I not ? 
 
 " Sartain, Judith ; though our fri ndship would have 
 been all the warmer, could you look upon me as I look 
 upon you." 
 
 Judith hesitated, and some powerful emotion was strug 
 gling within her. Then, as if determined to look down all 
 weaknesses, and accomplish her purposes at every hazard, 
 she spoke more plainly. 
 
 " You will find a captain of the name of Warley, at the 
 nearest post," she said, pale as death, and even trembling 
 as she spoke ; "I think it likely he will wish to head the 
 party ; I would greatly prefer it should be another. If 
 Captain Warley can be kept back, t would make me very 
 happy." 
 
276 THE DEERSLAYER 
 
 " That s easier said than done, Judith ; for these offi 
 cers do pretty much as they please. The major will order, 
 and captains, and lieutenants, and ensigns must obey. I 
 know the officer you mean ; a red-faced, gay, O-be-joyful 
 sort of a gentleman, who swallows Madeira enough to 
 drown the Mohawk, and yet a pleasant talker. All the 
 gals in the valley admire him ; and they say he admires 
 all the gals. I don t wonder he is your dislike, Judith, 
 for he s a very gin ral lover, if he is n t a gin ral 
 officer." 
 
 Judith did not answer, though her frame shook, and 
 her color changed from pale to crimson, and from crimson 
 back again to the hue of death. 
 
 "Alas ! my poor mother ! " she ejaculated mentally, in 
 stead of uttering it aloud ; " we are over thy grave, but little 
 dost thou know how much thy lessons have been forgotten ; 
 thy care neglected ; thy love defeated ! " 
 
 With these words she arose, and signified to Hurry 
 that she had no more to communicate. 
 
 CHAPTER X 
 
 All this time Hetty had remained seated in the head of 
 the scow, looking sorrowfully into the water which held 
 the body of her mother, as well as that of the man whom 
 she had been taught to consider her father. Hist stood 
 near her in gentle quiet, but had no consolation to offer 
 in words. The habits of her people taught her reserve in 
 this respect ; and the habits of her sex induced her to 
 wait patiently for a moment when she might manifest 
 some soothing sympathy by means of acts rather than of 
 
THE MIDNIGHT EXPEDITION 277 
 
 speech. Chingachgook held himself a little aloof, in grave 
 reserve, looking like a warrior, but feeling like a man. 
 
 Judith joined her sister with an air of dignity and so 
 lemnity it was not her practice to show ; and, though the 
 gleamings of anguish were still visible on her beautiful 
 face, when she spoke it was firmly and without tremor. 
 At that instant Hist and the Delaware withdrew, moving 
 towards Hurry, in the other end of the boat. 
 
 " Sister," said Judith, kindly, " I have much to say to 
 you ; we will get into this canoe, and paddle off to a dis 
 tance from the ark ; the secrets of two orphans ought not 
 to be heard by every ear." 
 
 " Certainly, Judith, by the ears of their parents. Let 
 Hurry lift the grapnel, and move away with the ark, and 
 leave us here, near the graves of father and mother, to 
 say what we may have to say." 
 
 " Father ! " repeated Judith, slowly, the blood for the 
 first time since her parting with March mounting to her 
 cheeks ; " he was no father of ours, Hetty ! That we had 
 from his own mouth, and in his dying moments." 
 
 "Are you glad, Judith, to find you had no father? He 
 took care of us, and fed us, and clothed us, and loved us ; 
 a father could have done no more. I don t understand 
 why he was n t a father." 
 
 " Never mind, dear child, but let us do as you have 
 said. It may be well to remain here, and let the ark move 
 a little away. Do you prepare the canoe, and I will tell 
 Hurry and the Indians our wishes." 
 
 This was soon and simply done ; the ark moving, with 
 measured strokes of the sweeps, a hundred yards from the 
 spot, leaving the girls floating, seemingly in air, above the 
 
278 THE DEERSLAYER 
 
 place of the dead, so buoyant was the light vessel that held 
 them, and so limpid the element by which it was sustained. 
 
 "The death of Thomas H utter," Judith commenced, 
 after a short pause had prepared her sister to receive her 
 communications, " has altered all our prospects, Hetty. 
 If he was not our father, we are sisters, and must feel 
 alike and live together." 
 
 " How do I know, Judith, that you would n t be as glad 
 to find I am not your sister as you are in finding that 
 Thomas Hutter, as you call him, was not your father ? I 
 am only half-witted, and few people like to have half-witted 
 relations ; and then I m not handsome at least, not as 
 handsome as you and you may wish a handsomer sister." 
 
 " No, no, Hetty. You and you only are my sister 
 my heart and my love for you tell me that ; and mother 
 was my mother of that, too, am I glad and proud ; for 
 she was a mother to be proud of but father was not 
 father." 
 
 "Hush, Judith! His spirit may be near it would 
 grieve it to hear his children talking so, and that, too, 
 over his very grave. Children should never grieve parents, 
 mother often told me, and especially when they are dead! " 
 
 " Poor Hetty ! They are happily removed beyond all 
 cares on our accounts. The bodies of mother and Thomas 
 Hutter lie together in the lake, and we will hope that the 
 spirits of both are with God. That we, the children of one 
 of them, remain on earth is certain ; it is now proper to 
 know what we are to do in the future." 
 
 "If we are not Thomas Hutter s children, Judith, no 
 one will dispute our right to his property. We have the 
 castle, and the ark, and the canoes, and the woods, and 
 
THE MIDNIGHT EXPEDITION 279 
 
 the lakes, the same as when he was living ; and what can 
 prevent us from staying here, and passing our lives just 
 as we ever have done ? " 
 
 " No, no, poor sister. This can no longer be. Two 
 girls would not be safe here, even should these Hurons 
 fail in getting us into their power. Even father had as 
 much as he could sometimes do to keep peace upon the 
 lake ; and we should fail altogether. We must quit this 
 spot, Hetty, and remove into the settlements." 
 
 " I am sorry you think so, Judith," returned Hetty, 
 dropping her head on her bosom, and looking thoughtfully 
 down at the spot where the funeral pile of her mother 
 could just be seen. " I am very sorry to hear it. I would 
 rather stay here, where, if I was n t born, I ve passed my 
 life. I don t like the settlements ; they are full of wicked 
 ness and heart-burnings, while God dwells unoffended in 
 these hills ! I love the trees, and the mountains, and the 
 lake, and the springs ; all that his bounty has given us, 
 and it would grieve me sorely, Judith, to be forced to quit 
 them. You are handsome, and not at all half-witted, and 
 one day you will marry, and then you will have a husband 
 and I a brother to take care of us, if women can t really 
 take care of themselves in such a place as this." 
 
 "Ah ! if this could be so, Hetty, then, indeed, I could 
 now be a thousand times happier in these woods than in 
 the settlements ! Once I did not feel thus, but now I do. 
 Yet where is the man to turn this beautiful place into 
 such a garden of Eden for us ? " 
 
 " Harry March loves you, sister," returned poor Hetty, 
 unconsciously picking the bark off the canoe as she spoke. 
 "He would be glad to be your husband, I m sure ; and 
 
280 THE DEERSLAYER 
 
 a stouter and a braver youth is not to be met with the 
 whole country round." 
 
 " Harry March and I understand each other, and no 
 more need be said about him. There is one but no 
 matter. It is all in the hands of Providence, and we must 
 shortly come to some conclusion about our future manner 
 of living. Remain here that is, remain here alone we 
 cannot ; and perhaps no occasion will ever offer for remain 
 ing in the manner you think of. It is time too, Hetty, we 
 should learn all we can concerning our relations and family. 
 It is not probable we are altogether without relations, and 
 they may be glad to see us. The old chest is now our 
 property, and we have a right to look into it, and learn all 
 we can by what it holds. Mother was so very different 
 from Thomas Hutter, that, now I know we are not his 
 children, I burn with a desire to know whose children we 
 can be. There are papers in that chest, I am certain, and 
 those papers may tell us all about our parents and natural 
 friends." 
 
 " Well, Judith, you know best, for you are cleverer than 
 common, mother always said, and I am only half-witted. 
 Now father and mother are dead, I don t much care for 
 any relations but you, and don t think I could love them I 
 never saw as well as I ought. If you don t like to marry 
 Hurry, I don t see who you can choose for a husband, and 
 then I fear we shall have to quit the lake, after all." 
 
 " What do you think of Deerslayer, Hetty ? " asked 
 Judith, bencling forward like her unsophisticated sister, 
 and endeavoring to conceal her embarrassment in a similar 
 manner. "Would he not make a brother-in-law to your 
 liking ? " 
 
THE MIDNIGHT EXPEDITION 281 
 
 " Deerslayer ! " repeated the other, looking up in un 
 feigned surprise ; " why, Judith, Deerslayer is n t in the 
 least comely, and is altogether unfit for one like you ! " 
 
 " He is not ill-looking, Hetty ; and beauty in a man is 
 not of much matter." 
 
 " Do you think so, Judith ? I know that beauty is of no 
 great matter, in man or woman, in the eyes of God ; for 
 mother has often told me so, when she thought I might 
 have been sorry I was not as handsome as you though 
 she need n t have been uneasy on that account, for I never 
 coveted anything that is yours, sister : but tell me so she 
 did ; still, beauty is very pleasant to the eye, in both. I 
 think, if I were a man, I should pine more for good looks 
 than I do as a girl. A handsome man is a more pleasing 
 sight than a handsome woman." 
 
 " Poor child ! you scarce know what you say or what 
 you mean ! Beauty in our sex is something, but in man it 
 passes for little. To be sure, a man ought to be tall, but 
 others are tall as well as Hurry ; and active I think I 
 know those that are more active ; and strong well, he 
 has n t all the strength in the world ; and brave I m 
 certain I can name a youth who is braver." 
 
 " This is strange, Judith. I did n t think the earth held 
 a handsomer, or a stronger, or a more active, or a braver 
 man than Hurry Harry. I am sure / never met his equal 
 in either of these things." 
 
 " Well, well, Hetty, say no more of this. The sun has 
 set, and the ark is drifting away from us ; let* us paddle 
 up to the scow. This night I shall look into the chest, and 
 to-morrow shall determine what we are to do. As for the 
 Hurons, now we can use our stores without fear of Thomas 
 
282 THE DEERSLAYER 
 
 Hutter, they will be easily bought off. Let me get Deer- 
 slayer once out of their hands, and a single hour shall bring 
 things to an understanding." 
 
 Judith spoke with decision, and authority, and, suiting 
 her action to her words, dipped her paddle into the water 
 and began to propel the light craft forward. This reversed 
 her own position, and gave her a view of the whole lake. 
 At once she uttered an exclamation. 
 
 11 Hetty, is not that a canoe, just passing behind the 
 castle ? here, more in the direction of the point, I mean ; 
 it is hid, now ; but, certainly, I saw a canoe stealing behind 
 the logs." 
 
 "I ve seen it some time," Hetty quietly answered, for 
 the Indians had few terrors for her, " but I did not think 
 it right to talk about such things over mother s grave. The 
 canoe came from the camp, Judith, and was paddled by a 
 single man; he seemed to be Deerslayer, and no Iroquois." 
 
 " Deerslayer ! " returned the other, with much of her 
 native impetuosity. " That can t be ! Deerslayer is a 
 prisoner, and I have been thinking of the means of setting 
 him free. Why did you fancy it Deerslayer, child ? " 
 
 " You can look for yourself, sister ; there comes the 
 canoe in sight again, on this side of the hut." 
 
 Sure enough, the light boat had passed the building, 
 and was now steadily advancing towards the ark ; the 
 persons on board of which were already collecting in the 
 head of the scow to receive their visitor. A single glance 
 sufficed to assure Judith that her sister was right, and that 
 Deerslayer was alone in the canoe. His approach was so 
 calm and leisurely, however, as to fill her with wonder, 
 since a man who had effected his escape from enemies, by 
 
THE MIDNIGHT EXPEDITION 283 
 
 either artifice or violence, would not be apt to move with 
 the steadiness and deliberation with which his paddle swept 
 the water. By this time the day was fairly departing, and 
 objects were already seen dimly under the shores. In the 
 broad lake, however, the light still lingered, and around 
 the immediate scene of the present incidents, which was 
 less shaded than most of the sheet, being in its broadest 
 part, it cast a glare that bore some faint resemblance to the 
 warm tints of an Italian or Grecian sunset. The logs of 
 the hut and ark had a sort of purple hue, blended with the 
 growing obscurity, and the bark of the hunter s boat was 
 losing its distinctness, in colors richer, but more mellowed, 
 than those it showed under a bright sun. As the two canoes 
 approached each other for Judith and her sister had plied 
 their paddles so as to intercept the unexpected visitor ere 
 he reached the ark even Deerslayer s sunburned counte 
 nance wore a brighter aspect than common, under the 
 pleasing tints that seemed to dance in the atmosphere. 
 
 "Welcome welcome, Deerslayer ! " exclaimed the 
 girl, as the canoes floated at each other s sides ; "we have 
 had a melancholy a frightful day ; but your return is, 
 at least, one misfortune the less. Have the Hurons become 
 more humane and let you go, or have you escaped from 
 the wretches by your own courage and skill ? " 
 
 " Neither, Judith, neither one nor t other. The Mingos are 
 Mingos still, and will live and die Mingos ; it is not likely 
 their natur s will ever undergo much improvement. Well, 
 they ve their gifts, and we ve our n, Judith, and it does n t 
 much become either to speak ill of what the Lord has 
 created ; though, if the truth must be said, I find it a sore 
 trial to think kindly or to talk kindly of them vagabonds." 
 
284 THE DEERSLAYER 
 
 " But if you have not escaped from the savages, how 
 came you here ? " 
 
 " I ! Oh ! That s not very onaccountable, if I am my 
 self, Judith. I m out on furlough." 
 
 " Furlough ! That word has a meaning among the sol 
 diers that I understand ; I cannot tell what it signifies 
 when used by a prisoner." 
 
 " It means just the same. You re right enough ; the 
 soldiers do use it, and just in the same way as I use it. 
 A furlough is when a man has leave to quit a camp, or a 
 garrison, for a sartain specified time ; at the end of which 
 he is to come back and shoulder his musket, or submit 
 to his torments, just as he may happen to be a soldier, or 
 a captyve. Being the last, I must take the chances of a 
 prisoner." 
 
 " Have the Hurons suffered you to quit them in this 
 manner, without watch or guard ? " 
 
 " Sartain I could n t have come in any other manner 
 unless, indeed, it had been by a bold rising, or a sarcum- 
 vention." 
 
 " What pledge have they that you will ever return ? " 
 
 " My word," answered the hunter, simply. " Yes, I own 
 I gave em that, and big fools would they have been to let 
 me come without it ! Why, in that case, I should n t have 
 been obliged to go back and ondergo any deviltries their 
 fury may invent, but might have shouldered my rifle, and 
 made the best of my way to the Delaware villages. But, 
 Lord ! Judith, they know d this, just as well as you and I 
 do, and would no more let me come away, without a prom 
 ise to go back, than they would let the wolves dig up the 
 bones of their fathers ! " 
 
THE MIDNIGHT EXPEDITION 285 
 
 " Is it possible you mean to do this act of extraordinary 
 self-destruction and recklessness ? " 
 
 " Anan ! " 
 
 " 1 ask if it can be possible that you expect to be able 
 to put yourself again in the power of such ruthless enemies 
 by keeping your word ? " 
 
 Deerslayer looked at his fair questioner for a moment 
 with stern displeasure. Then the expression of his honest 
 and guileless face suddenly changed, lighting as by a quick 
 illumination of thought ; after which he laughed in his 
 ordinary manner. 
 
 " I did n t understand you at first, Judith no, I did n t. 
 Do you believe that Chingachgook and Hurry Harry won t 
 suffer it ; but you don t know mankind thoroughly yet, I 
 see. The Delaware would be the last man on arth to offer 
 any objections to what he knows is a duty ; and, as for 
 March, he does n t care enough about any creatur but him 
 self to spend many words on such a subject. If he did, 
 t would make no great difference, hows ever ; but not he 
 for he thinks more of his gains than of even his own 
 word. As for my promises, or your n, Judith, or anybody 
 else s, they give him no consarn. Don t be under any on- 
 easiness, therefore, gal ; I shall be allowed to go back 
 according to the furlough ; and if difficulties was made, 
 I ve not been brought up and edicated, as one may say, 
 in the woods, without knowing how to look em down." 
 
 Judith made no answer for some little time. All her 
 feelings as a woman revolted at the cruel fate that she 
 fancied Deerslayer was drawing down upon himself, while 
 the sense of right, which God has implanted in every human 
 breast, told her to admire an integrity as indomitable and 
 
286 THE DEERSLAYER 
 
 unpretending as that which the other so unconsciously 
 displayed. Argument, she felt, would be useless ; nor 
 was she, at that moment, disposed to lessen the dig 
 nity and high principle that were so striking in the in 
 tentions of the hunter, by any attempt to turn him from 
 his purpose. That something might yet occur to supersede 
 the necessity for this self-immolation, she tried to hope ; 
 and then she proceeded to ascertain the facts, in order 
 that her own conduct might be regulated by her knowl 
 edge of circumstances. 
 
 " When is your furlough out, Deerslayer ? " she asked, 
 after both canoes were heading towards the ark, and 
 moving, with scarcely a perceptible effort of the paddles, 
 through the water. 
 
 " To-morrow noon ; not a minute afore ; and you may 
 depend on it, Judith, I shan t quit what I call Christian 
 company, to go and give myself up to them vagabonds, 
 an instant sooner than is downright necessary. They be 
 gin to fear a visit from the garrisons, and wouldn t 
 lengthen the time a moment ; and it s pretty well under 
 stood atween us that, should I fail in my arr nd, the tor 
 ments are to take place when the sun begins to fall, that 
 they may strike upon their home trail as soon as it is dark." 
 
 This was said solemnly, as if the thought of what was 
 believed to be in reserve duly weighed on the prisoner s 
 mind, and yet so simply, and without a parade of suffering, 
 as rather to repel than to invite any open manifestations 
 of sympathy. 
 
 " Are they bent on revenging their losses ? " Judith 
 asked, faintly, her own high spirit yielding to the influ 
 ence of the other s quiet but dignified integrity of purpose. 
 
THE MIDNIGHT EXPEDITION 287 
 
 " Downright, if I can judge of Indian inclinations by 
 the symptoms. They think, hows ever, I don t suspect 
 their designs, I do believe ; but one that has lived so long 
 among men of redskin gifts is no more likely to be misled 
 in Injin feelin s than a true hunter is like to lose his trail, 
 or a stanch hound his scent. My own judgment is greatly 
 agin my own escape, for I see the women are a good deal 
 enraged on behalf of Hist, though I say it, perhaps, that 
 should n t say it seein that I had a considerable hand 
 myself in getting the gal off. Then there was a cruel mur 
 der in their camp last night, and that shot might just as 
 well have been fired into my breast. Hows ever, come 
 what will, the Sarpent and his wife will be safe, and that 
 is some happiness, in any case." 
 
 " Oh, Deerslayer, they will think better of this, since 
 they have given you until to-morrow noon to make up your 
 mind! " 
 
 " I judge not, Judith ; yes, I judge not. An Injin is an 
 Injin, gal, and it s pretty much hopeless to think of swarv- 
 ing him, when he s got the scent and follows it with his 
 nose in the air. The Delawares, now, are a half-christian 
 ized tribe not that I think such sort of Christians much 
 better than your whole-blooded disbelievers but, never 
 theless, what good half-christianizing can do to a man some 
 among em have got, and yet revenge clings to their hearts 
 like the wild creepers here to the tree ! Then I slew one of 
 the best and boldest of their warriors, they say, and it is 
 too much to expect that they should captivate the man who 
 did this deed, in the very same scouting on which it was 
 performed, and they take no account of the matter. Had 
 a month or so gone by, their feelin s would have been 
 
288 THE DEERSLAYER 
 
 softened down, and we might have met in a more friendly 
 way ; but it is as it is. Judith, this is talking of nothing 
 but myself and my own consarns, when you have had trou 
 ble enough, and may want to consult a fri nd a little about 
 your own matters. I have heard the whole story. Well, 
 life is unsartain at the best. If you ve lost a stanch fri nd, 
 Providence will raise up new ones in his stead ; and I shall 
 be right glad to be counted as such. Is the old man laid 
 in the water, where I should think his body would like to 
 rest ? 
 
 " It is, Deerslayer," answered Judith, almost inaudibly. 
 " That duty has just been performed. You are right in 
 thinking that I wish to consult a friend ; and that friend 
 is yourself. Hurry Harry is about to leave us ; when he 
 is gone, and we have got a little over the feelings of this 
 solemn office, I hope you will give me an hour alone. 
 Hetty and I are at a loss what to do." 
 
 " That s quite natural, coming as things have, suddenly 
 and fearfully. But here s the ark, and we 11 say more of 
 this when there is a better opportunity." 
 
PART V. THE FURLOUGH 
 
 CHAPTER I 
 
 The meeting between Deerslayer and his friends in the 
 ark was grave and anxious. The two Indians, in particu 
 lar, read in his manner that he was not a successful fugi 
 tive, and a few words sufficed to let them comprehend the 
 nature of what their friend had termed his "furlough." 
 It was now getting to be dark, and it was decided to 
 sweep the ark up to the castle, and secure it in its ordi 
 nary berth. The decision was come to, in some measure, 
 on account of the fact that all the canoes were again in 
 the possession of their proper owners, but principally 
 from the security that was created by the representations 
 of Deerslayer. He had examined the state of things 
 among the Hurons, and felt satisfied that they meditated 
 no further hostilities during the night, the loss they had 
 met having indisposed them to further exertions for the 
 moment. Then he had a proposition to make, the ob 
 ject of his visit ; and, if this were accepted, the war would 
 at once terminate between the parties ; and it was improba 
 ble that the Hurons would anticipate the failure of a pro 
 ject on which their chiefs had apparently set their hearts, 
 by having recourse to violence previously to the return of 
 their messenger. 
 
 As soon as the ark was properly secured, the different 
 
290 THE DEERSLAYER 
 
 members of the party occupied themselves in their several 
 peculiar manners. The women busied themselves in prep 
 arations for the evening meal. Hurry set about repairing 
 his moccasins, by the light of a blazing knot ; Chingach- 
 gook seated himself in gloomy thought ; while Deerslayer 
 proceeded, in a manner equally free from affectation and 
 concern, to examine " Killdeer," the rifle of Hutter, that 
 has been already mentioned, and which subsequently be 
 came so celebrated in the hands of the individual who was 
 now making a survey of its merits. The piece was a little 
 longer than usual, and had evidently been turned out from 
 the workshop of some manufacturer of a superior order. 
 It had a few silver ornaments ; though, on the whole, it 
 would have been deemed a plain piece by most frontier- 
 men ; its great merit consisting in the accuracy of its 
 bore, the perfection of the details, and the excellence of the 
 metal. Again and again did the hunter apply the breech to 
 his shoulder, and glance his eye along the sights, and as 
 often did he poise his body and raise the weapon slowly, 
 as if about to catch an aim at a deer, in order to try the 
 weight, and to ascertain its fitness for quick and accurate 
 firing. 
 
 T is a glorious we pon, Hurry ! " Deerslayer at length 
 exclaimed, " and it may be thought a pity that it has fallen 
 into the hands of women. The hunters have told me of 
 its explites, and by all I have heard, I should set it 
 down as sartain death in exper enced hands. Hearken 
 to the tick of this lock a wolf-trap has n t a livelier 
 spring ; pan and cock speak together, like two singing 
 masters undertaking a psalm in meetin . I never did see 
 so true a bore, Hurry, that s sartain." 
 
THE FURLOUGH 291 
 
 " Aye, Old Tom used to give the piece a character, 
 though he was n t the man to particularize the raal natur 
 of any sort of firearms, in practice," returned March, pass 
 ing the deer s thongs through the moccasin with the cool 
 ness of a cobbler. " He was no marksman, that we must 
 all allow ; but he had his good p ints as well as his bad 
 ones. I have had hopes that Judith might consait the 
 idee of giving Killdeer to me." 
 
 " There s no saying what young women may do, that s 
 a truth, Hurry ; and I suppose you re as likely to own 
 the rifle as another. Still, when things are so very near 
 perfection, it s a pity not to reach it entirely." 
 
 "What do you mean by that? Would not that piece 
 look as well on my shoulder as on any man s ? " 
 
 " As for looks, I say nothing. You are both good- 
 looking, and might make what is called a good-looking 
 couple. But the true p int is as to conduct. More deer 
 would fall in one day by that piece in some men s hands 
 than would fall in a week in your n, Hurry ! I ve seen 
 you try ; you remember the buck t other day ? " 
 
 " That buck was out of season ; and who wishes to kill 
 venison out of season ? I was merely trying to frighten 
 the creatur , and I think you will own that he was pretty 
 well skeared at any rate." 
 
 " Well, well, have it as you say. But this is a lordly 
 piece, and would make a steady hand and quick eye the 
 King of the Woods." 
 
 " Then keep it, Deerslayer, and become King of the 
 Woods," said Judith, earnestly, who had heard the conver 
 sation. "It can never be in better hands than it is at this 
 there I hope it will remain these fifty years." 
 
292 THE DEERSLAYER 
 
 " Judith, you can t be in arnest ! " exclaimed Deerslayer, 
 taken so much by surprise as to betray more emotion than 
 it was usual for him to manifest on ordinary occasions. 
 " Such a gift would be fit for a raal king to make ; yes, 
 and for a raal king to receive." 
 
 " I never was more in earnest in my life, Deerslayer, 
 and I am as much in earnest in the wish as in the gift.". 
 
 " Well, gal, well ; we 11 find time to talk of this agin. 
 You mustn t be down-hearted, Hurry, for Judith is a 
 sprightly young woman, and she has a quick reason ; she 
 knows that the credit of her father s rifle is safer in my 
 hands than it can possibly be in your n ; and, therefore, 
 you mustn t be down-hearted. In other matters, more to 
 your liking, too, you 11 find she 11 give you the prefer 
 ence." 
 
 Hurry growled out his dissatisfaction ; but he was too 
 intent on quitting the lake, and in making his preparations, 
 to waste his breath on a subject of this nature. Shortly 
 after, the supper was ready ; it was eaten in silence, as 
 sadness and thought contributed their share to the general 
 desire not to converse. 
 
 The meal ended, and the humble preparations removed, 
 the whole party assembled on the platform to hear the 
 expected intelligence from Deerslayer on the subject of his 
 visit. Stools were brought from the ark and the hut, and 
 the six placed themselves in a circle near the door, watch 
 ing each other s countenances by the scanty means that 
 were furnished by a lovely starlight night. Along the 
 shore, beneath the mountains, lay the usual body of 
 gloom ; but in the broad lake no shadow was cast, and a 
 thousand mimic stars were dancing in the limpid element, 
 
THE FURLOUGH 293 
 
 ! that was just stirred enough by the evening air to set them 
 all in motion. 
 
 " Now, Deerslayer," commenced Judith, " tell us all the 
 Hurons have to say, and the reason why they have sent 
 you on parole, to make us some offer." 
 
 " Well, then, if the message must be given, it must ; 
 and perhaps there is no use in putting it off. Hurry will 
 soon be wanting to set out on his journey to the river, and 
 the stars rise and set, just as if they cared for neither 
 Injin nor message. Ah s me ! t is n t a pleasant, and I 
 know it s a useless, arr nd ; but it must be told. The 
 simple fact is this. When the party came back from the 
 castle, the Mingos held a council, and bitter thoughts were 
 uppermost, as was plainly to be seen by their gloomy faces. 
 No one likes to be beaten, and a redskin as little as a 
 paleface. Well, when they had smoked upon it, and made 
 their speeches, and their council-fire had burnt low, the 
 matter came out. It seems the elders among em consaited 
 I was a man to be trusted on a furlough. It is n t often " 
 added the hunter, with a pleasing consciousness that 
 his previous life justified this implicit reliance on his good 
 faith "it is n t often they consait anything so good of 
 a paleface ; but so they did with me, and therefore they 
 did n t hesitate to speak their minds, which is just this : 
 You see the state of things. The lake and all on it, they 
 fancy, lie at their marcy, and, therefore, they send by me 
 this belt of wampum," showing the article in question to 
 the Delaware, as he spoke, "with these words : Tell the 
 Sarpent, they say, that he has done well for a beginner ; 
 he may now strike across the mountains, for his own vil 
 lages, and no one shall look for his trail. If he has found 
 
294 THE DEERSLAYER 
 
 a scalp, let him take it with him ; the Huron braves have 
 hearts, and can feel for a young warrior who does n t wish 
 to go home empty-handed. If he is nimble, he is welcome 
 to lead out a party in pursuit. Hist, hows ever, must go 
 back to the Hurons ; when she left them in the night she 
 brought away with her the inclinations of a young Huron, 
 and they want her back again, that the poor young man 
 may find them where he last saw them ! The Sarpent, 
 they say, is too promising a young warrior not to find as 
 many wives as he wants, but this one he cannot have. 
 The next message is to you, Judith. They say the Musk- 
 rat, as they call your father, has dove to the bottom of the 
 lake ; that he will never come up again, and that his young 
 will soon be in want of wigwams, if not of food. The 
 Huron huts, they think, are better than the huts of York, 
 they wish you to come and try them. Your color 
 is white, they own, but they think young women who ve 
 lived so long in the woods would lose their way in the 
 clearin s. A great warrior among them has lately lost his 
 wife, and he would be glad to put the Wild Rose on her 
 bench at his fireside. As for the Feeble-Mind, she will 
 always be honored and taken care of by red warriors. 
 Your father s goods, they think, ought to go to enrich the 
 tribe ; but your own property, which is to include every 
 thing of a female natur , will go, like that of all wives, 
 into the wigwam of the husband." 
 
 "And do yott bring such a message to me?" exclaimed 
 Judith. " Am I a girl to be an Indian s slave ? " 
 
 " If you wish my honest thoughts on this p int, Judith, I 
 shall answer that I don t think you 11 willingly ever become 
 any man s slave, redskin or white. You re not to think 
 
THE FURLOUGH 295 
 
 hard, hows ever, of my bringing the message, as near as 
 I could, in the very words in which it was given to me. 
 Them was the conditions on which I got my furlough, 
 and a bargain is a bargain, though it is made with a vaga 
 bond. I ve told you what they ve said, but I ve not yet 
 told you what I think you ought, one and all, to answer." 
 
 "Aye ; let s hear that, Deerslayer," put in Hurry. 
 " My cur osity is up on that consideration, and I should 
 like right well to hear your idees of the reasonableness of 
 the reply. For my part, though, my own mind is pretty 
 much settled on the p int of my own answer, which shall 
 be made known as soon as necessary." 
 
 "And so is mine, Hurry, on all the different heads, and 
 on no one is it more sartainly settled than on your n. If 
 I was you, I should say Deerslayer, tell them scamps 
 they don t know Harry March ! He is human ; and hav 
 ing a white skin he has also a white natur , which natur 
 won t let him desart females of his own race and gifts, 
 in their greatest need. So set me down as one that will 
 refuse to come into your treaty, though you should smoke 
 a hogshead of tobacco over it. 
 
 March was a little embarrassed at this rebuke, which 
 was uttered with sufficient warmth of manner, and with 
 a point that left no doubt of the meaning. Had Judith 
 encouraged him, he would not have hesitated about re 
 maining to defend her and her sister, but under the cir 
 cumstances, a feeling of resentment rather urged him to 
 abandon them. At all events, there was not a sufficiency of 
 chivalry in Hurry Harry to induce him to hazard the safety 
 of his own person, unless he could see a direct connection 
 between the probable consequences and his own interests. 
 
296 THE DEERSLAYER 
 
 " Fair words make long friendships, Master Deer- 
 slayer," he said, a little menacingly. "You re but a 
 stripling, and you know, by exper ence, what you are in 
 the hands of a man. As you re not me, but only a go- 
 between, sent by the savages to us Christians, you may 
 tell your empl yers that they do know Harry March, which 
 is a proof of their sense as well as his. He s human 
 enough to follow human natur , and that tells him to see 
 the folly of one* man s fighting a whole tribe. If females 
 desart him, they must expect to be desarted by him, 
 whether they re of his own gifts or another man s gifts. 
 Should Judith see fit to change her mind, she s welcome 
 to my company to the river, and Hetty with her ; but 
 should n t she come to this conclusion, I start as soon as 
 I think the enemy s scouts are beginning to nestle them 
 selves in among the brush and leaves for the night." 
 
 " Judith will not change her mind, and she does not 
 ask your company, Master March," returned the girl, with 
 spirit. 
 
 That p int s settled, then," resumed Deerslayer, un 
 moved by the other s warmth. " Hurry Harry must act 
 for himself, and do that which will be most likely to suit 
 his own fancy. The course he means to take will give 
 him an easy race, if it don t give him an easy conscience. 
 Next comes the question with Hist what say you, gal? 
 will you go back to the Mingos and take a Huron 
 husband ? " 
 
 " Why you talk so to Hist ? " demanded the girl, half 
 offended. "You t ink a redskin girl made like captain s 
 lady, to laugh and joke with any officer that come ? " 
 
 " What I think, Hist, is neither here nor there, in this 
 
THE FURLOUGH 297 
 
 matter. I must carry back your answer, and in order to 
 do so it is necessary that you should send it. A faithful 
 messenger gives his arr nd word for word." 
 
 Hist no longer hesitated to speak her mind fully. 
 
 " Tell the Hurons, Deerslayer," she said, rising from 
 the bench and delivering her intentions in the tongue of 
 her own people, " that they are as ignorant as moles ; 
 they don t know the wolf from the dog. Among my 
 people, the rose dies on the stem where it budded ; the 
 tears of the child fall on the graves of its parents ; the 
 corn grows where the seed has been planted. The Dela 
 ware girls are not messengers, to be sent like belts of 
 wampum from tribe to tribe. They are honeysuckles, that 
 are sweetest in their own woods ; their own young men 
 carry them away in their bosoms, because they are fragrant ; 
 they are sweetest when plucked from their native stems. 
 Even the robin and the martin come back, year after year, 
 to their old nests ; shall a woman be less true-hearted than 
 a bird ? Set the pine in the clay, and it will turn yellow ; 
 the willow will not flourish on the hill ; the tamarack is 
 healthiest in the swamp ; the tribes of the sea love best to 
 hear the winds that blow over the salt water. As for a 
 Huron youth, what is he to a maiden of the Delawares ? 
 He may be fleet, but her eyes do not follow him in the 
 race ; they look back towards the lodges of her people. 
 He may sing a sweet song for the girls of Canada, but 
 there is no music for Wah but in the tongue she has lis 
 tened to from childhood. Were the Huron born of the 
 people that once roamed the shores of the salt lake, it 
 would be in vain, unless he were of the family of Uncas. 
 The young pine will rise to be as high as any of its fathers. 
 
298 THE DEERSLAYER 
 
 Wah-ta-Wah has but one heart, and it can love but one 
 husband." 
 
 Deerslayer listened to this characteristic message with 
 undisguised delight. 
 
 " That s worth all the wampum in the woods ! " he ex 
 claimed. " Give me a woman for raal eloquence, if they 11 
 only make up their minds to speak what they feel. And 
 now, Judith, having got the answer of a redskin girl, it is 
 fit I should get that of a paleface, if, indeed, a counte 
 nance that is as blooming as your n can in any wise so be 
 tarmed. You are well named the Wild Rose, and so far 
 as color goes Hetty ought to be called the Honeysuckle." 
 
 " It is too soon," returned Judith, " to ask my answer ; 
 the Great Serpent has not yet spoken." 
 
 " The Sarpent ? Lord ; I could carry back his speech 
 without hearing a word of it ! I did n t think of putting 
 the question to him at all, I will allow ; though t would 
 be hardly right either, seeing that truth is truth, and I m 
 bound to tell these Mingos the fact, and nothing else. So, 
 Chingachgook, let us hear your mind on this matter : are 
 you inclined to strike across the hills towards your 
 village, to give up Hist to a Huron, and to tell the chiefs 
 at home, that if they re actyve and successful they may 
 possibly get on the end of the Iroquois trail some two 
 or three days a ter the inimy has got off of. it ? " 
 
 Like his betrothed, the young chief arose, that his 
 answer might be given with due distinctness and dignity. 
 Hist had spoken with her hands crossed upon her bosom, 
 as if to suppress the emotions within ; but the warrior 
 stretched an arm before him, with a calm energy that 
 aided in giving emphasis to his expressions. 
 
THE FURLOUGH 299 
 
 " Wampum should be sent for wampum," he said ; " a 1 
 message must be answered by a message. Hear what the 
 Great Serpent of the Delawares has to say to the pre 
 tended wolves from the great lakes that are howling 
 through our woods. They are no wolves they are dogs 
 that have come to get their tails and ears cropped by the 
 hands of the Delawares. They are good at stealing young 
 women : bad at keeping them. Chingachgook takes his 
 own where he finds it ; he asks leave of no cur from the 
 Canadas. If he has a tender feeling in his heart, it is no 
 business of the Hurons. He tells it to her who most likes 
 to know it ; he will not bellow it in the forest for the 
 ears of those that only understand yells of terror. What 
 passes in his lodge is not for the chiefs of his own people 
 to know ; still less for Mingo rogues " 
 
 " Call em vagabonds, Sarpent," interrupted Deerslayer, 
 unable to restrain his delight, -"yes, just call em up-and- 
 down vagabonds, which is a word easily intarpreted, and the 
 most hateful to all their ears, it s so true. Never fear me ; 
 I 11 give em your message, syllable for syllable, sneer for 
 sneer, idee for idee, scorn for scorn, and they desarve no 
 better at your hands. Only call em vagabonds, once or 
 twice, and that will set the sap mounting in em from 
 their lowest roots to the uppermost branches." 
 
 " Still less for Mingo vagabonds ! " resumed Chingach 
 gook, quite willingly complying with his friend s request. 
 " Tell the Huron dogs to howl louder, if they wish a Del 
 aware to find them in the woods, where they burrow like 
 foxes, instead of hunting like warriors. When they had a 
 Delaware maiden in their camp, there was a reason for 
 hunting them up ; now they will be forgotten, unless they 
 
300 THE DEERSLAYER 
 
 make a noise. Chingachgook don t like the trouble of 
 going to his villages for more warriors ; he can strike their 
 run-away trail ; unless they hide it under ground he will 
 follow it to Canada, alone. He will keep Wah-ta-Wah with 
 him to cook his game ; they two will be Delawares enough 
 to scare all the Hurons back to their own country." 
 
 " That s a grand despatch, as the officers call them 
 things!" cried Deerslayer ; twill set all the Huron 
 blood in motion ; most particularly that part where he tells 
 em Hist, too, will keep on their heels, till they re fairly 
 driven out of the country. Now, Hetty, if you have any 
 thing to say, I 11 carry it to the Hurons as faithfully as 
 if it was spoken by a schoolmaster or a missionary." 
 
 The girl hesitated a moment, and then she answered 
 earnestly, in her own gentle, soft tones. 
 
 " The Hurons can t understand the difference between 
 white people and themselves," she said, " or they would n t 
 ask Judith and me to go and live in their villages. God 
 has given one country to the red-men and another to us. 
 He meant us to live apart. Then mother always said that 
 we should never dwell with any but Christians, if possible, 
 and that is a reason why we can t go. This lake is ours, 
 and we won t leave it. Father s and mother s graves are 
 in it, and even the worst Indians love to stay near the 
 graves of their fathers. I will come and see them again, 
 if they wish me to, and read more out of the Bible to 
 them, but I can t quit father s and mother s graves." 
 
 " That will do that will do, Hetty, just as well as if 
 you sent them a message twice as long," interrupted the 
 hunter. " I 11 te ll em all you ve said, and all you mean, 
 and I 11 answer for it that they 11 be easily satisfied. Now, 
 
THE FURLOUGH 301 
 
 Judith, your turn comes next, and then this part of my 
 arr nd will be tarminated for the night." 
 
 Judith manifested a reluctance to give her reply that 
 had awakened a little curiosity in the messenger. Judging 
 from her known spirit, he had never supposed the girl 
 would be less true to her feelings and principles than Hist 
 or Hetty ; and yet there was a visible wavering of purpose 
 that rendered him slightly uneasy. Even now, when di 
 rectly required to speak, she seemed to hesitate ; nor did 
 she open her lips until the profound silence told her how 
 anxiously her words were expected. Then, indeed, she 
 spoke, but it was doubtingly and with reluctance. / 
 
 "Tell me, first tell us, first, Deerslayer, "^she com 
 menced, repeating the words merely to change the empha 
 sis, " what effect will our answers have on your fate ? If 
 you are to be the sacrifice of our spirit, it would have been 
 better had we all been more wary as to the language we 
 use. What, then, are likely to be the consequences to 
 yourself ? " 
 
 " Lord, Judith, you might as well ask me which way the 
 wind will blow next week, or what will be the age of the 
 next deer that will be shot ! I can only say that their faces 
 look a little dark upon me, but it does n t thunder every 
 time a black cloud rises, nor does every puff of wind blow 
 up rain. That s a question, therefore, much more easily 
 put than answered." 
 
 " My answer shall be given, Deerslayer, after you and 
 I have talked together alone, when the others have laid 
 themselves down for the night," said Judith, rising. 
 
 The meeting now broke up, Hurry announcing his 
 resolution to leave them speedily. Instead of making his 
 
302 THE DEERSLAYER 
 
 adieus frankly, and in a generous spirit, the little he 
 thought it necessary to say was uttered sullenly and in 
 coldness. Resentment at what he considered Judith s ob 
 stinacy was blended with mortification at the career he had 
 run since reaching the lake ; and, as is usual with the 
 vulgar and narrow-minded, he was more disposed to 
 reproach others with his failures than to censure himself. 
 Judith gave him her hand, but it was quite as much in 
 gladness as with regret, while the two Delawares were not 
 sorry to find he was leaving them. Of the whole party, 
 Hetty alone betrayed any real feeling. Bashfulness kept 
 her aloof, so that Hurry entered the canoe, where Deer- 
 slayer was already waiting for him, before she ventured 
 near enough to be observed. Then, indeed, the girl came 
 into the ark, and approached its end just as the little bark 
 was turning from it. 
 
 " Good-by, Hurry," she called out in her sweet voice, 
 
 "good-by, dear Hurry. Take care of yourself in the 
 woods, and don t stop once till you reach the garrison. The 
 leaves on the trees are scarcely plentier than the Hurons 
 round the lake, and they d not treat a strong man like 
 you as kindly as they treat me." 
 
 Hurry received so little sympathy at his departure, that 
 the gentle tones of Hetty, as she thus called after him, 
 sounded soothingly. He checked the canoe, and with one 
 sweep of his powerful arm brought it back to the side of 
 the ark. This was more than Hetty, whose courage had 
 risen with the departure of her hero, expected, and she 
 now shrank timidly back at his unexpected return. 
 
 " You re a good gal, Hetty, and I can t quit you with 
 out shaking hands," said March, kindly. Judith, a ter 
 
THE FURLOUGH 303 
 
 all, is n t worth as much as you, though she may be a trifle 
 better looking. Well, if we ever meet again, Hetty, you d 
 find a fri nd in me, let your sister do what she may." 
 
 In another minute the two adventurers were a hundred 
 feet from the ark, and half a dozen had not elapsed before 
 they were completely lost to view. Hetty sighed deeply, 
 and rejoined her sister and Hist. 
 
 For some time Deerslayer and his companion paddled 
 ahead in silence. It had been determined to land Hurry 
 at the precise point where he is represented, in the com 
 mencement of our tale, as having embarked ; not only as 
 a place little likely to be watched by the Hurons, but 
 because he was sufficiently familiar with the signs of the 
 woods, at that spot, to thread his way through them in the 
 dark. Thither, then, the light craft proceeded, and in less 
 than a quarter of an hour was within the shadows of the 
 shore. 
 
 " You will do well to persuade the officers at the garri 
 son to lead out a party agin these vagabonds as soon as 
 you get in, Hurry," Deerslayer commenced ; " and you 11 
 do better if you volunteer to guide it up yourself. You 
 know the paths, and the shape of the lake, and the natur 
 of the land, and can do it better than a common, gin raliz- 
 ing scout. Strike at the Huron camp first, and follow 
 the signs that will then show themselves. A few looks at 
 the hut and the ark will satisfy you as to the state of the 
 Delaware and the women ; and, at any rate, there 11 be a 
 fine opportunity to fall on the Mingo trail, and to make 
 a mark on the memories of the blackguards that they 11 
 be apt to carry with em a long time. It won t be likely 
 to make much difference with me, since that matter will 
 

 304 THE DEERSLAYER 
 
 be determined afore to-morrow s sun has set ; but it may 
 make a great change in Judith and Hetty s hopes and 
 prospects ! " 
 
 "And as for yourself, Nathaniel," Hurry inquired with 
 more interest than he was accustomed to betray in the 
 welfare of others, " and as for yourself, what do you 
 think is likely to turn up ? " 
 
 " The Lord in his wisdom only can tell, Henry March ! 
 The clouds look black and threatening, and I keep my 
 mind in a state to meet the worst. Vengeful feelin s are 
 uppermost in the hearts of the Mingos, and any little 
 disapp intment about the plunder, or the prisoners, or 
 Hist, may make the torments sartain. The Lord, in his 
 wisdom, can only detarmine my fate, oryour n ! " 
 
 " This is a black business, and ought to be put a stop to," 
 answered Hurry. " I heartily wish old Hutter and I had 
 scalped every creatur in their camp, the night we first 
 landed with that capital object ! Had you not held back, 
 Deerslayer, it might have been done ; then you would n t 
 have found yourself, at the last moment, in the desperate 
 condition you mention." 
 
 T would have been better had you said you wished 
 you had never attempted to do what it little becomes any 
 white man s gifts to undertake ; in which case, not only 
 might we have kept from coming to blows, but Thomas 
 Hutter would now have been living, and the hearts of the 
 savages would be less given to vengeance." 
 
 This was so obvious to Hurry himself, at the moment, 
 that he dashed his paddle into the water, and began to urge 
 the canoe towards the shore, as if bent only on running 
 away from his own lively remorse. In a minute or two 
 
THE FURLOUGH 305 
 
 the bows of the boat grated lightly on the beach. To land, 
 shoulder his pack and rifle, and to get ready for his march, 
 occupied Hurry but an instant, and with a growling adieu, 
 he had already commenced his march, when a sudden 
 twinge of feeling brought him back to the other s side. 
 
 " You cannot mean to give yourself up agin to them 
 murdering savages, Deerslayer ! " he said, quite as much 
 in angry remonstrance as with generous feeling. " T would 
 be the act of a madman or a fool ! " 
 
 " There s them that thinks it madness to keep their 
 words, and there s them that don t, Hurry Harry. You 
 may be one of the first, but I m one of the last. No red 
 skin breathing shall have it in his power to say that a 
 Mingo minds his word more than a man of white blood 
 and white gifts , in anything that consarns me. I m out 
 on a furlough, and if I ve strength and reason, I 11 go 
 in on a furlough afore noon to-morrow ! " 
 
 "What s an Injin, or a word passed, or a furlough 
 taken from creatur s like them, that have neither souls 
 nor names ? 
 
 " If they ve got neither souls nor names, you and I have 
 both, Harry March, and one is accountable for the other. 
 This furlough is not, as you seem to think, a matter 
 altogether atween me and the Mingos, seeing it is a solemn 
 bargain made atween me and God. He who thinks that he 
 can say what he pleases, in his distress, and that t will all 
 pass for nothing, because tis uttered in the forest, and 
 into red-men s ears, knows little of his situation, and hopes, 
 and wants. The words are said to the ears of the Almighty. 
 The air is his breath, and the light of the sun is little more 
 than a glance of his eye. Farewell, Harry ; we may not 
 
306 THE DEERSLAYER 
 
 meet agin ; but I would never wish you to treat a furlough, 
 or any other solemn thing that your Christian God has 
 been called on to witness, as a duty so light that it may 
 be forgotten according to the wants of the body, or even 
 according to the cravings of the spirit." 
 
 March was now glad again to escape. Deerslayer stood 
 calmly on the shore, listening to the reckless tread with 
 which Hurry betrayed his progress through the bushes, 
 shook his head in dissatisfaction at the want of caution, 
 and then stepped quietly into his canoe. Before he 
 dropped the paddle again into the water, the young man 
 gazed about him at the scene presented by the starlit night. 
 This was the spot where not four days ago he had first 
 laid his eyes on the beautiful sheet of water on which he 
 floated. If it was then glorious in the bright light of sum 
 mer s noontide, it was now sad and melancholy under the 
 shadows of night. The mountains rose around it, like 
 black barriers to exclude the outer world ; and the gleams 
 of pale light that rested on the broader parts of the basin 
 were no bad symbols of the faintness of the hopes that 
 were so dimly visible in his own future. Sighing heavily, 
 he pushed the canoe from the land, and took his way back 
 with steady diligence towards the ark and the castle. 
 
 CHAPTER II 
 
 Judith was waiting the return of Deerslayer, on the 
 platform, with stifled impatience, when the latter reached 
 the ark. As soon as she got a glimpse of the canoe, she 
 ceased her hurried walk up and down the platform, and 
 stood ready to receive the young man, helping him to fasten 
 
THE FURLOUGH 307 
 
 the canoe. When this was done she led him into the cabin 
 of the ark, where a lamp was burning. All padlocks had 
 been removed from the chest, and it only remained for 
 Deerslayer to raise the heavy lid. This Judith desired him 
 to do, as she was going to make a search of the contents, 
 even to the bottom, in the hope of finding out more of the 
 history of Thomas Hutter and her mother. This was the 
 first intimation that Deerslayer had had that Hutter was 
 not her father, and he listened with close attention to the 
 account of the dying moments of the old man. 
 
 It was even as Judith suspected. When the articles that 
 had been previously examined had been laid aside, they 
 found a small trunk nearly filled with papers. The hawk 
 does not pounce upon the chicken with a more sudden 
 swoop than Judith sprang forward to seize this mine of 
 hitherto concealed knowledge, glancing over page after 
 page of letters until she had read one hundred or more. 
 At first it was evident to Deerslayer that the girl was much 
 gratified with the. letters, but as she went on, her counte 
 nance grew more and more sober, and at last she burst 
 into tears, although she still kept on reading until she 
 had reached the end. Then, leaning wearily back in her 
 seat, she desired her companion to finish the examination 
 of the other articles in the chest, as it might yet contain 
 something of importance. 
 
 "I 11 do it, Judith ; I 11 do it," returned the patient 
 Deerslayer ; " but if there s many more letters to read, 
 we shall see the sun agin afore you ve got through with 
 the reading of them ! Two good hours have you been 
 looking at them bits of papers ! " 
 
 " They tell me of my parents, Deerslayer, and have 
 
a 
 
 308 THE DEERSLAYER 
 
 settled my plans for life. A girl may be excused, who 
 reads about her own father and mother, and that too for 
 the first time in her life ! I am sorry to have kept you 
 waiting." 
 
 " Never mind me, gal ; never mind me. It matters 
 little whether I sleep or watch ; but though you be 
 pleasant to look at, and are so handsome, Judith, it is 
 not altogether agreeable to sit so long to behold you shed 
 ding tears. I know that tears don t kill, and that some 
 people are better for shedding a few now and then, espe 
 cially women ; but I d rather see you smile any time, 
 Judith, than see you weep." 
 
 This gallant speech was rewarded with a sweet, though 
 a melancholy, smile ; and then the girl again desired her 
 companion to finish the examination of the chest. The 
 search necessarily continued some time, during which 
 Judith collected her thoughts and related to her companion 
 a brief summary of the information, pitifully scant as it 
 was, which she had derived from the letters. All signatures 
 and names had been carefully cut out and erased, but aside 
 from this the girl had been able to gain a fairly connected 
 history of her mother s life. A young girl coming to 
 America, she had been loved and betrayed by an officer 
 from Europe, who had finally deserted her, leaving their 
 infant daughters, Judith and Hetty, with her. Of this 
 episode Judith could learn nothing more from the letters, 
 but the next bundle had proved to be the correspondence 
 between Thomas Hutter and her mother. What had 
 brought the two together she could not tell, but Hutter s 
 communications, coarse and illiterate though they were, 
 manifested a desire to obtain the hand of a woman of 
 
THE FURLOUGH 309 
 
 singular personal attractions, and whose great error he 
 was willing to overlook, for the advantage of possessing 
 one who was in every way his superior. 
 
 Nothing else was found among the papers that could 
 lead to a discovery of the name or place of residence of the 
 wife of Hutter ; but an old newspaper came to light among 
 the loose fragments, which contained a proclamation offer 
 ing a reward for the apprehension of certain freebooters, 
 by name, among which was that of Thomas Hovey. The 
 attention of the girl was drawn to the proclamation, and 
 to this particular name, by the circumstance that black 
 lines had been drawn under both in ink. This, and many 
 hints that had come to the girl s ears during his life-time, 
 convinced her that Thomas Hutter and Thomas Hovey 
 were the same, and that he had hidden himself in the 
 wilderness to avoid capture and conviction as a pirate. 
 Judith s recollection of her mother s manners, conversation, 
 and sufferings filled up many a gap in the historical facts 
 she had now discovered, and made her story more vivid 
 and sympathetic. 
 
 "And so," she concluded sadly, "I am Judith, and 
 Judith only, and know not what else to call myself. I had 
 a mother, it is true ; but of her name, even, I am ignorant ; 
 and as for my father, it is better, perhaps, that I should 
 never know who he was, lest I speak too bitterly of him ! " 
 
 "Judith," said Deerslayer, taking her hand kindly, and 
 with a manly sincerity that went directly to the girl s heart, 
 t is better to say no more to-night. Sleep on what you ve 
 seen and felt ; in the morning, things that now look gloomy 
 may look more cheerful. It is time to get a little rest, for 
 to-morrow is like to prove a trying day to all of us." 
 
310 THE DEERSLAYER 
 
 Deerslayer arose as he spoke, and Judith followed his 
 example. The chest was closed and secured, and they 
 parted in silence ; she to take her place by the side of 
 Hist and Hetty, and he to seek a blanket on the floor 
 of the cabin he was in. 
 
 CHAPTER III 
 
 Hist and Hetty arose with the return of light, leaving 
 Judith still buried in sleep. It took but a minute for the 
 first to complete her toilet. Her long coal-black hair was 
 soon adjusted in a simple knot, the calico dress belted tight 
 to her slender waist, and her little feet concealed in their 
 gaudily ornamented moccasins. When attired, she left her 
 companion employed in household affairs, and went herself 
 on the platform, to breathe the pure air of the morning. 
 Here she found Chingachgook studying the shores of the 
 lake, the mountains, and the heavens. 
 
 When the first greetings had been exchanged, the young 
 chief spoke. 
 
 " When the sun is thus," he said, pointing to the zenith, 
 " the great hunter of our tribe will go back to the Hurons 
 to be treated like a bear, that they roast and skin even on 
 full stomachs." 
 
 "The Great Spirit may soften their hearts, and not 
 suffer them to be so bloody-minded. I have lived among 
 the Hurons, and know them. They have hearts, and will 
 not forget their own children, should they fall into the 
 hands of the Delawares." 
 
 " A wolf is forever howling ; a hog will always eat. 
 They have lost warriors ; even their women will call out 
 for vengeance. The paleface has the eyes of an eagle, and 
 
THE FURLOUGH 311 
 
 can see into a Mingo s heart ; he looks for no mercy. 
 There is a cloud over his spirit, though it is not before 
 his face." 
 
 A long, thoughtful pause succeeded. 
 
 " What will the son of Uncas do ? " the girl at length 
 timidly asked. " He is a chief, and is already celebrated 
 in council, though so young ; what does his heart tell 
 him is wisest ? does the head, too, speak the same words 
 as the heart ? " 
 
 " What does Wah-ta-Wah say, at a moment when my 
 dearest friend is in danger ? The smallest birds sing the 
 sweetest ; it is always pleasant to hearken to their songs. 
 I wish I could hear the Wren of the Woods in my diffi 
 culty ; its note would reach deeper than the ear." 
 
 " Wah-ta-Wah says that neither she nor the Great Ser 
 pent could ever laugh again, or ever sleep without dream 
 ing of the Hurons, should the Deerslayer die under a 
 Mingo tomahawk, and they do nothing to save him. She 
 would rather go back, and start on her long path alone, 
 than let such a dark cloud pass before her happiness." 
 
 " Good ! The husband and the wife will have but one 
 heart ; they will see with the same eyes, and feel with the 
 same feelings." 
 
 Just at this instant Deerslayer came out of the cabin of 
 the ark, and stepped upon the platform. His first look was 
 at the cloudless heavens, then his rapid glance took in the 
 entire panorama of land and water, when he had leisure for 
 a friendly nod at his friends, and a cheerful smile for Hist. 
 
 "Well," he said, in his usual composed manner, and 
 pleasant voice ; "he that sees the sun set in the west, and 
 wakes arly enough in the morning, will be sartain to find 
 
312 THE DEERSLAYER 
 
 him coming back agin in the east, like a buck that is 
 hunted round his ha nts." 
 
 "Aye," said Chingachgook, "but when the sun is in 
 the top of that pine to-morrow where will my brother 
 Deerslayer be ? " 
 
 The hunter started, and looked intently at his friend. 
 Then he signed for him to follow, and led the way into 
 the ark. 
 
 Twas a little onreasonable in you, Sarpent," he said, 
 " to bring up such a subject afore Hist, for you know the 
 question is easier put than answered. No mortal can say 
 where he will be when the sun rises to-morrow. I will ask 
 you the same question, Sarpent, and should like to hear 
 what answer you can give." 
 
 " Chingachgook will be with his friend, Deerslayer; if 
 he be in the land of spirits, the Great Serpent will crawl 
 at his side ; if beneath yonder sun, its warmth and light 
 shall fall on both." 
 
 " I understand you, Delaware," returned the other, 
 touched with the simple self-devotion of his friend. " Such 
 language is as plain in one tongue as in another ; it comes 
 from the heart, and goes to the heart, too. T is well to 
 think so, and it may be well to say so, for that matter, but 
 it would not be well to do so, Sarpent. You are no longer 
 alone in life ; for, though you have the lodges to change, 
 and other ceremonies to go through, afore Hist becomes 
 your lawful wife, yet are you as good as married, in all that 
 bears on the feelin s, and joy, and misery. No, no Hist 
 must not be desarted, because a cloud is passing atween 
 you and me, a little onexpectedly, and a little darker than 
 we may have looked for." 
 
THE FURLOUGH 313 
 
 " Hist is a daughter of the Mohicans ; she knows how 
 to obey her husband. Where he goes she will follow. Both 
 will be with the Great Hunter of the Delawares, when the 
 sun shall be in the pine to-morrow." 
 
 " The Lord bless and protect you ! Chief, this is down 
 right madness. Can either or both of you alter a Mingo 
 natur ? Will your grand looks, or Hist s tears and beauty, 
 change a wolf into a squirrel, or make a catamount as 
 innocent as a faan ? No, Sarpent, you will think better of 
 this matter, and leave me in the hands of God. A ter 
 all, it s by no means sartain that the scamps design the 
 torments. No one knows to a sartainty what will happen ; 
 and young creatur s, like Hist, are n t to be risked on un- 
 sartainties. Now, if you was single, or as good as single, 
 Delaware, I should expect you to be actyve and stirring 
 about the camp of the vagabonds, from sunrise to sunset, 
 sarcumventing, and contriving, as restless as a hound off 
 the scent, and doing all manner of things to help me, and 
 to distract the inimy ; but two are often feebler than one, 
 and we must take things as they are, and not as we want 
 em to be." 
 
 " Listen, Deerslayer," returned the Indian, with an 
 emphasis so decided as to show how much he was in 
 earnest. " If Chingachgook was in the hands of the 
 Hurons, what would my paleface brother do ? Sneak off 
 to the Delaware villages, and say to the chiefs, and old 
 men, and young warriors, See ! here is Wah-ta-Wah ; 
 she is safe, but a little tired ; and here is the Son of Uncas, 
 not as tired as the Honeysuckle, being stronger, but just 
 as safe. Would he do this ? " 
 
 "Well, that s oncommon ingen ous it s cunning 
 
314 THE DEERSLAYER 
 
 enough for a Mingo himself. The Lord only knows what 
 put it into your head to ask such a question. What would 
 I do ? Why, in the first place, Hist would n t be likely to 
 be in my company at all, for she would stay as near you as 
 possible, and therefore all that part about her could n t be 
 said without talking nonsense. As for her being tired, that 
 .would fall through too, if she didn t go, and no part of 
 your speech would be likely to come from me : so, you 
 see, Sarpent, reason is agin you, and you may as well give 
 it up, since to hold out agin reason is no way becoming a 
 chief of your character and repitation." 
 
 " My brother is not himself ; he forgets that he is talk 
 ing to one who has sat at the council-fires of his nation," 
 returned the other, kindly. "When men speak, they 
 should say that which does not go in at one side of the 
 head, and out at the other. Their words should n t be 
 feathers, so light that a wind, which does not ruffle the 
 water, can blow them away. He has not answered my 
 question ; when a chief puts a question, his friend should 
 not talk of other things." 
 
 " I understand you, Delaware, I understand well 
 enough what you mean, and truth won t allow me to say 
 otherwise. Still, it s not as easy to answer as you seem to 
 think, for this plain reason. You wish me to say what I 
 would do if I had a betrothed, as you have, here on the 
 lake, and a fri nd yonder in the Huron camp, in danger 
 of the torments. That s it, is n t it ? " 
 
 The Indian bowed his head silently, and always with 
 unmoved gravity, though his eye twinkled at the sight of 
 the other s embarrassment. 
 
 11 Well, I never had a betrothed ; never had the kind of 
 
THE FURLOUGH 315 
 
 feelin s towards any young woman that you have towards 
 Hist ; though the Lord knows my feelin s kind enough 
 towards em all ! Still, my heart, as they call it, in such 
 matters is n t touched, and therefore I can t say what I 
 would do. A fri nd pulls strong, that I know by exper ence, 
 Sarpent ; but, by all that I ve seen and heard consarning 
 love, I m led to think that a betrothed pulls stronger." 
 
 " True ; but the betrothed of Chingachgook does not 
 pull towards the lodges of the Delawares ; she pulls 
 towards the camp of the Hurons." 
 
 " She s a noble gal, for all her little feet and hands that 
 ain t bigger than a child s, and a voice that s as pleasant 
 as a mocker s ; she s a noble gal, and like the stock of 
 her sires ! Well, attempt nothing heedlessly, Sarpent. I 
 suppose you must and will have your way ; and, on the 
 whole, it s right you should ; for you d neither be happy 
 unless something was undertaken. But attempt nothing 
 heedlessly. I did n t expect you d quit the lake while my 
 matter remained in unsartainty ; but remember, Sarpent, 
 that no torments that Mingo ingenuity can invent, no 
 ta ntings and revilings, no burnings and roastings and nail- 
 tearings, nor any other onhuman contrivance, can so soon 
 break down my spirit, as to find that you and Hist have 
 fallen into the power of the inimy, in striving to do some 
 thing for my good." 
 
 " The Delawares are prudent. The Deerslayer will not 
 find them running into a strange camp with their eyes 
 shut." 
 
 Here the dialogue terminated. Hetty announced that the 
 breakfast was ready, and the whole party were soon seated 
 around the simple board. Judith was the last to take her 
 
316 THE DEERSLAYER 
 
 seat, pale, silent, and betraying in her countenance that 
 she had passed a painful if not a sleepless night. At this 
 meal scarce a syllable was exchanged, all the females 
 manifesting want of appetite, though the two men were 
 unchanged in this particular. It was early when the party 
 arose, and there still remained several hours before it 
 would be necessary for the prisoner to leave his friends. 
 
 Deerslayer himself, so far as human eyes could pene 
 trate, was wholly unmoved, conversing cheerfully and natu 
 rally, though he avoided any direct allusion to the expected 
 and great event of the day. His first act on leaving the 
 table was to ask Judith to step into the ark with him. 
 When both had entered the cabin, the young man brought 
 Killdeer, the rifle she had given him, out of a corner, and 
 after turning the piece round and round and examining it 
 affectionately, he proceeded to the subject fgr which he 
 had sought this interview. 
 
 " I understand you, Judith, to say that you gave me this 
 rifle," he said. " I agreed to take it because a young 
 woman can have no particular use for firearms. The 
 we pon has a great name, and it desarves it, and ought of 
 right to be carried by some known and sure hand, for the 
 best reputation may be lost by careless and thoughtless 
 handling." 
 
 " Can it be in better hands than those in which it is 
 now, Deerslayer ? Thomas Hutter seldom missed with it ; 
 with you it must turn out to be " 
 ^" Sartain death ! " interrupted the hunter, laughing. 
 " I once know d a beaver man that had a piece he called 
 by that very name, but twas all boastfulness, for I ve 
 seen Delawares that were as true with arrows at a short 
 
THE FURLOUGH 317 
 
 range. Hows ever, I 11 not deny my gifts for this is a 
 gift, Judith, and not natur but I 11 not deny my gifts, 
 and therefore allow that the rifle could n t well be in better 
 hands than it is at present. But how long will it be likely 
 to remain there ? Atween us the truth may be said, though 
 I should n t like to have it known to the Sarpent and Hist ; 
 but to you the truth may be spoken, since your feelin s 
 will not be as likely to be tormented by it. as those of them 
 that have known me longer and better. How long am I like 
 to own this rifle or any other ? That is a serious question 
 for our thoughts to rest on, and should that happen which is 
 so likely to happen, Killdeer would be without an owner." 
 
 Appreciating the singular character of her companion, 
 Judith listened and responded with apparent composure ; 
 though, had not his attention been drawn exclusively to 
 the rifle, Deerslayer could scarce have failed to notice the 
 effort she was making for self-command. 
 
 " What would you have me do with the weapon," she 
 asked, " should that which you seem to expect take 
 place ? " 
 
 " That s just what I wanted to speak to you about, 
 Judith that s just it. There s Chingachgook, now, 
 though far from being parf ect sartainty with a rifle for 
 few redskins ever get to be that though far from being 
 parfect sartainty, he is respectable, and is coming on. 
 Nevertheless, he is my fri nd ; and all the better fri nd, 
 perhaps, because there never can be any hard feelin s 
 atween us, touchin our gifts ; his n bein red, and mine 
 bein altogether white. Now, I should like to leave Kill- 
 deer to the Sarpent, should anything happen to keep me 
 from doing credit and honor to your precious gift, Judith." 
 
318 THE DEERSLAYER 
 
 "Leave it to whom you please, Deerslayer ; the rifle 
 is your own, to do with as you please; Chingachgook shall 
 have it, should you never return to claim it, if that be 
 your wish." 
 
 " Has Hetty been consulted in this matter ? Property 
 goes from the parent to the children, and not to one child 
 in partic lar." 
 
 The girl made no answer ; but, placing herself at a 
 window, she summoned her sister to her side. When the 
 question was put to Hetty, her simple-minded and affec 
 tionate nature cheerfully assented to the proposal to confer 
 on Deerslayer a full right of ownership to the much-cov 
 eted rifle. The latter now seemed perfectly happy, ex 
 amining and reexamining his prize. Returning to the 
 platform, he took the Delaware aside and informed him 
 that this celebrated piece was to become his property, in 
 the event of anything serious befalling himself. 
 
 " This is a new reason why you should be wary, Sar- 
 pent, and not run into any oncalculated danger," the hunter 
 added, " for it will be victory of itself, to a tribe, to own 
 such a piece as this ! The Mingos will turn green with 
 envy ; and, what is more, they will not ventur heedlessly 
 near a village where it is known to be kept. So look well 
 to it, Delaware, and remember that you ve now to watch 
 over a thing that has all the valie of a creatur , without its 
 failin s. Hist may be and should be precious to you, but 
 Killdeer will have the love and veneration of your whole 
 people." 
 
 The hours passed all too quickly for the party in the ark, 
 and soon the sun had ascended so high in the heavens that 
 Deerslayer began to prepare for his departure. Tenderly 
 
THE FURLOUGH 319 
 
 and calmly he spoke a few farewell words to each of the 
 group, the others withdrawing in order that the conver 
 sation might be held unheard ; but at last the canoe was 
 ready, and the time had come to set forth. Judith had 
 insisted that the hunter allow Hetty to accompany him to 
 the camp, arguing that her presence could do no harm 
 and might do great good to Deerslayer, while the girl 
 herself was perfectly safe from any danger. 
 
 " The best fri nds must often part," Deerslayer began, 
 when he and Hetty were in the canoe, and the whole party 
 was grouped around him, - "Yes, fri ndship can t alter 
 the ways of Providence ; and let our feelin s be as they 
 may, we must part. God bless you, Judith, and you, Hist ! 
 Sarpent God bless you ! " cried the hunter, as the canoe 
 left the side of the platform. " Your Manitou and my 
 God only knows when and where we shall meet agin ; I 
 shall count it a great blessing, and a full reward for 
 any little good I may have done on arth, if we shall be 
 permitted to know each other, and to consort together, 
 hereafter, as we have so long done in these pleasant 
 woods afore us ! " 
 
 The canoe now glided ahead, holding its way towards 
 the point where Deerslayer well knew that his enemies 
 expected him, and where he now began to be afraid he 
 might not arrive in season to redeem his plighted faith. 
 Hetty perceiving his impatience, without very clearly com 
 prehending its cause, however, seconded his efforts in a 
 way that soon rendered their timely return no longer a 
 matter of doubt. Even then the sun wanted but two or 
 three minutes of the zenith when Deerslayer landed on 
 the point where the Hurons were encamped. 
 
320 THE DEERSLAYER 
 
 If it was a point of honor with the Indian warrior to 
 redeem his word, when pledged to return and meet his 
 death at a given hour, so was it a point of characteristic 
 pride to show no womanish impatience, but to reappear as 
 nearly as possible at the appointed moment. The Hurons 
 had been divided in their opinions concerning the proba 
 bility of their captive s return. Most among them, indeed, 
 had not expected it possible for a paleface to come back 
 voluntarily, and meet the known penalties of an Indian 
 torture ; but a few of the seniors expected better things 
 from one who had already shown himself so singularly 
 cool, brave, and upright. With a view to render the tri 
 umph as signal as possible, in the event of the hour s pass 
 ing without the reappearance of the hunter, all the warriors 
 and scouts of the party had been called in ; and the whole 
 band, men, women, and children, was now assembled at 
 this single point, to be a witness of the expected scene. 
 
 When the young man put his foot on the point and 
 advanced with a steady tread towards the group of chiefs 
 that was seated in grave array on a fallen tree, the oldest 
 of their number cast his eye upward at an opening in the 
 trees, and pointed out to his companions the startling 
 fact that the sun was just entering a space that was known 
 to mark the zenith. A common, but low, exclamation of 
 surprise escaped every mouth, and the grim warriors 
 looked at each other ; some with astonishment, and all 
 with admiration. The paleface had kept his word, and 
 Deerslayer s furlough was over. 
 
PART VI. THE DELIVERANCE 
 
 CHAPTER I 
 
 It was an imposing scene into which Deerslayer now 
 found himself advancing. All the older warriors were 
 seated on the trunk of the fallen tree, waiting his approach 
 with grave decorum. On the right stood the young men, 
 armed, while the left was occupied by the women and 
 children. In the centre was an open space of considerable 
 extent, always canopied by leaves, but from which the un 
 derbrush, dead wood, and other obstacles had been care 
 fully removed. The more open area had probably been 
 much used by former parties, for this was the place where 
 the appearance of a sward was the most decided. The 
 arches of the woods, even at high noon, cast their sombre 
 shadows on the spot, which the brilliant rays of the sun 
 that struggled through the leaves contributed to light. 
 
 As was not unusual among the Indians, two chiefs shared 
 the principal authority over the tribe, Rivenoak, the senior, 
 whom the reader has already met, taking the leadership 
 in council on account of his eloquence, wisdom, and. pru 
 dence, and the Panther, as his rival was called, being dis 
 tinguished for his courage and ferocity and cunning on 
 the warpath. The two sat side by side, awaiting the ap 
 proach of their prisoner, as Deerslayer put his moccasined 
 foot on the strand ; nor did either move or utter a syllable 
 
 321 
 
322 THE DEERSLAYER 
 
 until the young man had advanced into the centre of the 
 area, and proclaimed his presence with his voice. 
 
 " Here I am, Mingos," he said, in the dialect of the 
 Delawares, a language that most present understood ; 
 " here I am, and there is the sun. One is not more true 
 to the laws of natur than the other has proved true to his 
 word. I am your prisoner ; do with me what you please. 
 My business with man and arth is settled ; nothing re 
 mains now but to meet the white man s God, accordin 
 to a white man s duties and gifts." 
 
 A murmur of approbation escaped even the women at 
 this address, and, for an instant, there was a strong and 
 pretty general desire to adopt into the tribe one who owned 
 so brave a spirit. Still there were dissenters from this 
 wish, among the principal of whom might be classed the 
 Panther, and his sister, Le Sumach, the widow of Le 
 Loup Cervier, who had fallen by the hand of the captive. 
 Not so with Rivenoak. This chief arose, stretched his 
 arm before him, in a gesture of courtesy, and paid his 
 compliments with an ease and dignity that a prince might 
 have envied. 
 
 11 Paleface, you are honest," said the Huron orator. 
 " My people are happy in having captured a man, and not 
 a skulking fox. We now know you ; we shall treat you 
 like a brave. If you have slain one of our warriors, and 
 helped to kill others, you have a life of your own ready to 
 give away in return. Some of my young men thought 
 that the blood of a paleface was too thin ; that it would 
 refuse to run under the Huron knife. You will show them 
 it is not so ; your heart is stout as well as your body. It 
 is a pleasure to make such a prisoner ; should my warriors 
 
THE DELIVERANCE 323 
 
 say that the death of Le Loup Cervier ought not to be 
 forgotten, and that he cannot travel towards the land of 
 spirits alone, that his enemy must be sent to overtake 
 him, they will remember that he fell by the hand of a 
 brave, and send you after him with such signs of our 
 friendship as shall not make him ashamed to keep your 
 company. I have spoken ; you know what I have said." 
 
 " True enough, Mingo, all true as the gospel," returned 
 the simple-minded hunter; "you have spoken, and I do 
 know not only what you have said, but, what is still more 
 important, what you mean. I dare say your warrior, the 
 Lynx, was a stout-hearted brave, and worthy of your fri nd- 
 ship and respect, but I do not feel unworthy to keep his 
 company without any passport from your hands. But 
 words are useless, and lead to braggin feelin s ; here I 
 am ; act your will on me." 
 
 Rivenoak made a sign of acquiescence, and then a short 
 conference was privately held among the chiefs. As soon 
 as the latter ended, three or four young men fell back 
 from among the armed group, and disappeared. Then it 
 was signified to the prisoner that he was at liberty to go 
 at large on the point, until a council was held concerning 
 his fate. There was more of seeming, than of real confi 
 dence, however, in this apparent- liberality, inasmuch as 
 the young men mentioned already formed a line of senti 
 nels across the breadth of the point, inland, and escape 
 from any other part was out of the question. Even the 
 canoe was removed beyond this line of sentinels, to a spot 
 where it was considered safe from any sudden attempt. 
 As Deerslayer walked about, he examined all possibilities 
 of escape or concealment, but no opening presented itself. 
 
324 THE DEERSLAYER 
 
 In the meantime the business of the camp appeared to 
 proceed in its regular train. The chiefs consulted apart, 
 admitting no one but the Sumach to their councils ; for 
 she, the widow of the fallen warrior, had an exclusive 
 right to be heard on such an occasion. The young men 
 strolled about in indolent listlessness, awaiting the result, 
 while the females prepared the feast that was to celebrate 
 the termination of the affair, whether it proved fortunate 
 or otherwise for our hero. No one betrayed feeling and 
 an indifferent observer, beyond the extreme watchfulness 
 of the sentinels, would have detected no extraordinary 
 movement or sensation to denote the real state of things. 
 In this manner an hour glided away. 
 
 Suspense is, perhaps, the feeling, of all others, that is 
 most difficult to be supported. When Deerslayer landed, 
 he fully expected in the course of a few minutes to under 
 go the tortures of an Indian revenge, and he was prepared 
 to meet his fate manfully ; but the delay proved far more 
 trying than the nearer approach of suffering, and the in 
 tended victim began seriously to meditate some desperate 
 effort at escape, as it might be from sheer anxiety to ter 
 minate the scene, when he was suddenly summoned to 
 appear once more in front of his judges, who had already 
 arranged the band in its former order, in readiness to 
 receive him. 
 
 " Killer of the Deer," commenced Rivenoak, as soon 
 as his captive stood before him, " my aged men have lis 
 tened to wise words ; they are ready to speak. You are a 
 man whose fathers came from beyond the rising sun ; we 
 are children of the setting sun ; we turn our faces towards 
 the Great Sweet Lakes when we look towards our villages. 
 
THE DELIVERANCE 325 
 
 It may be a wise country and full of riches towards the 
 morning, but it is very pleasant towards the evening. We 
 love most to look in that direction. When we gaze at the 
 east we feel afraid, canoe after canoe bringing more and 
 more of your people in the track of the sun, as if their 
 land was so full as to run over. The red-men are few 
 already ; they have need of help. One of our best lodges 
 has lately been emptied by the death of its master ; it will 
 be a long time before his son can grow big enough to sit 
 in his place. There is his widow ! she will want venison 
 to feed her and her children, for her sons are yet like the 
 young of the robin before they quit the nest. By your 
 hand has this great calamity befallen her. She has two 
 duties ; one to Le Loup Cervier, and one to his children. 
 Scalp for scalp, life for life, blood for blood, is one law ; 
 to feed her young another. We know you, Killer of the 
 Deer. You are honest ; when you say a thing it is so. 
 You have but one tongue, and that is not forked like a 
 snake s. Your head is never hid in the grass ; all can see 
 it. What you say, that will you do. You are just. When 
 you have done wrong, it is your wish to do right again as 
 soon as you can. Here is the Sumach ; she is alone in 
 her wigwam, with children crying around her for food ; 
 yonder is a rifle, it is loaded and ready to be fired. Take 
 the gun ; go forth and shoot a deer ; bring the venison 
 and lay it before the widow of Le Loup Cervier, feed 
 her children ; call yourself her husband. After which, 
 your heart will no longer be Delaware, but Huron ; Le 
 Sumach s ears will not hear the cries of her children ; 
 my people will count the proper number of warriors." 
 11 I feared this, Rivenoak," answered Deerslayer, when 
 
326 THE DEERSLAYER 
 
 the other had ceased speaking; "yes, I did dread that it 
 would come to this. Hows ever, the truth is soon told, 
 and that will put an end to all expectations on this head. 
 Mingo, I m white, and Christian-born. I may never 
 marry ; but should such a thing come to pass, none but a 
 woman of my own color and gifts shall darken the door 
 of my wigwam. As for feeding the young of your dead 
 warrior, I would do that cheerfully,- could it be done with 
 out discredit ; but it cannot, seeing that I can never live 
 in a Huron village. Your own young men must find the 
 Sumach in venison, and the next time she marries, let her 
 take a husband whose legs are not long enough to over 
 run territory that don t belong to him. We fou t a fair 
 battle, and he fell, in this there is nothin but what a 
 brave expects, and should be ready to meet. As for get 
 ting a Mingo heart, as well might you expect to see gray 
 hairs on a boy, or the blackberry growing on the pine. 
 No, no, Huron ; my gifts are white, so far as wives are 
 consarned ; it is Delaware in all things touchin Injins." 
 
 These words were scarcely out of the mouth of Deer- 
 slayer before a common murmur betrayed the dissatisfac 
 tion with which they had been heard. The aged women, 
 in particular, were loud in their expressions of disgust; 
 and the Sumach herself, an ugly middle-aged woman old 
 enough to be our hero s mother, was not the least pacific 
 in her denunciations. But all the other manifestations of 
 disappointment and discontent were thrown into the back 
 ground by the fierce resentment of the Panther. This 
 grim chief had thought it a degradation to permit his sis 
 ter to become the wife of a paleface of the Yengeese at all, 
 and had only given a reluctant consent to the arrangement 
 
THE DELIVERANCE 327 
 
 at the earnest solicitations of the bereaved widow ; and 
 it goaded him to the quick to find his condescension 
 slighted, the honor he with so much regret had been per 
 suaded to accord, contemned. The animal from which he 
 got his name does not glare on his intended prey with 
 more frightful ferocity than his eyes gleamed on the 
 captive. 
 
 " Dog of the palefaces ! " he exclaimed, " go yell among~ 
 the curs of your own evil hunting-grounds ! " 
 
 Even while speaking his arm was lifted and the toma 
 hawk hurled. Luckily the loud tones of the speaker had 
 drawn the eye of Deerslayer towards him. So great was 
 the dexterity with which this dangerous weapon was 
 thrown, and so deadly the intent, that it would have riven 
 the skull of the prisoner, had he not stretched forth an 
 arm and caught the handle in one of its turns, with a read 
 iness quite as remarkable as the skill with which the mis 
 sile had been hurled. The projectile force was so great, 
 notwithstanding, that when Deerslayer s arm was arrested 
 his hand was raised above and behind his own head, and 
 in the very attitude necessary to return the attack. Throw 
 ing prudence and forbearance to the winds, he cast all his 
 energy into the effort of his arm, and threw back the 
 weapon at his assailant. The unexpectedness of this blow 
 contributed to its success the Panther neither raising an 
 arm nor bending his head to avoid it. The keen little axe 
 struck the victim in a perpendicular line with the nose, 
 directly between the eyes, and he fell his length into the 
 open arena, quivering in death. A common rush to his 
 relief left the captive, for a single instant, quite .without 
 the crowd ; and, willing to make one desperate effort for 
 
328 THE DEERSLAYER 
 
 life, he bounded off with the activity of a deer. There 
 was but a breathless instant, when the whole band, old and 
 young, women and children, abandoning the lifeless body 
 of the Panther where it lay, raised the yell of alarm, and 
 followed in pursuit. 
 
 Sudden as had been the event which induced Deer- 
 slayer to make this desperate trial of speed, his mind was 
 not wholly unprepared for the fearful emergency. In the 
 course of the past hour, he had pondered well on the 
 chances of such an experiment, and had shrewdly calcu 
 lated all the details of success and failure. At the first leap, 
 therefore, he held his way in the direction he had decided 
 upon as best to avoid the sentinels. This was straight into 
 the water, in which he ran for some forty or fifty yards along 
 the edge, where it was barely knee-deep. Then as soon as 
 a favorable spot presented, he darted through the bushes 
 that fringed the shore and into the open woods. 
 
 Several rifles were discharged at Deerslayer while in 
 the water, and more followed as he came out into the 
 comparative exposure of the clear forest. But the direc 
 tion of his line of flight, which partially crossed that of 
 the fire, the haste with which the weapons had been aimed, 
 and the general confusion that prevailed in the camp, 
 prevented any harm from being done. Bullets whistled 
 past him, and many cut twigs from the branches at his 
 side, but not one touched even his dress. The delay caused 
 by these fruitless attempts was of great service to the fugi 
 tive, who had gained more than a hundred yards on even 
 the leading men of the Hurons, ere something like concert 
 and order had entered into the chase. Deerslayer held 
 his way steadily up the hill behind the point, although he 
 
THE DELIVERANCE 329 
 
 had to slacken his speed as he ascended, in order to 
 recover breath. The Hurons were whooping and leaping 
 behind him ; but this he disregarded, well knowing they 
 must overcome the difficulties he had surmounted ere they 
 could reach the elevation to which he had attained. The 
 summit of the first hill was now quite near him, and he 
 saw, by the formation of the land, that a deep glen inter 
 vened before the base of a second hill could be reached. 
 Walking deliberately to the summit, he glanced eagerly 
 about him, in every direction, in quest of a cover. None 
 offered in the ground but a fallen tfee lay near him, 
 and desperate circumstances required desperate remedies. 
 This tree lay in a line parallel to the glen, at the brow of 
 the hill ; to leap on it, and then to force his person 
 as close as possible under its lower side, took but a mo 
 ment. Previously to disappearing from his pursuers, how 
 ever, Deerslayer stood on the height, and gave a cry of 
 triumph, as if exulting at the sight of the descent that lay 
 before him. In the next instant he was stretched beneath 
 the tree. 
 
 No sooner was this expedient ado pted than the young 
 man ascertained how desperate had been his own efforts 
 by the violence of the pulsation in his frame. He could 
 hear his heart beat, and his breathing was like the action 
 of a bellows in quick motion. The footsteps of those who 
 toiled up the opposite side of the acclivity were now audi 
 ble, and presently voices and treads announced the arrival 
 of the pursuers. The foremost shouted as they reached 
 the height ; then, fearful that their enemy would es 
 cape under favor of the descent, each leaped upon the 
 fallen tree, and plunged into the ravine, trusting to get a 
 
330 THE DEERSLAYER 
 
 sight of the pursued ere he reached the bottom. In this 
 manner Huron followed Huron, until Natty began to hope 
 the whole had passed. Others succeeded, however, until 
 quite forty had leaped over the tree ; and then he counted 
 them, as the surest mode of ascertaining how many could 
 be behind. Presently all were in the bottom of the glen, 
 quite a hundred feet below him, and some had even as 
 cended part of the opposite hill, when it became evident 
 an inquiry was making, as to the direction he had taken. 
 This was the critical moment ; and one of nerves less 
 steady, or of a training that had been neglected, would 
 have seized it to rise and fly. Not so with Deerslayer. 
 He still lay quiet, watching with jealous vigilance every 
 movement below, and fast regaining his breath. 
 
 The Hurons now resembled a pack of hounds at fault. 
 Little was said, but each man ran about, examining the 
 dead leaves as the hound hunts for the lost scent. The 
 great number of moccasins that had passed made the 
 examination difficult, though the in-toe of an Indian was 
 easily to be distinguished from the freer and wider step 
 of a white man. Believing that no more pursuers re 
 mained behind, and hoping to steal away unseen, Deer- 
 slayer suddenly threw himself over the tree, and fell on 
 the upper side. This achievement appeared to be effected 
 successfully, and hope beat high in the bosom of the 
 fugitive. Rising to his hands and feet, after a moment 
 lost in listening to the sounds in the glen in order to 
 ascertain if he had been seen, the young man next scram 
 bled to the top of the hill, a distance of only ten yards, 
 in the expectation of getting its brow between him and 
 his pursuers, and himself so far under cover. Even this 
 
THE DELIVERANCE 331 
 
 was effected, and he rose to his feet, walking swiftly but 
 steadily along the summit, in a direction opposite to that 
 in which he had first fled. The nature of the calls in 
 the glen, however, soon made him uneasy, and he sprang 
 upon the summit, again, in order to reconnoitre. No 
 sooner did he reach the height than he was seen, and 
 the chase renewed. As it was better footing on the level 
 ground, Deerslayer now avoided the side-hill, holding his 
 flight along the ridge ; while the Hurons, judging from 
 the general formation of the land, saw that the ridge would 
 soon melt into the hollow, and kept to the latter as the 
 easiest mode of heading the fugitive. 
 
 When Deerslayer found that he was descending towards 
 the glen, by the melting away of the ridge, he turned 
 short, at right angles to his previous course, and went 
 down the declivity with tremendous velocity, holding his 
 way towards the shore. Some of his pursuers came pant 
 ing up the hill, in direct chase, while most still kept on, 
 in the ravine, intending to head him at its termination. 
 Deerslayer had now a different, though a desperate, proj 
 ect in view. Abandoning all thoughts of escape by the 
 woods, he made the best of his way towards the canoe. He 
 knew where it lay ; could it be reached, he had only to run 
 the gauntlet of a few rifles, and success would be certain. 
 
 As Deerslayer approached the point, several women 
 and children were passed, but, though the former endeav 
 ored to cast dried branches between his legs, the terror 
 inspired by his bold retaliation on the redoubted Panther 
 was so great that none dared come near enough seriously 
 to molest him. He went by all triumphantly, and reached 
 the fringe of bushes. Plunging through these, our hero 
 
332 THE DEERSLAYER 
 
 found himself once more in the lake and within fifty feet 
 of the canoe. Here he ceased to run, for he well under 
 stood that his breath was now all-important to him. He 
 even stooped, as he advanced, and cooled his parched 
 mouth, by scooping up water in his hand to drink. Still 
 the moments pressed, and he soon stood at the side of the 
 canoe. The first glance told him that the paddles had been 
 removed ! This was a sore disappointment after all his 
 efforts, and, for a single moment, he thought of turning and 
 of facing his foes by walking with dignity into the centre 
 of the camp again. But an infernal yell proclaimed the 
 quick approach of the nearest of his pursuers, and the in 
 stinct of life triumphed. Preparing himself duly, and giv 
 ing a right direction to its bows, he ran off into the water 
 bearing the canoe before him, threw all his strength and 
 skill into a last effort, and cast himself forward so as to fall 
 into the bottom of the light craft, without materially im 
 peding its way. Here he remained on his back, both to 
 regain his breath and to cover his person from the deadly 
 rifle. The lightness, which was such an advantage in pad 
 dling the canoe, now operated unfavorably. The material 
 was so like a feather that the boat had no momentum ; 
 else would the impulse in that smooth and placid sheet 
 have impelled it to a distance from the shore that would 
 have rendered paddling with the hands safe. Could such 
 a point once be reached, Deerslayer thought he might 
 get far enough out to attract the attention of Chingach- 
 gook and Judith, who would not fail to come to his relief 
 with other canoes, a circumstance that promised every 
 thing. As the young man lay in the bottom of the canoe 
 he watched its movements, by studying the tops of the 
 
THE DELIVERANCE 333 
 
 trees on the mountain-side, and judged of his distance by 
 the time and the motion. Voices on the shore were now 
 numerous, and he heard something said about manning 
 the raft, which fortunately for the fugitive lay at a con 
 siderable distance on the other side of the point. 
 
 Perhaps the situation of Deerslayer had not been more 
 critical that day than it was at this moment. It certainly 
 had not been one half as tantalizing. He lay perfectly 
 quiet for two or three minutes, trusting to the single sense 
 of hearing, confident that the noise on the lake would 
 reach his ears did any one venture to approach by swim 
 ming. Once or twice he fancied that the element was 
 stirred by the cautious movement of an arm, and then he 
 perceived it was the wash of the water on the pebbles of 
 the strand. Suddenly all the voices ceased, and a death 
 like stillness pervaded the spot. By this time the canoe 
 had drifted so far as to render nothing visible to Deer- 
 slayer, as he lay on his back, except the blue void of space, 
 and a few of those brighter rays that proceed from the 
 effulgence of the sun, marking his proximity. It was not 
 possible to endure this uncertainty long. The young man 
 well knew that the profound stillness foreboded evil, the 
 savages never being so silent as when about to strike a 
 blow resembling the stealthy foot of the panther ere he 
 takes his leap. He took out a knife, and was about to cut 
 a hole through the bark in order to get a view of the shore, 
 when he paused from a dread of being seen in the opera 
 tion, which would direct the enemy where to aim their 
 bullets. At this instant a rifle was fired, and the ball 
 pierced both sides of the canoe within eighteen inches 
 of the spot where his head lay. 
 
334 THE DEERSLAYER 
 
 Deerslayer now felt the urgent necessity of resorting to 
 some expedient to get further from his foes, and if possible 
 to apprise his friends of his situation. Before quitting the 
 shore, and as soon as he perceived that the paddles were 
 gone, Deerslayer had thrown a bit of dead branch into the 
 canoe, and this was within reach of his arm. With this he 
 attempted to row, and was succeeding even better than he 
 hoped, though still under the necessity of lying flat on his 
 back. That his present manoeuvre was seen soon became 
 apparent by the clamor on the shore, and a bullet, entering 
 the stern of the canoe, traversed its length, whistling be 
 tween the arms of our hero, and passed out at the head. 
 He was making a stronger push than common, when 
 another messenger from the point broke the stick, and at 
 once deprived him of his oar. As the sound of voices 
 seemed to grow more and more distant, however, Deer- 
 slayer determined to leave all to the drift, until he believed 
 himself beyond the reach of bullets. This was nervous 
 work, but it was the wisest of all the expedients that 
 offered ; and the young man was encouraged to persevere 
 in it by the circumstance that he felt his face fanned by 
 the air, a proof that there was a little more wind. 
 
 CHAPTER II 
 
 By this time Deerslayer had been twenty minutes in the 
 canoe, and he began to grow a little impatient. The 
 position of the boat still prevented his seeing in any direc 
 tion, unless it were up or down the lake. The profound 
 stillness troubled him also, for he knew not whether to 
 ascribe it to the increasing space between him and the 
 Indians or to some new artifice. 
 
THE DELIVERANCE 335 
 
 Some additional ten minutes may have passed in this 
 quiescent manner on both sides, when Deerslayer thought 
 he heard a slight noise, like a low rubbing against the 
 bottom of his canoe. He opened his eyes of course, in ex 
 pectation of seeing the face or arm of an Indian rising from 
 the water, and found that a canopy of leaves was impending 
 directly over his head. Starting to his feet, the first object 
 that met his eye was Rivenoak, who had so far aided the 
 slow progress of the boat as to draw it on the point, the 
 grating on the strand being the sound that had first given 
 our hero the alarm. The change in the drift of the canoe 
 had been altogether owing to the baffling nature of the 
 light currents of air, aided by some eddies in the water. 
 
 " Come," said the Huron, with a quiet gesture of au 
 thority to order his prisoner to land ; " my young friend 
 has sailed about till he is tired ; he will forget how to run 
 again, unless he uses his legs." 
 
 "You ve the best of it, Huron," returned Deerslayer, 
 stepping steadily from the canoe ; " Providence has helped 
 you in an onexpected manner. I m your prisoner agin, 
 and I hope you 11 allow that I m as good at breaking jail 
 as I am at keeping furloughs." 
 
 " My brother has had a long run on the hills, and a 
 pleasant sail on the water," returned Rivenoak, smiling. 
 " He has seen the woods ; he has seen the water. Now 
 let him wait ; when we want him, the name of Deerslayer 
 will be called." 
 
 This conversation had been held with no one near but 
 the speakers. As soon as Rivenoak had ceased speaking, 
 he walked towards the line of trees, and disappeared 
 shortly behind the covers of the forest, leaving Deerslayer 
 
336 THE DEERSLAYER 
 
 by himself. Affecting an indifference he was far from feel 
 ing, the young man strolled about the area until he had 
 ascertained that the canoe had been removed, and that he 
 was a prisoner on the narrow tongue of land, vigilantly 
 watched beyond a question, and with no other means of 
 escape than that of swimming. He again thought of this 
 last expedient, but the certainty that the canoe would be 
 sent in chase, and the desperate nature of the chances of 
 success, deterred him from the undertaking. He gazed 
 wistfully towards the castle but there all seemed to be 
 silent and desolate ; and a feeling of loneliness and de 
 sertion came over him to increase the gloom of the 
 moment. 
 
 " God s will be done ! " murmured the young man, as 
 he walked sorrowfully away from the beach, entering again 
 beneath the arches of the wood ; " God s will be done on 
 arth as it is in heaven ! I did hope that my days would 
 not be numbered so soon ! but it matters little, a ter all. 
 A few more winters and a few more summers, and t would 
 have been over accordin to natur . Ah s me ! the young 
 and actyve seldom think death possible, till he grins in 
 their faces and tells em the hour is come ! " 
 
 For half an hour or more the young man was left alone, 
 and unbroken stillness prevailed. Then the stirring of 
 leaves and the cracking of twigs apprised Deerslayer of 
 the approach of his enemies. The Hurons closed in a 
 circle around the spot where the prisoner stood, Rivenoak 
 occupying alone the place of authority, now that the 
 Panther had fallen. 
 
 When the whole band was arrayed around the captive, 
 a grave silence, so much the more threatening from its 
 
THE DELIVERANCE 337 
 
 profound quiet, pervaded the place. Deerslayer perceived 
 that the women and boys had been preparing splinters of 
 the fat pine roots, which he well knew were to be stuck 
 into his flesh and set in flames, while two or three of the 
 young men held the thongs of bark with which he was to be 
 bound. The smoke of a distant fire announced that the 
 burning brands were in preparation, and several of the 
 elder warriors passed their fingers over the edges of their 
 tomahawks, as if to prove their keenness and temper. Even 
 the knives seemed loosened in their sheaths, impatient 
 for the bloody and merciless work to begin. 
 
 " Killer of the Deer," recommenced Rivenoak, certainly 
 without any signs of sympathy or pity in his manner, 
 though with calmness and dignity, " Killer of the Deer, 
 it is time that my people knew their minds. The sun is 
 no longer over our heads ; tired of waiting on the Hurons, 
 he has begun to fall near the pines on this side of the val 
 ley. He is traveling fast towards the country of our French 
 fathers ; it is to warn his children that their lodges are 
 empty and that they ought to be at home. The roaming 
 wolf has his den, and he goes to it when he wishes to see 
 his young. The Iroquois are not poorer than the wolves. 
 They have villages, and wigwams, and fields of corn ; the 
 good spirits will be tired of watching them alone. My peo 
 ple must go back and see to their own business. There 
 will be joy in the lodges when they hear our whoop from 
 the forest ! It will be a sorrowful whoop ; when it is un 
 derstood, grief will come after it. There will be one scalp- 
 whoop, but there will be only one. We have the fur of 
 the Muskrat ; his body is among the fishes. Deerslayer 
 must say whether another scalp shall be on our pole. Two 
 
338 THE DEERSLAYER 
 
 lodges are empty ; a scalp, living or dead, is wanted at 
 each door." 
 
 "Then take em dead, Huron," firmly, but altogether 
 without dramatic boasting, returned the captive. " My hour 
 is come, I do suppose ; and what must be, must. If you 
 are bent on the tortur , I 11 do my indivors to bear up 
 agin it, though no man can say how far his natur will 
 stand pain, until he s been tried." 
 
 " The paleface cur begins to put his tail between his 
 legs ! " cried a young and garrulous savage, who bore the 
 title of the Red Crow ; " he is no warrior ; when the Hu 
 ron women begin to torment him, he will cry like the 
 young of the catamount. He is a Delaware woman dressed 
 in the skin of a Yengeese ! " 
 
 "Have your say, young man have your say," re 
 turned Deerslayer, unmoved ; "you know no better, and I 
 can overlook it. Talking may aggravate women, but can 
 hardly make knives sharper, fire hotter, or rifles more 
 sartain." 
 
 Rivenoak now interfered, reproving the Red Crow for 
 his premature interference, and then directing the proper 
 persons to bind the captive. This expedient was adopted, 
 not from any apprehensions that he would escape, but from 
 an ingenious design of making him feel his helplessness, 
 *and of gradually sapping his resolution by undermining 
 it, as it might be, little by little. Deerslayer offered no 
 resistance. He submitted his arms and legs readily to 
 the ligaments of bark, which were bound around them. 
 As soon as the body of Deerslayer was withed in bark 
 sufficiently to create a lively sense of helplessness, he was 
 carried to a young tree, and bound against it in a way 
 
THE DELIVERANCE 339 
 
 that effectually prevented him from moving as well as 
 from falling. The hands were laid flat against the legs, 
 and thongs were passed over all, in a way nearly to in 
 corporate the prisoner with the tree. His cap was then 
 removed, and he was left half-standing, half-sustained by 
 his bonds, to face the coming scene in the best manner 
 he could. 
 
 Previously to proceeding to anything like extremities, 
 it was the wish of Rivenoak to put his captive s resolution 
 to the proof, by renewing the attempt at a compromise. 
 In conformity with this scheme the Sumach had been se 
 cretly advised to advance into the circle and to make her 
 appeal to the prisoner s sense of justice before the band 
 had recourse to the last experiment. The woman, nothing 
 loath, consented ; for there was some attraction in becoming 
 the wife of a noted hunter. As the duties of a mother were 
 thought to be paramount to all other considerations, she 
 led by the hand her children, whose presence should 
 emphasize her position. 
 
 " You see me before you, cruel paleface," the woman 
 commenced ; " your spirit must tell you my errand. I 
 have found you ; I cannot find Le Loup Cervier, nor the 
 Panther ; I have looked for them in the lake, in the 
 woods, in the clouds. I cannot say where they have gone. 
 Cruel paleface, what had my warriors done that you should 
 slay them ? They were the best hunters and the boldest 
 young men of their tribe ; the Great Spirit intended that 
 they should live until they withered like the branches of 
 the hemlock, and fell of their own weight." 
 
 "Nay, nay, good Sumach," interrupted Deerslayer, 
 " this is a little outdoing redskin privileges. Young man 
 
340 THE DEERSLAYER 
 
 was neither, any more than you can be called a young 
 woman ; and as to the Great Spirit s intending that they 
 should fall otherwise than they did, that s a grievous mis 
 take, inasmuch as what the Great Spirit intends is sartain 
 to come to pass. Then, agin, it s plain enough that 
 though neither of your warriors did me any harm, I raised 
 my hand against them on account of what they were striv 
 ing to do, which amounts to the same thing." 
 
 "It is so. Sumach has but one tongue ; she can tell 
 but one story. The paleface struck the Hurons, lest the 
 Hurons should strike him. The Hurons are a just nation ; 
 they will forget it. The chiefs will shut their eyes, and 
 pretend not to have seen it. The young men will believe 
 the Panther and the Lynx have gone to far-off hunts ; and 
 the Sumach will take her children by the hand, and go in 
 to the lodge of the paleface, and say, See ! these are your 
 children they are also mine ; feed us, and we will live 
 with you. 
 
 "The tarms are onadmissible, woman; and though I 
 feel for your losses, which must be hard to bear, the tarms 
 cannot be accepted. As to givin you ven son, in case we 
 lived near enough together, that would be no great explite ; 
 but as for becomin your husband, and the father of your 
 children, to be honest with you, I feel no callin that-a- 
 way." 
 
 " Look at this boy, cruel paleface ; he has no father to 
 teach him to kill the deer, or to take scalps. See this 
 girl ; what young man will come to look for a wife in a 
 lodge that has no head ? There are more among my people 
 in the Canadas, and the Killer of Deer will find as many 
 mouths to feed as his heart can wish for." 
 
THE DELIVERANCE 341 
 
 "I tell you, woman," exclaimed Deerslayer, "all this 
 is nothing to me. People and kindred must take care of 
 their own fatherless, leaving them that have no children 
 to their own loneliness. As for me, I have no offspring, 
 and I want no wife. Now, go away, Sumach ; leave me 
 in the hands of your chiefs ; for my color, and gifts, and 
 natur itself, cry out agin the idee of taking you for a 
 wife." 
 
 It is unnecessary to expatiate on the effect of this down 
 right refusal of the woman s proposals. Fury, rage, mor 
 tified pride, and a volcano of wrath, burst out at one ex 
 plosion, converting her into a sort of maniac, as it might 
 be at the touch of a magician s wand. Without deigning 
 a reply in words, she made the arches of the forest ring 
 with screams, and then flew forward at her victim, seizing 
 him by the hair, which she appeared resolute to draw out 
 by the roots. It was some time before her grasp could be 
 loosened. Fortunately for the prisoner her rage was blind, 
 since his total helplessness left him entirely at her mercy. 
 As it was, she did succeed in wrenching out two or three 
 handfuls of hair before the young men could tear her 1 away 
 from her victim. 
 
 The insult that had been offered to the Sumach was 
 deemed an insult to the whole tribe ; not so much, how 
 ever, on account of any respect that was felt for the woman 
 as on account of the honor of the Huron nation. The 
 young men showed an impatience to begin the torture, 
 and Rivenoak gave the signal for the infernal work to 
 begin. 
 
342 THE DEERSLAYER 
 
 CHAPTER III 
 
 No sooner did the young men understand that they 
 were at liberty to commence, than some of the boldest and 
 most forward among them sprang into the arena, toma 
 hawk in hand. Here they prepared to throw that danger 
 ous weapon, the object being to strike the tree as near 
 as possible to the victim s head without absolutely hitting 
 him. This was so hazardous an experiment that none but 
 those who were known to be exceedingly expert with the 
 weapon were allowed to enter the lists at all, lest an early 
 death might interfere with the expected entertainment. 
 | The first youth who presented himself for the trial was 
 icalled the Raven. After a suitable number of flourishes 
 and gesticulations the Raven let the tomahawk quit his 
 1 hand. The weapon whirled through the air, with the usual 
 evolutions, cut a chip from the sapling to which the pris 
 oner was bound, within a few inches of his cheek, and 
 stuck in a large oak that grew several yards behind him. 
 This was decidedly a bad effort, and a common sneer pro 
 claimed as much, to the great mortification of the young 
 man. On the other hand, there was a general but sup 
 pressed murmur of admiration at the steadiness with which 
 the captive stood the trial. The head was the only part he 
 could move, and this had been purposely left free, that the 
 tormentors might have the amusement, and the tormented 
 endure the shame, of dodging, and otherwise attempting 
 to avoid the blows. Deerslayer disappointed these hopes, 
 by a command of nerve that rendered his whole body as 
 immovable as the tree to which he was bound. Nor did he 
 even adopt the natural and usual expedient of shutting his 
 
THE DELIVERANCE 343 
 
 eyes, the firmest and oldest warrior of the red-men 
 never having more disdainfully denied himself this ad 
 vantage, under similar circumstances. 
 
 The Raven had no sooner made his unsuccessful and 
 puerile effort than he was succeeded by the Moose, a 
 middle-aged warrior. He took his stand quietly, but with 
 an air of confidence, poised his little axe but a single 
 instant, advanced a foot with a quick motion, and threw. 
 Deerslayer saw the keen instrument whirling towards him, 
 and believed all was over ; still he was not touched. The 
 tomahawk had actually bound the head of the captive to 
 the tree, by carrying before it some of his hair ; having 
 buried itself deep beneath the soft bark. A general yell 
 expressed the delight of the spectators, and the Moose felt 
 his heart soften a little towards the prisoner, whose steadi 
 ness of nerve alone enabled him to give this evidence of 
 his consummate skill. 
 
 The Moose was succeeded by the Bounding Boy, as 
 one of the youths was always called because of his antics. 
 He skipped about in front of the captive, menacing him 
 with his tomahawk, now on one side and now on another 
 and then again in front, in the vain hope of being able to 
 extort some sign of fear by this parade of danger. At 
 length Deerslayer s patience became exhausted, and he spoke 
 for the first time since the trial had actually commenced. 
 
 " Throw away, Huron ! " he cried, " or your tomahawk 
 will forget its arr nd. Why do you keep loping about like 
 a faan that s showing its dam how well it can skip, when 
 you re a warrior grown, yourself, and a warrior grown 
 defies you and all your silly antics ? Throw, or the Huron 
 gals will laugh in your face." 
 
344 THE DEERSLAYER 
 
 The last words aroused the " Bounding " warrior to fury. 
 The same nervous excitability which rendered him so ac 
 tive in his person made it difficult to repress his feelings, 
 and the words were scarcely past the lips of the speaker 
 than the tomahawk left the hand of the Indian. Nor was 
 it cast without good-will, and a fierce determination to slay. 
 Had the intention been less deadly, the danger might have 
 been greater. The aim was uncertain, and the weapon 
 glanced near the cheek of the captive, slightly cutting the 
 shoulder in its evolutions. This was the first instance in 
 which any other object than that of terrifying the prisoner 
 and of displaying skill had been manifested ; and the 
 Bounding Boy was immediately led from the arena, and 
 was warmly rebuked for his intemperate haste, which had 
 come so near defeating all the hopes of the band. 
 
 To this irritable person succeeded several other young 
 warriors, who not only hurled the tomahawk, but who cast 
 the knife a far more dangerous experiment with reck 
 less indifference ; yet they always manifested a skill that 
 prevented any injury to the captive. Several times Deer- 
 slayer was grazed, but in no instance did he receive what 
 might be termed a wound. The unflinching firmness with 
 which he faced his assailants, more especially in the sort 
 of rally with which this trial terminated, excited a pro 
 found respect in the spectators ; and when the chiefs an 
 nounced that the prisoner had well withstood the trials of 
 the knife and the tomahawk, there was not a single indi 
 vidual in the band who really felt any hostility towards him, 
 with the exception of Sumach arid the Bounding Boy. 
 
 Rivenoak, who still cherished a hope that the celebrated 
 hunter might be saved to become a member of the tribe, 
 
THE DELIVERANCE 345 
 
 now told his people that the paleface had proved himself a 
 man, and wished to know whether it was the desire of the 
 Hurons to proceed any further. Even the gentlest of the 
 females, however, had received too much satisfaction in 
 the late trials to forego their expectations of a gratifying 
 exhibition ; and there was but one voice in the request to 
 proceed. The chief therefore called four or five of the best 
 marksmen to him and bid them put the captive to the 
 proof of the rifle, while, at the same time, he cautioned 
 them touching the necessity of their maintaining their own 
 credit, by the closest attention to the manner of exhibiting 
 their skill. 
 
 When Deerslayer saw the chosen warriors step into the 
 circle, with their arms prepared for service, he felt some 
 such relief as the miserable sufferer who has long endured 
 the agonies of disease feels at the certain approach of 
 death. Any trifling variance in the aim of this formidable 
 weapon would prove fatal ; since, the head being the 
 target, or rather the point it was desired to graze without 
 injury, an inch or two of difference in the line of projection 
 must at once determine the question of life or death. He 
 now fully expected the end of his career, and experienced 
 a sort of melancholy pleasure in the idea that he was to 
 fall by a weapon as much beloved as the rifle. A slight 
 interruption, however, took place before the business was 
 allowed to proceed. 
 
 Hetty H utter, who, the reader will remember, had come 
 ashore with Deerslayer, and had since that time been in 
 her accustomed place with the females of the party, had 
 been a puzzled spectator of all that had passed. The pres 
 ent scene at first had pressed upon her feeble mind in a 
 
346 THE DEERSLAYER 
 
 way to paralyze it entirely ; but by this time she had rallied, 
 and was growing indignant at the unmerited suffering the 
 Indians were inflicting on her friend. She now appeared 
 in the circle and spoke earnestly. 
 
 "Why do you torment Deerslayer, red-men?" she 
 asked. " Suppose one of your knives or tomahawks had 
 hit him ; what Indian among you could cure the wound 
 you would make ? 
 
 The Hurons listened with grave attention, and when the 
 speech had been interpreted to them, Rivenoak answered 
 her. 
 
 " My daughter is very welcome to speak," said the stern 
 old orator, using gentle intonations, and smiling as kindly 
 as if addressing a child ; " the Hurons are glad to hear her 
 voice ; they listen to what she says. But this time her eyes 
 have not been open wide enough to see all that has hap 
 pened. Two of my warriors have fallen by the blows of our 
 prisoner ; their grave is too small to hold a third. The 
 Hurons do not like to crowd their dead. If there is another 
 spirit about to set out for the far-off world, it must not be 
 the spirit of a Huron ; it must be the spirit of a paleface. 
 Go, daughter, and sit by Sumach, who is in grief : let the 
 Huron warriors show how well they can shoot ; let the 
 paleface show how little he cares for their bullets." 
 
 Hetty s mind was unequal to a sustained discussion, 
 and, accustomed to defer to the directions of her seniors, 
 she did as told, seating herself passively on a log by the side 
 of the Sumach and averting her face from the painful 
 scene that was occurring within the circle. 
 
 The warriors, as soon as this interruption had ceased, 
 resumed their places, and again prepared to exhibit their 
 
THE DELIVERANCE 347 
 
 skill. This time the marksmen stood several yards nearer 
 their victim. In diminishing the distance taken by the 
 tormentors, the trial to the nerves of the captive was essen 
 tially increased. The face of Deerslayer, indeed, was just 
 removed sufficiently from the ends of the guns to escape 
 the effects of the flash, and his steady eye was enabled to 
 look directly into their muzzles, as it might be in anticipa 
 tion of the fatal messenger that was to issue from each. 
 The cunning Hurons well knew this fact ; and scarce one 
 leveled his piece without first causing it to point as near 
 as possible at the forehead of the prisoner, in the hope that 
 his fortitude would fail him, and that the band would en 
 joy the triumph of seeing a victim quail under their ingen 
 ious cruelty. Nevertheless, each of the competitors was 
 still careful not to injure ; the disgrace of striking prema 
 turely being second only to that of failing altogether in 
 attaining the object. Shot after shot was made ; all the 
 bullets coming in close proximity to the Deerslayer s head 
 without touching it. Still, no one could detect even the 
 twitching of a muscle on the part of the captive or the 
 slightest winking of an eye. This indomitable resolution, 
 which so much exceeded everything of its kind that any 
 present had before witnessed, might be referred to three 
 distinct causes. The first was resignation to his fate, 
 blended with natural steadiness of deportment ; for our 
 hero had calmly made up his mind*that he must die and 
 preferred this mode to any other ; the second was his 
 great familiarity with this particular weapon, which de 
 prived it of all the terror that is usually connected with 
 the mere form of the danger ; and the third was this 
 familiarity carried out in practice, to a degree so nice as to 
 
348 THE DEERSLAYER 
 
 enable the intended victim to tell, within an inch, the pre 
 cise spot where each bullet must strike, for he calculated 
 its range by looking in at the bore of the piece. So ex*act 
 was Deerslayer s estimation of the line of fire, that his 
 pride of feeling finally got the better of his resignation, 
 and, when five or six had discharged their bullets into the 
 trees, he could not refrain from expressing his contempt 
 at their want of hand and eye. 
 
 "You may call this shooting, Mingos," he exclaimed, 
 " but we ve squaws among the Delawares, and I have 
 known Dutch gals on the Mohawk, that could outdo your 
 greatest indivors. Ondo these arms of mine, put a rifle 
 into my hands, and I 11 pin the thinnest warlock in your 
 party to any tree you can show me ; and this at a hundred 
 yards, aye, or at two hundred, if the object can be seen, 
 nineteen shots in twenty : or, for that matter, twenty in 
 twenty, if the piece is creditable and trusty ! " 
 
 A low, menacing murmur followed this cool taunt ; the 
 ire of the warriors kindled at listening to such a reproach 
 from one who so far disdained their efforts as to refuse 
 even to wink when a rifle was discharged as near his face 
 as could be done without burning it. Rivenoak perceived 
 that the moment was critical, and, still retaining his hope 
 of adopting so noted a hunter into his tribe, the politic old 
 chief interposed in time, probably, to prevent an immedi 
 ate resort to that portion of the torture which must neces 
 sarily have produced death, through extreme bodily suffer 
 ing, if in no other manner. Moving into the centre of the 
 irritated group, he addressed them with his usual wily 
 logic and plausible manner, at once suppressing the fierce 
 movement that had commenced. 
 
THE DELIVERANCE 349 
 
 " I see how it is," he said. " We have been like the 
 palefaces when they fasten their doors at night, out of fear 
 of the red-man. They use so many bars, that the fire 
 comes and burns them before they can get out. We have 
 bound the Deerslayer too tight ; the thongs keep his limbs 
 from shaking, and his eyes from shutting. Loosen him ; 
 let us see what his own body is really made of." 
 
 The proposal of the chief found instant favor ; and sev 
 eral hands were immediately at work cutting and tearing 
 the ropes of bark from the body of our hero. In half a 
 minute Deerslayer stood as free from bonds as when, an 
 hour before, he had commenced his flight on the side of 
 the mountain. Some little time was necessary that he 
 should recover the use of his limbs, the circulation of the 
 blood having been checked by the tightness of the liga 
 tures ; and this was accorded to him. It is seldom men 
 think of death in the pride of their health and strength. 
 So it was with Deerslayer. Having been helplessly bound, 
 and, as he had every reason to suppose, so lately on the 
 very verge of the other world, to find himself so unexpect 
 edly liberated, in possession of his strength, and with a 
 full command of limb, acted on him like a sudden resto 
 ration to life, reanimating hopes that he had once abso 
 lutely abandoned. From that instant all his plans changed. 
 In this he simply obeyed a law of nature ; for while we 
 have wished to represent our hero as being resigned to his 
 fate, it has been far from our intention to represent him as 
 anxious to die. From the instant that his buoyancy of feel 
 ing revived, his thoughts were keenly bent on the various 
 projects that presented themselves as modes of evading 
 the designs of his enemies; and he again became the 
 
350 THE DEERSLAYER 
 
 quick-witted, ingenious, and determined woodsman, alive 
 to all his own powers and resources. 
 
 The warriors were meanwhile making preparations for 
 the commencement of the real tortures, or that which would 
 put the fortitude of the sufferer to the test of severe bod 
 ily pain, when a sudden and unlooked-for announcement 
 that proceeded from one of the lookouts, a boy ten or twelve 
 years old, put a momentary check to the whole proceedings. 
 
 CHAPTER IV 
 
 It required but a minute or two to bring an explanation 
 of the singular and mysterious pause, caused by the com 
 ing in of the lookout, for it was soon terminated by the 
 appearance of Judith. If Deerslayer was startled by this 
 unexpected arrival, well knowing that the quick-witted girl 
 could claim none of that exemption -from the penalties of 
 captivity that was so cheerfully accorded to her feeble 
 minded sister, he was equally astonished at the guise in 
 which she came. All her ordinary forest attire, neat and 
 becoming as this usually was, had been laid aside for the 
 brocade which had been found at the opening of the chest. 
 Accustomed to see the ladies of the garrison in the formal 
 gala attire of the day, and familiar with the more critical 
 niceties of these matters, the girl had managed to complete 
 her dress in a way to leave nothing strikingly defective in 
 its details. Nor was this all. Judith, in addition to her 
 rare beauty, had a singular grace of person, which enabled 
 her to carry herself with a dignity of bearing that accorded 
 well with her costume. 
 
 The effect of such an apparition had not been miscal 
 culated. The instant Judith found herself within the circle, 
 
THE DELIVERANCE 351 
 
 she was, in a degree, compensated for the fearful personal 
 risk she ran, by the unequivocal sensation of surprise and 
 admiration produced by her appearance. The grim old 
 warriors uttered their favorite exclamation, " Hugh ! " The 
 younger men were still more sensibly overcome, and even 
 the women were not backward in letting open manifesta 
 tions of pleasure escape them. It was seldom that these 
 untutored children of the forest had ever seen any white 
 female above the commonest sort, and as to dress, never 
 before had so much splendor shone before their eyes. The 
 gayest uniforms of both French and English seemed dull 
 compared with the lustre of the brocade ; and while the 
 rare personal beauty of the wearer added to the effect pro 
 duced by its hues, the attire did not fail to adorn that 
 beauty in a way which surpassed even the hopes of its 
 wearer. Deerslayer himself was astounded, and this quite 
 as much by the brilliant picture the girl presented, as at 
 the indifference to consequences with which she had 
 braved the danger of the step she had taken. 
 
 The quick eye of Judith at once detected, by Rivenoak s 
 position in the circle and his bearing, that he was the chief, 
 and striving to impart to her manner an air of condescend 
 ing courtesy she approached him, saying, 
 
 " This is the principal person of the party ? It is to you, 
 then, I must make my communication." 
 
 " Let the Flower of the Woods speak," returned the old 
 chief, courteously, as soon as her address had been trans 
 lated so that all might understand it. " If her words are 
 as pleasant as her looks, they will never quit my ears ; I 
 shall hear them long after the winter in Canada has killed 
 the flowers, and frozen all the speeches of summer." 
 
352 THE DEERSLAYER 
 
 "Now, Huron," she continued, "listen to my words. 
 Your eyes tell you that I am no common woman. I will 
 not say I am queen of this country ; she is afar off, in a 
 distant land ; but under our gracious monarchs there are 
 many degrees of rank ; one of these I fill. What that rank 
 is precisely it is unnecessary for me to say, since you would 
 not understand it. For that information you must trust 
 your eyes. You see what I am ; you must feel that in 
 listening to my words, you listen to one who can be your 
 friend or your enemy, as you treat her." 
 
 " My daughter is handsomer than the wild roses of 
 Ontario ; her voice is pleasant to the ear as the song of 
 the wren, answered the cautious and wily chief, who of all 
 the band stood alone in not being fully imposed on by 
 the magnificent and unusual appearance of Judith ; but 
 who distrusted even while he wondered ; " the humming 
 bird is not much larger than the bee ; yet its feathers are 
 as gay as the tail of the peacock. The Great Spirit some 
 times puts very bright clothes on very little animals. Still, 
 he covers the moose with coarse hair. These things are 
 beyond the understanding of poor Indians, who can only 
 comprehend what they see and hear. No doubt my daugh 
 ter has a very large wigwam somewhere about the lake ; the 
 Hurons have not found it on account of their ignorance ? " 
 
 " I have told you, chief, that it would be useless to state 
 my rank and residence, inasmuch as you would not com 
 prehend them. You must trust to your eyes for this 
 knowledge ; what red-man is there that cannot see ? This 
 blanket that I wear is not the blanket of a common squaw ; 
 these ornaments are such as the wives and daughters of 
 chiefs only appear in. Now listen and hear why I have 
 
THE DELIVERANCE 353 
 
 come alone among your people, and hearken to the errand 
 that has brought me here. The Yengeese have young men 
 as well as the Hurons ; and plenty of them, too ; this you 
 well know." 
 
 " The Yengeese are as plenty as the leaves on the trees ! 
 This every Huron knows and feels." 
 
 " I understand you, chief. Had I brought a party with 
 me it might have caused trouble. My young men and 
 your young men would have looked angrily at each other ; 
 especially had my young men seen that paleface bound for 
 the tortures. He is a great hunter, and is much loved by 
 all the garrisons, far and near. There would have been 
 blows about him, and the trail of the Iroquois back to the 
 Canadas would have been marked with blood." 
 
 " There is so much blood on it now," returned the chief, 
 gloomily, " that it blinds our eyes. My young men see 
 that it is all Huron." 
 
 " No doubt ; and more Huron blood would be spilt, had 
 I come surrounded with palefaces. I have heard of Riven- 
 oak, and have thought it would be better to send him back 
 in peace to his village, that he might leave his women and 
 children behind him ; if he then wished to come for our 
 scalps, we would meet him. But I will lead back with me 
 this great hunter, of whom I have need to keep my house 
 in venison." 
 
 " This hunter cannot quit my young men now ; they 
 wish to know if he is stout-hearted," returned the crafty 
 chief. " I hear a strange bird singing. It has very rich 
 feathers. No Huron ever before saw such feathers. They 
 will be ashamed to go back to their village and tell their 
 people that they let their prisoner go on account of the 
 
354 THE DEERSLAYER 
 
 song of this strange bird, and not be able to give the name 
 of the bird. They do not know how to say whether it is a 
 wren or a cat-bird. This would be a great disgrace ; my 
 young men would not be allowed to travel in the woods, 
 without taking their mothers with them to tell them the 
 names of the birds." 
 
 " You can ask my name of your prisoner," returned the 
 girl. "It is Judith ; and there is a great deal of the 
 history of Judith in the palefaces best book, the Bible. If 
 I am a bird of fine feathers, I have also my name." 
 
 " No," answered the wily Huron, betraying the artifice 
 he had so long practiced, by speaking in English, with 
 tolerable accuracy ; "I not ask prisoner. He tired ; he 
 want rest. I ask my daughter, with feeble-mind. She 
 speak truth. Come here, daughter ; you answer. Your 
 name Hetty? " 
 
 "Yes, that s what they call me," returned the girl, 
 " though it s written Esther in the Bible." 
 
 " He write him in Bible, too ? All write in Bible. No 
 matter what her name ? " 
 
 11 That s Judith, and it s so written in the Bible, though 
 father sometimes called her Jude. That s my sister Ju 
 dith, Thomas H utter s daughter Thomas H utter, whom 
 you called the Muskrat ; though he was no muskrat, but a 
 man, like yourselves he lived in a house on the water, 
 and that was enough i<yc you" 
 
 A smile of triumph gleamed on the hard, wrinkled 
 countenance of the chief, when he found how completely 
 his appeal to the truth-loving Hetty had succeeded. As 
 for Judith herself, the moment her sister was questioned, 
 she saw that all was lost ; for no sign, or even treaty, 
 
THE DELIVERANCE 355 
 
 could have induced the right-feeling girl to utter a false 
 hood. As Judith had sat in the castle revolving schemes 
 by which she might aid the prisoner, his words spoken 
 when he first saw her in the brocade, that he knew no bet 
 ter way to treat the Mingos than to send her ashore and 
 tell them a queen had come, had flashed into her mind, 
 and she had adopted as a last hope this bold and ingen 
 ious expedient. Now she saw her plan fail through the 
 simplest of causes. 
 
 " It will not do," said Deerslayer, sympathetically, as 
 she turned to him with a gesture of despair. T was a 
 bold idee, and fit for a general s lady ; but yonder Mingo " 
 Rivenoak had withdrawn to a little distance, and was 
 out of ear-shot "but yonder Mingo is an oncommon 
 man, and not to be deceived by any unnat ral sarcumven- 
 tions. I wish you were safe out of the camp, Judith, 
 though I appreciate your generosity in running such a 
 risk. But I fear for you, Judith. I fear for you." 
 
 " At all events I can share your fate, Deerslayer," re 
 plied the girl, earnestly, " and perhaps my presence here 
 will save you for a time." 
 
 At this moment the consultation of the Indians broke 
 up, and Rivenoak faced his captive again, though this time 
 with an altered countenance. He had abandoned the wish 
 of saving him, and was no longer disposed to retard the 
 more serious part of the torture. The young men were 
 already making preparations. Fragments of dried wood 
 were rapidly collected near the sapling, the splinters which 
 it was intended to thrust into the flesh of the victim, previ 
 ously to lighting, were all collected, and warriors advanced 
 and bound him to the tree. 
 
356 THE DEERSLAYER 
 
 It was not the intention of the Huron s absolutely to 
 destroy the life of their victim by means of fire. They 
 designed merely to put his physical fortitude to the sever 
 est proofs it could endure, short of that extremity. In the 
 end, they fully intended to carry his scalp with them into 
 their village, but it was their wish first to break down his 
 resolution, and to reduce him to the level of a complain 
 ing sufferer. 
 
 The fire was lighted, and the flames began to wave 
 their forked tongues in dangerous proximity to the victim 
 when a young Indian came bounding through the Huron 
 ranks, leaping into the very centre of the circle. Three 
 leaps carried the warrior to the side of Deerslayer, and it 
 took but a moment for him to scatter the burning brands 
 and cut the withes that bound him. In the first dash, it 
 had been impossible to tell whether the new-comer was 
 friend or foe. Now he turned and showed the astonished 
 Hurons the noble brow, fine person, and eagle eye of a 
 young warrior, in the paint and panoply of a Delaware. 
 He held a rifle in each hand, the butts of both resting on 
 the earth, while from one dangled its proper pouch and 
 horn. The reader will have already surmised that the 
 Delaware was Chingachgook, and that the second weapon 
 which he bore was Killdeer, which even as he looked boldly 
 and in defiance on the crowd around him, he suffered to 
 fall back into the hands of the proper owner. The pres 
 ence of two armed men, though it was in their midst, star 
 tled the Hurons. Their rifles were scattered about against 
 the different trees, and their only weapons were their knives 
 and tomahawks. The rapidity of events had prevented 
 the Hurons from acting ; but in a twinkling of an eye 
 
THE DELIVERANCE 357 
 
 the whole party was in motion. At this instant, however, 
 a sound unusual to the woods was heard, and every Hu 
 ron, male and female, paused to listen, with ears erect and 
 faces filled with expectation. The sound was regular and 
 heavy, as if the earth were struck with blows. Objects be 
 came visible among the trees of the background, and a 
 body of troops was seen advancing with measured tread. 
 They came upon the charge, the scarlet of the king s 
 livery shining among the bright green foliage of the 
 forest. 
 
 The scene that followed is not easily described. It was 
 one in which wild confusion, despair, and frenzied efforts 
 were blended. A general yell burst from the inclosed 
 Hurons ; it was succeeded by the hearty cheers of Eng 
 land. Still not a musket or rifle was fired, though that 
 steady, measured tramp continued, and the bayonet was 
 seen gleaming in advance of a line that counted nearly 
 sixty men. The Hurons were taken at a fearful disadvan 
 tage. On three sides was the water, while their formida 
 ble and trained foes cut them off from flight on the fourth. 
 Each warrior rushed for his arms, and then all on the 
 point, man, woman, and child, eagerly sought the covers. 
 In this scene of confusion and dismay, however, nothing 
 could surpass the discretion and coolness of Deerslayer. 
 His first care was to place Judith and Hist, who had fol 
 lowed her lover unnoticed in his bold entrance to the camp, 
 behind trees, and he looked for Hetty ; but she had been 
 hurried away in the crowd of Huron women. This ef 
 fected, he threw himself on a flank of the retiring Hurons, 
 who were inclining off towards the southern margin of the 
 point, in the hope of escaping through the water. Still 
 
358 THE DEERSLAYER 
 
 the troops advanced with a heavy, measured, and menacing 
 tread. Presently the shrieks, groans, and denunciations 
 that usually accompany the use of the bayonet, followed. 
 That terrible and deadly weapon was glutted in vengeance. 
 The scene that succeeded was one of those of which so 
 many have occurred in our own times, in which neither 
 age nor sex forms an exemption to the lot of a savage 
 warfare. 
 
 CHAPTER V 
 
 Night shortly after drew its veil over the horrible picture 
 presented in our last chapter, and when the sun rose on 
 the following morning, every sign of hostility and alarm 
 had vanished from the basin of the Glimmerglass. The 
 frightful event of the preceding evening had left no im 
 pression on the placid sheet. The birds were again skim 
 ming the water, or were seen poised on the wing high 
 above the tops of the tallest pines of the mountains. In a 
 word, nothing was changed but the air of movement and 
 life that prevailed in and around the castle. A sentinel, 
 who wore the light infantry uniform of a royal regiment, 
 paced the platform with measured tread, and some twenty 
 men of the same corps lounged about the place, or were 
 seated in the ark. Their arms were stacked under the eye 
 of their comrade on post. Two officers stood examining 
 the shore with the ship s glass so often mentioned. Their 
 looks were directed to that fatal point where scarlet coats 
 were still to be. seen gliding among the trees, and where 
 the magnifying power of the instrument also showed 
 spades at work and the sad duty of interment going on. 
 Several of the common men bore proof on their persons 
 
THE DELIVERANCE 359 
 
 that their enemies had not been overcome entirely without 
 resistance ; and the youngest of the two officers on the 
 platform wore an arm in a sling. 
 
 At a little distance from the soldiers Rivenoak could 
 be seen, seated in dignified silence, his head and leg 
 bound in such a manner as to indicate that he was injured, 
 but betraying no visible signs of despondency or despair. 
 That he mourned the loss of his tribe is certain ; still, he 
 did it in a manner that best became a warrior and a chief. 
 
 But our interest is not in the soldiers or even in the 
 few surviving Indians, but rather in a sad scene that is 
 taking place within the castle. When the assault was over, 
 poor Hetty had been found among the wounded, and now 
 she lay upon her own simple bed, with the approaches of 
 death plainly visible on her countenance. Judith and Hist 
 were near her, the former seated in deep grief, the latter 
 standing, in readiness to offer any of the gentle attentions 
 of feminine care. Deerslayer stood at the end of the pal 
 let, leaning on Killdeer, unharmed in person ; all the fine, 
 martial ardor that had so lately glowed in his countenance 
 having given place to an expression of manly regret and 
 pity. The Serpent was in the background of the picture, 
 erect and motionless as a statue ; and Hurry completed the 
 group, being seated on a stool near the door, like one who 
 felt himself out of place in such a scene, but who was 
 ashamed to quit it unbidden. 
 
 An officer entered the room for a moment. 
 
 " Who is that in scarlet ? " asked Hetty, as soon as the 
 captain s uniform caught her eye. " Tell me, Judith, is it 
 the friend of Hurry ? " 
 
 T is the officer who commands the troops that have 
 
360 THE DEERSLAYER 
 
 rescued us all from the hands of the Hurons," was the 
 low answer of the sister. 
 
 " Are you the officer that came with Hurry ? " Hetty 
 asked. "If you are, we ought all to thank you ; for though 
 I am hurt, the rest have saved their lives. Did Harry 
 March tell you where to find us, and how much need there 
 was for your services ? " 
 
 " The news of the party reached us by means of a 
 friendly runner," returned the captain ; " and I was im 
 mediately sent out to cut it off. It was fortunate, certainly, 
 that we met Hurry Harry, as you call him, for he acted as 
 a guide ; and it was not less fortunate that we heard a fir 
 ing, which I now understand was merely a shooting at the 
 mark, for it not only quickened our march, but called us 
 to the right side of the lake." 
 
 Hetty s mind now reverted to the future. 
 
 "We shall not long be parted, Judith," she said; 
 " when you die, you must be brought and buried in the 
 lake, by the side of mother, too." 
 
 " Would to God, Hetty, that I lay there at this mo 
 ment ! " 
 
 " No ; that cannot be, Judith ; people must die before 
 they have any right to be buried. T would be wicked to 
 bury you, or for you to bury yourself while living." 
 
 Judith hid her face in her hands and groaned. 
 
 " Don t grieve for me so much, Judith," said the gentle 
 sufferer, after a pause in her remarks ; " I shall soon see 
 mother ; I think I see her now ; her face is just as sweet 
 and smiling as it used to be ! Perhaps when I m dead, 
 God will give me all my mind, and I shall become a more 
 fitting companion for mother than I ever was before." 
 
THE DELIVERANCE 361 
 
 " You will be an angel in heaven, Hetty," sobbed the 
 sister; "no spirit there will be more worthy of its holy 
 residence ! " 
 
 " I don t understand it quite ; still I know it must be all 
 true ; I ve read it in the Bible. How dark it s becoming ! 
 Can it be night so soon ? I can hardly see you at all ; 
 where is Hist ? " 
 
 " I here, poor girl ; why you no see me ? " 
 
 " I do see you ; but I could n t tell whether t was you or 
 Judith. I believe I shan t see you much longer, Hist." 
 
 " Sorry for that, poor Hetty. Never mind ; paleface 
 got a heaven for girl as well as for warrior." 
 
 " Where s the Serpent ? Let me speak to him ; give 
 me his hand ; so ; I feel it. Delaware, you will love and 
 cherish this young Indian woman ; I know how fond she 
 is of you ; and you must be fond of her. Don t treat her as 
 some people treat their wives ; be a real husband to her. 
 Now bring Deerslayer near me give me his hand." 
 
 This request was complied with, and the hunter stood 
 by the side of the pallet, submitting to the wishes of the 
 girl with the docility of a child. 
 
 " I feel, Deerslayer," she resumed, "though I couldn t 
 tell why but I feel that you and I are not going to part 
 forever. T is a strange feeling ! I never had it before ; 
 I wonder what it comes from ! 
 
 T is God encouraging you in extremity, Hetty ; as 
 such it ought to be harbored and respected. Yes, we shall 
 meet agin, though it may be a long time first, and in a far 
 distant land." 
 
 ( Do you mean to be buried in the lake, too ? If so, 
 that may account for the feeling." 
 
362 THE DEERSLAYER 
 
 1 T is little likely, gal ; t is little likely ; but there s a 
 region for Christian souls where there s no lakes nor 
 woods, they say ; though why there should be none of the 
 last is more than I can account for ; seeing that pleasant 
 ness and peace is the object in view. My grave will be 
 found in the forest, most likely, but I hope my spirit will 
 not be far from your n." 
 
 " So it must be, then. I am too weak-minded to under 
 stand these things, but I feel that you and I will meet 
 again. Sister, where are you ? I can t see now anything 
 but darkness. It must be night, surely ! " 
 
 " Oh Hetty, I am here at your side ; these are my arms 
 that are round you," sobbed Judith. " Speak, dearest; is 
 there anything you wish to say, or have done, in this awful 
 moment ? 
 
 By this time Hetty s sight had entirely failed her. 
 Nevertheless, death approached with less than usual of its 
 horrors, as if in tenderness to one of her half-endowed 
 faculties. She was pale as a corpse, but her breathing was 
 easy and unbroken, while her voice, though lowered almost 
 to a whisper, remained clear and distinct. When her sister 
 put this question, she roused herself a little, and Judith, 
 thinking she understood her wish, bent nearer. 
 
 " Hurry is here, dearest Hetty," whispered the sister. 
 " Shall I tell him to come and receive your good wishes ? " 
 
 A gentle pressure of the hand answered in the affirma 
 tive, and then Hurry was brought to the side of the 
 pallet. It is probable that this handsome but rude woods 
 man had never before found himself so awkwardly placed. 
 He allowed Judith to put his big hard hand between those 
 of Hetty, and stood waiting the result in awkward silence. 
 
THE DELIVERANCE 363 
 
 11 This is Hurry, dearest," whispered Judith, bending 
 over her sister; "speak to him, and let him go." 
 
 " Good-by, Hurry," murmured the girl; with a gentle 
 pressure of his hand. " I wish you would try and be more 
 like Deerslayer." 
 
 These words were uttered with difficulty ; a faint flush 
 succeeded them for a single instant, then the hand was 
 relinquished, and Hetty turned her face aside as if done 
 with the world. 
 
 "Of what are you thinking, my sweet sister? " whis 
 pered Judith. " Tell me, that I may aid you at this 
 moment." 
 
 " Mother I see mother, now, and bright beings 
 around her in the lake. Why is n t father there ? It s odd 
 that I can see mother when I can t see you ! Farewell, 
 Judith." 
 
 The last words were uttered after a pause, and her 
 sister had hung over her some time, in anxious watchful 
 ness, before she perceived that the gentle spirit had de 
 parted. Thus died Hetty H utter, one of those mysterious 
 links between the material and immaterial world, which, 
 while they appear to be deprived of so much that is 
 esteemed and necessary for this state of being, draw so 
 near to, and offer so beautiful an illustration of, the truth, 
 purity, and simplicity of another. 
 
 CHAPTER VI 
 
 The day that followed proved to be melancholy, though 
 one of much activity. The soldiers, who had so lately been 
 employed in interring their victims, were now called on to 
 
364 THE DEERSLAYER 
 
 bury their own dead. Hour dragged on after hour until 
 evening arrived, and then came the last melancholy offices 
 in honor of poor Hetty Hutter. Her body was laid in the 
 lake by the side of that of the mother she had so loved 
 and reverenced ; and the simple rites of Christian burial 
 were performed by the officer in command. The tears of 
 Judith and Hist were shed freely, and Deerslayer gazed 
 upon the limpid water, that now flowed over one whose 
 spirit was even purer than its own mountain springs, with 
 glistening eyes, Even the Delaware turned aside to con 
 ceal his weakness, while the common men gazed on the 
 ceremony with wondering eyes and chastened feelings. 
 
 The business of the day closed with this pious office. 
 It was intended to begin the march homewards with the 
 return of light. One party indeed, bearing the wounded, 
 the prisoners, and the trophies, had left the castle in the 
 middle of the day, under the guidance of Hurry, intending 
 to reach the fort by shorter marches. The rattling of the 
 drum broke the silence of the tranquil lake as soon as 
 the ceremony was over, and one solitary sentinel paced the 
 platform throughout the night. 
 
 With the morning the party began its movement 
 towards the shore. The soldiers embarked in the ark, and 
 by the wish of Judith, Chingachgook and Deerslayer were 
 left to take the two girls ashore in the canoes. Judith had 
 held no communication with anyone but Hist, after the 
 death of her sister, and all had respected her sorrow. Now 
 Hist entered one canoe, where the Delaware immediately 
 joined her, and paddled away, leaving Judith standing 
 alone on the platform. Owing to this prompt proceeding 
 Deerslayer found himself alone with the beautiful and 
 
THE DELIVERANCE 365 
 
 still weeping mourner. The young man swept the light 
 boat round, and received its mistress in it, when he 
 followed the course already taken by his friend. 
 
 The direction to the point led diagonally past, and at no 
 great distance from, the graves of the dead. As the canoe 
 glided by, Judith, for the first time that morning, spoke 
 to her companion. She said but little, merely uttering 
 a simple request to stop for a minute or two, ere she left 
 the place. 
 
 " I may never see this spot again, Deerslayer," she said, 
 " and it contains the bodies of my mother and sister ! " 
 
 The girl gazed a minute in silent attention ; then she 
 turned her eyes backward, at the castle. 
 
 "This lake will soon be entirely deserted," she said, 
 " and this, too, at a moment when it will be a more secure 
 dwelling-place than ever. What has so lately happened 
 will prevent the Iroquois from venturing again to visit it 
 for a long time to come." 
 
 " That it will ! yes, that may be set down as settled. 
 I do not mean to pass this-a-way agin, so long as the war 
 lasts ; for, to my mind, no Huron moccasin will leave its 
 print on the leaves of this forest, until their traditions have 
 forgotten to tell their young men of their disgrace and 
 rout." 
 
 " Deerslayer," said Judith, after a considerable pause, 
 her cheeks flushed and her eyes lighted with some of their 
 former brilliancy, "this is not a moment for affectation, 
 deception, or a want of frankness of any sort. Here, over 
 my mother s grave, and over the grave of truth-loving, 
 truth-telling Hetty, everything like unfair dealing seems 
 to be out of place. I will therefore speak to you without 
 
366 THE DEERSLAYER 
 
 any reserve, and without any dread of being misunderstood. 
 You are an acquaintance (oljiQtJILJweeK) but it appears to 
 me as if I had known you for years. So much, and so 
 much that is important, has taken place within that short 
 time, that the sorrows, and dangers, and escapes of a whole 
 life have been crowded into a few days ; and they who 
 have suffered and acted together in such scenes ought not 
 to feel like strangers. I know that what I am about to say 
 might be misunderstood by most men, but I hope for a 
 generous construction of my course from you. We are 
 not here dwelling among the arts and deceptions of the 
 settlements, but young people who have no occasion to de 
 ceive each other, in any manner or form. I hope I make 
 myself understood ? " 
 
 " Sartain, Judith ; few convarse better than yourself, 
 and none more agreeable-like. Your words are as pleas 
 ant as your looks." 
 
 " Still, Deerslayer, it is not easy for one of my sex and 
 years to forget all her lessons of infancy, all her hab 
 its, and her natural diffidence, and say openly what her 
 heart feels ! " 
 
 " Why not, Judith ? Why should n t women as well as 
 men deal fairly and honestly by their fellow-creatur s ? I 
 see no reason why you should not speak as plainly as my 
 self, when there is anything raally important to be said." 
 
 " I will I must deal as plainly with you, as I would 
 with poor, dear Hetty, were that sweet child living ! " she 
 continued, turning pale ; " yes, I will smother all other 
 feelings, in the one that is now uppermost ! You love the 
 woods and the life that we pass, here, in the wilderness, 
 away from the dwellings and towns of the whites." 
 
THE DELIVERANCE 367 
 
 " As I loved my parents, Judith, when they was living ! 
 This very spot would be all creation to me, could this war 
 be fairly over, once, and the settlers kept at a distance." 
 
 " Why quit it, then ? It has no owner at least none 
 who can claim a better right than mine, and that I freely 
 give to you. Were it a kingdom, Deerslayer, I think I 
 should delight to say the same. Let us then return to it, 
 after we have seen the priest at the fort, and never quit it 
 again, until God calls us away to that world where we shall 
 find the spirits of my poor mother and sister." 
 
 A long, thoughtful pause succeeded ; Judith having 
 covered her face with both her hands, after forcing herself 
 to utter so plain a proposal, and Deerslayer musing equally 
 in sorrow and surprise, on the meaning of the language 
 he had just heard. At length the hunter broke the silence, 
 speaking in a tone that was softened to gentleness by his 
 desire not to offend. 
 
 "You have n t thought well of this, Judith," he said ; 
 " no, your feelin s are awakened by all that has lately hap 
 pened, and believin yourself to be without kindred in the 
 world, you are in too great haste to find some to fill the 
 places of them that s lost." 
 
 " Were I living in a crowd of friends, Deerslayer, I 
 should still think as I now think, say as I now say," 
 returned Judith, speaking with her hands still shading her 
 lovely face. 
 
 "Thank you, gal thank you from the bottom of my 
 heart. Hows ever, I am not one to take advantage of a 
 weak moment, when you re forgetful of your own great ad 
 vantages, and fancy arth and all it holds is in this little 
 canoe. No no Judith, twould be onginerous in me; 
 
368 THE DEERSLAYER 
 
 what you ve offered can never come to pass ! Forget it 
 all, therefore, and let us paddle after the Sarpent and 
 Hist, as if nothing had been said on the subject." 
 
 Judith was deeply mortified, and what is more, she was 
 profoundly grieved. Still there was a steadiness and quiet 
 in the manner of Deerslayer that calmed her. 
 
 " God forbid that we lay up regrets in after-life, through 
 any want of sincerity now," she said. " I hope we under 
 stand each other at least. You will not accept me for a 
 wife, Deerslayer ? " 
 
 T is better for both that I should n t take advantage 
 of your own forgetfulness, Judith. We can never marry." 
 
 "You do not love me, cannot find it in your heart, 
 perhaps, to esteem me, Deerslayer ? " 
 
 " Everything in the way of fri ndship, Judith every 
 thing, even to sarvices and life itself. Yes, I d risk as 
 much for you, at this moment, as I would risk in behalf 
 of Hist ; and that is say in as much as I can say of any 
 darter of woman. I do not think I feel towards either 
 mind I say either ; Judith as if I wished to quit 
 father and mother if father and mother was livin ; 
 which, however, neither is but if both was livin , I do 
 not feel towards any woman as if I wish d to quit em 
 in order to cleave unto her" 
 
 " This is enough ! " answered Judith, in a rebuked and 
 smothered voice ; "I understand all that you mean. Marry 
 you cannot, without loving ; and that love you do not feel 
 for me. Make no answer if I am right, for I shall under 
 stand your silence. That will be painful enough of 
 itself." 
 
 Deerslayer obeyed her, and he made no reply. For more 
 
THE DELIVERANCE 369 
 
 than a minute the girl waited. Then she dropped the end 
 of her paddle, and urged the canoe away from the spot. 
 Deerslayer quietly aided the effort, and they were soon on 
 the trackless line taken by the Delaware. 
 
 In their way to the point, not another syllable was ex 
 changed between Deerslayer and his fair companion. As 
 neither labored hard at the paddle, the ark had already 
 arrived and the soldiers had disembarked before the 
 canoe of the two loiterers reached the point. Chingach- 
 gook had preceded it, and was already some distance in 
 the wood, at a spot where the two trails, that to the garri 
 son and that to the villages of the Dela wares, separated. 
 The soldiers, too, had taken up their line of march, first 
 setting the ark adrift again. All this Judith saw, but she 
 heeded it not. The Glimmerglass had no longer any 
 charms for her ; and when she put her foot on the strand, 
 she immediately proceeded on the trail of the soldiers. 
 Deerslayer would have escorted her to the soldiers, but 
 when he had proceeded a hundred yards, she stopped. 
 
 " This will do, Deerslayer," she said, sadly. " I under 
 stand your kindness, but shall not need it. In a few 
 minutes I shall reach the soldiers. As you cannot go with 
 me on the journey of life, I do not wish you to go further 
 on this. Farewell, and may all good fortune attend you, as 
 you deserve that it shall." 
 
 With a gesture of adieu she signed to him to return, 
 and buried herself in the woods. For some time 
 Deerslayer was irresolute as to his course ; but in the 
 end, he retraced his steps and joined the Delaware. 
 That night, the three " camped " on the head-waters of 
 their own river, and the succeeding evening they entered 
 
370 THE DEERSLAYER 
 
 the village of the tribe Chingachgook and his betrothed 
 in triumph ; their companion honored and admired, but 
 in a sorrow that it required months of activity to remove. 
 
 EPILOGUE 
 
 Fifteen years had passed away ere it was in the power 
 of Deerslayer, or Hawkeye, as he was then universally 
 called, to revisit the Glimmerglass. In the war that had 
 had its rise at the time of our narrative, his fame had 
 spread far and near, until the crack of his rifle became as 
 terrible to the ears of the Mingos as the thunders of the 
 Manitou. The Delaware chief, too, had risen among his 
 people, until his name was never mentioned without eulo- 
 giums ; while another Uncas, the last of his race, was 
 added to the long line of warriors who bore that distin 
 guished appelation. 
 
 A long peace had intervened, and now it was on the 
 eve of another, and still more important war, when he and 
 his constant friend, Chingachgook, were hastening to the 
 forts to join their allies. They reached the lake just as the 
 sun was setting. Here all was unchanged ; the river still 
 rushed through its bower of trees ; the little rock was wast 
 ing away by the slow action of the waves in the course of 
 centuries ; the mountains stood in their native dress, dark, 
 rich, and mysterious ; while the sheet glistened in its soli 
 tude, a beautiful gem of the forest. 
 
 The following morning they discovered one of the 
 canoes drifted on the shore, in a state of decay. A little 
 labor put it in a state for service, and they embarked, with 
 a desire to examine the remains of the castle which were 
 
EPILOGUE 
 
 371 
 
 still visible, a picturesque ruin. The storms of winter had 
 long since unroofed the house, and decay had eaten into 
 the logs. All the fastenings were untouched, but the sea 
 sons rioted in the place, as if in mockery at the attempt 
 to exclude them. The palisades were rotting, as were the 
 piles ; and it was evident that a few more recurrences of 
 winter, a few more gales and tempests, would sweep all 
 into the lake, and blot the building from the face of that 
 magnificent solitude. The graves could not be found. 
 Either the elements had obliterated their traces, or time had 
 caused those who looked for them to forget their position. 
 The ark was discovered stranded on the eastern shore, 
 where it had long before been driven, with the prevalent 
 northwest winds. It lay on the sandy extremity of a long, 
 low point, that was situated about two miles from the out 
 let, and which was itself fast disappearing before the action 
 of the elements. The scow was filled with water, the cabin 
 unroofed, and the logs were decaying. Some of its coarser 
 furniture still remained, and the heart of Deerslayer beat 
 quick as he found a ribbon of Judith s fluttering from a 
 log. Although the girl had never touched his heart, the 
 Hawkeye, for so we ought now to call him; still retained 
 a kind and sincere interest in her welfare-. It had been 
 many years after their parting by the lake shore before 
 Hawkeye visited the garrison. There he had made many 
 inquiries, but had been unable to get any news of Judith. 
 None knew her ; after the lapse of years even her person 
 was no longer remembered in the rapidly changing popula 
 tion of the frontier fort. Now he tore away the ribbon 
 and knotted it to the stock of Killdeer, which had been 
 the gift of the girl herself. 
 
 P. oA 
 
 " 3 \ 
 
372 THE DEERSLAYER 
 
 A few miles further up the lake another of the canoes 
 was discovered ; and on the point where the party finally 
 landed were found those which had been left there upon 
 the shore. That in which the present navigation was 
 made, and the one discovered on the eastern shore, had 
 dropped through the decayed floor of the castle, drifted 
 past the falling palisades, and had been thrown as waifs 
 upon the beach. 
 
 From all these signs, it was probable the lake had not 
 been visited since the occurrence of the final scene of our 
 tale. Accident or tradition had rendered it again a spot 
 sacred to nature ; the frequent wars, and the feeble popu 
 lation of the colonies, still confining the settlements within 
 narrow boundaries. Chingachgook and his friend left the 
 spot with melancholy feelings. It had been the region of 
 their First War- Path, and it carried back the minds of 
 both to scenes of tenderness as well as to hours of tri 
 umph. They held their way towards the Mohawk in si 
 lence, however, to rush into new adventures, as stirring 
 and as remarkable as those which had attended their 
 opening career on this lovely lake. 
 
 ^ TV 
 
APPENDIX 
 
 EXTRACTS FROM COOPER S PREFACES 
 
 In this book the hero is represented as just arriving at manhood, 
 with the freshness of feeling that belongs to that interesting period 
 of life, and with the power to please that properly characterizes 
 youth. As a consequence, he is loved; and, what denotes the real 
 waywardness of humanity, more than it corresponds with theories and 
 moral propositions, perhaps, he is loved by one full of art, vanity, 
 and weakness, and loved principally for his sincerity, his modesty, 
 and his unerring truth and probity. The preference he gives to the 
 high qualities named, over beauty, delirious passion, and sin, it is 
 hoped, will offer a lesson that can injure none. This portion of the 
 book is intentionally kept down, though it is thought to be sufficiently 
 distinct to convey its moral. 
 
 The intention has been to put the sisters in strong contrast ; one, 
 admirable in person, clever, filled with the pride of beauty, erring, 
 and fallen ; the other, barely provided with sufficient capacity to 
 know good from evil, instinct, notwithstanding, with the virtues of 
 woman, reverencing and loving God, and yielding only to the weak 
 ness of her sex, in admiring personal attractions in one too coarse 
 and unobservant to distinguish or to understand her quiet, gentle 
 feeling in his favor. 
 
 As for the scene of this tale, it is intended for, and believed to be, 
 a close description of the Otsego, prior to the year 1 760, when the 
 first rude settlement was commenced on its banks, at that time only 
 an insignificant clearing near the outlet, with a small hut of squared 
 logs, for the temporary dwelling of the Deputy Superintendent of 
 Indian affairs. The recollections of the writer carry him back dis 
 tinctly to a time when nine-tenths of the shores of this lake were in 
 
 373 
 
374 THE DEERSLAYER 
 
 the virgin forest, a peculiarity that was owing to the circumstance 
 of the rokds running through the first range of valleys removed from 
 the water side. The woods and the mountains haye ever formed a 
 principal source of beauty with this charming sheet of water, enough 
 of the former remaining to this day to relieve the open grounds from 
 monotony and tameness. 
 
 In most respects the descriptions of scenery in the tale are reason 
 ably accurate. The rock appointed for the rendezvous between the 
 Deerslayer and his friend the Delaware still remains, bearing the 
 name of the Otsego Rock. The shoal on which H utter is represented 
 as having built his " castle " is a little misplaced, lying, in fact, nearer 
 to the northern end of the lake, as well as to the eastern shore, than 
 is stated in this book. Such a shoal, however, exists, surrounded on 
 all sides by deep water. In the dryest season a few rocks are seen 
 above the surface of the lake, and rushes, at most periods of the 
 year, mark its locality. In a word, in all but precise position, even 
 this feature of the book is accurate. The same is true of the several 
 points introduced, of the bay, of the river, of the mountains, and 
 of all the other accessories of the place. The legend is purely fiction, 
 no authority existing for any of its facts, characters, or other pecu 
 liarities, beyond that which was thought necessary to secure the 
 semblance of reality. 
 
 The author has often been asked if he had any original in his 
 mind for the character of Leatherstocking. In a physical sense, 
 different individuals known to the writer in early life certainly pre 
 sented themselves as models, through his recollections; but in a 
 moral sense this man of the forest is purely a creation. The idea of 
 delineating a character that possessed little of civilization but its 
 highest principles as they are exhibited in the uneducated, and all of 
 savage life that is not incompatible with these great rules of conduct, 
 is perhaps natural to the situation in which Natty was placed. He 
 is too proud of his origin to sink into the condition of the wild 
 Indian, and too much a man of the woods not to imbibe as much as 
 was at all desirable, from his friends and companions. In a moral 
 point of view it was the intention to illustrate the effect of seed scat 
 tered by the wayside. To use his own language, his " gifts " were 
 ft white gifts," and he was not disposed to bring on them discredit. 
 
APPENDIX 375 
 
 On the other hand, removed from nearly all the temptations of civi 
 lized life, placed in the best associations of that which is deemed sav 
 age, and favorably disposed by nature to improve such advantages, 
 it appeared to the writer that his hero was a fit subject to represent 
 the better qualities of both conditions, without pushing either to 
 extremes. 
 
 A leading character in a work of fiction has a fair right to the aid 
 which can be obtained from a poetical view of the subject. It is in 
 this view, rather than in one more strictly circumstantial, that 
 Leatherstocking has been drawn. The imagination has no great 
 task in portraying to itself a being removed from the every-day 
 inducements to err, which abound in civilized life, while he retains 
 the best and simplest of his early impressions ; who sees God in the 
 forest ; hears Him in the winds ; bows to Him in the firmament 
 that o ercanopies all ; submits to his sway in a humble belief of his 
 justice and mercy ; in a word, a being who finds the impress of the 
 Deity in all the works of nature, without any of the blots produced 
 by the expedients, and passions, and mistakes of man. This is the 
 most that has been attempted in the character of Leatherstocking. 
 Had this been done without any of the drawbacks of humanity, the 
 picture would have been, in all probability, more pleasing than just. 
 In order to preserve the vrai-semblable, therefore, traits derived 
 from the prejudices, tastes, and even the weaknesses of his youth, 
 have been mixed up with these higher qualities and longings, in a 
 way, it is hoped, to represent a reasonable picture of human nature, 
 without offering to the spectator a " monster of goodness." 
 
 It has been objected to these books that they give a more favor 
 able picture of the red-man than he deserves. It is the privilege of 
 all writers of fiction, more particularly when their works aspire to the 
 elevation of romances, to present the beau-ideal of their characters 
 to the reader. This it is which constitutes poetry, and to suppose 
 that the red-man is to be represented only in the squalid misery or 
 in the degraded moral state that certainly more or less belongs 
 to his condition, is, we apprehend, taking a very narrow view of an 
 author s privileges. Such criticism would have deprived the world 
 of even Homer. 
 
376 THE DEERSLAYER 
 
 II 
 
 IMPORTANT DATES IN COOPER S LIFE 
 
 Born at Burlington, New Jersey, September 15, 1789. 
 
 Family settled in Cooperstown, New York, in 1 790, his childhood 
 thus being passed on the shores of the beautiful Otsego Lake, which 
 is the scene of our story. 
 
 Entered Yale College in 1802. 
 
 Spent the years from 1 806 to 1 8 1 1 at sea, which accounts for his 
 nautical interest, shown in his descriptions of the ark and the castle. 
 
 Wrote "The Deerslayer " in 1841. 
 
 Died at Cooperstown, September 14, 1851. 
 
 Ill 
 
 THE PLOT OF "THE DEERSLAYER" 
 
 As has been indicated in the Preface, this novel lends itself to a 
 most rewarding plot study, especially in this simplified form. Of the 
 three unities of time and place and action, Cooper observed each 
 with sufficient care, but was particularly zealous for an accurate basis 
 of time. In order to bring this out more clearly the following analy 
 sis of the plot from the point of view of the time occupied and the 
 exact manner in which it was spent, has been prepared. Unity of 
 scene is also adhered to, the lake with its two dwellings, the shore, 
 and the Indian camp being the only places between which the action 
 shifts. 
 
 To study the unity of the action, which is as carefully worked out, 
 if not as concise, as in any modern drama, the reader should make a 
 brief synopsis of each of the six parts. Shorn of conversations and 
 of incidents which contribute to the exposition of character but not 
 to the progress of the story, such as Judith s discovery that Hutter 
 is not her real father, the framework will stand out as plainly as 
 that of a peaked house, with its ascending action until the climax, 
 
RETURN CIRCULATION DEPARTMENT 
 
 TO ^ 202 Main Librarv 
 
 LOAN PERIOD 1 
 HOME USE 
 
 
 3 
 
 4 
 
 5 
 
 6 
 
 Renewals and Recharges may be made 4 days prior to the due date. 
 Books may be Renewed by calling 642-3405 
 
 DUE AS STAMPED BELOW 
 
 OCT2919 
 
 B 
 
 
 
 
 
 nni B iq q? 
 
 
 
 . 
 
 
 
 8iPT o ft moo 
 
 
 
 ! u i o jyyj 
 
 
 
 " 19 
 
 
 
 f\ .- . 
 
 ~> . WT 
 
 
 FFR 8J29 
 
 Q 
 
 
 AUG31& 
 
 r 
 
 
 JAN 2 I 2002 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 UNIVERSITY OF CALIFORNIA, BERKELEY 
 FORM NO. DD6 BERKELEY, CA 94720 
 
U.C. BERKELEY LIBRARIES