The Last of the MohicansA Narrative of 1757

by James Fenimore Cooper

Styled by LimpidSoft

Contents

INTRODUC-TION 1

CHAPTER 1 12

CHAPTER 2 42

CHAPTER 3 67

CHAPTER 4 93

CHAPTER 5 119

CHAPTER 6 146

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CHAPTER 7 180

CHAPTER 8 214

CHAPTER 9 243

CHAPTER 10 269

CHAPTER 11 304

CHAPTER 12 341

CHAPTER 13 383

CHAPTER 14 415

CHAPTER 15 455

CHAPTER 16 489

CHAPTER 17 523

CHAPTER 18 566

CHAPTER 19 600

CHAPTER 20 637

CHAPTER 21 672

CHAPTER 22 703

CHAPTER 23 737

CHAPTER 24 776

CHAPTER 25 812

CHAPTER 26 851

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CHAPTER 27 883

CHAPTER 28 913

CHAPTER 29 944

CHAPTER 30 983

CHAPTER 31 1018

CHAPTER 32 1043

CHAPTER 33 1087

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The present document was de-rived from text provided by ProjectGutenberg (document 940) whichwas made available free of charge.This document is also free ofcharge.

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INTRODUCTION

IT IS BELIEVED that the scene of this tale, andmost of the information necessary to under-stand its allusions, are rendered sufficiently ob-vious to the reader in the text itself, or in the ac-companying notes. Still there is so much obscu-rity in the Indian traditions, and so much con-fusion in the Indian names, as to render some

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explanation useful.Few men exhibit greater diversity, or, if we

may so express it, greater antithesis of charac-ter, than the native warrior of North America.In war, he is daring, boastful, cunning, ruth-less, self-denying, and self-devoted; in peace,just, generous, hospitable, revengeful, super-stitious, modest, and commonly chaste. Theseare qualities, it is true, which do not distinguishall alike; but they are so far the predominatingtraits of these remarkable people as to be char-acteristic.

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

The color of the Indian, the writer believes, is

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peculiar to himself, and while his cheek-boneshave a very striking indication of a Tartar ori-gin, his eyes have not. Climate may have hadgreat influence on the former, but it is difficultto see how it can have produced the substantialdifference which exists in the latter. The im-agery of the Indian, both in his poetry and inhis oratory, is oriental; chastened, and perhapsimproved, by the limited range of his practicalknowledge. He draws his metaphors from theclouds, the seasons, the birds, the beasts, andthe vegetable world. In this, perhaps, he doesno more than any other energetic and imagi-native race would do, being compelled to setbounds to fancy by experience; but the NorthAmerican Indian clothes his ideas in a dresswhich is different from that of the African, andis oriental in itself. His language has the rich-ness and sententious fullness of the Chinese.

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He will express a phrase in a word, and he willqualify the meaning of an entire sentence by asyllable; he will even convey different signifi-cations by the simplest inflections of the voice.

Philologists have said that there are but twoor three languages, properly speaking, amongall the numerous tribes which formerly oc-cupied the country that now composes theUnited States. They ascribe the known diffi-culty one people have to understand anotherto corruptions and dialects. The writer remem-bers to have been present at an interview be-tween two chiefs of the Great Prairies westof the Mississippi, and when an interpreterwas in attendance who spoke both their lan-guages. The warriors appeared to be on themost friendly terms, and seemingly conversedmuch together; yet, according to the account of

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INTRODUCTION

the interpreter, each was absolutely ignorant ofwhat the other said. They were of hostile tribes,brought together by the influence of the Amer-ican government; and it is worthy of remark,that a common policy led them both to adoptthe same subject. They mutually exhorted eachother to be of use in the event of the chancesof war throwing either of the parties into thehands of his enemies. Whatever may be thetruth, as respects the root and the genius of theIndian tongues, it is quite certain they are nowso distinct in their words as to possess most ofthe disadvantages of strange languages; hencemuch of the embarrassment that has arisen inlearning their histories, and most of the uncer-tainty which exists in their traditions.

Like nations of higher pretensions, theAmerican Indian gives a very different account

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INTRODUCTION

of his own tribe or race from that which is givenby other people. He is much addicted to over-estimating his own perfections, and to under-valuing those of his rival or his enemy; a traitwhich may possibly be thought corroborativeof the Mosaic account of the creation.

The whites have assisted greatly in ren-dering the traditions of the Aborigines moreobscure by their own manner of corruptingnames. Thus, the term used in the title of thisbook has undergone the changes of Mahicanni,Mohicans, and Mohegans; the latter being theword commonly used by the whites. When itis remembered that the Dutch (who first set-tled New York), the English, and the French,all gave appellations to the tribes that dweltwithin the country which is the scene of thisstory, and that the Indians not only gave differ-

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INTRODUCTION

ent names to their enemies, but frequently tothemselves, the cause of the confusion will beunderstood.

In these pages, Lenni-Lenape, Lenope,Delawares, Wapanachki, and Mohicans, allmean the same people, or tribes of the samestock. The Mengwe, the Maquas, the Mingoes,and the Iroquois, though not all strictly thesame, are identified frequently by the speakers,being politically confederated and opposed tothose just named. Mingo was a term of pecu-liar reproach, as were Mengwe and Maqua in aless degree.

The Mohicans were the possessors of thecountry first occupied by the Europeans in thisportion of the continent. They were, conse-quently, the first dispossessed; and the seem-ingly inevitable fate of all these people, who

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INTRODUCTION

disappear before the advances, or it might betermed the inroads, of civilization, as the ver-dure of their native forests falls before the nip-ping frosts, is represented as having already be-fallen them. There is sufficient historical truthin the picture to justify the use that has beenmade of it.

In point of fact, the country which is thescene of the following tale has undergone aslittle change, since the historical events al-luded to had place, as almost any other dis-trict of equal extent within the whole limitsof the United States. There are fashionableand well-attended watering-places at and nearthe spring where Hawkeye halted to drink,and roads traverse the forests where he andhis friends were compelled to journey withouteven a path. Glen’s has a large village; and

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INTRODUCTION

while William Henry, and even a fortress oflater date, are only to be traced as ruins, thereis another village on the shores of the Horican.But, beyond this, the enterprise and energy of apeople who have done so much in other placeshave done little here. The whole of that wilder-ness, in which the latter incidents of the legendoccurred, is nearly a wilderness still, thoughthe red man has entirely deserted this part ofthe state. Of all the tribes named in these pages,there exist only a few half-civilized beings ofthe Oneidas, on the reservations of their peo-ple in New York. The rest have disappeared,either from the regions in which their fathersdwelt, or altogether from the earth.

There is one point on which we wouldwish to say a word before closing this preface.Hawkeye calls the Lac du Saint Sacrement, the

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INTRODUCTION

“Horican.” As we believe this to be an appro-priation of the name that has its origin withourselves, the time has arrived, perhaps, whenthe fact should be frankly admitted. Whilewriting this book, fully a quarter of a centurysince, it occurred to us that the French nameof this lake was too complicated, the Americantoo commonplace, and the Indian too unpro-nounceable, for either to be used familiarly in awork of fiction. Looking over an ancient map,it was ascertained that a tribe of Indians, called“Les Horicans” by the French, existed in theneighborhood of this beautiful sheet of water.As every word uttered by Natty Bumppo wasnot to be received as rigid truth, we took theliberty of putting the “Horican” into his mouth,as the substitute for “Lake George.” The namehas appeared to find favor, and all things con-sidered, it may possibly be quite as well to let

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INTRODUCTION

it stand, instead of going back to the House ofHanover for the appellation of our finest sheetof water. We relieve our conscience by the con-fession, at all events leaving it to exercise its au-thority as it may see fit.

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“Mine ear is open, and my heartprepared:

The worst is wordly loss thou canstunfold:–

Say, is my kingdom lost?”–Shakespeare

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IT WAS A feature peculiar to the colonial warsof North America, that the toils and dangersof the wilderness were to be encountered be-fore the adverse hosts could meet. A wide andapparently an impervious boundary of forestssevered the possessions of the hostile provincesof France and England. The hardy colonist,and the trained European who fought at hisside, frequently expended months in strug-gling against the rapids of the streams, or in ef-fecting the rugged passes of the mountains, inquest of an opportunity to exhibit their couragein a more martial conflict. But, emulating thepatience and self-denial of the practiced nativewarriors, they learned to overcome every dif-ficulty; and it would seem that, in time, therewas no recess of the woods so dark, nor any se-cret place so lovely, that it might claim exemp-tion from the inroads of those who had pledged

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their blood to satiate their vengeance, or to up-hold the cold and selfish policy of the distantmonarchs of Europe.

Perhaps no district throughout the wide ex-tent of the intermediate frontiers can furnish alivelier picture of the cruelty and fierceness ofthe savage warfare of those periods than thecountry which lies between the head waters ofthe Hudson and the adjacent lakes.

The facilities which nature had there offeredto the march of the combatants were too obvi-ous to be neglected. The lengthened sheet ofthe Champlain stretched from the frontiers ofCanada, deep within the borders of the neigh-boring province of New York, forming a nat-ural passage across half the distance that theFrench were compelled to master in order tostrike their enemies. Near its southern termi-

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nation, it received the contributions of anotherlake, whose waters were so limpid as to havebeen exclusively selected by the Jesuit mission-aries to perform the typical purification of bap-tism, and to obtain for it the title of lake “duSaint Sacrement.” The less zealous Englishthought they conferred a sufficient honor on itsunsullied fountains, when they bestowed thename of their reigning prince, the second of thehouse of Hanover. The two united to rob theuntutored possessors of its wooded scenery oftheir native right to perpetuate its original ap-pellation of “Horican.”1

1As each nation of the Indians had its language orits dialect, they usually gave different names to the sameplaces, though nearly all of their appellations were de-scriptive of the object. Thus a literal translation of thename of this beautiful sheet of water, used by the tribethat dwelt on its banks, would be “The Tail of the Lake.”

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Winding its way among countless islands,and imbedded in mountains, the “holy lake”extended a dozen leagues still further to thesouth. With the high plain that there inter-posed itself to the further passage of the water,commenced a portage of as many miles, whichconducted the adventurer to the banks of theHudson, at a point where, with the usual ob-structions of the rapids, or rifts, as they werethen termed in the language of the country, theriver became navigable to the tide.

While, in the pursuit of their daring plans ofannoyance, the restless enterprise of the Frencheven attempted the distant and difficult gorgesof the Alleghany, it may easily be imagined

Lake George, as it is vulgarly, and now, indeed, legally,called, forms a sort of tail to Lake Champlain, whenviewed on the map. Hence, the name.

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that their proverbial acuteness would not over-look the natural advantages of the district wehave just described. It became, emphatically,the bloody arena, in which most of the battlesfor the mastery of the colonies were contested.Forts were erected at the different points thatcommanded the facilities of the route, and weretaken and retaken, razed and rebuilt, as vic-tory alighted on the hostile banners. Whilethe husbandman shrank back from the danger-ous passes, within the safer boundaries of themore ancient settlements, armies larger thanthose that had often disposed of the scepters ofthe mother countries, were seen to bury them-selves in these forests, whence they rarely re-turned but in skeleton bands, that were hag-gard with care or dejected by defeat. Thoughthe arts of peace were unknown to this fatal re-gion, its forests were alive with men; its shades

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and glens rang with the sounds of martial mu-sic, and the echoes of its mountains threw backthe laugh, or repeated the wanton cry, of manya gallant and reckless youth, as he hurried bythem, in the noontide of his spirits, to slumberin a long night of forgetfulness.

It was in this scene of strife and bloodshedthat the incidents we shall attempt to relate oc-curred, during the third year of the war whichEngland and France last waged for the posses-sion of a country that neither was destined toretain.

The imbecility of her military leaders abroad,and the fatal want of energy in her councilsat home, had lowered the character of GreatBritain from the proud elevation on whichit had been placed by the talents and enter-prise of her former warriors and statesmen.

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No longer dreaded by her enemies, her ser-vants were fast losing the confidence of self-respect. In this mortifying abasement, thecolonists, though innocent of her imbecility,and too humble to be the agents of her blun-ders, were but the natural participators. Theyhad recently seen a chosen army from thatcountry, which, reverencing as a mother, theyhad blindly believed invincible–an army led bya chief who had been selected from a crowdof trained warriors, for his rare military en-dowments, disgracefully routed by a handfulof French and Indians, and only saved from an-nihilation by the coolness and spirit of a Vir-ginian boy, whose riper fame has since dif-fused itself, with the steady influence of moraltruth, to the uttermost confines of Christen-

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dom.2 A wide frontier had been laid nakedby this unexpected disaster, and more substan-tial evils were preceded by a thousand fancifuland imaginary dangers. The alarmed colonistsbelieved that the yells of the savages mingledwith every fitful gust of wind that issued fromthe interminable forests of the west. The terrific

2Washington, who, after uselessly admonishing theEuropean general of the danger into which he was heed-lessly running, saved the remnants of the British army,on this occasion, by his decision and courage. The repu-tation earned by Washington in this battle was the prin-cipal cause of his being selected to command the Amer-ican armies at a later day. It is a circumstance wor-thy of observation, that while all America rang with hiswell-merited reputation, his name does not occur in anyEuropean account of the battle; at least the author hassearched for it without success. In this manner does themother country absorb even the fame, under that sys-tem of rule.

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character of their merciless enemies increasedimmeasurably the natural horrors of warfare.Numberless recent massacres were still vividin their recollections; nor was there any ear inthe provinces so deaf as not to have drunk inwith avidity the narrative of some fearful taleof midnight murder, in which the natives ofthe forests were the principal and barbarous ac-tors. As the credulous and excited traveler re-lated the hazardous chances of the wilderness,the blood of the timid curdled with terror, andmothers cast anxious glances even at those chil-dren which slumbered within the security ofthe largest towns. In short, the magnifying in-fluence of fear began to set at naught the cal-culations of reason, and to render those whoshould have remembered their manhood, theslaves of the basest passions. Even the mostconfident and the stoutest hearts began to think

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the issue of the contest was becoming doubt-ful; and that abject class was hourly increasingin numbers, who thought they foresaw all thepossessions of the English crown in Americasubdued by their Christian foes, or laid wasteby the inroads of their relentless allies.

When, therefore, intelligence was received atthe fort which covered the southern termina-tion of the portage between the Hudson andthe lakes, that Montcalm had been seen movingup the Champlain, with an army “numerous asthe leaves on the trees,” its truth was admit-ted with more of the craven reluctance of fearthan with the stern joy that a warrior shouldfeel, in finding an enemy within reach of hisblow. The news had been brought, toward thedecline of a day in midsummer, by an Indianrunner, who also bore an urgent request from

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Munro, the commander of a work on the shoreof the “holy lake,” for a speedy and powerfulreinforcement. It has already been mentionedthat the distance between these two posts wasless than five leagues. The rude path, whichoriginally formed their line of communication,had been widened for the passage of wagons;so that the distance which had been traveledby the son of the forest in two hours, mighteasily be effected by a detachment of troops,with their necessary baggage, between the ris-ing and setting of a summer sun. The loyalservants of the British crown had given to oneof these forest-fastnesses the name of WilliamHenry, and to the other that of Fort Edward,calling each after a favorite prince of the reign-ing family. The veteran Scotchman just namedheld the first, with a regiment of regulars and afew provincials; a force really by far too small

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to make head against the formidable powerthat Montcalm was leading to the foot of hisearthen mounds. At the latter, however, layGeneral Webb, who commanded the armies ofthe king in the northern provinces, with a bodyof more than five thousand men. By unitingthe several detachments of his command, thisofficer might have arrayed nearly double thatnumber of combatants against the enterprisingFrenchman, who had ventured so far from hisreinforcements, with an army but little supe-rior in numbers.

But under the influence of their degradedfortunes, both officers and men appeared bet-ter disposed to await the approach of theirformidable antagonists, within their works,than to resist the progress of their march, byemulating the successful example of the French

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at Fort du Quesne, and striking a blow on theiradvance.

After the first surprise of the intelligence hada little abated, a rumor was spread through theentrenched camp, which stretched along themargin of the Hudson, forming a chain of out-works to the body of the fort itself, that a cho-sen detachment of fifteen hundred men was todepart, with the dawn, for William Henry, thepost at the northern extremity of the portage.That which at first was only rumor, soon be-came certainty, as orders passed from the quar-ters of the commander-in-chief to the severalcorps he had selected for this service, to pre-pare for their speedy departure. All doubts asto the intention of Webb now vanished, and anhour or two of hurried footsteps and anxiousfaces succeeded. The novice in the military

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art flew from point to point, retarding his ownpreparations by the excess of his violent andsomewhat distempered zeal; while the morepracticed veteran made his arrangements witha deliberation that scorned every appearanceof haste; though his sober lineaments and anx-ious eye sufficiently betrayed that he had novery strong professional relish for the, as yet,untried and dreaded warfare of the wilderness.At length the sun set in a flood of glory, behindthe distant western hills, and as darkness drewits veil around the secluded spot the soundsof preparation diminished; the last light finallydisappeared from the log cabin of some offi-cer; the trees cast their deeper shadows overthe mounds and the rippling stream, and a si-lence soon pervaded the camp, as deep as thatwhich reigned in the vast forest by which it wasenvironed.

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According to the orders of the precedingnight, the heavy sleep of the army was brokenby the rolling of the warning drums, whose rat-tling echoes were heard issuing, on the dampmorning air, out of every vista of the woods,just as day began to draw the shaggy outlinesof some tall pines of the vicinity, on the open-ing brightness of a soft and cloudless easternsky. In an instant the whole camp was in mo-tion; the meanest soldier arousing from his lairto witness the departure of his comrades, andto share in the excitement and incidents of thehour. The simple array of the chosen band wassoon completed. While the regular and trainedhirelings of the king marched with haughti-ness to the right of the line, the less pretend-ing colonists took their humbler position on itsleft, with a docility that long practice had ren-dered easy. The scouts departed; strong guards

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preceded and followed the lumbering vehiclesthat bore the baggage; and before the gray lightof the morning was mellowed by the rays of thesun, the main body of the combatants wheeledinto column, and left the encampment with ashow of high military bearing, that served todrown the slumbering apprehensions of manya novice, who was now about to make his firstessay in arms. While in view of their admiringcomrades, the same proud front and orderedarray was observed, until the notes of their fifesgrowing fainter in distance, the forest at lengthappeared to swallow up the living mass whichhad slowly entered its bosom.

The deepest sounds of the retiring and in-visible column had ceased to be borne on thebreeze to the listeners, and the latest strag-gler had already disappeared in pursuit; but

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there still remained the signs of another de-parture, before a log cabin of unusual size andaccommodations, in front of which those sen-tinels paced their rounds, who were known toguard the person of the English general. At thisspot were gathered some half dozen horses,caparisoned in a manner which showed thattwo, at least, were destined to bear the per-sons of females, of a rank that it was not usualto meet so far in the wilds of the country. Athird wore trappings and arms of an officerof the staff; while the rest, from the plainnessof the housings, and the traveling mails withwhich they were encumbered, were evidentlyfitted for the reception of as many menials, whowere, seemingly, already waiting the pleasureof those they served. At a respectful distancefrom this unusual show, were gathered diversgroups of curious idlers; some admiring the

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blood and bone of the high-mettled militarycharger, and others gazing at the preparations,with the dull wonder of vulgar curiosity. Therewas one man, however, who, by his counte-nance and actions, formed a marked exceptionto those who composed the latter class of spec-tators, being neither idle, nor seemingly veryignorant.

The person of this individual was to thelast degree ungainly, without being in anyparticular manner deformed. He had all thebones and joints of other men, without anyof their proportions. Erect, his stature sur-passed that of his fellows; though seated, heappeared reduced within the ordinary limits ofthe race. The same contrariety in his membersseemed to exist throughout the whole man.His head was large; his shoulders narrow; his

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arms long and dangling; while his hands weresmall, if not delicate. His legs and thighs werethin, nearly to emaciation, but of extraordinarylength; and his knees would have been consid-ered tremendous, had they not been outdoneby the broader foundations on which this falsesuperstructure of blended human orders wasso profanely reared. The ill-assorted and in-judicious attire of the individual only servedto render his awkwardness more conspicuous.A sky-blue coat, with short and broad skirtsand low cape, exposed a long, thin neck, andlonger and thinner legs, to the worst animad-versions of the evil-disposed. His nether gar-ment was a yellow nankeen, closely fitted tothe shape, and tied at his bunches of knees bylarge knots of white ribbon, a good deal sulliedby use. Clouded cotton stockings, and shoes,on one of the latter of which was a plated spur,

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completed the costume of the lower extremityof this figure, no curve or angle of which wasconcealed, but, on the other hand, studiouslyexhibited, through the vanity or simplicity ofits owner.

From beneath the flap of an enormouspocket of a soiled vest of embossed silk, heav-ily ornamented with tarnished silver lace, pro-jected an instrument, which, from being seen insuch martial company, might have been easilymistaken for some mischievous and unknownimplement of war. Small as it was, this un-common engine had excited the curiosity ofmost of the Europeans in the camp, though sev-eral of the provincials were seen to handle it,not only without fear, but with the utmost fa-miliarity. A large, civil cocked hat, like thoseworn by clergymen within the last thirty years,

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surmounted the whole, furnishing dignity toa good-natured and somewhat vacant counte-nance, that apparently needed such artificialaid, to support the gravity of some high andextraordinary trust.

While the common herd stood aloof, in def-erence to the quarters of Webb, the figure wehave described stalked into the center of thedomestics, freely expressing his censures orcommendations on the merits of the horses, asby chance they displeased or satisfied his judg-ment.

“This beast, I rather conclude, friend, is notof home raising, but is from foreign lands, orperhaps from the little island itself over theblue water?” he said, in a voice as remarkablefor the softness and sweetness of its tones, aswas his person for its rare proportions; “I may

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speak of these things, and be no braggart; for Ihave been down at both havens; that which issituate at the mouth of Thames, and is namedafter the capital of Old England, and that whichis called ‘Haven’, with the addition of the word‘New’; and have seen the scows and brigan-tines collecting their droves, like the gatheringto the ark, being outward bound to the Islandof Jamaica, for the purpose of barter and trafficin four-footed animals; but never before haveI beheld a beast which verified the true scrip-ture war-horse like this: ‘He paweth in the val-ley, and rejoiceth in his strength; he goeth on tomeet the armed men. He saith among the trum-pets, Ha, ha; and he smelleth the battle afar off,the thunder of the captains, and the shouting’It would seem that the stock of the horse of Is-rael had descended to our own time; would itnot, friend?”

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Receiving no reply to this extraordinary ap-peal, which in truth, as it was delivered withthe vigor of full and sonorous tones, meritedsome sort of notice, he who had thus sung forththe language of the holy book turned to thesilent figure to whom he had unwittingly ad-dressed himself, and found a new and morepowerful subject of admiration in the objectthat encountered his gaze. His eyes fell onthe still, upright, and rigid form of the “In-dian runner,” who had borne to the camp theunwelcome tidings of the preceding evening.Although in a state of perfect repose, and ap-parently disregarding, with characteristic sto-icism, the excitement and bustle around him,there was a sullen fierceness mingled with thequiet of the savage, that was likely to arrest theattention of much more experienced eyes thanthose which now scanned him, in unconcealed

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amazement. The native bore both the toma-hawk and knife of his tribe; and yet his appear-ance was not altogether that of a warrior. Onthe contrary, there was an air of neglect abouthis person, like that which might have pro-ceeded from great and recent exertion, whichhe had not yet found leisure to repair. The col-ors of the war-paint had blended in dark con-fusion about his fierce countenance, and ren-dered his swarthy lineaments still more savageand repulsive than if art had attempted an ef-fect which had been thus produced by chance.His eye, alone, which glistened like a fiery staramid lowering clouds, was to be seen in itsstate of native wildness. For a single instanthis searching and yet wary glance met the won-dering look of the other, and then changing itsdirection, partly in cunning, and partly in dis-dain, it remained fixed, as if penetrating the

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distant air.

It is impossible to say what unlooked-forremark this short and silent communication,between two such singular men, might haveelicited from the white man, had not his activecuriosity been again drawn to other objects. Ageneral movement among the domestics, anda low sound of gentle voices, announced theapproach of those whose presence alone waswanted to enable the cavalcade to move. Thesimple admirer of the war-horse instantly fellback to a low, gaunt, switch-tailed mare, thatwas unconsciously gleaning the faded herbageof the camp nigh by; where, leaning with oneelbow on the blanket that concealed an apol-ogy for a saddle, he became a spectator of thedeparture, while a foal was quietly making itsmorning repast, on the opposite side of the

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same animal.

A young man, in the dress of an officer, con-ducted to their steeds two females, who, as itwas apparent by their dresses, were preparedto encounter the fatigues of a journey in thewoods. One, and she was the more juvenilein her appearance, though both were young,permitted glimpses of her dazzling complex-ion, fair golden hair, and bright blue eyes, tobe caught, as she artlessly suffered the morn-ing air to blow aside the green veil which de-scended low from her beaver.

The flush which still lingered above thepines in the western sky was not more brightnor delicate than the bloom on her cheek; norwas the opening day more cheering than theanimated smile which she bestowed on theyouth, as he assisted her into the saddle. The

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other, who appeared to share equally in theattention of the young officer, concealed hercharms from the gaze of the soldiery with acare that seemed better fitted to the experienceof four or five additional years. It could beseen, however, that her person, though moldedwith the same exquisite proportions, of whichnone of the graces were lost by the travelingdress she wore, was rather fuller and more ma-ture than that of her companion.

No sooner were these females seated, thantheir attendant sprang lightly into the saddleof the war-horse, when the whole three bowedto Webb, who in courtesy, awaited their part-ing on the threshold of his cabin and turn-ing their horses’ heads, they proceeded at aslow amble, followed by their train, toward thenorthern entrance of the encampment. As they

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traversed that short distance, not a voice washeard among them; but a slight exclamationproceeded from the younger of the females,as the Indian runner glided by her, unexpect-edly, and led the way along the military roadin her front. Though this sudden and startlingmovement of the Indian produced no soundfrom the other, in the surprise her veil alsowas allowed to open its folds, and betrayedan indescribable look of pity, admiration, andhorror, as her dark eye followed the easy mo-tions of the savage. The tresses of this ladywere shining and black, like the plumage ofthe raven. Her complexion was not brown,but it rather appeared charged with the colorof the rich blood, that seemed ready to burstits bounds. And yet there was neither coarse-ness nor want of shadowing in a countenancethat was exquisitely regular, and dignified and

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surpassingly beautiful. She smiled, as if in pityat her own momentary forgetfulness, discover-ing by the act a row of teeth that would haveshamed the purest ivory; when, replacing theveil, she bowed her face, and rode in silence,like one whose thoughts were abstracted fromthe scene around her.

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“Sola, sola, wo ha, ho, sola!”–Shakespeare

WHILE ONE OF the lovely beings we have socursorily presented to the reader was thus lostin thought, the other quickly recovered fromthe alarm which induced the exclamation, and,

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laughing at her own weakness, she inquired ofthe youth who rode by her side:

“Are such specters frequent in the woods,Heyward, or is this sight an especial entertain-ment ordered on our behalf? If the latter, grat-itude must close our mouths; but if the former,both Cora and I shall have need to draw largelyon that stock of hereditary courage which weboast, even before we are made to encounterthe redoubtable Montcalm.”

“Yon Indian is a ‘runner’ of the army; and,after the fashion of his people, he may be ac-counted a hero,” returned the officer. “He hasvolunteered to guide us to the lake, by a pathbut little known, sooner than if we followed thetardy movements of the column; and, by con-sequence, more agreeably.”

“I like him not,” said the lady, shuddering,

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partly in assumed, yet more in real terror. “Youknow him, Duncan, or you would not trustyourself so freely to his keeping?”

“Say, rather, Alice, that I would not trust you.I do know him, or he would not have my con-fidence, and least of all at this moment. He issaid to be a Canadian too; and yet he servedwith our friends the Mohawks, who, as youknow, are one of the six allied nations. He wasbrought among us, as I have heard, by somestrange accident in which your father was in-terested, and in which the savage was rigidlydealt by; but I forget the idle tale, it is enough,that he is now our friend.”

“If he has been my father’s enemy, I likehim still less!” exclaimed the now really anx-ious girl. “Will you not speak to him, MajorHeyward, that I may hear his tones? Fool-

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ish though it may be, you have often heardme avow my faith in the tones of the humanvoice!”

“It would be in vain; and answered, mostprobably, by an ejaculation. Though he mayunderstand it, he affects, like most of his peo-ple, to be ignorant of the English; and least ofall will he condescend to speak it, now that thewar demands the utmost exercise of his dignity.But he stops; the private path by which we areto journey is, doubtless, at hand.”

The conjecture of Major Heyward was true.When they reached the spot where the Indianstood, pointing into the thicket that fringed themilitary road; a narrow and blind path, whichmight, with some little inconvenience, receiveone person at a time, became visible.

“Here, then, lies our way,” said the young

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man, in a low voice. “Manifest no distrust, oryou may invite the danger you appear to ap-prehend.”

“Cora, what think you?” asked the reluctantfair one. “If we journey with the troops, thoughwe may find their presence irksome, shall wenot feel better assurance of our safety?”

“Being little accustomed to the practices ofthe savages, Alice, you mistake the place ofreal danger,” said Heyward. “If enemies havereached the portage at all, a thing by no meansprobable, as our scouts are abroad, they willsurely be found skirting the column, wherescalps abound the most. The route of the de-tachment is known, while ours, having beendetermined within the hour, must still be se-cret.”

“Should we distrust the man because his

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manners are not our manners, and that his skinis dark?” coldly asked Cora.

Alice hesitated no longer; but giving herNarrangansett a smart cut of the whip, shewas the first to dash aside the slight branchesof the bushes, and to follow the runner alongthe dark and tangled pathway. The youngman regarded the last speaker in open admira-tion, and even permitted her fairer, though cer-tainly not more beautiful companion, to pro-ceed unattended, while he sedulously openedthe way himself for the passage of her who hasbeen called Cora. It would seem that the do-mestics had been previously instructed; for, in-stead of penetrating the thicket, they followedthe route of the column; a measure which Hey-ward stated had been dictated by the sagacityof their guide, in order to diminish the marks

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of their trail, if, haply, the Canadian savagesshould be lurking so far in advance of theirarmy. For many minutes the intricacy of theroute admitted of no further dialogue; afterwhich they emerged from the broad border ofunderbrush which grew along the line of thehighway, and entered under the high but darkarches of the forest. Here their progress wasless interrupted; and the instant the guide per-ceived that the females could command theirsteeds, he moved on, at a pace between a trotand a walk, and at a rate which kept the sure-footed and peculiar animals they rode at a fastyet easy amble. The youth had turned to speakto the dark-eyed Cora, when the distant soundof horses hoofs, clattering over the roots of thebroken way in his rear, caused him to checkhis charger; and, as his companions drew theirreins at the same instant, the whole party came

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to a halt, in order to obtain an explanation ofthe unlooked-for interruption.3

In a few moments a colt was seen gliding,like a fallow deer, among the straight trunks ofthe pines; and, in another instant, the person ofthe ungainly man, described in the precedingchapter, came into view, with as much rapid-ity as he could excite his meager beast to en-

3In the state of Rhode Island there is a bay calledNarragansett, so named after a powerful tribe of Indi-ans, which formerly dwelt on its banks. Accident, or oneof those unaccountable freaks which nature sometimesplays in the animal world, gave rise to a breed of horseswhich were once well known in America, and distin-guished by their habit of pacing. Horses of this racewere, and are still, in much request as saddle horses, onaccount of their hardiness and the ease of their move-ments. As they were also sure of foot, the Narragansettswere greatly sought for by females who were obliged totravel over the roots and holes in the “new countries.”

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dure without coming to an open rupture. Untilnow this personage had escaped the observa-tion of the travelers. If he possessed the powerto arrest any wandering eye when exhibitingthe glories of his altitude on foot, his equestriangraces were still more likely to attract attention.

Notwithstanding a constant application ofhis one armed heel to the flanks of the mare,the most confirmed gait that he could estab-lish was a Canterbury gallop with the hindlegs, in which those more forward assisted fordoubtful moments, though generally contentto maintain a loping trot. Perhaps the rapidityof the changes from one of these paces to theother created an optical illusion, which mightthus magnify the powers of the beast; for itis certain that Heyward, who possessed a trueeye for the merits of a horse, was unable, with

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his utmost ingenuity, to decide by what sortof movement his pursuer worked his sinuousway on his footsteps with such perseveringhardihood.

The industry and movements of the riderwere not less remarkable than those of the rid-den. At each change in the evolutions of the lat-ter, the former raised his tall person in the stir-rups; producing, in this manner, by the undueelongation of his legs, such sudden growthsand diminishings of the stature, as baffled ev-ery conjecture that might be made as to his di-mensions. If to this be added the fact that, inconsequence of the ex parte application of thespur, one side of the mare appeared to journeyfaster than the other; and that the aggrievedflank was resolutely indicated by unremittedflourishes of a bushy tail, we finish the picture

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of both horse and man.The frown which had gathered around the

handsome, open, and manly brow of Heyward,gradually relaxed, and his lips curled into aslight smile, as he regarded the stranger. Al-ice made no very powerful effort to control hermerriment; and even the dark, thoughtful eyeof Cora lighted with a humor that it wouldseem, the habit, rather than the nature, of itsmistress repressed.

“Seek you any here?” demanded Heyward,when the other had arrived sufficiently nigh toabate his speed; “I trust you are no messengerof evil tidings?”

“Even so,” replied the stranger, making dili-gent use of his triangular castor, to produce acirculation in the close air of the woods, andleaving his hearers in doubt to which of the

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young man’s questions he responded; when,however, he had cooled his face, and recov-ered his breath, he continued, “I hear you areriding to William Henry; as I am journeyingthitherward myself, I concluded good com-pany would seem consistent to the wishes ofboth parties.”

“You appear to possess the privilege of acasting vote,” returned Heyward; “we arethree, while you have consulted no one butyourself.”

“Even so. The first point to be obtained is toknow one’s own mind. Once sure of that, andwhere women are concerned it is not easy, thenext is, to act up to the decision. I have endeav-ored to do both, and here I am.”

“If you journey to the lake, you have mis-taken your route,” said Heyward, haughtily;

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“the highway thither is at least half a mile be-hind you.”

“Even so,” returned the stranger, nothingdaunted by this cold reception; “I have tarriedat ‘Edward’ a week, and I should be dumb notto have inquired the road I was to journey; andif dumb there would be an end to my calling.”After simpering in a small way, like one whosemodesty prohibited a more open expression ofhis admiration of a witticism that was perfectlyunintelligible to his hearers, he continued, “Itis not prudent for any one of my profession tobe too familiar with those he has to instruct; forwhich reason I follow not the line of the army;besides which, I conclude that a gentleman ofyour character has the best judgment in mattersof wayfaring; I have, therefore, decided to joincompany, in order that the ride may be made

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agreeable, and partake of social communion.”“A most arbitrary, if not a hasty decision!”

exclaimed Heyward, undecided whether togive vent to his growing anger, or to laugh inthe other’s face. “But you speak of instruction,and of a profession; are you an adjunct to theprovincial corps, as a master of the noble sci-ence of defense and offense; or, perhaps, youare one who draws lines and angles, under thepretense of expounding the mathematics?”

The stranger regarded his interrogator a mo-ment in wonder; and then, losing every markof self-satisfaction in an expression of solemnhumility, he answered:

“Of offense, I hope there is none, to eitherparty: of defense, I make none–by God’s goodmercy, having committed no palpable sin sincelast entreating his pardoning grace. I under-

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stand not your allusions about lines and angles;and I leave expounding to those who have beencalled and set apart for that holy office. I layclaim to no higher gift than a small insight intothe glorious art of petitioning and thanksgiv-ing, as practiced in psalmody.”

“The man is, most manifestly, a disciple ofApollo,” cried the amused Alice, “and I takehim under my own especial protection. Nay,throw aside that frown, Heyward, and in pityto my longing ears, suffer him to journey inour train. Besides,” she added, in a low andhurried voice, casting a glance at the distantCora, who slowly followed the footsteps oftheir silent, but sullen guide, “it may be afriend added to our strength, in time of need.”

“Think you, Alice, that I would trust thoseI love by this secret path, did I imagine such

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need could happen?”

“Nay, nay, I think not of it now; but thisstrange man amuses me; and if he ‘hath musicin his soul’, let us not churlishly reject his com-pany.” She pointed persuasively along the pathwith her riding whip, while their eyes met in alook which the young man lingered a momentto prolong; then, yielding to her gentle influ-ence, he clapped his spurs into his charger, andin a few bounds was again at the side of Cora.

“I am glad to encounter thee, friend,” con-tinued the maiden, waving her hand to thestranger to proceed, as she urged her Narra-gansett to renew its amble. “Partial relativeshave almost persuaded me that I am not en-tirely worthless in a duet myself; and we mayenliven our wayfaring by indulging in our fa-vorite pursuit. It might be of signal advantage

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to one, ignorant as I, to hear the opinions andexperience of a master in the art.”

“It is refreshing both to the spirits and to thebody to indulge in psalmody, in befitting sea-sons,” returned the master of song, unhesitat-ingly complying with her intimation to follow;“and nothing would relieve the mind morethan such a consoling communion. But fourparts are altogether necessary to the perfectionof melody. You have all the manifestations of asoft and rich treble; I can, by especial aid, carrya full tenor to the highest letter; but we lackcounter and bass! Yon officer of the king, whohesitated to admit me to his company, might fillthe latter, if one may judge from the intonationsof his voice in common dialogue.”

“Judge not too rashly from hasty and de-ceptive appearances,” said the lady, smiling;

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“though Major Heyward can assume suchdeep notes on occasion, believe me, his naturaltones are better fitted for a mellow tenor thanthe bass you heard.”

“Is he, then, much practiced in the art ofpsalmody?” demanded her simple companion.

Alice felt disposed to laugh, though she suc-ceeded in suppressing her merriment, ere sheanswered:

“I apprehend that he is rather addicted toprofane song. The chances of a soldier’s life arebut little fitted for the encouragement of moresober inclinations.”

“Man’s voice is given to him, like his othertalents, to be used, and not to be abused. Nonecan say they have ever known me to neglectmy gifts! I am thankful that, though my boy-hood may be said to have been set apart, like

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the youth of the royal David, for the purposesof music, no syllable of rude verse has ever pro-faned my lips.”

“You have, then, limited your efforts to sa-cred song?”

“Even so. As the psalms of David exceed allother language, so does the psalmody that hasbeen fitted to them by the divines and sagesof the land, surpass all vain poetry. Happily, Imay say that I utter nothing but the thoughtsand the wishes of the King of Israel himself;for though the times may call for some slightchanges, yet does this version which we use inthe colonies of New England so much exceedall other versions, that, by its richness, its ex-actness, and its spiritual simplicity, it approa-cheth, as near as may be, to the great work ofthe inspired writer. I never abide in any place,

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sleeping or waking, without an example of thisgifted work. ‘Tis the six-and-twentieth edition,promulgated at Boston, Anno Domini 1744;and is entitled, ‘The Psalms, Hymns, and Spir-itual Songs of the Old and New Testaments;faithfully translated into English Metre, for theUse, Edification, and Comfort of the Saints,in Public and Private, especially in New Eng-land’.”

During this eulogium on the rare produc-tion of his native poets, the stranger had drawnthe book from his pocket, and fitting a pair ofiron-rimmed spectacles to his nose, opened thevolume with a care and veneration suited toits sacred purposes. Then, without circumlo-cution or apology, first pronounced the word“Standish,” and placing the unknown engine,already described, to his mouth, from which he

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drew a high, shrill sound, that was followed byan octave below, from his own voice, he com-menced singing the following words, in full,sweet, and melodious tones, that set the music,the poetry, and even the uneasy motion of hisill-trained beast at defiance; “How good it is,O see, And how it pleaseth well, Together e’enin unity, For brethren so to dwell. It’s like thechoice ointment, From the head to the bearddid go; Down Aaron’s head, that downwardwent His garment’s skirts unto.”

The delivery of these skillful rhymes was ac-companied, on the part of the stranger, by aregular rise and fall of his right hand, whichterminated at the descent, by suffering the fin-gers to dwell a moment on the leaves of the lit-tle volume; and on the ascent, by such a flour-ish of the member as none but the initiated may

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ever hope to imitate. It would seem long prac-tice had rendered this manual accompanimentnecessary; for it did not cease until the preposi-tion which the poet had selected for the close ofhis verse had been duly delivered like a wordof two syllables.

Such an innovation on the silence and retire-ment of the forest could not fail to enlist theears of those who journeyed at so short a dis-tance in advance. The Indian muttered a fewwords in broken English to Heyward, who, inhis turn, spoke to the stranger; at once inter-rupting, and, for the time, closing his musicalefforts.

“Though we are not in danger, common pru-dence would teach us to journey through thiswilderness in as quiet a manner as possible.You will then, pardon me, Alice, should I di-

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minish your enjoyments, by requesting thisgentleman to postpone his chant until a saferopportunity.”

“You will diminish them, indeed,” returnedthe arch girl; “for never did I hear a more un-worthy conjunction of execution and languagethan that to which I have been listening; andI was far gone in a learned inquiry into thecauses of such an unfitness between sound andsense, when you broke the charm of my mus-ings by that bass of yours, Duncan!”

“I know not what you call my bass,” saidHeyward, piqued at her remark, “but I knowthat your safety, and that of Cora, is far dearerto me than could be any orchestra of Han-del’s music.” He paused and turned his headquickly toward a thicket, and then bent his eyessuspiciously on their guide, who continued his

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steady pace, in undisturbed gravity. The youngman smiled to himself, for he believed he hadmistaken some shining berry of the woods forthe glistening eyeballs of a prowling savage,and he rode forward, continuing the conversa-tion which had been interrupted by the passingthought.

Major Heyward was mistaken only in suf-fering his youthful and generous pride to sup-press his active watchfulness. The cavalcadehad not long passed, before the branches ofthe bushes that formed the thicket were cau-tiously moved asunder, and a human visage, asfiercely wild as savage art and unbridled pas-sions could make it, peered out on the retiringfootsteps of the travelers. A gleam of exulta-tion shot across the darkly-painted lineamentsof the inhabitant of the forest, as he traced

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the route of his intended victims, who rodeunconsciously onward, the light and gracefulforms of the females waving among the trees,in the curvatures of their path, followed at eachbend by the manly figure of Heyward, un-til, finally, the shapeless person of the singingmaster was concealed behind the numberlesstrunks of trees, that rose, in dark lines, in theintermediate space.

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“Before these fields were shorn andtill’d,

Full to the brim our rivers flow’d;The melody of waters fill’d The

fresh and boundless wood;And torrents dash’d, and rivulets

play’d,

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And fountains spouted in theshade.”

–Bryant

LEAVING THE UNSUSPECTING Heywardand his confiding companions to penetrate stilldeeper into a forest that contained such treach-erous inmates, we must use an author’s priv-ilege, and shift the scene a few miles to thewestward of the place where we have last seenthem.

On that day, two men were lingering on thebanks of a small but rapid stream, within anhour’s journey of the encampment of Webb,like those who awaited the appearance of anabsent person, or the approach of some ex-pected event. The vast canopy of woods spreaditself to the margin of the river, overhanging

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the water, and shadowing its dark current witha deeper hue. The rays of the sun were be-ginning to grow less fierce, and the intenseheat of the day was lessened, as the cooler va-pors of the springs and fountains rose abovetheir leafy beds, and rested in the atmosphere.Still that breathing silence, which marks thedrowsy sultriness of an American landscape inJuly, pervaded the secluded spot, interruptedonly by the low voices of the men, the occa-sional and lazy tap of a woodpecker, the dis-cordant cry of some gaudy jay, or a swellingon the ear, from the dull roar of a distant wa-terfall. These feeble and broken sounds were,however, too familiar to the foresters to drawtheir attention from the more interesting mat-ter of their dialogue. While one of these loi-terers showed the red skin and wild accouter-ments of a native of the woods, the other exhib-

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ited, through the mask of his rude and nearlysavage equipments, the brighter, though sun-burned and long-faced complexion of one whomight claim descent from a European parent-age. The former was seated on the end ofa mossy log, in a posture that permitted himto heighten the effect of his earnest language,by the calm but expressive gestures of an In-dian engaged in debate. His body, which wasnearly naked, presented a terrific emblem ofdeath, drawn in intermingled colors of whiteand black. His closely-shaved head, on whichno other hair than the well-known and chival-rous scalping tuft4 was preserved, was without

4The North American warrior caused the hair to beplucked from his whole body; a small tuft was left onthe crown of his head, in order that his enemy mightavail himself of it, in wrenching off the scalp in the eventof his fall. The scalp was the only admissible trophy

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ornament of any kind, with the exception of asolitary eagle’s plume, that crossed his crown,and depended over the left shoulder. A tom-ahawk and scalping knife, of English manu-facture, were in his girdle; while a short mili-tary rifle, of that sort with which the policy ofthe whites armed their savage allies, lay care-lessly across his bare and sinewy knee. Theexpanded chest, full formed limbs, and gravecountenance of this warrior, would denote thathe had reached the vigor of his days, though nosymptoms of decay appeared to have yet weak-ened his manhood.

The frame of the white man, judging by such

of victory. Thus, it was deemed more important to ob-tain the scalp than to kill the man. Some tribes lay greatstress on the honor of striking a dead body. These prac-tices have nearly disappeared among the Indians of theAtlantic states.

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parts as were not concealed by his clothes,was like that of one who had known hard-ships and exertion from his earliest youth. Hisperson, though muscular, was rather attenu-ated than full; but every nerve and muscle ap-peared strung and indurated by unremitted ex-posure and toil. He wore a hunting shirt5 offorest-green, fringed with faded yellow, and asummer cap of skins which had been shorn oftheir fur. He also bore a knife in a girdle ofwampum, like that which confined the scantygarments of the Indian, but no tomahawk. His

5The hunting-shirt is a picturesque smock-frock, be-ing shorter, and ornamented with fringes and tassels.The colors are intended to imitate the hues of the wood,with a view to concealment. Many corps of Americanriflemen have been thus attired, and the dress is one ofthe most striking of modern times. The hunting-shirt isfrequently white.

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moccasins were ornamented after the gay fash-ion of the natives, while the only part of his un-der dress which appeared below the hunting-frock was a pair of buckskin leggings, thatlaced at the sides, and which were garteredabove the knees, with the sinews of a deer.A pouch and horn completed his personal ac-couterments, though a rifle of great length6,which the theory of the more ingenious whiteshad taught them was the most dangerous of allfirearms, leaned against a neighboring sapling.The eye of the hunter, or scout, whichever hemight be, was small, quick, keen, and restless,roving while he spoke, on every side of him, asif in quest of game, or distrusting the suddenapproach of some lurking enemy. Notwith-

6The rifle of the army is short; that of the hunter isalways long.

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standing the symptoms of habitual suspicion,his countenance was not only without guile,but at the moment at which he is introduced, itwas charged with an expression of sturdy hon-esty.

“Even your traditions make the case in myfavor, Chingachgook,” he said, speaking in thetongue which was known to all the nativeswho formerly inhabited the country betweenthe Hudson and the Potomac, and of whichwe shall give a free translation for the benefitof the reader; endeavoring, at the same time,to preserve some of the peculiarities, both ofthe individual and of the language. “Your fa-thers came from the setting sun, crossed the bigriver7, fought the people of the country, andtook the land; and mine came from the red sky

7The Mississippi. The scout alludes to a tradition

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of the morning, over the salt lake, and did theirwork much after the fashion that had been setthem by yours; then let God judge the matterbetween us, and friends spare their words!”

“My fathers fought with the naked redman!” returned the Indian, sternly, in the samelanguage. “Is there no difference, Hawkeye,between the stone-headed arrow of the warrior,and the leaden bullet with which you kill?”

“There is reason in an Indian, though naturehas made him with a red skin!” said the whiteman, shaking his head like one on whom suchan appeal to his justice was not thrown away.For a moment he appeared to be conscious of

which is very popular among the tribes of the Atlanticstates. Evidence of their Asiatic origin is deduced fromthe circumstances, though great uncertainty hangs overthe whole history of the Indians.

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having the worst of the argument, then, rally-ing again, he answered the objection of his an-tagonist in the best manner his limited infor-mation would allow:

“I am no scholar, and I care not who knowsit; but, judging from what I have seen, at deerchases and squirrel hunts, of the sparks below, Ishould think a rifle in the hands of their grand-fathers was not so dangerous as a hickory bowand a good flint-head might be, if drawn withIndian judgment, and sent by an Indian eye.”

“You have the story told by your fathers,”returned the other, coldly waving his hand.“What say your old men? Do they tell theyoung warriors that the pale faces met the redmen, painted for war and armed with the stonehatchet and wooden gun?”

“I am not a prejudiced man, nor one

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who vaunts himself on his natural privileges,though the worst enemy I have on earth, andhe is an Iroquois, daren’t deny that I am gen-uine white,” the scout replied, surveying, withsecret satisfaction, the faded color of his bonyand sinewy hand, “and I am willing to ownthat my people have many ways, of which, asan honest man, I can’t approve. It is one of theircustoms to write in books what they have doneand seen, instead of telling them in their vil-lages, where the lie can be given to the face ofa cowardly boaster, and the brave soldier cancall on his comrades to witness for the truthof his words. In consequence of this bad fash-ion, a man, who is too conscientious to mis-spend his days among the women, in learn-ing the names of black marks, may never hearof the deeds of his fathers, nor feel a pride instriving to outdo them. For myself, I conclude

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the Bumppos could shoot, for I have a naturalturn with a rifle, which must have been handeddown from generation to generation, as, ourholy commandments tell us, all good and evilgifts are bestowed; though I should be loath toanswer for other people in such a matter. Butevery story has its two sides; so I ask you, Chin-gachgook, what passed, according to the tra-ditions of the red men, when our fathers firstmet?”

A silence of a minute succeeded, duringwhich the Indian sat mute; then, full of the dig-nity of his office, he commenced his brief tale,with a solemnity that served to heighten its ap-pearance of truth.

“Listen, Hawkeye, and your ear shall drinkno lie. ‘Tis what my fathers have said, andwhat the Mohicans have done.” He hesitated

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a single instant, and bending a cautious glancetoward his companion, he continued, in a man-ner that was divided between interrogationand assertion. “Does not this stream at our feetrun toward the summer, until its waters growsalt, and the current flows upward?”

“It can’t be denied that your traditions tellyou true in both these matters,” said the whiteman; “for I have been there, and have seenthem, though why water, which is so sweet inthe shade, should become bitter in the sun, isan alteration for which I have never been ableto account.”

“And the current!” demanded the Indian,who expected his reply with that sort of in-terest that a man feels in the confirmation oftestimony, at which he marvels even while herespects it; “the fathers of Chingachgook have

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not lied!”“The holy Bible is not more true, and that is

the truest thing in nature. They call this up-stream current the tide, which is a thing soonexplained, and clear enough. Six hours the wa-ters run in, and six hours they run out, and thereason is this: when there is higher water in thesea than in the river, they run in until the rivergets to be highest, and then it runs out again.”

“The waters in the woods, and on the greatlakes, run downward until they lie like myhand,” said the Indian, stretching the limb hor-izontally before him, “and then they run nomore.”

“No honest man will deny it,” said the scout,a little nettled at the implied distrust of hisexplanation of the mystery of the tides; “andI grant that it is true on the small scale, and

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where the land is level. But everything de-pends on what scale you look at things. Now,on the small scale, the ‘arth is level; but onthe large scale it is round. In this manner,pools and ponds, and even the great fresh-water lakes, may be stagnant, as you and I bothknow they are, having seen them; but whenyou come to spread water over a great tract,like the sea, where the earth is round, how inreason can the water be quiet? You might aswell expect the river to lie still on the brink ofthose black rocks a mile above us, though yourown ears tell you that it is tumbling over themat this very moment.”

If unsatisfied by the philosophy of his com-panion, the Indian was far too dignified to be-tray his unbelief. He listened like one who wasconvinced, and resumed his narrative in his

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former solemn manner.

“We came from the place where the sun ishid at night, over great plains where the buf-faloes live, until we reached the big river. Therewe fought the Alligewi, till the ground was redwith their blood. From the banks of the bigriver to the shores of the salt lake, there wasnone to meet us. The Maquas followed at a dis-tance. We said the country should be ours fromthe place where the water runs up no longer onthis stream, to a river twenty sun’s journey to-ward the summer. We drove the Maquas intothe woods with the bears. They only tasted saltat the licks; they drew no fish from the greatlake; we threw them the bones.”

“All this I have heard and believe,” said thewhite man, observing that the Indian paused;“but it was long before the English came into

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the country.”

“A pine grew then where this chestnut nowstands. The first pale faces who came amongus spoke no English. They came in a largecanoe, when my fathers had buried the toma-hawk with the red men around them. Then,Hawkeye,” he continued, betraying his deepemotion, only by permitting his voice to fallto those low, guttural tones, which render hislanguage, as spoken at times, so very musical;“then, Hawkeye, we were one people, and wewere happy. The salt lake gave us its fish, thewood its deer, and the air its birds. We tookwives who bore us children; we worshippedthe Great Spirit; and we kept the Maquas be-yond the sound of our songs of triumph.”

“Know you anything of your own family atthat time?” demanded the white. “But you are

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just a man, for an Indian; and as I suppose youhold their gifts, your fathers must have beenbrave warriors, and wise men at the council-fire.”

“My tribe is the grandfather of nations, butI am an unmixed man. The blood of chiefsis in my veins, where it must stay forever.The Dutch landed, and gave my people thefire-water; they drank until the heavens andthe earth seemed to meet, and they foolishlythought they had found the Great Spirit. Thenthey parted with their land. Foot by foot, theywere driven back from the shores, until I, thatam a chief and a Sagamore, have never seen thesun shine but through the trees, and have nevervisited the graves of my fathers.”

“Graves bring solemn feelings over themind,” returned the scout, a good deal touched

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at the calm suffering of his companion; “andthey often aid a man in his good intentions;though, for myself, I expect to leave my ownbones unburied, to bleach in the woods, orto be torn asunder by the wolves. But whereare to be found those of your race who cameto their kin in the Delaware country, so manysummers since?”

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

“Uncas is here,” said another voice, in thesame soft, guttural tones, near his elbow; “whospeaks to Uncas?”

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The white man loosened his knife in hisleathern sheath, and made an involuntarymovement of the hand toward his rifle, at thissudden interruption; but the Indian sat com-posed, and without turning his head at the un-expected sounds.

At the next instant, a youthful warriorpassed between them, with a noiseless step,and seated himself on the bank of the rapidstream. No exclamation of surprise escaped thefather, nor was any question asked, or replygiven, for several minutes; each appearing toawait the moment when he might speak, with-out betraying womanish curiosity or childishimpatience. The white man seemed to takecounsel from their customs, and, relinquishinghis grasp of the rifle, he also remained silentand reserved. At length Chingachgook turned

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his eyes slowly toward his son, and demanded:“Do the Maquas dare to leave the print of

their moccasins in these woods?”“I have been on their trail,” replied the

young Indian, “and know that they number asmany as the fingers of my two hands; but theylie hid like cowards.”

“The thieves are outlying for scalps andplunder,” said the white man, whom we shallcall Hawkeye, after the manner of his compan-ions. “That busy Frenchman, Montcalm, willsend his spies into our very camp, but he willknow what road we travel!”

“‘Tis enough,” returned the father, glancinghis eye toward the setting sun; “they shall bedriven like deer from their bushes. Hawkeye,let us eat to-night, and show the Maquas thatwe are men to-morrow.”

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“I am as ready to do the one as the other;but to fight the Iroquois ‘tis necessary to findthe skulkers; and to eat, ‘tis necessary to getthe game–talk of the devil and he will come;there is a pair of the biggest antlers I have seenthis season, moving the bushes below the hill!Now, Uncas,” he continued, in a half whisper,and laughing with a kind of inward sound, likeone who had learned to be watchful, “I will betmy charger three times full of powder, againsta foot of wampum, that I take him atwixt theeyes, and nearer to the right than to the left.”

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

“He’s a boy!” said the white man, shakinghis head while he spoke, and addressing the fa-ther. “Does he think when a hunter sees a part

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of the creature’, he can’t tell where the rest ofhim should be!”

Adjusting his rifle, he was about to make anexhibition of that skill on which he so muchvalued himself, when the warrior struck up thepiece with his hand, saying:

“Hawkeye! will you fight the Maquas?”“These Indians know the nature of the

woods, as it might be by instinct!” returnedthe scout, dropping his rifle, and turning awaylike a man who was convinced of his error. “Imust leave the buck to your arrow, Uncas, orwe may kill a deer for them thieves, the Iro-quois, to eat.”

The instant the father seconded this inti-mation by an expressive gesture of the hand,Uncas threw himself on the ground, and ap-proached the animal with wary movements.

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When within a few yards of the cover, he fittedan arrow to his bow with the utmost care, whilethe antlers moved, as if their owner snuffedan enemy in the tainted air. In another mo-ment the twang of the cord was heard, a whitestreak was seen glancing into the bushes, andthe wounded buck plunged from the cover, tothe very feet of his hidden enemy. Avoiding thehorns of the infuriated animal, Uncas darted tohis side, and passed his knife across the throat,when bounding to the edge of the river it fell,dyeing the waters with its blood.

“‘Twas done with Indian skill,” said thescout laughing inwardly, but with vast satis-faction; “and ‘twas a pretty sight to behold!Though an arrow is a near shot, and needs aknife to finish the work.”

“Hugh!” ejaculated his companion, turning

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quickly, like a hound who scented game.

“By the Lord, there is a drove of them!” ex-claimed the scout, whose eyes began to glis-ten with the ardor of his usual occupation;“if they come within range of a bullet I willdrop one, though the whole Six Nations shouldbe lurking within sound! What do you hear,Chingachgook? for to my ears the woods aredumb.”

“There is but one deer, and he is dead,” saidthe Indian, bending his body till his ear nearlytouched the earth. “I hear the sounds of feet!”

“Perhaps the wolves have driven the buck toshelter, and are following on his trail.”

“No. The horses of white men are coming!”returned the other, raising himself with dig-nity, and resuming his seat on the log with his

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former composure. “Hawkeye, they are yourbrothers; speak to them.”

“That I will, and in English that the kingneedn’t be ashamed to answer,” returned thehunter, speaking in the language of which heboasted; “but I see nothing, nor do I hear thesounds of man or beast; ‘tis strange that an In-dian should understand white sounds betterthan a man who, his very enemies will own,has no cross in his blood, although he mayhave lived with the red skins long enough tobe suspected! Ha! there goes something likethe cracking of a dry stick, too–now I hear thebushes move–yes, yes, there is a trampling thatI mistook for the falls–and–but here they comethemselves; God keep them from the Iroquois!”

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“Well go thy way: thou shalt notfrom this grove

Till I torment thee for this injury.”–Midsummer Night’s

Dream.

THE WORDS WERE still in the mouth of the

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scout, when the leader of the party, whose ap-proaching footsteps had caught the vigilant earof the Indian, came openly into view. A beatenpath, such as those made by the periodical pas-sage of the deer, wound through a little glenat no great distance, and struck the river at thepoint where the white man and his red com-panions had posted themselves. Along thistrack the travelers, who had produced a sur-prise so unusual in the depths of the forest, ad-vanced slowly toward the hunter, who was infront of his associates, in readiness to receivethem.

“Who comes?” demanded the scout, throw-ing his rifle carelessly across his left arm, andkeeping the forefinger of his right hand on thetrigger, though he avoided all appearance ofmenace in the act. “Who comes hither, among

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the beasts and dangers of the wilderness?”“Believers in religion, and friends to the law

and to the king,” returned he who rode fore-most. “Men who have journeyed since the ris-ing sun, in the shades of this forest, withoutnourishment, and are sadly tired of their way-faring.”

“You are, then, lost,” interrupted the hunter,“and have found how helpless ‘tis not to knowwhether to take the right hand or the left?”

“Even so; sucking babes are not more depen-dent on those who guide them than we who areof larger growth, and who may now be said topossess the stature without the knowledge ofmen. Know you the distance to a post of thecrown called William Henry?”

“Hoot!” shouted the scout, who did notspare his open laughter, though instantly

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checking the dangerous sounds he indulgedhis merriment at less risk of being overheardby any lurking enemies. “You are as muchoff the scent as a hound would be, with Hor-ican atwixt him and the deer! William Henry,man! if you are friends to the king and havebusiness with the army, your way would beto follow the river down to Edward, and laythe matter before Webb, who tarries there, in-stead of pushing into the defiles, and drivingthis saucy Frenchman back across Champlain,into his den again.”

Before the stranger could make any replyto this unexpected proposition, another horse-man dashed the bushes aside, and leaped hischarger into the pathway, in front of his com-panion.

“What, then, may be our distance from Fort

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Edward?” demanded a new speaker; “theplace you advise us to seek we left this morn-ing, and our destination is the head of thelake.”

“Then you must have lost your eyesightafore losing your way, for the road across theportage is cut to a good two rods, and is asgrand a path, I calculate, as any that runs intoLondon, or even before the palace of the kinghimself.”

“We will not dispute concerning the excel-lence of the passage,” returned Heyward, smil-ing; for, as the reader has anticipated, it was he.“It is enough, for the present, that we trusted toan Indian guide to take us by a nearer, thoughblinder path, and that we are deceived in hisknowledge. In plain words, we know notwhere we are.”

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“An Indian lost in the woods!” said thescout, shaking his head doubtingly; “When thesun is scorching the tree tops, and the watercourses are full; when the moss on every beechhe sees will tell him in what quarter the northstar will shine at night. The woods are full ofdeer-paths which run to the streams and licks,places well known to everybody; nor have thegeese done their flight to the Canada waters al-together! ‘Tis strange that an Indian should belost atwixt Horican and the bend in the river!Is he a Mohawk?”

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

“Hugh!” exclaimed the two companions ofthe scout, who had continued until this partof the dialogue, seated immovable, and appar-

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ently indifferent to what passed, but who nowsprang to their feet with an activity and interestthat had evidently got the better of their reserveby surprise.

“A Huron!” repeated the sturdy scout, oncemore shaking his head in open distrust; “theyare a thievish race, nor do I care by whom theyare adopted; you can never make anything ofthem but skulks and vagabonds. Since youtrusted yourself to the care of one of that na-tion, I only wonder that you have not fallen inwith more.”

“Of that there is little danger, since WilliamHenry is so many miles in our front. You forgetthat I have told you our guide is now a Mo-hawk, and that he serves with our forces as afriend.”

“And I tell you that he who is born a Mingo

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will die a Mingo,” returned the other posi-tively. “A Mohawk! No, give me a Delawareor a Mohican for honesty; and when they willfight, which they won’t all do, having sufferedtheir cunning enemies, the Maquas, to makethem women–but when they will fight at all,look to a Delaware, or a Mohican, for a war-rior!”

“Enough of this,” said Heyward, impa-tiently; “I wish not to inquire into the characterof a man that I know, and to whom you mustbe a stranger. You have not yet answered myquestion; what is our distance from the mainarmy at Edward?”

“It seems that may depend on who is yourguide. One would think such a horse as thatmight get over a good deal of ground atwixtsun-up and sun-down.”

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“I wish no contention of idle words withyou, friend,” said Heyward, curbing his dissat-isfied manner, and speaking in a more gentlevoice; “if you will tell me the distance to FortEdward, and conduct me thither, your laborshall not go without its reward.”

“And in so doing, how know I that I don’tguide an enemy and a spy of Montcalm, to theworks of the army? It is not every man whocan speak the English tongue that is an honestsubject.”

“If you serve with the troops, of whom Ijudge you to be a scout, you should know ofsuch a regiment of the king as the Sixtieth.”

“The Sixtieth! you can tell me little of theRoyal Americans that I don’t know, though I dowear a hunting-shirt instead of a scarlet jacket.”

“Well, then, among other things, you may

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know the name of its major?”“Its major!” interrupted the hunter, ele-

vating his body like one who was proud ofhis trust. “If there is a man in the countrywho knows Major Effingham, he stands beforeyou.”

“It is a corps which has many majors; thegentleman you name is the senior, but I speakof the junior of them all; he who commands thecompanies in garrison at William Henry.”

“Yes, yes, I have heard that a young gentle-man of vast riches, from one of the provincesfar south, has got the place. He is over young,too, to hold such rank, and to be put above menwhose heads are beginning to bleach; and yetthey say he is a soldier in his knowledge, and agallant gentleman!”

“Whatever he may be, or however he may

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be qualified for his rank, he now speaks to youand, of course, can be no enemy to dread.”

The scout regarded Heyward in surprise,and then lifting his cap, he answered, in a toneless confident than before–though still express-ing doubt.

“I have heard a party was to leave the en-campment this morning for the lake shore?”

“You have heard the truth; but I preferred anearer route, trusting to the knowledge of theIndian I mentioned.”

“And he deceived you, and then deserted?”“Neither, as I believe; certainly not the latter,

for he is to be found in the rear.”“I should like to look at the creature; if it is a

true Iroquois I can tell him by his knavish look,and by his paint,” said the scout; stepping past

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the charger of Heyward, and entering the pathbehind the mare of the singing master, whosefoal had taken advantage of the halt to exactthe maternal contribution. After shoving asidethe bushes, and proceeding a few paces, he en-countered the females, who awaited the resultof the conference with anxiety, and not entirelywithout apprehension. Behind these, the run-ner leaned against a tree, where he stood theclose examination of the scout with an air un-moved, though with a look so dark and savage,that it might in itself excite fear. Satisfied withhis scrutiny, the hunter soon left him. As herepassed the females, he paused a moment togaze upon their beauty, answering to the smileand nod of Alice with a look of open pleasure.Thence he went to the side of the motherly an-imal, and spending a minute in a fruitless in-quiry into the character of her rider, he shook

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his head and returned to Heyward.“A Mingo is a Mingo, and God having made

him so, neither the Mohawks nor any othertribe can alter him,” he said, when he had re-gained his former position. “If we were alone,and you would leave that noble horse at themercy of the wolves to-night, I could show youthe way to Edward myself, within an hour, forit lies only about an hour’s journey hence; butwith such ladies in your company ‘tis impossi-ble!”

“And why? They are fatigued, but they arequite equal to a ride of a few more miles.”

“‘Tis a natural impossibility!” repeated thescout; “I wouldn’t walk a mile in these woodsafter night gets into them, in company withthat runner, for the best rifle in the colonies.They are full of outlying Iroquois, and your

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mongrel Mohawk knows where to find themtoo well to be my companion.”

“Think you so?” said Heyward, leaning for-ward in the saddle, and dropping his voicenearly to a whisper; “I confess I have not beenwithout my own suspicions, though I have en-deavored to conceal them, and affected a confi-dence I have not always felt, on account of mycompanions. It was because I suspected himthat I would follow no longer; making him, asyou see, follow me.”

“I knew he was one of the cheats as soon asI laid eyes on him!” returned the scout, placinga finger on his nose, in sign of caution.

“The thief is leaning against the foot of thesugar sapling, that you can see over thembushes; his right leg is in a line with the barkof the tree, and,” tapping his rifle, “I can take

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him from where I stand, between the angle andthe knee, with a single shot, putting an end tohis tramping through the woods, for at leasta month to come. If I should go back to him,the cunning varmint would suspect something,and be dodging through the trees like a fright-ened deer.”

“It will not do. He may be innocent, and Idislike the act. Though, if I felt confident of histreachery–”

“‘Tis a safe thing to calculate on the knaveryof an Iroquois,” said the scout, throwing his ri-fle forward, by a sort of instinctive movement.

“Hold!” interrupted Heyward, “it will notdo–we must think of some other scheme–andyet, I have much reason to believe the rascalhas deceived me.”

The hunter, who had already abandoned his

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intention of maiming the runner, mused a mo-ment, and then made a gesture, which instantlybrought his two red companions to his side.They spoke together earnestly in the Delawarelanguage, though in an undertone; and by thegestures of the white man, which were fre-quently directed towards the top of the sapling,it was evident he pointed out the situation oftheir hidden enemy. His companions were notlong in comprehending his wishes, and layingaside their firearms, they parted, taking oppo-site sides of the path, and burying themselvesin the thicket, with such cautious movements,that their steps were inaudible.

“Now, go you back,” said the hunter, speak-ing again to Heyward, “and hold the imp intalk; these Mohicans here will take him with-out breaking his paint.”

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“Nay,” said Heyward, proudly, “I will seizehim myself.”

“Hist! what could you do, mounted, againstan Indian in the bushes!”

“I will dismount.”

“And, think you, when he saw one of yourfeet out of the stirrup, he would wait for theother to be free? Whoever comes into thewoods to deal with the natives, must use In-dian fashions, if he would wish to prosper inhis undertakings. Go, then; talk openly to themiscreant, and seem to believe him the truestfriend you have on ‘arth.”

Heyward prepared to comply, though withstrong disgust at the nature of the office hewas compelled to execute. Each moment, how-ever, pressed upon him a conviction of the

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critical situation in which he had suffered hisinvaluable trust to be involved through hisown confidence. The sun had already disap-peared, and the woods, suddenly deprived ofhis light8, were assuming a dusky hue, whichkeenly reminded him that the hour the savageusually chose for his most barbarous and re-morseless acts of vengeance or hostility, wasspeedily drawing near. Stimulated by appre-hension, he left the scout, who immediately en-tered into a loud conversation with the strangerthat had so unceremoniously enlisted himselfin the party of travelers that morning. In pass-ing his gentler companions Heyward uttered afew words of encouragement, and was pleasedto find that, though fatigued with the exercise

8The scene of this tale was in the 42d degree of lati-tude, where the twilight is never of long continuation.

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of the day, they appeared to entertain no sus-picion that their present embarrassment wasother than the result of accident. Giving themreason to believe he was merely employed ina consultation concerning the future route, hespurred his charger, and drew the reins againwhen the animal had carried him within a fewyards of the place where the sullen runner stillstood, leaning against the tree.

“You may see, Magua,” he said, endeavoringto assume an air of freedom and confidence,“that the night is closing around us, and yet weare no nearer to William Henry than when weleft the encampment of Webb with the risingsun.

“You have missed the way, nor have I beenmore fortunate. But, happily, we have fallen inwith a hunter, he whom you hear talking to the

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singer, that is acquainted with the deerpathsand by-ways of the woods, and who promisesto lead us to a place where we may rest securelytill the morning.”

The Indian riveted his glowing eyes on Hey-ward as he asked, in his imperfect English, “Ishe alone?”

“Alone!” hesitatingly answered Heyward,to whom deception was too new to be as-sumed without embarrassment. “Oh! notalone, surely, Magua, for you know that we arewith him.”

“Then Le Renard Subtil will go,” returnedthe runner, coolly raising his little wallet fromthe place where it had lain at his feet; “and thepale faces will see none but their own color.”

“Go! Whom call you Le Renard?”

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“‘Tis the name his Canada fathers have givento Magua,” returned the runner, with an airthat manifested his pride at the distinction.“Night is the same as day to Le Subtil, whenMunro waits for him.”

“And what account will Le Renard give thechief of William Henry concerning his daugh-ters? Will he dare to tell the hot-blooded Scots-man that his children are left without a guide,though Magua promised to be one?”

“Though the gray head has a loud voice, anda long arm, Le Renard will not hear him, norfeel him, in the woods.”

“But what will the Mohawks say? They willmake him petticoats, and bid him stay in thewigwam with the women, for he is no longerto be trusted with the business of a man.”

“Le Subtil knows the path to the great lakes,

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and he can find the bones of his fathers,” wasthe answer of the unmoved runner.

“Enough, Magua,” said Heyward; “are wenot friends? Why should there be bitter wordsbetween us? Munro has promised you a giftfor your services when performed, and I shallbe your debtor for another. Rest your wearylimbs, then, and open your wallet to eat. Wehave a few moments to spare; let us not wastethem in talk like wrangling women. When theladies are refreshed we will proceed.”

“The pale faces make themselves dogs totheir women,” muttered the Indian, in his na-tive language, “and when they want to eat,their warriors must lay aside the tomahawk tofeed their laziness.”

“What say you, Renard?”“Le Subtil says it is good.”

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The Indian then fastened his eyes keenly onthe open countenance of Heyward, but meet-ing his glance, he turned them quickly away,and seating himself deliberately on the ground,he drew forth the remnant of some formerrepast, and began to eat, though not withoutfirst bending his looks slowly and cautiouslyaround him.

“This is well,” continued Heyward; “andLe Renard will have strength and sight tofind the path in the morning”; he paused, forsounds like the snapping of a dried stick, andthe rustling of leaves, rose from the adjacentbushes, but recollecting himself instantly, hecontinued, “we must be moving before the sunis seen, or Montcalm may lie in our path, andshut us out from the fortress.”

The hand of Magua dropped from his mouth

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to his side, and though his eyes were fastenedon the ground, his head was turned aside, hisnostrils expanded, and his ears seemed even tostand more erect than usual, giving to him theappearance of a statue that was made to repre-sent intense attention.

Heyward, who watched his movementswith a vigilant eye, carelessly extricated oneof his feet from the stirrup, while he passed ahand toward the bear-skin covering of his hol-sters.

Every effort to detect the point most re-garded by the runner was completely frus-trated by the tremulous glances of his organs,which seemed not to rest a single instant onany particular object, and which, at the sametime, could be hardly said to move. While hehesitated how to proceed, Le Subtil cautiously

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raised himself to his feet, though with a mo-tion so slow and guarded, that not the slight-est noise was produced by the change. Hey-ward felt it had now become incumbent on himto act. Throwing his leg over the saddle, hedismounted, with a determination to advanceand seize his treacherous companion, trustingthe result to his own manhood. In order, how-ever, to prevent unnecessary alarm, he still pre-served an air of calmness and friendship.

“Le Renard Subtil does not eat,” he said, us-ing the appellation he had found most flatter-ing to the vanity of the Indian. “His corn is notwell parched, and it seems dry. Let me exam-ine; perhaps something may be found amongmy own provisions that will help his appetite.”

Magua held out the wallet to the proffer ofthe other. He even suffered their hands to meet,

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without betraying the least emotion, or vary-ing his riveted attitude of attention. But whenhe felt the fingers of Heyward moving gentlyalong his own naked arm, he struck up the limbof the young man, and, uttering a piercing cry,he darted beneath it, and plunged, at a singlebound, into the opposite thicket. At the next in-stant the form of Chingachgook appeared fromthe bushes, looking like a specter in its paint,and glided across the path in swift pursuit.Next followed the shout of Uncas, when thewoods were lighted by a sudden flash, thatwas accompanied by the sharp report of thehunter’s rifle.

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...“In such a night DidThis be fearfully o’ertrip the dew;And saw the lion’s shadow ere

himself.”–Merchant of Venice

THE SUDDENNESS OF the flight of his

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guide, and the wild cries of the pursuers,caused Heyward to remain fixed, for a fewmoments, in inactive surprise. Then recollect-ing the importance of securing the fugitive,he dashed aside the surrounding bushes, andpressed eagerly forward to lend his aid in thechase. Before he had, however, proceeded ahundred yards, he met the three foresters al-ready returning from their unsuccessful pur-suit.

“Why so soon disheartened!” he exclaimed;“the scoundrel must be concealed behind someof these trees, and may yet be secured. We arenot safe while he goes at large.”

“Would you set a cloud to chase the wind?”returned the disappointed scout; “I heard theimp brushing over the dry leaves, like a blacksnake, and blinking a glimpse of him, just over

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ag’in yon big pine, I pulled as it might be onthe scent; but ‘twouldn’t do! and yet for a rea-soning aim, if anybody but myself had touchedthe trigger, I should call it a quick sight; and Imay be accounted to have experience in thesematters, and one who ought to know. Look atthis sumach; its leaves are red, though every-body knows the fruit is in the yellow blossomin the month of July!”

“‘Tis the blood of Le Subtil! he is hurt, andmay yet fall!”

“No, no,” returned the scout, in decided dis-approbation of this opinion, “I rubbed the barkoff a limb, perhaps, but the creature leaped thelonger for it. A rifle bullet acts on a runninganimal, when it barks him, much the same asone of your spurs on a horse; that is, it quick-ens motion, and puts life into the flesh, instead

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of taking it away. But when it cuts the raggedhole, after a bound or two, there is, commonly,a stagnation of further leaping, be it Indian orbe it deer!”

“We are four able bodies, to one woundedman!”

“Is life grievous to you?” interrupted thescout. “Yonder red devil would draw youwithin swing of the tomahawks of his com-rades, before you were heated in the chase. Itwas an unthoughtful act in a man who has sooften slept with the war-whoop ringing in theair, to let off his piece within sound of an am-bushment! But then it was a natural tempta-tion! ‘twas very natural! Come, friends, let usmove our station, and in such fashion, too, aswill throw the cunning of a Mingo on a wrongscent, or our scalps will be drying in the wind

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in front of Montcalm’s marquee, ag’in this hourto-morrow.”

This appalling declaration, which the scoututtered with the cool assurance of a man whofully comprehended, while he did not fear toface the danger, served to remind Heyward ofthe importance of the charge with which hehimself had been intrusted. Glancing his eyesaround, with a vain effort to pierce the gloomthat was thickening beneath the leafy archesof the forest, he felt as if, cut off from humanaid, his unresisting companions would soonlie at the entire mercy of those barbarous en-emies, who, like beasts of prey, only waitedtill the gathering darkness might render theirblows more fatally certain. His awakenedimagination, deluded by the deceptive light,converted each waving bush, or the fragment

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of some fallen tree, into human forms, andtwenty times he fancied he could distinguishthe horrid visages of his lurking foes, peer-ing from their hiding places, in never ceasingwatchfulness of the movements of his party.Looking upward, he found that the thin fleecyclouds, which evening had painted on the bluesky, were already losing their faintest tints ofrose-color, while the imbedded stream, whichglided past the spot where he stood, was tobe traced only by the dark boundary of itswooded banks.

“What is to be done!” he said, feeling theutter helplessness of doubt in such a pressingstrait; “desert me not, for God’s sake! remainto defend those I escort, and freely name yourown reward!”

His companions, who conversed apart in the

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language of their tribe, heeded not this suddenand earnest appeal. Though their dialogue wasmaintained in low and cautious sounds, but lit-tle above a whisper, Heyward, who now ap-proached, could easily distinguish the earnesttones of the younger warrior from the moredeliberate speeches of his seniors. It was evi-dent that they debated on the propriety of somemeasure, that nearly concerned the welfare ofthe travelers. Yielding to his powerful inter-est in the subject, and impatient of a delay thatseemed fraught with so much additional dan-ger, Heyward drew still nigher to the duskygroup, with an intention of making his offersof compensation more definite, when the whiteman, motioning with his hand, as if he con-ceded the disputed point, turned away, sayingin a sort of soliloquy, and in the English tongue:

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“Uncas is right! it would not be the act ofmen to leave such harmless things to their fate,even though it breaks up the harboring placeforever. If you would save these tender blos-soms from the fangs of the worst of serpents,gentleman, you have neither time to lose norresolution to throw away!”

“How can such a wish be doubted! Have Inot already offered–”

“Offer your prayers to Him who can give uswisdom to circumvent the cunning of the dev-ils who fill these woods,” calmly interruptedthe scout, “but spare your offers of money,which neither you may live to realize, nor I toprofit by. These Mohicans and I will do whatman’s thoughts can invent, to keep such flow-ers, which, though so sweet, were never madefor the wilderness, from harm, and that with-

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out hope of any other recompense but such asGod always gives to upright dealings. First,you must promise two things, both in yourown name and for your friends, or withoutserving you we shall only injure ourselves!”

“Name them.”

“The one is, to be still as these sleepingwoods, let what will happen and the other is,to keep the place where we shall take you, for-ever a secret from all mortal men.”

“I will do my utmost to see both these condi-tions fulfilled.”

“Then follow, for we are losing moments thatare as precious as the heart’s blood to a strickendeer!”

Heyward could distinguish the impatientgesture of the scout, through the increasing

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shadows of the evening, and he moved in hisfootsteps, swiftly, toward the place where hehad left the remainder of the party. When theyrejoined the expecting and anxious females, hebriefly acquainted them with the conditions oftheir new guide, and with the necessity thatexisted for their hushing every apprehensionin instant and serious exertions. Althoughhis alarming communication was not receivedwithout much secret terror by the listeners, hisearnest and impressive manner, aided perhapsby the nature of the danger, succeeded in brac-ing their nerves to undergo some unlooked-forand unusual trial. Silently, and without a mo-ment’s delay, they permitted him to assist themfrom their saddles, and when they descendedquickly to the water’s edge, where the scouthad collected the rest of the party, more by theagency of expressive gestures than by any use

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of words.“What to do with these dumb creatures!”

muttered the white man, on whom the solecontrol of their future movements appeared todevolve; “it would be time lost to cut theirthroats, and cast them into the river; and toleave them here would be to tell the Mingoesthat they have not far to seek to find their own-ers!”

“Then give them their bridles, and let themrange the woods,” Heyward ventured to sug-gest.

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

“The colt.”

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“That colt, at least, must die,” muttered thescout, grasping at the mane of the nimble beast,which easily eluded his hand; “Uncas, your ar-rows!”

“Hold!” exclaimed the proprietor of the con-demned animal, aloud, without regard to thewhispering tones used by the others; “sparethe foal of Miriam! it is the comely offspringof a faithful dam, and would willingly injurenaught.”

“When men struggle for the single life Godhas given them,” said the scout, sternly, “eventheir own kind seem no more than the beasts ofthe wood. If you speak again, I shall leave youto the mercy of the Maquas! Draw to your ar-row’s head, Uncas; we have no time for secondblows.”

The low, muttering sounds of his threaten-

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ing voice were still audible, when the woundedfoal, first rearing on its hinder legs, plungedforward to its knees. It was met by Chin-gachgook, whose knife passed across its throatquicker than thought, and then precipitat-ing the motions of the struggling victim, hedashed into the river, down whose stream itglided away, gasping audibly for breath withits ebbing life. This deed of apparent cruelty,but of real necessity, fell upon the spirits ofthe travelers like a terrific warning of the perilin which they stood, heightened as it was bythe calm though steady resolution of the ac-tors in the scene. The sisters shuddered andclung closer to each other, while Heyward in-stinctively laid his hand on one of the pistolshe had just drawn from their holsters, as heplaced himself between his charge and thosedense shadows that seemed to draw an impen-

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etrable veil before the bosom of the forest.

The Indians, however, hesitated not a mo-ment, but taking the bridles, they led the fright-ened and reluctant horses into the bed of theriver.

At a short distance from the shore theyturned, and were soon concealed by the pro-jection of the bank, under the brow of whichthey moved, in a direction opposite to thecourse of the waters. In the meantime, thescout drew a canoe of bark from its place ofconcealment beneath some low bushes, whosebranches were waving with the eddies of thecurrent, into which he silently motioned forthe females to enter. They complied withouthesitation, though many a fearful and anxiousglance was thrown behind them, toward thethickening gloom, which now lay like a dark

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barrier along the margin of the stream.

So soon as Cora and Alice were seated, thescout, without regarding the element, directedHeyward to support one side of the frail vessel,and posting himself at the other, they bore itup against the stream, followed by the dejectedowner of the dead foal. In this manner theyproceeded, for many rods, in a silence that wasonly interrupted by the rippling of the water, asits eddies played around them, or the low dashmade by their own cautious footsteps. Hey-ward yielded the guidance of the canoe implic-itly to the scout, who approached or recededfrom the shore, to avoid the fragments of rocks,or deeper parts of the river, with a readinessthat showed his knowledge of the route theyheld. Occasionally he would stop; and in themidst of a breathing stillness, that the dull but

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increasing roar of the waterfall only served torender more impressive, he would listen withpainful intenseness, to catch any sounds thatmight arise from the slumbering forest. Whenassured that all was still, and unable to detect,even by the aid of his practiced senses, any signof his approaching foes, he would deliberatelyresume his slow and guarded progress. Atlength they reached a point in the river wherethe roving eye of Heyward became riveted ona cluster of black objects, collected at a spotwhere the high bank threw a deeper shadowthan usual on the dark waters. Hesitating toadvance, he pointed out the place to the atten-tion of his companion.

“Ay,” returned the composed scout, “the In-dians have hid the beasts with the judgmentof natives! Water leaves no trail, and an owl’s

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eyes would be blinded by the darkness of sucha hole.”

The whole party was soon reunited, andanother consultation was held between thescout and his new comrades, during which,they, whose fates depended on the faith andingenuity of these unknown foresters, had alittle leisure to observe their situation moreminutely.

The river was confined between high andcragged rocks, one of which impended abovethe spot where the canoe rested. As these,again, were surmounted by tall trees, whichappeared to totter on the brows of theprecipice, it gave the stream the appearanceof running through a deep and narrow dell.All beneath the fantastic limbs and raggedtree tops, which were, here and there, dimly

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painted against the starry zenith, lay alike inshadowed obscurity. Behind them, the cur-vature of the banks soon bounded the viewby the same dark and wooded outline; butin front, and apparently at no great distance,the water seemed piled against the heavens,whence it tumbled into caverns, out of whichissued those sullen sounds that had loaded theevening atmosphere. It seemed, in truth, tobe a spot devoted to seclusion, and the sistersimbibed a soothing impression of security, asthey gazed upon its romantic though not unap-palling beauties. A general movement amongtheir conductors, however, soon recalled themfrom a contemplation of the wild charms thatnight had assisted to lend the place to a painfulsense of their real peril.

The horses had been secured to some scat-

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tering shrubs that grew in the fissures of therocks, where, standing in the water, they wereleft to pass the night. The scout directed Hey-ward and his disconsolate fellow travelers toseat themselves in the forward end of the ca-noe, and took possession of the other himself,as erect and steady as if he floated in a vesselof much firmer materials. The Indians warilyretraced their steps toward the place they hadleft, when the scout, placing his pole against arock, by a powerful shove, sent his frail barkdirectly into the turbulent stream. For manyminutes the struggle between the light bubblein which they floated and the swift current wassevere and doubtful. Forbidden to stir evena hand, and almost afraid to breath, lest theyshould expose the frail fabric to the fury ofthe stream, the passengers watched the glanc-ing waters in feverish suspense. Twenty times

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they thought the whirling eddies were sweep-ing them to destruction, when the master-handof their pilot would bring the bows of the ca-noe to stem the rapid. A long, a vigorous, and,as it appeared to the females, a desperate ef-fort, closed the struggle. Just as Alice veiled hereyes in horror, under the impression that theywere about to be swept within the vortex at thefoot of the cataract, the canoe floated, station-ary, at the side of a flat rock, that lay on a levelwith the water.

“Where are we, and what is next to be done!”demanded Heyward, perceiving that the exer-tions of the scout had ceased.

“You are at the foot of Glenn’s,” returned theother, speaking aloud, without fear of conse-quences within the roar of the cataract; “andthe next thing is to make a steady landing,

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lest the canoe upset, and you should go downagain the hard road we have traveled fasterthan you came up; ‘tis a hard rift to stem, whenthe river is a little swelled; and five is an un-natural number to keep dry, in a hurry-skurry,with a little birchen bark and gum. There, goyou all on the rock, and I will bring up theMohicans with the venison. A man had bet-ter sleep without his scalp, than famish in themidst of plenty.”

His passengers gladly complied with thesedirections. As the last foot touched the rock,the canoe whirled from its station, when thetall form of the scout was seen, for an instant,gliding above the waters, before it disappearedin the impenetrable darkness that rested on thebed of the river. Left by their guide, the travel-ers remained a few minutes in helpless igno-

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rance, afraid even to move along the brokenrocks, lest a false step should precipitate themdown some one of the many deep and roar-ing caverns, into which the water seemed totumble, on every side of them. Their suspense,however, was soon relieved; for, aided by theskill of the natives, the canoe shot back into theeddy, and floated again at the side of the lowrock, before they thought the scout had eventime to rejoin his companions.

“We are now fortified, garrisoned, and pro-visioned,” cried Heyward cheerfully, “and mayset Montcalm and his allies at defiance. How,now, my vigilant sentinel, can see anything ofthose you call the Iroquois, on the main land!”

“I call them Iroquois, because to me everynative, who speaks a foreign tongue, is ac-counted an enemy, though he may pretend to

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serve the king! If Webb wants faith and hon-esty in an Indian, let him bring out the tribesof the Delawares, and send these greedy andlying Mohawks and Oneidas, with their six na-tions of varlets, where in nature they belong,among the French!”

“We should then exchange a warlike for auseless friend! I have heard that the Delawareshave laid aside the hatchet, and are content tobe called women!”

“Aye, shame on the Hollanders and Iroquois,who circumvented them by their deviltries,into such a treaty! But I have known them fortwenty years, and I call him liar that says cow-ardly blood runs in the veins of a Delaware.You have driven their tribes from the seashore,and would now believe what their enemies say,that you may sleep at night upon an easy pil-

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low. No, no; to me, every Indian who speaks aforeign tongue is an Iroquois, whether the cas-tle9 of his tribe be in Canada, or be in York.”

Heyward, perceiving that the stubborn ad-herence of the scout to the cause of his friendsthe Delawares, or Mohicans, for they werebranches of the same numerous people, waslikely to prolong a useless discussion, changedthe subject.

“Treaty or no treaty, I know full well thatyour two companions are brave and cautiouswarriors! have they heard or seen anything ofour enemies!”

“An Indian is a mortal to be felt afore he is9The principal villages of the Indians are still called

“castles” by the whites of New York. “Oneida castle”is no more than a scattered hamlet; but the name is ingeneral use.

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seen,” returned the scout, ascending the rock,and throwing the deer carelessly down. “I trustto other signs than such as come in at the eye,when I am outlying on the trail of the Min-goes.”

“Do your ears tell you that they have tracedour retreat?”

“I should be sorry to think they had, thoughthis is a spot that stout courage might hold fora smart scrimmage. I will not deny, however,but the horses cowered when I passed them,as though they scented the wolves; and a wolfis a beast that is apt to hover about an Indianambushment, craving the offals of the deer thesavages kill.”

“You forget the buck at your feet! or, may wenot owe their visit to the dead colt? Ha! whatnoise is that?”

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“Poor Miriam!” murmured the stranger;“thy foal was foreordained to become a preyto ravenous beasts!” Then, suddenly lifting uphis voice, amid the eternal din of the waters,he sang aloud: “First born of Egypt, smite didhe, Of mankind, and of beast also: O, Egypt!wonders sent ‘midst thee, On Pharaoh and hisservants too!”

“The death of the colt sits heavy on the heartof its owner,” said the scout; “but it’s a goodsign to see a man account upon his dumbfriends. He has the religion of the matter, inbelieving what is to happen will happen; andwith such a consolation, it won’t be long aforehe submits to the rationality of killing a four-footed beast to save the lives of human men.It may be as you say,” he continued, revert-ing to the purport of Heyward’s last remark;

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“and the greater the reason why we shouldcut our steaks, and let the carcass drive downthe stream, or we shall have the pack howlingalong the cliffs, begrudging every mouthful weswallow. Besides, though the Delaware tongueis the same as a book to the Iroquois, the cun-ning varlets are quick enough at understandingthe reason of a wolf’s howl.”

The scout, while making his remarks, wasbusied in collecting certain necessary imple-ments; as he concluded, he moved silently bythe group of travelers, accompanied by theMohicans, who seemed to comprehend his in-tentions with instinctive readiness, when thewhole three disappeared in succession, seem-ing to vanish against the dark face of a per-pendicular rock that rose to the height of a fewyards, within as many feet of the water’s edge.

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“Those strains that once did sweetin Zion glide;

He wales a portion with judiciouscare;

And ‘Let us worship God’, he says,with solemn air.”

–Burns

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HEYWARD AND HIS female companionswitnessed this mysterious movement with se-cret uneasiness; for, though the conduct of thewhite man had hitherto been above reproach,his rude equipments, blunt address, and strongantipathies, together with the character of hissilent associates, were all causes for excitingdistrust in minds that had been so recentlyalarmed by Indian treachery.

The stranger alone disregarded the passingincidents. He seated himself on a projectionof the rocks, whence he gave no other signsof consciousness than by the struggles of hisspirit, as manifested in frequent and heavysighs. Smothered voices were next heard, asthough men called to each other in the bowelsof the earth, when a sudden light flashed uponthose without, and laid bare the much-prized

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secret of the place.

At the further extremity of a narrow, deepcavern in the rock, whose length appearedmuch extended by the perspective and the na-ture of the light by which it was seen, wasseated the scout, holding a blazing knot of pine.The strong glare of the fire fell full upon hissturdy, weather-beaten countenance and for-est attire, lending an air of romantic wildnessto the aspect of an individual, who, seen bythe sober light of day, would have exhibitedthe peculiarities of a man remarkable for thestrangeness of his dress, the iron-like inflexi-bility of his frame, and the singular compoundof quick, vigilant sagacity, and of exquisitesimplicity, that by turns usurped the posses-sion of his muscular features. At a little dis-tance in advance stood Uncas, his whole per-

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son thrown powerfully into view. The travel-ers anxiously regarded the upright, flexible fig-ure of the young Mohican, graceful and unre-strained in the attitudes and movements of na-ture. Though his person was more than usu-ally screened by a green and fringed hunting-shirt, like that of the white man, there wasno concealment to his dark, glancing, fearlesseye, alike terrible and calm; the bold outline ofhis high, haughty features, pure in their nativered; or to the dignified elevation of his reced-ing forehead, together with all the finest pro-portions of a noble head, bared to the generousscalping tuft. It was the first opportunity pos-sessed by Duncan and his companions to viewthe marked lineaments of either of their Indianattendants, and each individual of the party feltrelieved from a burden of doubt, as the proudand determined, though wild expression of the

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features of the young warrior forced itself ontheir notice. They felt it might be a being par-tially benighted in the vale of ignorance, but itcould not be one who would willingly devotehis rich natural gifts to the purposes of wan-ton treachery. The ingenuous Alice gazed athis free air and proud carriage, as she wouldhave looked upon some precious relic of theGrecian chisel, to which life had been impartedby the intervention of a miracle; while Hey-ward, though accustomed to see the perfec-tion of form which abounds among the uncor-rupted natives, openly expressed his admira-tion at such an unblemished specimen of thenoblest proportions of man.

“I could sleep in peace,” whispered Alice,in reply, “with such a fearless and generous-looking youth for my sentinel. Surely, Duncan,

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those cruel murders, those terrific scenes of tor-ture, of which we read and hear so much, arenever acted in the presence of such as he!”

“This certainly is a rare and brilliant instanceof those natural qualities in which these pecu-liar people are said to excel,” he answered. “Iagree with you, Alice, in thinking that such afront and eye were formed rather to intimidatethan to deceive; but let us not practice a de-ception upon ourselves, by expecting any otherexhibition of what we esteem virtue than ac-cording to the fashion of the savage. As brightexamples of great qualities are but too uncom-mon among Christians, so are they singularand solitary with the Indians; though, for thehonor of our common nature, neither are inca-pable of producing them. Let us then hope thatthis Mohican may not disappoint our wishes,

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but prove what his looks assert him to be, abrave and constant friend.”

“Now Major Heyward speaks as Major Hey-ward should,” said Cora; “who that looks atthis creature of nature, remembers the shade ofhis skin?”

A short and apparently an embarrassed si-lence succeeded this remark, which was inter-rupted by the scout calling to them, aloud, toenter.

“This fire begins to show too bright a flame,”he continued, as they complied, “and mightlight the Mingoes to our undoing. Uncas, dropthe blanket, and show the knaves its dark side.This is not such a supper as a major of theRoyal Americans has a right to expect, but I’veknown stout detachments of the corps glad toeat their venison raw, and without a relish,

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too10. Here, you see, we have plenty of salt,and can make a quick broil. There’s fresh sas-safras boughs for the ladies to sit on, whichmay not be as proud as their my-hog-guineachairs, but which sends up a sweeter flavor,than the skin of any hog can do, be it of Guinea,or be it of any other land. Come, friend, don’tbe mournful for the colt; ‘twas an innocentthing, and had not seen much hardship. Itsdeath will save the creature many a sore back

10In vulgar parlance the condiments of a repast arecalled by the American “a relish,” substituting the thingfor its effect. These provincial terms are frequently putin the mouths of the speakers, according to their severalconditions in life. Most of them are of local use, and oth-ers quite peculiar to the particular class of men to whichthe character belongs. In the present instance, the scoutuses the word with immediate reference to the “salt,”with which his own party was so fortunate as to be pro-vided.

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and weary foot!”Uncas did as the other had directed, and

when the voice of Hawkeye ceased, the roar ofthe cataract sounded like the rumbling of dis-tant thunder.

“Are we quite safe in this cavern?” de-manded Heyward. “Is there no danger of sur-prise? A single armed man, at its entrance,would hold us at his mercy.”

A spectral-looking figure stalked from out ofthe darkness behind the scout, and seizing ablazing brand, held it toward the further ex-tremity of their place of retreat. Alice uttereda faint shriek, and even Cora rose to her feet, asthis appalling object moved into the light; but asingle word from Heyward calmed them, withthe assurance it was only their attendant, Chin-gachgook, who, lifting another blanket, discov-

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ered that the cavern had two outlets. Then,holding the brand, he crossed a deep, narrowchasm in the rocks which ran at right angleswith the passage they were in, but which, un-like that, was open to the heavens, and enteredanother cave, answering to the description ofthe first, in every essential particular.

“Such old foxes as Chingachgook and my-self are not often caught in a barrow with onehole,” said Hawkeye, laughing; “you can easilysee the cunning of the place–the rock is blacklimestone, which everybody knows is soft; itmakes no uncomfortable pillow, where brushand pine wood is scarce; well, the fall was oncea few yards below us, and I dare to say was,in its time, as regular and as handsome a sheetof water as any along the Hudson. But old ageis a great injury to good looks, as these sweet

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young ladies have yet to l’arn! The place issadly changed! These rocks are full of cracks,and in some places they are softer than at oth-ersome, and the water has worked out deephollows for itself, until it has fallen back, ay,some hundred feet, breaking here and wearingthere, until the falls have neither shape nor con-sistency.”

“In what part of them are we?” asked Hey-ward.

“Why, we are nigh the spot that Providencefirst placed them at, but where, it seems, theywere too rebellious to stay. The rock provedsofter on each side of us, and so they left thecenter of the river bare and dry, first workingout these two little holes for us to hide in.”

“We are then on an island!”“Ay! there are the falls on two sides of us,

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and the river above and below. If you had day-light, it would be worth the trouble to step upon the height of this rock, and look at the per-versity of the water. It falls by no rule at all;sometimes it leaps, sometimes it tumbles; thereit skips; here it shoots; in one place ‘tis whiteas snow, and in another ‘tis green as grass;hereabouts, it pitches into deep hollows, thatrumble and crush the ‘arth; and thereaways,it ripples and sings like a brook, fashioningwhirlpools and gullies in the old stone, as if‘twas no harder than trodden clay. The wholedesign of the river seems disconcerted. First itruns smoothly, as if meaning to go down thedescent as things were ordered; then it anglesabout and faces the shores; nor are there placeswanting where it looks backward, as if unwill-ing to leave the wilderness, to mingle with thesalt. Ay, lady, the fine cobweb-looking cloth

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you wear at your throat is coarse, and like afishnet, to little spots I can show you, where theriver fabricates all sorts of images, as if havingbroke loose from order, it would try its hand ateverything. And yet what does it amount to!After the water has been suffered so to haveits will, for a time, like a headstrong man, itis gathered together by the hand that made it,and a few rods below you may see it all, flow-ing on steadily toward the sea, as was foreor-dained from the first foundation of the ‘arth!”

While his auditors received a cheering as-surance of the security of their place of con-cealment from this untutored description ofGlenn’s,11 they were much inclined to judge

11Glenn’s Falls are on the Hudson, some forty or fiftymiles above the head of tide, or that place where theriver becomes navigable for sloops. The description of

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differently from Hawkeye, of its wild beauties.But they were not in a situation to suffer theirthoughts to dwell on the charms of natural ob-jects; and, as the scout had not found it neces-sary to cease his culinary labors while he spoke,unless to point out, with a broken fork, the di-rection of some particularly obnoxious point inthe rebellious stream, they now suffered their

this picturesque and remarkable little cataract, as givenby the scout, is sufficiently correct, though the applica-tion of the water to uses of civilized life has materiallyinjured its beauties. The rocky island and the two cav-erns are known to every traveler, since the former sus-tains the pier of a bridge, which is now thrown acrossthe river, immediately above the fall. In explanation ofthe taste of Hawkeye, it should be remembered that menalways prize that most which is least enjoyed. Thus, ina new country, the woods and other objects, which in anold country would be maintained at great cost, are gotrid of, simply with a view of “improving” as it is called.

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attention to be drawn to the necessary thoughmore vulgar consideration of their supper.

The repast, which was greatly aided by theaddition of a few delicacies that Heyward hadthe precaution to bring with him when theyleft their horses, was exceedingly refreshingto the weary party. Uncas acted as attendantto the females, performing all the little officeswithin his power, with a mixture of dignity andanxious grace, that served to amuse Heyward,who well knew that it was an utter innova-tion on the Indian customs, which forbid theirwarriors to descend to any menial employ-ment, especially in favor of their women. Asthe rights of hospitality were, however, consid-ered sacred among them, this little departurefrom the dignity of manhood excited no audi-ble comment. Had there been one there suffi-

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ciently disengaged to become a close observer,he might have fancied that the services of theyoung chief were not entirely impartial. Thatwhile he tendered to Alice the gourd of sweetwater, and the venison in a trencher, neatlycarved from the knot of the pepperidge, withsufficient courtesy, in performing the same of-fices to her sister, his dark eye lingered on herrich, speaking countenance. Once or twice hewas compelled to speak, to command her at-tention of those he served. In such cases hemade use of English, broken and imperfect,but sufficiently intelligible, and which he ren-dered so mild and musical, by his deep, gut-tural voice, that it never failed to cause bothladies to look up in admiration and astonish-ment. In the course of these civilities, a few sen-tences were exchanged, that served to establishthe appearance of an amicable intercourse be-

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tween the parties.

In the meanwhile, the gravity of Chingcach-gook remained immovable. He had seatedhimself more within the circle of light, wherethe frequent, uneasy glances of his guests werebetter enabled to separate the natural expres-sion of his face from the artificial terrors ofthe war paint. They found a strong resem-blance between father and son, with the dif-ference that might be expected from age andhardships. The fierceness of his countenancenow seemed to slumber, and in its place wasto be seen the quiet, vacant composure whichdistinguishes an Indian warrior, when his fac-ulties are not required for any of the greaterpurposes of his existence. It was, however,easy to be seen, by the occasional gleams thatshot across his swarthy visage, that it was only

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necessary to arouse his passions, in order togive full effect to the terrific device which hehad adopted to intimidate his enemies. On theother hand, the quick, roving eye of the scoutseldom rested. He ate and drank with an ap-petite that no sense of danger could disturb,but his vigilance seemed never to desert him.Twenty times the gourd or the venison wassuspended before his lips, while his head wasturned aside, as though he listened to some dis-tant and distrusted sounds–a movement thatnever failed to recall his guests from regard-ing the novelties of their situation, to a recol-lection of the alarming reasons that had driventhem to seek it. As these frequent pauses werenever followed by any remark, the momentaryuneasiness they created quickly passed away,and for a time was forgotten.

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“Come, friend,” said Hawkeye, drawing outa keg from beneath a cover of leaves, towardthe close of the repast, and addressing thestranger who sat at his elbow, doing great jus-tice to his culinary skill, “try a little spruce;‘twill wash away all thoughts of the colt, andquicken the life in your bosom. I drink toour better friendship, hoping that a little horse-flesh may leave no heart-burnings atween us.How do you name yourself?”

“Gamut–David Gamut,” returned thesinging master, preparing to wash downhis sorrows in a powerful draught of thewoodsman’s high-flavored and well-lacedcompound.

“A very good name, and, I dare say, handeddown from honest forefathers. I’m an admi-rator of names, though the Christian fashions

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fall far below savage customs in this particu-lar. The biggest coward I ever knew as calledLyon; and his wife, Patience, would scold youout of hearing in less time than a hunted deerwould run a rod. With an Indian ‘tis a matter ofconscience; what he calls himself, he generallyis–not that Chingachgook, which signifies BigSarpent, is really a snake, big or little; but thathe understands the windings and turnings ofhuman natur’, and is silent, and strikes his en-emies when they least expect him. What maybe your calling?”

“I am an unworthy instructor in the art ofpsalmody.”

“Anan!”“I teach singing to the youths of the Con-

necticut levy.”“You might be better employed. The young

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hounds go laughing and singing too much al-ready through the woods, when they ought notto breathe louder than a fox in his cover. Canyou use the smoothbore, or handle the rifle?”

“Praised be God, I have never had occasionto meddle with murderous implements!”

“Perhaps you understand the compass, andlay down the watercourses and mountains ofthe wilderness on paper, in order that they whofollow may find places by their given names?”

“I practice no such employment.”

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

“Never; I follow no other than my own highvocation, which is instruction in sacred music!”

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“‘Tis a strange calling!” muttered Hawk-eye, with an inward laugh, “to go through life,like a catbird, mocking all the ups and downsthat may happen to come out of other men’sthroats. Well, friend, I suppose it is your gift,and mustn’t be denied any more than if ‘twasshooting, or some other better inclination. Letus hear what you can do in that way; ‘twillbe a friendly manner of saying good-night, for‘tis time that these ladies should be gettingstrength for a hard and a long push, in thepride of the morning, afore the Maquas are stir-ring.”

“With joyful pleasure do I consent”, saidDavid, adjusting his iron-rimmed spectacles,and producing his beloved little volume, whichhe immediately tendered to Alice. “What canbe more fitting and consolatory, than to offer

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up evening praise, after a day of such exceed-ing jeopardy!”

Alice smiled; but, regarding Heyward, sheblushed and hesitated.

“Indulge yourself,” he whispered; “oughtnot the suggestion of the worthy namesake ofthe Psalmist to have its weight at such a mo-ment?”

Encouraged by his opinion, Alice did whather pious inclinations, and her keen relish forgentle sounds, had before so strongly urged.The book was open at a hymn not ill adapted totheir situation, and in which the poet, no longergoaded by his desire to excel the inspired Kingof Israel, had discovered some chastened andrespectable powers. Cora betrayed a disposi-tion to support her sister, and the sacred songproceeded, after the indispensable preliminar-

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ies of the pitchpipe, and the tune had been dulyattended to by the methodical David.

The air was solemn and slow. At times itrose to the fullest compass of the rich voicesof the females, who hung over their little bookin holy excitement, and again it sank so low,that the rushing of the waters ran through theirmelody, like a hollow accompaniment. Thenatural taste and true ear of David governedand modified the sounds to suit the confinedcavern, every crevice and cranny of which wasfilled with the thrilling notes of their flexi-ble voices. The Indians riveted their eyes onthe rocks, and listened with an attention thatseemed to turn them into stone. But the scout,who had placed his chin in his hand, with anexpression of cold indifference, gradually suf-fered his rigid features to relax, until, as verse

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succeeded verse, he felt his iron nature sub-dued, while his recollection was carried backto boyhood, when his ears had been accus-tomed to listen to similar sounds of praise, inthe settlements of the colony. His roving eyesbegan to moisten, and before the hymn wasended scalding tears rolled out of fountainsthat had long seemed dry, and followed eachother down those cheeks, that had oftener feltthe storms of heaven than any testimonials ofweakness. The singers were dwelling on one ofthose low, dying chords, which the ear devourswith such greedy rapture, as if conscious that itis about to lose them, when a cry, that seemedneither human nor earthly, rose in the outwardair, penetrating not only the recesses of the cav-ern, but to the inmost hearts of all who heardit. It was followed by a stillness apparently asdeep as if the waters had been checked in their

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furious progress, at such a horrid and unusualinterruption.

“What is it?” murmured Alice, after a fewmoments of terrible suspense.

“What is it?” repeated Hewyard aloud.

Neither Hawkeye nor the Indians made anyreply. They listened, as if expecting the soundwould be repeated, with a manner that ex-pressed their own astonishment. At lengththey spoke together, earnestly, in the Delawarelanguage, when Uncas, passing by the innerand most concealed aperture, cautiously leftthe cavern. When he had gone, the scout firstspoke in English.

“What it is, or what it is not, none here cantell, though two of us have ranged the woodsfor more than thirty years. I did believe there

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was no cry that Indian or beast could make,that my ears had not heard; but this has provedthat I was only a vain and conceited mortal.”

“Was it not, then, the shout the warriorsmake when they wish to intimidate their ene-mies?” asked Cora who stood drawing her veilabout her person, with a calmness to which heragitated sister was a stranger.

“No, no; this was bad, and shocking, andhad a sort of unhuman sound; but when youonce hear the war-whoop, you will never mis-take it for anything else. Well, Uncas!” speak-ing in Delaware to the young chief as he re-entered, “what see you? do our lights shinethrough the blankets?”

The answer was short, and apparently de-cided, being given in the same tongue.

“There is nothing to be seen without,” con-

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tinued Hawkeye, shaking his head in discon-tent; “and our hiding-place is still in darkness.Pass into the other cave, you that need it, andseek for sleep; we must be afoot long beforethe sun, and make the most of our time to getto Edward, while the Mingoes are taking theirmorning nap.”

Cora set the example of compliance, witha steadiness that taught the more timid Al-ice the necessity of obedience. Before leavingthe place, however, she whispered a request toDuncan, that he would follow. Uncas raisedthe blanket for their passage, and as the sis-ters turned to thank him for this act of atten-tion, they saw the scout seated again beforethe dying embers, with his face resting on hishands, in a manner which showed how deeplyhe brooded on the unaccountable interruption

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which had broken up their evening devotions.

Heyward took with him a blazing knot,which threw a dim light through the narrowvista of their new apartment. Placing it in afavorable position, he joined the females, whonow found themselves alone with him for thefirst time since they had left the friendly ram-parts of Fort Edward.

“Leave us not, Duncan,” said Alice: “we can-not sleep in such a place as this, with that hor-rid cry still ringing in our ears.”

“First let us examine into the security ofyour fortress,” he answered, “and then we willspeak of rest.”

He approached the further end of the cav-ern, to an outlet, which, like the others, wasconcealed by blankets; and removing the thick

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screen, breathed the fresh and reviving air fromthe cataract. One arm of the river flowedthrough a deep, narrow ravine, which its cur-rent had worn in the soft rock, directly beneathhis feet, forming an effectual defense, as he be-lieved, against any danger from that quarter;the water, a few rods above them, plunging,glancing, and sweeping along in its most vio-lent and broken manner.

“Nature has made an impenetrable barrieron this side,” he continued, pointing down theperpendicular declivity into the dark currentbefore he dropped the blanket; “and as youknow that good men and true are on guard infront I see no reason why the advice of our hon-est host should be disregarded. I am certainCora will join me in saying that sleep is nec-essary to you both.”

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“Cora may submit to the justice of your opin-ion though she cannot put it in practice,” re-turned the elder sister, who had placed herselfby the side of Alice, on a couch of sassafras;“there would be other causes to chase awaysleep, though we had been spared the shockof this mysterious noise. Ask yourself, Hey-ward, can daughters forget the anxiety a fathermust endure, whose children lodge he knowsnot where or how, in such a wilderness, and inthe midst of so many perils?”

“He is a soldier, and knows how to estimatethe chances of the woods.”

“He is a father, and cannot deny his nature.”“How kind has he ever been to all my follies,

how tender and indulgent to all my wishes!”sobbed Alice. “We have been selfish, sister, inurging our visit at such hazard.”

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“I may have been rash in pressing his con-sent in a moment of much embarrassment, butI would have proved to him, that however oth-ers might neglect him in his strait his childrenat least were faithful.”

“When he heard of your arrival at Edward,”said Heyward, kindly, “there was a powerfulstruggle in his bosom between fear and love;though the latter, heightened, if possible, byso long a separation, quickly prevailed. ‘It isthe spirit of my noble-minded Cora that leadsthem, Duncan’, he said, ‘and I will not balk it.Would to God, that he who holds the honorof our royal master in his guardianship, wouldshow but half her firmness!”’

“And did he not speak of me, Hey-ward?” demanded Alice, with jealous affec-tion; “surely, he forgot not altogether his little

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Elsie?”

“That were impossible,” returned the youngman; “he called you by a thousand endearingepithets, that I may not presume to use, but tothe justice of which, I can warmly testify. Once,indeed, he said–”

Duncan ceased speaking; for while his eyeswere riveted on those of Alice, who had turnedtoward him with the eagerness of filial affec-tion, to catch his words, the same strong, horridcry, as before, filled the air, and rendered himmute. A long, breathless silence succeeded,during which each looked at the others in fear-ful expectation of hearing the sound repeated.At length, the blanket was slowly raised, andthe scout stood in the aperture with a counte-nance whose firmness evidently began to giveway before a mystery that seemed to threaten

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some danger, against which all his cunning andexperience might prove of no avail.

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“They do not sleep,On yonder cliffs, a grizzly band,

I see them sit.”–Gray

“‘TWOULD BE NEGLECTING a warning thatis given for our good to lie hid any longer,” said

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Hawkeye “when such sounds are raised in theforest. These gentle ones may keep close, butthe Mohicans and I will watch upon the rock,where I suppose a major of the Sixtieth wouldwish to keep us company.”

“Is, then, our danger so pressing?” askedCora.

“He who makes strange sounds, and givesthem out for man’s information, alone knowsour danger. I should think myself wicked, untorebellion against His will, was I to burrow withsuch warnings in the air! Even the weak soulwho passes his days in singing is stirred by thecry, and, as he says, is ‘ready to go forth tothe battle’ If ‘twere only a battle, it would bea thing understood by us all, and easily man-aged; but I have heard that when such shrieksare atween heaven and ‘arth, it betokens an-

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other sort of warfare!”

“If all our reasons for fear, my friend, areconfined to such as proceed from supernat-ural causes, we have but little occasion tobe alarmed,” continued the undisturbed Cora,“are you certain that our enemies have not in-vented some new and ingenious method tostrike us with terror, that their conquest maybecome more easy?”

“Lady,” returned the scout, solemnly, “I havelistened to all the sounds of the woods forthirty years, as a man will listen whose lifeand death depend on the quickness of his ears.There is no whine of the panther, no whistle ofthe catbird, nor any invention of the devilishMingoes, that can cheat me! I have heard theforest moan like mortal men in their affliction;often, and again, have I listened to the wind

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playing its music in the branches of the girdledtrees; and I have heard the lightning crackingin the air like the snapping of blazing brush asit spitted forth sparks and forked flames; butnever have I thought that I heard more than thepleasure of him who sported with the things ofhis hand. But neither the Mohicans, nor I, whoam a white man without a cross, can explainthe cry just heard. We, therefore, believe it asign given for our good.”

“It is extraordinary!” said Heyward, takinghis pistols from the place where he had laidthem on entering; “be it a sign of peace or asignal of war, it must be looked to. Lead theway, my friend; I follow.”

On issuing from their place of confinement,the whole party instantly experienced a grate-ful renovation of spirits, by exchanging the

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pent air of the hiding-place for the cool andinvigorating atmosphere which played aroundthe whirlpools and pitches of the cataract. Aheavy evening breeze swept along the surfaceof the river, and seemed to drive the roar ofthe falls into the recesses of their own cav-ern, whence it issued heavily and constant,like thunder rumbling beyond the distant hills.The moon had risen, and its light was alreadyglancing here and there on the waters abovethem; but the extremity of the rock where theystood still lay in shadow. With the exceptionof the sounds produced by the rushing wa-ters, and an occasional breathing of the air, asit murmured past them in fitful currents, thescene was as still as night and solitude couldmake it. In vain were the eyes of each individ-ual bent along the opposite shores, in quest ofsome signs of life, that might explain the nature

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of the interruption they had heard. Their anx-ious and eager looks were baffled by the decep-tive light, or rested only on naked rocks, andstraight and immovable trees.

“Here is nothing to be seen but the gloomand quiet of a lovely evening,” whispered Dun-can; “how much should we prize such a scene,and all this breathing solitude, at any other mo-ment, Cora! Fancy yourselves in security, andwhat now, perhaps, increases your terror, maybe made conducive to enjoyment–”

“Listen!” interrupted Alice.The caution was unnecessary. Once more

the same sound arose, as if from the bed ofthe river, and having broken out of the nar-row bounds of the cliffs, was heard undulat-ing through the forest, in distant and dying ca-dences.

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“Can any here give a name to such a cry?”demanded Hawkeye, when the last echo waslost in the woods; “if so, let him speak; for my-self, I judge it not to belong to ‘arth!”

“Here, then, is one who can undeceive you,”said Duncan; “I know the sound full well, foroften have I heard it on the field of battle, andin situations which are frequent in a soldier’slife. ‘Tis the horrid shriek that a horse will givein his agony; oftener drawn from him in pain,though sometimes in terror. My charger is ei-ther a prey to the beasts of the forest, or he seeshis danger, without the power to avoid it. Thesound might deceive me in the cavern, but inthe open air I know it too well to be wrong.”

The scout and his companions listened tothis simple explanation with the interest of menwho imbibe new ideas, at the same time that

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they get rid of old ones, which had proved dis-agreeable inmates. The two latter uttered theirusual expressive exclamation, “hugh!” as thetruth first glanced upon their minds, while theformer, after a short, musing pause, took uponhimself to reply.

“I cannot deny your words,” he said, “for Iam little skilled in horses, though born wherethey abound. The wolves must be hoveringabove their heads on the bank, and the tim-orsome creatures are calling on man for help,in the best manner they are able. Uncas”–hespoke in Delaware–“Uncas, drop down in thecanoe, and whirl a brand among the pack; orfear may do what the wolves can’t get at to per-form, and leave us without horses in the morn-ing, when we shall have so much need to jour-ney swiftly!”

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The young native had already descended tothe water to comply, when a long howl wasraised on the edge of the river, and was borneswiftly off into the depths of the forest, asthough the beasts, of their own accord, wereabandoning their prey in sudden terror. Un-cas, with instinctive quickness, receded, andthe three foresters held another of their low,earnest conferences.

“We have been like hunters who have lostthe points of the heavens, and from whomthe sun has been hid for days,” said Hawk-eye, turning away from his companions; “nowwe begin again to know the signs of ourcourse, and the paths are cleared from briers!Seat yourselves in the shade which the moonthrows from yonder beech–‘tis thicker thanthat of the pines–and let us wait for that which

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the Lord may choose to send next. Let all yourconversation be in whispers; though it wouldbe better, and, perhaps, in the end, wiser, ifeach one held discourse with his own thoughts,for a time.”

The manner of the scout was seriously im-pressive, though no longer distinguished byany signs of unmanly apprehension. It was ev-ident that his momentary weakness had van-ished with the explanation of a mystery whichhis own experience had not served to fathom;and though he now felt all the realities oftheir actual condition, that he was preparedto meet them with the energy of his hardynature. This feeling seemed also common tothe natives, who placed themselves in posi-tions which commanded a full view of bothshores, while their own persons were effectu-

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ally concealed from observation. In such cir-cumstances, common prudence dictated thatHeyward and his companions should imitatea caution that proceeded from so intelligent asource. The young man drew a pile of thesassafras from the cave, and placing it in thechasm which separated the two caverns, it wasoccupied by the sisters, who were thus pro-tected by the rocks from any missiles, whiletheir anxiety was relieved by the assurance thatno danger could approach without a warn-ing. Heyward himself was posted at hand,so near that he might communicate with hiscompanions without raising his voice to a dan-gerous elevation; while David, in imitation ofthe woodsmen, bestowed his person in such amanner among the fissures of the rocks, that hisungainly limbs were no longer offensive to theeye.

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In this manner hours passed without furtherinterruption. The moon reached the zenith,and shed its mild light perpendicularly on thelovely sight of the sisters slumbering peace-fully in each other’s arms. Duncan cast thewide shawl of Cora before a spectacle he somuch loved to contemplate, and then sufferedhis own head to seek a pillow on the rock.David began to utter sounds that would haveshocked his delicate

organs in more wakeful moments; in short,all but Hawkeye and the Mohicans lost ev-ery idea of consciousness, in uncontrollabledrowsiness. But the watchfulness of these vigi-lant protectors neither tired nor slumbered. Im-movable as that rock, of which each appearedto form a part, they lay, with their eyes rov-ing, without intermission, along the dark mar-

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gin of trees, that bounded the adjacent shoresof the narrow stream. Not a sound escapedthem; the most subtle examination could nothave told they breathed. It was evident thatthis excess of caution proceeded from an expe-rience that no subtlety on the part of their en-emies could deceive. It was, however, contin-ued without any apparent consequences, untilthe moon had set, and a pale streak above thetreetops, at the bend of the river a little below,announced the approach of day.

Then, for the first time, Hawkeye was seento stir. He crawled along the rock and shookDuncan from his heavy slumbers.

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

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“Have you had a quiet night?” said Hey-ward; “for myself, I believe sleep has got thebetter of my vigilance.”

“All is yet still as midnight. Be silent, but bequick.”

By this time Duncan was thoroughly awake,and he immediately lifted the shawl from thesleeping females. The motion caused Cora toraise her hand as if to repulse him, while Alicemurmured, in her soft, gentle voice, “No, no,dear father, we were not deserted; Duncan waswith us!”

“Yes, sweet innocence,” whispered theyouth; “Duncan is here, and while life contin-ues or danger remains, he will never quit thee.Cora! Alice! awake! The hour has come tomove!”

A loud shriek from the younger of the sisters,

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and the form of the other standing upright be-fore him, in bewildered horror, was the unex-pected answer he received.

While the words were still on the lips of Hey-ward, there had arisen such a tumult of yellsand cries as served to drive the swift currents ofhis own blood back from its bounding courseinto the fountains of his heart. It seemed, fornear a minute, as if the demons of hell hadpossessed themselves of the air about them,and were venting their savage humors in bar-barous sounds. The cries came from no partic-ular direction, though it was evident they filledthe woods, and, as the appalled listeners easilyimagined, the caverns of the falls, the rocks, thebed of the river, and the upper air. David raisedhis tall person in the midst of the infernal din,with a hand on either ear, exclaiming:

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“Whence comes this discord! Has hell brokeloose, that man should utter sounds like these!”

The bright flashes and the quick reports ofa dozen rifles, from the opposite banks of thestream, followed this incautious exposure ofhis person, and left the unfortunate singingmaster senseless on that rock where he hadbeen so long slumbering. The Mohicans boldlysent back the intimidating yell of their enemies,who raised a shout of savage triumph at the fallof Gamut. The flash of rifles was then quickand close between them, but either party wastoo well skilled to leave even a limb exposedto the hostile aim. Duncan listened with in-tense anxiety for the strokes of the paddle, be-lieving that flight was now their only refuge.The river glanced by with its ordinary veloc-ity, but the canoe was nowhere to be seen on

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its dark waters. He had just fancied they werecruelly deserted by their scout, as a stream offlame issued from the rock beneath them, anda fierce yell, blended with a shriek of agony, an-nounced that the messenger of death sent fromthe fatal weapon of Hawkeye, had found a vic-tim. At this slight repulse the assailants in-stantly withdrew, and gradually the place be-came as still as before the sudden tumult.

Duncan seized the favorable moment tospring to the body of Gamut, which he borewithin the shelter of the narrow chasm thatprotected the sisters. In another minute thewhole party was collected in this spot of com-parative safety.

“The poor fellow has saved his scalp,” saidHawkeye, coolly passing his hand over thehead of David; “but he is a proof that a man

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may be born with too long a tongue! ‘Twasdownright madness to show six feet of fleshand blood, on a naked rock, to the raging sav-ages. I only wonder he has escaped with life.”

“Is he not dead?” demanded Cora, in avoice whose husky tones showed how pow-erfully natural horror struggled with her as-sumed firmness. “Can we do aught to assistthe wretched man?”

“No, no! the life is in his heart yet, and af-ter he has slept awhile he will come to him-self, and be a wiser man for it, till the hour ofhis real time shall come,” returned Hawkeye,casting another oblique glance at the insensi-ble body, while he filled his charger with ad-mirable nicety. “Carry him in, Uncas, and layhim on the sassafras. The longer his nap laststhe better it will be for him, as I doubt whether

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he can find a proper cover for such a shapeon these rocks; and singing won’t do any goodwith the Iroquois.”

“You believe, then, the attack will be re-newed?” asked Heyward.

“Do I expect a hungry wolf will satisfy hiscraving with a mouthful! They have lost a man,and ‘tis their fashion, when they meet a loss,and fail in the surprise, to fall back; but weshall have them on again, with new expedientsto circumvent us, and master our scalps. Ourmain hope,” he continued, raising his ruggedcountenance, across which a shade of anxietyjust then passed like a darkening cloud, “willbe to keep the rock until Munro can send aparty to our help! God send it may be soonand under a leader that knows the Indian cus-toms!”

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“You hear our probable fortunes, Cora,” saidDuncan, “and you know we have everything tohope from the anxiety and experience of yourfather. Come, then, with Alice, into this cavern,where you, at least, will be safe from the mur-derous rifles of our enemies, and where youmay bestow a care suited to your gentle natureson our unfortunate comrade.”

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

“Duncan!” said the tremulous voice of Cora,when he had reached the mouth of the cavern.He turned and beheld the speaker, whose colorhad changed to a deadly paleness, and whose

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lips quivered, gazing after him, with an ex-pression of interest which immediately recalledhim to her side. “Remember, Duncan, how nec-essary your safety is to our own–how you beara father’s sacred trust–how much depends onyour discretion and care–in short,” she added,while the telltale blood stole over her features,crimsoning her very temples, “how very de-servedly dear you are to all of the name ofMunro.”

“If anything could add to my own base loveof life,” said Heyward, suffering his uncon-scious eyes to wander to the youthful form ofthe silent Alice, “it would be so kind an assur-ance. As major of the Sixtieth, our honest hostwill tell you I must take my share of the fray;but our task will be easy; it is merely to keepthese blood-hounds at bay for a few hours.”

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Without waiting for a reply, he tore himselffrom the presence of the sisters, and joined thescout and his companions, who still lay withinthe protection of the little chasm between thetwo caves.

“I tell you, Uncas,” said the former, as Hey-ward joined them, “you are wasteful of yourpowder, and the kick of the rifle disconcertsyour aim! Little powder, light lead, and a longarm, seldom fail of bringing the death screechfrom a Mingo! At least, such has been my ex-perience with the creatur’s. Come, friends: letus to our covers, for no man can tell when orwhere a Maqua12 will strike his blow.”

12Mingo was the Delaware term of the Five Nations.Maquas was the name given them by the Dutch. TheFrench, from their first intercourse with them, calledthem Iroquois.

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The Indians silently repaired to their ap-pointed stations, which were fissures in therocks, whence they could command the ap-proaches to the foot of the falls. In the cen-ter of the little island, a few short and stuntedpines had found root, forming a thicket, intowhich Hawkeye darted with the swiftness ofa deer, followed by the active Duncan. Herethey secured themselves, as well as circum-stances would permit, among the shrubs andfragments of stone that were scattered aboutthe place. Above them was a bare, roundedrock, on each side of which the water playedits gambols, and plunged into the abysses be-neath, in the manner already described. Asthe day had now dawned, the opposite shoresno longer presented a confused outline, butthey were able to look into the woods, and dis-tinguish objects beneath a canopy of gloomy

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pines.

A long and anxious watch succeeded, butwithout any further evidences of a renewedattack; and Duncan began to hope that theirfire had proved more fatal than was supposed,and that their enemies had been effectually re-pulsed. When he ventured to utter this impres-sion to his companions, it was met by Hawkeyewith an incredulous shake of the head.

“You know not the nature of a Maqua, ifyou think he is so easily beaten back withouta scalp!” he answered. “If there was one ofthe imps yelling this morning, there were forty!and they know our number and quality toowell to give up the chase so soon. Hist! lookinto the water above, just where it breaks overthe rocks. I am no mortal, if the risky devilshaven’t swam down upon the very pitch, and,

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as bad luck would have it, they have hit thehead of the island. Hist! man, keep close! orthe hair will be off your crown in the turning ofa knife!”

Heyward lifted his head from the cover, andbeheld what he justly considered a prodigy ofrashness and skill. The river had worn awaythe edge of the soft rock in such a manner as torender its first pitch less abrupt and perpendic-ular than is usual at waterfalls. With no otherguide than the ripple of the stream where it metthe head of the island, a party of their insatiablefoes had ventured into the current, and swamdown upon this point, knowing the ready ac-cess it would give, if successful, to their in-tended victims.

As Hawkeye ceased speaking, four humanheads could be seen peering above a few logs

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of drift-wood that had lodged on these nakedrocks, and which had probably suggested theidea of the practicability of the hazardous un-dertaking. At the next moment, a fifth formwas seen floating over the green edge of thefall, a little from the line of the island. The sav-age struggled powerfully to gain the point ofsafety, and, favored by the glancing water, hewas already stretching forth an arm to meet thegrasp of his companions, when he shot awayagain with the shirling current, appeared torise into the air, with uplifted arms and start-ing eyeballs, and fell, with a sudden plunge,into that deep and yawning abyss over whichhe hovered. A single, wild, despairing shriekrose from the cavern, and all was hushed againas the grave.

The first generous impulse of Duncan was to

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rush to the rescue of the hapless wretch; but hefelt himself bound to the spot by the iron graspof the immovable scout.

“Would ye bring certain death upon us, bytelling the Mingoes where we lie?” demandedHawkeye, sternly; “‘Tis a charge of powdersaved, and ammunition is as precious now asbreath to a worried deer! Freshen the prim-ing of your pistols–the midst of the falls is aptto dampen the brimstone–and stand firm for aclose struggle, while I fire on their rush.”

He placed a finger in his mouth, and drew along, shrill whistle, which was answered fromthe rocks that were guarded by the Mohicans.Duncan caught glimpses of heads above thescattered drift-wood, as this signal rose on theair, but they disappeared again as suddenlyas they had glanced upon his sight. A low,

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rustling sound next drew his attention behindhim, and turning his head, he beheld Uncaswithin a few feet, creeping to his side. Hawk-eye spoke to him in Delaware, when the youngchief took his position with singular cautionand undisturbed coolness. To Heyward thiswas a moment of feverish and impatient sus-pense; though the scout saw fit to select it as afit occasion to read a lecture to his more youth-ful associates on the art of using firearms withdiscretion.

“Of all we’pons,” he commenced, “the longbarreled, true-grooved, soft-metaled rifle is themost dangerous in skillful hands, though itwants a strong arm, a quick eye, and greatjudgment in charging, to put forth all its beau-ties. The gunsmiths can have but little insightinto their trade when they make their fowling-

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pieces and short horsemen’s–”He was interrupted by the low but expres-

sive “hugh” of Uncas.“I see them, boy, I see them!” continued

Hawkeye; “they are gathering for the rush, orthey would keep their dingy backs below thelogs. Well, let them,” he added, examining hisflint; “the leading man certainly comes on tohis death, though it should be Montcalm him-self!”

At that moment the woods were filled withanother burst of cries, and at the signal foursavages sprang from the cover of the drift-wood. Heyward felt a burning desire to rushforward to meet them, so intense was the deliri-ous anxiety of the moment; but he was re-strained by the deliberate examples of the scoutand Uncas.

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When their foes, who had leaped over theblack rocks that divided them, with longbounds, uttering the wildest yells, were withina few rods, the rifle of Hawkeye slowly roseamong the shrubs, and poured out its fatalcontents. The foremost Indian bounded likea stricken deer, and fell headlong among theclefts of the island.

“Now, Uncas!” cried the scout, drawinghis long knife, while his quick eyes began toflash with ardor, “take the last of the screech-ing imps; of the other two we are sartain!”

He was obeyed; and but two enemies re-mained to be overcome. Heyward had givenone of his pistols to Hawkeye, and togetherthey rushed down a little declivity toward theirfoes; they discharged their weapons at thesame instant, and equally without success.

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“I know’d it! and I said it!” muttered thescout, whirling the despised little implementover the falls with bitter disdain. “Come on,ye bloody minded hell-hounds! ye meet a manwithout a cross!”

The words were barely uttered, when he en-countered a savage of gigantic stature, of thefiercest mien. At the same moment, Duncanfound himself engaged with the other, in a sim-ilar contest of hand to hand. With ready skill,Hawkeye and his antagonist each grasped thatuplifted arm of the other which held the dan-gerous knife. For near a minute they stoodlooking one another in the eye, and gradu-ally exerting the power of their muscles for themastery.

At length, the toughened sinews of the whiteman prevailed over the less practiced limbs of

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the native. The arm of the latter slowly gaveway before the increasing force of the scout,who, suddenly wresting his armed hand fromthe grasp of the foe, drove the sharp weaponthrough his naked bosom to the heart. In themeantime, Heyward had been pressed in amore deadly struggle. His slight sword wassnapped in the first encounter. As he was des-titute of any other means of defense, his safetynow depended entirely on bodily strength andresolution. Though deficient in neither of thesequalities, he had met an enemy every way hisequal. Happily, he soon succeeded in disarm-ing his adversary, whose knife fell on the rockat their feet; and from this moment it became afierce struggle who should cast the other overthe dizzy height into a neighboring cavern ofthe falls. Every successive struggle broughtthem nearer to the verge, where Duncan per-

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ceived the final and conquering effort must bemade. Each of the combatants threw all hisenergies into that effort, and the result was,that both tottered on the brink of the precipice.Heyward felt the grasp of the other at histhroat, and saw the grim smile the savage gave,under the revengeful hope that he hurried hisenemy to a fate similar to his own, as he felt hisbody slowly yielding to a resistless power, andthe young man experienced the passing agonyof such a moment in all its horrors. At that in-stant of extreme danger, a dark hand and glanc-ing knife appeared before him; the Indian re-leased his hold, as the blood flowed freely fromaround the severed tendons of the wrist; andwhile Duncan was drawn backward by the sav-ing hand of Uncas, his charmed eyes still wereriveted on the fierce and disappointed counte-nance of his foe, who fell sullenly and disap-

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pointed down the irrecoverable precipice.“To cover! to cover!” cried Hawkeye, who

just then had despatched the enemy; “to cover,for your lives! the work is but half ended!”

The young Mohican gave a shout of tri-umph, and followed by Duncan, he glided upthe acclivity they had descended to the combat,and sought the friendly shelter of the rocks andshrubs.

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“They linger yet,Avengers of their native land.”

–Gray

THE WARNING CALL of the scout was notuttered without occasion. During the occur-rence of the deadly encounter just related, the

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roar of the falls was unbroken by any humansound whatever. It would seem that interest inthe result had kept the natives on the oppositeshores in breathless suspense, while the quickevolutions and swift changes in the positions ofthe combatants effectually prevented a fire thatmight prove dangerous alike to friend and en-emy. But the moment the struggle was decided,a yell arose as fierce and savage as wild and re-vengeful passions could throw into the air. Itwas followed by the swift flashes of the rifles,which sent their leaden messengers across therock in volleys, as though the assailants wouldpour out their impotent fury on the insensiblescene of the fatal contest.

A steady, though deliberate return was madefrom the rifle of Chingachgook, who had main-tained his post throughout the fray with un-

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moved resolution. When the triumphant shoutof Uncas was borne to his ears, the gratifiedfather raised his voice in a single responsivecry, after which his busy piece alone provedthat he still guarded his pass with unwearieddiligence. In this manner many minutes flewby with the swiftness of thought; the rifles ofthe assailants speaking, at times, in rattlingvolleys, and at others in occasional, scatter-ing shots. Though the rock, the trees, and theshrubs, were cut and torn in a hundred placesaround the besieged, their cover was so close,and so rigidly maintained, that, as yet, Davidhad been the only sufferer in their little band.

“Let them burn their powder,” said the de-liberate scout, while bullet after bullet whizzedby the place where he securely lay; “there willbe a fine gathering of lead when it is over, and I

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fancy the imps will tire of the sport afore theseold stones cry out for mercy! Uncas, boy, youwaste the kernels by overcharging; and a kick-ing rifle never carries a true bullet. I told youto take that loping miscreant under the line ofwhite point; now, if your bullet went a hair’sbreadth it went two inches above it. The lifelies low in a Mingo, and humanity teaches usto make a quick end to the sarpents.”

A quiet smile lighted the haughty features ofthe young Mohican, betraying his knowledgeof the English language as well as of the other’smeaning; but he suffered it to pass away with-out vindication of reply.

“I cannot permit you to accuse Uncas ofwant of judgment or of skill,” said Duncan; “hesaved my life in the coolest and readiest man-ner, and he has made a friend who never will

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require to be reminded of the debt he owes.”Uncas partly raised his body, and offered his

hand to the grasp of Heyward. During this actof friendship, the two young men exchangedlooks of intelligence which caused Duncan toforget the character and condition of his wildassociate. In the meanwhile, Hawkeye, wholooked on this burst of youthful feeling with acool but kind regard made the following reply:

“Life is an obligation which friends oftenowe each other in the wilderness. I dare sayI may have served Uncas some such turn my-self before now; and I very well remember thathe has stood between me and death five differ-ent times; three times from the Mingoes, oncein crossing Horican, and–”

“That bullet was better aimed than com-mon!” exclaimed Duncan, involuntarily

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shrinking from a shot which struck the rock athis side with a smart rebound.

Hawkeye laid his hand on the shapelessmetal, and shook his head, as he examined it,saying, “Falling lead is never flattened, hadit come from the clouds this might have hap-pened.”

But the rifle of Uncas was deliberately raisedtoward the heavens, directing the eyes of hiscompanions to a point, where the mystery wasimmediately explained. A ragged oak grew onthe right bank of the river, nearly opposite totheir position, which, seeking the freedom ofthe open space, had inclined so far forward thatits upper branches overhung that arm of thestream which flowed nearest to its own shore.Among the topmost leaves, which scantily con-cealed the gnarled and stunted limbs, a savage

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was nestled, partly concealed by the trunk ofthe tree, and partly exposed, as though look-ing down upon them to ascertain the effect pro-duced by his treacherous aim.

“These devils will scale heaven to circum-vent us to our ruin,” said Hawkeye; “keep himin play, boy, until I can bring ‘killdeer’ to bear,when we will try his metal on each side of thetree at once.”

Uncas delayed his fire until the scout utteredthe word.

The rifles flashed, the leaves and bark of theoak flew into the air, and were scattered bythe wind, but the Indian answered their as-sault by a taunting laugh, sending down uponthem another bullet in return, that struck thecap of Hawkeye from his head. Once more thesavage yells burst out of the woods, and the

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leaden hail whistled above the heads of the be-sieged, as if to confine them to a place wherethey might become easy victims to the enter-prise of the warrior who had mounted the tree.

“This must be looked to,” said the scout,glancing about him with an anxious eye. “Un-cas, call up your father; we have need of all ourwe’pons to bring the cunning varmint from hisroost.”

The signal was instantly given; and, be-fore Hawkeye had reloaded his rifle, theywere joined by Chingachgook. When his sonpointed out to the experienced warrior the sit-uation of their dangerous enemy, the usualexclamatory “hugh” burst from his lips; af-ter which, no further expression of surprise oralarm was suffered to escape him. Hawkeyeand the Mohicans conversed earnestly together

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in Delaware for a few moments, when eachquietly took his post, in order to execute theplan they had speedily devised.

The warrior in the oak had maintained aquick, though ineffectual fire, from the momentof his discovery. But his aim was interruptedby the vigilance of his enemies, whose rifles in-stantaneously bore on any part of his personthat was left exposed. Still his bullets fell in thecenter of the crouching party. The clothes ofHeyward, which rendered him peculiarly con-spicuous, were repeatedly cut, and once bloodwas drawn from a slight wound in his arm.

At length, emboldened by the long and pa-tient watchfulness of his enemies, the Huronattempted a better and more fatal aim. Thequick eyes of the Mohicans caught the darkline of his lower limbs incautiously exposed

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through the thin foliage, a few inches from thetrunk of the tree. Their rifles made a com-mon report, when, sinking on his woundedlimb, part of the body of the savage came intoview. Swift as thought, Hawkeye seized the ad-vantage, and discharged his fatal weapon intothe top of the oak. The leaves were unusu-ally agitated; the dangerous rifle fell from itscommanding elevation, and after a few mo-ments of vain struggling, the form of the sav-age was seen swinging in the wind, while hestill grasped a ragged and naked branch of thetree with hands clenched in desperation.

“Give him, in pity, give him the contents ofanother rifle,” cried Duncan, turning away hiseyes in horror from the spectacle of a fellowcreature in such awful jeopardy.

“Not a karnel!” exclaimed the obdurate

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Hawkeye; “his death is certain, and we haveno powder to spare, for Indian fights some-times last for days; ‘tis their scalps or ours! andGod, who made us, has put into our natures thecraving to keep the skin on the head.”

Against this stern and unyielding morality,supported as it was by such visible policy, therewas no appeal. From that moment the yells inthe forest once more ceased, the fire was suf-fered to decline, and all eyes, those of friends aswell as enemies, became fixed on the hopelesscondition of the wretch who was dangling be-tween heaven and earth. The body yielded tothe currents of air, and though no murmur orgroan escaped the victim, there were instantswhen he grimly faced his foes, and the an-guish of cold despair might be traced, throughthe intervening distance, in possession of his

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swarthy lineaments. Three several times thescout raised his piece in mercy, and as often,prudence getting the better of his intention, itwas again silently lowered. At length one handof the Huron lost its hold, and dropped ex-hausted to his side. A desperate and fruitlessstruggle to recover the branch succeeded, andthen the savage was seen for a fleeting instant,grasping wildly at the empty air. The lightningis not quicker than was the flame from the rifleof Hawkeye; the limbs of the victim trembledand contracted, the head fell to the bosom, andthe body parted the foaming waters like lead,when the element closed above it, in its cease-less velocity, and every vestige of the unhappyHuron was lost forever.

No shout of triumph succeeded this im-portant advantage, but even the Mohicans

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gazed at each other in silent horror. A singleyell burst from the woods, and all was againstill. Hawkeye, who alone appeared to rea-son on the occasion, shook his head at his ownmomentary weakness, even uttering his self-disapprobation aloud.

“‘Twas the last charge in my horn and thelast bullet in my pouch, and ‘twas the act of aboy!” he said; “what mattered it whether hestruck the rock living or dead! feeling wouldsoon be over. Uncas, lad, go down to the canoe,and bring up the big horn; it is all the powderwe have left, and we shall need it to the lastgrain, or I am ignorant of the Mingo nature.”

The young Mohican complied, leaving thescout turning over the useless contents of hispouch, and shaking the empty horn with re-newed discontent. From this unsatisfactory

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examination, however, he was soon called bya loud and piercing exclamation from Uncas,that sounded, even to the unpracticed ears ofDuncan, as the signal of some new and un-expected calamity. Every thought filled withapprehension for the previous treasure he hadconcealed in the cavern, the young man startedto his feet, totally regardless of the hazard heincurred by such an exposure. As if actuatedby a common impulse, his movement was im-itated by his companions, and, together theyrushed down the pass to the friendly chasm,with a rapidity that rendered the scattering fireof their enemies perfectly harmless. The un-wonted cry had brought the sisters, togetherwith the wounded David, from their place ofrefuge; and the whole party, at a single glance,was made acquainted with the nature of thedisaster that had disturbed even the practiced

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stoicism of their youthful Indian protector.At a short distance from the rock, their lit-

tle bark was to be seen floating across the eddy,toward the swift current of the river, in a man-ner which proved that its course was directedby some hidden agent. The instant this unwel-come sight caught the eye of the scout, his riflewas leveled as by instinct, but the barrel gaveno answer to the bright sparks of the flint.

“‘Tis too late, ‘tis too late!” Hawkeye ex-claimed, dropping the useless piece in bitterdisappointment; “the miscreant has struck therapid; and had we powder, it could hardlysend the lead swifter than he now goes!”

The adventurous Huron raised his headabove the shelter of the canoe, and, while itglided swiftly down the stream, he waved hishand, and gave forth the shout, which was the

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known signal of success. His cry was answeredby a yell and a laugh from the woods, as taunt-ingly exulting as if fifty demons were utteringtheir blasphemies at the fall of some Christiansoul.

“Well may you laugh, ye children of thedevil!” said the scout, seating himself on a pro-jection of the rock, and suffering his gun to fallneglected at his feet, “for the three quickest andtruest rifles in these woods are no better than somany stalks of mullein, or the last year’s hornsof a buck!”

“What is to be done?” demanded Duncan,losing the first feeling of disappointment in amore manly desire for exertion; “what will be-come of us?”

Hawkeye made no other reply than by pass-ing his finger around the crown of his head,

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in a manner so significant, that none who wit-nessed the action could mistake its meaning.

“Surely, surely, our case is not so desperate!”exclaimed the youth; “the Hurons are not here;we may make good the caverns, we may op-pose their landing.”

“With what?” coolly demanded the scout.“The arrows of Uncas, or such tears as womenshed! No, no; you are young, and rich, andhave friends, and at such an age I know it ishard to die! But,” glancing his eyes at the Mo-hicans, “let us remember we are men without across, and let us teach these natives of the forestthat white blood can run as freely as red, whenthe appointed hour is come.”

Duncan turned quickly in the direction indi-cated by the other’s eyes, and read a confirma-tion of his worst apprehensions in the conduct

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of the Indians. Chingachgook, placing himselfin a dignified posture on another fragment ofthe rock, had already laid aside his knife andtomahawk, and was in the act of taking theeagle’s plume from his head, and smoothingthe solitary tuft of hair in readiness to performits last and revolting office. His countenancewas composed, though thoughtful, while hisdark, gleaming eyes were gradually losing thefierceness of the combat in an expression bettersuited to the change he expected momentarilyto undergo.

“Our case is not, cannot be so hopeless!” saidDuncan; “even at this very moment succor maybe at hand. I see no enemies! They have sick-ened of a struggle in which they risk so muchwith so little prospect of gain!”

“It may be a minute, or it may be an hour,

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afore the wily sarpents steal upon us, and itis quite in natur’ for them to be lying withinhearing at this very moment,” said Hawkeye;“but come they will, and in such a fashion aswill leave us nothing to hope! Chingachgook”–he spoke in Delaware–“my brother, we havefought our last battle together, and the Maquaswill triumph in the death of the sage man of theMohicans, and of the pale face, whose eyes canmake night as day, and level the clouds to themists of the springs!”

“Let the Mingo women go weep over theslain!” returned the Indian, with characteristicpride and unmoved firmness; “the Great Snakeof the Mohicans has coiled himself in their wig-wams, and has poisoned their triumph withthe wailings of children, whose fathers havenot returned! Eleven warriors lie hid from

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the graves of their tribes since the snows havemelted, and none will tell where to find themwhen the tongue of Chingachgook shall besilent! Let them draw the sharpest knife, andwhirl the swiftest tomahawk, for their bitter-est enemy is in their hands. Uncas, topmostbranch of a noble trunk, call on the cowards tohasten, or their hearts will soften, and they willchange to women!”

“They look among the fishes for their dead!”returned the low, soft voice of the youthfulchieftain; “the Hurons float with the slimy eels!They drop from the oaks like fruit that is readyto be eaten! and the Delawares laugh!”

“Ay, ay,” muttered the scout, who had lis-tened to this peculiar burst of the natives withdeep attention; “they have warmed their In-dian feelings, and they’ll soon provoke the

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Maquas to give them a speedy end. As for me,who am of the whole blood of the whites, it isbefitting that I should die as becomes my color,with no words of scoffing in my mouth, andwithout bitterness at the heart!”

“Why die at all!” said Cora, advancing fromthe place where natural horror had, until thismoment, held her riveted to the rock; “the pathis open on every side; fly, then, to the woods,and call on God for succor. Go, brave men, weowe you too much already; let us no longer in-volve you in our hapless fortunes!”

“You but little know the craft of the Iroquois,lady, if you judge they have left the path opento the woods!” returned Hawkeye, who, how-ever, immediately added in his simplicity, “thedown stream current, it is certain, might soonsweep us beyond the reach of their rifles or the

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sound of their voices.”“Then try the river. Why linger to add to

the number of the victims of our merciless ene-mies?”

“Why,” repeated the scout, looking abouthim proudly; “because it is better for a man todie at peace with himself than to live hauntedby an evil conscience! What answer could wegive Munro, when he asked us where and howwe left his children?”

“Go to him, and say that you left them with amessage to hasten to their aid,” returned Cora,advancing nigher to the scout in her gener-ous ardor; “that the Hurons bear them intothe northern wilds, but that by vigilance andspeed they may yet be rescued; and if, afterall, it should please heaven that his assistancecome too late, bear to him,” she continued,

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her voice gradually lowering, until it seemednearly choked, “the love, the blessings, the fi-nal prayers of his daughters, and bid him notmourn their early fate, but to look forward withhumble confidence to the Christian’s goal tomeet his children.” The hard, weather-beatenfeatures of the scout began to work, and whenshe had ended, he dropped his chin to hishand, like a man musing profoundly on the na-ture of the proposal.

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

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He now spoke in Delaware to his compan-ions, and his address, though calm and delib-erate, seemed very decided. The elder Mohi-can heard with deep gravity, and appeared toponder on his words, as though he felt the im-portance of their import. After a moment ofhesitation, he waved his hand in assent, anduttered the English word “Good!” with the pe-culiar emphasis of his people. Then, replac-ing his knife and tomahawk in his girdle, thewarrior moved silently to the edge of the rockwhich was most concealed from the banks ofthe river. Here he paused a moment, pointedsignificantly to the woods below, and saying afew words in his own language, as if indicatinghis intended route, he dropped into the water,and sank from before the eyes of the witnessesof his movements.

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The scout delayed his departure to speakto the generous girl, whose breathing becamelighter as she saw the success of her remon-strance.

“Wisdom is sometimes given to the young,as well as to the old,” he said; “and what youhave spoken is wise, not to call it by a betterword. If you are led into the woods, that is suchof you as may be spared for awhile, break thetwigs on the bushes as you pass, and make themarks of your trail as broad as you can, when,if mortal eyes can see them, depend on havinga friend who will follow to the ends of the ‘arthafore he desarts you.”

He gave Cora an affectionate shake of thehand, lifted his rifle, and after regarding ita moment with melancholy solicitude, laid itcarefully aside, and descended to the place

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where Chingachgook had just disappeared.For an instant he hung suspended by the rock,and looking about him, with a countenance ofpeculiar care, he added bitterly, “Had the pow-der held out, this disgrace could never havebefallen!” then, loosening his hold, the waterclosed above his head, and he also became lostto view.

All eyes now were turned on Uncas, whostood leaning against the ragged rock, in im-movable composure. After waiting a shorttime, Cora pointed down the river, and said:

“Your friends have not been seen, and arenow, most probably, in safety. Is it not time foryou to follow?”

“Uncas will stay,” the young Mohicancalmly answered in English.

“To increase the horror of our capture, and to

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diminish the chances of our release! Go, gen-erous young man,” Cora continued, loweringher eyes under the gaze of the Mohican, andperhaps, with an intuitive consciousness of herpower; “go to my father, as I have said, and bethe most confidential of my messengers. Tellhim to trust you with the means to buy the free-dom of his daughters. Go! ‘tis my wish, ‘tis myprayer, that you will go!”

The settled, calm look of the young chiefchanged to an expression of gloom, but heno longer hesitated. With a noiseless step hecrossed the rock, and dropped into the troubledstream. Hardly a breath was drawn by thosehe left behind, until they caught a glimpse ofhis head emerging for air, far down the current,when he again sank, and was seen no more.

These sudden and apparently successful ex-

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periments had all taken place in a few minutesof that time which had now become so pre-cious. After a last look at Uncas, Cora turnedand with a quivering lip, addressed herself toHeyward:

“I have heard of your boasted skill in the wa-ter, too, Duncan,” she said; “follow, then, thewise example set you by these simple and faith-ful beings.”

“Is such the faith that Cora Munro would ex-act from her protector?” said the young man,smiling mournfully, but with bitterness.

“This is not a time for idle subtleties andfalse opinions,” she answered; “but a momentwhen every duty should be equally considered.To us you can be of no further service here, butyour precious life may be saved for other andnearer friends.”

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He made no reply, though his eye fell wist-fully on the beautiful form of Alice, who wasclinging to his arm with the dependency of aninfant.

“Consider,” continued Cora, after a pause,during which she seemed to struggle with apang even more acute than any that her fearshad excited, “that the worst to us can be butdeath; a tribute that all must pay at the goodtime of God’s appointment.”

“There are evils worse than death,” saidDuncan, speaking hoarsely, and as if fretful ather importunity, “but which the presence ofone who would die in your behalf may avert.”

Cora ceased her entreaties; and veiling herface in her shawl, drew the nearly insensibleAlice after her into the deepest recess of the in-ner cavern.

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“Be gay securely;Dispel, my fair, with smiles, the

tim’rous clouds,That hang on thy clear brow.”

–Death of Agrippina

THE SUDDEN AND almost magical change,

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from the stirring incidents of the combat to thestillness that now reigned around him, actedon the heated imagination of Heyward likesome exciting dream. While all the images andevents he had witnessed remained deeply im-pressed on his memory, he felt a difficulty inpersuading him of their truth. Still ignorant ofthe fate of those who had trusted to the aid ofthe swift current, he at first listened intently toany signal or sounds of alarm, which might an-nounce the good or evil fortune of their haz-ardous undertaking. His attention was, how-ever, bestowed in vain; for with the disappear-ance of Uncas, every sign of the adventurershad been lost, leaving him in total uncertaintyof their fate.

In a moment of such painful doubt, Dun-can did not hesitate to look around him, with-

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out consulting that protection from the rockswhich just before had been so necessary to hissafety. Every effort, however, to detect the leastevidence of the approach of their hidden ene-mies was as fruitless as the inquiry after his latecompanions. The wooded banks of the riverseemed again deserted by everything possess-ing animal life. The uproar which had so latelyechoed through the vaults of the forest wasgone, leaving the rush of the waters to swelland sink on the currents of the air, in the un-mingled sweetness of nature. A fish-hawk,which, secure on the topmost branches of adead pine, had been a distant spectator of thefray, now swooped from his high and raggedperch, and soared, in wide sweeps, above hisprey; while a jay, whose noisy voice had beenstilled by the hoarser cries of the savages, ven-tured again to open his discordant throat, as

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though once more in undisturbed possession ofhis wild domains. Duncan caught from thesenatural accompaniments of the solitary scene aglimmering of hope; and he began to rally hisfaculties to renewed exertions, with somethinglike a reviving confidence of success.

“The Hurons are not to be seen,” he said, ad-dressing David, who had by no means recov-ered from the effects of the stunning blow hehad received; “let us conceal ourselves in thecavern, and trust the rest to Providence.”

“I remember to have united with two comelymaidens, in lifting up our voices in praiseand thanksgiving,” returned the bewilderedsinging-master; “since which time I have beenvisited by a heavy judgment for my sins. I havebeen mocked with the likeness of sleep, whilesounds of discord have rent my ears, such as

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might manifest the fullness of time, and thatnature had forgotten her harmony.”

“Poor fellow! thine own period was, in truth,near its accomplishment! But arouse, and comewith me; I will lead you where all other soundsbut those of your own psalmody shall be ex-cluded.”

“There is melody in the fall of the cataract,and the rushing of many waters is sweet to thesenses!” said David, pressing his hand confus-edly on his brow. “Is not the air yet filled withshrieks and cries, as though the departed spir-its of the damned–”

“Not now, not now,” interrupted the impa-tient Heyward, “they have ceased, and theywho raised them, I trust in God, they are gone,too! everything but the water is still and atpeace; in, then, where you may create those

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sounds you love so well to hear.”

David smiled sadly, though not without amomentary gleam of pleasure, at this allusionto his beloved vocation. He no longer hesitatedto be led to a spot which promised such unal-loyed gratification to his wearied senses; andleaning on the arm of his companion, he en-tered the narrow mouth of the cave. Duncanseized a pile of the sassafras, which he drew be-fore the passage, studiously concealing everyappearance of an aperture. Within this fragilebarrier he arranged the blankets abandoned bythe foresters, darkening the inner extremity ofthe cavern, while its outer received a chastenedlight from the narrow ravine, through whichone arm of the river rushed to form the junc-tion with its sister branch a few rods below.

“I like not the principle of the natives, which

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teaches them to submit without a struggle, inemergencies that appear desperate,” he said,while busied in this employment; “our ownmaxim, which says, ‘while life remains thereis hope’, is more consoling, and better suitedto a soldier’s temperament. To you, Cora,I will urge no words of idle encouragement;your own fortitude and undisturbed reasonwill teach you all that may become your sex;but cannot we dry the tears of that tremblingweeper on your bosom?”

“I am calmer, Duncan,” said Alice, raisingherself from the arms of her sister, and forcingan appearance of composure through her tears;“much calmer, now. Surely, in this hidden spotwe are safe, we are secret, free from injury; wewill hope everything from those generous menwho have risked so much already in our be-

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half.”

“Now does our gentle Alice speak like adaughter of Munro!” said Heyward, pausingto press her hand as he passed toward the outerentrance of the cavern. “With two such ex-amples of courage before him, a man wouldbe ashamed to prove other than a hero.” Hethen seated himself in the center of the cavern,grasping his remaining pistol with a hand con-vulsively clenched, while his contracted andfrowning eye announced the sullen despera-tion of his purpose. “The Hurons, if they come,may not gain our position so easily as theythink,” he slowly muttered; and propping hishead back against the rock, he seemed to awaitthe result in patience, though his gaze wasunceasingly bent on the open avenue to theirplace of retreat.

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With the last sound of his voice, a deep, along, and almost breathless silence succeeded.The fresh air of the morning had penetratedthe recess, and its influence was gradually felton the spirits of its inmates. As minute afterminute passed by, leaving them in undisturbedsecurity, the insinuating feeling of hope wasgradually gaining possession of every bosom,though each one felt reluctant to give utteranceto expectations that the next moment might sofearfully destroy.

David alone formed an exception to thesevarying emotions. A gleam of light from theopening crossed his wan countenance, and fellupon the pages of the little volume, whoseleaves he was again occupied in turning, as ifsearching for some song more fitted to theircondition than any that had yet met their eye.

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He was, most probably, acting all this timeunder a confused recollection of the promisedconsolation of Duncan. At length, it wouldseem, his patient industry found its reward;for, without explanation or apology, he pro-nounced aloud the words “Isle of Wight,” drewa long, sweet sound from his pitch-pipe, andthen ran through the preliminary modulationsof the air whose name he had just mentioned,with the sweeter tones of his own musicalvoice.

“May not this prove dangerous?” askedCora, glancing her dark eye at Major Heyward.

“Poor fellow! his voice is too feeble to beheard above the din of the falls,” was the an-swer; “beside, the cavern will prove his friend.Let him indulge his passions since it may bedone without hazard.”

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“Isle of Wight!” repeated David, lookingabout him with that dignity with which hehad long been wont to silence the whisperingechoes of his school; “‘tis a brave tune, and setto solemn words! let it be sung with meet re-spect!”

After allowing a moment of stillness to en-force his discipline, the voice of the singer washeard, in low, murmuring syllables, gradu-ally stealing on the ear, until it filled the nar-row vault with sounds rendered trebly thrillingby the feeble and tremulous utterance pro-duced by his debility. The melody, which noweakness could destroy, gradually wrought itssweet influence on the senses of those whoheard it. It even prevailed over the miserabletravesty of the song of David which the singerhad selected from a volume of similar effu-

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sions, and caused the sense to be forgotten inthe insinuating harmony of the sounds. Al-ice unconsciously dried her tears, and bent hermelting eyes on the pallid features of Gamut,with an expression of chastened delight thatshe neither affected or wished to conceal. Corabestowed an approving smile on the pious ef-forts of the namesake of the Jewish prince, andHeyward soon turned his steady, stern lookfrom the outlet of the cavern, to fasten it, witha milder character, on the face of David, orto meet the wandering beams which at mo-ments strayed from the humid eyes of Alice.The open sympathy of the listeners stirred thespirit of the votary of music, whose voice re-gained its richness and volume, without losingthat touching softness which proved its secretcharm. Exerting his renovated powers to theirutmost, he was yet filling the arches of the cave

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with long and full tones, when a yell burst intothe air without, that instantly stilled his piousstrains, choking his voice suddenly, as thoughhis heart had literally bounded into the passageof his throat.

“We are lost!” exclaimed Alice, throwingherself into the arms of Cora.

“Not yet, not yet,” returned the agitated butundaunted Heyward: “the sound came fromthe center of the island, and it has been pro-duced by the sight of their dead companions.We are not yet discovered, and there is stillhope.”

Faint and almost despairing as was theprospect of escape, the words of Duncan werenot thrown away, for it awakened the pow-ers of the sisters in such a manner that theyawaited the results in silence. A second yell

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soon followed the first, when a rush of voiceswas heard pouring down the island, from itsupper to its lower extremity, until they reachedthe naked rock above the caverns, where, aftera shout of savage triumph, the air continuedfull of horrible cries and screams, such as manalone can utter, and he only when in a state ofthe fiercest barbarity.

The sounds quickly spread around them inevery direction. Some called to their fellowsfrom the water’s edge, and were answeredfrom the heights above. Cries were heard inthe startling vicinity of the chasm between thetwo caves, which mingled with hoarser yellsthat arose out of the abyss of the deep ravine.In short, so rapidly had the savage sounds dif-fused themselves over the barren rock, that itwas not difficult for the anxious listeners to

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imagine they could be heard beneath, as intruth they were above on every side of them.

In the midst of this tumult, a triumphant yellwas raised within a few yards of the hidden en-trance to the cave. Heyward abandoned everyhope, with the belief it was the signal that theywere discovered. Again the impression passedaway, as he heard the voices collect near thespot where the white man had so reluctantlyabandoned his rifle. Amid the jargon of Indiandialects that he now plainly heard, it was easyto distinguish not only words, but sentences,in the patois of the Canadas. A burst of voiceshad shouted simultaneously, “La Longue Cara-bine!” causing the opposite woods to re-echowith a name which, Heyward well remem-bered, had been given by his enemies to a cel-ebrated hunter and scout of the English camp,

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and who, he now learned for the first time, hadbeen his late companion.

“La Longue Carabine! La Longue Carabine!”passed from mouth to mouth, until the wholeband appeared to be collected around a trophywhich would seem to announce the death of itsformidable owner. After a vociferous consulta-tion, which was, at times, deafened by burstsof savage joy, they again separated, filling theair with the name of a foe, whose body, Hey-wood could collect from their expressions, theyhoped to find concealed in some crevice of theisland.

“Now,” he whispered to the trembling sis-ters, “now is the moment of uncertainty! if ourplace of retreat escape this scrutiny, we are stillsafe! In every event, we are assured, by whathas fallen from our enemies, that our friends

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have escaped, and in two short hours we maylook for succor from Webb.”

There were now a few minutes of fearfulstillness, during which Heyward well knewthat the savages conducted their search withgreater vigilance and method. More than oncehe could distinguish their footsteps, as theybrushed the sassafras, causing the faded leavesto rustle, and the branches to snap. At length,the pile yielded a little, a corner of a blanketfell, and a faint ray of light gleamed into theinner part of the cave. Cora folded Alice to herbosom in agony, and Duncan sprang to his feet.A shout was at that moment heard, as if issuingfrom the center of the rock, announcing that theneighboring cavern had at length been entered.In a minute, the number and loudness of thevoices indicated that the whole party was col-

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lected in and around that secret place.

As the inner passages to the two caves wereso close to each other, Duncan, believing thatescape was no longer possible, passed Davidand the sisters, to place himself between thelatter and the first onset of the terrible meet-ing. Grown desperate by his situation, he drewnigh the slight barrier which separated himonly by a few feet from his relentless pursuers,and placing his face to the casual opening, heeven looked out with a sort of desperate indif-ference, on their movements.

Within reach of his arm was the brawnyshoulder of a gigantic Indian, whose deep andauthoritative voice appeared to give directionsto the proceedings of his fellows. Beyond himagain, Duncan could look into the vault oppo-site, which was filled with savages, upturning

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and rifling the humble furniture of the scout.The wound of David had dyed the leaves ofsassafras with a color that the native well knewas anticipating the season. Over this sign oftheir success, they sent up a howl, like an open-ing from so many hounds who had recovereda lost trail. After this yell of victory, they toreup the fragrant bed of the cavern, and bore thebranches into the chasm, scattering the boughs,as if they suspected them of concealing the per-son of the man they had so long hated andfeared. One fierce and wild-looking warriorapproached the chief, bearing a load of thebrush, and pointing exultingly to the deep redstains with which it was sprinkled, uttered hisjoy in Indian yells, whose meaning Heywardwas only enabled to comprehend by the fre-quent repetition of the name “La Longue Cara-bine!” When his triumph had ceased, he cast

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the brush on the slight heap Duncan had madebefore the entrance of the second cavern, andclosed the view. His example was followed byothers, who, as they drew the branches fromthe cave of the scout, threw them into one pile,adding, unconsciously, to the security of thosethey sought. The very slightness of the defensewas its chief merit, for no one thought of dis-turbing a mass of brush, which all of them be-lieved, in that moment of hurry and confusion,had been accidentally raised by the hands oftheir own party.

As the blankets yielded before the outwardpressure, and the branches settled in the fis-sure of the rock by their own weight, forminga compact body, Duncan once more breathedfreely. With a light step and lighter heart, hereturned to the center of the cave, and took the

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place he had left, where he could command aview of the opening next the river. While hewas in the act of making this movement, theIndians, as if changing their purpose by a com-mon impulse, broke away from the chasm ina body, and were heard rushing up the islandagain, toward the point whence they had orig-inally descended. Here another wailing cry be-trayed that they were again collected aroundthe bodies of their dead comrades.

Duncan now ventured to look at his com-panions; for, during the most critical momentsof their danger, he had been apprehensive thatthe anxiety of his countenance might commu-nicate some additional alarm to those whowere so little able to sustain it.

“They are gone, Cora!” he whispered; “Al-ice, they are returned whence they came, and

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we are saved! To Heaven, that has alone deliv-ered us from the grasp of so merciless an en-emy, be all the praise!”

“Then to Heaven will I return my thanks!”exclaimed the younger sister, rising from theencircling arm of Cora, and casting herself withenthusiastic gratitude on the naked rock; “tothat Heaven who has spared the tears of a gray-headed father; has saved the lives of those I somuch love.”

Both Heyward and the more temperate Corawitnessed the act of involuntary emotion withpowerful sympathy, the former secretly believ-ing that piety had never worn a form so lovelyas it had now assumed in the youthful personof Alice. Her eyes were radiant with the glowof grateful feelings; the flush of her beautywas again seated on her cheeks, and her whole

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soul seemed ready and anxious to pour outits thanksgivings through the medium of hereloquent features. But when her lips moved,the words they should have uttered appearedfrozen by some new and sudden chill. Herbloom gave place to the paleness of death; hersoft and melting eyes grew hard, and seemedcontracting with horror; while those hands,which she had raised, clasped in each other, to-ward heaven, dropped in horizontal lines be-fore her, the fingers pointed forward in con-vulsed motion. Heyward turned the instantshe gave a direction to his suspicions, andpeering just above the ledge which formed thethreshold of the open outlet of the cavern, hebeheld the malignant, fierce and savage fea-tures of Le Renard Subtil.

In that moment of surprise, the self-

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possession of Heyward did not desert him. Heobserved by the vacant expression of the In-dian’s countenance, that his eye, accustomed tothe open air had not yet been able to penetratethe dusky light which pervaded the depth ofthe cavern. He had even thought of retreatingbeyond a curvature in the natural wall, whichmight still conceal him and his companions,when by the sudden gleam of intelligence thatshot across the features of the savage, he saw itwas too late, and that they were betrayed.

The look of exultation and brutal triumphwhich announced this terrible truth was irre-sistibly irritating. Forgetful of everything butthe impulses of his hot blood, Duncan leveledhis pistol and fired. The report of the weaponmade the cavern bellow like an eruption froma volcano; and when the smoke it vomited

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had been driven away before the current ofair which issued from the ravine the place solately occupied by the features of his treacher-ous guide was vacant. Rushing to the outlet,Heyward caught a glimpse of his dark figurestealing around a low and narrow ledge, whichsoon hid him entirely from sight.

Among the savages a frightful stillness suc-ceeded the explosion, which had just beenheard bursting from the bowels of the rock. Butwhen Le Renard raised his voice in a long andintelligible whoop, it was answered by a spon-taneous yell from the mouth of every Indianwithin hearing of the sound.

The clamorous noises again rushed downthe island; and before Duncan had time to re-cover from the shock, his feeble barrier of brushwas scattered to the winds, the cavern was en-

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tered at both its extremities, and he and hiscompanions were dragged from their shelterand borne into the day, where they stood sur-rounded by the whole band of the triumphantHurons.

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“I fear we shall outsleep the com-ing morn

As much as we this night haveoverwatched!”

–Midsummer Night’sDream

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THE INSTANT THE shock of this sudden mis-fortune had abated, Duncan began to make hisobservations on the appearance and proceed-ings of their captors. Contrary to the usagesof the natives in the wantonness of their suc-cess they had respected, not only the persons ofthe trembling sisters, but his own. The rich or-naments of his military attire had indeed beenrepeatedly handled by different individuals ofthe tribes with eyes expressing a savage long-ing to possess the baubles; but before the cus-tomary violence could be resorted to, a man-date in the authoritative voice of the large war-rior, already mentioned, stayed the upliftedhand, and convinced Heyward that they wereto be reserved for some object of particular mo-ment.

While, however, these manifestations of

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weakness were exhibited by the young andvain of the party, the more experienced war-riors continued their search throughout bothcaverns, with an activity that denoted theywere far from being satisfied with those fruitsof their conquest which had already beenbrought to light. Unable to discover any newvictim, these diligent workers of vengeancesoon approached their male prisoners, pro-nouncing the name “La Longue Carabine,”with a fierceness that could not be easily mis-taken. Duncan affected not to comprehendthe meaning of their repeated and violent in-terrogatories, while his companion was sparedthe effort of a similar deception by his igno-rance of French. Wearied at length by theirimportunities, and apprehensive of irritatinghis captors by too stubborn a silence, the for-mer looked about him in quest of Magua, who

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might interpret his answers to questions whichwere at each moment becoming more earnestand threatening.

The conduct of this savage had formed asolitary exception to that of all his fellows.While the others were busily occupied in seek-ing to gratify their childish passion for finery,by plundering even the miserable effects of thescout, or had been searching with such blood-thirsty vengeance in their looks for their ab-sent owner, Le Renard had stood at a little dis-tance from the prisoners, with a demeanor soquiet and satisfied, as to betray that he had al-ready effected the grand purpose of his treach-ery. When the eyes of Heyward first met thoseof his recent guide, he turned them away inhorror at the sinister though calm look he en-countered. Conquering his disgust, however,

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he was able, with an averted face, to addresshis successful enemy.

“Le Renard Subtil is too much of a warrior,”said the reluctant Heyward, “to refuse tellingan unarmed man what his conquerors say.”

“They ask for the hunter who knows thepaths through the woods,” returned Magua, inhis broken English, laying his hand, at the sametime, with a ferocious smile, on the bundle ofleaves with which a wound on his own shoul-der was bandaged. “‘La Longue Carabine’! Hisrifle is good, and his eye never shut; but, likethe short gun of the white chief, it is nothingagainst the life of Le Subtil.”

“Le Renard is too brave to remember thehurts received in war, or the hands that gavethem.”

“Was it war, when the tired Indian rested at

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the sugartree to taste his corn! who filled thebushes with creeping enemies! who drew theknife, whose tongue was peace, while his heartwas colored with blood! Did Magua say thatthe hatchet was out of the ground, and that hishand had dug it up?”

As Duncan dared not retort upon his ac-cuser by reminding him of his own premedi-tated treachery, and disdained to deprecate hisresentment by any words of apology, he re-mained silent. Magua seemed also content torest the controversy as well as all further com-munication there, for he resumed the leaningattitude against the rock from which, in mo-mentary energy, he had arisen. But the cry of“La Longue Carabine” was renewed the instantthe impatient savages perceived that the shortdialogue was ended.

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“You hear,” said Magua, with stubborn in-difference: “the red Hurons call for the life of‘The Long Rifle’, or they will have the blood ofhim that keep him hid!”

“He is gone–escaped; he is far beyond theirreach.”

Renard smiled with cold contempt, as he an-swered:

“When the white man dies, he thinks he isat peace; but the red men know how to tortureeven the ghosts of their enemies. Where is hisbody? Let the Hurons see his scalp.”

“He is not dead, but escaped.”

Magua shook his head incredulously.

“Is he a bird, to spread his wings; or is he afish, to swim without air! The white chief read

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in his books, and he believes the Hurons arefools!”

“Though no fish, ‘The Long Rifle’ can swim.He floated down the stream when the pow-der was all burned, and when the eyes of theHurons were behind a cloud.”

“And why did the white chief stay?” de-manded the still incredulous Indian. “Is he astone that goes to the bottom, or does the scalpburn his head?”

“That I am not stone, your dead comrade,who fell into the falls, might answer, werethe life still in him,” said the provoked youngman, using, in his anger, that boastful languagewhich was most likely to excite the admirationof an Indian. “The white man thinks none butcowards desert their women.”

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Magua muttered a few words, inaudibly, be-tween his teeth, before he continued, aloud:

“Can the Delawares swim, too, as well ascrawl in the bushes? Where is ‘Le Gros Ser-pent’?”

Duncan, who perceived by the use of theseCanadian appellations, that his late compan-ions were much better known to his enemiesthan to himself, answered, reluctantly: “Healso is gone down with the water.”

“‘Le Cerf Agile’ is not here?”

“I know not whom you call ‘The NimbleDeer’,” said Duncan gladly profiting by any ex-cuse to create delay.

“Uncas,” returned Magua, pronouncing theDelaware name with even greater difficultythan he spoke his English words. “‘Bounding

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Elk’ is what the white man says, when he callsto the young Mohican.”

“Here is some confusion in names betweenus, Le Renard,” said Duncan, hoping to pro-voke a discussion. “Daim is the French for deer,and cerf for stag; elan is the true term, whenone would speak of an elk.”

“Yes,” muttered the Indian, in his nativetongue; “the pale faces are prattling women!they have two words for each thing, while ared-skin will make the sound of his voice speakto him.” Then, changing his language, he con-tinued, adhering to the imperfect nomencla-ture of his provincial instructors. “The deer isswift, but weak; the elk is swift, but strong; andthe son of ‘Le Serpent’ is ‘Le Cerf Agile.’ Hashe leaped the river to the woods?”

“If you mean the younger Delaware, he, too,

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has gone down with the water.”

As there was nothing improbable to an In-dian in the manner of the escape, Magua ad-mitted the truth of what he had heard, witha readiness that afforded additional evidencehow little he would prize such worthless cap-tives. With his companions, however, the feel-ing was manifestly different.

The Hurons had awaited the result of thisshort dialogue with characteristic patience, andwith a silence that increased until there was ageneral stillness in the band. When Heywardceased to speak, they turned their eyes, as oneman, on Magua, demanding, in this expres-sive manner, an explanation of what had beensaid. Their interpreter pointed to the river, andmade them acquainted with the result, as muchby the action as by the few words he uttered.

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When the fact was generally understood, thesavages raised a frightful yell, which declaredthe extent of their disappointment. Some ranfuriously to the water’s edge, beating the airwith frantic gestures, while others spat uponthe element, to resent the supposed treasonit had committed against their acknowledgedrights as conquerors. A few, and they not theleast powerful and terrific of the band, threwlowering looks, in which the fiercest passionwas only tempered by habitual self-command,at those captives who still remained in theirpower, while one or two even gave vent totheir malignant feelings by the most menacinggestures, against which neither the sex nor thebeauty of the sisters was any protection. Theyoung soldier made a desperate but fruitless ef-fort to spring to the side of Alice, when he sawthe dark hand of a savage twisted in the rich

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tresses which were flowing in volumes overher shoulders, while a knife was passed aroundthe head from which they fell, as if to denotethe horrid manner in which it was about tobe robbed of its beautiful ornament. But hishands were bound; and at the first movementhe made, he felt the grasp of the powerful In-dian who directed the band, pressing his shoul-der like a vise. Immediately conscious howunavailing any struggle against such an over-whelming force must prove, he submitted tohis fate, encouraging his gentle companions bya few low and tender assurances, that the na-tives seldom failed to threaten more than theyperformed.

But while Duncan resorted to these words ofconsolation to quiet the apprehensions of thesisters, he was not so weak as to deceive him-

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self. He well knew that the authority of anIndian chief was so little conventional, that itwas oftener maintained by physical superior-ity than by any moral supremacy he might pos-sess. The danger was, therefore, magnified ex-actly in proportion to the number of the savagespirits by which they were surrounded. Themost positive mandate from him who seemedthe acknowledged leader, was liable to be vi-olated at each moment by any rash hand thatmight choose to sacrifice a victim to the manesof some dead friend or relative. While, there-fore, he sustained an outward appearance ofcalmness and fortitude, his heart leaped intohis throat, whenever any of their fierce captorsdrew nearer than common to the helpless sis-ters, or fastened one of their sullen, wanderinglooks on those fragile forms which were so lit-tle able to resist the slightest assault.

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His apprehensions were, however, greatlyrelieved, when he saw that the leader hadsummoned his warriors to himself in counsel.Their deliberations were short, and it wouldseem, by the silence of most of the party, thedecision unanimous. By the frequency withwhich the few speakers pointed in the directionof the encampment of Webb, it was apparentthey dreaded the approach of danger from thatquarter. This consideration probably hastenedtheir determination, and quickened the subse-quent movements.

During his short conference, Heyward, find-ing a respite from his gravest fears, had leisureto admire the cautious manner in which theHurons had made their approaches, even afterhostilities had ceased.

It has already been stated that the upper half

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of the island was a naked rock, and destituteof any other defenses than a few scattered logsof driftwood. They had selected this point tomake their descent, having borne the canoethrough the wood around the cataract for thatpurpose. Placing their arms in the little vessela dozen men clinging to its sides had trustedthemselves to the direction of the canoe, whichwas controlled by two of the most skillful war-riors, in attitudes that enabled them to com-mand a view of the dangerous passage. Fa-vored by this arrangement, they touched thehead of the island at that point which hadproved so fatal to their first adventurers, butwith the advantages of superior numbers, andthe possession of firearms. That such had beenthe manner of their descent was rendered quiteapparent to Duncan; for they now bore thelight bark from the upper end of the rock, and

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placed it in the water, near the mouth of theouter cavern. As soon as this change was made,the leader made signs to the prisoners to de-scend and enter.

As resistance was impossible, and remon-strance useless, Heyward set the example ofsubmission, by leading the way into the canoe,where he was soon seated with the sisters andthe still wondering David. Notwithstandingthe Hurons were necessarily ignorant of the lit-tle channels among the eddies and rapids of thestream, they knew the common signs of sucha navigation too well to commit any materialblunder. When the pilot chosen for the taskof guiding the canoe had taken his station, thewhole band plunged again into the river, thevessel glided down the current, and in a fewmoments the captives found themselves on the

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south bank of the stream, nearly opposite to thepoint where they had struck it the precedingevening.

Here was held another short but earnest con-sultation, during which the horses, to whosepanic their owners ascribed their heaviest mis-fortune, were led from the cover of the woods,and brought to the sheltered spot. The bandnow divided. The great chief, so often men-tioned, mounting the charger of Heyward, ledthe way directly across the river, followed bymost of his people, and disappeared in thewoods, leaving the prisoners in charge of sixsavages, at whose head was Le Renard Subtil.Duncan witnessed all their movements with re-newed uneasiness.

He had been fond of believing, from the un-common forbearance of the savages, that he

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was reserved as a prisoner to be delivered toMontcalm. As the thoughts of those who arein misery seldom slumber, and the invention isnever more lively than when it is stimulated byhope, however feeble and remote, he had evenimagined that the parental feelings of Munrowere to be made instrumental in seducing himfrom his duty to the king. For though theFrench commander bore a high character forcourage and enterprise, he was also thoughtto be expert in those political practises whichdo not always respect the nicer obligations ofmorality, and which so generally disgraced theEuropean diplomacy of that period.

All those busy and ingenious speculationswere now annihilated by the conduct of hiscaptors. That portion of the band who hadfollowed the huge warrior took the route to-

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ward the foot of the Horican, and no other ex-pectation was left for himself and companions,than that they were to be retained as hope-less captives by their savage conquerors. Anx-ious to know the worst, and willing, in such anemergency, to try the potency of gold he over-came his reluctance to speak to Magua. Ad-dressing himself to his former guide, who hadnow assumed the authority and manner of onewho was to direct the future movements of theparty, he said, in tones as friendly and confid-ing as he could assume:

“I would speak to Magua, what is fit only forso great a chief to hear.”

The Indian turned his eyes on the young sol-dier scornfully, as he answered:

“Speak; trees have no ears.”“But the red Hurons are not deaf; and coun-

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sel that is fit for the great men of a nation wouldmake the young warriors drunk. If Magua willnot listen, the officer of the king knows how tobe silent.”

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

“Now, speak,” he said; “if the words are suchas Magua should hear.”

“Le Renard Subtil has proved himself wor-thy of the honorable name given to him by hisCanada fathers,” commenced Heyward; “I seehis wisdom, and all that he has done for us,and shall remember it when the hour to rewardhim arrives. Yes! Renard has proved that he is

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not only a great chief in council, but one whoknows how to deceive his enemies!”

“What has Renard done?” coldly demandedthe Indian.

“What! has he not seen that the woods werefilled with outlying parties of the enemies, andthat the serpent could not steal through themwithout being seen? Then, did he not lose hispath to blind the eyes of the Hurons? Did henot pretend to go back to his tribe, who hadtreated him ill, and driven him from their wig-wams like a dog? And when he saw what hewished to do, did we not aid him, by makinga false face, that the Hurons might think thewhite man believed that his friend was his en-emy? Is not all this true? And when Le Sub-til had shut the eyes and stopped the ears ofhis nation by his wisdom, did they not forget

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that they had once done him wrong, and forcedhim to flee to the Mohawks? And did they notleave him on the south side of the river, withtheir prisoners, while they have gone foolishlyon the north? Does not Renard mean to turnlike a fox on his footsteps, and to carry to therich and gray-headed Scotchman his daugh-ters? Yes, Magua, I see it all, and I have al-ready been thinking how so much wisdom andhonesty should be repaid. First, the chief ofWilliam Henry will give as a great chief shouldfor such a service. The medal13 of Magua willno longer be of tin, but of beaten gold; his horn

13It has long been a practice with the whites to con-ciliate the important men of the Indians by presentingmedals, which are worn in the place of their own rudeornaments. Those given by the English generally bearthe impression of the reigning king, and those given bythe Americans that of the president.

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will run over with powder; dollars will be asplenty in his pouch as pebbles on the shore ofHorican; and the deer will lick his hand, forthey will know it to be vain to fly from the riflehe will carry! As for myself, I know not howto exceed the gratitude of the Scotchman, butI–yes, I will–”

“What will the young chief, who comes fromtoward the sun, give?” demanded the Huron,observing that Heyward hesitated in his desireto end the enumeration of benefits with thatwhich might form the climax of an Indian’swishes.

“He will make the fire-water from the is-lands in the salt lake flow before the wigwamof Magua, until the heart of the Indian shall belighter than the feathers of the humming-bird,and his breath sweeter than the wild honey-

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suckle.”

Le Renard had listened gravely as Heywardslowly proceeded in this subtle speech. Whenthe young man mentioned the artifice he sup-posed the Indian to have practised on his ownnation, the countenance of the listener wasveiled in an expression of cautious gravity. Atthe allusion to the injury which Duncan af-fected to believe had driven the Huron fromhis native tribe, a gleam of such ungovern-able ferocity flashed from the other’s eyes, asinduced the adventurous speaker to believehe had struck the proper chord. And by thetime he reached the part where he so artfullyblended the thirst of vengeance with the desireof gain, he had, at least, obtained a command ofthe deepest attention of the savage. The ques-tion put by Le Renard had been calm, and with

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all the dignity of an Indian; but it was quite ap-parent, by the thoughtful expression of the lis-tener’s countenance, that the answer was mostcunningly devised. The Huron mused a fewmoments, and then laying his hand on the rudebandages of his wounded shoulder, he said,with some energy:

“Do friends make such marks?”

“Would ‘La Longue Carbine’ cut one soslight on an enemy?”

“Do the Delawares crawl upon those theylove like snakes, twisting themselves tostrike?”

“Would ‘Le Gros Serpent’ have been heardby the ears of one he wished to be deaf?”

“Does the white chief burn his powder in thefaces of his brothers?”

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“Does he ever miss his aim, when seriouslybent to kill?” returned Duncan, smiling withwell acted sincerity.

Another long and deliberate pause suc-ceeded these sententious questions and readyreplies. Duncan saw that the Indian hesitated.In order to complete his victory, he was in theact of recommencing the enumeration of the re-wards, when Magua made an expressive ges-ture and said:

“Enough; Le Renard is a wise chief, andwhat he does will be seen. Go, and keep themouth shut. When Magua speaks, it will be thetime to answer.”

Heyward, perceiving that the eyes of hiscompanion were warily fastened on the restof the band, fell back immediately, in order toavoid the appearance of any suspicious confed-

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eracy with their leader. Magua approached thehorses, and affected to be well pleased with thediligence and ingenuity of his comrades. Hethen signed to Heyward to assist the sisters intothe saddles, for he seldom deigned to use theEnglish tongue, unless urged by some motiveof more than usual moment.

There was no longer any plausible pretextfor delay; and Duncan was obliged, how-ever reluctantly, to comply. As he performedthis office, he whispered his reviving hopesin the ears of the trembling females, who,through dread of encountering the savagecountenances of their captors, seldom raisedtheir eyes from the ground. The mare of Davidhad been taken with the followers of the largechief; in consequence, its owner, as well asDuncan, was compelled to journey on foot. The

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latter did not, however, so much regret this cir-cumstance, as it might enable him to retard thespeed of the party; for he still turned his long-ing looks in the direction of Fort Edward, inthe vain expectation of catching some soundfrom that quarter of the forest, which might de-note the approach of succor. When all wereprepared, Magua made the signal to proceed,advancing in front to lead the party in person.Next followed David, who was gradually com-ing to a true sense of his condition, as the effectsof the wound became less and less apparent.The sisters rode in his rear, with Heyward attheir side, while the Indians flanked the party,and brought up the close of the march, with acaution that seemed never to tire.

In this manner they proceeded in unin-terrupted silence, except when Heyward ad-

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dressed some solitary word of comfort to thefemales, or David gave vent to the moaningsof his spirit, in piteous exclamations, which heintended should express the humility of resig-nation. Their direction lay toward the south,and in a course nearly opposite to the road toWilliam Henry. Notwithstanding this apparentadherence in Magua to the original determina-tion of his conquerors, Heyward could not be-lieve his tempting bait was so soon forgotten;and he knew the windings of an Indian’s pathtoo well to suppose that its apparent courseled directly to its object, when artifice was atall necessary. Mile after mile was, however,passed through the boundless woods, in thispainful manner, without any prospect of a ter-mination to their journey. Heyward watchedthe sun, as he darted his meridian rays throughthe branches of the trees, and pined for the

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moment when the policy of Magua shouldchange their route to one more favorable to hishopes. Sometimes he fancied the wary sav-age, despairing of passing the army of Mont-calm in safety, was holding his way towarda well-known border settlement, where a dis-tinguished officer of the crown, and a favoredfriend of the Six Nations, held his large posses-sions, as well as his usual residence. To be de-livered into the hands of Sir William Johnsonwas far preferable to being led into the wilds ofCanada; but in order to effect even the former,it would be necessary to traverse the forest formany weary leagues, each step of which wascarrying him further from the scene of the war,and, consequently, from the post, not only ofhonor, but of duty.

Cora alone remembered the parting injunc-

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tions of the scout, and whenever an oppor-tunity offered, she stretched forth her arm tobend aside the twigs that met her hands. Butthe vigilance of the Indians rendered this act ofprecaution both difficult and dangerous. Shewas often defeated in her purpose, by encoun-tering their watchful eyes, when it became nec-essary to feign an alarm she did not feel, andoccupy the limb by some gesture of feminineapprehension. Once, and once only, was shecompletely successful; when she broke downthe bough of a large sumach, and by a sud-den thought, let her glove fall at the same in-stant. This sign, intended for those that mightfollow, was observed by one of her conduc-tors, who restored the glove, broke the remain-ing branches of the bush in such a manner thatit appeared to proceed from the struggling ofsome beast in its branches, and then laid his

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hand on his tomahawk, with a look so signif-icant, that it put an effectual end to these stolenmemorials of their passage.

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

Heyward would have ventured a remon-strance had there been anything encouragingin the gloomy reserve of Magua. But the sav-age, during all this time, seldom turned tolook at his followers, and never spoke. Withthe sun for his only guide, or aided by suchblind marks as are only known to the sagac-ity of a native, he held his way along the bar-rens of pine, through occasional little fertilevales, across brooks and rivulets, and over un-

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dulating hills, with the accuracy of instinct,and nearly with the directness of a bird. Henever seemed to hesitate. Whether the pathwas hardly distinguishable, whether it disap-peared, or whether it lay beaten and plain be-fore him, made no sensible difference in hisspeed or certainty. It seemed as if fatiguecould not affect him. Whenever the eyes of thewearied travelers rose from the decayed leavesover which they trod, his dark form was to beseen glancing among the stems of the trees infront, his head immovably fastened in a for-ward position, with the light plume on his crestfluttering in a current of air, made solely by theswiftness of his own motion.

But all this diligence and speed were notwithout an object. After crossing a low vale,through which a gushing brook meandered, he

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suddenly ascended a hill, so steep and diffi-cult of ascent, that the sisters were compelledto alight in order to follow. When the summitwas gained, they found themselves on a levelspot, but thinly covered with trees, under oneof which Magua had thrown his dark form, asif willing and ready to seek that rest which wasso much needed by the whole party.

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“Cursed be my tribe If I forgivehim.”

–Shylock

THE INDIAN HAD selected for this desirablepurpose one of those steep, pyramidal hills,which bear a strong resemblance to artificial

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mounds, and which so frequently occur in thevalleys of America. The one in question washigh and precipitous; its top flattened, as usual;but with one of its sides more than ordinarilyirregular. It possessed no other apparent ad-vantage for a resting place, than in its elevationand form, which might render defense easy,and surprise nearly impossible. As Heyward,however, no longer expected that rescue whichtime and distance now rendered so improba-ble, he regarded these little peculiarities withan eye devoid of interest, devoting himself en-tirely to the comfort and condolence of his fee-bler companions. The Narragansetts were suf-fered to browse on the branches of the trees andshrubs that were thinly scattered over the sum-mit of the hill, while the remains of their provi-sions were spread under the shade of a beech,that stretched its horizontal limbs like a canopy

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above them.

Notwithstanding the swiftness of theirflight, one of the Indians had found an oppor-tunity to strike a straggling fawn with an ar-row, and had borne the more preferable frag-ments of the victim, patiently on his shoulders,to the stopping place. Without any aid fromthe science of cookery, he was immediately em-ployed, in common with his fellows, in gorginghimself with this digestible sustenance. Maguaalone sat apart, without participating in therevolting meal, and apparently buried in thedeepest thought.

This abstinence, so remarkable in an In-dian, when he possessed the means of satis-fying hunger, at length attracted the notice ofHeyward. The young man willingly believedthat the Huron deliberated on the most eligi-

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ble manner of eluding the vigilance of his as-sociates. With a view to assist his plans by anysuggestion of his own, and to strengthen thetemptation, he left the beech, and straggled, asif without an object, to the spot where Le Re-nard was seated.

“Has not Magua kept the sun in his face longenough to escape all danger from the Canadi-ans?” he asked, as though no longer doubtfulof the good intelligence established betweenthem; “and will not the chief of William Henrybe better pleased to see his daughters beforeanother night may have hardened his heart totheir loss, to make him less liberal in his re-ward?”

“Do the pale faces love their children less inthe morning than at night?” asked the Indian,coldly.

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“By no means,” returned Heyward, anxiousto recall his error, if he had made one; “thewhite man may, and does often, forget theburial place of his fathers; he sometimes ceasesto remember those he should love, and haspromised to cherish; but the affection of a par-ent for his child is never permitted to die.”

“And is the heart of the white-headed chiefsoft, and will he think of the babes that hissquaws have given him? He is hard on his war-riors and his eyes are made of stone?”

“He is severe to the idle and wicked, but tothe sober and deserving he is a leader, both justand humane. I have known many fond andtender parents, but never have I seen a manwhose heart was softer toward his child. Youhave seen the gray-head in front of his war-riors, Magua; but I have seen his eyes swim-

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ming in water, when he spoke of those childrenwho are now in your power!”

Heyward paused, for he knew not howto construe the remarkable expression thatgleamed across the swarthy features of the at-tentive Indian. At first it seemed as if the re-membrance of the promised reward grew vividin his mind, while he listened to the sources ofparental feeling which were to assure its pos-session; but, as Duncan proceeded, the expres-sion of joy became so fiercely malignant that itwas impossible not to apprehend it proceededfrom some passion more sinister than avarice.

“Go,” said the Huron, suppressing thealarming exhibition in an instant, in a death-like calmness of countenance; “go to the dark-haired daughter, and say, ‘Magua waits tospeak’ The father will remember what the child

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promises.”

Duncan, who interpreted this speech to ex-press a wish for some additional pledge thatthe promised gifts should not be withheld,slowly and reluctantly repaired to the placewhere the sisters were now resting from theirfatigue, to communicate its purport to Cora.

“You understand the nature of an Indian’swishes,” he concluded, as he led her towardthe place where she was expected, “and mustbe prodigal of your offers of powder and blan-kets. Ardent spirits are, however, the mostprized by such as he; nor would it be amiss toadd some boon from your own hand, with thatgrace you so well know how to practise. Re-member, Cora, that on your presence of mindand ingenuity, even your life, as well as that ofAlice, may in some measure depend.”

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“Heyward, and yours!”

“Mine is of little moment; it is already soldto my king, and is a prize to be seized by anyenemy who may possess the power. I haveno father to expect me, and but few friends tolament a fate which I have courted with the in-satiable longings of youth after distinction. Buthush! we approach the Indian. Magua, thelady with whom you wish to speak, is here.”

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

“When the Huron talks to the women, histribe shut their ears.”

Duncan, still lingering, as if refusing to com-ply, Cora said, with a calm smile:

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“You hear, Heyward, and delicacy at leastshould urge you to retire. Go to Alice, and com-fort her with our reviving prospects.”

She waited until he had departed, and thenturning to the native, with the dignity ofher sex in her voice and manner, she added:“What would Le Renard say to the daughter ofMunro?”

“Listen,” said the Indian, laying his handfirmly upon her arm, as if willing to draw herutmost attention to his words; a movement thatCora as firmly but quietly repulsed, by extricat-ing the limb from his grasp: “Magua was borna chief and a warrior among the red Hurons ofthe lakes; he saw the suns of twenty summersmake the snows of twenty winters run off in thestreams before he saw a pale face; and he washappy! Then his Canada fathers came into the

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woods, and taught him to drink the fire-water,and he became a rascal. The Hurons drove himfrom the graves of his fathers, as they wouldchase the hunted buffalo. He ran down theshores of the lakes, and followed their outlet tothe ‘city of cannon’ There he hunted and fished,till the people chased him again through thewoods into the arms of his enemies. The chief,who was born a Huron, was at last a warrioramong the Mohawks!”

“Something like this I had heard before,”said Cora, observing that he paused to sup-press those passions which began to burn withtoo bright a flame, as he recalled the recollec-tion of his supposed injuries.

“Was it the fault of Le Renard that his headwas not made of rock? Who gave him the fire-water? who made him a villain? ‘Twas the pale

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faces, the people of your own color.”

“And am I answerable that thoughtless andunprincipled men exist, whose shades of coun-tenance may resemble mine?” Cora calmly de-manded of the excited savage.

“No; Magua is a man, and not a fool; suchas you never open their lips to the burningstream: the Great Spirit has given you wis-dom!”

“What, then, have I do to, or say, in the mat-ter of your misfortunes, not to say of your er-rors?”

“Listen,” repeated the Indian, resuminghis earnest attitude; “when his English andFrench fathers dug up the hatchet, Le Renardstruck the war-post of the Mohawks, and wentout against his own nation. The pale faces

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have driven the red-skins from their huntinggrounds, and now when they fight, a whiteman leads the way. The old chief at Horican,your father, was the great captain of our war-party. He said to the Mohawks do this, anddo that, and he was minded. He made a law,that if an Indian swallowed the fire-water, andcame into the cloth wigwams of his warriors,it should not be forgotten. Magua foolishlyopened his mouth, and the hot liquor led himinto the cabin of Munro. What did the gray-head? let his daughter say.”

“He forgot not his words, and did justice, bypunishing the offender,” said the undaunteddaughter.

“Justice!” repeated the Indian, casting anoblique glance of the most ferocious expressionat her unyielding countenance; “is it justice to

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make evil and then punish for it? Magua wasnot himself; it was the fire-water that spoke andacted for him! but Munro did believe it. TheHuron chief was tied up before all the pale-faced warriors, and whipped like a dog.”

Cora remained silent, for she knew not howto palliate this imprudent severity on the partof her father in a manner to suit the compre-hension of an Indian.

“See!” continued Magua, tearing aside theslight calico that very imperfectly concealed hispainted breast; “here are scars given by knivesand bullets–of these a warrior may boast beforehis nation; but the gray-head has left marks onthe back of the Huron chief that he must hidelike a squaw, under this painted cloth of thewhites.”

“I had thought,” resumed Cora, “that an In-

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dian warrior was patient, and that his spirit feltnot and knew not the pain his body suffered.”

“When the Chippewas tied Magua to thestake, and cut this gash,” said the other, layinghis finger on a deep scar, “the Huron laughedin their faces, and told them, Women struck solight! His spirit was then in the clouds! Butwhen he felt the blows of Munro, his spirit layunder the birch. The spirit of a Huron is neverdrunk; it remembers forever!”

“But it may be appeased. If my father hasdone you this injustice, show him how anIndian can forgive an injury, and take backhis daughters. You have heard from MajorHeyward–”

Magua shook his head, forbidding the repe-tition of offers he so much despised.

“What would you have?” continued Cora,

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after a most painful pause, while the convic-tion forced itself on her mind that the too san-guine and generous Duncan had been cruellydeceived by the cunning of the savage.

“What a Huron loves–good for good; bad forbad!”

“You would, then, revenge the injury in-flicted by Munro on his helpless daughters.Would it not be more like a man to go beforehis face, and take the satisfaction of a warrior?”

“The arms of the pale faces are long, andtheir knives sharp!” returned the savage, witha malignant laugh: “why should Le Renard goamong the muskets of his warriors, when heholds the spirit of the gray-head in his hand?”

“Name your intention, Magua,” said Cora,struggling with herself to speak with steady

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calmness. “Is it to lead us prisoners to thewoods, or do you contemplate even somegreater evil? Is there no reward, no meansof palliating the injury, and of softening yourheart? At least, release my gentle sister, andpour out all your malice on me. Purchasewealth by her safety and satisfy your revengewith a single victim. The loss of both hisdaughters might bring the aged man to hisgrave, and where would then be the satisfac-tion of Le Renard?”

“Listen,” said the Indian again. “The lighteyes can go back to the Horican, and tell theold chief what has been done, if the dark-hairedwoman will swear by the Great Spirit of her fa-thers to tell no lie.”

“What must I promise?” demanded Cora,still maintaining a secret ascendancy over the

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fierce native by the collected and feminine dig-nity of her presence.

“When Magua left his people his wife wasgiven to another chief; he has now madefriends with the Hurons, and will go back tothe graves of his tribe, on the shores of the greatlake. Let the daughter of the English chief fol-low, and live in his wigwam forever.”

However revolting a proposal of such acharacter might prove to Cora, she retained,notwithstanding her powerful disgust, suffi-cient self-command to reply, without betrayingthe weakness.

“And what pleasure would Magua find insharing his cabin with a wife he did not love;one who would be of a nation and color differ-ent from his own? It would be better to takethe gold of Munro, and buy the heart of some

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Huron maid with his gifts.”

The Indian made no reply for near a minute,but bent his fierce looks on the countenance ofCora, in such wavering glances, that her eyessank with shame, under an impression that forthe first time they had encountered an expres-sion that no chaste female might endure. Whileshe was shrinking within herself, in dread ofhaving her ears wounded by some proposalstill more shocking than the last, the voice ofMagua answered, in its tones of deepest malig-nancy:

“When the blows scorched the back of theHuron, he would know where to find a womanto feel the smart. The daughter of Munrowould draw his water, hoe his corn, and cookhis venison. The body of the gray-head wouldsleep among his cannon, but his heart would

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lie within reach of the knife of Le Subtil.”

“Monster! well dost thou deserve thy treach-erous name,” cried Cora, in an ungovernableburst of filial indignation. “None but a fiendcould meditate such a vengeance. But thouoverratest thy power! You shall find it is, intruth, the heart of Munro you hold, and that itwill defy your utmost malice!”

The Indian answered this bold defiance bya ghastly smile, that showed an unaltered pur-pose, while he motioned her away, as if to closethe conference forever. Cora, already regrettingher precipitation, was obliged to comply, forMagua instantly left the spot, and approachedhis gluttonous comrades. Heyward flew to theside of the agitated female, and demanded theresult of a dialogue that he had watched at adistance with so much interest. But, unwilling

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to alarm the fears of Alice, she evaded a directreply, betraying only by her anxious looks fas-tened on the slightest movements of her cap-tors. To the reiterated and earnest questionsof her sister concerning their probable destina-tion, she made no other answer than by point-ing toward the dark group, with an agitationshe could not control, and murmuring as shefolded Alice to her bosom.

“There, there; read our fortunes in theirfaces; we shall see; we shall see!”

The action, and the choked utterance ofCora, spoke more impressively than anywords, and quickly drew the attention of hercompanions on that spot where her own wasriveted with an intenseness that nothing butthe importance of the stake could create.

When Magua reached the cluster of lolling

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savages, who, gorged with their disgustingmeal, lay stretched on the earth in brutal indul-gence, he commenced speaking with the dig-nity of an Indian chief. The first syllables heuttered had the effect to cause his listeners toraise themselves in attitudes of respectful at-tention. As the Huron used his native lan-guage, the prisoners, notwithstanding the cau-tion of the natives had kept them within theswing of their tomahawks, could only conjec-ture the substance of his harangue from the na-ture of those significant gestures with which anIndian always illustrates his eloquence.

At first, the language, as well as the action ofMagua, appeared calm and deliberative. Whenhe had succeeded in sufficiently awakening theattention of his comrades, Heyward fancied,by his pointing so frequently toward the di-

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rection of the great lakes, that he spoke of theland of their fathers, and of their distant tribe.Frequent indications of applause escaped thelisteners, who, as they uttered the expressive“Hugh!” looked at each other in commenda-tion of the speaker. Le Renard was too skill-ful to neglect his advantage. He now spoke ofthe long and painful route by which they hadleft those spacious grounds and happy villages,to come and battle against the enemies of theirCanadian fathers. He enumerated the warriorsof the party; their several merits; their frequentservices to the nation; their wounds, and thenumber of the scalps they had taken. When-ever he alluded to any present (and the subtleIndian neglected none), the dark countenanceof the flattered individual gleamed with exul-tation, nor did he even hesitate to assert thetruth of the words, by gestures of applause and

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confirmation. Then the voice of the speakerfell, and lost the loud, animated tones of tri-umph with which he had enumerated theirdeeds of success and victory. He described thecataract of Glenn’s; the impregnable positionof its rocky island, with its caverns and its nu-merous rapids and whirlpools; he named thename of “La Longue Carabine,” and pauseduntil the forest beneath them had sent up thelast echo of a loud and long yell, with whichthe hated appellation was received. He pointedtoward the youthful military captive, and de-scribed the death of a favorite warrior, whohad been precipitated into the deep ravine byhis hand. He not only mentioned the fate ofhim who, hanging between heaven and earth,had presented such a spectacle of horror tothe whole band, but he acted anew the terrorsof his situation, his resolution and his death,

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on the branches of a sapling; and, finally, herapidly recounted the manner in which each oftheir friends had fallen, never failing to touchupon their courage, and their most acknowl-edged virtues. When this recital of events wasended, his voice once more changed, and be-came plaintive and even musical, in its lowguttural sounds. He now spoke of the wivesand children of the slain; their destitution; theirmisery, both physical and moral; their distance;and, at last, of their unavenged wrongs. Thensuddenly lifting his voice to a pitch of terrificenergy, he concluded by demanding:

“Are the Hurons dogs to bear this? Whoshall say to the wife of Menowgua that thefishes have his scalp, and that his nationhave not taken revenge! Who will dare meetthe mother of Wassawattimie, that scornful

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woman, with his hands clean! What shall besaid to the old men when they ask us for scalps,and we have not a hair from a white head togive them! The women will point their fingersat us. There is a dark spot on the names ofthe Hurons, and it must be hid in blood!” Hisvoice was no longer audible in the burst of ragewhich now broke into the air, as if the wood, in-stead of containing so small a band, was filledwith the nation. During the foregoing addressthe progress of the speaker was too plainlyread by those most interested in his successthrough the medium of the countenances ofthe men he addressed. They had answered hismelancholy and mourning by sympathy andsorrow; his assertions, by gestures of confirma-tion; and his boasting, with the exultation ofsavages. When he spoke of courage, their lookswere firm and responsive; when he alluded

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to their injuries, their eyes kindled with fury;when he mentioned the taunts of the women,they dropped their heads in shame; but whenhe pointed out their means of vengeance, hestruck a chord which never failed to thrill in thebreast of an Indian. With the first intimationthat it was within their reach, the whole bandsprang upon their feet as one man; giving utter-ance to their rage in the most frantic cries, theyrushed upon their prisoners in a body withdrawn knives and uplifted tomahawks. Hey-ward threw himself between the sisters and theforemost, whom he grappled with a desper-ate strength that for a moment checked his vio-lence. This unexpected resistance gave Maguatime to interpose, and with rapid enunciationand animated gesture, he drew the attention ofthe band again to himself. In that language heknew so well how to assume, he diverted his

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comrades from their instant purpose, and in-vited them to prolong the misery of their vic-tims. His proposal was received with accla-mations, and executed with the swiftness ofthought.

Two powerful warriors cast themselves onHeyward, while another was occupied in se-curing the less active singing-master. Neitherof the captives, however, submitted withouta desperate, though fruitless, struggle. EvenDavid hurled his assailant to the earth; norwas Heyward secured until the victory overhis companion enabled the Indians to directtheir united force to that object. He was thenbound and fastened to the body of the sapling,on whose branches Magua had acted the pan-tomime of the falling Huron. When the youngsoldier regained his recollection, he had the

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painful certainty before his eyes that a com-mon fate was intended for the whole party.On his right was Cora in a durance similar tohis own, pale and agitated, but with an eyewhose steady look still read the proceedings oftheir enemies. On his left, the withes whichbound her to a pine, performed that office forAlice which her trembling limbs refused, andalone kept her fragile form from sinking. Herhands were clasped before her in prayer, butinstead of looking upward toward that powerwhich alone could rescue them, her uncon-scious looks wandered to the countenance ofDuncan with infantile dependency. David hadcontended, and the novelty of the circumstanceheld him silent, in deliberation on the proprietyof the unusual occurrence.

The vengeance of the Hurons had now taken

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a new direction, and they prepared to executeit with that barbarous ingenuity with whichthey were familiarized by the practise of cen-turies. Some sought knots, to raise the blazingpile; one was riving the splinters of pine, in or-der to pierce the flesh of their captives with theburning fragments; and others bent the tops oftwo saplings to the earth, in order to suspendHeyward by the arms between the recoilingbranches. But the vengeance of Magua soughta deeper and more malignant enjoyment.

While the less refined monsters of the bandprepared, before the eyes of those who wereto suffer, these well-known and vulgar meansof torture, he approached Cora, and pointedout, with the most malign expression of coun-tenance, the speedy fate that awaited her:

“Ha!” he added, “what says the daughter of

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Munro? Her head is too good to find a pillowin the wigwam of Le Renard; will she like itbetter when it rolls about this hill a playthingfor the wolves? Her bosom cannot nurse thechildren of a Huron; she will see it spit uponby Indians!”

“What means the monster!” demanded theastonished Heyward.

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

“Pardon!” echoed the fierce Huron, mistak-ing in his anger, the meaning of her words; “thememory of an Indian is no longer than the armof the pale faces; his mercy shorter than theirjustice! Say; shall I send the yellow hair to her

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father, and will you follow Magua to the greatlakes, to carry his water, and feed him withcorn?”

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

“Leave me,” she said, with a solemnity thatfor a moment checked the barbarity of the In-dian; “you mingle bitterness in my prayers;you stand between me and my God!”

The slight impression produced on the sav-age was, however, soon forgotten, and he con-tinued pointing, with taunting irony, towardAlice.

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

Cora could not resist the desire to look uponher youthful sister, in whose eyes she met an

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imploring glance, that betrayed the longings ofnature.

“What says he, dearest Cora?” asked thetrembling voice of Alice. “Did he speak ofsending me to our father?”

For many moments the elder sister lookedupon the younger, with a countenance that wa-vered with powerful and contending emotions.At length she spoke, though her tones had losttheir rich and calm fullness, in an expression oftenderness that seemed maternal.

“Alice,” she said, “the Huron offers us bothlife, nay, more than both; he offers to restoreDuncan, our invaluable Duncan, as well asyou, to our friends–to our father–to our heart-stricken, childless father, if I will bow downthis rebellious, stubborn pride of mine, andconsent–”

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Her voice became choked, and clasping herhands, she looked upward, as if seeking, in heragony, intelligence from a wisdom that was in-finite.

“Say on,” cried Alice; “to what, dearestCora? Oh! that the proffer were made to me!to save you, to cheer our aged father, to restoreDuncan, how cheerfully could I die!”

“Die!” repeated Cora, with a calmer andfirmer voice, “that were easy! Perhaps the al-ternative may not be less so. He would haveme,” she continued, her accents sinking undera deep consciousness of the degradation of theproposal, “follow him to the wilderness; go tothe habitations of the Hurons; to remain there;in short, to become his wife! Speak, then, Alice;child of my affections! sister of my love! Andyou, too, Major Heyward, aid my weak reason

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with your counsel. Is life to be purchased bysuch a sacrifice? Will you, Alice, receive it atmy hands at such a price? And you, Duncan,guide me; control me between you; for I amwholly yours!”

“Would I!” echoed the indignant and aston-ished youth. “Cora! Cora! you jest with ourmisery! Name not the horrid alternative again;the thought itself is worse than a thousanddeaths.”

“That such would be your answer, I wellknew!” exclaimed Cora, her cheeks flushing,and her dark eyes once more sparkling with thelingering emotions of a woman. “What saysmy Alice? for her will I submit without anothermurmur.”

Although both Heyward and Cora listenedwith painful suspense and the deepest atten-

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tion, no sounds were heard in reply. It ap-peared as if the delicate and sensitive form ofAlice would shrink into itself, as she listened tothis proposal. Her arms had fallen lengthwisebefore her, the fingers moving in slight convul-sions; her head dropped upon her bosom, andher whole person seemed suspended againstthe tree, looking like some beautiful emblemof the wounded delicacy of her sex, devoid ofanimation and yet keenly conscious. In a fewmoments, however, her head began to moveslowly, in a sign of deep, unconquerable dis-approbation.

“No, no, no; better that we die as we havelived, together!”

“Then die!” shouted Magua, hurling histomahawk with violence at the unresistingspeaker, and gnashing his teeth with a rage that

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could no longer be bridled at this sudden ex-hibition of firmness in the one he believed theweakest of the party. The axe cleaved the airin front of Heyward, and cutting some of theflowing ringlets of Alice, quivered in the treeabove her head. The sight maddened Duncanto desperation. Collecting all his energies inone effort he snapped the twigs which boundhim and rushed upon another savage, who waspreparing, with loud yells and a more deliber-ate aim, to repeat the blow. They encountered,grappled, and fell to the earth together. Thenaked body of his antagonist afforded Hey-ward no means of holding his adversary, whoglided from his grasp, and rose again with oneknee on his chest, pressing him down with theweight of a giant. Duncan already saw theknife gleaming in the air, when a whistlingsound swept past him, and was rather accom-

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panied than followed by the sharp crack of arifle. He felt his breast relieved from the load ithad endured; he saw the savage expression ofhis adversary’s countenance change to a lookof vacant wildness, when the Indian fell deadon the faded leaves by his side.

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“Clo.–I am gone, sire,And anon, sire,I’ll be with you again.”

–Twelfth Night

THE HURONS STOOD aghast at this sud-den visitation of death on one of their band.

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But as they regarded the fatal accuracy of anaim which had dared to immolate an enemy atso much hazard to a friend, the name of “LaLongue Carabine” burst simultaneously fromevery lip, and was succeeded by a wild and asort of plaintive howl. The cry was answeredby a loud shout from a little thicket, where theincautious party had piled their arms; and atthe next moment, Hawkeye, too eager to loadthe rifle he had regained, was seen advancingupon them, brandishing the clubbed weapon,and cutting the air with wide and powerfulsweeps. Bold and rapid as was the progressof the scout, it was exceeded by that of alight and vigorous form which, bounding pasthim, leaped, with incredible activity and dar-ing, into the very center of the Hurons, whereit stood, whirling a tomahawk, and flourish-ing a glittering knife, with fearful menaces, in

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front of Cora. Quicker than the thoughts couldfollow those unexpected and audacious move-ments, an image, armed in the emblematicpanoply of death, glided before their eyes, andassumed a threatening attitude at the other’sside. The savage tormentors recoiled beforethese warlike intruders, and uttered, as theyappeared in such quick succession, the often re-peated and peculiar exclamations of surprise,followed by the well-known and dreaded ap-pellations of:

“Le Cerf Agile! Le Gros Serpent!”

But the wary and vigilant leader of theHurons was not so easily disconcerted. Castinghis keen eyes around the little plain, he com-prehended the nature of the assault at a glance,and encouraging his followers by his voice aswell as by his example, he unsheathed his long

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and dangerous knife, and rushed with a loudwhoop upon the expected Chingachgook. Itwas the signal for a general combat. Neitherparty had firearms, and the contest was to bedecided in the deadliest manner, hand to hand,with weapons of offense, and none of defense.

Uncas answered the whoop, and leaping onan enemy, with a single, well-directed blow ofhis tomahawk, cleft him to the brain. Hey-ward tore the weapon of Magua from thesapling, and rushed eagerly toward the fray.As the combatants were now equal in num-ber, each singled an opponent from the ad-verse band. The rush and blows passed withthe fury of a whirlwind, and the swiftness oflightning. Hawkeye soon got another enemywithin reach of his arm, and with one sweepof his formidable weapon he beat down the

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slight and inartificial defenses of his antago-nist, crushing him to the earth with the blow.Heyward ventured to hurl the tomahawk hehad seized, too ardent to await the moment ofclosing. It struck the Indian he had selected onthe forehead, and checked for an instant his on-ward rush. Encouraged by this slight advan-tage, the impetuous young man continued hisonset, and sprang upon his enemy with nakedhands. A single instant was enough to assurehim of the rashness of the measure, for he im-mediately found himself fully engaged, withall his activity and courage, in endeavoring toward the desperate thrusts made with the knifeof the Huron. Unable longer to foil an enemyso alert and vigilant, he threw his arms abouthim, and succeeded in pinning the limbs of theother to his side, with an iron grasp, but onethat was far too exhausting to himself to con-

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tinue long. In this extremity he heard a voicenear him, shouting:

“Extarminate the varlets! no quarter to anaccursed Mingo!”

At the next moment, the breech of Hawk-eye’s rifle fell on the naked head of his adver-sary, whose muscles appeared to wither underthe shock, as he sank from the arms of Duncan,flexible and motionless.

When Uncas had brained his first antago-nist, he turned, like a hungry lion, to seek an-other. The fifth and only Huron disengaged atthe first onset had paused a moment, and thenseeing that all around him were employed inthe deadly strife, he had sought, with hellishvengeance, to complete the baffled work of re-venge. Raising a shout of triumph, he sprangtoward the defenseless Cora, sending his keen

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axe as the dreadful precursor of his approach.The tomahawk grazed her shoulder, and cut-ting the withes which bound her to the tree,left the maiden at liberty to fly. She eludedthe grasp of the savage, and reckless of herown safety, threw herself on the bosom of Al-ice, striving with convulsed and ill-directed fin-gers, to tear asunder the twigs which confinedthe person of her sister. Any other than a mon-ster would have relented at such an act of gen-erous devotion to the best and purest affec-tion; but the breast of the Huron was a strangerto sympathy. Seizing Cora by the rich tresseswhich fell in confusion about her form, he toreher from her frantic hold, and bowed her downwith brutal violence to her knees. The sav-age drew the flowing curls through his hand,and raising them on high with an outstretchedarm, he passed the knife around the exquisitely

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molded head of his victim, with a taunting andexulting laugh. But he purchased this momentof fierce gratification with the loss of the fatalopportunity. It was just then the sight caughtthe eye of Uncas. Bounding from his footstepshe appeared for an instant darting through theair and descending in a ball he fell on the chestof his enemy, driving him many yards from thespot, headlong and prostrate. The violence ofthe exertion cast the young Mohican at his side.They arose together, fought, and bled, each inhis turn. But the conflict was soon decided; thetomahawk of Heyward and the rifle of Hawk-eye descended on the skull of the Huron, at thesame moment that the knife of Uncas reachedhis heart.

The battle was now entirely terminated withthe exception of the protracted struggle be-

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tween “Le Renard Subtil” and “Le Gros Ser-pent.” Well did these barbarous warriors provethat they deserved those significant nameswhich had been bestowed for deeds in formerwars. When they engaged, some little time waslost in eluding the quick and vigorous thrustswhich had been aimed at their lives. Suddenlydarting on each other, they closed, and cameto the earth, twisted together like twining ser-pents, in pliant and subtle folds. At the mo-ment when the victors found themselves unoc-cupied, the spot where these experienced anddesperate combatants lay could only be distin-guished by a cloud of dust and leaves, whichmoved from the center of the little plain towardits boundary, as if raised by the passage of awhirlwind. Urged by the different motives offilial affection, friendship and gratitude, Hey-ward and his companions rushed with one ac-

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cord to the place, encircling the little canopyof dust which hung above the warriors. Invain did Uncas dart around the cloud, with awish to strike his knife into the heart of hisfather’s foe; the threatening rifle of Hawkeyewas raised and suspended in vain, while Dun-can endeavored to seize the limbs of the Huronwith hands that appeared to have lost theirpower. Covered as they were with dust andblood, the swift evolutions of the combatantsseemed to incorporate their bodies into one.The death-like looking figure of the Mohican,and the dark form of the Huron, gleamed be-fore their eyes in such quick and confused suc-cession, that the friends of the former knew notwhere to plant the succoring blow. It is truethere were short and fleeting moments, whenthe fiery eyes of Magua were seen glittering,like the fabled organs of the basilisk through

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the dusty wreath by which he was enveloped,and he read by those short and deadly glancesthe fate of the combat in the presence of his en-emies; ere, however, any hostile hand could de-scend on his devoted head, its place was filledby the scowling visage of Chingachgook. Inthis manner the scene of the combat was re-moved from the center of the little plain to itsverge. The Mohican now found an opportu-nity to make a powerful thrust with his knife;Magua suddenly relinquished his grasp, andfell backward without motion, and seeminglywithout life. His adversary leaped on his feet,making the arches of the forest ring with thesounds of triumph.

“Well done for the Delawares! victory to theMohicans!” cried Hawkeye, once more elevat-ing the butt of the long and fatal rifle; “a finish-

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ing blow from a man without a cross will nevertell against his honor, nor rob him of his rightto the scalp.”

But at the very moment when the dangerousweapon was in the act of descending, the subtleHuron rolled swiftly from beneath the danger,over the edge of the precipice, and falling onhis feet, was seen leaping, with a single bound,into the center of a thicket of low bushes, whichclung along its sides. The Delawares, who hadbelieved their enemy dead, uttered their excla-mation of surprise, and were following withspeed and clamor, like hounds in open view ofthe deer, when a shrill and peculiar cry fromthe scout instantly changed their purpose, andrecalled them to the summit of the hill.

“‘Twas like himself!” cried the inveter-ate forester, whose prejudices contributed so

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largely to veil his natural sense of justice in allmatters which concerned the Mingoes; “a ly-ing and deceitful varlet as he is. An honestDelaware now, being fairly vanquished, wouldhave lain still, and been knocked on the head,but these knavish Maquas cling to life like somany cats-o’-the-mountain. Let him go–let himgo; ‘tis but one man, and he without rifle orbow, many a long mile from his French com-merades; and like a rattler that lost his fangs,he can do no further mischief, until such timeas he, and we too, may leave the prints of ourmoccasins over a long reach of sandy plain.See, Uncas,” he added, in Delaware, “your fa-ther is flaying the scalps already. It may be wellto go round and feel the vagabonds that areleft, or we may have another of them lopingthrough the woods, and screeching like a jaythat has been winged.”

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So saying the honest but implacable scoutmade the circuit of the dead, into whose sense-less bosoms he thrust his long knife, with asmuch coolness as though they had been somany brute carcasses. He had, however, beenanticipated by the elder Mohican, who had al-ready torn the emblems of victory from the un-resisting heads of the slain.

But Uncas, denying his habits, we had al-most said his nature, flew with instinctive del-icacy, accompanied by Heyward, to the assis-tance of the females, and quickly releasing Al-ice, placed her in the arms of Cora. We shallnot attempt to describe the gratitude to theAlmighty Disposer of Events which glowed inthe bosoms of the sisters, who were thus un-expectedly restored to life and to each other.Their thanksgivings were deep and silent; the

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offerings of their gentle spirits burning bright-est and purest on the secret altars of theirhearts; and their renovated and more earthlyfeelings exhibiting themselves in long and fer-vent though speechless caresses. As Alice rosefrom her knees, where she had sunk by the sideof Cora, she threw herself on the bosom of thelatter, and sobbed aloud the name of their agedfather, while her soft, dove-like eyes, sparkledwith the rays of hope.

“We are saved! we are saved!” she mur-mured; “to return to the arms of our dear, dearfather, and his heart will not be broken withgrief. And you, too, Cora, my sister, my morethan sister, my mother; you, too, are spared.And Duncan,” she added, looking round uponthe youth with a smile of ineffable innocence,“even our own brave and noble Duncan has es-

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caped without a hurt.”

To these ardent and nearly innocent wordsCora made no other answer than by strainingthe youthful speaker to her heart, as she bentover her in melting tenderness. The manhoodof Heyward felt no shame in dropping tearsover this spectacle of affectionate rapture; andUncas stood, fresh and blood-stained from thecombat, a calm, and, apparently, an unmovedlooker-on, it is true, but with eyes that had al-ready lost their fierceness, and were beamingwith a sympathy that elevated him far abovethe intelligence, and advanced him probablycenturies before, the practises of his nation.

During this display of emotions so natural intheir situation, Hawkeye, whose vigilant dis-trust had satisfied itself that the Hurons, whodisfigured the heavenly scene, no longer pos-

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sessed the power to interrupt its harmony, ap-proached David, and liberated him from thebonds he had, until that moment, endured withthe most exemplary patience.

“There,” exclaimed the scout, casting the lastwithe behind him, “you are once more mas-ter of your own limbs, though you seem notto use them with much greater judgment thanthat in which they were first fashioned. If ad-vice from one who is not older than yourself,but who, having lived most of his time in thewilderness, may be said to have experience be-yond his years, will give no offense, you arewelcome to my thoughts; and these are, to partwith the little tooting instrument in your jacketto the first fool you meet with, and buy somewe’pon with the money, if it be only the barrelof a horseman’s pistol. By industry and care,

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you might thus come to some prefarment; forby this time, I should think, your eyes wouldplainly tell you that a carrion crow is a betterbird than a mocking-thresher. The one will, atleast, remove foul sights from before the face ofman, while the other is only good to brew dis-turbances in the woods, by cheating the ears ofall that hear them.”

“Arms and the clarion for the battle, butthe song of thanksgiving to the victory!” an-swered the liberated David. “Friend,” headded, thrusting forth his lean, delicate handtoward Hawkeye, in kindness, while his eyestwinkled and grew moist, “I thank thee that thehairs of my head still grow where they werefirst rooted by Providence; for, though those ofother men may be more glossy and curling, Ihave ever found mine own well suited to the

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brain they shelter. That I did not join myselfto the battle, was less owing to disinclination,than to the bonds of the heathen. Valiant andskillful hast thou proved thyself in the conflict,and I hereby thank thee, before proceeding todischarge other and more important duties, be-cause thou hast proved thyself well worthy ofa Christian’s praise.”

“The thing is but a trifle, and what you mayoften see if you tarry long among us,” returnedthe scout, a good deal softened toward the manof song, by this unequivocal expression of grat-itude. “I have got back my old companion,‘killdeer’,” he added, striking his hand on thebreech of his rifle; “and that in itself is a victory.These Iroquois are cunning, but they outwit-ted themselves when they placed their firearmsout of reach; and had Uncas or his father been

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gifted with only their common Indian patience,we should have come in upon the knaves withthree bullets instead of one, and that wouldhave made a finish of the whole pack; yon lop-ing varlet, as well as his commerades. But‘twas all fore-ordered, and for the best.”

“Thou sayest well,” returned David, “andhast caught the true spirit of Christianity. Hethat is to be saved will be saved, and he thatis predestined to be damned will be damned.This is the doctrine of truth, and most consol-ing and refreshing it is to the true believer.”

The scout, who by this time was seated, ex-amining into the state of his rifle with a speciesof parental assiduity, now looked up at theother in a displeasure that he did not affect toconceal, roughly interrupting further speech.

“Doctrine or no doctrine,” said the sturdy

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woodsman, “‘tis the belief of knaves, and thecurse of an honest man. I can credit that yon-der Huron was to fall by my hand, for with myown eyes I have seen it; but nothing short of be-ing a witness will cause me to think he has metwith any reward, or that Chingachgook therewill be condemned at the final day.”

“You have no warranty for such an auda-cious doctrine, nor any covenant to support it,”cried David who was deeply tinctured with thesubtle distinctions which, in his time, and moreespecially in his province, had been drawnaround the beautiful simplicity of revelation,by endeavoring to penetrate the awful mys-tery of the divine nature, supplying faith byself-sufficiency, and by consequence, involv-ing those who reasoned from such human dog-mas in absurdities and doubt; “your temple

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is reared on the sands, and the first tempestwill wash away its foundation. I demand yourauthorities for such an uncharitable assertion(like other advocates of a system, David wasnot always accurate in his use of terms). Namechapter and verse; in which of the holy booksdo you find language to support you?”

“Book!” repeated Hawkeye, with singularand ill-concealed disdain; “do you take me fora whimpering boy at the apronstring of one ofyour old gals; and this good rifle on my kneefor the feather of a goose’s wing, my ox’s hornfor a bottle of ink, and my leathern pouch for across-barred handkercher to carry my dinner?Book! what have such as I, who am a warrior ofthe wilderness, though a man without a cross,to do with books? I never read but in one, andthe words that are written there are too simple

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and too plain to need much schooling; though Imay boast that of forty long and hard-workingyears.”

“What call you the volume?” said David,misconceiving the other’s meaning.

“‘Tis open before your eyes,” returned thescout; “and he who owns it is not a niggardof its use. I have heard it said that there aremen who read in books to convince themselvesthere is a God. I know not but man may sodeform his works in the settlement, as to leavethat which is so clear in the wilderness a mat-ter of doubt among traders and priests. If anysuch there be, and he will follow me from sunto sun, through the windings of the forest, heshall see enough to teach him that he is a fool,and that the greatest of his folly lies in strivingto rise to the level of One he can never equal,

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be it in goodness, or be it in power.”

The instant David discovered that he battledwith a disputant who imbibed his faith fromthe lights of nature, eschewing all subtletiesof doctrine, he willingly abandoned a contro-versy from which he believed neither profit norcredit was to be derived. While the scout wasspeaking, he had also seated himself, and pro-ducing the ready little volume and the iron-rimmed spectacles, he prepared to discharge aduty, which nothing but the unexpected assaulthe had received in his orthodoxy could have solong suspended. He was, in truth, a minstrelof the western continent–of a much later day,certainly, than those gifted bards, who formerlysang the profane renown of baron and prince,but after the spirit of his own age and country;and he was now prepared to exercise the cun-

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ning of his craft, in celebration of, or rather inthanksgiving for, the recent victory. He waitedpatiently for Hawkeye to cease, then lifting hiseyes, together with his voice, he said, aloud:

“I invite you, friends, to join in praise forthis signal deliverance from the hands of bar-barians and infidels, to the comfortable andsolemn tones of the tune called ‘Northamp-ton’.”

He next named the page and verse where therhymes selected were to be found, and appliedthe pitch-pipe to his lips, with the decent grav-ity that he had been wont to use in the tem-ple. This time he was, however, without anyaccompaniment, for the sisters were just thenpouring out those tender effusions of affectionwhich have been already alluded to. Noth-ing deterred by the smallness of his audience,

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which, in truth, consisted only of the discon-tented scout, he raised his voice, commencingand ending the sacred song without accident orinterruption of any kind.

Hawkeye listened while he coolly adjustedhis flint and reloaded his rifle; but the sounds,wanting the extraneous assistance of scene andsympathy, failed to awaken his slumberingemotions. Never minstrel, or by whatevermore suitable name David should be known,drew upon his talents in the presence of moreinsensible auditors; though considering thesingleness and sincerity of his motive, it isprobable that no bard of profane song ever ut-tered notes that ascended so near to that thronewhere all homage and praise is due. The scoutshook his head, and muttering some unintelli-gible words, among which “throat” and “Iro-

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quois” were alone audible, he walked away,to collect and to examine into the state of thecaptured arsenal of the Hurons. In this of-fice he was now joined by Chingachgook, whofound his own, as well as the rifle of his son,among the arms. Even Heyward and Davidwere furnished with weapons; nor was ammu-nition wanting to render them all effectual.

When the foresters had made their selec-tion, and distributed their prizes, the scout an-nounced that the hour had arrived when it wasnecessary to move. By this time the song ofGamut had ceased, and the sisters had learnedto still the exhibition of their emotions. Aidedby Duncan and the younger Mohican, the twolatter descended the precipitous sides of thathill which they had so lately ascended underso very different auspices, and whose summit

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had so nearly proved the scene of their mas-sacre. At the foot they found the Narragansettsbrowsing the herbage of the bushes, and hav-ing mounted, they followed the movementsof a guide, who, in the most deadly straits,had so often proved himself their friend. Thejourney was, however, short. Hawkeye, leav-ing the blind path that the Hurons had fol-lowed, turned short to his right, and enteringthe thicket, he crossed a babbling brook, andhalted in a narrow dell, under the shade of afew water elms. Their distance from the base ofthe fatal hill was but a few rods, and the steedshad been serviceable only in crossing the shal-low stream.

The scout and the Indians appeared to be fa-miliar with the sequestered place where theynow were; for, leaning their rifle against the

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trees, they commenced throwing aside thedried leaves, and opening the blue clay, out ofwhich a clear and sparkling spring of bright,glancing water, quickly bubbled. The whiteman then looked about him, as though seekingfor some object, which was not to be found asreadily as he expected.

“Them careless imps, the Mohawks, withtheir Tuscarora and Onondaga brethren, havebeen here slaking their thirst,” he muttered,“and the vagabonds have thrown away thegourd! This is the way with benefits, when theyare bestowed on such disremembering hounds!Here has the Lord laid his hand, in the midstof the howling wilderness, for their good, andraised a fountain of water from the bowelsof the ‘arth, that might laugh at the richestshop of apothecary’s ware in all the colonies;

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and see! the knaves have trodden in the clay,and deformed the cleanliness of the place, asthough they were brute beasts, instead of hu-man men.”

Uncas silently extended toward him the de-sired gourd, which the spleen of Hawkeye hadhitherto prevented him from observing on abranch of an elm. Filling it with water, heretired a short distance, to a place where theground was more firm and dry; here he coollyseated himself, and after taking a long, and,apparently, a grateful draught, he commenceda very strict examination of the fragments offood left by the Hurons, which had hung in awallet on his arm.

“Thank you, lad!” he continued, returningthe empty gourd to Uncas; “now we will seehow these rampaging Hurons lived, when out-

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lying in ambushments. Look at this! The var-lets know the better pieces of the deer; and onewould think they might carve and roast a sad-dle, equal to the best cook in the land! But ev-erything is raw, for the Iroquois are thoroughsavages. Uncas, take my steel and kindle a fire;a mouthful of a tender broil will give natur’ ahelping hand, after so long a trail.”

Heyward, perceiving that their guides nowset about their repast in sober earnest, assistedthe ladies to alight, and placed himself at theirside, not unwilling to enjoy a few moments ofgrateful rest, after the bloody scene he had justgone through. While the culinary process wasin hand, curiosity induced him to inquire intothe circumstances which had led to their timelyand unexpected rescue:

“How is it that we see you so soon, my gen-

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erous friend,” he asked, “and without aid fromthe garrison of Edward?”

“Had we gone to the bend in the river, wemight have been in time to rake the leaves overyour bodies, but too late to have saved yourscalps,” coolly answered the scout. “No, no;instead of throwing away strength and oppor-tunity by crossing to the fort, we lay by, underthe bank of the Hudson, waiting to watch themovements of the Hurons.”

“You were, then, witnesses of all thatpassed?”

“Not of all; for Indian sight is too keen to beeasily cheated, and we kept close. A difficultmatter it was, too, to keep this Mohican boysnug in the ambushment. Ah! Uncas, Uncas,your behavior was more like that of a curiouswoman than of a warrior on his scent.”

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Uncas permitted his eyes to turn for an in-stant on the sturdy countenance of the speaker,but he neither spoke nor gave any indication ofrepentance. On the contrary, Heyward thoughtthe manner of the young Mohican was disdain-ful, if not a little fierce, and that he suppressedpassions that were ready to explode, as muchin compliment to the listeners, as from the def-erence he usually paid to his white associate.

“You saw our capture?” Heyward next de-manded.

“We heard it,” was the significant answer.“An Indian yell is plain language to men whohave passed their days in the woods. But whenyou landed, we were driven to crawl like sar-pents, beneath the leaves; and then we lostsight of you entirely, until we placed eyes onyou again trussed to the trees, and ready bound

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for an Indian massacre.”“Our rescue was the deed of Providence. It

was nearly a miracle that you did not mistakethe path, for the Hurons divided, and eachband had its horses.”

“Ay! there we were thrown off the scent,and might, indeed, have lost the trail, had itnot been for Uncas; we took the path, however,that led into the wilderness; for we judged, andjudged rightly, that the savages would holdthat course with their prisoners. But when wehad followed it for many miles, without find-ing a single twig broken, as I had advised, mymind misgave me; especially as all the foot-steps had the prints of moccasins.”

“Our captors had the precaution to see usshod like themselves,” said Duncan, raising afoot, and exhibiting the buckskin he wore.

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“Aye, ‘twas judgmatical and like themselves;though we were too expart to be thrown froma trail by so common an invention.”

“To what, then, are we indebted for oursafety?”

“To what, as a white man who has no taint ofIndian blood, I should be ashamed to own; tothe judgment of the young Mohican, in matterswhich I should know better than he, but whichI can now hardly believe to be true, though myown eyes tell me it is so.”

“‘Tis extraordinary! will you not name thereason?”

“Uncas was bold enough to say, that thebeasts ridden by the gentle ones,” continuedHawkeye, glancing his eyes, not without curi-ous interest, on the fillies of the ladies, “planted

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the legs of one side on the ground at the sametime, which is contrary to the movements ofall trotting four-footed animals of my knowl-edge, except the bear. And yet here are horsesthat always journey in this manner, as my owneyes have seen, and as their trail has shown fortwenty long miles.”

“‘Tis the merit of the animal! They comefrom the shores of Narrangansett Bay, in thesmall province of Providence Plantations, andare celebrated for their hardihood, and the easeof this peculiar movement; though other horsesare not unfrequently trained to the same.”

“It may be–it may be,” said Hawkeye, whohad listened with singular attention to this ex-planation; “though I am a man who has the fullblood of the whites, my judgment in deer andbeaver is greater than in beasts of burden. Ma-

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jor Effingham has many noble chargers, but Ihave never seen one travel after such a sidlinggait.”

“True; for he would value the animals forvery different properties. Still is this a breedhighly esteemed and, as you witness, muchhonored with the burdens it is often destinedto bear.”

The Mohicans had suspended their oper-ations about the glimmering fire to listen;and, when Duncan had done, they lookedat each other significantly, the father utter-ing the never-failing exclamation of surprise.The scout ruminated, like a man digestinghis newly-acquired knowledge, and once morestole a glance at the horses.

“I dare to say there are even stranger sightsto be seen in the settlements!” he said, at

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length. “Natur’ is sadly abused by man, whenhe once gets the mastery. But, go sidling orgo straight, Uncas had seen the movement,and their trail led us on to the broken bush.The outer branch, near the prints of one ofthe horses, was bent upward, as a lady breaksa flower from its stem, but all the rest wereragged and broken down, as if the strong handof a man had been tearing them! So I concludedthat the cunning varments had seen the twigbent, and had torn the rest, to make us believea buck had been feeling the boughs with hisantlers.”

“I do believe your sagacity did not deceiveyou; for some such thing occurred!”

“That was easy to see,” added the scout, inno degree conscious of having exhibited anyextraordinary sagacity; “and a very different

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matter it was from a waddling horse! It thenstruck me the Mingoes would push for thisspring, for the knaves well know the vartue ofits waters!”

“Is it, then, so famous?” demanded Hey-ward, examining, with a more curious eye, thesecluded dell, with its bubbling fountain, sur-rounded, as it was, by earth of a deep, dingybrown.

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

Heyward took the gourd, and after swallow-ing a little of the water, threw it aside with gri-maces of discontent. The scout laughed in hissilent but heartfelt manner, and shook his headwith vast satisfaction.

“Ah! you want the flavor that one gets by

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habit; the time was when I liked it as little asyourself; but I have come to my taste, and Inow crave it, as a deer does the licks14. Yourhigh-spiced wines are not better liked than ared-skin relishes this water; especially whenhis natur’ is ailing. But Uncas has made hisfire, and it is time we think of eating, for ourjourney is long, and all before us.”

Interrupting the dialogue by this abrupttransition, the scout had instant recourse to thefragments of food which had escaped the vo-

14Many of the animals of the American forests resortto those spots where salt springs are found. These arecalled “licks” or “salt licks,” in the language of the coun-try, from the circumstance that the quadruped is oftenobliged to lick the earth, in order to obtain the salineparticles. These licks are great places of resort with thehunters, who waylay their game near the paths that leadto them.

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racity of the Hurons. A very summary processcompleted the simple cookery, when he and theMohicans commenced their humble meal, withthe silence and characteristic diligence of menwho ate in order to enable themselves to en-dure great and unremitting toil.

When this necessary, and, happily, grate-ful duty had been performed, each of theforesters stooped and took a long and part-ing draught at that solitary and silent spring15,around which and its sister fountains, withinfifty years, the wealth, beauty and talents ofa hemisphere were to assemble in throngs, inpursuit of health and pleasure. Then Hawk-eye announced his determination to proceed.

15The scene of the foregoing incidents is on the spotwhere the village of Ballston now stands; one of the twoprincipal watering places of America.

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The sisters resumed their saddles; Duncan andDavid grapsed their rifles, and followed onfootsteps; the scout leading the advance, andthe Mohicans bringing up the rear. The wholeparty moved swiftly through the narrow path,toward the north, leaving the healing waters tomingle unheeded with the adjacent brooks andthe bodies of the dead to fester on the neighbor-ing mount, without the rites of sepulture; a fatebut too common to the warriors of the woodsto excite either commiseration or comment.

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“I’ll seek a readier path.”–Parnell

THE ROUTE TAKEN by Hawkeye lay acrossthose sandy plains, relived by occasional val-leys and swells of land, which had been tra-versed by their party on the morning of the

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same day, with the baffled Magua for theirguide. The sun had now fallen low towardthe distant mountains; and as their journey laythrough the interminable forest, the heat wasno longer oppressive. Their progress, in conse-quence, was proportionate; and long before thetwilight gathered about them, they had madegood many toilsome miles on their return.

The hunter, like the savage whose place hefilled, seemed to select among the blind signsof their wild route, with a species of instinct,seldom abating his speed, and never pausingto deliberate. A rapid and oblique glance atthe moss on the trees, with an occasional up-ward gaze toward the setting sun, or a steadybut passing look at the direction of the numer-ous water courses, through which he waded,were sufficient to determine his path, and re-

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move his greatest difficulties. In the meantime,the forest began to change its hues, losing thatlively green which had embellished its arches,in the graver light which is the usual precursorof the close of day.

While the eyes of the sisters were endeavor-ing to catch glimpses through the trees, of theflood of golden glory which formed a glitter-ing halo around the sun, tinging here and therewith ruby streaks, or bordering with narrowedgings of shining yellow, a mass of clouds thatlay piled at no great distance above the west-ern hills, Hawkeye turned suddenly and point-ing upward toward the gorgeous heavens, hespoke:

“Yonder is the signal given to man to seekhis food and natural rest,” he said; “better andwiser would it be, if he could understand the

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signs of nature, and take a lesson from thefowls of the air and the beasts of the field! Ournight, however, will soon be over, for with themoon we must be up and moving again. I re-member to have fou’t the Maquas, hereaways,in the first war in which I ever drew blood fromman; and we threw up a work of blocks, tokeep the ravenous varmints from handling ourscalps. If my marks do not fail me, we shallfind the place a few rods further to our left.”

Without waiting for an assent, or, indeed,for any reply, the sturdy hunter moved boldlyinto a dense thicket of young chestnuts, shov-ing aside the branches of the exuberant shootswhich nearly covered the ground, like a manwho expected, at each step, to discover someobject he had formerly known. The recollec-tion of the scout did not deceive him. Af-

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ter penetrating through the brush, matted asit was with briars, for a few hundred feet,he entered an open space, that surrounded alow, green hillock, which was crowned by thedecayed blockhouse in question. This rudeand neglected building was one of those de-serted works, which, having been thrown upon an emergency, had been abandoned withthe disappearance of danger, and was nowquietly crumbling in the solitude of the for-est, neglected and nearly forgotten, like the cir-cumstances which had caused it to be reared.Such memorials of the passage and strugglesof man are yet frequent throughout the broadbarrier of wilderness which once separated thehostile provinces, and form a species of ruinsthat are intimately associated with the recol-lections of colonial history, and which are inappropriate keeping with the gloomy charac-

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ter of the surrounding scenery. The roof ofbark had long since fallen, and mingled withthe soil, but the huge logs of pine, which hadbeen hastily thrown together, still preservedtheir relative positions, though one angle of thework had given way under the pressure, andthreatened a speedy downfall to the remain-der of the rustic edifice. While Heyward andhis companions hesitated to approach a build-ing so decayed, Hawkeye and the Indians en-tered within the low walls, not only withoutfear, but with obvious interest. While the for-mer surveyed the ruins, both internally and ex-ternally, with the curiosity of one whose recol-lections were reviving at each moment, Chin-gachgook related to his son, in the languageof the Delawares, and with the pride of a con-queror, the brief history of the skirmish whichhad been fought, in his youth, in that secluded

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spot. A strain of melancholy, however, blendedwith his triumph, rendering his voice, as usual,soft and musical.

In the meantime, the sisters gladly dis-mounted, and prepared to enjoy their halt inthe coolness of the evening, and in a securitywhich they believed nothing but the beasts ofthe forest could invade.

“Would not our resting-place have beenmore retired, my worthy friend,” demandedthe more vigilant Duncan, perceiving that thescout had already finished his short survey,“had we chosen a spot less known, and onemore rarely visited than this?”

“Few live who know the blockhouse wasever raised,” was the slow and musing answer;“‘tis not often that books are made, and narra-tives written of such a scrimmage as was here

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fou’t atween the Mohicans and the Mohawks,in a war of their own waging. I was then ayounker, and went out with the Delawares, be-cause I know’d they were a scandalized andwronged race. Forty days and forty nights didthe imps crave our blood around this pile oflogs, which I designed and partly reared, be-ing, as you’ll remember, no Indian myself, but aman without a cross. The Delawares lent them-selves to the work, and we made it good, ten totwenty, until our numbers were nearly equal,and then we sallied out upon the hounds, andnot a man of them ever got back to tell the fateof his party. Yes, yes; I was then young, andnew to the sight of blood; and not relishing thethought that creatures who had spirits like my-self should lay on the naked ground, to be tornasunder by beasts, or to bleach in the rains, Iburied the dead with my own hands, under

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that very little hillock where you have placedyourselves; and no bad seat does it make nei-ther, though it be raised by the bones of mortalmen.”

Heyward and the sisters arose, on the in-stant, from the grassy sepulcher; nor could thetwo latter, notwithstanding the terrific scenesthey had so recently passed through, entirelysuppress an emotion of natural horror, whenthey found themselves in such familiar contactwith the grave of the dead Mohawks. The graylight, the gloomy little area of dark grass, sur-rounded by its border of brush, beyond whichthe pines rose, in breathing silence, apparentlyinto the very clouds, and the deathlike stillnessof the vast forest, were all in unison to deepensuch a sensation. “They are gone, and theyare harmless,” continued Hawkeye, waving his

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hand, with a melancholy smile at their manifestalarm; “they’ll never shout the war-whoop norstrike a blow with the tomahawk again! Andof all those who aided in placing them wherethey lie, Chingachgook and I only are living!The brothers and family of the Mohican formedour war party; and you see before you all thatare now left of his race.”

The eyes of the listeners involuntarily soughtthe forms of the Indians, with a compassionateinterest in their desolate fortune. Their darkpersons were still to be seen within the shad-ows of the blockhouse, the son listening to therelation of his father with that sort of intense-ness which would be created by a narrativethat redounded so much to the honor of thosewhose names he had long revered for theircourage and savage virtues.

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“I had thought the Delawares a pacific peo-ple,” said Duncan, “and that they never wagedwar in person; trusting the defense of theirhands to those very Mohawks that you slew!”

“‘Tis true in part,” returned the scout, “andyet, at the bottom, ‘tis a wicked lie. Such atreaty was made in ages gone by, through thedeviltries of the Dutchers, who wished to dis-arm the natives that had the best right to thecountry, where they had settled themselves.The Mohicans, though a part of the same na-tion, having to deal with the English, never en-tered into the silly bargain, but kept to theirmanhood; as in truth did the Delawares, whentheir eyes were open to their folly. You seebefore you a chief of the great Mohican Sag-amores! Once his family could chase theirdeer over tracts of country wider than that

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which belongs to the Albany Patteroon, with-out crossing brook or hill that was not theirown; but what is left of their descendant?He may find his six feet of earth when Godchooses, and keep it in peace, perhaps, if he hasa friend who will take the pains to sink his headso low that the plowshares cannot reach it!”

“Enough!” said Heyward, apprehensive thatthe subject might lead to a discussion thatwould interrupt the harmony so necessary tothe preservation of his fair companions; “wehave journeyed far, and few among us areblessed with forms like that of yours, whichseems to know neither fatigue nor weakness.”

“The sinews and bones of a man carry methrough it all,” said the hunter, surveying hismuscular limbs with a simplicity that betrayedthe honest pleasure the compliment afforded

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him; “there are larger and heavier men to befound in the settlements, but you might travelmany days in a city before you could meet oneable to walk fifty miles without stopping totake breath, or who has kept the hounds withinhearing during a chase of hours. However,as flesh and blood are not always the same, itis quite reasonable to suppose that the gentleones are willing to rest, after all they have seenand done this day. Uncas, clear out the spring,while your father and I make a cover for theirtender heads of these chestnut shoots, and abed of grass and leaves.”

The dialogue ceased, while the hunter andhis companions busied themselves in prepara-tions for the comfort and protection of thosethey guided. A spring, which many longyears before had induced the natives to select

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the place for their temporary fortification, wassoon cleared of leaves, and a fountain of crystalgushed from the bed, diffusing its waters overthe verdant hillock. A corner of the buildingwas then roofed in such a manner as to excludethe heavy dew of the climate, and piles of sweetshrubs and dried leaves were laid beneath it forthe sisters to repose on.

While the diligent woodsmen were em-ployed in this manner, Cora and Alice par-took of that refreshment which duty requiredmuch more than inclination prompted themto accept. They then retired within the walls,and first offering up their thanksgivings forpast mercies, and petitioning for a continu-ance of the Divine favor throughout the com-ing night, they laid their tender forms on thefragrant couch, and in spite of recollections

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and forebodings, soon sank into those slum-bers which nature so imperiously demanded,and which were sweetened by hopes for themorrow. Duncan had prepared himself to passthe night in watchfulness near them, just with-out the ruin, but the scout, perceiving his in-tention, pointed toward Chingachgook, as hecoolly disposed his own person on the grass,and said:

“The eyes of a white man are too heavy andtoo blind for such a watch as this! The Mohicanwill be our sentinel, therefore let us sleep.”

“I proved myself a sluggard on my post dur-ing the past night,” said Heyward, “and haveless need of repose than you, who did morecredit to the character of a soldier. Let all theparty seek their rest, then, while I hold theguard.”

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“If we lay among the white tents of the Sixti-eth, and in front of an enemy like the French, Icould not ask for a better watchman,” returnedthe scout; “but in the darkness and among thesigns of the wilderness your judgment wouldbe like the folly of a child, and your vigilancethrown away. Do then, like Uncas and myself,sleep, and sleep in safety.”

Heyward perceived, in truth, that theyounger Indian had thrown his form on theside of the hillock while they were talking, likeone who sought to make the most of the timeallotted to rest, and that his example had beenfollowed by David, whose voice literally “cloveto his jaws,” with the fever of his wound,heightened, as it was, by their toilsome march.Unwilling to prolong a useless discussion, theyoung man affected to comply, by posting his

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back against the logs of the blockhouse, in ahalf recumbent posture, though resolutely de-termined, in his own mind, not to close an eyeuntil he had delivered his precious charge intothe arms of Munro himself. Hawkeye, believ-ing he had prevailed, soon fell asleep, and a si-lence as deep as the solitude in which they hadfound it, pervaded the retired spot.

For many minutes Duncan succeeded inkeeping his senses on the alert, and alive to ev-ery moaning sound that arose from the forest.His vision became more acute as the shadesof evening settled on the place; and even af-ter the stars were glimmering above his head,he was able to distinguish the recumbent formsof his companions, as they lay stretched on thegrass, and to note the person of Chingachgook,who sat upright and motionless as one of the

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trees which formed the dark barrier on everyside. He still heard the gentle breathings ofthe sisters, who lay within a few feet of him,and not a leaf was ruffled by the passing airof which his ear did not detect the whisperingsound. At length, however, the mournful notesof a whip-poor-will became blended with themoanings of an owl; his heavy eyes occasion-ally sought the bright rays of the stars, and hethen fancied he saw them through the fallenlids. At instants of momentary wakefulness hemistook a bush for his associate sentinel; hishead next sank upon his shoulder, which, in itsturn, sought the support of the ground; and,finally, his whole person became relaxed andpliant, and the young man sank into a deepsleep, dreaming that he was a knight of ancientchivalry, holding his midnight vigils before thetent of a recaptured princess, whose favor he

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did not despair of gaining, by such a proof ofdevotion and watchfulness.

How long the tired Duncan lay in this insen-sible state he never knew himself, but his slum-bering visions had been long lost in total forget-fulness, when he was awakened by a light tapon the shoulder. Aroused by this signal, slightas it was, he sprang upon his feet with a con-fused recollection of the self-imposed duty hehad assumed with the commencement of thenight.

“Who comes?” he demanded, feeling for hissword, at the place where it was usually sus-pended. “Speak! friend or enemy?”

“Friend,” replied the low voice of Chin-gachgook; who, pointing upward at the lu-minary which was shedding its mild lightthrough the opening in the trees, directly in

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their bivouac, immediately added, in his rudeEnglish: “Moon comes and white man’s fortfar–far off; time to move, when sleep shuts botheyes of the Frenchman!”

“You say true! Call up your friends, and bri-dle the horses while I prepare my own compan-ions for the march!”

“We are awake, Duncan,” said the soft, sil-very tones of Alice within the building, “andready to travel very fast after so refreshing asleep; but you have watched through the te-dious night in our behalf, after having enduredso much fatigue the livelong day!”

“Say, rather, I would have watched, but mytreacherous eyes betrayed me; twice have Iproved myself unfit for the trust I bear.”

“Nay, Duncan, deny it not,” interrupted thesmiling Alice, issuing from the shadows of the

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building into the light of the moon, in all theloveliness of her freshened beauty; “I knowyou to be a heedless one, when self is the ob-ject of your care, and but too vigilant in favorof others. Can we not tarry here a little longerwhile you find the rest you need? Cheerfully,most cheerfully, will Cora and I keep the vigils,while you and all these brave men endeavor tosnatch a little sleep!”

“If shame could cure me of my drowsiness,I should never close an eye again,” said theuneasy youth, gazing at the ingenuous coun-tenance of Alice, where, however, in its sweetsolicitude, he read nothing to confirm his half-awakened suspicion. “It is but too true, thatafter leading you into danger by my heedless-ness, I have not even the merit of guardingyour pillows as should become a soldier.”

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“No one but Duncan himself should accuseDuncan of such a weakness. Go, then, andsleep; believe me, neither of us, weak girls aswe are, will betray our watch.”

The young man was relieved from the awk-wardness of making any further protestationsof his own demerits, by an exclamation fromChingachgook, and the attitude of riveted at-tention assumed by his son.

“The Mohicans hear an enemy!” whisperedHawkeye, who, by this time, in common withthe whole party, was awake and stirring. “Theyscent danger in the wind!”

“God forbid!” exclaimed Heyward. “Surelywe have had enough of bloodshed!”

While he spoke, however, the young sol-dier seized his rifle, and advancing toward the

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front, prepared to atone for his venial remiss-ness, by freely exposing his life in defense ofthose he attended.

“‘Tis some creature of the forest prowlingaround us in quest of food,” he said, in a whis-per, as soon as the low, and apparently dis-tant sounds, which had startled the Mohicans,reached his own ears.

“Hist!” returned the attentive scout; “‘tisman; even I can now tell his tread, poor asmy senses are when compared to an Indian’s!That Scampering Huron has fallen in with oneof Montcalm’s outlying parties, and they havestruck upon our trail. I shouldn’t like, my-self, to spill more human blood in this spot,”he added, looking around with anxiety in hisfeatures, at the dim objects by which he wassurrounded; “but what must be, must! Lead

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the horses into the blockhouse, Uncas; and,friends, do you follow to the same shelter. Poorand old as it is, it offers a cover, and has rungwith the crack of a rifle afore to-night!”

He was instantly obeyed, the Mohicansleading the Narrangansetts within the ruin,whither the whole party repaired with the mostguarded silence.

The sound of approaching footsteps werenow too distinctly audible to leave any doubtsas to the nature of the interruption. They weresoon mingled with voices calling to each otherin an Indian dialect, which the hunter, in awhisper, affirmed to Heyward was the lan-guage of the Hurons. When the party reachedthe point where the horses had entered thethicket which surrounded the blockhouse, theywere evidently at fault, having lost those marks

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which, until that moment, had directed theirpursuit.

It would seem by the voices that twenty menwere soon collected at that one spot, minglingtheir different opinions and advice in noisyclamor.

“The knaves know our weakness,” whis-pered Hawkeye, who stood by the side of Hey-ward, in deep shade, looking through an open-ing in the logs, “or they wouldn’t indulge theiridleness in such a squaw’s march. Listen to thereptiles! each man among them seems to havetwo tongues, and but a single leg.”

Duncan, brave as he was in the combat,could not, in such a moment of painful sus-pense, make any reply to the cool and charac-teristic remark of the scout. He only graspedhis rifle more firmly, and fastened his eyes

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upon the narrow opening, through which hegazed upon the moonlight view with increas-ing anxiety. The deeper tones of one who spokeas having authority were next heard, amid a si-lence that denoted the respect with which hisorders, or rather advice, was received. Afterwhich, by the rustling of leaves, and crack-ling of dried twigs, it was apparent the sav-ages were separating in pursuit of the lost trail.Fortunately for the pursued, the light of themoon, while it shed a flood of mild luster uponthe little area around the ruin, was not suffi-ciently strong to penetrate the deep arches ofthe forest, where the objects still lay in decep-tive shadow. The search proved fruitless; for soshort and sudden had been the passage fromthe faint path the travelers had journeyed intothe thicket, that every trace of their footstepswas lost in the obscurity of the woods.

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It was not long, however, before the rest-less savages were heard beating the brush, andgradually approaching the inner edge of thatdense border of young chestnuts which encir-cled the little area.

“They are coming,” muttered Heyward, en-deavoring to thrust his rifle through the chinkin the logs; “let us fire on their approach.”

“Keep everything in the shade,” returnedthe scout; “the snapping of a flint, or even thesmell of a single karnel of the brimstone, wouldbring the hungry varlets upon us in a body.Should it please God that we must give battlefor the scalps, trust to the experience of menwho know the ways of the savages, and whoare not often backward when the war-whoopis howled.”

Duncan cast his eyes behind him, and saw

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that the trembling sisters were cowering in thefar corner of the building, while the Mohicansstood in the shadow, like two upright posts,ready, and apparently willing, to strike whenthe blow should be needed. Curbing his im-patience, he again looked out upon the area,and awaited the result in silence. At that in-stant the thicket opened, and a tall and armedHuron advanced a few paces into the openspace. As he gazed upon the silent blockhouse,the moon fell upon his swarthy countenance,and betrayed its surprise and curiosity. Hemade the exclamation which usually accompa-nies the former emotion in an Indian, and, call-ing in a low voice, soon drew a companion tohis side.

These children of the woods stood togetherfor several moments pointing at the crumbling

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edifice, and conversing in the unintelligiblelanguage of their tribe. They then approached,though with slow and cautious steps, paus-ing every instant to look at the building, likestartled deer whose curiosity struggled pow-erfully with their awakened apprehensions forthe mastery. The foot of one of them suddenlyrested on the mound, and he stopped to ex-amine its nature. At this moment, Heywardobserved that the scout loosened his knife inits sheath, and lowered the muzzle of his ri-fle. Imitating these movements, the young manprepared himself for the struggle which nowseemed inevitable.

The savages were so near, that the least mo-tion in one of the horses, or even a breathlouder than common, would have betrayedthe fugitives. But in discovering the charac-

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ter of the mound, the attention of the Huronsappeared directed to a different object. Theyspoke together, and the sounds of their voiceswere low and solemn, as if influenced by areverence that was deeply blended with awe.Then they drew warily back, keeping their eyesriveted on the ruin, as if they expected to seethe apparitions of the dead issue from its silentwalls, until, having reached the boundary ofthe area, they moved slowly into the thicketand disappeared.

Hawkeye dropped the breech of his rifle tothe earth, and drawing a long, free breath, ex-claimed, in an audible whisper:

“Ay! they respect the dead, and it has thistime saved their own lives, and, it may be, thelives of better men too.”

Heyward lent his attention for a single mo-

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ment to his companion, but without replying,he again turned toward those who just then in-terested him more. He heard the two Huronsleave the bushes, and it was soon plain thatall the pursuers were gathered about them, indeep attention to their report. After a fewminutes of earnest and solemn dialogue, al-together different from the noisy clamor withwhich they had first collected about the spot,the sounds grew fainter and more distant, andfinally were lost in the depths of the forest.

Hawkeye waited until a signal from the lis-tening Chingachgook assured him that everysound from the retiring party was completelyswallowed by the distance, when he motionedto Heyward to lead forth the horses, and to as-sist the sisters into their saddles. The instantthis was done they issued through the broken

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gateway, and stealing out by a direction oppo-site to the one by which they entered, they quit-ted the spot, the sisters casting furtive glancesat the silent, grave and crumbling ruin, as theyleft the soft light of the moon, to bury them-selves in the gloom of the woods.

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“Guard.–Qui est la? Puc.–Paisans, pauvres gens de France.”

–King Henry VI

DURING THE RAPID movement from theblockhouse, and until the party was deeplyburied in the forest, each individual was too

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much interested in the escape to hazard a wordeven in whispers. The scout resumed his postin advance, though his steps, after he hadthrown a safe distance between himself andhis enemies, were more deliberate than in theirprevious march, in consequence of his utterignorance of the localities of the surroundingwoods. More than once he halted to consultwith his confederates, the Mohicans, pointingupward at the moon, and examining the barksof the trees with care. In these brief pauses,Heyward and the sisters listened, with sensesrendered doubly acute by the danger, to de-tect any symptoms which might announce theproximity of their foes. At such moments,it seemed as if a vast range of country layburied in eternal sleep; not the least sound aris-ing from the forest, unless it was the distantand scarcely audible rippling of a water-course.

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Birds, beasts, and man, appeared to slumberalike, if, indeed, any of the latter were to befound in that wide tract of wilderness. But thesounds of the rivulet, feeble and murmuring asthey were, relieved the guides at once from notrifling embarrassment, and toward it they im-mediately held their way.

When the banks of the little stream weregained, Hawkeye made another halt; and tak-ing the moccasins from his feet, he invited Hey-ward and Gamut to follow his example. Hethen entered the water, and for near an hourthey traveled in the bed of the brook, leavingno trail. The moon had already sunk into animmense pile of black clouds, which lay im-pending above the western horizon, when theyissued from the low and devious water-courseto rise again to the light and level of the sandy

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but wooded plain. Here the scout seemed tobe once more at home, for he held on this waywith the certainty and diligence of a man whomoved in the security of his own knowledge.The path soon became more uneven, and thetravelers could plainly perceive that the moun-tains drew nigher to them on each hand, andthat they were, in truth, about entering oneof their gorges. Suddenly, Hawkeye made apause, and, waiting until he was joined by thewhole party, he spoke, though in tones so lowand cautious, that they added to the solemnityof his words, in the quiet and darkness of theplace.

“It is easy to know the pathways, and to findthe licks and water-courses of the wilderness,”he said; “but who that saw this spot could ven-ture to say, that a mighty army was at rest

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among yonder silent trees and barren moun-tains?”

“We are, then, at no great distance fromWilliam Henry?” said Heyward, advancingnigher to the scout.

“It is yet a long and weary path, and whenand where to strike it is now our greatest diffi-culty. See,” he said, pointing through the treestoward a spot where a little basin of water re-flected the stars from its placid bosom, “here isthe ‘bloody pond’; and I am on ground that Ihave not only often traveled, but over which Ihave fou’t the enemy, from the rising to the set-ting sun.”

“Ha! that sheet of dull and dreary water,then, is the sepulcher of the brave men who fellin the contest. I have heard it named, but neverhave I stood on its banks before.”

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“Three battles did we make with the Dutch-Frenchman16 in a day,” continued Hawkeye,pursuing the train of his own thoughts, ratherthan replying to the remark of Duncan. “Hemet us hard by, in our outward march toambush his advance, and scattered us, likedriven deer, through the defile, to the shoresof Horican. Then we rallied behind our fallentrees, and made head against him, under SirWilliam–who was made Sir William for thatvery deed; and well did we pay him for thedisgrace of the morning! Hundreds of French-men saw the sun that day for the last time; andeven their leader, Dieskau himself, fell into ourhands, so cut and torn with the lead, that he has

16Baron Dieskau, a German, in the service of France.A few years previously to the period of the tale, this offi-cer was defeated by Sir William Johnson, of Johnstown,New York, on the shores of Lake George.

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gone back to his own country, unfit for furtheracts in war.”

“‘Twas a noble repulse!” exclaimed Hey-ward, in the heat of his youthful ardor; “thefame of it reached us early, in our southernarmy.”

“Ay! but it did not end there. I was sent byMajor Effingham, at Sir William’s own bidding,to outflank the French, and carry the tidings oftheir disaster across the portage, to the fort onthe Hudson. Just hereaway, where you see thetrees rise into a mountain swell, I met a partycoming down to our aid, and I led them wherethe enemy were taking their meal, little dream-ing that they had not finished the bloody workof the day.”

“And you surprised them?”“If death can be a surprise to men who are

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thinking only of the cravings of their appetites.We gave them but little breathing time, for theyhad borne hard upon us in the fight of themorning, and there were few in our party whohad not lost friend or relative by their hands.”

“When all was over, the dead, and some saythe dying, were cast into that little pond. Theseeyes have seen its waters colored with blood, asnatural water never yet flowed from the bowelsof the ‘arth.”

“It was a convenient, and, I trust, will provea peaceful grave for a soldier. You have thenseen much service on this frontier?”

“Ay!” said the scout, erecting his tall per-son with an air of military pride; “there arenot many echoes among these hills that haven’trung with the crack of my rifle, nor is therethe space of a square mile atwixt Horican and

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the river, that ‘killdeer’ hasn’t dropped a liv-ing body on, be it an enemy or be it a brutebeast. As for the grave there being as quietas you mention, it is another matter. There arethem in the camp who say and think, man, tolie still, should not be buried while the breath isin the body; and certain it is that in the hurry ofthat evening, the doctors had but little time tosay who was living and who was dead. Hist!see you nothing walking on the shore of thepond?”

“‘Tis not probable that any are as houselessas ourselves in this dreary forest.”

“Such as he may care but little for house orshelter, and night dew can never wet a bodythat passes its days in the water,” returned thescout, grasping the shoulder of Heyward withsuch convulsive strength as to make the young

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soldier painfully sensible how much supersti-tious terror had got the mastery of a man usu-ally so dauntless.

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

“Qui vive?” demanded a stern, quick voice,which sounded like a challenge from anotherworld, issuing out of that solitary and solemnplace.

“What says it?” whispered the scout; “itspeaks neither Indian nor English.”

“Qui vive?” repeated the same voice, whichwas quickly followed by the rattling of arms,and a menacing attitude.

“France!” cried Heyward, advancing fromthe shadow of the trees to the shore of the pond,within a few yards of the sentinel.

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“D’ou venez-vous–ou allez-vous, d’aussibonne heure?” demanded the grenadier, in thelanguage and with the accent of a man from oldFrance.

“Je viens de la decouverte, et je vais mecoucher.”

“Etes-vous officier du roi?”

“Sans doute, mon camarade; me prends-tupour un provincial! Je suis capitaine de chas-seurs (Heyward well knew that the other wasof a regiment in the line); j’ai ici, avec moi, lesfilles du commandant de la fortification. Aha!tu en as entendu parler! je les ai fait prison-nieres pres de l’autre fort, et je les conduis augeneral.”

“Ma foi! mesdames; j’en suis fâche pourvous,” exclaimed the young soldier, touching

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his cap with grace; “mais–fortune de guerre!vous trouverez notre general un brave homme,et bien poli avec les dames.”

“C’est le caractere des gens de guerre,” saidCora, with admirable self-possession. “Adieu,mon ami; je vous souhaiterais un devoir plusagreable a remplir.”

The soldier made a low and humble ac-knowledgment for her civility; and Heywardadding a “Bonne nuit, mon camarade,” theymoved deliberately forward, leaving the sen-tinel pacing the banks of the silent pond, lit-tle suspecting an enemy of so much effron-tery, and humming to himself those wordswhich were recalled to his mind by the sightof women, and, perhaps, by recollections of hisown distant and beautiful France: “Vive le vin,vive l’amour,” etc., etc.

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“‘Tis well you understood the knave!” whis-pered the scout, when they had gained a littledistance from the place, and letting his rifle fallinto the hollow of his arm again; “I soon sawthat he was one of them uneasy Frenchers; andwell for him it was that his speech was friendlyand his wishes kind, or a place might have beenfound for his bones among those of his coun-trymen.”

He was interrupted by a long and heavygroan which arose from the little basin, asthough, in truth, the spirits of the departed lin-gered about their watery sepulcher.

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

“It was of flesh; but whether the poor fel-low still belongs to this world may well bedoubted,” said Heyward, glancing his eyes

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around him, and missing Chingachgook fromtheir little band. Another groan more faintthan the former was succeeded by a heavy andsullen plunge into the water, and all was stillagain as if the borders of the dreary pool hadnever been awakened from the silence of cre-ation. While they yet hesitated in uncertainty,the form of the Indian was seen gliding out ofthe thicket. As the chief rejoined them, withone hand he attached the reeking scalp of theunfortunate young Frenchman to his girdle,and with the other he replaced the knife andtomahawk that had drunk his blood. He thentook his wonted station, with the air of a manwho believed he had done a deed of merit.

The scout dropped one end of his rifle to theearth, and leaning his hands on the other, hestood musing in profound silence. Then, shak-

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ing his head in a mournful manner, he mut-tered:

“‘Twould have been a cruel and an unhumanact for a white-skin; but ‘tis the gift and natur’of an Indian, and I suppose it should not bedenied. I could wish, though, it had befallenan accursed Mingo, rather than that gay youngboy from the old countries.”

“Enough!” said Heyward, apprehensive theunconscious sisters might comprehend the na-ture of the detention, and conquering his dis-gust by a train of reflections very much likethat of the hunter; “‘tis done; and though betterit were left undone, cannot be amended. Yousee, we are, too obviously within the sentinelsof the enemy; what course do you propose tofollow?”

“Yes,” said Hawkeye, rousing himself again;

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“‘tis as you say, too late to harbor furtherthoughts about it. Ay, the French have gatheredaround the fort in good earnest and we have adelicate needle to thread in passing them.”

“And but little time to do it in,” added Hey-ward, glancing his eyes upwards, toward thebank of vapor that concealed the setting moon.

“And little time to do it in!” repeated thescout. “The thing may be done in two fash-ions, by the help of Providence, without whichit may not be done at all.”

“Name them quickly for time presses.”

“One would be to dismount the gentle ones,and let their beasts range the plain, by sendingthe Mohicans in front, we might then cut a lanethrough their sentries, and enter the fort overthe dead bodies.”

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“It will not do–it will not do!” interruptedthe generous Heyward; “a soldier might forcehis way in this manner, but never with such aconvoy.”

“‘Twould be, indeed, a bloody path for suchtender feet to wade in,” returned the equallyreluctant scout; “but I thought it befitting mymanhood to name it. We must, then, turn inour trail and get without the line of their look-outs, when we will bend short to the west, andenter the mountains; where I can hide you, sothat all the devil’s hounds in Montcalm’s paywould be thrown off the scent for months tocome.”

“Let it be done, and that instantly.”Further words were unnecessary; for Hawk-

eye, merely uttering the mandate to “follow,”moved along the route by which they had just

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entered their present critical and even danger-ous situation. Their progress, like their late di-alogue, was guarded, and without noise; fornone knew at what moment a passing patrol,or a crouching picket of the enemy, might riseupon their path. As they held their silent wayalong the margin of the pond, again Heywardand the scout stole furtive glances at its ap-palling dreariness. They looked in vain for theform they had so recently seen stalking alongin silent shores, while a low and regular washof the little waves, by announcing that the wa-ters were not yet subsided, furnished a fright-ful memorial of the deed of blood they had justwitnessed. Like all that passing and gloomyscene, the low basin, however, quickly meltedin the darkness, and became blended with themass of black objects in the rear of the travelers.

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Hawkeye soon deviated from the line oftheir retreat, and striking off towards themountains which form the western bound-ary of the narrow plain, he led his follow-ers, with swift steps, deep within the shad-ows that were cast from their high and bro-ken summits. The route was now painful; ly-ing over ground ragged with rocks, and inter-sected with ravines, and their progress propor-tionately slow. Bleak and black hills lay on ev-ery side of them, compensating in some degreefor the additional toil of the march by the senseof security they imparted. At length the partybegan slowly to rise a steep and rugged ascent,by a path that curiously wound among rocksand trees, avoiding the one and supported bythe other, in a manner that showed it had beendevised by men long practised in the arts of thewilderness. As they gradually rose from the

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level of the valleys, the thick darkness whichusually precedes the approach of day beganto disperse, and objects were seen in the plainand palpable colors with which they had beengifted by nature. When they issued from thestunted woods which clung to the barren sidesof the mountain, upon a flat and mossy rockthat formed its summit, they met the morning,as it came blushing above the green pines of ahill that lay on the opposite side of the valley ofthe Horican.

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

“Go,” he said, “and seek your food where

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natur’ gives it to you; and beware that you be-come not food to ravenous wolves yourselves,among these hills.”

“Have we no further need of them?” de-manded Heyward.

“See, and judge with your own eyes,” saidthe scout, advancing toward the eastern browof the mountain, whither he beckoned for thewhole party to follow; “if it was as easy to lookinto the heart of man as it is to spy out thenakedness of Montcalm’s camp from this spot,hypocrites would grow scarce, and the cunningof a Mingo might prove a losing game, com-pared to the honesty of a Delaware.”

When the travelers reached the verge of theprecipices they saw, at a glance, the truth ofthe scout’s declaration, and the admirable fore-sight with which he had led them to their com-

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manding station.

The mountain on which they stood, ele-vated perhaps a thousand feet in the air, wasa high cone that rose a little in advance of thatrange which stretches for miles along the west-ern shores of the lake, until meeting its sis-ters miles beyond the water, it ran off towardthe Canadas, in confused and broken massesof rock, thinly sprinkled with evergreens. Im-mediately at the feet of the party, the south-ern shore of the Horican swept in a broadsemicircle from mountain to mountain, mark-ing a wide strand, that soon rose into an un-even and somewhat elevated plain. To thenorth stretched the limpid, and, as it appearedfrom that dizzy height, the narrow sheet of the“holy lake,” indented with numberless bays,embellished by fantastic headlands, and dot-

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ted with countless islands. At the distance ofa few leagues, the bed of the water becamelost among mountains, or was wrapped in themasses of vapor that came slowly rolling alongtheir bosom, before a light morning air. But anarrow opening between the crests of the hillspointed out the passage by which they foundtheir way still further north, to spread theirpure and ample sheets again, before pouringout their tribute into the distant Champlain. Tothe south stretched the defile, or rather brokenplain, so often mentioned. For several miles inthis direction, the mountains appeared reluc-tant to yield their dominion, but within reachof the eye they diverged, and finally meltedinto the level and sandy lands, across whichwe have accompanied our adventurers in theirdouble journey. Along both ranges of hills,which bounded the opposite sides of the lake

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and valley, clouds of light vapor were risingin spiral wreaths from the uninhabited woods,looking like the smoke of hidden cottages; orrolled lazily down the declivities, to minglewith the fogs of the lower land. A single, soli-tary, snow-white cloud floated above the val-ley, and marked the spot beneath which lay thesilent pool of the “bloody pond.”

Directly on the shore of the lake, and nearerto its western than to its eastern margin, laythe extensive earthen ramparts and low build-ings of William Henry. Two of the sweepingbastions appeared to rest on the water whichwashed their bases, while a deep ditch and ex-tensive morasses guarded its other sides andangles. The land had been cleared of woodfor a reasonable distance around the work, butevery other part of the scene lay in the green

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livery of nature, except where the limpid wa-ter mellowed the view, or the bold rocks thrusttheir black and naked heads above the undu-lating outline of the mountain ranges. In itsfront might be seen the scattered sentinels, whoheld a weary watch against their numerousfoes; and within the walls themselves, the trav-elers looked down upon men still drowsy witha night of vigilance. Toward the southeast, butin immediate contact with the fort, was an en-trenched camp, posted on a rocky eminence,that would have been far more eligible for thework itself, in which Hawkeye pointed out thepresence of those auxiliary regiments that hadso recently left the Hudson in their company.From the woods, a little further to the south,rose numerous dark and lurid smokes, thatwere easily to be distinguished from the purerexhalations of the springs, and which the scout

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also showed to Heyward, as evidences that theenemy lay in force in that direction.

But the spectacle which most concerned theyoung soldier was on the western bank of thelake, though quite near to its southern termi-nation. On a strip of land, which appearedfrom his stand too narrow to contain such anarmy, but which, in truth, extended many hun-dreds of yards from the shores of the Horicanto the base of the mountain, were to be seen thewhite tents and military engines of an encamp-ment of ten thousand men. Batteries were al-ready thrown up in their front, and even whilethe spectators above them were looking down,with such different emotions, on a scene whichlay like a map beneath their feet, the roar of ar-tillery rose from the valley, and passed off inthundering echoes along the eastern hills.

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“Morning is just touching them below,” saidthe deliberate and musing scout, “and thewatchers have a mind to wake up the sleepersby the sound of cannon. We are a few hours toolate! Montcalm has already filled the woodswith his accursed Iroquois.”

“The place is, indeed, invested,” returnedDuncan; “but is there no expedient by whichwe may enter? capture in the works would befar preferable to falling again into the hands ofroving Indians.”

“See!” exclaimed the scout, unconsciouslydirecting the attention of Cora to the quartersof her own father, “how that shot has made thestones fly from the side of the commandant’shouse! Ay! these Frenchers will pull it to piecesfaster than it was put together, solid and thickthough it be!”

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“Heyward, I sicken at the sight of dangerthat I cannot share,” said the undaunted butanxious daughter. “Let us go to Montcalm, anddemand admission: he dare not deny a childthe boon.”

“You would scarce find the tent of theFrenchman with the hair on your head”; saidthe blunt scout. “If I had but one of the thou-sand boats which lie empty along that shore, itmight be done! Ha! here will soon be an endof the firing, for yonder comes a fog that willturn day to night, and make an Indian arrowmore dangerous than a molded cannon. Now,if you are equal to the work, and will follow, Iwill make a push; for I long to get down intothat camp, if it be only to scatter some Mingodogs that I see lurking in the skirts of yonderthicket of birch.”

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“We are equal,” said Cora, firmly; “on suchan errand we will follow to any danger.”

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

“I would I had a thousand men, of brawnylimbs and quick eyes, that feared death as lit-tle as you! I’d send them jabbering Frenchersback into their den again, afore the week wasended, howling like so many fettered houndsor hungry wolves. But, sir,” he added, turn-ing from her to the rest of the party, “the fogcomes rolling down so fast, we shall have butjust the time to meet it on the plain, and use itas a cover. Remember, if any accident shouldbefall me, to keep the air blowing on your leftcheeks–or, rather, follow the Mohicans; they’dscent their way, be it in day or be it at night.”

He then waved his hand for them to follow,

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and threw himself down the steep declivity,with free, but careful footsteps. Heyward as-sisted the sisters to descend, and in a few min-utes they were all far down a mountain whosesides they had climbed with so much toil andpain.

The direction taken by Hawkeye soonbrought the travelers to the level of the plain,nearly opposite to a sally-port in the westerncurtain of the fort, which lay itself at the dis-tance of about half a mile from the point wherehe halted to allow Duncan to come up withhis charge. In their eagerness, and favored bythe nature of the ground, they had anticipatedthe fog, which was rolling heavily down thelake, and it became necessary to pause, untilthe mists had wrapped the camp of the enemyin their fleecy mantle. The Mohicans profited

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by the delay, to steal out of the woods, and tomake a survey of surrounding objects. Theywere followed at a little distance by the scout,with a view to profit early by their report, andto obtain some faint knowledge for himself ofthe more immediate localities.

In a very few moments he returned, his facereddened with vexation, while he muttered hisdisappointment in words of no very gentle im-port.

“Here has the cunning Frenchman beenposting a picket directly in our path,” he said;“red-skins and whites; and we shall be as likelyto fall into their midst as to pass them in thefog!”

“Cannot we make a circuit to avoid the dan-ger,” asked Heyward, “and come into our pathagain when it is passed?”

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“Who that once bends from the line of hismarch in a fog can tell when or how to find itagain! The mists of Horican are not like thecurls from a peace-pipe, or the smoke whichsettles above a mosquito fire.”

He was yet speaking, when a crashing soundwas heard, and a cannon-ball entered thethicket, striking the body of a sapling, and re-bounding to the earth, its force being muchexpended by previous resistance. The Indi-ans followed instantly like busy attendants onthe terrible messenger, and Uncas commencedspeaking earnestly and with much action, inthe Delaware tongue.

“It may be so, lad,” muttered the scout, whenhe had ended; “for desperate fevers are not tobe treated like a toothache. Come, then, the fogis shutting in.”

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“Stop!” cried Heyward; “first explain yourexpectations.”

“‘Tis soon done, and a small hope it is; but itis better than nothing. This shot that you see,”added the scout, kicking the harmless iron withhis foot, “has plowed the ‘arth in its road fromthe fort, and we shall hunt for the furrow it hasmade, when all other signs may fail. No morewords, but follow, or the fog may leave us inthe middle of our path, a mark for both armiesto shoot at.”

Heyward perceiving that, in fact, a crisis hadarrived, when acts were more required thanwords, placed himself between the sisters, anddrew them swiftly forward, keeping the dimfigure of their leader in his eye. It was soonapparent that Hawkeye had not magnified thepower of the fog, for before they had proceeded

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twenty yards, it was difficult for the differ-ent individuals of the party to distinguish eachother in the vapor.

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

“Qui va la?”

“Push on!” whispered the scout, once morebending to the left.

“Push on!” repeated Heyward; when thesummons was renewed by a dozen voices, eachof which seemed charged with menace.

“C’est moi,” cried Duncan, dragging rather

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than leading those he supported swiftly on-ward.

“Bete!–qui?–moi!”

“Ami de la France.”

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

The order was instantly obeyed, and the fogwas stirred by the explosion of fifty muskets.Happily, the aim was bad, and the bullets cutthe air in a direction a little different from thattaken by the fugitives; though still so nighthem, that to the unpractised ears of David andthe two females, it appeared as if they whis-tled within a few inches of the organs. The out-cry was renewed, and the order, not only to fireagain, but to pursue, was too plainly audible.

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When Heyward briefly explained the meaningof the words they heard, Hawkeye halted andspoke with quick decision and great firmness.

“Let us deliver our fire,” he said; “they willbelieve it a sortie, and give way, or they willwait for reinforcements.”

The scheme was well conceived, but failedin its effects. The instant the French heardthe pieces, it seemed as if the plain was alivewith men, muskets rattling along its whole ex-tent, from the shores of the lake to the furthestboundary of the woods.

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

The scout seemed willing to comply; but, inthe hurry of the moment, and in the change

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of position, he had lost the direction. In vainhe turned either cheek toward the light air;they felt equally cool. In this dilemma, Uncaslighted on the furrow of the cannon ball, whereit had cut the ground in three adjacent ant-hills.

“Give me the range!” said Hawkeye, bend-ing to catch a glimpse of the direction, and theninstantly moving onward.

Cries, oaths, voices calling to each other, andthe reports of muskets, were now quick andincessant, and, apparently, on every side ofthem. Suddenly a strong glare of light flashedacross the scene, the fog rolled upward in thickwreaths, and several cannons belched acrossthe plain, and the roar was thrown heavily backfrom the bellowing echoes of the mountain.

“‘Tis from the fort!” exclaimed Hawkeye,turning short on his tracks; “and we, like

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stricken fools, were rushing to the woods, un-der the very knives of the Maquas.”

The instant their mistake was rectified, thewhole party retraced the error with the ut-most diligence. Duncan willingly relinquishedthe support of Cora to the arm of Uncas andCora as readily accepted the welcome assis-tance. Men, hot and angry in pursuit, wereevidently on their footsteps, and each instantthreatened their capture, if not their destruc-tion.

“Point de quartier aux coquins!” cried an ea-ger pursuer, who seemed to direct the opera-tions of the enemy.

“Stand firm, and be ready, my gallant Sixti-eths!” suddenly exclaimed a voice above them;“wait to see the enemy, fire low and sweep theglacis.”

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“Father! father!” exclaimed a piercing cryfrom out the mist: “it is I! Alice! thy own Elsie!Spare, oh! save your daughters!”

“Hold!” shouted the former speaker, in theawful tones of parental agony, the sound reach-ing even to the woods, and rolling back insolemn echo. “‘Tis she! God has restored meto my children! Throw open the sally-port; tothe field, Sixtieths, to the field; pull not a trig-ger, lest ye kill my lambs! Drive off these dogsof France with your steel.”

Duncan heard the grating of the rustyhinges, and darting to the spot, directed by thesound, he met a long line of dark red warriors,passing swiftly toward the glacis. He knewthem for his own battalion of the Royal Ameri-cans, and flying to their head, soon swept everytrace of his pursuers from before the works.

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For an instant, Cora and Alice had stoodtrembling and bewildered by this unexpecteddesertion; but before either had leisure forspeech, or even thought, an officer of giganticframe, whose locks were bleached with yearsand service, but whose air of military grandeurhad been rather softened than destroyed bytime, rushed out of the body of mist, andfolded them to his bosom, while large scald-ing tears rolled down his pale and wrinkledcheeks, and he exclaimed, in the peculiar ac-cent of Scotland:

“For this I thank thee, Lord! Let danger comeas it will, thy servant is now prepared!”

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“Then go we in, to know his em-bassy;

Which I could, with ready guess,declare,

Before the Frenchmen speak aword of it.”

–King Henry V

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A FEW SUCCEEDING days were passed amidthe privations, the uproar, and the dangers ofthe siege, which was vigorously pressed by apower, against whose approaches Munro pos-sessed no competent means of resistance. It ap-peared as if Webb, with his army, which layslumbering on the banks of the Hudson, hadutterly forgotten the strait to which his coun-trymen were reduced. Montcalm had filled thewoods of the portage with his savages, everyyell and whoop from whom rang through theBritish encampment, chilling the hearts of menwho were already but too much disposed tomagnify the danger.

Not so, however, with the besieged. Ani-mated by the words, and stimulated by the ex-amples of their leaders, they had found theircourage, and maintained their ancient reputa-

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tion, with a zeal that did justice to the sterncharacter of their commander. As if satisfiedwith the toil of marching through the wilder-ness to encounter his enemy, the French gen-eral, though of approved skill, had neglectedto seize the adjacent mountains; whence the be-sieged might have been exterminated with im-punity, and which, in the more modern warfareof the country, would not have been neglectedfor a single hour. This sort of contempt for em-inences, or rather dread of the labor of ascend-ing them, might have been termed the beset-ting weakness of the warfare of the period. Itoriginated in the simplicity of the Indian con-tests, in which, from the nature of the com-bats, and the density of the forests, fortresseswere rare, and artillery next to useless. Thecarelessness engendered by these usages de-scended even to the war of the Revolution and

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lost the States the important fortress of Ticon-deroga opening a way for the army of Bur-goyne into what was then the bosom of thecountry. We look back at this ignorance, orinfatuation, whichever it may be called, withwonder, knowing that the neglect of an emi-nence, whose difficulties, like those of MountDefiance, have been so greatly exaggerated,would, at the present time, prove fatal to thereputation of the engineer who had plannedthe works at their base, or to that of the generalwhose lot it was to defend them.

The tourist, the valetudinarian, or the am-ateur of the beauties of nature, who, in thetrain of his four-in-hand, now rolls throughthe scenes we have attempted to describe, inquest of information, health, or pleasure, orfloats steadily toward his object on those arti-

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ficial waters which have sprung up under theadministration of a statesman17 who has daredto stake his political character on the hazardousissue, is not to suppose that his ancestors tra-versed those hills, or struggled with the samecurrents with equal facility. The transporta-tion of a single heavy gun was often consideredequal to a victory gained; if happily, the diffi-culties of the passage had not so far separatedit from its necessary concomitant, the ammuni-tion, as to render it no more than a useless tubeof unwieldy iron.

The evils of this state of things pressed heav-ily on the fortunes of the resolute Scotsmanwho now defended William Henry. Though hisadversary neglected the hills, he had planted

17Evidently the late De Witt Clinton, who died gov-ernor of New York in 1828.

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his batteries with judgment on the plain, andcaused them to be served with vigor and skill.Against this assault, the besieged could onlyoppose the imperfect and hasty preparations ofa fortress in the wilderness.

It was in the afternoon of the fifth day of thesiege, and the fourth of his own service in it,that Major Heyward profited by a parley thathad just been beaten, by repairing to the ram-parts of one of the water bastions, to breathethe cool air from the lake, and to take a sur-vey of the progress of the siege. He was alone,if the solitary sentinel who paced the moundbe excepted; for the artillerists had hastenedalso to profit by the temporary suspension oftheir arduous duties. The evening was delight-fully calm, and the light air from the limpidwater fresh and soothing. It seemed as if, with

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the termination of the roar of artillery and theplunging of shot, nature had also seized themoment to assume her mildest and most capti-vating form. The sun poured down his part-ing glory on the scene, without the oppres-sion of those fierce rays that belong to the cli-mate and the season. The mountains lookedgreen, and fresh, and lovely, tempered with themilder light, or softened in shadow, as thin va-pors floated between them and the sun. Thenumerous islands rested on the bosom of theHorican, some low and sunken, as if embeddedin the waters, and others appearing to hoverabout the element, in little hillocks of green vel-vet; among which the fishermen of the belea-guering army peacefully rowed their skiffs, orfloated at rest on the glassy mirror in quiet pur-suit of their employment.

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The scene was at once animated and still. Allthat pertained to nature was sweet, or simplygrand; while those parts which depended onthe temper and movements of man were livelyand playful.

Two little spotless flags were abroad, the oneon a salient angle of the fort, and the other onthe advanced battery of the besiegers; emblemsof the truth which existed, not only to the acts,but it would seem, also, to the enmity of thecombatants.

Behind these again swung, heavily openingand closing in silken folds, the rival standardsof England and France.

A hundred gay and thoughtless youngFrenchmen were drawing a net to the peb-bly beach, within dangerous proximity to thesullen but silent cannon of the fort, while the

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eastern mountain was sending back the loudshouts and gay merriment that attended theirsport. Some were rushing eagerly to enjoythe aquatic games of the lake, and others werealready toiling their way up the neighboringhills, with the restless curiosity of their na-tion. To all these sports and pursuits, those ofthe enemy who watched the besieged, and thebesieged themselves, were, however, merelythe idle though sympathizing spectators. Hereand there a picket had, indeed, raised a song,or mingled in a dance, which had drawn thedusky savages around them, from their lairsin the forest. In short, everything wore ratherthe appearance of a day of pleasure, than ofan hour stolen from the dangers and toil of abloody and vindictive warfare.

Duncan had stood in a musing attitude, con-

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templating this scene a few minutes, when hiseyes were directed to the glacis in front of thesally-port already mentioned, by the sounds ofapproaching footsteps. He walked to an angleof the bastion, and beheld the scout advancing,under the custody of a French officer, to thebody of the fort. The countenance of Hawk-eye was haggard and careworn, and his air de-jected, as though he felt the deepest degrada-tion at having fallen into the power of his ene-mies. He was without his favorite weapon, andhis arms were even bound behind him withthongs, made of the skin of a deer. The ar-rival of flags to cover the messengers of sum-mons, had occurred so often of late, that whenHeyward first threw his careless glance on thisgroup, he expected to see another of the offi-cers of the enemy, charged with a similar of-fice but the instant he recognized the tall per-

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son and still sturdy though downcast featuresof his friend, the woodsman, he started withsurprise, and turned to descend from the bas-tion into the bosom of the work.

The sounds of other voices, however, caughthis attention, and for a moment caused him toforget his purpose. At the inner angle of themound he met the sisters, walking along theparapet, in search, like himself, of air and relieffrom confinement. They had not met from thatpainful moment when he deserted them on theplain, only to assure their safety. He had partedfrom them worn with care, and jaded with fa-tigue; he now saw them refreshed and bloom-ing, though timid and anxious. Under such aninducement it will cause no surprise that theyoung man lost sight for a time, of other ob-jects in order to address them. He was, how-

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ever, anticipated by the voice of the ingenuousand youthful Alice.

“Ah! thou tyrant! thou recreant knight! hewho abandons his damsels in the very lists,”she cried; “here have we been days, nay, ages,expecting you at our feet, imploring mercy andforgetfulness of your craven backsliding, or Ishould rather say, backrunning–for verily youfled in the manner that no stricken deer, asour worthy friend the scout would say, couldequal!”

“You know that Alice means our thanks andour blessings,” added the graver and morethoughtful Cora. “In truth, we have a lit-tle wonder why you should so rigidly absentyourself from a place where the gratitude of thedaughters might receive the support of a par-ent’s thanks.”

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“Your father himself could tell you, that,though absent from your presence, I have notbeen altogether forgetful of your safety,” re-turned the young man; “the mastery of yondervillage of huts,” pointing to the neighboringentrenched camp, “has been keenly disputed;and he who holds it is sure to be possessed ofthis fort, and that which it contains. My daysand nights have all been passed there since weseparated, because I thought that duty calledme thither. But,” he added, with an air of cha-grin, which he endeavored, though unsuccess-fully, to conceal, “had I been aware that whatI then believed a soldier’s conduct could be soconstrued, shame would have been added tothe list of reasons.”

“Heyward! Duncan!” exclaimed Alice,bending forward to read his half-averted coun-

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tenance, until a lock of her golden hair restedon her flushed cheek, and nearly concealed thetear that had started to her eye; “did I think thisidle tongue of mine had pained you, I wouldsilence it forever. Cora can say, if Cora would,how justly we have prized your services, andhow deep–I had almost said, how fervent–isour gratitude.”

“And will Cora attest the truth of this?” criedDuncan, suffering the cloud to be chased fromhis countenance by a smile of open pleasure.“What says our graver sister? Will she find anexcuse for the neglect of the knight in the dutyof a soldier?”

Cora made no immediate answer, but turnedher face toward the water, as if looking on thesheet of the Horican. When she did bend herdark eyes on the young man, they were yet

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filled with an expression of anguish that at oncedrove every thought but that of kind solicitudefrom his mind.

“You are not well, dearest Miss Munro!” heexclaimed; “we have trifled while you are insuffering!”

“‘Tis nothing,” she answered, refusing hissupport with feminine reserve. “That I cannotsee the sunny side of the picture of life, likethis artless but ardent enthusiast,” she added,laying her hand lightly, but affectionately, onthe arm of her sister, “is the penalty of experi-ence, and, perhaps, the misfortune of my na-ture. See,” she continued, as if determined toshake off infirmity, in a sense of duty; “lookaround you, Major Heyward, and tell me whata prospect is this for the daughter of a soldierwhose greatest happiness is his honor and his

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military renown.”

“Neither ought nor shall be tarnished by cir-cumstances over which he has had no control,”Duncan warmly replied. “But your words re-call me to my own duty. I go now to your gal-lant father, to hear his determination in mat-ters of the last moment to the defense. Godbless you in every fortune, noble–Cora–I mayand must call you.” She frankly gave himher hand, though her lip quivered, and hercheeks gradually became of ashly paleness. “Inevery fortune, I know you will be an orna-ment and honor to your sex. Alice, adieu”–hisvoice changed from admiration to tenderness–“adieu, Alice; we shall soon meet again; as con-querors, I trust, and amid rejoicings!”

Without waiting for an answer from either,the young man threw himself down the grassy

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steps of the bastion, and moving rapidly acrossthe parade, he was quickly in the presence oftheir father. Munro was pacing his narrowapartment with a disturbed air and giganticstrides as Duncan entered.

“You have anticipated my wishes, MajorHeyward,” he said; “I was about to request thisfavor.”

“I am sorry to see, sir, that the messenger Iso warmly recommended has returned in cus-tody of the French! I hope there is no reason todistrust his fidelity?”

“The fidelity of ‘The Long Rifle’ is wellknown to me,” returned Munro, “and is abovesuspicion; though his usual good fortuneseems, at last, to have failed. Montcalm has gothim, and with the accursed politeness of his na-tion, he has sent him in with a doleful tale, of

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‘knowing how I valued the fellow, he could notthink of retaining him.’ A Jesuitical way that,Major Duncan Heyward, of telling a man of hismisfortunes!”

“But the general and his succor?”

“Did ye look to the south as ye entered, andcould ye not see them?” said the old soldier,laughing bitterly.

“Hoot! hoot! you’re an impatient boy, sir,and cannot give the gentlemen leisure for theirmarch!”

“They are coming, then? The scout has saidas much?”

“When? and by what path? for the duncehas omitted to tell me this. There is a letter, itwould seem, too; and that is the only agreeablepart of the matter. For the customary attentions

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of your Marquis of Montcalm–I warrant me,Duncan, that he of Lothian would buy a dozensuch marquisates–but if the news of the letterwere bad, the gentility of this French monsieurwould certainly compel him to let us know it.”

“He keeps the letter, then, while he releasesthe messenger?”

“Ay, that does he, and all for the sake of whatyou call your ‘bonhommie’ I would venture, ifthe truth was known, the fellow’s grandfathertaught the noble science of dancing.”

“But what says the scout? he has eyes andears, and a tongue. What verbal report does hemake?”

“Oh! sir, he is not wanting in natural organs,and he is free to tell all that he has seen andheard. The whole amount is this; there is a fort

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of his majesty’s on the banks of the Hudson,called Edward, in honor of his gracious high-ness of York, you’ll know; and it is well filledwith armed men, as such a work should be.”

“But was there no movement, no signs ofany intention to advance to our relief?”

“There were the morning and evening pa-rades; and when one of the provincial loons–you’ll know, Duncan, you’re half a Scotsmanyourself–when one of them dropped his pow-der over his porretch, if it touched the coals,it just burned!” Then, suddenly changinghis bitter, ironical manner, to one more graveand thoughtful, he continued: “and yet theremight, and must be, something in that letterwhich it would be well to know!”

“Our decision should be speedy,” said Dun-can, gladly availing himself of this change of

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humor, to press the more important objects oftheir interview; “I cannot conceal from you, sir,that the camp will not be much longer tenable;and I am sorry to add, that things appear nobetter in the fort; more than half the guns arebursted.”

“And how should it be otherwise? Somewere fished from the bottom of the lake; somehave been rusting in woods since the discoveryof the country; and some were never guns atall–mere privateersmen’s playthings! Do youthink, sir, you can have Woolwich Warren inthe midst of a wilderness, three thousand milesfrom Great Britain?”

“The walls are crumbling about our ears,and provisions begin to fail us,” continuedHeyward, without regarding the new burst ofindignation; “even the men show signs of dis-

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content and alarm.”“Major Heyward,” said Munro, turning to

his youthful associate with the dignity of hisyears and superior rank; “I should have servedhis majesty for half a century, and earned thesegray hairs in vain, were I ignorant of all yousay, and of the pressing nature of our circum-stances; still, there is everything due to thehonor of the king’s arms, and something toourselves. While there is hope of succor, thisfortress will I defend, though it be to be donewith pebbles gathered on the lake shore. It is asight of the letter, therefore, that we want, thatwe may know the intentions of the man the earlof Loudon has left among us as his substitute.”

“And can I be of service in the matter?”“Sir, you can; the marquis of Montcalm has,

in addition to his other civilities, invited me to

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a personal interview between the works andhis own camp; in order, as he says, to impartsome additional information. Now, I think itwould not be wise to show any undue solici-tude to meet him, and I would employ you, anofficer of rank, as my substitute; for it wouldbut ill comport with the honor of Scotland tolet it be said one of her gentlemen was outdonein civility by a native of any other country onearth.”

Without assuming the supererogatory taskof entering into a discussion of the compara-tive merits of national courtesy, Duncan cheer-fully assented to supply the place of the veteranin the approaching interview. A long and con-fidential communication now succeeded, dur-ing which the young man received some ad-ditional insight into his duty, from the experi-

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ence and native acuteness of his commander,and then the former took his leave.

As Duncan could only act as the repre-sentative of the commandant of the fort, theceremonies which should have accompanieda meeting between the heads of the adverseforces were, of course, dispensed with. Thetruce still existed, and with a roll and beat ofthe drum, and covered by a little white flag,Duncan left the sally-port, within ten minutesafter his instructions were ended. He was re-ceived by the French officer in advance withthe usual formalities, and immediately accom-panied to a distant marquee of the renownedsoldier who led the forces of France.

The general of the enemy received the youth-ful messenger, surrounded by his principal of-ficers, and by a swarthy band of the native

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chiefs, who had followed him to the field,with the warriors of their several tribes. Hey-ward paused short, when, in glancing his eyesrapidly over the dark group of the latter, hebeheld the malignant countenance of Magua,regarding him with the calm but sullen atten-tion which marked the expression of that subtlesavage. A slight exclamation of surprise evenburst from the lips of the young man, but in-stantly, recollecting his errand, and the pres-ence in which he stood, he suppressed everyappearance of emotion, and turned to the hos-tile leader, who had already advanced a step toreceive him.

The marquis of Montcalm was, at the periodof which we write, in the flower of his age, and,it may be added, in the zenith of his fortunes.But even in that enviable situation, he was af-

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fable, and distinguished as much for his atten-tion to the forms of courtesy, as for that chival-rous courage which, only two short years after-ward, induced him to throw away his life onthe plains of Abraham. Duncan, in turning hiseyes from the malign expression of Magua, suf-fered them to rest with pleasure on the smilingand polished features, and the noble militaryair, of the French general.

“Monsieur,” said the latter, “j’ai beaucoup deplaisir a–bah!–ou est cet interprete?”

“Je crois, monsieur, qu’il ne sear pas neces-saire,” Heyward modestly replied; “je parle unpeu francais.”

“Ah! j’en suis bien aise,” said Montcalm, tak-ing Duncan familiarly by the arm, and lead-ing him deep into the marquee, a little outof earshot; “je deteste ces fripons-la; on ne

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sait jamais sur quel pie on est avec eux. Eh,bien! monsieur,” he continued still speaking inFrench; “though I should have been proud ofreceiving your commandant, I am very happythat he has seen proper to employ an officer sodistinguished, and who, I am sure, is so ami-able, as yourself.”

Duncan bowed low, pleased with the com-pliment, in spite of a most heroic determinationto suffer no artifice to allure him into forget-fulness of the interest of his prince; and Mont-calm, after a pause of a moment, as if to collecthis thoughts, proceeded:

“Your commandant is a brave man, and wellqualified to repel my assault. Mais, monsieur,is it not time to begin to take more counsel ofhumanity, and less of your courage? The oneas strongly characterizes the hero as the other.”

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“We consider the qualities as inseparable,”returned Duncan, smiling; “but while we findin the vigor of your excellency every motive tostimulate the one, we can, as yet, see no partic-ular call for the exercise of the other.”

Montcalm, in his turn, slightly bowed, but itwas with the air of a man too practised to re-member the language of flattery. After musinga moment, he added:

“It is possible my glasses have deceived me,and that your works resist our cannon betterthan I had supposed. You know our force?”

“Our accounts vary,” said Duncan, care-lessly; “the highest, however, has not exceededtwenty thousand men.”

The Frenchman bit his lip, and fastened hiseyes keenly on the other as if to read his

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thoughts; then, with a readiness peculiar tohimself, he continued, as if assenting to thetruth of an enumeration which quite doubledhis army:

“It is a poor compliment to the vigilance ofus soldiers, monsieur, that, do what we will, wenever can conceal our numbers. If it were to bedone at all, one would believe it might succeedin these woods. Though you think it too soonto listen to the calls of humanity,” he added,smiling archly, “I may be permitted to believethat gallantry is not forgotten by one so youngas yourself. The daughters of the commandant,I learn, have passed into the fort since it wasinvested?”

“It is true, monsieur; but, so far from weak-ening our efforts, they set us an example ofcourage in their own fortitude. Were noth-

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ing but resolution necessary to repel so accom-plished a soldier as M. de Montcalm, I wouldgladly trust the defense of William Henry to theelder of those ladies.”

“We have a wise ordinance in our Saliquelaws, which says, ‘The crown of France shallnever degrade the lance to the distaff’,” saidMontcalm, dryly, and with a little hauteur; butinstantly adding, with his former frank andeasy air: “as all the nobler qualities are hered-itary, I can easily credit you; though, as I saidbefore, courage has its limits, and humanitymust not be forgotten. I trust, monsieur, youcome authorized to treat for the surrender ofthe place?”

“Has your excellency found our defense sofeeble as to believe the measure necessary?”

“I should be sorry to have the defense pro-

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tracted in such a manner as to irritate my redfriends there,” continued Montcalm, glancinghis eyes at the group of grave and attentive In-dians, without attending to the other’s ques-tions; “I find it difficult, even now, to limit themto the usages of war.”

Heyward was silent; for a painful recollec-tion of the dangers he had so recently escapedcame over his mind, and recalled the images ofthose defenseless beings who had shared in allhis sufferings.

“Ces messieurs-la,” said Montcalm, follow-ing up the advantage which he conceived hehad gained, “are most formidable when baf-fled; and it is unnecessary to tell you with whatdifficulty they are restrained in their anger. Ehbien, monsieur! shall we speak of the terms?”

“I fear your excellency has been deceived as

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to the strength of William Henry, and the re-sources of its garrison!”

“I have not sat down before Quebec, but anearthen work, that is defended by twenty-threehundred gallant men,” was the laconic reply.

“Our mounds are earthen, certainly–nor arethey seated on the rocks of Cape Diamond; butthey stand on that shore which proved so de-structive to Dieskau and his army. There is alsoa powerful force within a few hours’ march ofus, which we account upon as a part of ourmeans.”

“Some six or eight thousand men,” returnedMontcalm, with much apparent indifference,“whom their leader wisely judges to be saferin their works than in the field.”

It was now Heyward’s turn to bite his lipwith vexation as the other so coolly alluded

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to a force which the young man knew to beoverrated. Both mused a little while in si-lence, when Montcalm renewed the conversa-tion, in a way that showed he believed the visitof his guest was solely to propose terms of ca-pitulation. On the other hand, Heyward be-gan to throw sundry inducements in the wayof the French general, to betray the discover-ies he had made through the intercepted let-ter. The artifice of neither, however, succeeded;and after a protracted and fruitless interview,Duncan took his leave, favorably impressedwith an opinion of the courtesy and talents ofthe enemy’s captain, but as ignorant of whathe came to learn as when he arrived. Mont-calm followed him as far as the entrance of themarquee, renewing his invitations to the com-mandant of the fort to give him an immediatemeeting in the open ground between the two

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armies.There they separated, and Duncan returned

to the advanced post of the French, accompa-nied as before; whence he instantly proceededto the fort, and to the quarters of his own com-mander.

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‘EDG.–Before you fight the battleope this letter.”

–Lear

MAJOR HEYWARD FOUND Munro attendedonly by his daughters. Alice sat upon his knee,parting the gray hairs on the forehead of the

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old man with her delicate fingers; and when-ever he affected to frown on her trifling, ap-peasing his assumed anger by pressing herruby lips fondly on his wrinkled brow. Corawas seated nigh them, a calm and amusedlooker-on; regarding the wayward movementsof her more youthful sister with that speciesof maternal fondness which characterized herlove for Alice. Not only the dangers throughwhich they had passed, but those which stillimpended above them, appeared to be momen-tarily forgotten, in the soothing indulgence ofsuch a family meeting. It seemed as if they hadprofited by the short truce, to devote an instantto the purest and best affection; the daughtersforgetting their fears, and the veteran his cares,in the security of the moment. Of this scene,Duncan, who, in his eagerness to report his ar-rival, had entered unannounced, stood many

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moments an unobserved and a delighted spec-tator. But the quick and dancing eyes of Al-ice soon caught a glimpse of his figure reflectedfrom a glass, and she sprang blushing from herfather’s knee, exclaiming aloud:

“Major Heyward!”“What of the lad?” demanded her father; “I

have sent him to crack a little with the French-man. Ha, sir, you are young, and you’re nim-ble! Away with you, ye baggage; as if therewere not troubles enough for a soldier, with-out having his camp filled with such prattlinghussies as yourself!”

Alice laughingly followed her sister, who in-stantly led the way from an apartment whereshe perceived their presence was no longer de-sirable. Munro, instead of demanding the re-sult of the young man’s mission, paced the

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room for a few moments, with his hands be-hind his back, and his head inclined toward thefloor, like a man lost in thought. At length heraised his eyes, glistening with a father’s fond-ness, and exclaimed:

“They are a pair of excellent girls, Heyward,and such as any one may boast of.”

“You are not now to learn my opinion ofyour daughters, Colonel Munro.”

“True, lad, true,” interrupted the impatientold man; “you were about opening your mindmore fully on that matter the day you got in,but I did not think it becoming in an old soldierto be talking of nuptial blessings and weddingjokes when the enemies of his king were likelyto be unbidden guests at the feast. But I waswrong, Duncan, boy, I was wrong there; and Iam now ready to hear what you have to say.”

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“Notwithstanding the pleasure your assur-ance gives me, dear sir, I have just now, a mes-sage from Montcalm–”

“Let the Frenchman and all his host go to thedevil, sir!” exclaimed the hasty veteran. “Heis not yet master of William Henry, nor shallhe ever be, provided Webb proves himself theman he should. No, sir, thank Heaven we arenot yet in such a strait that it can be said Munrois too much pressed to discharge the little do-mestic duties of his own family. Your motherwas the only child of my bosom friend, Dun-can; and I’ll just give you a hearing, though allthe knights of St. Louis were in a body at thesally-port, with the French saint at their head,crying to speak a word under favor. A prettydegree of knighthood, sir, is that which can bebought with sugar hogsheads! and then your

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twopenny marquisates. The thistle is the orderfor dignity and antiquity; the veritable ‘nemome impune lacessit’ of chivalry. Ye had ances-tors in that degree, Duncan, and they were anornament to the nobles of Scotland.”

Heyward, who perceived that his superiortook a malicious pleasure in exhibiting his con-tempt for the message of the French general,was fain to humor a spleen that he knew wouldbe short-lived; he therefore, replied with asmuch indifference as he could assume on sucha subject:

“My request, as you know, sir, went so far asto presume to the honor of being your son.”

“Ay, boy, you found words to make yourselfvery plainly comprehended. But, let me ask ye,sir, have you been as intelligible to the girl?”

“On my honor, no,” exclaimed Duncan,

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warmly; “there would have been an abuse ofa confided trust, had I taken advantage of mysituation for such a purpose.”

“Your notions are those of a gentleman, Ma-jor Heyward, and well enough in their place.But Cora Munro is a maiden too discreet, andof a mind too elevated and improved, to needthe guardianship even of a father.”

“Cora!”

“Ay–Cora! we are talking of your preten-sions to Miss Munro, are we not, sir?”

“I–I–I was not conscious of having men-tioned her name,” said Duncan, stammering.

“And to marry whom, then, did you wishmy consent, Major Heyward?” demanded theold soldier, erecting himself in the dignity ofoffended feeling.

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“You have another, and not less lovelychild.”

“Alice!” exclaimed the father, in an astonish-ment equal to that with which Duncan had justrepeated the name of her sister.

“Such was the direction of my wishes, sir.”The young man awaited in silence the result

of the extraordinary effect produced by a com-munication, which, as it now appeared, was sounexpected. For several minutes Munro pacedthe chamber with long and rapid strides, hisrigid features working convulsively, and everyfaculty seemingly absorbed in the musings ofhis own mind. At length, he paused directly infront of Heyward, and riveting his eyes uponthose of the other, he said, with a lip that quiv-ered violently:

“Duncan Heyward, I have loved you for the

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sake of him whose blood is in your veins; Ihave loved you for your own good qualities;and I have loved you, because I thought youwould contribute to the happiness of my child.But all this love would turn to hatred, were I as-sured that what I so much apprehend is true.”

“God forbid that any act or thought of mineshould lead to such a change!” exclaimed theyoung man, whose eye never quailed underthe penetrating look it encountered. Withoutadverting to the impossibility of the other’scomprehending those feelings which were hidin his own bosom, Munro suffered himself tobe appeased by the unaltered countenance hemet, and with a voice sensibly softened, he con-tinued:

“You would be my son, Duncan, and you’reignorant of the history of the man you wish to

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call your father. Sit ye down, young man, and Iwill open to you the wounds of a seared heart,in as few words as may be suitable.”

By this time, the message of Montcalm wasas much forgotten by him who bore it as by theman for whose ears it was intended. Each drewa chair, and while the veteran communed a fewmoments with his own thoughts, apparently insadness, the youth suppressed his impatiencein a look and attitude of respectful attention.At length, the former spoke:

“You’ll know, already, Major Heyward, thatmy family was both ancient and honorable,”commenced the Scotsman; “though it mightnot altogether be endowed with that amountof wealth that should correspond with its de-gree. I was, maybe, such an one as yourselfwhen I plighted my faith to Alice Graham, the

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only child of a neighboring laird of some es-tate. But the connection was disagreeable toher father, on more accounts than my poverty.I did, therefore, what an honest man should–restored the maiden her troth, and departedthe country in the service of my king. I hadseen many regions, and had shed much bloodin different lands, before duty called me to theislands of the West Indies. There it was my lotto form a connection with one who in time be-came my wife, and the mother of Cora. Shewas the daughter of a gentleman of those isles,by a lady whose misfortune it was, if you will,”said the old man, proudly, “to be descended,remotely, from that unfortunate class who areso basely enslaved to administer to the wantsof a luxurious people. Ay, sir, that is a curse, en-tailed on Scotland by her unnatural union witha foreign and trading people. But could I find a

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man among them who would dare to reflect onmy child, he should feel the weight of a father’sanger! Ha! Major Heyward, you are yourselfborn at the south, where these unfortunate be-ings are considered of a race inferior to yourown.”

“‘Tis most unfortunately true, sir,” said Dun-can, unable any longer to prevent his eyes fromsinking to the floor in embarrassment.

“And you cast it on my child as a reproach!You scorn to mingle the blood of the Hey-wards with one so degraded–lovely and vir-tuous though she be?” fiercely demanded thejealous parent.

“Heaven protect me from a prejudice so un-worthy of my reason!” returned Duncan, atthe same time conscious of such a feeling, andthat as deeply rooted as if it had been ingrafted

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in his nature. “The sweetness, the beauty, thewitchery of your younger daughter, ColonelMunro, might explain my motives without im-puting to me this injustice.”

“Ye are right, sir,” returned the old man,again changing his tones to those of gentle-ness, or rather softness; “the girl is the im-age of what her mother was at her years, andbefore she had become acquainted with grief.When death deprived me of my wife I re-turned to Scotland, enriched by the marriage;and, would you think it, Duncan! the suffer-ing angel had remained in the heartless stateof celibacy twenty long years, and that for thesake of a man who could forget her! She didmore, sir; she overlooked my want of faith,and, all difficulties being now removed, shetook me for her husband.”

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“And became the mother of Alice?” ex-claimed Duncan, with an eagerness that mighthave proved dangerous at a moment when thethoughts of Munro were less occupied that atpresent.

“She did, indeed,” said the old man, “anddearly did she pay for the blessing she be-stowed. But she is a saint in heaven, sir; andit ill becomes one whose foot rests on the graveto mourn a lot so blessed. I had her but a sin-gle year, though; a short term of happiness forone who had seen her youth fade in hopelesspining.”

There was something so commanding in thedistress of the old man, that Heyward didnot dare to venture a syllable of consolation.Munro sat utterly unconscious of the other’spresence, his features exposed and working

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with the anguish of his regrets, while heavytears fell from his eyes, and rolled unheededfrom his cheeks to the floor. At length hemoved, and as if suddenly recovering his rec-ollection; when he arose, and taking a singleturn across the room, he approached his com-panion with an air of military grandeur, anddemanded:

“Have you not, Major Heyward, some com-munication that I should hear from the marquisde Montcalm?”

Duncan started in his turn, and immediatelycommenced in an embarrassed voice, the half-forgotten message. It is unnecessary to dwellupon the evasive though polite manner withwhich the French general had eluded every at-tempt of Heyward to worm from him the pur-port of the communication he had proposed

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making, or on the decided, though still pol-ished message, by which he now gave his en-emy to understand, that, unless he chose to re-ceive it in person, he should not receive it atall. As Munro listened to the detail of Dun-can, the excited feelings of the father graduallygave way before the obligations of his station,and when the other was done, he saw beforehim nothing but the veteran, swelling with thewounded feelings of a soldier.

“You have said enough, Major Heyward,”exclaimed the angry old man; “enough to makea volume of commentary on French civility.Here has this gentleman invited me to a confer-ence, and when I send him a capable substitute,for ye’re all that, Duncan, though your yearsare but few, he answers me with a riddle.”

“He may have thought less favorably of the

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substitute, my dear sir; and you will rememberthat the invitation, which he now repeats, wasto the commandant of the works, and not to hissecond.”

“Well, sir, is not a substitute clothed with allthe power and dignity of him who grants thecommission? He wishes to confer with Munro!Faith, sir, I have much inclination to indulgethe man, if it should only be to let him beholdthe firm countenance we maintain in spite ofhis numbers and his summons. There might benot bad policy in such a stroke, young man.”

Duncan, who believed it of the last impor-tance that they should speedily come to thecontents of the letter borne by the scout, gladlyencouraged this idea.

“Without doubt, he could gather no confi-dence by witnessing our indifference,” he said.

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“You never said truer word. I could wish,sir, that he would visit the works in open day,and in the form of a storming party; that isthe least failing method of proving the coun-tenance of an enemy, and would be far prefer-able to the battering system he has chosen.The beauty and manliness of warfare has beenmuch deformed, Major Heyward, by the arts ofyour Monsieur Vauban. Our ancestors were farabove such scientific cowardice!”

“It may be very true, sir; but we are nowobliged to repel art by art. What is your plea-sure in the matter of the interview?”

“I will meet the Frenchman, and that withoutfear or delay; promptly, sir, as becomes a ser-vant of my royal master. Go, Major Heyward,and give them a flourish of the music; and sendout a messenger to let them know who is com-

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ing. We will follow with a small guard, forsuch respect is due to one who holds the honorof his king in keeping; and hark’ee, Duncan,”he added, in a half whisper, though they werealone, “it may be prudent to have some aid athand, in case there should be treachery at thebottom of it all.”

The young man availed himself of this orderto quit the apartment; and, as the day was fastcoming to a close, he hastened without delay, tomake the necessary arrangements. A very fewminutes only were necessary to parade a fewfiles, and to dispatch an orderly with a flag toannounce the approach of the commandant ofthe fort. When Duncan had done both these, heled the guard to the sally-port, near which hefound his superior ready, waiting his appear-ance. As soon as the usual ceremonials of a mil-

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itary departure were observed, the veteran andhis more youthful companion left the fortress,attended by the escort.

They had proceeded only a hundred yardsfrom the works, when the little array whichattended the French general to the conferencewas seen issuing from the hollow way whichformed the bed of a brook that ran between thebatteries of the besiegers and the fort. From themoment that Munro left his own works to ap-pear in front of his enemy’s, his air had beengrand, and his step and countenance highlymilitary. The instant he caught a glimpse of thewhite plume that waved in the hat of Mont-calm, his eye lighted, and age no longer ap-peared to possess any influence over his vastand still muscular person.

“Speak to the boys to be watchful, sir,” he

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said, in an undertone, to Duncan; “and to lookwell to their flints and steel, for one is neversafe with a servant of these Louis’s; at the sametime, we shall show them the front of men indeep security. Ye’ll understand me, Major Hey-ward!”

He was interrupted by the clamor of adrum from the approaching Frenchmen, whichwas immediately answered, when each partypushed an orderly in advance, bearing a whiteflag, and the wary Scotsman halted with hisguard close at his back. As soon as this slightsalutation had passed, Montcalm moved to-ward them with a quick but graceful step, bar-ing his head to the veteran, and dropping hisspotless plume nearly to the earth in courtesy.If the air of Munro was more commanding andmanly, it wanted both the ease and insinuating

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polish of that of the Frenchman. Neither spokefor a few moments, each regarding the otherwith curious and interested eyes. Then, as be-came his superior rank and the nature of the in-terview, Montcalm broke the silence. After ut-tering the usual words of greeting, he turned toDuncan, and continued, with a smile of recog-nition, speaking always in French:

“I am rejoiced, monsieur, that you havegiven us the pleasure of your company on thisoccasion. There will be no necessity to employan ordinary interpreter; for, in your hands, Ifeel the same security as if I spoke your lan-guage myself.”

Duncan acknowledged the compliment,when Montcalm, turning to his guard, which inimitation of that of their enemies, pressed closeupon him, continued:

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“En arriere, mes enfants–il fait chaud—retirez-vous un peu.”

Before Major Heyward would imitate thisproof of confidence, he glanced his eyes aroundthe plain, and beheld with uneasiness the nu-merous dusky groups of savages, who lookedout from the margin of the surrounding woods,curious spectators of the interview.

“Monsieur de Montcalm will readily ac-knowledge the difference in our situation,” hesaid, with some embarrassment, pointing atthe same time toward those dangerous foes,who were to be seen in almost every direction.“Were we to dismiss our guard, we shouldstand here at the mercy of our enemies.”

“Monsieur, you have the plighted faith of‘un gentilhomme Francais’, for your safety,”returned Montcalm, laying his hand impres-

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sively on his heart; “it should suffice.”“It shall. Fall back,” Duncan added to the of-

ficer who led the escort; “fall back, sir, beyondhearing, and wait for orders.”

Munro witnessed this movement with man-ifest uneasiness; nor did he fail to demand aninstant explanation.

“Is it not our interest, sir, to betray dis-trust?” retorted Duncan. “Monsieur de Mont-calm pledges his word for our safety, and Ihave ordered the men to withdraw a little, inorder to prove how much we depend on his as-surance.”

“It may be all right, sir, but I have no over-weening reliance on the faith of these mar-quesses, or marquis, as they call themselves.Their patents of nobility are too common to becertain that they bear the seal of true honor.”

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“You forget, dear sir, that we confer withan officer, distinguished alike in Europe andAmerica for his deeds. From a soldier of hisreputation we can have nothing to apprehend.”

The old man made a gesture of resignation,though his rigid features still betrayed his ob-stinate adherence to a distrust, which he de-rived from a sort of hereditary contempt ofhis enemy, rather than from any present signswhich might warrant so uncharitable a feeling.Montcalm waited patiently until this little dia-logue in demi-voice was ended, when he drewnigher, and opened the subject of their confer-ence.

“I have solicited this interview from your su-perior, monsieur,” he said, “because I believehe will allow himself to be persuaded that hehas already done everything which is neces-

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sary for the honor of his prince, and will nowlisten to the admonitions of humanity. I willforever bear testimony that his resistance hasbeen gallant, and was continued as long asthere was hope.”

When this opening was translated to Munro,he answered with dignity, but with sufficientcourtesy:

“However I may prize such testimony fromMonsieur Montcalm, it will be more valuablewhen it shall be better merited.”

The French general smiled, as Duncan gavehim the purport of this reply, and observed:

“What is now so freely accorded to approvedcourage, may be refused to useless obstinacy.Monsieur would wish to see my camp, and wit-ness for himself our numbers, and the impossi-bility of his resisting them with success?”

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“I know that the king of France is wellserved,” returned the unmoved Scotsman, assoon as Duncan ended his translation; “but myown royal master has as many and as faithfultroops.”

“Though not at hand, fortunately for us,”said Montcalm, without waiting, in his ardor,for the interpreter. “There is a destiny in war, towhich a brave man knows how to submit withthe same courage that he faces his foes.”

“Had I been conscious that Monsieur Mont-calm was master of the English, I should havespared myself the trouble of so awkward atranslation,” said the vexed Duncan, dryly; re-membering instantly his recent by-play withMunro.

“Your pardon, monsieur,” rejoined theFrenchman, suffering a slight color to appear

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on his dark cheek. “There is a vast differencebetween understanding and speaking a foreigntongue; you will, therefore, please to assist mestill.” Then, after a short pause, he added:“These hills afford us every opportunity of re-connoitering your works, messieurs, and I ampossibly as well acquainted with their weakcondition as you can be yourselves.”

“Ask the French general if his glasses canreach to the Hudson,” said Munro, proudly;“and if he knows when and where to expect thearmy of Webb.”

“Let General Webb be his own interpreter,”returned the politic Montcalm, suddenly ex-tending an open letter toward Munro as hespoke; “you will there learn, monsieur, that hismovements are not likely to prove embarrass-ing to my army.”

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The veteran seized the offered paper, with-out waiting for Duncan to translate the speech,and with an eagerness that betrayed how im-portant he deemed its contents. As his eyepassed hastily over the words, his countenancechanged from its look of military pride to oneof deep chagrin; his lip began to quiver; andsuffering the paper to fall from his hand, hishead dropped upon his chest, like that of a manwhose hopes were withered at a single blow.Duncan caught the letter from the ground, andwithout apology for the liberty he took, he readat a glance its cruel purport. Their commonsuperior, so far from encouraging them to re-sist, advised a speedy surrender, urging in theplainest language, as a reason, the utter impos-sibility of his sending a single man to their res-cue.

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“Here is no deception!” exclaimed Duncan,examining the billet both inside and out; “thisis the signature of Webb, and must be the cap-tured letter.”

“The man has betrayed me!” Munro atlength bitterly exclaimed; “he has brought dis-honor to the door of one where disgrace wasnever before known to dwell, and shame hashe heaped heavily on my gray hairs.”

“Say not so,” cried Duncan; “we are yet mas-ters of the fort, and of our honor. Let us, then,sell our lives at such a rate as shall make ourenemies believe the purchase too dear.”

“Boy, I thank thee,” exclaimed the old man,rousing himself from his stupor; “you have, foronce, reminded Munro of his duty. We willgo back, and dig our graves behind those ram-parts.”

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“Messieurs,” said Montcalm, advancing to-ward them a step, in generous interest, “youlittle know Louis de St. Veran if you believehim capable of profiting by this letter to hum-ble brave men, or to build up a dishonest rep-utation for himself. Listen to my terms beforeyou leave me.”

“What says the Frenchman?” demanded theveteran, sternly; “does he make a merit of hav-ing captured a scout, with a note from head-quarters? Sir, he had better raise this siege, togo and sit down before Edward if he wishes tofrighten his enemy with words.”

Duncan explained the other’s meaning.“Monsieur de Montcalm, we will hear you,”

the veteran added, more calmly, as Duncanended.

“To retain the fort is now impossible,” said

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his liberal enemy; “it is necessary to the inter-ests of my master that it should be destroyed;but as for yourselves and your brave comrades,there is no privilege dear to a soldier that shallbe denied.”

“Our colors?” demanded Heyward.

“Carry them to England, and show them toyour king.”

“Our arms?”

“Keep them; none can use them better.”

“Our march; the surrender of the place?”

“Shall all be done in a way most honorableto yourselves.”

Duncan now turned to explain these pro-posals to his commander, who heard him withamazement, and a sensibility that was deeply

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touched by so unusual and unexpected gen-erosity.

“Go you, Duncan,” he said; “go with thismarquess, as, indeed, marquess he should be;go to his marquee and arrange it all. I havelived to see two things in my old age that neverdid I expect to behold. An Englishman afraid tosupport a friend, and a Frenchman too honestto profit by his advantage.”

So saying, the veteran again dropped hishead to his chest, and returned slowly towardthe fort, exhibiting, by the dejection of his air,to the anxious garrison, a harbinger of evil tid-ings.

From the shock of this unexpected blowthe haughty feelings of Munro never recov-ered; but from that moment there commenceda change in his determined character, which

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accompanied him to a speedy grave. Duncanremained to settle the terms of the capitula-tion. He was seen to re-enter the works duringthe first watches of the night, and immediatelyafter a private conference with the comman-dant, to leave them again. It was then openlyannounced that hostilities must cease–Munrohaving signed a treaty by which the place wasto be yielded to the enemy, with the morning;the garrison to retain their arms, the colors andtheir baggage, and, consequently, according tomilitary opinion, their honor.

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“Weave we the woof.The thread is spun.The web is wove.The work is done.”

–Gray

THE HOSTILE ARMIES, which lay in the

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wilds of the Horican, passed the night ofthe ninth of August, 1757, much in the man-ner they would, had they encountered on thefairest field of Europe. While the conqueredwere still, sullen, and dejected, the victors tri-umphed. But there are limits alike to grief andjoy; and long before the watches of the morningcame the stillness of those boundless woodswas only broken by a gay call from some exult-ing young Frenchman of the advanced pickets,or a menacing challenge from the fort, whichsternly forbade the approach of any hostilefootsteps before the stipulated moment. Eventhese occasional threatening sounds ceased tobe heard in that dull hour which precedes theday, at which period a listener might havesought in vain any evidence of the presenceof those armed powers that then slumbered onthe shores of the “holy lake.”

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It was during these moments of deep si-lence that the canvas which concealed the en-trance to a spacious marquee in the French en-campment was shoved aside, and a man is-sued from beneath the drapery into the openair. He was enveloped in a cloak that mighthave been intended as a protection from thechilling damps of the woods, but which servedequally well as a mantle to conceal his person.He was permitted to pass the grenadier, whowatched over the slumbers of the French com-mander, without interruption, the man makingthe usual salute which betokens military def-erence, as the other passed swiftly through thelittle city of tents, in the direction of WilliamHenry. Whenever this unknown individual en-countered one of the numberless sentinels whocrossed his path, his answer was prompt, and,as it appeared, satisfactory; for he was uni-

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formly allowed to proceed without further in-terrogation.

With the exception of such repeated but briefinterruptions, he had moved silently from thecenter of the camp to its most advanced out-posts, when he drew nigh the soldier who heldhis watch nearest to the works of the enemy. Ashe approached he was received with the usualchallenge:

“Qui vive?”“France,” was the reply.“Le mot d’ordre?”“La victorie,” said the other, drawing so nigh

as to be heard in a loud whisper.“C’est bien,” returned the sentinel, throw-

ing his musket from the charge to his shoulder;“vous promenez bien matin, monsieur!”

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“Il est necessaire d’etre vigilant, mon en-fant,” the other observed, dropping a fold ofhis cloak, and looking the soldier close in theface as he passed him, still continuing hisway toward the British fortification. The manstarted; his arms rattled heavily as he threwthem forward in the lowest and most respect-ful salute; and when he had again recoveredhis piece, he turned to walk his post, mutteringbetween his teeth:

“Il faut etre vigilant, en verite! je crois quenous avons la, un caporal qui ne dort jamais!”

The officer proceeded, without affecting tohear the words which escaped the sentinel inhis surprise; nor did he again pause until hehad reached the low strand, and in a some-what dangerous vicinity to the western wa-ter bastion of the fort. The light of an ob-

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scure moon was just sufficient to render ob-jects, though dim, perceptible in their outlines.He, therefore, took the precaution to place him-self against the trunk of a tree, where he leanedfor many minutes, and seemed to contemplatethe dark and silent mounds of the Englishworks in profound attention. His gaze at theramparts was not that of a curious or idle spec-tator; but his looks wandered from point topoint, denoting his knowledge of military us-ages, and betraying that his search was notunaccompanied by distrust. At length he ap-peared satisfied; and having cast his eyes impa-tiently upward toward the summit of the east-ern mountain, as if anticipating the approachof the morning, he was in the act of turning onhis footsteps, when a light sound on the nearestangle of the bastion caught his ear, and inducedhim to remain.

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Just then a figure was seen to approach theedge of the rampart, where it stood, apparentlycontemplating in its turn the distant tents of theFrench encampment. Its head was then turnedtoward the east, as though equally anxious forthe appearance of light, when the form leanedagainst the mound, and seemed to gaze uponthe glassy expanse of the waters, which, likea submarine firmament, glittered with its thou-sand mimic stars. The melancholy air, the hour,together with the vast frame of the man whothus leaned, musing, against the English ram-parts, left no doubt as to his person in the mindof the observant spectator. Delicacy, no lessthan prudence, now urged him to retire; andhe had moved cautiously round the body ofthe tree for that purpose, when another sounddrew his attention, and once more arrested hisfootsteps. It was a low and almost inaudible

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movement of the water, and was succeeded bya grating of pebbles one against the other. Ina moment he saw a dark form rise, as it were,out of the lake, and steal without further noiseto the land, within a few feet of the place wherehe himself stood. A rifle next slowly rose be-tween his eyes and the watery mirror; but be-fore it could be discharged his own hand wason the lock.

“Hugh!” exclaimed the savage, whosetreacherous aim was so singularly and so un-expectedly interrupted.

Without making any reply, the French offi-cer laid his hand on the shoulder of the Indian,and led him in profound silence to a distancefrom the spot, where their subsequent dialoguemight have proved dangerous, and where itseemed that one of them, at least, sought a vic-

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tim. Then throwing open his cloak, so as toexpose his uniform and the cross of St. Louiswhich was suspended at his breast, Montcalmsternly demanded:

“What means this? Does not my son knowthat the hatchet is buried between the Englishand his Canadian Father?”

“What can the Hurons do?” returned thesavage, speaking also, though imperfectly, inthe French language.

“Not a warrior has a scalp, and the pale facesmake friends!”

“Ha, Le Renard Subtil! Methinks this is anexcess of zeal for a friend who was so late anenemy! How many suns have set since Le Re-nard struck the war-post of the English?”

“Where is that sun?” demanded the sullensavage. “Behind the hill; and it is dark and

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cold. But when he comes again, it will be brightand warm. Le Subtil is the sun of his tribe.There have been clouds, and many mountainsbetween him and his nation; but now he shinesand it is a clear sky!”

“That Le Renard has power with his people,I well know,” said Montcalm; “for yesterday hehunted for their scalps, and to-day they hearhim at the council-fire.”

“Magua is a great chief.”

“Let him prove it, by teaching his nationhow to conduct themselves toward our newfriends.”

“Why did the chief of the Canadas bring hisyoung men into the woods, and fire his cannonat the earthen house?” demanded the subtleIndian.

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“To subdue it. My master owns the land, andyour father was ordered to drive off these En-glish squatters. They have consented to go, andnow he calls them enemies no longer.”

“‘Tis well. Magua took the hatchet to color itwith blood. It is now bright; when it is red, itshall be buried.”

“But Magua is pledged not to sully the liliesof France. The enemies of the great king acrossthe salt lake are his enemies; his friends, thefriends of the Hurons.”

“Friends!” repeated the Indian in scorn. “Lethis father give Magua a hand.”

Montcalm, who felt that his influence overthe warlike tribes he had gathered was tobe maintained by concession rather than bypower, complied reluctantly with the other’s

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request. The savage placed the fingers of theFrench commander on a deep scar in his bo-som, and then exultingly demanded:

“Does my father know that?”

“What warrior does not? ‘Tis where a leadenbullet has cut.”

“And this?” continued the Indian, who hadturned his naked back to the other, his body be-ing without its usual calico mantle.

“This!–my son has been sadly injured here;who has done this?”

“Magua slept hard in the English wigwams,and the sticks have left their mark,” returnedthe savage, with a hollow laugh, which did notconceal the fierce temper that nearly chokedhim. Then, recollecting himself, with suddenand native dignity, he added: “Go; teach your

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young men it is peace. Le Renard Subtil knowshow to speak to a Huron warrior.”

Without deigning to bestow further words,or to wait for any answer, the savage cast hisrifle into the hollow of his arm, and movedsilently through the encampment toward thewoods where his own tribe was known to lie.Every few yards as he proceeded he was chal-lenged by the sentinels; but he stalked sullenlyonward, utterly disregarding the summons ofthe soldiers, who only spared his life becausethey knew the air and tread no less than theobstinate daring of an Indian.

Montcalm lingered long and melancholy onthe strand where he had been left by his com-panion, brooding deeply on the temper whichhis ungovernable ally had just discovered. Al-ready had his fair fame been tarnished by one

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horrid scene, and in circumstances fearfullyresembling those under which he now foundhimself. As he mused he became keenly sen-sible of the deep responsibility they assumewho disregard the means to attain the end, andof all the danger of setting in motion an en-gine which it exceeds human power to control.Then shaking off a train of reflections that heaccounted a weakness in such a moment of tri-umph, he retraced his steps toward his tent,giving the order as he passed to make the sig-nal that should arouse the army from its slum-bers.

The first tap of the French drums was echoedfrom the bosom of the fort, and presently thevalley was filled with the strains of martial mu-sic, rising long, thrilling and lively above therattling accompaniment. The horns of the vic-

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tors sounded merry and cheerful flourishes,until the last laggard of the camp was at hispost; but the instant the British fifes had blowntheir shrill signal, they became mute. In themeantime the day had dawned, and when theline of the French army was ready to receive itsgeneral, the rays of a brilliant sun were glanc-ing along the glittering array. Then that suc-cess, which was already so well known, was of-ficially announced; the favored band who wereselected to guard the gates of the fort were de-tailed, and defiled before their chief; the signalof their approach was given, and all the usualpreparations for a change of masters were or-dered and executed directly under the guns ofthe contested works.

A very different scene presented itself withinthe lines of the Anglo-American army. As

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soon as the warning signal was given, it exhib-ited all the signs of a hurried and forced de-parture. The sullen soldiers shouldered theirempty tubes and fell into their places, like menwhose blood had been heated by the past con-test, and who only desired the opportunity torevenge an indignity which was still woundingto their pride, concealed as it was under the ob-servances of military etiquette.

Women and children ran from place to place,some bearing the scanty remnants of their bag-gage, and others searching in the ranks forthose countenances they looked up to for pro-tection.

Munro appeared among his silent troopsfirm but dejected. It was evident that the un-expected blow had struck deep into his heart,though he struggled to sustain his misfortune

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with the port of a man.

Duncan was touched at the quiet and im-pressive exhibition of his grief. He had dis-charged his own duty, and he now pressed tothe side of the old man, to know in what par-ticular he might serve him.

“My daughters,” was the brief but expres-sive reply.

“Good heavens! are not arrangements al-ready made for their convenience?”

“To-day I am only a soldier, Major Hey-ward,” said the veteran. “All that you see here,claim alike to be my children.”

Duncan had heard enough. Without losingone of those moments which had now becomeso precious, he flew toward the quarters ofMunro, in quest of the sisters. He found them

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on the threshold of the low edifice, already pre-pared to depart, and surrounded by a clam-orous and weeping assemblage of their ownsex, that had gathered about the place, with asort of instinctive consciousness that it was thepoint most likely to be protected. Though thecheeks of Cora were pale and her countenanceanxious, she had lost none of her firmness; butthe eyes of Alice were inflamed, and betrayedhow long and bitterly she had wept. They both,however, received the young man with undis-guised pleasure; the former, for a novelty, beingthe first to speak.

“The fort is lost,” she said, with a melan-choly smile; “though our good name, I trust,remains.”

“‘Tis brighter than ever. But, dearest MissMunro, it is time to think less of others, and

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to make some provision for yourself. Militaryusage–pride–that pride on which you so muchvalue yourself, demands that your father andI should for a little while continue with thetroops. Then where to seek a proper protec-tor for you against the confusion and chancesof such a scene?”

“None is necessary,” returned Cora; “whowill dare to injure or insult the daughter of sucha father, at a time like this?”

“I would not leave you alone,” continued theyouth, looking about him in a hurried man-ner, “for the command of the best regiment inthe pay of the king. Remember, our Alice isnot gifted with all your firmness, and God onlyknows the terror she might endure.”

“You may be right,” Cora replied, smilingagain, but far more sadly than before. “Listen!

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chance has already sent us a friend when he ismost needed.”

Duncan did listen, and on the instant com-prehended her meaning. The low and serioussounds of the sacred music, so well known tothe eastern provinces, caught his ear, and in-stantly drew him to an apartment in an adja-cent building, which had already been desertedby its customary tenants. There he foundDavid, pouring out his pious feelings throughthe only medium in which he ever indulged.Duncan waited, until, by the cessation of themovement of the hand, he believed the strainwas ended, when, by touching his shoulder, hedrew the attention of the other to himself, andin a few words explained his wishes.

“Even so,” replied the single-minded disci-ple of the King of Israel, when the young man

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had ended; “I have found much that is comelyand melodious in the maidens, and it is fit-ting that we who have consorted in so muchperil, should abide together in peace. I will at-tend them, when I have completed my morn-ing praise, to which nothing is now wantingbut the doxology. Wilt thou bear a part, friend?The meter is common, and the tune ‘South-well’.”

Then, extending the little volume, and giv-ing the pitch of the air anew with considerateattention, David recommenced and finishedhis strains, with a fixedness of manner that itwas not easy to interrupt. Heyward was fainto wait until the verse was ended; when, see-ing David relieving himself from the specta-cles, and replacing the book, he continued.

“It will be your duty to see that none dare to

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approach the ladies with any rude intention, orto offer insult or taunt at the misfortune of theirbrave father. In this task you will be secondedby the domestics of their household.”

“Even so.”“It is possible that the Indians and stragglers

of the enemy may intrude, in which case youwill remind them of the terms of the capitu-lation, and threaten to report their conduct toMontcalm. A word will suffice.”

“If not, I have that here which shall,” re-turned David, exhibiting his book, with an airin which meekness and confidence were sin-gularly blended. Here are words which, ut-tered, or rather thundered, with proper empha-sis, and in measured time, shall quiet the mostunruly temper:

“‘Why rage the heathen furiously’?”

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“Enough,” said Heyward, interrupting theburst of his musical invocation; “we under-stand each other; it is time that we should nowassume our respective duties.”

Gamut cheerfully assented, and togetherthey sought the females. Cora received her newand somewhat extraordinary protector cour-teously, at least; and even the pallid featuresof Alice lighted again with some of their na-tive archness as she thanked Heyward for hiscare. Duncan took occasion to assure them hehad done the best that circumstances permit-ted, and, as he believed, quite enough for thesecurity of their feelings; of danger there wasnone. He then spoke gladly of his intention torejoin them the moment he had led the advancea few miles toward the Hudson, and immedi-ately took his leave.

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By this time the signal for departure hadbeen given, and the head of the English columnwas in motion. The sisters started at the sound,and glancing their eyes around, they saw thewhite uniforms of the French grenadiers, whohad already taken possession of the gates ofthe fort. At that moment an enormous cloudseemed to pass suddenly above their heads,and, looking upward, they discovered thatthey stood beneath the wide folds of the stan-dard of France.

“Let us go,” said Cora; “this is no longer a fitplace for the children of an English officer.”

Alice clung to the arm of her sister, and to-gether they left the parade, accompanied by themoving throng that surrounded them.

As they passed the gates, the French offi-cers, who had learned their rank, bowed often

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and low, forbearing, however, to intrude thoseattentions which they saw, with peculiar tact,might not be agreeable. As every vehicle andeach beast of burden was occupied by the sickand wounded, Cora had decided to endure thefatigues of a foot march, rather than interferewith their comforts. Indeed, many a maimedand feeble soldier was compelled to drag hisexhausted limbs in the rear of the columns, forthe want of the necessary means of conveyancein that wilderness. The whole, however, was inmotion; the weak and wounded, groaning andin suffering; their comrades silent and sullen;and the women and children in terror, theyknew not of what.

As the confused and timid throng left theprotecting mounds of the fort, and issued onthe open plain, the whole scene was at once

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presented to their eyes. At a little distance onthe right, and somewhat in the rear, the Frencharmy stood to their arms, Montcalm havingcollected his parties, so soon as his guards hadpossession of the works. They were attentivebut silent observers of the proceedings of thevanquished, failing in none of the stipulatedmilitary honors, and offering no taunt or insult,in their success, to their less fortunate foes. Liv-ing masses of the English, to the amount, in thewhole, of near three thousand, were movingslowly across the plain, toward the commoncenter, and gradually approached each other,as they converged to the point of their march,a vista cut through the lofty trees, where theroad to the Hudson entered the forest. Alongthe sweeping borders of the woods hung a darkcloud of savages, eyeing the passage of theirenemies, and hovering at a distance, like vul-

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tures who were only kept from swooping ontheir prey by the presence and restraint of asuperior army. A few had straggled amongthe conquered columns, where they stalkedin sullen discontent; attentive, though, as yet,passive observers of the moving multitude.

The advance, with Heyward at its head, hadalready reached the defile, and was slowly dis-appearing, when the attention of Cora wasdrawn to a collection of stragglers by thesounds of contention. A truant provincial waspaying the forfeit of his disobedience, by be-ing plundered of those very effects which hadcaused him to desert his place in the ranks. Theman was of powerful frame, and too avariciousto part with his goods without a struggle. In-dividuals from either party interfered; the oneside to prevent and the other to aid in the rob-

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bery. Voices grew loud and angry, and a hun-dred savages appeared, as it were, by magic,where a dozen only had been seen a minutebefore. It was then that Cora saw the formof Magua gliding among his countrymen, andspeaking with his fatal and artful eloquence.The mass of women and children stopped, andhovered together like alarmed and flutteringbirds. But the cupidity of the Indian was soongratified, and the different bodies again movedslowly onward.

The savages now fell back, and seemed con-tent to let their enemies advance without fur-ther molestation. But, as the female crowd ap-proached them, the gaudy colors of a shawlattracted the eyes of a wild and untutoredHuron. He advanced to seize it without theleast hesitation. The woman, more in terror

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than through love of the ornament, wrappedher child in the coveted article, and folded bothmore closely to her bosom. Cora was in theact of speaking, with an intent to advise thewoman to abandon the trifle, when the savagerelinquished his hold of the shawl, and tore thescreaming infant from her arms. Abandoningeverything to the greedy grasp of those aroundher, the mother darted, with distraction in hermien, to reclaim her child. The Indian smiledgrimly, and extended one hand, in sign of awillingness to exchange, while, with the other,he flourished the babe over his head, holdingit by the feet as if to enhance the value of theransom.

“Here–here–there–all–any–everything!” ex-claimed the breathless woman, tearing thelighter articles of dress from her person with

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ill-directed and trembling fingers; “take all, butgive me my babe!”

The savage spurned the worthless rags, andperceiving that the shawl had already become aprize to another, his bantering but sullen smilechanging to a gleam of ferocity, he dashed thehead of the infant against a rock, and cast itsquivering remains to her very feet. For an in-stant the mother stood, like a statue of despair,looking wildly down at the unseemly object,which had so lately nestled in her bosom andsmiled in her face; and then she raised hereyes and countenance toward heaven, as if call-ing on God to curse the perpetrator of the fouldeed. She was spared the sin of such a prayerfor, maddened at his disappointment, and ex-cited at the sight of blood, the Huron mercifullydrove his tomahawk into her own brain. The

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mother sank under the blow, and fell, graspingat her child, in death, with the same engross-ing love that had caused her to cherish it whenliving.

At that dangerous moment, Magua placedhis hands to his mouth, and raised the fatal andappalling whoop. The scattered Indians startedat the well-known cry, as coursers bound at thesignal to quit the goal; and directly there arosesuch a yell along the plain, and through thearches of the wood, as seldom burst from hu-man lips before. They who heard it listenedwith a curdling horror at the heart, little infe-rior to that dread which may be expected to at-tend the blasts of the final summons.

More than two thousand raving savagesbroke from the forest at the signal, and threwthemselves across the fatal plain with instinc-

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tive alacrity. We shall not dwell on the revolt-ing horrors that succeeded. Death was every-where, and in his most terrific and disgustingaspects. Resistance only served to inflame themurderers, who inflicted their furious blowslong after their victims were beyond the powerof their resentment. The flow of blood might belikened to the outbreaking of a torrent; and asthe natives became heated and maddened bythe sight, many among them even kneeled tothe earth, and drank freely, exultingly, hellishly,of the crimson tide.

The trained bodies of the troops threw them-selves quickly into solid masses, endeavoringto awe their assailants by the imposing ap-pearance of a military front. The experimentin some measure succeeded, though far toomany suffered their unloaded muskets to be

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torn from their hands, in the vain hope of ap-peasing the savages.

In such a scene none had leisure to notethe fleeting moments. It might have beenten minutes (it seemed an age) that the sis-ters had stood riveted to one spot, horror-stricken and nearly helpless. When the firstblow was struck, their screaming companionshad pressed upon them in a body, renderingflight impossible; and now that fear or deathhad scattered most, if not all, from aroundthem, they saw no avenue open, but such asconducted to the tomahawks of their foes. Onevery side arose shrieks, groans, exhortationsand curses. At this moment, Alice caught aglimpse of the vast form of her father, mov-ing rapidly across the plain, in the direction ofthe French army. He was, in truth, proceed-

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ing to Montcalm, fearless of every danger, toclaim the tardy escort for which he had beforeconditioned. Fifty glittering axes and barbedspears were offered unheeded at his life, butthe savages respected his rank and calmness,even in their fury. The dangerous weaponswere brushed aside by the still nervous arm ofthe veteran, or fell of themselves, after men-acing an act that it would seem no one hadcourage to perform. Fortunately, the vindictiveMagua was searching for his victim in the veryband the veteran had just quitted.

“Father–father–we are here!” shrieked Alice,as he passed, at no great distance, without ap-pearing to heed them. “Come to us, father, orwe die!”

The cry was repeated, and in terms and tonesthat might have melted a heart of stone, but it

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was unanswered. Once, indeed, the old manappeared to catch the sound, for he paused andlistened; but Alice had dropped senseless onthe earth, and Cora had sunk at her side, hov-ering in untiring tenderness over her lifelessform. Munro shook his head in disappoint-ment, and proceeded, bent on the high duty ofhis station.

“Lady,” said Gamut, who, helpless and use-less as he was, had not yet dreamed of desert-ing his trust, “it is the jubilee of the devils, andthis is not a meet place for Christians to tarryin. Let us up and fly.”

“Go,” said Cora, still gazing at her uncon-scious sister; “save thyself. To me thou canstnot be of further use.”

David comprehended the unyielding charac-ter of her resolution, by the simple but expres-

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sive gesture that accompanied her words. Hegazed for a moment at the dusky forms thatwere acting their hellish rites on every side ofhim, and his tall person grew more erect whilehis chest heaved, and every feature swelled,and seemed to speak with the power of the feel-ings by which he was governed.

“If the Jewish boy might tame the great spiritof Saul by the sound of his harp, and the wordsof sacred song, it may not be amiss,” he said,“to try the potency of music here.”

Then raising his voice to its highest tone, hepoured out a strain so powerful as to be heardeven amid the din of that bloody field. Morethan one savage rushed toward them, think-ing to rifle the unprotected sisters of their at-tire, and bear away their scalps; but when theyfound this strange and unmoved figure riveted

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to his post, they paused to listen. Astonish-ment soon changed to admiration, and theypassed on to other and less courageous vic-tims, openly expressing their satisfaction at thefirmness with which the white warrior sang hisdeath song. Encouraged and deluded by hissuccess, David exerted all his powers to extendwhat he believed so holy an influence. The un-wonted sounds caught the ears of a distant sav-age, who flew raging from group to group, likeone who, scorning to touch the vulgar herd,hunted for some victim more worthy of hisrenown. It was Magua, who uttered a yell ofpleasure when he beheld his ancient prisonersagain at his mercy.

“Come,” he said, laying his soiled hands onthe dress of Cora, “the wigwam of the Huron isstill open. Is it not better than this place?”

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“Away!” cried Cora, veiling her eyes fromhis revolting aspect.

The Indian laughed tauntingly, as he held uphis reeking hand, and answered: “It is red, butit comes from white veins!”

“Monster! there is blood, oceans of blood,upon thy soul; thy spirit has moved this scene.”

“Magua is a great chief!” returned the exult-ing savage, “will the dark-hair go to his tribe?”

“Never! strike if thou wilt, and complete thyrevenge.” He hesitated a moment, and thencatching the light and senseless form of Alicein his arms, the subtle Indian moved swiftlyacross the plain toward the woods.

“Hold!” shrieked Cora, following wildly onhis footsteps; “release the child! wretch! whatis’t you do?”

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But Magua was deaf to her voice; or, rather,he knew his power, and was determined tomaintain it.

“Stay–lady–stay,” called Gamut, after theunconscious Cora. “The holy charm is begin-ning to be felt, and soon shalt thou see this hor-rid tumult stilled.”

Perceiving that, in his turn, he was un-heeded, the faithful David followed the dis-tracted sister, raising his voice again in sa-cred song, and sweeping the air to the mea-sure, with his long arm, in diligent accompani-ment. In this manner they traversed the plain,through the flying, the wounded and the dead.The fierce Huron was, at any time, sufficientfor himself and the victim that he bore; thoughCora would have fallen more than once underthe blows of her savage enemies, but for the ex-

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traordinary being who stalked in her rear, andwho now appeared to the astonished nativesgifted with the protecting spirit of madness.

Magua, who knew how to avoid the morepressing dangers, and also to elude pursuit, en-tered the woods through a low ravine, wherehe quickly found the Narragansetts, whichthe travelers had abandoned so shortly before,awaiting his appearance, in custody of a sav-age as fierce and malign in his expression ashimself. Laying Alice on one of the horses, hemade a sign to Cora to mount the other.

Notwithstanding the horror excited by thepresence of her captor, there was a present re-lief in escaping from the bloody scene enact-ing on the plain, to which Cora could not bealtogether insensible. She took her seat, andheld forth her arms for her sister, with an air

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of entreaty and love that even the Huron couldnot deny. Placing Alice, then, on the same an-imal with Cora, he seized the bridle, and com-menced his route by plunging deeper into theforest. David, perceiving that he was left alone,utterly disregarded as a subject too worthlesseven to destroy, threw his long limb acrossthe saddle of the beast they had deserted, andmade such progress in the pursuit as the diffi-culties of the path permitted.

They soon began to ascend; but as the mo-tion had a tendency to revive the dormant fac-ulties of her sister, the attention of Cora was toomuch divided between the tenderest solicitudein her behalf, and in listening to the cries whichwere still too audible on the plain, to notethe direction in which they journeyed. When,however, they gained the flattened surface of

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the mountain-top, and approached the east-ern precipice, she recognized the spot to whichshe had once before been led under the morefriendly auspices of the scout. Here Magua suf-fered them to dismount; and notwithstandingtheir own captivity, the curiosity which seemsinseparable from horror, induced them to gazeat the sickening sight below.

The cruel work was still unchecked. Onevery side the captured were flying beforetheir relentless persecutors, while the armedcolumns of the Christian king stood fast in anapathy which has never been explained, andwhich has left an immovable blot on the oth-erwise fair escutcheon of their leader. Nor wasthe sword of death stayed until cupidity got themastery of revenge. Then, indeed, the shrieksof the wounded, and the yells of their murder-

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ers grew less frequent, until, finally, the cries ofhorror were lost to their ear, or were drownedin the loud, long and piercing whoops of thetriumphant savages.

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“Why, anything;An honorable murderer, if you

will;For naught I did in hate, but all in

honor.”–Othello

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THE BLOODY AND inhuman scene rather in-cidentally mentioned than described in the pre-ceding chapter, is conspicuous in the pages ofcolonial history by the merited title of “TheMassacre of William Henry.” It so far deep-ened the stain which a previous and very sim-ilar event had left upon the reputation of theFrench commander that it was not entirelyerased by his early and glorious death. It isnow becoming obscured by time; and thou-sands, who know that Montcalm died like ahero on the plains of Abraham, have yet tolearn how much he was deficient in that moralcourage without which no man can be trulygreat. Pages might yet be written to prove,from this illustrious example, the defects of hu-man excellence; to show how easy it is for gen-erous sentiments, high courtesy, and chival-rous courage to lose their influence beneath

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the chilling blight of selfishness, and to ex-hibit to the world a man who was great in allthe minor attributes of character, but who wasfound wanting when it became necessary toprove how much principle is superior to pol-icy. But the task would exceed our preroga-tives; and, as history, like love, is so apt to sur-round her heroes with an atmosphere of imag-inary brightness, it is probable that Louis deSaint Veran will be viewed by posterity onlyas the gallant defender of his country, whilehis cruel apathy on the shores of the Oswegoand of the Horican will be forgotten. Deeplyregretting this weakness on the part of a sistermuse, we shall at once retire from her sacredprecincts, within the proper limits of our ownhumble vocation.

The third day from the capture of the fort

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was drawing to a close, but the business ofthe narrative must still detain the reader onthe shores of the “holy lake.” When last seen,the environs of the works were filled with vi-olence and uproar. They were now possessedby stillness and death. The blood-stained con-querors had departed; and their camp, whichhad so lately rung with the merry rejoicingsof a victorious army, lay a silent and desertedcity of huts. The fortress was a smolderingruin; charred rafters, fragments of explodedartillery, and rent mason-work covering itsearthen mounds in confused disorder.

A frightful change had also occurred in theseason. The sun had hid its warmth behindan impenetrable mass of vapor, and hundredsof human forms, which had blackened beneaththe fierce heats of August, were stiffening in

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their deformity before the blasts of a prema-ture November. The curling and spotless mists,which had been seen sailing above the hills to-ward the north, were now returning in an in-terminable dusky sheet, that was urged alongby the fury of a tempest. The crowded mir-ror of the Horican was gone; and, in its place,the green and angry waters lashed the shores,as if indignantly casting back its impurities tothe polluted strand. Still the clear fountain re-tained a portion of its charmed influence, but itreflected only the somber gloom that fell fromthe impending heavens. That humid and con-genial atmosphere which commonly adornedthe view, veiling its harshness, and softeningits asperities, had disappeared, the northern airpoured across the waste of water so harsh andunmingled, that nothing was left to be conjec-tured by the eye, or fashioned by the fancy.

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The fiercer element had cropped the verdureof the plain, which looked as though it werescathed by the consuming lightning. But, hereand there, a dark green tuft rose in the midstof the desolation; the earliest fruits of a soilthat had been fattened with human blood. Thewhole landscape, which, seen by a favoringlight, and in a genial temperature, had beenfound so lovely, appeared now like some pic-tured allegory of life, in which objects were ar-rayed in their harshest but truest colors, andwithout the relief of any shadowing.

The solitary and arid blades of grass arosefrom the passing gusts fearfully perceptible;the bold and rocky mountains were too distinctin their barrenness, and the eye even soughtrelief, in vain, by attempting to pierce the il-limitable void of heaven, which was shut to its

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gaze by the dusky sheet of ragged and drivingvapor.

The wind blew unequally; sometimessweeping heavily along the ground, seemingto whisper its moanings in the cold ears ofthe dead, then rising in a shrill and mournfulwhistling, it entered the forest with a rushthat filled the air with the leaves and branchesit scattered in its path. Amid the unnaturalshower, a few hungry ravens struggled withthe gale; but no sooner was the green ocean ofwoods which stretched beneath them, passed,than they gladly stopped, at random, to theirhideous banquet.

In short, it was a scene of wildness and des-olation; and it appeared as if all who had pro-fanely entered it had been stricken, at a blow,by the relentless arm of death. But the prohibi-

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tion had ceased; and for the first time since theperpetrators of those foul deeds which had as-sisted to disfigure the scene were gone, livinghuman beings had now presumed to approachthe place.

About an hour before the setting of the sun,on the day already mentioned, the forms offive men might have been seen issuing fromthe narrow vista of trees, where the path tothe Hudson entered the forest, and advanc-ing in the direction of the ruined works. Atfirst their progress was slow and guarded, asthough they entered with reluctance amid thehorrors of the post, or dreaded the renewal ofits frightful incidents. A light figure precededthe rest of the party, with the caution and activ-ity of a native; ascending every hillock to recon-noiter, and indicating by gestures, to his com-

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panions, the route he deemed it most prudentto pursue. Nor were those in the rear wantingin every caution and foresight known to forestwarfare. One among them, he also was an In-dian, moved a little on one flank, and watchedthe margin of the woods, with eyes long ac-customed to read the smallest sign of dan-ger. The remaining three were white, thoughclad in vestments adapted, both in quality andcolor, to their present hazardous pursuit–thatof hanging on the skirts of a retiring army inthe wilderness.

The effects produced by the appalling sightsthat constantly arose in their path to the lakeshore, were as different as the characters ofthe respective individuals who composed theparty. The youth in front threw serious butfurtive glances at the mangled victims, as he

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stepped lightly across the plain, afraid to ex-hibit his feelings, and yet too inexperienced toquell entirely their sudden and powerful influ-ence. His red associate, however, was supe-rior to such a weakness. He passed the groupsof dead with a steadiness of purpose, and aneye so calm, that nothing but long and inveter-ate practise could enable him to maintain. Thesensations produced in the minds of even thewhite men were different, though uniformlysorrowful. One, whose gray locks and fur-rowed lineaments, blending with a martial airand tread, betrayed, in spite of the disguise ofa woodsman’s dress, a man long experiencedin scenes of war, was not ashamed to groanaloud, whenever a spectacle of more than usualhorror came under his view. The young manat his elbow shuddered, but seemed to sup-press his feelings in tenderness to his compan-

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ion. Of them all, the straggler who broughtup the rear appeared alone to betray his realthoughts, without fear of observation or dreadof consequences. He gazed at the most ap-palling sight with eyes and muscles that knewnot how to waver, but with execrations so bit-ter and deep as to denote how much he de-nounced the crime of his enemies.

The reader will perceive at once, in theserespective characters, the Mohicans, and theirwhite friend, the scout; together with Munroand Heyward. It was, in truth, the father inquest of his children, attended by the youthwho felt so deep a stake in their happiness, andthose brave and trusty foresters, who had al-ready proved their skill and fidelity throughthe trying scenes related.

When Uncas, who moved in front, had

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reached the center of the plain, he raised a crythat drew his companions in a body to the spot.The young warrior had halted over a groupof females who lay in a cluster, a confusedmass of dead. Notwithstanding the revolt-ing horror of the exhibition, Munro and Hey-ward flew toward the festering heap, endeav-oring, with a love that no unseemliness couldextinguish, to discover whether any vestiges ofthose they sought were to be seen among thetattered and many-colored garments. The fa-ther and the lover found instant relief in thesearch; though each was condemned again toexperience the misery of an uncertainty thatwas hardly less insupportable than the most re-volting truth. They were standing, silent andthoughtful, around the melancholy pile, whenthe scout approached. Eyeing the sad spectaclewith an angry countenance, the sturdy woods-

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man, for the first time since his entering theplain, spoke intelligibly and aloud:

“I have been on many a shocking field, andhave followed a trail of blood for weary miles,”he said, “but never have I found the hand ofthe devil so plain as it is here to be seen! Re-venge is an Indian feeling, and all who knowme know that there is no cross in my veins; butthis much will I say–here, in the face of heaven,and with the power of the Lord so manifestin this howling wilderness–that should theseFrenchers ever trust themselves again withinthe range of a ragged bullet, there is one riflewhich shall play its part so long as flint willfire or powder burn! I leave the tomahawk andknife to such as have a natural gift to use them.What say you, Chingachgook,” he added, inDelaware; “shall the Hurons boast of this to

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their women when the deep snows come?”

A gleam of resentment flashed across thedark lineaments of the Mohican chief; he loos-ened his knife in his sheath; and then turningcalmly from the sight, his countenance settledinto a repose as deep as if he knew the instiga-tion of passion.

“Montcalm! Montcalm!” continued thedeeply resentful and less self-restrained scout;“they say a time must come when all the deedsdone in the flesh will be seen at a single look;and that by eyes cleared from mortal infirmi-ties. Woe betide the wretch who is born tobehold this plain, with the judgment hangingabout his soul! Ha–as I am a man of whiteblood, yonder lies a red-skin, without the hairof his head where nature rooted it! Look tohim, Delaware; it may be one of your missing

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people; and he should have burial like a stoutwarrior. I see it in your eye, Sagamore; a Huronpays for this, afore the fall winds have blownaway the scent of the blood!”

Chingachgook approached the mutilatedform, and, turning it over, he found the distin-guishing marks of one of those six allied tribes,or nations, as they were called, who, while theyfought in the English ranks, were so deadlyhostile to his own people. Spurning the loath-some object with his foot, he turned from itwith the same indifference he would have quit-ted a brute carcass. The scout comprehendedthe action, and very deliberately pursued hisown way, continuing, however, his denunci-ations against the French commander in thesame resentful strain.

“Nothing but vast wisdom and unlimited

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power should dare to sweep off men in mul-titudes,” he added; “for it is only the one thatcan know the necessity of the judgment; andwhat is there, short of the other, that can replacethe creatures of the Lord? I hold it a sin to killthe second buck afore the first is eaten, unless amarch in front, or an ambushment, be contem-plated. It is a different matter with a few war-riors in open and rugged fight, for ‘tis their giftto die with the rifle or the tomahawk in hand;according as their natures may happen to be,white or red. Uncas, come this way, lad, and letthe ravens settle upon the Mingo. I know, fromoften seeing it, that they have a craving for theflesh of an Oneida; and it is as well to let thebird follow the gift of its natural appetite.”

“Hugh!” exclaimed the young Mohican, ris-ing on the extremities of his feet, and gazing

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intently in his front, frightening the ravens tosome other prey by the sound and the action.

“What is it, boy?” whispered the scout, low-ering his tall form into a crouching attitude,like a panther about to take his leap; “God sendit be a tardy Frencher, skulking for plunder. Ido believe ‘killdeer’ would take an uncommonrange today!”

Uncas, without making any reply, boundedaway from the spot, and in the next instanthe was seen tearing from a bush, and wav-ing in triumph, a fragment of the green riding-veil of Cora. The movement, the exhibition,and the cry which again burst from the lips ofthe young Mohican, instantly drew the wholeparty about him.

“My child!” said Munro, speaking quicklyand wildly; “give me my child!”

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“Uncas will try,” was the short and touchinganswer.

The simple but meaning assurance was loston the father, who seized the piece of gauze,and crushed it in his hand, while his eyesroamed fearfully among the bushes, as if heequally dreaded and hoped for the secrets theymight reveal.

“Here are no dead,” said Heyward; “thestorm seems not to have passed this way.”

“That’s manifest; and clearer than the heav-ens above our heads,” returned the undis-turbed scout; “but either she, or they that haverobbed her, have passed the bush; for I remem-ber the rag she wore to hide a face that alldid love to look upon. Uncas, you are right;the dark-hair has been here, and she has fledlike a frightened fawn, to the wood; none who

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could fly would remain to be murdered. Let ussearch for the marks she left; for, to Indian eyes,I sometimes think a humming-bird leaves histrail in the air.”

The young Mohican darted away at the sug-gestion, and the scout had hardly done speak-ing, before the former raised a cry of successfrom the margin of the forest. On reaching thespot, the anxious party perceived another por-tion of the veil fluttering on the lower branchof a beech.

“Softly, softly,” said the scout, extending hislong rifle in front of the eager Heyward; “wenow know our work, but the beauty of thetrail must not be deformed. A step too soonmay give us hours of trouble. We have them,though; that much is beyond denial.”

“Bless ye, bless ye, worthy man!” exclaimed

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Munro; “whither then, have they fled, andwhere are my babes?”

“The path they have taken depends on manychances. If they have gone alone, they are quiteas likely to move in a circle as straight, and theymay be within a dozen miles of us; but if theHurons, or any of the French Indians, have laidhands on them, ‘tis probably they are now nearthe borders of the Canadas. But what mattersthat?” continued the deliberate scout, observ-ing the powerful anxiety and disappointmentthe listeners exhibited; “here are the Mohicansand I on one end of the trail, and, rely on it, wefind the other, though they should be a hun-dred leagues asunder! Gently, gently, Uncas,you are as impatient as a man in the settle-ments; you forget that light feet leave but faintmarks!”

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“Hugh!” exclaimed Chingachgook, who hadbeen occupied in examining an opening thathad been evidently made through the low un-derbrush which skirted the forest; and whonow stood erect, as he pointed downward, inthe attitude and with the air of a man who be-held a disgusting serpent.

“Here is the palpable impression of the foot-step of a man,” cried Heyward, bending overthe indicated spot; “he has trod in the marginof this pool, and the mark cannot be mistaken.They are captives.”

“Better so than left to starve in the wilder-ness,” returned the scout; “and they will leavea wider trail. I would wager fifty beaver skinsagainst as many flints, that the Mohicans and Ienter their wigwams within the month! Stoopto it, Uncas, and try what you can make of

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the moccasin; for moccasin it plainly is, and noshoe.”

The young Mohican bent over the track, andremoving the scattered leaves from around theplace, he examined it with much of that sortof scrutiny that a money dealer, in these daysof pecuniary doubts, would bestow on a sus-pected due-bill. At length he arose from hisknees, satisfied with the result of the examina-tion.

“Well, boy,” demanded the attentive scout;“what does it say? Can you make anything ofthe tell-tale?”

“Le Renard Subtil!”

“Ha! that rampaging devil again! there willnever be an end of his loping till ‘killdeer’ hassaid a friendly word to him.”

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Heyward reluctantly admitted the truth ofthis intelligence, and now expressed rather hishopes than his doubts by saying:

“One moccasin is so much like another, it isprobable there is some mistake.”

“One moccasin like another! you may aswell say that one foot is like another; thoughwe all know that some are long, and othersshort; some broad and others narrow; somewith high, and some with low insteps; someintoed, and some out. One moccasin is nomore like another than one book is like another:though they who can read in one are seldomable to tell the marks of the other. Which isall ordered for the best, giving to every manhis natural advantages. Let me get down to it,Uncas; neither book nor moccasin is the worsefor having two opinions, instead of one.” The

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scout stooped to the task, and instantly added:“You are right, boy; here is the patch we saw

so often in the other chase. And the fellow willdrink when he can get an opportunity; yourdrinking Indian always learns to walk with awider toe than the natural savage, it being thegift of a drunkard to straddle, whether of whiteor red skin. ‘Tis just the length and breadth,too! look at it, Sagamore; you measured theprints more than once, when we hunted thevarmints from Glenn’s to the health springs.”

Chingachgook complied; and after finish-ing his short examination, he arose, and witha quiet demeanor, he merely pronounced theword:

“Magua!”“Ay, ‘tis a settled thing; here, then, have

passed the dark-hair and Magua.”

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“And not Alice?” demanded Heyward.

“Of her we have not yet seen the signs,” re-turned the scout, looking closely around at thetrees, the bushes and the ground. “What havewe there? Uncas, bring hither the thing you seedangling from yonder thorn-bush.”

When the Indian had complied, the scout re-ceived the prize, and holding it on high, helaughed in his silent but heartfelt manner.

“‘Tis the tooting we’pon of the singer! nowwe shall have a trail a priest might travel,” hesaid. “Uncas, look for the marks of a shoe thatis long enough to uphold six feet two of totter-ing human flesh. I begin to have some hopesof the fellow, since he has given up squalling tofollow some better trade.”

“At least he has been faithful to his trust,”

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said Heyward. “And Cora and Alice are notwithout a friend.”

“Yes,” said Hawkeye, dropping his rifle, andleaning on it with an air of visible contempt,“he will do their singing. Can he slay a buckfor their dinner; journey by the moss on thebeeches, or cut the throat of a Huron? If not,the first catbird18 he meets is the cleverer ofthe two. Well, boy, any signs of such a foun-dation?”

18The powers of the American mocking-bird are gen-erally known. But the true mocking-bird is not foundso far north as the state of New York, where it has,however, two substitutes of inferior excellence, the cat-bird, so often named by the scout, and the bird vulgarlycalled ground- thresher. Either of these last two birds issuperior to the nightingale or the lark, though, in gen-eral, the American birds are less musical than those ofEurope.

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“Here is something like the footstep of onewho has worn a shoe; can it be that of ourfriend?”

“Touch the leaves lightly or you’ll disconsartthe formation. That! that is the print of a foot,but ‘tis the dark-hair’s; and small it is, too, forone of such a noble height and grand appear-ance. The singer would cover it with his heel.”

“Where! let me look on the footsteps of mychild,” said Munro, shoving the bushes aside,and bending fondly over the nearly obliteratedimpression. Though the tread which had leftthe mark had been light and rapid, it was stillplainly visible. The aged soldier examined itwith eyes that grew dim as he gazed; nor didhe rise from this stooping posture until Hey-ward saw that he had watered the trace of hisdaughter’s passage with a scalding tear. Will-

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ing to divert a distress which threatened eachmoment to break through the restraint of ap-pearances, by giving the veteran something todo, the young man said to the scout:

“As we now possess these infallible signs, letus commence our march. A moment, at such atime, will appear an age to the captives.”

“It is not the swiftest leaping deer that givesthe longest chase,” returned Hawkeye, withoutmoving his eyes from the different marks thathad come under his view; “we know that therampaging Huron has passed, and the dark-hair, and the singer, but where is she of the yel-low locks and blue eyes? Though little, and farfrom being as bold as her sister, she is fair tothe view, and pleasant in discourse. Has she nofriend, that none care for her?”

“God forbid she should ever want hundreds!

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Are we not now in her pursuit? For one, I willnever cease the search till she be found.”

“In that case we may have to journey by dif-ferent paths; for here she has not passed, lightand little as her footsteps would be.”

Heyward drew back, all his ardor to proceedseeming to vanish on the instant. Without at-tending to this sudden change in the other’shumor, the scout after musing a moment con-tinued:

“There is no woman in this wilderness couldleave such a print as that, but the dark-hair orher sister. We know that the first has been here,but where are the signs of the other? Let uspush deeper on the trail, and if nothing offers,we must go back to the plain and strike anotherscent. Move on, Uncas, and keep your eyes onthe dried leaves. I will watch the bushes, while

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your father shall run with a low nose to theground. Move on, friends; the sun is gettingbehind the hills.”

“Is there nothing that I can do?” demandedthe anxious Heyward.

“You?” repeated the scout, who, with his redfriends, was already advancing in the order hehad prescribed; “yes, you can keep in our rearand be careful not to cross the trail.”

Before they had proceeded many rods, theIndians stopped, and appeared to gaze at somesigns on the earth with more than their usualkeenness. Both father and son spoke quick andloud, now looking at the object of their mu-tual admiration, and now regarding each otherwith the most unequivocal pleasure.

“They have found the little foot!” exclaimedthe scout, moving forward, without attend-

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ing further to his own portion of the duty.“What have we here? An ambushment hasbeen planted in the spot! No, by the truest rifleon the frontiers, here have been them one-sidedhorses again! Now the whole secret is out, andall is plain as the north star at midnight. Yes,here they have mounted. There the beasts havebeen bound to a sapling, in waiting; and yon-der runs the broad path away to the north, infull sweep for the Canadas.”

“But still there are no signs of Alice, of theyounger Miss Munro,” said Duncan.

“Unless the shining bauble Uncas has justlifted from the ground should prove one. Passit this way, lad, that we may look at it.”

Heyward instantly knew it for a trinket thatAlice was fond of wearing, and which he rec-ollected, with the tenacious memory of a lover,

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to have seen, on the fatal morning of the mas-sacre, dangling from the fair neck of his mis-tress. He seized the highly prized jewel; andas he proclaimed the fact, it vanished fromthe eyes of the wondering scout, who in vainlooked for it on the ground, long after it waswarmly pressed against the beating heart ofDuncan.

“Pshaw!” said the disappointed Hawkeye,ceasing to rake the leaves with the breech ofhis rifle; “‘tis a certain sign of age, when thesight begins to weaken. Such a glittering gew-gaw, and not to be seen! Well, well, I cansquint along a clouded barrel yet, and that isenough to settle all disputes between me andthe Mingoes. I should like to find the thing,too, if it were only to carry it to the right owner,and that would be bringing the two ends of

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what I call a long trail together, for by this timethe broad St. Lawrence, or perhaps, the GreatLakes themselves, are between us.”

“So much the more reason why we shouldnot delay our march,” returned Heyward; “letus proceed.”

“Young blood and hot blood, they say, aremuch the same thing. We are not about to starton a squirrel hunt, or to drive a deer into theHorican, but to outlie for days and nights, andto stretch across a wilderness where the feet ofmen seldom go, and where no bookish knowl-edge would carry you through harmless. AnIndian never starts on such an expedition with-out smoking over his council-fire; and, thougha man of white blood, I honor their customs inthis particular, seeing that they are deliberateand wise. We will, therefore, go back, and light

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our fire to-night in the ruins of the old fort, andin the morning we shall be fresh, and ready toundertake our work like men, and not like bab-bling women or eager boys.”

Heyward saw, by the manner of the scout,that altercation would be useless. Munro hadagain sunk into that sort of apathy which hadbeset him since his late overwhelming misfor-tunes, and from which he was apparently tobe roused only by some new and powerfulexcitement. Making a merit of necessity, theyoung man took the veteran by the arm, andfollowed in the footsteps of the Indians and thescout, who had already begun to retrace thepath which conducted them to the plain.

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“Salar.–Why, I am sure, if he for-feit, thou wilt not take his flesh;what’s that good for? Shy.–To baitfish withal; if it will feed nothingelse, it will feed my revenge.”

–Merchant of Venice

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THE SHADES OF evening had come to in-crease the dreariness of the place, when theparty entered the ruins of William Henry. Thescout and his companions immediately madetheir preparations to pass the night there; butwith an earnestness and sobriety of demeanorthat betrayed how much the unusual hor-rors they had just witnessed worked on eventheir practised feelings. A few fragments ofrafters were reared against a blackened wall;and when Uncas had covered them slightlywith brush, the temporary accommodationswere deemed sufficient. The young Indianpointed toward his rude hut when his laborwas ended; and Heyward, who understood themeaning of the silent gestures, gently urgedMunro to enter. Leaving the bereaved oldman alone with his sorrows, Duncan immedi-ately returned into the open air, too much ex-

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cited himself to seek the repose he had recom-mended to his veteran friend.

While Hawkeye and the Indians lightedtheir fire and took their evening’s repast, a fru-gal meal of dried bear’s meat, the young manpaid a visit to that curtain of the dilapidatedfort which looked out on the sheet of the Hor-ican. The wind had fallen, and the waveswere already rolling on the sandy beach be-neath him, in a more regular and tempered suc-cession. The clouds, as if tired of their furi-ous chase, were breaking asunder; the heav-ier volumes, gathering in black masses aboutthe horizon, while the lighter scud still hurriedabove the water, or eddied among the tops ofthe mountains, like broken flights of birds, hov-ering around their roosts. Here and there, a redand fiery star struggled through the drifting

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vapor, furnishing a lurid gleam of brightnessto the dull aspect of the heavens. Within thebosom of the encircling hills, an impenetrabledarkness had already settled; and the plain laylike a vast and deserted charnel-house, withoutomen or whisper to disturb the slumbers of itsnumerous and hapless tenants.

Of this scene, so chillingly in accordancewith the past, Duncan stood for many min-utes a rapt observer. His eyes wandered fromthe bosom of the mound, where the foresterswere seated around their glimmering fire, tothe fainter light which still lingered in the skies,and then rested long and anxiously on the em-bodied gloom, which lay like a dreary voidon that side of him where the dead reposed.He soon fancied that inexplicable sounds arosefrom the place, though so indistinct and stolen,

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as to render not only their nature but even theirexistence uncertain. Ashamed of his apprehen-sions, the young man turned toward the water,and strove to divert his attention to the mimicstars that dimly glimmered on its moving sur-face. Still, his too-conscious ears performedtheir ungrateful duty, as if to warn him ofsome lurking danger. At length, a swift tram-pling seemed, quite audibly, to rush athwartthe darkness. Unable any longer to quiet hisuneasiness, Duncan spoke in a low voice tothe scout, requesting him to ascend the moundto the place where he stood. Hawkeye threwhis rifle across an arm and complied, but withan air so unmoved and calm, as to prove howmuch he counted on the security of their posi-tion.

“Listen!” said Duncan, when the other

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placed himself deliberately at his elbow; “thereare suppressed noises on the plain which mayshow Montcalm has not yet entirely desertedhis conquest.”

“Then ears are better than eyes,” said theundisturbed scout, who, having just depositeda portion of a bear between his grinders, spokethick and slow, like one whose mouth was dou-bly occupied. “I myself saw him caged in Ty,with all his host; for your Frenchers, whenthey have done a clever thing, like to get back,and have a dance, or a merry-making, with thewomen over their success.”

“I know not. An Indian seldom sleeps inwar, and plunder may keep a Huron here afterhis tribe has departed. It would be well to ex-tinguish the fire, and have a watch–listen! youhear the noise I mean!”

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“An Indian more rarely lurks about thegraves. Though ready to slay, and not over re-gardful of the means, he is commonly contentwith the scalp, unless when blood is hot, andtemper up; but after spirit is once fairly gone,he forgets his enmity, and is willing to let thedead find their natural rest. Speaking of spir-its, major, are you of opinion that the heaven ofa red-skin and of us whites will be of one andthe same?”

“No doubt–no doubt. I thought I heard itagain! or was it the rustling of the leaves in thetop of the beech?”

“For my own part,” continued Hawkeye,turning his face for a moment in the directionindicated by Heyward, but with a vacant andcareless manner, “I believe that paradise is or-dained for happiness; and that men will be in-

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dulged in it according to their dispositions andgifts. I, therefore, judge that a red-skin is not farfrom the truth when he believes he is to findthem glorious hunting grounds of which histraditions tell; nor, for that matter, do I think itwould be any disparagement to a man withouta cross to pass his time–”

“You hear it again?” interrupted Duncan.

“Ay, ay; when food is scarce, and when foodis plenty, a wolf grows bold,” said the un-moved scout. “There would be picking, too,among the skins of the devils, if there was lightand time for the sport. But, concerning the lifethat is to come, major; I have heard preacherssay, in the settlements, that heaven was a placeof rest. Now, men’s minds differ as to theirideas of enjoyment. For myself, and I say itwith reverence to the ordering of Providence, it

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would be no great indulgence to be kept shutup in those mansions of which they preach,having a natural longing for motion and thechase.”

Duncan, who was now made to understandthe nature of the noise he had heard, answered,with more attention to the subject which thehumor of the scout had chosen for discussion,by saying:

“It is difficult to account for the feelings thatmay attend the last great change.”

“It would be a change, indeed, for a manwho has passed his days in the open air,” re-turned the single-minded scout; “and who hasso often broken his fast on the head watersof the Hudson, to sleep within sound of theroaring Mohawk. But it is a comfort to knowwe serve a merciful Master, though we do it

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each after his fashion, and with great tracts ofwilderness atween us–what goes there?”

“Is it not the rushing of the wolves you havementioned?”

Hawkeye slowly shook his head, and beck-oned for Duncan to follow him to a spot towhich the glare from the fire did not extend.When he had taken this precaution, the scoutplaced himself in an attitude of intense atten-tion and listened long and keenly for a repeti-tion of the low sound that had so unexpectedlystartled him. His vigilance, however, seemedexercised in vain; for after a fruitless pause, hewhispered to Duncan:

“We must give a call to Uncas. The boy hasIndian senses, and he may hear what is hidfrom us; for, being a white-skin, I will not denymy nature.”

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The young Mohican, who was conversing ina low voice with his father, started as he heardthe moaning of an owl, and, springing on hisfeet, he looked toward the black mounds, asif seeking the place whence the sounds pro-ceeded. The scout repeated the call, and in afew moments, Duncan saw the figure of Uncasstealing cautiously along the rampart, to thespot where they stood.

Hawkeye explained his wishes in a very fewwords, which were spoken in the Delawaretongue. So soon as Uncas was in possessionof the reason why he was summoned, he threwhimself flat on the turf; where, to the eyes ofDuncan, he appeared to lie quiet and motion-less. Surprised at the immovable attitude ofthe young warrior, and curious to observe themanner in which he employed his faculties to

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obtain the desired information, Heyward ad-vanced a few steps, and bent over the dark ob-ject on which he had kept his eye riveted. Thenit was he discovered that the form of Uncasvanished, and that he beheld only the dark out-line of an inequality in the embankment.

“What has become of the Mohican?” he de-manded of the scout, stepping back in amaze-ment; “it was here that I saw him fall, andcould have sworn that here he yet remained.”

“Hist! speak lower; for we know not whatears are open, and the Mingoes are a quick-witted breed. As for Uncas, he is out on theplain, and the Maquas, if any such are aboutus, will find their equal.”

“You think that Montcalm has not called offall his Indians? Let us give the alarm to ourcompanions, that we may stand to our arms.

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Here are five of us, who are not unused to meetan enemy.”

“Not a word to either, as you value your life.Look at the Sagamore, how like a grand Indianchief he sits by the fire. If there are any skulkersout in the darkness, they will never discover,by his countenance, that we suspect danger athand.”

“But they may discover him, and it willprove his death. His person can be too plainlyseen by the light of that fire, and he will becomethe first and most certain victim.”

“It is undeniable that now you speak thetruth,” returned the scout, betraying more anx-iety than was usual; “yet what can be done? Asingle suspicious look might bring on an attackbefore we are ready to receive it. He knows, bythe call I gave to Uncas, that we have struck a

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scent; I will tell him that we are on the trail ofthe Mingoes; his Indian nature will teach himhow to act.”

The scout applied his fingers to his mouth,and raised a low hissing sound, that causedDuncan at first to start aside, believing that heheard a serpent. The head of Chingachgookwas resting on a hand, as he sat musing by him-self but the moment he had heard the warningof the animal whose name he bore, he arose toan upright position, and his dark eyes glancedswiftly and keenly on every side of him. Withhis sudden and, perhaps, involuntary move-ment, every appearance of surprise or alarmended. His rifle lay untouched, and appar-ently unnoticed, within reach of his hand. Thetomahawk that he had loosened in his belt forthe sake of ease, was even suffered to fall from

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its usual situation to the ground, and his formseemed to sink, like that of a man whose nervesand sinews were suffered to relax for the pur-pose of rest. Cunningly resuming his formerposition, though with a change of hands, as ifthe movement had been made merely to relievethe limb, the native awaited the result with acalmness and fortitude that none but an Indianwarrior would have known how to exercise.

But Heyward saw that while to a less in-structed eye the Mohican chief appeared toslumber, his nostrils were expanded, his headwas turned a little to one side, as if to assistthe organs of hearing, and that his quick andrapid glances ran incessantly over every objectwithin the power of his vision.

“See the noble fellow!” whispered Hawkeye,pressing the arm of Heyward; “he knows that a

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look or a motion might disconsart our schemes,and put us at the mercy of them imps–”

He was interrupted by the flash and reportof a rifle. The air was filled with sparks of fire,around that spot where the eyes of Heywardwere still fastened, with admiration and won-der. A second look told him that Chingach-gook had disappeared in the confusion. In themeantime, the scout had thrown forward his ri-fle, like one prepared for service, and awaitedimpatiently the moment when an enemy mightrise to view. But with the solitary and fruitlessattempt made on the life of Chingachgook, theattack appeared to have terminated. Once ortwice the listeners thought they could distin-guish the distant rustling of bushes, as bodiesof some unknown description rushed throughthem; nor was it long before Hawkeye pointed

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out the “scampering of the wolves,” as theyfled precipitately before the passage of some in-truder on their proper domains. After an impa-tient and breathless pause, a plunge was heardin the water, and it was immediately followedby the report of another rifle.

“There goes Uncas!” said the scout; “the boybears a smart piece! I know its crack, as well asa father knows the language of his child, for Icarried the gun myself until a better offered.”

“What can this mean?” demanded Dun-can, “we are watched, and, as it would seem,marked for destruction.”

“Yonder scattered brand can witness that nogood was intended, and this Indian will tes-tify that no harm has been done,” returned thescout, dropping his rifle across his arm again,and following Chingachgook, who just then

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reappeared within the circle of light, into thebosom of the work. “How is it, Sagamore? Arethe Mingoes upon us in earnest, or is it only oneof those reptiles who hang upon the skirts of awar-party, to scalp the dead, go in, and maketheir boast among the squaws of the valiantdeeds done on the pale faces?”

Chingachgook very quietly resumed hisseat; nor did he make any reply, until after hehad examined the firebrand which had beenstruck by the bullet that had nearly proved fa-tal to himself. After which he was content toreply, holding a single finger up to view, withthe English monosyllable:

“One.”“I thought as much,” returned Hawkeye,

seating himself; “and as he had got the coverof the lake afore Uncas pulled upon him, it is

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more than probable the knave will sing his liesabout some great ambushment, in which hewas outlying on the trail of two Mohicans anda white hunter–for the officers can be consid-ered as little better than idlers in such a scrim-mage. Well, let him–let him. There are al-ways some honest men in every nation, thoughheaven knows, too, that they are scarce amongthe Maquas, to look down an upstart whenhe brags ag’in the face of reason. The varletsent his lead within whistle of your ears, Sag-amore.”

Chingachgook turned a calm and incuriouseye toward the place where the ball had struck,and then resumed his former attitude, with acomposure that could not be disturbed by sotrifling an incident. Just then Uncas glidedinto the circle, and seated himself at the fire,

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with the same appearance of indifference aswas maintained by his father.

Of these several moments Heyward was adeeply interested and wondering observer. Itappeared to him as though the foresters hadsome secret means of intelligence, which hadescaped the vigilance of his own faculties. Inplace of that eager and garrulous narrationwith which a white youth would have endeav-ored to communicate, and perhaps exaggerate,that which had passed out in the darkness ofthe plain, the young warrior was seeminglycontent to let his deeds speak for themselves. Itwas, in fact, neither the moment nor the occa-sion for an Indian to boast of his exploits; andit is probably that, had Heyward neglected toinquire, not another syllable would, just then,have been uttered on the subject.

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“What has become of our enemy, Uncas?”demanded Duncan; “we heard your rifle, andhoped you had not fired in vain.”

The young chief removed a fold of his hunt-ing skirt, and quietly exposed the fatal tuft ofhair, which he bore as the symbol of victory.Chingachgook laid his hand on the scalp, andconsidered it for a moment with deep atten-tion. Then dropping it, with disgust depictedin his strong features, he ejaculated:

“Oneida!”“Oneida!” repeated the scout, who was fast

losing his interest in the scene, in an apathynearly assimilated to that of his red associates,but who now advanced in uncommon earnest-ness to regard the bloody badge. “By the Lord,if the Oneidas are outlying upon the trail, weshall by flanked by devils on every side of us!

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Now, to white eyes there is no difference be-tween this bit of skin and that of any other In-dian, and yet the Sagamore declares it camefrom the poll of a Mingo; nay, he even namesthe tribe of the poor devil, with as much easeas if the scalp was the leaf of a book, and eachhair a letter. What right have Christian whitesto boast of their learning, when a savage canread a language that would prove too much forthe wisest of them all! What say you, lad, ofwhat people was the knave?”

Uncas raised his eyes to the face of the scout,and answered, in his soft voice:

“Oneida.”“Oneida, again! when one Indian makes

a declaration it is commonly true; but whenhe is supported by his people, set it down asgospel!”

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“The poor fellow has mistaken us forFrench,” said Heyward; “or he would not haveattempted the life of a friend.”

“He mistake a Mohican in his paint for aHuron! You would be as likely to mistakethe white-coated grenadiers of Montcalm forthe scarlet jackets of the Royal Americans,” re-turned the scout. “No, no, the sarpent knewhis errand; nor was there any great mistake inthe matter, for there is but little love atween aDelaware and a Mingo, let their tribes go outto fight for whom they may, in a white quarrel.For that matter, though the Oneidas do servehis sacred majesty, who is my sovereign lordand master, I should not have deliberated longabout letting off ‘killdeer’ at the imp myself,had luck thrown him in my way.”

“That would have been an abuse of our

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treaties, and unworthy of your character.”

“When a man consort much with a people,”continued Hawkeye, “if they were honest andhe no knave, love will grow up atwixt them.It is true that white cunning has managed tothrow the tribes into great confusion, as re-spects friends and enemies; so that the Huronsand the Oneidas, who speak the same tongue,or what may be called the same, take eachother’s scalps, and the Delawares are dividedamong themselves; a few hanging about theirgreat council-fire on their own river, and fight-ing on the same side with the Mingoes whilethe greater part are in the Canadas, out of nat-ural enmity to the Maquas–thus throwing ev-erything into disorder, and destroying all theharmony of warfare. Yet a red natur’ is notlikely to alter with every shift of policy; so that

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the love atwixt a Mohican and a Mingo is muchlike the regard between a white man and a sar-pent.”

“I regret to hear it; for I had believed thosenatives who dwelt within our boundaries hadfound us too just and liberal, not to identifythemselves fully with our quarrels.”

“Why, I believe it is natur’ to give a pref-erence to one’s own quarrels before those ofstrangers. Now, for myself, I do love justice;and, therefore, I will not say I hate a Mingo, forthat may be unsuitable to my color and my reli-gion, though I will just repeat, it may have beenowing to the night that ‘killdeer’ had no handin the death of this skulking Oneida.”

Then, as if satisfied with the force of hisown reasons, whatever might be their effect onthe opinions of the other disputant, the hon-

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est but implacable woodsman turned from thefire, content to let the controversy slumber.Heyward withdrew to the rampart, too uneasyand too little accustomed to the warfare of thewoods to remain at ease under the possibil-ity of such insidious attacks. Not so, however,with the scout and the Mohicans. Those acuteand long-practised senses, whose powers so of-ten exceed the limits of all ordinary credulity,after having detected the danger, had enabledthem to ascertain its magnitude and duration.Not one of the three appeared in the least todoubt their perfect security, as was indicatedby the preparations that were soon made to sitin council over their future proceedings.

The confusion of nations, and even of tribes,to which Hawkeye alluded, existed at that pe-riod in the fullest force. The great tie of lan-

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guage, and, of course, of a common origin,was severed in many places; and it was oneof its consequences, that the Delaware andthe Mingo (as the people of the Six Nationswere called) were found fighting in the sameranks, while the latter sought the scalp of theHuron, though believed to be the root of hisown stock. The Delawares were even dividedamong themselves. Though love for the soilwhich had belonged to his ancestors kept theSagamore of the Mohicans with a small bandof followers who were serving at Edward, un-der the banners of the English king, by farthe largest portion of his nation were knownto be in the field as allies of Montcalm. Thereader probably knows, if enough has not al-ready been gleaned form this narrative, that theDelaware, or Lenape, claimed to be the progen-itors of that numerous people, who once were

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masters of most of the eastern and northernstates of America, of whom the community ofthe Mohicans was an ancient and highly hon-ored member.

It was, of course, with a perfect understand-ing of the minute and intricate interests whichhad armed friend against friend, and broughtnatural enemies to combat by each other’s side,that the scout and his companions now dis-posed themselves to deliberate on the mea-sures that were to govern their future move-ments, amid so many jarring and savage racesof men. Duncan knew enough of Indian cus-toms to understand the reason that the fire wasreplenished, and why the warriors, not except-ing Hawkeye, took their seats within the curl ofits smoke with so much gravity and decorum.Placing himself at an angle of the works, where

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he might be a spectator of the scene without, heawaited the result with as much patience as hecould summon.

After a short and impressive pause, Chin-gachgook lighted a pipe whose bowl was cu-riously carved in one of the soft stones of thecountry, and whose stem was a tube of wood,and commenced smoking. When he had in-haled enough of the fragrance of the soothingweed, he passed the instrument into the handsof the scout. In this manner the pipe had madeits rounds three several times, amid the mostprofound silence, before either of the partyopened his lips. Then the Sagamore, as the old-est and highest in rank, in a few calm and dig-nified words, proposed the subject for delibera-tion. He was answered by the scout; and Chin-gachgook rejoined, when the other objected to

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his opinions. But the youthful Uncas contin-ued a silent and respectful listener, until Hawk-eye, in complaisance, demanded his opinion.Heyward gathered from the manners of thedifferent speakers, that the father and son es-poused one side of a disputed question, whilethe white man maintained the other. The con-test gradually grew warmer, until it was quiteevident the feelings of the speakers began to besomewhat enlisted in the debate.

Notwithstanding the increasing warmth ofthe amicable contest, the most decorous Chris-tian assembly, not even excepting those inwhich its reverend ministers are collected,might have learned a wholesome lesson ofmoderation from the forbearance and courtesyof the disputants. The words of Uncas were re-ceived with the same deep attention as those

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which fell from the maturer wisdom of his fa-ther; and so far from manifesting any impa-tience, neither spoke in reply, until a few mo-ments of silent meditation were, seemingly, be-stowed in deliberating on what had alreadybeen said.

The language of the Mohicans was accom-panied by gestures so direct and natural thatHeyward had but little difficulty in followingthe thread of their argument. On the otherhand, the scout was obscure; because fromthe lingering pride of color, he rather affectedthe cold and artificial manner which character-izes all classes of Anglo-Americans when un-excited. By the frequency with which the Indi-ans described the marks of a forest trial, it wasevident they urged a pursuit by land, whilethe repeated sweep of Hawkeye’s arm toward

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the Horican denoted that he was for a passageacross its waters.

The latter was to every appearance fast los-ing ground, and the point was about to be de-cided against him, when he arose to his feet,and shaking off his apathy, he suddenly as-sumed the manner of an Indian, and adoptedall the arts of native eloquence. Elevating anarm, he pointed out the track of the sun, repeat-ing the gesture for every day that was neces-sary to accomplish their objects. Then he de-lineated a long and painful path, amid rocksand water-courses. The age and weakness ofthe slumbering and unconscious Munro wereindicated by signs too palpable to be mistaken.Duncan perceived that even his own powerswere spoken lightly of, as the scout extendedhis palm, and mentioned him by the appella-

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tion of the “Open Hand”–a name his liberalityhad purchased of all the friendly tribes. Thencame a representation of the light and gracefulmovements of a canoe, set in forcible contrastto the tottering steps of one enfeebled and tired.He concluded by pointing to the scalp of theOneida, and apparently urging the necessity oftheir departing speedily, and in a manner thatshould leave no trail.

The Mohicans listened gravely, and withcountenances that reflected the sentiments ofthe speaker. Conviction gradually wrought itsinfluence, and toward the close of Hawkeye’sspeech, his sentences were accompanied by thecustomary exclamation of commendation. Inshort, Uncas and his father became convertsto his way of thinking, abandoning their ownpreviously expressed opinions with a liberality

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and candor that, had they been the representa-tives of some great and civilized people, wouldhave infallibly worked their political ruin, bydestroying forever their reputation for consis-tency.

The instant the matter in discussion was de-cided, the debate, and everything connectedwith it, except the result appeared to be forgot-ten. Hawkeye, without looking round to readhis triumph in applauding eyes, very compos-edly stretched his tall frame before the dyingembers, and closed his own organs in sleep.

Left now in a measure to themselves, theMohicans, whose time had been so much de-voted to the interests of others, seized the mo-ment to devote some attention to themselves.Casting off at once the grave and austere de-meanor of an Indian chief, Chingachgook com-

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menced speaking to his son in the soft andplayful tones of affection. Uncas gladly met thefamiliar air of his father; and before the hardbreathing of the scout announced that he slept,a complete change was effected in the mannerof his two associates.

It is impossible to describe the music oftheir language, while thus engaged in laugh-ter and endearments, in such a way as to ren-der it intelligible to those whose ears havenever listened to its melody. The compass oftheir voices, particularly that of the youth, waswonderful–extending from the deepest bass totones that were even feminine in softness. Theeyes of the father followed the plastic and in-genious movements of the son with open de-light, and he never failed to smile in reply tothe other’s contagious but low laughter. While

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under the influence of these gentle and natu-ral feelings, no trace of ferocity was to be seenin the softened features of the Sagamore. Hisfigured panoply of death looked more like adisguise assumed in mockery than a fierce an-nunciation of a desire to carry destruction in hisfootsteps.

After an hour had passed in the indulgenceof their better feelings, Chingachgook abruptlyannounced his desire to sleep, by wrapping hishead in his blanket and stretching his form onthe naked earth. The merriment of Uncas in-stantly ceased; and carefully raking the coalsin such a manner that they should impart theirwarmth to his father’s feet, the youth soughthis own pillow among the ruins of the place.

Imbibing renewed confidence from the se-curity of these experienced foresters, Heyward

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soon imitated their example; and long beforethe night had turned, they who lay in the bo-som of the ruined work, seemed to slumberas heavily as the unconscious multitude whosebones were already beginning to bleach on thesurrounding plain.

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“Land of Albania! let me bendmine eyes

On thee; thou rugged nurse of sav-age men!”

–Childe Harold

THE HEAVENS WERE still studded with

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stars, when Hawkeye came to arouse the sleep-ers. Casting aside their cloaks Munro and Hey-ward were on their feet while the woodsmanwas still making his low calls, at the entranceof the rude shelter where they had passed thenight. When they issued from beneath its con-cealment, they found the scout awaiting theirappearance nigh by, and the only salutation be-tween them was the significant gesture for si-lence, made by their sagacious leader.

“Think over your prayers,” he whispered,as they approached him; “for He to whomyou make them, knows all tongues; that of theheart, as well as those of the mouth. But speaknot a syllable; it is rare for a white voice to pitchitself properly in the woods, as we have seen bythe example of that miserable devil, the singer.Come,” he continued, turning toward a curtain

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of the works; “let us get into the ditch on thisside, and be regardful to step on the stones andfragments of wood as you go.”

His companions complied, though to two ofthem the reasons of this extraordinary precau-tion were yet a mystery. When they were inthe low cavity that surrounded the earthen forton three sides, they found that passage nearlychoked by the ruins. With care and patience,however, they succeeded in clambering afterthe scout, until they reached the sandy shoreof the Horican.

“That’s a trail that nothing but a nose canfollow,” said the satisfied scout, looking backalong their difficult way; “grass is a treacher-ous carpet for a flying party to tread on, butwood and stone take no print from a moccasin.Had you worn your armed boots, there might,

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indeed, have been something to fear; but withthe deer-skin suitably prepared, a man maytrust himself, generally, on rocks with safety.Shove in the canoe nigher to the land, Uncas;this sand will take a stamp as easily as thebutter of the Jarmans on the Mohawk. Softly,lad, softly; it must not touch the beach, or theknaves will know by what road we have leftthe place.”

The young man observed the precaution;and the scout, laying a board from the ruinsto the canoe, made a sign for the two officersto enter. When this was done, everything wasstudiously restored to its former disorder; andthen Hawkeye succeeded in reaching his littlebirchen vessel, without leaving behind him anyof those marks which he appeared so much todread. Heyward was silent until the Indians

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had cautiously paddled the canoe some dis-tance from the fort, and within the broad anddark shadows that fell from the eastern moun-tain on the glassy surface of the lake; then hedemanded:

“What need have we for this stolen and hur-ried departure?”

“If the blood of an Oneida could stain sucha sheet of pure water as this we float on,” re-turned the scout, “your two eyes would an-swer your own question. Have you forgottenthe skulking reptile Uncas slew?”

“By no means. But he was said to be alone,and dead men give no cause for fear.”

“Ay, he was alone in his deviltry! but anIndian whose tribe counts so many warriors,need seldom fear his blood will run without the

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death shriek coming speedily from some of hisenemies.”

“But our presence–the authority of ColonelMunro–would prove sufficient protectionagainst the anger of our allies, especially ina case where the wretch so well merited hisfate. I trust in Heaven you have not deviateda single foot from the direct line of our coursewith so slight a reason!”

“Do you think the bullet of that varlet’s ri-fle would have turned aside, though his sa-cred majesty the king had stood in its path?”returned the stubborn scout. “Why did notthe grand Frencher, he who is captain-generalof the Canadas, bury the tomahawks of theHurons, if a word from a white can work sostrongly on the natur’ of an Indian?”

The reply of Heyward was interrupted by a

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groan from Munro; but after he had paused amoment, in deference to the sorrow of his agedfriend he resumed the subject.

“The marquis of Montcalm can only settlethat error with his God,” said the young mansolemnly.

“Ay, ay, now there is reason in your words,for they are bottomed on religion and honesty.There is a vast difference between throwing aregiment of white coats atwixt the tribes andthe prisoners, and coaxing an angry savage toforget he carries a knife and rifle, with wordsthat must begin with calling him your son. No,no,” continued the scout, looking back at thedim shore of William Henry, which was nowfast receding, and laughing in his own silentbut heartfelt manner; “I have put a trail of wa-ter atween us; and unless the imps can make

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friends with the fishes, and hear who has pad-dled across their basin this fine morning, weshall throw the length of the Horican behind usbefore they have made up their minds whichpath to take.”

“With foes in front, and foes in our rear, ourjourney is like to be one of danger.”

“Danger!” repeated Hawkeye, calmly; “no,not absolutely of danger; for, with vigilant earsand quick eyes, we can manage to keep a fewhours ahead of the knaves; or, if we must trythe rifle, there are three of us who understandits gifts as well as any you can name on the bor-ders. No, not of danger; but that we shall havewhat you may call a brisk push of it, is proba-ble; and it may happen, a brush, a scrimmage,or some such divarsion, but always where cov-ers are good, and ammunition abundant.”

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It is possible that Heyward’s estimate of dan-ger differed in some degree from that of thescout, for, instead of replying, he now sat insilence, while the canoe glided over severalmiles of water. Just as the day dawned, theyentered the narrows of the lake19, and stoleswiftly and cautiously among their numberless

19The beauties of Lake George are well known to ev-ery American tourist. In the height of the mountainswhich surround it, and in artificial accessories, it is infe-rior to the finest of the Swiss and Italian lakes, while inoutline and purity of water it is fully their equal; and inthe number and disposition of its isles and islets muchsuperior to them all together. There are said to be somehundreds of islands in a sheet of water less than thirtymiles long. The narrows, which connect what may becalled, in truth, two lakes, are crowded with islands tosuch a degree as to leave passages between them fre-quently of only a few feet in width. The lake itself variesin breadth from one to three miles.

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little islands. It was by this road that Montcalmhad retired with his army, and the adventur-ers knew not but he had left some of his Indi-ans in ambush, to protect the rear of his forces,and collect the stragglers. They, therefore, ap-proached the passage with the customary si-lence of their guarded habits.

Chingachgook laid aside his paddle; whileUncas and the scout urged the light vesselthrough crooked and intricate channels, whereevery foot that they advanced exposed themto the danger of some sudden rising on theirprogress. The eyes of the Sagamore movedwarily from islet to islet, and copse to copse, asthe canoe proceeded; and, when a clearer sheetof water permitted, his keen vision was bentalong the bald rocks and impending foreststhat frowned upon the narrow strait.

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Heyward, who was a doubly interestedspectator, as well from the beauties of the placeas from the apprehension natural to his situa-tion, was just believing that he had permittedthe latter to be excited without sufficient rea-son, when the paddle ceased moving, in obedi-ence to a signal from Chingachgook.

“Hugh!” exclaimed Uncas, nearly at the mo-ment that the light tap his father had made onthe side of the canoe notified them of the vicin-ity of danger.

“What now?” asked the scout; “the lake is assmooth as if the winds had never blown, andI can see along its sheet for miles; there is notso much as the black head of a loon dotting thewater.”

The Indian gravely raised his paddle, andpointed in the direction in which his own

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steady look was riveted. Duncan’s eyes fol-lowed the motion. A few rods in their front layanother of the wooded islets, but it appeared ascalm and peaceful as if its solitude had neverbeen disturbed by the foot of man.

“I see nothing,” he said, “but land and water;and a lovely scene it is.”

“Hist!” interrupted the scout. “Ay, Sag-amore, there is always a reason for what youdo. ‘Tis but a shade, and yet it is not natural.You see the mist, major, that is rising above theisland; you can’t call it a fog, for it is more likea streak of thin cloud–”

“It is vapor from the water.”

“That a child could tell. But what is the edg-ing of blacker smoke that hangs along its lowerside, and which you may trace down into the

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thicket of hazel? ‘Tis from a fire; but one that, inmy judgment, has been suffered to burn low.”

“Let us, then, push for the place, and relieveour doubts,” said the impatient Duncan; “theparty must be small that can lie on such a bit ofland.”

“If you judge of Indian cunning by the rulesyou find in books, or by white sagacity, theywill lead you astray, if not to your death,” re-turned Hawkeye, examining the signs of theplace with that acuteness which distinguishedhim. “If I may be permitted to speak in thismatter, it will be to say, that we have but twothings to choose between: the one is, to re-turn, and give up all thoughts of following theHurons–”

“Never!” exclaimed Heyward, in a voice fartoo loud for their circumstances.

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“Well, well,” continued Hawkeye, makinga hasty sign to repress his impatience; “I ammuch of your mind myself; though I thought itbecoming my experience to tell the whole. Wemust, then, make a push, and if the Indians orFrenchers are in the narrows, run the gauntletthrough these toppling mountains. Is there rea-son in my words, Sagamore?”

The Indian made no other answer than bydropping his paddle into the water, and urg-ing forward the canoe. As he held the officeof directing its course, his resolution was suffi-ciently indicated by the movement. The wholeparty now plied their paddles vigorously, andin a very few moments they had reached apoint whence they might command an entireview of the northern shore of the island, theside that had hitherto been concealed.

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“There they are, by all the truth of signs,”whispered the scout, “two canoes and a smoke.The knaves haven’t yet got their eyes out of themist, or we should hear the accursed whoop.Together, friends! we are leaving them, and arealready nearly out of whistle of a bullet.”

The well-known crack of a rifle, whose ballcame skipping along the placid surface of thestrait, and a shrill yell from the island, inter-rupted his speech, and announced that theirpassage was discovered. In another instantseveral savages were seen rushing into canoes,which were soon dancing over the water inpursuit. These fearful precursors of a com-ing struggle produced no change in the counte-nances and movements of his three guides, sofar as Duncan could discover, except that thestrokes of their paddles were longer and more

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in unison, and caused the little bark to springforward like a creature possessing life and vo-lition.

“Hold them there, Sagamore,” said Hawk-eye, looking coolly backward over this leftshoulder, while he still plied his paddle; “keepthem just there. Them Hurons have never apiece in their nation that will execute at thisdistance; but ‘killdeer’ has a barrel on whicha man may calculate.”

The scout having ascertained that the Mohi-cans were sufficient of themselves to maintainthe requisite distance, deliberately laid asidehis paddle, and raised the fatal rifle. Three sev-eral times he brought the piece to his shoulder,and when his companions were expecting itsreport, he as often lowered it to request the In-dians would permit their enemies to approach

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a little nigher. At length his accurate and fas-tidious eye seemed satisfied, and, throwing outhis left arm on the barrel, he was slowly elevat-ing the muzzle, when an exclamation from Un-cas, who sat in the bow, once more caused himto suspend the shot.

“What, now, lad?” demanded Hawkeye;“you save a Huron from the death-shriek bythat word; have you reason for what you do?”

Uncas pointed toward a rocky shore a lit-tle in their front, whence another war canoewas darting directly across their course. It wastoo obvious now that their situation was im-minently perilous to need the aid of languageto confirm it. The scout laid aside his rifle,and resumed the paddle, while Chingachgookinclined the bows of the canoe a little towardthe western shore, in order to increase the dis-

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tance between them and this new enemy. In themeantime they were reminded of the presenceof those who pressed upon their rear, by wildand exulting shouts. The stirring scene awak-ened even Munro from his apathy.

“Let us make for the rocks on the main,”he said, with the mien of a tired soldier, “andgive battle to the savages. God forbid that I,or those attached to me and mine, should evertrust again to the faith of any servant of theLouis’s!”

“He who wishes to prosper in Indian war-fare,” returned the scout, “must not be tooproud to learn from the wit of a native. Lay hermore along the land, Sagamore; we are dou-bling on the varlets, and perhaps they may tryto strike our trail on the long calculation.”

Hawkeye was not mistaken; for when the

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Hurons found their course was likely to throwthem behind their chase they rendered it lessdirect, until, by gradually bearing more andmore obliquely, the two canoes were, ere long,gliding on parallel lines, within two hundredyards of each other. It now became entirely atrial of speed. So rapid was the progress of thelight vessels, that the lake curled in their front,in miniature waves, and their motion becameundulating by its own velocity. It was, perhaps,owing to this circumstance, in addition to thenecessity of keeping every hand employed atthe paddles, that the Hurons had not immedi-ate recourse to their firearms. The exertions ofthe fugitives were too severe to continue long,and the pursuers had the advantage of num-bers. Duncan observed with uneasiness, thatthe scout began to look anxiously about him, asif searching for some further means of assisting

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their flight.

“Edge her a little more from the sun, Sag-amore,” said the stubborn woodsman; “I seethe knaves are sparing a man to the rifle. A sin-gle broken bone might lose us our scalps. Edgemore from the sun and we will put the islandbetween us.”

The expedient was not without its use. Along, low island lay at a little distance beforethem, and, as they closed with it, the chasingcanoe was compelled to take a side opposite tothat on which the pursued passed. The scoutand his companions did not neglect this ad-vantage, but the instant they were hid from ob-servation by the bushes, they redoubled effortsthat before had seemed prodigious. The twocanoes came round the last low point, like twocoursers at the top of their speed, the fugitives

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taking the lead. This change had brought themnigher to each other, however, while it alteredtheir relative positions.

“You showed knowledge in the shaping of abirchen bark, Uncas, when you chose this fromamong the Huron canoes,” said the scout, smil-ing, apparently more in satisfaction at their su-periority in the race than from that prospectof final escape which now began to open a lit-tle upon them. “The imps have put all theirstrength again at the paddles, and we are tostruggle for our scalps with bits of flattenedwood, instead of clouded barrels and true eyes.A long stroke, and together, friends.”

“They are preparing for a shot,” said Hey-ward; “and as we are in a line with them, it canscarcely fail.”

“Get you, then, into the bottom of the ca-

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noe,” returned the scout; “you and the colonel;it will be so much taken from the size of themark.”

Heyward smiled, as he answered:“It would be but an ill example for the high-

est in rank to dodge, while the warriors wereunder fire.”

“Lord! Lord! That is now a white man’scourage!” exclaimed the scout; “and like tomany of his notions, not to be maintained byreason. Do you think the Sagamore, or Un-cas, or even I, who am a man without a cross,would deliberate about finding a cover in thescrimmage, when an open body would do nogood? For what have the Frenchers reared uptheir Quebec, if fighting is always to be done inthe clearings?”

“All that you say is very true, my friend,”

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replied Heyward; “still, our customs must pre-vent us from doing as you wish.”

A volley from the Hurons interrupted thediscourse, and as the bullets whistled aboutthem, Duncan saw the head of Uncas turned,looking back at himself and Munro. Notwith-standing the nearness of the enemy, and hisown great personal danger, the countenanceof the young warrior expressed no other emo-tion, as the former was compelled to think,than amazement at finding men willing to en-counter so useless an exposure. Chingachgookwas probably better acquainted with the no-tions of white men, for he did not even casta glance aside from the riveted look his eyemaintained on the object by which he governedtheir course. A ball soon struck the light andpolished paddle from the hands of the chief,

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and drove it through the air, far in the advance.A shout arose from the Hurons, who seized theopportunity to fire another volley. Uncas de-scribed an arc in the water with his own blade,and as the canoe passed swiftly on, Chingach-gook recovered his paddle, and flourishing iton high, he gave the war-whoop of the Mohi-cans, and then lent his strength and skill againto the important task.

The clamorous sounds of “Le Gros Serpent!”“La Longue Carabine!” “Le Cerf Agile!” burstat once from the canoes behind, and seemedto give new zeal to the pursuers. The scoutseized “killdeer” in his left hand, and elevat-ing it about his head, he shook it in triumphat his enemies. The savages answered the in-sult with a yell, and immediately another vol-ley succeeded. The bullets pattered along the

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lake, and one even pierced the bark of theirlittle vessel. No perceptible emotion could bediscovered in the Mohicans during this criticalmoment, their rigid features expressing neitherhope nor alarm; but the scout again turned hishead, and, laughing in his own silent manner,he said to Heyward:

“The knaves love to hear the sounds of theirpieces; but the eye is not to be found amongthe Mingoes that can calculate a true range in adancing canoe! You see the dumb devils havetaken off a man to charge, and by the small-est measurement that can be allowed, we movethree feet to their two!”

Duncan, who was not altogether as easy un-der this nice estimate of distances as his com-panions, was glad to find, however, that ow-ing to their superior dexterity, and the diver-

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sion among their enemies, they were very sen-sibly obtaining the advantage. The Huronssoon fired again, and a bullet struck the bladeof Hawkeye’s paddle without injury.

“That will do,” said the scout, examining theslight indentation with a curious eye; “it wouldnot have cut the skin of an infant, much less ofmen, who, like us, have been blown upon bythe heavens in their anger. Now, major, if youwill try to use this piece of flattened wood, I’lllet ‘killdeer’ take a part in the conversation.”

Heyward seized the paddle, and appliedhimself to the work with an eagerness that sup-plied the place of skill, while Hawkeye wasengaged in inspecting the priming of his ri-fle. The latter then took a swift aim and fired.The Huron in the bows of the leading canoehad risen with a similar object, and he now fell

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backward, suffering his gun to escape from hishands into the water. In an instant, however,he recovered his feet, though his gestures werewild and bewildered. At the same moment hiscompanions suspended their efforts, and thechasing canoes clustered together, and becamestationary. Chingachgook and Uncas profitedby the interval to regain their wind, thoughDuncan continued to work with the most per-severing industry. The father and son now castcalm but inquiring glances at each other, tolearn if either had sustained any injury by thefire; for both well knew that no cry or exclama-tion would, in such a moment of necessity havebeen permitted to betray the accident. A fewlarge drops of blood were trickling down theshoulder of the Sagamore, who, when he per-ceived that the eyes of Uncas dwelt too long onthe sight, raised some water in the hollow of his

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hand, and washing off the stain, was content tomanifest, in this simple manner, the slightnessof the injury.

“Softly, softly, major,” said the scout, whoby this time had reloaded his rifle; “we are alittle too far already for a rifle to put forth itsbeauties, and you see yonder imps are holdinga council. Let them come up within strikingdistance–my eye may well be trusted in sucha matter–and I will trail the varlets the lengthof the Horican, guaranteeing that not a shot oftheirs shall, at the worst, more than break theskin, while ‘killdeer’ shall touch the life twicein three times.”

“We forget our errand,” returned the diligentDuncan. “For God’s sake let us profit by thisadvantage, and increase our distance from theenemy.”

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“Give me my children,” said Munro,hoarsely; “trifle no longer with a father’sagony, but restore me my babes.”

Long and habitual deference to the man-dates of his superiors had taught the scout thevirtue of obedience. Throwing a last and lin-gering glance at the distant canoes, he laidaside his rifle, and, relieving the wearied Dun-can, resumed the paddle, which he wieldedwith sinews that never tired. His efforts wereseconded by those of the Mohicans and a veryfew minutes served to place such a sheet of wa-ter between them and their enemies, that Hey-ward once more breathed freely.

The lake now began to expand, and theirroute lay along a wide reach, that was lined,as before, by high and ragged mountains. Butthe islands were few, and easily avoided. The

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strokes of the paddles grew more measuredand regular, while they who plied them contin-ued their labor, after the close and deadly chasefrom which they had just relieved themselves,with as much coolness as though their speedhad been tried in sport, rather than under suchpressing, nay, almost desperate, circumstances.

Instead of following the western shore,whither their errand led them, the wary Mohi-can inclined his course more toward those hillsbehind which Montcalm was known to haveled his army into the formidable fortress ofTiconderoga. As the Hurons, to every appear-ance, had abandoned the pursuit, there was noapparent reason for this excess of caution. Itwas, however, maintained for hours, until theyhad reached a bay, nigh the northern termina-tion of the lake. Here the canoe was driven

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upon the beach, and the whole party landed.Hawkeye and Heyward ascended an adjacentbluff, where the former, after considering theexpanse of water beneath him, pointed out tothe latter a small black object, hovering undera headland, at the distance of several miles.

“Do you see it?” demanded the scout. “Now,what would you account that spot, were youleft alone to white experience to find your waythrough this wilderness?”

“But for its distance and its magnitude, Ishould suppose it a bird. Can it be a living ob-ject?”

“‘Tis a canoe of good birchen bark, and pad-dled by fierce and crafty Mingoes. ThoughProvidence has lent to those who inhabit thewoods eyes that would be needless to men inthe settlements, where there are inventions to

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assist the sight, yet no human organs can seeall the dangers which at this moment circum-vent us. These varlets pretend to be bent chieflyon their sun-down meal, but the moment it isdark they will be on our trail, as true as houndson the scent. We must throw them off, or ourpursuit of Le Renard Subtil may be given up.These lakes are useful at times, especially whenthe game take the water,” continued the scout,gazing about him with a countenance of con-cern; “but they give no cover, except it be to thefishes. God knows what the country would be,if the settlements should ever spread far fromthe two rivers. Both hunting and war wouldlose their beauty.”

“Let us not delay a moment, without somegood and obvious cause.”

“I little like that smoke, which you may see

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worming up along the rock above the canoe,”interrupted the abstracted scout. “My life on it,other eyes than ours see it, and know its mean-ing. Well, words will not mend the matter, andit is time that we were doing.”

Hawkeye moved away from the lookout,and descended, musing profoundly, to theshore. He communicated the result of his ob-servations to his companions, in Delaware, anda short and earnest consultation succeeded.When it terminated, the three instantly setabout executing their new resolutions.

The canoe was lifted from the water, andborne on the shoulders of the party, they pro-ceeded into the wood, making as broad and ob-vious a trail as possible. They soon reached thewater-course, which they crossed, and, contin-uing onward, until they came to an extensive

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and naked rock. At this point, where their foot-steps might be expected to be no longer visible,they retraced their route to the brook, walkingbackward, with the utmost care. They now fol-lowed the bed of the little stream to the lake,into which they immediately launched their ca-noe again. A low point concealed them fromthe headland, and the margin of the lake wasfringed for some distance with dense and over-hanging bushes. Under the cover of these nat-ural advantages, they toiled their way, with pa-tient industry, until the scout pronounced thathe believed it would be safe once more to land.

The halt continued until evening renderedobjects indistinct and uncertain to the eye.Then they resumed their route, and, favoredby the darkness, pushed silently and vigor-ously toward the western shore. Although

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the rugged outline of mountain, to which theywere steering, presented no distinctive marksto the eyes of Duncan, the Mohican entered thelittle haven he had selected with the confidenceand accuracy of an experienced pilot.

The boat was again lifted and borne into thewoods, where it was carefully concealed undera pile of brush. The adventurers assumed theirarms and packs, and the scout announced toMunro and Heyward that he and the Indianswere at last in readiness to proceed.

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“If you find a man there,he shall die a flea’s death.”

–Merry Wives of Windsor.

THE PARTY HAD landed on the border of aregion that is, even to this day, less known tothe inhabitants of the States than the deserts

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of Arabia, or the steppes of Tartary. It wasthe sterile and rugged district which separatesthe tributaries of Champlain from those of theHudson, the Mohawk, and the St. Lawrence.Since the period of our tale the active spirit ofthe country has surrounded it with a belt ofrich and thriving settlements, though none butthe hunter or the savage is ever known evennow to penetrate its wild recesses.

As Hawkeye and the Mohicans had, how-ever, often traversed the mountains and valleysof this vast wilderness, they did not hesitate toplunge into its depth, with the freedom of menaccustomed to its privations and difficulties.For many hours the travelers toiled on theirlaborious way, guided by a star, or followingthe direction of some water-course, until thescout called a halt, and holding a short consul-

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tation with the Indians, they lighted their fire,and made the usual preparations to pass the re-mainder of the night where they then were.

Imitating the example, and emulating theconfidence of their more experienced asso-ciates, Munro and Duncan slept without fear,if not without uneasiness. The dews were suf-fered to exhale, and the sun had dispersed themists, and was shedding a strong and clearlight in the forest, when the travelers resumedtheir journey.

After proceeding a few miles, the progress ofHawkeye, who led the advance, became moredeliberate and watchful. He often stopped toexamine the trees; nor did he cross a rivuletwithout attentively considering the quantity,the velocity, and the color of its waters. Dis-trusting his own judgment, his appeals to the

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opinion of Chingachgook were frequent andearnest. During one of these conferences Hey-ward observed that Uncas stood a patient andsilent, though, as he imagined, an interestedlistener. He was strongly tempted to addressthe young chief, and demand his opinion oftheir progress; but the calm and dignified de-meanor of the native induced him to believe,that, like himself, the other was wholly depen-dent on the sagacity and intelligence of the se-niors of the party. At last the scout spoke inEnglish, and at once explained the embarrass-ment of their situation.

“When I found that the home path of theHurons run north,” he said, “it did not need thejudgment of many long years to tell that theywould follow the valleys, and keep atween thewaters of the Hudson and the Horican, until

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they might strike the springs of the Canadastreams, which would lead them into the heartof the country of the Frenchers. Yet here arewe, within a short range of the Scaroons, andnot a sign of a trail have we crossed! Humannatur’ is weak, and it is possible we may nothave taken the proper scent.”

“Heaven protect us from such an error!” ex-claimed Duncan. “Let us retrace our steps, andexamine as we go, with keener eyes. Has Uncasno counsel to offer in such a strait?”

The young Mohican cast a glance at his fa-ther, but, maintaining his quiet and reservedmien, he continued silent. Chingachgook hadcaught the look, and motioning with his hand,he bade him speak. The moment this permis-sion was accorded, the countenance of Uncaschanged from its grave composure to a gleam

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of intelligence and joy. Bounding forward likea deer, he sprang up the side of a little acclivity,a few rods in advance, and stood, exultingly,over a spot of fresh earth, that looked as thoughit had been recently upturned by the passageof some heavy animal. The eyes of the wholeparty followed the unexpected movement, andread their success in the air of triumph that theyouth assumed.

“‘Tis the trail!” exclaimed the scout, advanc-ing to the spot; “the lad is quick of sight andkeen of wit for his years.”

“‘Tis extraordinary that he should have with-held his knowledge so long,” muttered Dun-can, at his elbow.

“It would have been more wonderful had hespoken without a bidding. No, no; your youngwhite, who gathers his learning from books

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and can measure what he knows by the page,may conceit that his knowledge, like his legs,outruns that of his fathers’, but, where experi-ence is the master, the scholar is made to knowthe value of years, and respects them accord-ingly.”

“See!” said Uncas, pointing north and south,at the evident marks of the broad trail on eitherside of him, “the dark-hair has gone toward theforest.”

“Hound never ran on a more beautifulscent,” responded the scout, dashing forward,at once, on the indicated route; “we are fa-vored, greatly favored, and can follow withhigh noses. Ay, here are both your waddlingbeasts: this Huron travels like a white general.The fellow is stricken with a judgment, and ismad! Look sharp for wheels, Sagamore,” he

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continued, looking back, and laughing in hisnewly awakened satisfaction; “we shall soonhave the fool journeying in a coach, and thatwith three of the best pair of eyes on the bor-ders in his rear.”

The spirits of the scout, and the astonish-ing success of the chase, in which a circuitousdistance of more than forty miles had beenpassed, did not fail to impart a portion of hopeto the whole party. Their advance was rapid;and made with as much confidence as a trav-eler would proceed along a wide highway. Ifa rock, or a rivulet, or a bit of earth harderthan common, severed the links of the clewthey followed, the true eye of the scout recov-ered them at a distance, and seldom renderedthe delay of a single moment necessary. Theirprogress was much facilitated by the certainty

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that Magua had found it necessary to journeythrough the valleys; a circumstance which ren-dered the general direction of the route sure.Nor had the Huron entirely neglected the artsuniformly practised by the natives when retir-ing in front of an enemy. False trails and sud-den turnings were frequent, wherever a brookor the formation of the ground rendered themfeasible; but his pursuers were rarely deceived,and never failed to detect their error, beforethey had lost either time or distance on the de-ceptive track.

By the middle of the afternoon they hadpassed the Scaroons, and were following theroute of the declining sun. After descendingan eminence to a low bottom, through whicha swift stream glided, they suddenly came to aplace where the party of Le Renard had made a

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halt. Extinguished brands were lying around aspring, the offals of a deer were scattered aboutthe place, and the trees bore evident marks ofhaving been browsed by the horses. At a lit-tle distance, Heyward discovered, and contem-plated with tender emotion, the small bowerunder which he was fain to believe that Coraand Alice had reposed. But while the earth wastrodden, and the footsteps of both men andbeasts were so plainly visible around the place,the trail appeared to have suddenly ended.

It was easy to follow the tracks of the Nar-ragansetts, but they seemed only to have wan-dered without guides, or any other object thanthe pursuit of food. At length Uncas, who, withhis father, had endeavored to trace the routeof the horses, came upon a sign of their pres-ence that was quite recent. Before following

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the clew, he communicated his success to hiscompanions; and while the latter were consult-ing on the circumstance, the youth reappeared,leading the two fillies, with their saddles bro-ken, and the housings soiled, as though theyhad been permitted to run at will for severaldays.

“What should this prove?” said Duncan,turning pale, and glancing his eyes aroundhim, as if he feared the brush and leaves wereabout to give up some horrid secret.

“That our march is come to a quick end, andthat we are in an enemy’s country,” returnedthe scout. “Had the knave been pressed, andthe gentle ones wanted horses to keep up withthe party, he might have taken their scalps; butwithout an enemy at his heels, and with suchrugged beasts as these, he would not hurt a

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hair of their heads. I know your thoughts, andshame be it to our color that you have reasonfor them; but he who thinks that even a Mingowould ill-treat a woman, unless it be to toma-hawk her, knows nothing of Indian natur’, orthe laws of the woods. No, no; I have heardthat the French Indians had come into thesehills to hunt the moose, and we are gettingwithin scent of their camp. Why should theynot? The morning and evening guns of Ty maybe heard any day among these mountains; forthe Frenchers are running a new line atweenthe provinces of the king and the Canadas. It istrue that the horses are here, but the Hurons aregone; let us, then, hunt for the path by whichthey parted.”

Hawkeye and the Mohicans now appliedthemselves to their task in good earnest. A

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circle of a few hundred feet in circumferencewas drawn, and each of the party took a seg-ment for his portion. The examination, how-ever, resulted in no discovery. The impressionsof footsteps were numerous, but they all ap-peared like those of men who had wanderedabout the spot, without any design to quit it.Again the scout and his companions made thecircuit of the halting place, each slowly follow-ing the other, until they assembled in the centeronce more, no wiser than when they started.

“Such cunning is not without its deviltry,”exclaimed Hawkeye, when he met the disap-pointed looks of his assistants.

“We must get down to it, Sagamore, begin-ning at the spring, and going over the groundby inches. The Huron shall never brag in histribe that he has a foot which leaves no print.”

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Setting the example himself, the scout en-gaged in the scrutiny with renewed zeal. Nota leaf was left unturned. The sticks were re-moved, and the stones lifted; for Indian cun-ning was known frequently to adopt these ob-jects as covers, laboring with the utmost pa-tience and industry, to conceal each footstep asthey proceeded. Still no discovery was made.At length Uncas, whose activity had enabledhim to achieve his portion of the task the soon-est, raked the earth across the turbid little rillwhich ran from the spring, and diverted itscourse into another channel. So soon as its nar-row bed below the dam was dry, he stoopedover it with keen and curious eyes. A cry of ex-ultation immediately announced the success ofthe young warrior. The whole party crowdedto the spot where Uncas pointed out the im-pression of a moccasin in the moist alluvion.

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“This lad will be an honor to his people,”said Hawkeye, regarding the trail with as muchadmiration as a naturalist would expend on thetusk of a mammoth or the rib of a mastodon;“ay, and a thorn in the sides of the Hurons.Yet that is not the footstep of an Indian! theweight is too much on the heel, and the toes aresquared, as though one of the French dancershad been in, pigeon-winging his tribe! Runback, Uncas, and bring me the size of thesinger’s foot. You will find a beautiful print ofit just opposite yon rock, agin the hillside.”

While the youth was engaged in this com-mission, the scout and Chingachgook were at-tentively considering the impressions. Themeasurements agreed, and the former unhesi-tatingly pronounced that the footstep was thatof David, who had once more been made to ex-

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change his shoes for moccasins.

“I can now read the whole of it, as plainly asif I had seen the arts of Le Subtil,” he added;“the singer being a man whose gifts lay chieflyin his throat and feet, was made to go first, andthe others have trod in his steps, imitating theirformation.”

“But,” cried Duncan, “I see no signs of–”

“The gentle ones,” interrupted the scout;“the varlet has found a way to carry them, un-til he supposed he had thrown any followersoff the scent. My life on it, we see their prettylittle feet again, before many rods go by.”

The whole party now proceeded, followingthe course of the rill, keeping anxious eyeson the regular impressions. The water soonflowed into its bed again, but watching the

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ground on either side, the foresters pursuedtheir way content with knowing that the traillay beneath. More than half a mile was passed,before the rill rippled close around the base ofan extensive and dry rock. Here they paused tomake sure that the Hurons had not quitted thewater.

It was fortunate they did so. For the quickand active Uncas soon found the impression ofa foot on a bunch of moss, where it would seeman Indian had inadvertently trodden. Pursu-ing the direction given by this discovery, he en-tered the neighboring thicket, and struck thetrail, as fresh and obvious as it had been be-fore they reached the spring. Another shoutannounced the good fortune of the youth tohis companions, and at once terminated thesearch.

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“Ay, it has been planned with Indian judg-ment,” said the scout, when the party was as-sembled around the place, “and would haveblinded white eyes.”

“Shall we proceed?” demanded Heyward.“Softly, softly, we know our path; but it is

good to examine the formation of things. Thisis my schooling, major; and if one neglects thebook, there is little chance of learning from theopen land of Providence. All is plain but onething, which is the manner that the knave con-trived to get the gentle ones along the blindtrail. Even a Huron would be too proud to lettheir tender feet touch the water.”

“Will this assist in explaining the difficulty?”said Heyward, pointing toward the fragmentsof a sort of handbarrow, that had been rudelyconstructed of boughs, and bound together

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with withes, and which now seemed carelesslycast aside as useless.

“‘Tis explained!” cried the delighted Hawk-eye. “If them varlets have passed a minute,they have spent hours in striving to fabricate alying end to their trail! Well, I’ve known themto waste a day in the same manner to as littlepurpose. Here we have three pair of moccasins,and two of little feet. It is amazing that anymortal beings can journey on limbs so small!Pass me the thong of buckskin, Uncas, and letme take the length of this foot. By the Lord, itis no longer than a child’s and yet the maidensare tall and comely. That Providence is partialin its gifts, for its own wise reasons, the bestand most contented of us must allow.”

“The tender limbs of my daughters are un-equal to these hardships,” said Munro, looking

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at the light footsteps of his children, with a par-ent’s love; “we shall find their fainting forms inthis desert.”

“Of that there is little cause of fear,” returnedthe scout, slowly shaking his head; “this is afirm and straight, though a light step, and notover long. See, the heel has hardly touched theground; and there the dark-hair has made a lit-tle jump, from root to root. No, no; my knowl-edge for it, neither of them was nigh fainting,hereaway. Now, the singer was beginning to befootsore and leg-weary, as is plain by his trail.There, you see, he slipped; here he has traveledwide and tottered; and there again it looks asthough he journeyed on snowshoes. Ay, ay, aman who uses his throat altogether, can hardlygive his legs a proper training.”

From such undeniable testimony did the

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practised woodsman arrive at the truth, withnearly as much certainty and precision as if hehad been a witness of all those events whichhis ingenuity so easily elucidated. Cheered bythese assurances, and satisfied by a reasoningthat was so obvious, while it was so simple, theparty resumed its course, after making a shorthalt, to take a hurried repast.

When the meal was ended, the scout cast aglance upward at the setting sun, and pushedforward with a rapidity which compelled Hey-ward and the still vigorous Munro to exert alltheir muscles to equal. Their route now layalong the bottom which has already been men-tioned. As the Hurons had made no further ef-forts to conceal their footsteps, the progress ofthe pursuers was no longer delayed by uncer-tainty. Before an hour had elapsed, however,

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the speed of Hawkeye sensibly abated, and hishead, instead of maintaining its former directand forward look, began to turn suspiciouslyfrom side to side, as if he were conscious of ap-proaching danger. He soon stopped again, andwaited for the whole party to come up.

“I scent the Hurons,” he said, speaking tothe Mohicans; “yonder is open sky, through thetreetops, and we are getting too nigh their en-campment. Sagamore, you will take the hill-side, to the right; Uncas will bend along thebrook to the left, while I will try the trail. Ifanything should happen, the call will be threecroaks of a crow. I saw one of the birds fan-ning himself in the air, just beyond the deadoak–another sign that we are approaching anencampment.”

The Indians departed their several ways

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without reply, while Hawkeye cautiously pro-ceeded with the two gentlemen. Heyward soonpressed to the side of their guide, eager to catchan early glimpse of those enemies he had pur-sued with so much toil and anxiety. His com-panion told him to steal to the edge of thewood, which, as usual, was fringed with athicket, and wait his coming, for he wished toexamine certain suspicious signs a little on oneside. Duncan obeyed, and soon found him-self in a situation to command a view whichhe found as extraordinary as it was novel.

The trees of many acres had been felled,and the glow of a mild summer’s evening hadfallen on the clearing, in beautiful contrast tothe gray light of the forest. A short distancefrom the place where Duncan stood, the streamhad seemingly expanded into a little lake, cov-

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ering most of the low land, from mountainto mountain. The water fell out of this widebasin, in a cataract so regular and gentle, thatit appeared rather to be the work of humanhands than fashioned by nature. A hundredearthen dwellings stood on the margin of thelake, and even in its waters, as though thelatter had overflowed its usual banks. Theirrounded roofs, admirably molded for defenseagainst the weather, denoted more of indus-try and foresight than the natives were wont tobestow on their regular habitations, much lesson those they occupied for the temporary pur-poses of hunting and war. In short, the wholevillage or town, whichever it might be termed,possessed more of method and neatness of ex-ecution, than the white men had been accus-tomed to believe belonged, ordinarily, to theIndian habits. It appeared, however, to be de-

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serted. At least, so thought Duncan for manyminutes; but, at length, he fancied he discov-ered several human forms advancing towardhim on all fours, and apparently dragging inthe train some heavy, and as he was quickto apprehend, some formidable engine. Justthen a few dark-looking heads gleamed out ofthe dwellings, and the place seemed suddenlyalive with beings, which, however, glided fromcover to cover so swiftly, as to allow no oppor-tunity of examining their humors or pursuits.Alarmed at these suspicious and inexplicablemovements, he was about to attempt the sig-nal of the crows, when the rustling of leaves athand drew his eyes in another direction.

The young man started, and recoiled a fewpaces instinctively, when he found himselfwithin a hundred yards of a stranger Indian.

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Recovering his recollection on the instant, in-stead of sounding an alarm, which might provefatal to himself, he remained stationary, an at-tentive observer of the other’s motions.

An instant of calm observation served to as-sure Duncan that he was undiscovered. Thenative, like himself, seemed occupied in con-sidering the low dwellings of the village, andthe stolen movements of its inhabitants. It wasimpossible to discover the expression of hisfeatures through the grotesque mask of paintunder which they were concealed, thoughDuncan fancied it was rather melancholy thansavage. His head was shaved, as usual, withthe exception of the crown, from whose tuftthree or four faded feathers from a hawk’swing were loosely dangling. A ragged cal-ico mantle half encircled his body, while his

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nether garment was composed of an ordinaryshirt, the sleeves of which were made to per-form the office that is usually executed by amuch more commodious arrangement. Hislegs were, however, covered with a pair ofgood deer-skin moccasins. Altogether, the ap-pearance of the individual was forlorn andmiserable.

Duncan was still curiously observing theperson of his neighbor when the scout stolesilently and cautiously to his side.

“You see we have reached their settlementor encampment,” whispered the young man;“and here is one of the savages himself, ina very embarrassing position for our furthermovements.”

Hawkeye started, and dropped his rifle,when, directed by the finger of his companion,

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the stranger came under his view. Then lower-ing the dangerous muzzle he stretched forwardhis long neck, as if to assist a scrutiny that wasalready intensely keen.

“The imp is not a Huron,” he said, “nor ofany of the Canada tribes; and yet you see, byhis clothes, the knave has been plundering awhite. Ay, Montcalm has raked the woods forhis inroad, and a whooping, murdering set ofvarlets has he gathered together. Can you seewhere he has put his rifle or his bow?”

“He appears to have no arms; nor does heseem to be viciously inclined. Unless he com-municate the alarm to his fellows, who, as yousee, are dodging about the water, we have butlittle to fear from him.”

The scout turned to Heyward, and regardedhim a moment with unconcealed amazement.

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Then opening wide his mouth, he indulged inunrestrained and heartfelt laughter, though inthat silent and peculiar manner which dangerhad so long taught him to practise.

Repeating the words, “Fellows who aredodging about the water!” he added, “so muchfor schooling and passing a boyhood in the set-tlements! The knave has long legs, though, andshall not be trusted. Do you keep him underyour rifle while I creep in behind, through thebush, and take him alive. Fire on no account.”

Heyward had already permitted his com-panion to bury part of his person in the thicket,when, stretching forth his arm, he arrested him,in order to ask:

“If I see you in danger, may I not risk a shot?”Hawkeye regarded him a moment, like one

who knew not how to take the question; then,

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nodding his head, he answered, still laughing,though inaudibly:

“Fire a whole platoon, major.”

In the next moment he was concealed bythe leaves. Duncan waited several minutes infeverish impatience, before he caught anotherglimpse of the scout. Then he reappeared,creeping along the earth, from which his dresswas hardly distinguishable, directly in the rearof his intended captive. Having reached withina few yards of the latter, he arose to his feet,silently and slowly. At that instant, severalloud blows were struck on the water, and Dun-can turned his eyes just in time to perceivethat a hundred dark forms were plunging, ina body, into the troubled little sheet. Graspinghis rifle his looks were again bent on the Indiannear him. Instead of taking the alarm, the un-

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conscious savage stretched forward his neck,as if he also watched the movements about thegloomy lake, with a sort of silly curiosity. Inthe meantime, the uplifted hand of Hawkeyewas above him. But, without any apparent rea-son, it was withdrawn, and its owner indulgedin another long, though still silent, fit of mer-riment. When the peculiar and hearty laughterof Hawkeye was ended, instead of grasping hisvictim by the throat, he tapped him lightly onthe shoulder, and exclaimed aloud:

“How now, friend! have you a mind to teachthe beavers to sing?”

“Even so,” was the ready answer. “It wouldseem that the Being that gave them power toimprove His gifts so well, would not denythem voices to proclaim His praise.”

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“Bot.–Abibl we all met?Qui.–Pat–pat; and here’s a mar-

velous convenient place for ourrehearsal.”

–Midsummer Night’s Dream

THE READER MAY better imagine, than we

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describe the surprise of Heyward. His lurk-ing Indians were suddenly converted into four-footed beasts; his lake into a beaver pond; hiscataract into a dam, constructed by those in-dustrious and ingenious quadrupeds; and asuspected enemy into his tried friend, DavidGamut, the master of psalmody. The presenceof the latter created so many unexpected hopesrelative to the sisters that, without a moment’shesitation, the young man broke out of his am-bush, and sprang forward to join the two prin-cipal actors in the scene.

The merriment of Hawkeye was not eas-ily appeased. Without ceremony, and witha rough hand, he twirled the supple Gamutaround on his heel, and more than once af-firmed that the Hurons had done themselvesgreat credit in the fashion of his costume. Then,

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seizing the hand of the other, he squeezed itwith a grip that brought tears into the eyes ofthe placid David, and wished him joy of hisnew condition.

“You were about opening your throat-practisings among the beavers, were ye?” hesaid. “The cunning devils know half the tradealready, for they beat the time with their tails,as you heard just now; and in good time it was,too, or ‘killdeer’ might have sounded the firstnote among them. I have known greater fools,who could read and write, than an experiencedold beaver; but as for squalling, the animals areborn dumb! What think you of such a song asthis?”

David shut his sensitive ears, and even Hey-ward apprised as he was of the nature of thecry, looked upward in quest of the bird, as the

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cawing of a crow rang in the air about them.“See!” continued the laughing scout, as he

pointed toward the remainder of the party,who, in obedience to the signal, were alreadyapproaching; “this is music which has its natu-ral virtues; it brings two good rifles to my el-bow, to say nothing of the knives and toma-hawks. But we see that you are safe; now tellus what has become of the maidens.”

“They are captives to the heathen,” saidDavid; “and, though greatly troubled in spirit,enjoying comfort and safety in the body.”

“Both!” demanded the breathless Heyward.“Even so. Though our wayfaring has been

sore and our sustenance scanty, we have hadlittle other cause for complaint, except the vi-olence done our feelings, by being thus led incaptivity into a far land.”

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“Bless ye for these very words!” exclaimedthe trembling Munro; “I shall then receive mybabes, spotless and angel-like, as I lost them!”

“I know not that their delivery is at hand,”returned the doubting David; “the leader ofthese savages is possessed of an evil spirit thatno power short of Omnipotence can tame. Ihave tried him sleeping and waking, but nei-ther sounds nor language seem to touch hissoul.”

“Where is the knave?” bluntly interruptedthe scout.

“He hunts the moose to-day, with his youngmen; and tomorrow, as I hear, they pass fur-ther into the forests, and nigher to the bordersof Canada. The elder maiden is conveyed to aneighboring people, whose lodges are situatebeyond yonder black pinnacle of rock; while

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the younger is detained among the women ofthe Hurons, whose dwellings are but two shortmiles hence, on a table-land, where the fire haddone the office of the axe, and prepared theplace for their reception.”

“Alice, my gentle Alice!” murmured Hey-ward; “she has lost the consolation of her sis-ter’s presence!”

“Even so. But so far as praise and thanksgiv-ing in psalmody can temper the spirit in afflic-tion, she has not suffered.”

“Has she then a heart for music?”

“Of the graver and more solemn character;though it must be acknowledged that, in spiteof all my endeavors, the maiden weeps oftenerthan she smiles. At such moments I forbear topress the holy songs; but there are many sweet

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and comfortable periods of satisfactory com-munication, when the ears of the savages areastounded with the upliftings of our voices.”

“And why are you permitted to go at large,unwatched?”

David composed his features into what heintended should express an air of modest hu-mility, before he meekly replied:

“Little be the praise to such a worm as I.But, though the power of psalmody was sus-pended in the terrible business of that field ofblood through which we have passed, it has re-covered its influence even over the souls of theheathen, and I am suffered to go and come atwill.”

The scout laughed, and, tapping his ownforehead significantly, he perhaps explained

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the singular indulgence more satisfactorilywhen he said:

“The Indians never harm a non-composser.But why, when the path lay open before youreyes, did you not strike back on your own trail(it is not so blind as that which a squirrel wouldmake), and bring in the tidings to Edward?”

The scout, remembering only his own sturdyand iron nature, had probably exacted a taskthat David, under no circumstances, couldhave performed. But, without entirely losingthe meekness of his air, the latter was contentto answer:

“Though my soul would rejoice to visit thehabitations of Christendom once more, myfeet would rather follow the tender spirits in-trusted to my keeping, even into the idolatrousprovince of the Jesuits, than take one step back-

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ward, while they pined in captivity and sor-row.”

Though the figurative language of Davidwas not very intelligible, the sincere and steadyexpression of his eye, and the glow of his hon-est countenance, were not easily mistaken. Un-cas pressed closer to his side, and regarded thespeaker with a look of commendation, whilehis father expressed his satisfaction by the or-dinary pithy exclamation of approbation. Thescout shook his head as he rejoined:

“The Lord never intended that the manshould place all his endeavors in his throat, tothe neglect of other and better gifts! But hehas fallen into the hands of some silly woman,when he should have been gathering his edu-cation under a blue sky, among the beauties ofthe forest. Here, friend; I did intend to kindle

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a fire with this tooting-whistle of thine; but, asyou value the thing, take it, and blow your beston it.”

Gamut received his pitch-pipe with as strongan expression of pleasure as he believed com-patible with the grave functions he exercised.After essaying its virtues repeatedly, in contrastwith his own voice, and, satisfying himself thatnone of its melody was lost, he made a veryserious demonstration toward achieving a fewstanzas of one of the longest effusions in the lit-tle volume so often mentioned.

Heyward, however, hastily interrupted hispious purpose by continuing questions con-cerning the past and present condition of hisfellow captives, and in a manner more method-ical than had been permitted by his feelings inthe opening of their interview. David, though

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he regarded his treasure with longing eyes, wasconstrained to answer, especially as the vener-able father took a part in the interrogatories,with an interest too imposing to be denied. Nordid the scout fail to throw in a pertinent in-quiry, whenever a fitting occasion presented.In this manner, though with frequent interrup-tions which were filled with certain threaten-ing sounds from the recovered instrument, thepursuers were put in possession of such lead-ing circumstances as were likely to prove use-ful in accomplishing their great and engrossingobject–the recovery of the sisters. The narrativeof David was simple, and the facts but few.

Magua had waited on the mountain until asafe moment to retire presented itself, whenhe had descended, and taken the route alongthe western side of the Horican in direction of

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the Canadas. As the subtle Huron was famil-iar with the paths, and well knew there wasno immediate danger of pursuit, their progresshad been moderate, and far from fatiguing. Itappeared from the unembellished statement ofDavid, that his own presence had been ratherendured than desired; though even Magua hadnot been entirely exempt from that venerationwith which the Indians regard those whomthe Great Spirit had visited in their intellects.At night, the utmost care had been taken ofthe captives, both to prevent injury from thedamps of the woods and to guard against anescape. At the spring, the horses were turnedloose, as has been seen; and, notwithstandingthe remoteness and length of their trail, the ar-tifices already named were resorted to, in or-der to cut off every clue to their place of retreat.On their arrival at the encampment of his peo-

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ple, Magua, in obedience to a policy seldom de-parted from, separated his prisoners. Cora hadbeen sent to a tribe that temporarily occupiedan adjacent valley, though David was far tooignorant of the customs and history of the na-tives, to be able to declare anything satisfactoryconcerning their name or character. He onlyknew that they had not engaged in the late ex-pedition against William Henry; that, like theHurons themselves they were allies of Mont-calm; and that they maintained an amicable,though a watchful intercourse with the war-like and savage people whom chance had, fora time, brought in such close and disagreeablecontact with themselves.

The Mohicans and the scout listened to hisinterrupted and imperfect narrative, with aninterest that obviously increased as he pro-

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ceeded; and it was while attempting to ex-plain the pursuits of the community in whichCora was detained, that the latter abruptly de-manded:

“Did you see the fashion of their knives?were they of English or French formation?”

“My thoughts were bent on no such vanities,but rather mingled in consolation with those ofthe maidens.”

“The time may come when you will not con-sider the knife of a savage such a despicablevanity,” returned the scout, with a strong ex-pression of contempt for the other’s dullness.“Had they held their corn feast–or can you sayanything of the totems of the tribe?”

“Of corn, we had many and plentiful feasts;for the grain, being in the milk is both sweet to

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the mouth and comfortable to the stomach. Oftotem, I know not the meaning; but if it apper-taineth in any wise to the art of Indian music, itneed not be inquired after at their hands. Theynever join their voices in praise, and it wouldseem that they are among the profanest of theidolatrous.”

“Therein you belie the natur’ of an Indian.Even the Mingo adores but the true and lovingGod. ‘Tis wicked fabrication of the whites, andI say it to the shame of my color that wouldmake the warrior bow down before images ofhis own creation. It is true, they endeavor tomake truces to the wicked one–as who wouldnot with an enemy he cannot conquer! but theylook up for favor and assistance to the Greatand Good Spirit only.”

“It may be so,” said David; “but I have seen

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strange and fantastic images drawn in theirpaint, of which their admiration and care sa-vored of spiritual pride; especially one, andthat, too, a foul and loathsome object.”

“Was it a sarpent?” quickly demanded thescout.

“Much the same. It was in the likeness of anabject and creeping tortoise.”

“Hugh!” exclaimed both the attentive Mo-hicans in a breath; while the scout shook hishead with the air of one who had made animportant but by no means a pleasing discov-ery. Then the father spoke, in the language ofthe Delawares, and with a calmness and dig-nity that instantly arrested the attention even ofthose to whom his words were unintelligible.His gestures were impressive, and at times en-ergetic. Once he lifted his arm on high; and, as

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it descended, the action threw aside the folds ofhis light mantle, a finger resting on his breast,as if he would enforce his meaning by the atti-tude. Duncan’s eyes followed the movement,and he perceived that the animal just men-tioned was beautifully, though faintly, workedin blue tint, on the swarthy breast of the chief.All that he had ever heard of the violent separa-tion of the vast tribes of the Delawares rushedacross his mind, and he awaited the proper mo-ment to speak, with a suspense that was ren-dered nearly intolerable by his interest in thestake. His wish, however, was anticipated bythe scout who turned from his red friend, say-ing:

“We have found that which may be good orevil to us, as heaven disposes. The Sagamore isof the high blood of the Delawares, and is the

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great chief of their Tortoises! That some of thisstock are among the people of whom the singertells us, is plain by his words; and, had he butspent half the breath in prudent questions thathe has blown away in making a trumpet of histhroat, we might have known how many war-riors they numbered. It is, altogether, a danger-ous path we move in; for a friend whose faceis turned from you often bears a bloodier mindthan the enemy who seeks your scalp.”

“Explain,” said Duncan.

“‘Tis a long and melancholy tradition, andone I little like to think of; for it is not to be de-nied that the evil has been mainly done by menwith white skins. But it has ended in turningthe tomahawk of brother against brother, andbrought the Mingo and the Delaware to travelin the same path.”

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“You, then, suspect it is a portion of that peo-ple among whom Cora resides?”

The scout nodded his head in assent, thoughhe seemed anxious to waive the further discus-sion of a subject that appeared painful. The im-patient Duncan now made several hasty anddesperate propositions to attempt the release ofthe sisters. Munro seemed to shake off his ap-athy, and listened to the wild schemes of theyoung man with a deference that his gray hairsand reverend years should have denied. Butthe scout, after suffering the ardor of the loverto expend itself a little, found means to con-vince him of the folly of precipitation, in a man-ner that would require their coolest judgmentand utmost fortitude.

“It would be well,” he added, “to let thisman go in again, as usual, and for him to tarry

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in the lodges, giving notice to the gentle ones ofour approach, until we call him out, by signal,to consult. You know the cry of a crow, friend,from the whistle of the whip-poor-will?”

“‘Tis a pleasing bird,” returned David, “andhas a soft and melancholy note! though thetime is rather quick and ill-measured.”

“He speaks of the wish-ton-wish,” said thescout; “well, since you like his whistle, it shallbe your signal. Remember, then, when youhear the whip-poor-will’s call three times re-peated, you are to come into the bushes wherethe bird might be supposed–”

“Stop,” interrupted Heyward; “I will accom-pany him.”

“You!” exclaimed the astonished Hawkeye;“are you tired of seeing the sun rise and set?”

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“David is a living proof that the Hurons canbe merciful.”

“Ay, but David can use his throat, as no manin his senses would pervart the gift.”

“I too can play the madman, the fool, thehero; in short, any or everything to rescue herI love. Name your objections no longer: I amresolved.”

Hawkeye regarded the young man a mo-ment in speechless amazement. But Duncan,who, in deference to the other’s skill and ser-vices, had hitherto submitted somewhat im-plicitly to his dictation, now assumed the supe-rior, with a manner that was not easily resisted.He waved his hand, in sign of his dislike to allremonstrance, and then, in more tempered lan-guage, he continued:

“You have the means of disguise; change me;

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paint me, too, if you will; in short, alter me toanything–a fool.”

“It is not for one like me to say that he whois already formed by so powerful a hand asProvidence, stands in need of a change,” mut-tered the discontented scout. “When you sendyour parties abroad in war, you find it pru-dent, at least, to arrange the marks and placesof encampment, in order that they who fight onyour side may know when and where to expecta friend.”

“Listen,” interrupted Duncan; “you haveheard from this faithful follower of the cap-tives, that the Indians are of two tribes, ifnot of different nations. With one, whomyou think to be a branch of the Delawares,is she you call the ‘dark-hair’; the other, andyounger, of the ladies, is undeniably with our

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declared enemies, the Hurons. It becomes myyouth and rank to attempt the latter adventure.While you, therefore, are negotiating with yourfriends for the release of one of the sisters, I willeffect that of the other, or die.”

The awakened spirit of the young soldiergleamed in his eyes, and his form became im-posing under its influence. Hawkeye, thoughtoo much accustomed to Indian artifices not toforesee the danger of the experiment, knew notwell how to combat this sudden resolution.

Perhaps there was something in the proposalthat suited his own hardy nature, and that se-cret love of desperate adventure, which had in-creased with his experience, until hazard anddanger had become, in some measure, neces-sary to the enjoyment of his existence. Insteadof continuing to oppose the scheme of Duncan,

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his humor suddenly altered, and he lent him-self to its execution.

“Come,” he said, with a good-humoredsmile; “the buck that will take to the watermust be headed, and not followed. Chingach-gook has as many different paints as the en-gineer officer’s wife, who takes down natur’on scraps of paper, making the mountains looklike cocks of rusty hay, and placing the blue skyin reach of your hand. The Sagamore can usethem, too. Seat yourself on the log; and my lifeon it, he can soon make a natural fool of you,and that well to your liking.”

Duncan complied; and the Mohican, whohad been an attentive listener to the discourse,readily undertook the office. Long practisedin all the subtle arts of his race, he drew,with great dexterity and quickness, the fantas-

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tic shadow that the natives were accustomed toconsider as the evidence of a friendly and joc-ular disposition. Every line that could possi-bly be interpreted into a secret inclination forwar, was carefully avoided; while, on the otherhand, he studied those conceits that might beconstrued into amity.

In short, he entirely sacrificed every appear-ance of the warrior to the masquerade of abuffoon. Such exhibitions were not uncom-mon among the Indians, and as Duncan was al-ready sufficiently disguised in his dress, therecertainly did exist some reason for believingthat, with his knowledge of French, he mightpass for a juggler from Ticonderoga, stragglingamong the allied and friendly tribes.

When he was thought to be sufficientlypainted, the scout gave him much friendly

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advice; concerted signals, and appointed theplace where they should meet, in the event ofmutual success. The parting between Munroand his young friend was more melancholy;still, the former submitted to the separationwith an indifference that his warm and honestnature would never have permitted in a morehealthful state of mind. The scout led Hey-ward aside, and acquainted him with his in-tention to leave the veteran in some safe en-campment, in charge of Chingachgook, whilehe and Uncas pursued their inquires amongthe people they had reason to believe wereDelawares. Then, renewing his cautions andadvice, he concluded by saying, with a solem-nity and warmth of feeling, with which Dun-can was deeply touched:

“And, now, God bless you! You have shown

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a spirit that I like; for it is the gift of youth,more especially one of warm blood and a stoutheart. But believe the warning of a man whohas reason to know all he says to be true. Youwill have occasion for your best manhood, andfor a sharper wit than what is to be gatheredin books, afore you outdo the cunning or getthe better of the courage of a Mingo. God blessyou! if the Hurons master your scalp, rely onthe promise of one who has two stout warriorsto back him. They shall pay for their victory,with a life for every hair it holds. I say, younggentleman, may Providence bless your under-taking, which is altogether for good; and, re-member, that to outwit the knaves it is lawfulto practise things that may not be naturally thegift of a white-skin.”

Duncan shook his worthy and reluctant as-

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sociate warmly by the hand, once more rec-ommended his aged friend to his care, and re-turning his good wishes, he motioned to Davidto proceed. Hawkeye gazed after the high-spirited and adventurous young man for sev-eral moments, in open admiration; then, shak-ing his head doubtingly, he turned, and led hisown division of the party into the concealmentof the forest.

The route taken by Duncan and David laydirectly across the clearing of the beavers, andalong the margin of their pond.

When the former found himself alone withone so simple, and so little qualified to ren-der any assistance in desperate emergencies, hefirst began to be sensible of the difficulties ofthe task he had undertaken. The fading lightincreased the gloominess of the bleak and sav-

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age wilderness that stretched so far on everyside of him, and there was even a fearful char-acter in the stillness of those little huts, that heknew were so abundantly peopled. It struckhim, as he gazed at the admirable structuresand the wonderful precautions of their saga-cious inmates, that even the brutes of these vastwilds were possessed of an instinct nearly com-mensurate with his own reason; and he couldnot reflect, without anxiety, on the unequalcontest that he had so rashly courted. Thencame the glowing image of Alice; her distress;her actual danger; and all the peril of his situa-tion was forgotten. Cheering David, he movedon with the light and vigorous step of youthand enterprise.

After making nearly a semicircle around thepond, they diverged from the water-course,

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and began to ascend to the level of a slight el-evation in that bottom land, over which theyjourneyed. Within half an hour they gainedthe margin of another opening that bore all thesigns of having been also made by the beavers,and which those sagacious animals had prob-ably been induced, by some accident, to aban-don, for the more eligible position they now oc-cupied. A very natural sensation caused Dun-can to hesitate a moment, unwilling to leavethe cover of their bushy path, as a man pausesto collect his energies before he essays any haz-ardous experiment, in which he is secretly con-scious they will all be needed. He profited bythe halt, to gather such information as might beobtained from his short and hasty glances.

On the opposite side of the clearing, and nearthe point where the brook tumbled over some

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rocks, from a still higher level, some fifty orsixty lodges, rudely fabricated of logs brush,and earth intermingled, were to be discovered.They were arranged without any order, andseemed to be constructed with very little atten-tion to neatness or beauty. Indeed, so very in-ferior were they in the two latter particulars tothe village Duncan had just seen, that he be-gan to expect a second surprise, no less aston-ishing that the former. This expectation was inno degree diminished, when, by the doubtfultwilight, he beheld twenty or thirty forms ris-ing alternately from the cover of the tall, coarsegrass, in front of the lodges, and then sinkingagain from the sight, as it were to burrow in theearth. By the sudden and hasty glimpses thathe caught of these figures, they seemed morelike dark, glancing specters, or some other un-earthly beings, than creatures fashioned with

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the ordinary and vulgar materials of flesh andblood. A gaunt, naked form was seen, for asingle instant, tossing its arms wildly in theair, and then the spot it had filled was vacant;the figure appearing suddenly in some otherand distant place, or being succeeded by an-other, possessing the same mysterious charac-ter. David, observing that his companion lin-gered, pursued the direction of his gaze, and insome measure recalled the recollection of Hey-ward, by speaking.

“There is much fruitful soil uncultivatedhere,” he said; “and, I may add, without thesinful leaven of self-commendation, that, sincemy short sojourn in these heathenish abodes,much good seed has been scattered by the way-side.”

“The tribes are fonder of the chase than of

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the arts of men of labor,” returned the uncon-scious Duncan, still gazing at the objects of hiswonder.

“It is rather joy than labor to the spirit, tolift up the voice in praise; but sadly do theseboys abuse their gifts. Rarely have I found anyof their age, on whom nature has so freely be-stowed the elements of psalmody; and surely,surely, there are none who neglect them more.Three nights have I now tarried here, and threeseveral times have I assembled the urchins tojoin in sacred song; and as often have theyresponded to my efforts with whoopings andhowlings that have chilled my soul!”

“Of whom speak you?”“Of those children of the devil, who waste

the precious moments in yonder idle antics.Ah! the wholesome restraint of discipline is but

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little known among this self-abandoned peo-ple. In a country of birches, a rod is neverseen, and it ought not to appear a marvel in myeyes, that the choicest blessings of Providenceare wasted in such cries as these.”

David closed his ears against the juvenilepack, whose yell just then rang shrilly throughthe forest; and Duncan, suffering his lip to curl,as in mockery of his own superstition, saidfirmly:

“We will proceed.”Without removing the safeguards form his

ears, the master of song complied, and togetherthey pursued their way toward what Davidwas sometimes wont to call the “tents of thePhilistines.”

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“But though the beast of gameThe privilege of chase may claim;Though space and law the stag we

lendEre hound we slip, or bow we

bend;Whoever recked, where, how, or

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whenThe prowling fox was trapped or

slain?”–Lady of the Lake.

IT IS UNUSUAL to find an encampment ofthe natives, like those of the more instructedwhites, guarded by the presence of armed men.Well informed of the approach of every danger,while it is yet at a distance, the Indian generallyrests secure under his knowledge of the signsof the forest, and the long and difficult pathsthat separate him from those he has most rea-son to dread. But the enemy who, by any luckyconcurrence of accidents, has found means toelude the vigilance of the scouts, will seldommeet with sentinels nearer home to sound thealarm. In addition to this general usage, thetribes friendly to the French knew too well the

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weight of the blow that had just been struck,to apprehend any immediate danger from thehostile nations that were tributary to the crownof Britain.

When Duncan and David, therefore, foundthemselves in the center of the children, whoplayed the antics already mentioned, it waswithout the least previous intimation of theirapproach. But so soon as they were observedthe whole of the juvenile pack raised, by com-mon consent, a shrill and warning whoop; andthen sank, as it were, by magic, from before thesight of their visitors. The naked, tawny bod-ies of the crouching urchins blended so nicelyat that hour, with the withered herbage, that atfirst it seemed as if the earth had, in truth, swal-lowed up their forms; though when surprisepermitted Duncan to bend his look more cu-

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riously about the spot, he found it everywheremet by dark, quick, and rolling eyeballs.

Gathering no encouragement from thisstartling presage of the nature of the scrutinyhe was likely to undergo from the more ma-ture judgments of the men, there was an in-stant when the young soldier would have re-treated. It was, however, too late to appear tohesitate. The cry of the children had drawna dozen warriors to the door of the nearestlodge, where they stood clustered in a dark andsavage group, gravely awaiting the nearer ap-proach of those who had unexpectedly comeamong them.

David, in some measure familiarized to thescene, led the way with a steadiness that noslight obstacle was likely to disconcert, into thisvery building. It was the principal edifice of the

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village, though roughly constructed of the barkand branches of trees; being the lodge in whichthe tribe held its councils and public meetingsduring their temporary residence on the bor-ders of the English province. Duncan found itdifficult to assume the necessary appearance ofunconcern, as he brushed the dark and pow-erful frames of the savages who thronged itsthreshold; but, conscious that his existence de-pended on his presence of mind, he trusted tothe discretion of his companion, whose foot-steps he closely followed, endeavoring, as heproceeded, to rally his thoughts for the occa-sion. His blood curdled when he found him-self in absolute contact with such fierce and im-placable enemies; but he so far mastered hisfeelings as to pursue his way into the center ofthe lodge, with an exterior that did not betraythe weakness. Imitating the example of the de-

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liberate Gamut, he drew a bundle of fragrantbrush from beneath a pile that filled the cornerof the hut, and seated himself in silence.

So soon as their visitor had passed, the ob-servant warriors fell back from the entrance,and arranging themselves about him, theyseemed patiently to await the moment when itmight comport with the dignity of the strangerto speak. By far the greater number stood lean-ing, in lazy, lounging attitudes, against the up-right posts that supported the crazy building,while three or four of the oldest and most dis-tinguished of the chiefs placed themselves onthe earth a little more in advance.

A flaring torch was burning in the place, andset its red glare from face to face and figure tofigure, as it waved in the currents of air. Dun-can profited by its light to read the probable

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character of his reception, in the countenancesof his hosts. But his ingenuity availed him lit-tle, against the cold artifices of the people hehad encountered. The chiefs in front scarce casta glance at his person, keeping their eyes onthe ground, with an air that might have beenintended for respect, but which it was quiteeasy to construe into distrust. The men in theshadow were less reserved. Duncan soon de-tected their searching, but stolen, looks which,in truth, scanned his person and attire inch byinch; leaving no emotion of the countenance,no gesture, no line of the paint, nor even thefashion of a garment, unheeded, and withoutcomment.

At length one whose hair was beginningto be sprinkled with gray, but whose sinewylimbs and firm tread announced that he was

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still equal to the duties of manhood, advancedout of the gloom of a corner, whither he hadprobably posted himself to make his observa-tions unseen, and spoke. He used the lan-guage of the Wyandots, or Hurons; his wordswere, consequently, unintelligible to Heyward,though they seemed, by the gestures that ac-companied them, to be uttered more in cour-tesy than anger. The latter shook his head, andmade a gesture indicative of his inability to re-ply.

“Do none of my brothers speak the French orthe English?” he said, in the former language,looking about him from countenance to coun-tenance, in hopes of finding a nod of assent.

Though more than one had turned, as if tocatch the meaning of his words, they remainedunanswered.

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“I should be grieved to think,” continuedDuncan, speaking slowly, and using the sim-plest French of which he was the master, “tobelieve that none of this wise and brave na-tion understand the language that the ‘GrandMonarque’ uses when he talks to his children.His heart would be heavy did he believe his redwarriors paid him so little respect!”

A long and grave pause succeeded, duringwhich no movement of a limb, nor any expres-sion of an eye, betrayed the expression pro-duced by his remark. Duncan, who knew thatsilence was a virtue among his hosts, gladlyhad recourse to the custom, in order to arrangehis ideas. At length the same warrior whohad before addressed him replied, by dryly de-manding, in the language of the Canadas:

“When our Great Father speaks to his peo-

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ple, is it with the tongue of a Huron?”

“He knows no difference in his children,whether the color of the skin be red, or black, orwhite,” returned Duncan, evasively; “thoughchiefly is he satisfied with the brave Hurons.”

“In what manner will he speak,” demandedthe wary chief, “when the runners count to himthe scalps which five nights ago grew on theheads of the Yengeese?”

“They were his enemies,” said Duncan,shuddering involuntarily; “and doubtless, hewill say, it is good; my Hurons are very gal-lant.”

“Our Canada father does not think it. In-stead of looking forward to reward his Indians,his eyes are turned backward. He sees the deadYengeese, but no Huron. What can this mean?”

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“A great chief, like him, has more thoughtsthan tongues. He looks to see that no enemiesare on his trail.”

“The canoe of a dead warrior will not floaton the Horican,” returned the savage, gloomily.“His ears are open to the Delawares, who arenot our friends, and they fill them with lies.”

“It cannot be. See; he has bid me, who am aman that knows the art of healing, to go to hischildren, the red Hurons of the great lakes, andask if any are sick!”

Another silence succeeded this annunciationof the character Duncan had assumed. Everyeye was simultaneously bent on his person, asif to inquire into the truth or falsehood of thedeclaration, with an intelligence and keennessthat caused the subject of their scrutiny to trem-ble for the result. He was, however, relieved

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again by the former speaker.“Do the cunning men of the Canadas paint

their skins?” the Huron coldly continued; “wehave heard them boast that their faces werepale.”

“When an Indian chief comes among hiswhite fathers,” returned Duncan, with greatsteadiness, “he lays aside his buffalo robe, tocarry the shirt that is offered him. My brothershave given me paint and I wear it.”

A low murmur of applause announced thatthe compliment of the tribe was favorably re-ceived. The elderly chief made a gesture ofcommendation, which was answered by mostof his companions, who each threw forth ahand and uttered a brief exclamation of plea-sure. Duncan began to breathe more freely, be-lieving that the weight of his examination was

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past; and, as he had already prepared a sim-ple and probable tale to support his pretendedoccupation, his hopes of ultimate success grewbrighter.

After a silence of a few moments, as if ad-justing his thoughts, in order to make a suit-able answer to the declaration their guests hadjust given, another warrior arose, and placedhimself in an attitude to speak. While his lipswere yet in the act of parting, a low but fear-ful sound arose from the forest, and was im-mediately succeeded by a high, shrill yell, thatwas drawn out, until it equaled the longestand most plaintive howl of the wolf. The sud-den and terrible interruption caused Duncan tostart from his seat, unconscious of everythingbut the effect produced by so frightful a cry.At the same moment, the warriors glided in

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a body from the lodge, and the outer air wasfilled with loud shouts, that nearly drownedthose awful sounds, which were still ringingbeneath the arches of the woods. Unable tocommand himself any longer, the youth brokefrom the place, and presently stood in the cen-ter of a disorderly throng, that included nearlyeverything having life, within the limits of theencampment. Men, women, and children; theaged, the inform, the active, and the strong,were alike abroad, some exclaiming aloud, oth-ers clapping their hands with a joy that seemedfrantic, and all expressing their savage pleasurein some unexpected event. Though astounded,at first, by the uproar, Heyward was soon en-abled to find its solution by the scene that fol-lowed.

There yet lingered sufficient light in the

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heavens to exhibit those bright openingsamong the tree-tops, where different paths leftthe clearing to enter the depths of the wilder-ness. Beneath one of them, a line of war-riors issued from the woods, and advancedslowly toward the dwellings. One in front borea short pole, on which, as it afterwards ap-peared, were suspended several human scalps.The startling sounds that Duncan had heardwere what the whites have not inappropriatelycalled the “death-hallo”; and each repetition ofthe cry was intended to announce to the tribethe fate of an enemy. Thus far the knowledgeof Heyward assisted him in the explanation;and as he now knew that the interruption wascaused by the unlooked-for return of a suc-cessful war-party, every disagreeable sensationwas quieted in inward congratulation, for theopportune relief and insignificance it conferred

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on himself.

When at the distance of a few hundred feetfrom the lodges the newly arrived warriorshalted. Their plaintive and terrific cry, whichwas intended to represent equally the wailingsof the dead and the triumph to the victors,had entirely ceased. One of their number nowcalled aloud, in words that were far from ap-palling, though not more intelligible to thosefor whose ears they were intended, than theirexpressive yells. It would be difficult to con-vey a suitable idea of the savage ecstasy withwhich the news thus imparted was received.The whole encampment, in a moment, becamea scene of the most violent bustle and com-motion. The warriors drew their knives, andflourishing them, they arranged themselves intwo lines, forming a lane that extended from

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the war-party to the lodges. The squaws seizedclubs, axes, or whatever weapon of offense firstoffered itself to their hands, and rushed ea-gerly to act their part in the cruel game thatwas at hand. Even the children would not beexcluded; but boys, little able to wield the in-struments, tore the tomahawks from the beltsof their fathers, and stole into the ranks, aptimitators of the savage traits exhibited by theirparents.

Large piles of brush lay scattered about theclearing, and a wary and aged squaw was oc-cupied in firing as many as might serve to lightthe coming exhibition. As the flame arose, itspower exceeded that of the parting day, and as-sisted to render objects at the same time moredistinct and more hideous. The whole sceneformed a striking picture, whose frame was

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composed of the dark and tall border of pines.The warriors just arrived were the most dis-tant figures. A little in advance stood two men,who were apparently selected from the rest,as the principal actors in what was to follow.The light was not strong enough to render theirfeatures distinct, though it was quite evidentthat they were governed by very different emo-tions. While one stood erect and firm, preparedto meet his fate like a hero, the other bowedhis head, as if palsied by terror or stricken withshame. The high-spirited Duncan felt a pow-erful impulse of admiration and pity towardthe former, though no opportunity could offerto exhibit his generous emotions. He watchedhis slightest movement, however, with eagereyes; and, as he traced the fine outline of hisadmirably proportioned and active frame, heendeavored to persuade himself, that, if the

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powers of man, seconded by such noble res-olution, could bear one harmless through sosevere a trial, the youthful captive before himmight hope for success in the hazardous racehe was about to run. Insensibly the young mandrew nigher to the swarthy lines of the Hurons,and scarcely breathed, so intense became hisinterest in the spectacle. Just then the signalyell was given, and the momentary quiet whichhad preceded it was broken by a burst of cries,that far exceeded any before heard. The moreabject of the two victims continued motionless;but the other bounded from the place at the cry,with the activity and swiftness of a deer. In-stead of rushing through the hostile lines, ashad been expected, he just entered the danger-ous defile, and before time was given for a sin-gle blow, turned short, and leaping the heads ofa row of children, he gained at once the exterior

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and safer side of the formidable array. The ar-tifice was answered by a hundred voices raisedin imprecations; and the whole of the excitedmultitude broke from their order, and spreadthemselves about the place in wild confusion.

A dozen blazing piles now shed their luridbrightness on the place, which resembled someunhallowed and supernatural arena, in whichmalicious demons had assembled to act theirbloody and lawless rites. The forms in thebackground looked like unearthly beings, glid-ing before the eye, and cleaving the air withfrantic and unmeaning gestures; while the sav-age passions of such as passed the flames wererendered fearfully distinct by the gleams thatshot athwart their inflamed visages.

It will easily be understood that, amid sucha concourse of vindictive enemies, no breath-

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ing time was allowed the fugitive. There was asingle moment when it seemed as if he wouldhave reached the forest, but the whole body ofhis captors threw themselves before him, anddrove him back into the center of his relent-less persecutors. Turning like a headed deer, heshot, with the swiftness of an arrow, through apillar of forked flame, and passing the wholemultitude harmless, he appeared on the op-posite side of the clearing. Here, too, he wasmet and turned by a few of the older and moresubtle of the Hurons. Once more he tried thethrong, as if seeking safety in its blindness,and then several moments succeeded, duringwhich Duncan believed the active and coura-geous young stranger was lost.

Nothing could be distinguished but a darkmass of human forms tossed and involved

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in inexplicable confusion. Arms, gleamingknives, and formidable clubs, appeared abovethem, but the blows were evidently given atrandom. The awful effect was heightened bythe piercing shrieks of the women and thefierce yells of the warriors. Now and then Dun-can caught a glimpse of a light form cleavingthe air in some desperate bound, and he ratherhoped than believed that the captive yet re-tained the command of his astonishing pow-ers of activity. Suddenly the multitude rolledbackward, and approached the spot where hehimself stood. The heavy body in the rearpressed upon the women and children in front,and bore them to the earth. The stranger reap-peared in the confusion. Human power couldnot, however, much longer endure so severea trial. Of this the captive seemed conscious.Profiting by the momentary opening, he darted

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from among the warriors, and made a desper-ate, and what seemed to Duncan a final effortto gain the wood. As if aware that no dangerwas to be apprehended from the young soldier,the fugitive nearly brushed his person in hisflight. A tall and powerful Huron, who hadhusbanded his forces, pressed close upon hisheels, and with an uplifted arm menaced a fatalblow. Duncan thrust forth a foot, and the shockprecipitated the eager savage headlong, manyfeet in advance of his intended victim. Thoughtitself is not quicker than was the motion withwhich the latter profited by the advantage; heturned, gleamed like a meteor again before theeyes of Duncan, and, at the next moment, whenthe latter recovered his recollection, and gazedaround in quest of the captive, he saw him qui-etly leaning against a small painted post, whichstood before the door of the principal lodge.

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Apprehensive that the part he had takenin the escape might prove fatal to himself,Duncan left the place without delay. He fol-lowed the crowd, which drew nigh the lodges,gloomy and sullen, like any other multitudethat had been disappointed in an execution.Curiosity, or perhaps a better feeling, inducedhim to approach the stranger. He found him,standing with one arm cast about the protect-ing post, and breathing thick and hard, afterhis exertions, but disdaining to permit a sin-gle sign of suffering to escape. His person wasnow protected by immemorial and sacred us-age, until the tribe in council had deliberatedand determined on his fate. It was not difficult,however, to foretell the result, if any presagecould be drawn from the feelings of those whocrowded the place.

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There was no term of abuse known tothe Huron vocabulary that the disappointedwomen did not lavishly expend on the suc-cessful stranger. They flouted at his efforts,and told him, with bitter scoffs, that his feetwere better than his hands; and that he mer-ited wings, while he knew not the use of anarrow or a knife. To all this the captive madeno reply; but was content to preserve an atti-tude in which dignity was singularly blendedwith disdain. Exasperated as much by his com-posure as by his good-fortune, their words be-came unintelligible, and were succeeded byshrill, piercing yells. Just then the crafty squaw,who had taken the necessary precaution to firethe piles, made her way through the throng,and cleared a place for herself in front of thecaptive. The squalid and withered person ofthis hag might well have obtained for her the

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character of possessing more than human cun-ning. Throwing back her light vestment, shestretched forth her long, skinny arm, in deri-sion, and using the language of the Lenape, asmore intelligible to the subject of her gibes, shecommenced aloud:

“Look you, Delaware,” she said, snappingher fingers in his face; “your nation is a raceof women, and the hoe is better fitted to yourhands than the gun. Your squaws are the moth-ers of deer; but if a bear, or a wildcat, or a ser-pent were born among you, ye would flee. TheHuron girls shall make you petticoats, and wewill find you a husband.”

A burst of savage laughter succeeded this at-tack, during which the soft and musical merri-ment of the younger females strangely chimedwith the cracked voice of their older and more

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malignant companion. But the stranger wassuperior to all their efforts. His head was im-movable; nor did he betray the slightest con-sciousness that any were present, except whenhis haughty eye rolled toward the dusky formsof the warriors, who stalked in the backgroundsilent and sullen observers of the scene.

Infuriated at the self-command of the cap-tive, the woman placed her arms akimbo; and,throwing herself into a posture of defiance, shebroke out anew, in a torrent of words that noart of ours could commit successfully to pa-per. Her breath was, however, expended invain; for, although distinguished in her nationas a proficient in the art of abuse, she waspermitted to work herself into such a fury asactually to foam at the mouth, without caus-ing a muscle to vibrate in the motionless fig-

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ure of the stranger. The effect of his indiffer-ence began to extend itself to the other spec-tators; and a youngster, who was just quittingthe condition of a boy to enter the state of man-hood, attempted to assist the termagant, byflourishing his tomahawk before their victim,and adding his empty boasts to the taunts ofthe women. Then, indeed, the captive turnedhis face toward the light, and looked down onthe stripling with an expression that was supe-rior to contempt. At the next moment he re-sumed his quiet and reclining attitude againstthe post. But the change of posture had permit-ted Duncan to exchange glances with the firmand piercing eyes of Uncas.

Breathless with amazement, and heavily op-pressed with the critical situation of his friend,Heyward recoiled before the look, trembling

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lest its meaning might, in some unknown man-ner, hasten the prisoner’s fate. There was not,however, any instant cause for such an appre-hension. Just then a warrior forced his wayinto the exasperated crowd. Motioning thewomen and children aside with a stern gesture,he took Uncas by the arm, and led him towardthe door of the council-lodge. Thither all thechiefs, and most of the distinguished warriors,followed; among whom the anxious Heywardfound means to enter without attracting anydangerous attention to himself.

A few minutes were consumed in dispos-ing of those present in a manner suitable totheir rank and influence in the tribe. An or-der very similar to that adopted in the pre-ceding interview was observed; the aged andsuperior chiefs occupying the area of the spa-

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cious apartment, within the powerful light of aglaring torch, while their juniors and inferiorswere arranged in the background, presenting adark outline of swarthy and marked visages.In the very center of the lodge, immediatelyunder an opening that admitted the twinklinglight of one or two stars, stood Uncas, calm, el-evated, and collected. His high and haughtycarriage was not lost on his captors, who oftenbent their looks on his person, with eyes which,while they lost none of their inflexibility of pur-pose, plainly betrayed their admiration of thestranger’s daring.

The case was different with the individualwhom Duncan had observed to stand forthwith his friend, previously to the desperatetrial of speed; and who, instead of joining inthe chase, had remained, throughout its turbu-

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lent uproar, like a cringing statue, expressive ofshame and disgrace. Though not a hand hadbeen extended to greet him, nor yet an eye hadcondescended to watch his movements, he hadalso entered the lodge, as though impelled by afate to whose decrees he submitted, seemingly,without a struggle. Heyward profited by thefirst opportunity to gaze in his face, secretlyapprehensive he might find the features of an-other acquaintance; but they proved to be thoseof a stranger, and, what was still more inexpli-cable, of one who bore all the distinctive marksof a Huron warrior. Instead of mingling withhis tribe, however, he sat apart, a solitary be-ing in a multitude, his form shrinking into acrouching and abject attitude, as if anxious tofill as little space as possible. When each indi-vidual had taken his proper station, and silencereigned in the place, the gray-haired chief al-

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ready introduced to the reader, spoke aloud, inthe language of the Lenni Lenape.

“Delaware,” he said, “though one of a nationof women, you have proved yourself a man. Iwould give you food; but he who eats with aHuron should become his friend. Rest in peacetill the morning sun, when our last words shallbe spoken.”

“Seven nights, and as many summer days,have I fasted on the trail of the Hurons,” Un-cas coldly replied; “the children of the Lenapeknow how to travel the path of the just withoutlingering to eat.”

“Two of my young men are in pursuit ofyour companion,” resumed the other, withoutappearing to regard the boast of his captive;“when they get back, then will our wise mansay to you ‘live’ or ‘die’.”

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“Has a Huron no ears?” scornfully ex-claimed Uncas; “twice, since he has been yourprisoner, has the Delaware heard a gun thathe knows. Your young men will never comeback!”

A short and sullen pause succeeded this boldassertion. Duncan, who understood the Mohi-can to allude to the fatal rifle of the scout, bentforward in earnest observation of the effect itmight produce on the conquerors; but the chiefwas content with simply retorting:

“If the Lenape are so skillful, why is one oftheir bravest warriors here?”

“He followed in the steps of a flying coward,and fell into a snare. The cunning beaver maybe caught.”

As Uncas thus replied, he pointed with hisfinger toward the solitary Huron, but without

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deigning to bestow any other notice on so un-worthy an object. The words of the answer andthe air of the speaker produced a strong sen-sation among his auditors. Every eye rolledsullenly toward the individual indicated by thesimple gesture, and a low, threatening mur-mur passed through the crowd. The ominoussounds reached the outer door, and the womenand children pressing into the throng, no gaphad been left, between shoulder and shoulder,that was not now filled with the dark linea-ments of some eager and curious human coun-tenance.

In the meantime, the more aged chiefs, in thecenter, communed with each other in short andbroken sentences. Not a word was uttered thatdid not convey the meaning of the speaker, inthe simplest and most energetic form. Again,

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a long and deeply solemn pause took place.It was known, by all present, to be the braveprecursor of a weighty and important judg-ment. They who composed the outer circle offaces were on tiptoe to gaze; and even the cul-prit for an instant forgot his shame in a deeperemotion, and exposed his abject features, inorder to cast an anxious and troubled glanceat the dark assemblage of chiefs. The silencewas finally broken by the aged warrior so oftennamed. He arose from the earth, and movingpast the immovable form of Uncas, placed him-self in a dignified attitude before the offender.At that moment, the withered squaw alreadymentioned moved into the circle, in a slow,sidling sort of a dance, holding the torch, andmuttering the indistinct words of what mighthave been a species of incantation. Thoughher presence was altogether an intrusion, it was

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unheeded.

Approaching Uncas, she held the blazingbrand in such a manner as to cast its red glareon his person, and to expose the slightest emo-tion of his countenance. The Mohican main-tained his firm and haughty attitude; and hiseyes, so far from deigning to meet her inquis-itive look, dwelt steadily on the distance, asthough it penetrated the obstacles which im-peded the view and looked into futurity. Sat-isfied with her examination, she left him, witha slight expression of pleasure, and proceededto practise the same trying experiment on herdelinquent countryman.

The young Huron was in his war paint, andvery little of a finely molded form was con-cealed by his attire. The light rendered ev-ery limb and joint discernible, and Duncan

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turned away in horror when he saw they werewrithing in irrepressible agony. The womanwas commencing a low and plaintive howl atthe sad and shameful spectacle, when the chiefput forth his hand and gently pushed her aside.

“Reed-that-bends,” he said, addressing theyoung culprit by name, and in his proper lan-guage, “though the Great Spirit has made youpleasant to the eyes, it would have been bet-ter that you had not been born. Your tongue isloud in the village, but in battle it is still. Noneof my young men strike the tomahawk deeperinto the war-post–none of them so lightly onthe Yengeese. The enemy know the shape ofyour back, but they have never seen the color ofyour eyes. Three times have they called on youto come, and as often did you forget to answer.Your name will never be mentioned again in

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your tribe–it is already forgotten.”

As the chief slowly uttered these words,pausing impressively between each sentence,the culprit raised his face, in deference to theother’s rank and years. Shame, horror, andpride struggled in its lineaments. His eye,which was contracted with inward anguish,gleamed on the persons of those whose breathwas his fame; and the latter emotion for an in-stant predominated. He arose to his feet, andbaring his bosom, looked steadily on the keen,glittering knife, that was already upheld byhis inexorable judge. As the weapon passedslowly into his heart he even smiled, as if injoy at having found death less dreadful than hehad anticipated, and fell heavily on his face, atthe feet of the rigid and unyielding form of Un-cas.

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The squaw gave a loud and plaintive yell,dashed the torch to the earth, and buried ev-erything in darkness. The whole shudderinggroup of spectators glided from the lodge liketroubled sprites; and Duncan thought that heand the yet throbbing body of the victim of anIndian judgment had now become its only ten-ants.

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“Thus spoke the sage: the kingswithout delay

Dissolve the council, and theirchief obey.”

–Pope’s Iliad

A SINGLE MOMENT served to convince the

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youth that he was mistaken. A hand was laid,with a powerful pressure, on his arm, and thelow voice of Uncas muttered in his ear:

“The Hurons are dogs. The sight of a cow-ard’s blood can never make a warrior tremble.The ‘Gray Head’ and the Sagamore are safe,and the rifle of Hawkeye is not asleep. Go–Uncas and the ‘Open Hand’ are now strangers.It is enough.”

Heyward would gladly have heard more,but a gentle push from his friend urged himtoward the door, and admonished him of thedanger that might attend the discovery of theirintercourse. Slowly and reluctantly yielding tothe necessity, he quitted the place, and mingledwith the throng that hovered nigh. The dyingfires in the clearing cast a dim and uncertainlight on the dusky figures that were silently

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stalking to and fro; and occasionally a brightergleam than common glanced into the lodge,and exhibited the figure of Uncas still main-taining its upright attitude near the dead bodyof the Huron.

A knot of warriors soon entered the placeagain, and reissuing, they bore the senselessremains into the adjacent woods. After thistermination of the scene, Duncan wanderedamong the lodges, unquestioned and unno-ticed, endeavoring to find some trace of her inwhose behalf he incurred the risk he ran. Inthe present temper of the tribe it would havebeen easy to have fled and rejoined his com-panions, had such a wish crossed his mind.But, in addition to the never-ceasing anxiety onaccount of Alice, a fresher though feebler inter-est in the fate of Uncas assisted to chain him to

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the spot. He continued, therefore, to stray fromhut to hut, looking into each only to encounteradditional disappointment, until he had madethe entire circuit of the village. Abandoning aspecies of inquiry that proved so fruitless, heretraced his steps to the council-lodge, resolvedto seek and question David, in order to put anend to his doubts.

On reaching the building, which had provedalike the seat of judgment and the place of ex-ecution, the young man found that the excite-ment had already subsided. The warriors hadreassembled, and were now calmly smoking,while they conversed gravely on the chief in-cidents of their recent expedition to the headof the Horican. Though the return of Dun-can was likely to remind them of his character,and the suspicious circumstances of his visit, it

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produced no visible sensation. So far, the ter-rible scene that had just occurred proved fa-vorable to his views, and he required no otherprompter than his own feelings to convincehim of the expediency of profiting by so unex-pected an advantage.

Without seeming to hesitate, he walked intothe lodge, and took his seat with a gravitythat accorded admirably with the deportmentof his hosts. A hasty but searching glance suf-ficed to tell him that, though Uncas still re-mained where he had left him, David had notreappeared. No other restraint was imposedon the former than the watchful looks of ayoung Huron, who had placed himself at hand;though an armed warrior leaned against thepost that formed one side of the narrow door-way. In every other respect, the captive seemed

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at liberty; still he was excluded from all partic-ipation in the discourse, and possessed muchmore of the air of some finely molded statuethan a man having life and volition.

Heyward had too recently witnessed afrightful instance of the prompt punishmentsof the people into whose hands he had fallento hazard an exposure by any officious bold-ness. He would greatly have preferred silenceand meditation to speech, when a discovery ofhis real condition might prove so instantly fa-tal. Unfortunately for this prudent resolution,his entertainers appeared otherwise disposed.He had not long occupied the seat wisely takena little in the shade, when another of the elderwarriors, who spoke the French language, ad-dressed him:

“My Canada father does not forget his chil-

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dren,” said the chief; “I thank him. An evilspirit lives in the wife of one of my young men.Can the cunning stranger frighten him away?”

Heyward possessed some knowledge of themummery practised among the Indians, in thecases of such supposed visitations. He saw, ata glance, that the circumstance might possiblybe improved to further his own ends. It would,therefore, have been difficult, just then to haveuttered a proposal that would have given himmore satisfaction. Aware of the necessity ofpreserving the dignity of his imaginary char-acter, however, he repressed his feelings, andanswered with suitable mystery:

“Spirits differ; some yield to the power ofwisdom, while others are too strong.”

“My brother is a great medicine,” said thecunning savage; “he will try?”

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A gesture of assent was the answer. TheHuron was content with the assurance, and, re-suming his pipe, he awaited the proper mo-ment to move. The impatient Heyward, in-wardly execrating the cold customs of the sav-ages, which required such sacrifices to appear-ance, was fain to assume an air of indiffer-ence, equal to that maintained by the chief,who was, in truth, a near relative of the afflictedwoman. The minutes lingered, and the delayhad seemed an hour to the adventurer in em-piricism, when the Huron laid aside his pipeand drew his robe across his breast, as if aboutto lead the way to the lodge of the invalid. Justthen, a warrior of powerful frame, darkenedthe door, and stalking silently among the at-tentive group, he seated himself on one end ofthe low pile of brush which sustained Duncan.The latter cast an impatient look at his neigh-

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bor, and felt his flesh creep with uncontrollablehorror when he found himself in actual contactwith Magua.

The sudden return of this artful and dreadedchief caused a delay in the departure of theHuron. Several pipes, that had been extin-guished, were lighted again; while the new-comer, without speaking a word, drew his tom-ahawk from his girdle, and filling the bowl onits head began to inhale the vapors of the weedthrough the hollow handle, with as much indif-ference as if he had not been absent two wearydays on a long and toilsome hunt. Ten min-utes, which appeared so many ages to Duncan,might have passed in this manner; and the war-riors were fairly enveloped in a cloud of whitesmoke before any of them spoke.

“Welcome!” one at length uttered; “has my

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friend found the moose?”

“The young men stagger under their bur-dens,” returned Magua. “Let ‘Reed-that-bends’ go on the hunting path; he will meetthem.”

A deep and awful silence succeeded the ut-terance of the forbidden name. Each pipedropped from the lips of its owner as thoughall had inhaled an impurity at the same instant.The smoke wreathed above their heads in lit-tle eddies, and curling in a spiral form it as-cended swiftly through the opening in the roofof the lodge, leaving the place beneath clear ofits fumes, and each dark visage distinctly visi-ble. The looks of most of the warriors were riv-eted on the earth; though a few of the youngerand less gifted of the party suffered their wildand glaring eyeballs to roll in the direction of

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a white-headed savage, who sat between twoof the most venerated chiefs of the tribe. Therewas nothing in the air or attire of this Indianthat would seem to entitle him to such a dis-tinction. The former was rather depressed,than remarkable for the bearing of the natives;and the latter was such as was commonly wornby the ordinary men of the nation. Like mostaround him for more than a minute his look,too, was on the ground; but, trusting his eyesat length to steal a glance aside, he perceivedthat he was becoming an object of general at-tention. Then he arose and lifted his voice inthe general silence.

“It was a lie,” he said; “I had no son. Hewho was called by that name is forgotten; hisblood was pale, and it came not from the veinsof a Huron; the wicked Chippewas cheated my

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squaw. The Great Spirit has said, that the fam-ily of Wiss-entush should end; he is happy whoknows that the evil of his race dies with him-self. I have done.”

The speaker, who was the father of the recre-ant young Indian, looked round and abouthim, as if seeking commendation of his sto-icism in the eyes of the auditors. But the sterncustoms of his people had made too severe anexaction of the feeble old man. The expressionof his eye contradicted his figurative and boast-ful language, while every muscle in his wrin-kled visage was working with anguish. Stand-ing a single minute to enjoy his bitter triumph,he turned away, as if sickening at the gaze ofmen, and, veiling his face in his blanket, hewalked from the lodge with the noiseless stepof an Indian seeking, in the privacy of his own

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abode, the sympathy of one like himself, aged,forlorn and childless.

The Indians, who believe in the hereditarytransmission of virtues and defects in charac-ter, suffered him to depart in silence. Then,with an elevation of breeding that many ina more cultivated state of society might prof-itably emulate, one of the chiefs drew the at-tention of the young men from the weaknessthey had just witnessed, by saying, in a cheer-ful voice, addressing himself in courtesy toMagua, as the newest comer:

“The Delawares have been like bears afterthe honey pots, prowling around my village.But who has ever found a Huron asleep?”

The darkness of the impending cloud whichprecedes a burst of thunder was not blackerthan the brow of Magua as he exclaimed:

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“The Delawares of the Lakes!”

“Not so. They who wear the petticoats ofsquaws, on their own river. One of them hasbeen passing the tribe.”

“Did my young men take his scalp?”

“His legs were good, though his arm is bet-ter for the hoe than the tomahawk,” returnedthe other, pointing to the immovable form ofUncas.

Instead of manifesting any womanish cu-riosity to feast his eyes with the sight of acaptive from a people he was known to haveso much reason to hate, Magua continued tosmoke, with the meditative air that he usuallymaintained, when there was no immediate callon his cunning or his eloquence. Although se-cretly amazed at the facts communicated by the

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speech of the aged father, he permitted himselfto ask no questions, reserving his inquiries for amore suitable moment. It was only after a suf-ficient interval that he shook the ashes from hispipe, replaced the tomahawk, tightened his gir-dle, and arose, casting for the first time a glancein the direction of the prisoner, who stood alittle behind him. The wary, though seem-ingly abstracted Uncas, caught a glimpse of themovement, and turning suddenly to the light,their looks met. Near a minute these two boldand untamed spirits stood regarding one an-other steadily in the eye, neither quailing in theleast before the fierce gaze he encountered. Theform of Uncas dilated, and his nostrils openedlike those of a tiger at bay; but so rigid and un-yielding was his posture, that he might easilyhave been converted by the imagination intoan exquisite and faultless representation of the

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warlike deity of his tribe. The lineaments of thequivering features of Magua proved more duc-tile; his countenance gradually lost its charac-ter of defiance in an expression of ferocious joy,and heaving a breath from the very bottom ofhis chest, he pronounced aloud the formidablename of:

“Le Cerf Agile!”

Each warrior sprang upon his feet at theutterance of the well-known appellation, andthere was a short period during which the sto-ical constancy of the natives was completelyconquered by surprise. The hated and yet re-spected name was repeated as by one voice,carrying the sound even beyond the limits ofthe lodge. The women and children, who lin-gered around the entrance, took up the wordsin an echo, which was succeeded by another

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shrill and plaintive howl. The latter was not yetended, when the sensation among the men hadentirely abated. Each one in presence seatedhimself, as though ashamed of his precipita-tion; but it was many minutes before theirmeaning eyes ceased to roll toward their cap-tive, in curious examination of a warrior whohad so often proved his prowess on the bestand proudest of their nation. Uncas enjoyed hisvictory, but was content with merely exhibit-ing his triumph by a quiet smile–an emblem ofscorn which belongs to all time and every na-tion.

Magua caught the expression, and raisinghis arm, he shook it at the captive, the light sil-ver ornaments attached to his bracelet rattlingwith the trembling agitation of the limb, as, ina tone of vengeance, he exclaimed, in English:

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“Mohican, you die!”

“The healing waters will never bring thedead Hurons to life,” returned Uncas, in themusic of the Delawares; “the tumbling riverwashes their bones; their men are squaws: theirwomen owls. Go! call together the Hurondogs, that they may look upon a warrior, Mynostrils are offended; they scent the blood of acoward.”

The latter allusion struck deep, and the in-jury rankled. Many of the Hurons understoodthe strange tongue in which the captive spoke,among which number was Magua. This cun-ning savage beheld, and instantly profited byhis advantage. Dropping the light robe of skinfrom his shoulder, he stretched forth his arm,and commenced a burst of his dangerous andartful eloquence. However much his influence

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among his people had been impaired by hisoccasional and besetting weakness, as well asby his desertion of the tribe, his courage andhis fame as an orator were undeniable. Henever spoke without auditors, and rarely with-out making converts to his opinions. On thepresent occasion, his native powers were stim-ulated by the thirst of revenge.

He again recounted the events of the attackon the island at Glenn’s, the death of his asso-ciates and the escape of their most formidableenemies. Then he described the nature and po-sition of the mount whither he had led suchcaptives as had fallen into their hands. Ofhis own bloody intentions toward the maidens,and of his baffled malice he made no mention,but passed rapidly on to the surprise of theparty by “La Longue Carabine,” and its fatal

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termination. Here he paused, and looked abouthim, in affected veneration for the departed,but, in truth, to note the effect of his openingnarrative. As usual, every eye was riveted onhis face. Each dusky figure seemed a breath-ing statue, so motionless was the posture, sointense the attention of the individual.

Then Magua dropped his voice which hadhitherto been clear, strong and elevated, andtouched upon the merits of the dead. No qual-ity that was likely to command the sympa-thy of an Indian escaped his notice. One hadnever been known to follow the chase in vain;another had been indefatigable on the trail oftheir enemies. This was brave, that generous.In short, he so managed his allusions, that in anation which was composed of so few families,he contrived to strike every chord that might

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find, in its turn, some breast in which to vi-brate.

“Are the bones of my young men,” he con-cluded, “in the burial-place of the Hurons? Youknow they are not. Their spirits are gone to-ward the setting sun, and are already cross-ing the great waters, to the happy hunting-grounds. But they departed without food,without guns or knives, without moccasins,naked and poor as they were born. Shall thisbe? Are their souls to enter the land of the justlike hungry Iroquois or unmanly Delawares, orshall they meet their friends with arms in theirhands and robes on their backs? What willour fathers think the tribes of the Wyandotshave become? They will look on their childrenwith a dark eye, and say, ‘Go! a Chippewa hascome hither with the name of a Huron.’ Broth-

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ers, we must not forget the dead; a red-skinnever ceases to remember. We will load theback of this Mohican until he staggers underour bounty, and dispatch him after my youngmen. They call to us for aid, though our earsare not open; they say, ‘Forget us not.’ Whenthey see the spirit of this Mohican toiling af-ter them with his burden, they will know weare of that mind. Then will they go on happy;and our children will say, ‘So did our fathers totheir friends, so must we do to them.’ What isa Yengee? we have slain many, but the earthis still pale. A stain on the name of Huron canonly be hid by blood that comes from the veinsof an Indian. Let this Delaware die.”

The effect of such an harangue, delivered inthe nervous language and with the emphaticmanner of a Huron orator, could scarcely be

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mistaken. Magua had so artfully blended thenatural sympathies with the religious supersti-tion of his auditors, that their minds, alreadyprepared by custom to sacrifice a victim to themanes of their countrymen, lost every vestigeof humanity in a wish for revenge. One warriorin particular, a man of wild and ferocious mien,had been conspicuous for the attention he hadgiven to the words of the speaker. His coun-tenance had changed with each passing emo-tion, until it settled into a look of deadly mal-ice. As Magua ended he arose and, utteringthe yell of a demon, his polished little axe wasseen glancing in the torchlight as he whirled itabove his head. The motion and the cry weretoo sudden for words to interrupt his bloodyintention. It appeared as if a bright gleam shotfrom his hand, which was crossed at the samemoment by a dark and powerful line. The for-

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mer was the tomahawk in its passage; the latterthe arm that Magua darted forward to divert itsaim. The quick and ready motion of the chiefwas not entirely too late. The keen weapon cutthe war plume from the scalping tuft of Uncas,and passed through the frail wall of the lodgeas though it were hurled from some formidableengine.

Duncan had seen the threatening action, andsprang upon his feet, with a heart which, whileit leaped into his throat, swelled with the mostgenerous resolution in behalf of his friend. Aglance told him that the blow had failed, andterror changed to admiration. Uncas stood still,looking his enemy in the eye with features thatseemed superior to emotion. Marble could notbe colder, calmer, or steadier than the counte-nance he put upon this sudden and vindictive

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attack. Then, as if pitying a want of skill whichhad proved so fortunate to himself, he smiled,and muttered a few words of contempt in hisown tongue.

“No!” said Magua, after satisfying himself ofthe safety of the captive; “the sun must shineon his shame; the squaws must see his fleshtremble, or our revenge will be like the play ofboys. Go! take him where there is silence; letus see if a Delaware can sleep at night, and inthe morning die.”

The young men whose duty it was to guardthe prisoner instantly passed their ligamentsof bark across his arms, and led him from thelodge, amid a profound and ominous silence.It was only as the figure of Uncas stood in theopening of the door that his firm step hesi-tated. There he turned, and, in the sweeping

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and haughty glance that he threw around thecircle of his enemies, Duncan caught a lookwhich he was glad to construe into an expres-sion that he was not entirely deserted by hope.

Magua was content with his success, or toomuch occupied with his secret purposes topush his inquiries any further. Shaking hismantle, and folding it on his bosom, he alsoquitted the place, without pursuing a subjectwhich might have proved so fatal to the indi-vidual at his elbow. Notwithstanding his risingresentment, his natural firmness, and his anxi-ety on behalf of Uncas, Heyward felt sensiblyrelieved by the absence of so dangerous andso subtle a foe. The excitement produced bythe speech gradually subsided. The warriorsresumed their seats and clouds of smoke oncemore filled the lodge. For near half an hour, not

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a syllable was uttered, or scarcely a look castaside; a grave and meditative silence being theordinary succession to every scene of violenceand commotion among these beings, who werealike so impetuous and yet so self-restrained.

When the chief, who had solicited the aidof Duncan, finished his pipe, he made a finaland successful movement toward departing. Amotion of a finger was the intimation he gavethe supposed physician to follow; and pass-ing through the clouds of smoke, Duncad wasglad, on more accounts than one, to be able atlast to breathe the pure air of a cool and refresh-ing summer evening.

Instead of pursuing his way among thoselodges where Heyward had already made hisunsuccessful search, his companion turnedaside, and proceeded directly toward the base

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of an adjacent mountain, which overhung thetemporary village. A thicket of brush skirtedits foot, and it became necessary to proceedthrough a crooked and narrow path. The boyshad resumed their sports in the clearing, andwere enacting a mimic chase to the post amongthemselves. In order to render their games aslike the reality as possible, one of the boldestof their number had conveyed a few brandsinto some piles of tree-tops that had hithertoescaped the burning. The blaze of one of thesefires lighted the way of the chief and Duncan,and gave a character of additional wildness tothe rude scenery. At a little distance from a baldrock, and directly in its front, they entered agrassy opening, which they prepared to cross.Just then fresh fuel was added to the fire, anda powerful light penetrated even to that distantspot. It fell upon the white surface of the moun-

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tain, and was reflected downward upon a darkand mysterious-looking being that arose, unex-pectedly, in their path. The Indian paused, asif doubtful whether to proceed, and permittedhis companion to approach his side. A largeblack ball, which at first seemed stationary,now began to move in a manner that to the lat-ter was inexplicable. Again the fire brightenedand its glare fell more distinctly on the object.Then even Duncan knew it, by its restless andsidling attitudes, which kept the upper part ofits form in constant motion, while the animalitself appeared seated, to be a bear. Thoughit growled loudly and fiercely, and there wereinstants when its glistening eyeballs might beseen, it gave no other indications of hostility.The Huron, at least, seemed assured that theintentions of this singular intruder were peace-able, for after giving it an attentive examina-

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tion, he quietly pursued his course.

Duncan, who knew that the animal was of-ten domesticated among the Indians, followedthe example of his companion, believing thatsome favorite of the tribe had found its wayinto the thicket, in search of food. They passedit unmolested. Though obliged to come nearlyin contact with the monster, the Huron, whohad at first so warily determined the charac-ter of his strange visitor, was now content withproceeding without wasting a moment in fur-ther examination; but Heyward was unableto prevent his eyes from looking backward,in salutary watchfulness against attacks in therear. His uneasiness was in no degree dimin-ished when he perceived the beast rolling alongtheir path, and following their footsteps. Hewould have spoken, but the Indian at that mo-

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ment shoved aside a door of bark, and entereda cavern in the bosom of the mountain.

Profiting by so easy a method of retreat,Duncan stepped after him, and was gladlyclosing the slight cover to the opening, whenhe felt it drawn from his hand by the beast,whose shaggy form immediately darkened thepassage. They were now in a straight and longgallery, in a chasm of the rocks, where retreatwithout encountering the animal was impossi-ble. Making the best of the circumstances, theyoung man pressed forward, keeping as closeas possible to his conductor. The bear growledfrequently at his heels, and once or twice itsenormous paws were laid on his person, as ifdisposed to prevent his further passage into theden.

How long the nerves of Heyward would

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have sustained him in this extraordinary situa-tion, it might be difficult to decide, for, happily,he soon found relief. A glimmer of light hadconstantly been in their front, and they now ar-rived at the place whence it proceeded.

A large cavity in the rock had been rudelyfitted to answer the purposes of many apart-ments. The subdivisions were simple but in-genious, being composed of stone, sticks, andbark, intermingled. Openings above admittedthe light by day, and at night fires and torchessupplied the place of the sun. Hither theHurons had brought most of their valuables,especially those which more particularly per-tained to the nation; and hither, as it now ap-peared, the sick woman, who was believed tobe the victim of supernatural power, had beentransported also, under an impression that her

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tormentor would find more difficulty in mak-ing his assaults through walls of stone thanthrough the leafy coverings of the lodges. Theapartment into which Duncan and his guidefirst entered, had been exclusively devoted toher accommodation. The latter approached herbedside, which was surrounded by females, inthe center of whom Heyward was surprised tofind his missing friend David.

A single look was sufficient to apprise thepretended leech that the invalid was far be-yond his powers of healing. She lay in a sortof paralysis, indifferent to the objects whichcrowded before her sight, and happily uncon-scious of suffering. Heyward was far from re-gretting that his mummeries were to be per-formed on one who was much too ill to take aninterest in their failure or success. The slight

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qualm of conscience which had been excitedby the intended deception was instantly ap-peased, and he began to collect his thoughts,in order to enact his part with suitable spirit,when he found he was about to be anticipatedin his skill by an attempt to prove the power ofmusic.

Gamut, who had stood prepared to pourforth his spirit in song when the visitors en-tered, after delaying a moment, drew a strainfrom his pipe, and commenced a hymn thatmight have worked a miracle, had faith in itsefficacy been of much avail. He was allowed toproceed to the close, the Indians respecting hisimaginary infirmity, and Duncan too glad ofthe delay to hazard the slightest interruption.As the dying cadence of his strains was fallingon the ears of the latter, he started aside at hear-

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ing them repeated behind him, in a voice halfhuman and half sepulchral. Looking around,he beheld the shaggy monster seated on endin a shadow of the cavern, where, while hisrestless body swung in the uneasy manner ofthe animal, it repeated, in a sort of low growl,sounds, if not words, which bore some slightresemblance to the melody of the singer.

The effect of so strange an echo on Davidmay better be imagined than described. Hiseyes opened as if he doubted their truth; andhis voice became instantly mute in excess ofwonder. A deep-laid scheme, of communicat-ing some important intelligence to Heyward,was driven from his recollection by an emotionwhich very nearly resembled fear, but whichhe was fain to believe was admiration. Underits influence, he exclaimed aloud: “She expects

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you, and is at hand”; and precipitately left thecavern.

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“Snug.–Have you the lion’s partwritten?

Pray you, if it be, give it to me, forI am slow of study.

Quince.–You may do it extempore,for it is nothing but roaring.”

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–MidsummerNight’s Dream.

There was a strange blending of the ridiculouswith that which was solemn in this scene. Thebeast still continued its rolling, and apparentlyuntiring movements, though its ludicrous at-tempt to imitate the melody of David ceasedthe instant the latter abandoned the field. Thewords of Gamut were, as has been seen, inhis native tongue; and to Duncan they seempregnant with some hidden meaning, thoughnothing present assisted him in discovering theobject of their allusion. A speedy end was,however, put to every conjecture on the sub-ject, by the manner of the chief, who advancedto the bedside of the invalid, and beckonedaway the whole group of female attendantsthat had clustered there to witness the skill of

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the stranger. He was implicitly, though reluc-tantly, obeyed; and when the low echo whichrang along the hollow, natural gallery, from thedistant closing door, had ceased, pointing to-ward his insensible daughter, he said:

“Now let my brother show his power.”

Thus unequivocally called on to exercisethe functions of his assumed character, Hey-ward was apprehensive that the smallest delaymight prove dangerous. Endeavoring, then, tocollect his ideas, he prepared to perform thatspecies of incantation, and those uncouth rites,under which the Indian conjurers are accus-tomed to conceal their ignorance and impo-tency. It is more than probable that, in the dis-ordered state of his thoughts, he would soonhave fallen into some suspicious, if not fatal,error had not his incipient attempts been inter-

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rupted by a fierce growl from the quadruped.Three several times did he renew his effortsto proceed, and as often was he met by thesame unaccountable opposition, each interrup-tion seeming more savage and threatening thanthe preceding.

“The cunning ones are jealous,” said theHuron; “I go. Brother, the woman is the wifeof one of my bravest young men; deal justly byher. Peace!” he added, beckoning to the dis-contented beast to be quiet; “I go.”

The chief was as good as his word, and Dun-can now found himself alone in that wild anddesolate abode with the helpless invalid andthe fierce and dangerous brute. The latter lis-tened to the movements of the Indian with thatair of sagacity that a bear is known to possess,until another echo announced that he had also

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left the cavern, when it turned and came wad-dling up to Duncan before whom it seated it-self in its natural attitude, erect like a man. Theyouth looked anxiously about him for someweapon, with which he might make a resis-tance against the attack he now seriously ex-pected.

It seemed, however, as if the humor of theanimal had suddenly changed. Instead of con-tinuing its discontented growls, or manifest-ing any further signs of anger, the whole ofits shaggy body shook violently, as if agitatedby some strange internal convulsion. The hugeand unwieldy talons pawed stupidly about thegrinning muzzle, and while Heyward kept hiseyes riveted on its movements with jealouswatchfulness, the grim head fell on one sideand in its place appeared the honest sturdy

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countenance of the scout, who was indulgingfrom the bottom of his soul in his own peculiarexpression of merriment.

“Hist!” said the wary woodsman, interrupt-ing Heyward’s exclamation of surprise; “thevarlets are about the place, and any sounds thatare not natural to witchcraft would bring themback upon us in a body.”

“Tell me the meaning of this masquerade;and why you have attempted so desperate anadventure?”

“Ah, reason and calculation are often out-done by accident,” returned the scout. “But, asa story should always commence at the begin-ning, I will tell you the whole in order. Afterwe parted I placed the commandant and theSagamore in an old beaver lodge, where theyare safer from the Hurons than they would be

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in the garrison of Edward; for your high north-west Indians, not having as yet got the tradersamong them, continued to venerate the beaver.After which Uncas and I pushed for the otherencampment as was agreed. Have you seen thelad?”

“To my great grief! He is captive, and con-demned to die at the rising of the sun.”

“I had misgivings that such would be hisfate,” resumed the scout, in a less confidentand joyous tone. But soon regaining his nat-urally firm voice, he continued: “His bad for-tune is the true reason of my being here, for itwould never do to abandon such a boy to theHurons. A rare time the knaves would have ofit, could they tie ‘The Bounding Elk’ and ‘TheLong Carabine’, as they call me, to the samestake! Though why they have given me such a

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name I never knew, there being as little likenessbetween the gifts of ‘killdeer’ and the perfor-mance of one of your real Canada carabynes,as there is between the natur’ of a pipe-stoneand a flint.”

“Keep to your tale,” said the impatient Hey-ward; “we know not at what moment theHurons may return.”

“No fear of them. A conjurer must have histime, like a straggling priest in the settlements.We are as safe from interruption as a mission-ary would be at the beginning of a two hours’discourse. Well, Uncas and I fell in with a re-turn party of the varlets; the lad was much tooforward for a scout; nay, for that matter, beingof hot blood, he was not so much to blame; and,after all, one of the Hurons proved a coward,and in fleeing led him into an ambushment.”

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“And dearly has he paid for the weakness.”

The scout significantly passed his handacross his own throat, and nodded, as if hesaid, “I comprehend your meaning.” Afterwhich he continued, in a more audible thoughscarcely more intelligible language:

“After the loss of the boy I turned upon theHurons, as you may judge. There have beenscrimmages atween one or two of their outlyersand myself; but that is neither here nor there.So, after I had shot the imps, I got in pretty nighto the lodges without further commotion. Thenwhat should luck do in my favor but lead meto the very spot where one of the most famousconjurers of the tribe was dressing himself, asI well knew, for some great battle with Satan–though why should I call that luck, which itnow seems was an especial ordering of Provi-

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dence. So a judgmatical rap over the head stiff-ened the lying impostor for a time, and leavinghim a bit of walnut for his supper, to preventan uproar, and stringing him up atween twosaplings, I made free with his finery, and tookthe part of the bear on myself, in order that theoperations might proceed.”

“And admirably did you enact the character;the animal itself might have been shamed bythe representation.”

“Lord, major,” returned the flattered woods-man, “I should be but a poor scholar for onewho has studied so long in the wilderness, didI not know how to set forth the movementsor natur’ of such a beast. Had it been now acatamount, or even a full-size panther, I wouldhave embellished a performance for you worthregarding. But it is no such marvelous feat to

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exhibit the feats of so dull a beast; though, forthat matter, too, a bear may be overacted. Yes,yes; it is not every imitator that knows natur’may be outdone easier than she is equaled. Butall our work is yet before us. Where is the gen-tle one?”

“Heaven knows. I have examined everylodge in the village, without discovering theslightest trace of her presence in the tribe.”

“You heard what the singer said, as he leftus: ‘She is at hand, and expects you’?”

“I have been compelled to believe he alludedto this unhappy woman.”

“The simpleton was frightened, and blun-dered through his message; but he had adeeper meaning. Here are walls enough to sep-arate the whole settlement. A bear ought to

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climb; therefore will I take a look above them.There may be honey-pots hid in these rocks,and I am a beast, you know, that has a hanker-ing for the sweets.”

The scout looked behind him, laughing at hisown conceit, while he clambered up the parti-tion, imitating, as he went, the clumsy motionsof the beast he represented; but the instant thesummit was gained he made a gesture for si-lence, and slid down with the utmost precipi-tation.

“She is here,” he whispered, “and by thatdoor you will find her. I would have spokena word of comfort to the afflicted soul; but thesight of such a monster might upset her reason.Though for that matter, major, you are none ofthe most inviting yourself in your paint.”

Duncan, who had already swung eagerly

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forward, drew instantly back on hearing thesediscouraging words.

“Am I, then, so very revolting?” he de-manded, with an air of chagrin.

“You might not startle a wolf, or turn theRoyal Americans from a discharge; but I haveseen the time when you had a better favoredlook; your streaked countenances are not ill-judged of by the squaws, but young womenof white blood give the preference to their owncolor. See,” he added, pointing to a place wherethe water trickled from a rock, forming a littlecrystal spring, before it found an issue throughthe adjacent crevices; “you may easily get rid ofthe Sagamore’s daub, and when you come backI will try my hand at a new embellishment. It’sas common for a conjurer to alter his paint asfor a buck in the settlements to change his fin-

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ery.”

The deliberate woodsman had little occasionto hunt for arguments to enforce his advice. Hewas yet speaking when Duncan availed him-self of the water. In a moment every fright-ful or offensive mark was obliterated, and theyouth appeared again in the lineaments withwhich he had been gifted by nature. Thus pre-pared for an interview with his mistress, hetook a hasty leave of his companion, and dis-appeared through the indicated passage. Thescout witnessed his departure with compla-cency, nodding his head after him, and mutter-ing his good wishes; after which he very coollyset about an examination of the state of thelarder, among the Hurons, the cavern, amongother purposes, being used as a receptacle forthe fruits of their hunts.

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Duncan had no other guide than a distantglimmering light, which served, however, theoffice of a polar star to the lover. By itsaid he was enabled to enter the haven of hishopes, which was merely another apartment ofthe cavern, that had been solely appropriatedto the safekeeping of so important a prisoneras a daughter of the commandant of WilliamHenry. It was profusely strewed with the plun-der of that unlucky fortress. In the midst of thisconfusion he found her he sought, pale, anx-ious and terrified, but lovely. David had pre-pared her for such a visit.

“Duncan!” she exclaimed, in a voice thatseemed to tremble at the sounds created by it-self.

“Alice!” he answered, leaping carelesslyamong trunks, boxes, arms, and furniture, until

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he stood at her side.

“I knew that you would never desert me,”she said, looking up with a momentary glowon her otherwise dejected countenance. “Butyou are alone! Grateful as it is to be thus re-membered, I could wish to think you are notentirely alone.”

Duncan, observing that she trembled in amanner which betrayed her inability to stand,gently induced her to be seated, while he re-counted those leading incidents which it hasbeen our task to accord. Alice listened withbreathless interest; and though the young mantouched lightly on the sorrows of the strickenfather; taking care, however, not to wound theself-love of his auditor, the tears ran as freelydown the cheeks of the daughter as though shehad never wept before. The soothing tender-

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ness of Duncan, however, soon quieted the firstburst of her emotions, and she then heard himto the close with undivided attention, if notwith composure.

“And now, Alice,” he added, “you will seehow much is still expected of you. By the assis-tance of our experienced and invaluable friend,the scout, we may find our way from this sav-age people, but you will have to exert your ut-most fortitude. Remember that you fly to thearms of your venerable parent, and how muchhis happiness, as well as your own, depends onthose exertions.”

“Can I do otherwise for a father who hasdone so much for me?”

“And for me, too,” continued the youth, gen-tly pressing the hand he held in both his own.

The look of innocence and surprise which he

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received in return convinced Duncan of the ne-cessity of being more explicit.

“This is neither the place nor the occasion todetain you with selfish wishes,” he added; “butwhat heart loaded like mine would not wish tocast its burden? They say misery is the closestof all ties; our common suffering in your behalfleft but little to be explained between your fa-ther and myself.”

“And, dearest Cora, Duncan; surely Corawas not forgotten?”

“Not forgotten! no; regretted, as woman wasseldom mourned before. Your venerable fatherknew no difference between his children; but I–Alice, you will not be offended when I say, thatto me her worth was in a degree obscured–”

“Then you knew not the merit of my sis-ter,” said Alice, withdrawing her hand; “of you

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she ever speaks as of one who is her dearestfriend.”

“I would gladly believe her such,” returnedDuncan, hastily; “I could wish her to be evenmore; but with you, Alice, I have the permis-sion of your father to aspire to a still nearer anddearer tie.”

Alice trembled violently, and there was aninstant during which she bent her face aside,yielding to the emotions common to her sex;but they quickly passed away, leaving her mis-tress of her deportment, if not of her affections.

“Heyward,” she said, looking him full in theface with a touching expression of innocenceand dependency, “give me the sacred presenceand the holy sanction of that parent before youurge me further.”

“Though more I should not, less I could not

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say,” the youth was about to answer, when hewas interrupted by a light tap on his shoulder.Starting to his feet, he turned, and, confrontingthe intruder, his looks fell on the dark form andmalignant visage of Magua. The deep gutturallaugh of the savage sounded, at such a mo-ment, to Duncan, like the hellish taunt of a de-mon. Had he pursued the sudden and fierceimpulse of the instant, he would have cast him-self on the Huron, and committed their for-tunes to the issue of a deadly struggle. But,without arms of any description, ignorant ofwhat succor his subtle enemy could command,and charged with the safety of one who wasjust then dearer than ever to his heart, he nosooner entertained than he abandoned the des-perate intention.

“What is your purpose?” said Alice, meekly

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folding her arms on her bosom, and strugglingto conceal an agony of apprehension in behalfof Heyward, in the usual cold and distant man-ner with which she received the visits of hercaptor.

The exulting Indian had resumed his austerecountenance, though he drew warily back be-fore the menacing glance of the young man’sfiery eye. He regarded both his captives for amoment with a steady look, and then, steppingaside, he dropped a log of wood across a doordifferent from that by which Duncan had en-tered. The latter now comprehended the man-ner of his surprise, and, believing himself ir-retrievably lost, he drew Alice to his bosom,and stood prepared to meet a fate which hehardly regretted, since it was to be suffered insuch company. But Magua meditated no im-

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mediate violence. His first measures were veryevidently taken to secure his new captive; nordid he even bestow a second glance at the mo-tionless forms in the center of the cavern, untilhe had completely cut off every hope of retreatthrough the private outlet he had himself used.He was watched in all his movements by Hey-ward, who, however, remained firm, still fold-ing the fragile form of Alice to his heart, at oncetoo proud and too hopeless to ask favor of anenemy so often foiled. When Magua had ef-fected his object he approached his prisoners,and said in English:

“The pale faces trap the cunning beavers; butthe red-skins know how to take the Yengeese.”

“Huron, do your worst!” exclaimed the ex-cited Heyward, forgetful that a double stakewas involved in his life; “you and your

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vengeance are alike despised.”

“Will the white man speak these words atthe stake?” asked Magua; manifesting, at thesame time, how little faith he had in the other’sresolution by the sneer that accompanied hiswords.

“Here; singly to your face, or in the presenceof your nation.”

“Le Renard Subtil is a great chief!” returnedthe Indian; “he will go and bring his youngmen, to see how bravely a pale face can laughat tortures.”

He turned away while speaking, and wasabout to leave the place through the avenue bywhich Duncan had approached, when a growlcaught his ear, and caused him to hesitate. Thefigure of the bear appeared in the door, where

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it sat, rolling from side to side in its custom-ary restlessness. Magua, like the father of thesick woman, eyed it keenly for a moment, asif to ascertain its character. He was far abovethe more vulgar superstitions of his tribe, andso soon as he recognized the well-known at-tire of the conjurer, he prepared to pass it incool contempt. But a louder and more threat-ening growl caused him again to pause. Thenhe seemed as if suddenly resolved to trifle nolonger, and moved resolutely forward.

The mimic animal, which had advanced a lit-tle, retired slowly in his front, until it arrivedagain at the pass, when, rearing on his hinderlegs, it beat the air with its paws, in the mannerpractised by its brutal prototype.

“Fool!” exclaimed the chief, in Huron, “goplay with the children and squaws; leave men

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to their wisdom.”

He once more endeavored to pass the sup-posed empiric, scorning even the parade ofthreatening to use the knife, or tomahawk,that was pendent from his belt. Suddenly thebeast extended its arms, or rather legs, and in-closed him in a grasp that might have vied withthe far-famed power of the “bear’s hug” itself.Heyward had watched the whole procedure,on the part of Hawkeye, with breathless inter-est. At first he relinquished his hold of Alice;then he caught up a thong of buckskin, whichhad been used around some bundle, and whenhe beheld his enemy with his two arms pinnedto his side by the iron muscles of the scout,he rushed upon him, and effectually securedthem there. Arms, legs, and feet were encir-cled in twenty folds of the thong, in less time

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than we have taken to record the circumstance.When the formidable Huron was completelypinioned, the scout released his hold, and Dun-can laid his enemy on his back, utterly helpless.

Throughout the whole of this sudden andextraordinary operation, Magua, though hehad struggled violently, until assured he wasin the hands of one whose nerves were far bet-ter strung than his own, had not uttered theslightest exclamation. But when Hawkeye, byway of making a summary explanation of hisconduct, removed the shaggy jaws of the beast,and exposed his own rugged and earnest coun-tenance to the gaze of the Huron, the philoso-phy of the latter was so far mastered as to per-mit him to utter the never failing:

“Hugh!”“Ay, you’ve found your tongue,” said his

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undisturbed conqueror; “now, in order thatyou shall not use it to our ruin, I must makefree to stop your mouth.”

As there was no time to be lost, the scoutimmediately set about effecting so necessary aprecaution; and when he had gagged the In-dian, his enemy might safely have been con-sidered as “hors de combat.”

“By what place did the imp enter?” askedthe industrious scout, when his work wasended. “Not a soul has passed my way sinceyou left me.”

Duncan pointed out the door by whichMagua had come, and which now presentedtoo many obstacles to a quick retreat.

“Bring on the gentle one, then,” continuedhis friend; “we must make a push for thewoods by the other outlet.”

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“‘Tis impossible!” said Duncan; “fear hasovercome her, and she is helpless. Alice! mysweet, my own Alice, arouse yourself; now isthe moment to fly. ‘Tis in vain! she hears, but isunable to follow. Go, noble and worthy friend;save yourself, and leave me to my fate.”

“Every trail has its end, and every calamitybrings its lesson!” returned the scout. “There,wrap her in them Indian cloths. Conceal all ofher little form. Nay, that foot has no fellow inthe wilderness; it will betray her. All, everypart. Now take her in your arms, and follow.Leave the rest to me.”

Duncan, as may be gathered from the wordsof his companion, was eagerly obeying; and, asthe other finished speaking, he took the lightperson of Alice in his arms, and followed inthe footsteps of the scout. They found the sick

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woman as they had left her, still alone, andpassed swiftly on, by the natural gallery, to theplace of entrance. As they approached the littledoor of bark, a murmur of voices without an-nounced that the friends and relatives of the in-valid were gathered about the place, patientlyawaiting a summons to re-enter.

“If I open my lips to speak,” Hawkeyewhispered, “my English, which is the genuinetongue of a white-skin, will tell the varlets thatan enemy is among them. You must give ‘emyour jargon, major; and say that we have shutthe evil spirit in the cave, and are taking thewoman to the woods in order to find strength-ening roots. Practise all your cunning, for it isa lawful undertaking.”

The door opened a little, as if one withoutwas listening to the proceedings within, and

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compelled the scout to cease his directions.A fierce growl repelled the eavesdropper, andthen the scout boldly threw open the coveringof bark, and left the place, enacting the char-acter of a bear as he proceeded. Duncan keptclose at his heels, and soon found himself inthe center of a cluster of twenty anxious rela-tives and friends.

The crowd fell back a little, and permittedthe father, and one who appeared to be the hus-band of the woman, to approach.

“Has my brother driven away the evilspirit?” demanded the former. “What has hein his arms?”

“Thy child,” returned Duncan, gravely; “thedisease has gone out of her; it is shut up in therocks. I take the woman to a distance, where Iwill strengthen her against any further attacks.

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She will be in the wigwam of the young manwhen the sun comes again.”

When the father had translated the mean-ing of the stranger’s words into the Huron lan-guage, a suppressed murmur announced thesatisfaction with which this intelligence was re-ceived. The chief himself waved his hand forDuncan to proceed, saying aloud, in a firmvoice, and with a lofty manner:

“Go; I am a man, and I will enter the rockand fight the wicked one.”

Heyward had gladly obeyed, and was al-ready past the little group, when these startlingwords arrested him.

“Is my brother mad?” he exclaimed; “is hecruel? He will meet the disease, and it willenter him; or he will drive out the disease,

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and it will chase his daughter into the woods.No; let my children wait without, and if thespirit appears beat him down with clubs. Heis cunning, and will bury himself in the moun-tain, when he sees how many are ready to fighthim.”

This singular warning had the desired ef-fect. Instead of entering the cavern, the fa-ther and husband drew their tomahawks, andposted themselves in readiness to deal theirvengeance on the imaginary tormentor of theirsick relative, while the women and childrenbroke branches from the bushes, or seized frag-ments of the rock, with a similar intention. Atthis favorable moment the counterfeit conjur-ers disappeared.

Hawkeye, at the same time that he had pre-sumed so far on the nature of the Indian su-

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perstitions, was not ignorant that they wererather tolerated than relied on by the wisest ofthe chiefs. He well knew the value of time inthe present emergency. Whatever might be theextent of the self-delusion of his enemies, andhowever it had tended to assist his schemes,the slightest cause of suspicion, acting on thesubtle nature of an Indian, would be likely toprove fatal. Taking the path, therefore, thatwas most likely to avoid observation, he ratherskirted than entered the village. The warriorswere still to be seen in the distance, by the fad-ing light of the fires, stalking from lodge tolodge. But the children had abandoned theirsports for their beds of skins, and the quiet ofnight was already beginning to prevail over theturbulence and excitement of so busy and im-portant an evening.

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Alice revived under the renovating influenceof the open air, and, as her physical ratherthan her mental powers had been the subjectof weakness, she stood in no need of any ex-planation of that which had occurred.

“Now let me make an effort to walk,” shesaid, when they had entered the forest, blush-ing, though unseen, that she had not beensooner able to quit the arms of Duncan; “I amindeed restored.”

“Nay, Alice, you are yet too weak.”The maiden struggled gently to release her-

self, and Heyward was compelled to part withhis precious burden. The representative of thebear had certainly been an entire stranger to thedelicious emotions of the lover while his armsencircled his mistress; and he was, perhaps, astranger also to the nature of that feeling of in-

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genuous shame that oppressed the tremblingAlice. But when he found himself at a suitabledistance from the lodges he made a halt, andspoke on a subject of which he was thoroughlythe master.

“This path will lead you to the brook,” hesaid; “follow its northern bank until you cometo a fall; mount the hill on your right, and youwill see the fires of the other people. Thereyou must go and demand protection; if theyare true Delawares you will be safe. A distantflight with that gentle one, just now, is impossi-ble. The Hurons would follow up our trail, andmaster our scalps before we had got a dozenmiles. Go, and Providence be with you.”

“And you!” demanded Heyward, in sur-prise; “surely we part not here?”

“The Hurons hold the pride of the

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Delawares; the last of the high blood ofthe Mohicans is in their power,” returned thescout; “I go to see what can be done in hisfavor. Had they mastered your scalp, major, aknave should have fallen for every hair it held,as I promised; but if the young Sagamore is tobe led to the stake, the Indians shall see alsohow a man without a cross can die.”

Not in the least offended with the decidedpreference that the sturdy woodsman gave toone who might, in some degree, be called thechild of his adoption, Duncan still continued tourge such reasons against so desperate an effortas presented themselves. He was aided by Al-ice, who mingled her entreaties with those ofHeyward that he would abandon a resolutionthat promised so much danger, with so littlehope of success. Their eloquence and ingenuity

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were expended in vain. The scout heard themattentively, but impatiently, and finally closedthe discussion, by answering, in a tone that in-stantly silenced Alice, while it told Heywardhow fruitless any further remonstrances wouldbe.

“I have heard,” he said, “that there is a feel-ing in youth which binds man to woman closerthan the father is tied to the son. It may beso. I have seldom been where women of mycolor dwell; but such may be the gifts of naturein the settlements. You have risked life, andall that is dear to you, to bring off this gentleone, and I suppose that some such dispositionis at the bottom of it all. As for me, I taughtthe lad the real character of a rifle; and wellhas he paid me for it. I have fou’t at his sidein many a bloody scrimmage; and so long as I

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could hear the crack of his piece in one ear, andthat of the Sagamore in the other, I knew noenemy was on my back. Winters and summer,nights and days, have we roved the wildernessin company, eating of the same dish, one sleep-ing while the other watched; and afore it shallbe said that Uncas was taken to the torment,and I at hand–There is but a single Ruler ofus all, whatever may the color of the skin; andHim I call to witness, that before the Mohicanboy shall perish for the want of a friend, goodfaith shall depart the ‘arth, and ‘killdeer’ be-come as harmless as the tooting we’pon of thesinger!”

Duncan released his hold on the arm of thescout, who turned, and steadily retraced hissteps toward the lodges. After pausing a mo-ment to gaze at his retiring form, the success-

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ful and yet sorrowful Heyward and Alice tooktheir way together toward the distant village ofthe Delawares.

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“Bot.–Let me play the lion too.”–Midsummer Night’s Dream

NOTWITHSTANDING THE HIGH resolu-tion of Hawkeye he fully comprehended all thedifficulties and danger he was about to incur.In his return to the camp, his acute and prac-

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tised intellects were intently engaged in devis-ing means to counteract a watchfulness andsuspicion on the part of his enemies, that heknew were, in no degree, inferior to his own.Nothing but the color of his skin had saved thelives of Magua and the conjurer, who wouldhave been the first victims sacrificed to his ownsecurity, had not the scout believed such anact, however congenial it might be to the na-ture of an Indian, utterly unworthy of one whoboasted a descent from men that knew no crossof blood. Accordingly, he trusted to the withesand ligaments with which he had bound hiscaptives, and pursued his way directly towardthe center of the lodges. As he approached thebuildings, his steps become more deliberate,and his vigilant eye suffered no sign, whetherfriendly or hostile, to escape him. A neglectedhut was a little in advance of the others, and

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appeared as if it had been deserted when halfcompleted–most probably on account of fail-ing in some of the more important requisites;such as wood or water. A faint light glimmeredthrough its cracks, however, and announcedthat, notwithstanding its imperfect structure, itwas not without a tenant. Thither, then, thescout proceeded, like a prudent general, whowas about to feel the advanced positions of hisenemy, before he hazarded the main attack.

Throwing himself into a suitable posture forthe beast he represented, Hawkeye crawled toa little opening, where he might command aview of the interior. It proved to be the abid-ing place of David Gamut. Hither the faithfulsinging-master had now brought himself, to-gether with all his sorrows, his apprehensions,and his meek dependence on the protection

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of Providence. At the precise moment whenhis ungainly person came under the observa-tion of the scout, in the manner just mentioned,the woodsman himself, though in his assumedcharacter, was the subject of the solitary being’sprofounded reflections.

However implicit the faith of David was inthe performance of ancient miracles, he es-chewed the belief of any direct supernaturalagency in the management of modern moral-ity. In other words, while he had implicit faithin the ability of Balaam’s ass to speak, he wassomewhat skeptical on the subject of a bear’ssinging; and yet he had been assured of the lat-ter, on the testimony of his own exquisite or-gans. There was something in his air and man-ner that betrayed to the scout the utter confu-sion of the state of his mind. He was seated on

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a pile of brush, a few twigs from which occa-sionally fed his low fire, with his head leaningon his arm, in a posture of melancholy musing.The costume of the votary of music had un-dergone no other alteration from that so latelydescribed, except that he had covered his baldhead with the triangular beaver, which had notproved sufficiently alluring to excite the cupid-ity of any of his captors.

The ingenious Hawkeye, who recalled thehasty manner in which the other had aban-doned his post at the bedside of the sickwoman, was not without his suspicions con-cerning the subject of so much solemn delibera-tion. First making the circuit of the hut, and as-certaining that it stood quite alone, and that thecharacter of its inmate was likely to protect itfrom visitors, he ventured through its low door,

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into the very presence of Gamut. The posi-tion of the latter brought the fire between them;and when Hawkeye had seated himself on end,near a minute elapsed, during which the tworemained regarding each other without speak-ing. The suddenness and the nature of the sur-prise had nearly proved too much for–we willnot say the philosophy–but for the pitch andresolution of David. He fumbled for his pitch-pipe, and arose with a confused intention of at-tempting a musical exorcism.

“Dark and mysterious monster!” he ex-claimed, while with trembling hands he dis-posed of his auxiliary eyes, and sought hisnever-failing resource in trouble, the gifted ver-sion of the psalms; “I know not your nature norintents; but if aught you meditate against theperson and rights of one of the humblest ser-

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vants of the temple, listen to the inspired lan-guage of the youth of Israel, and repent.”

The bear shook his shaggy sides, and then awell-known voice replied:

“Put up the tooting we’pon, and teach yourthroat modesty. Five words of plain and com-prehendible English are worth just now anhour of squalling.”

“What art thou?” demanded David, utterlydisqualified to pursue his original intention,and nearly gasping for breath.

“A man like yourself; and one whose bloodis as little tainted by the cross of a bear, or anIndian, as your own. Have you so soon forgot-ten from whom you received the foolish instru-ment you hold in your hand?”

“Can these things be?” returned David,breathing more freely, as the truth began to

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dawn upon him. “I have found many marvelsduring my sojourn with the heathen, but surelynothing to excel this.”

“Come, come,” returned Hawkeye, uncasinghis honest countenance, the better to assure thewavering confidence of his companion; “youmay see a skin, which, if it be not as white asone of the gentle ones, has no tinge of red to itthat the winds of the heaven and the sun havenot bestowed. Now let us to business.”

“First tell me of the maiden, and of the youthwho so bravely sought her,” interrupted David.

“Ay, they are happily freed from the toma-hawks of these varlets. But can you put me onthe scent of Uncas?”

“The young man is in bondage, and much Ifear his death is decreed. I greatly mourn that

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one so well disposed should die in his igno-rance, and I have sought a goodly hymn–”

“Can you lead me to him?”

“The task will not be difficult,” returnedDavid, hesitating; “though I greatly fear yourpresence would rather increase than mitigatehis unhappy fortunes.”

“No more words, but lead on,” returnedHawkeye, concealing his face again, and set-ting the example in his own person, by in-stantly quitting the lodge.

As they proceeded, the scout ascertainedthat his companion found access to Uncas, un-der privilege of his imaginary infirmity, aidedby the favor he had acquired with one of theguards, who, in consequence of speaking alittle English, had been selected by David as

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the subject of a religious conversion. How farthe Huron comprehended the intentions of hisnew friend may well be doubted; but as exclu-sive attention is as flattering to a savage as toa more civilized individual, it had producedthe effect we have mentioned. It is unneces-sary to repeat the shrewd manner with whichthe scout extracted these particulars from thesimple David; neither shall we dwell in thisplace on the nature of the instruction he deliv-ered, when completely master of all the neces-sary facts; as the whole will be sufficiently ex-plained to the reader in the course of the narra-tive.

The lodge in which Uncas was confined wasin the very center of the village, and in a situ-ation, perhaps, more difficult than any other toapproach, or leave, without observation. But

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it was not the policy of Hawkeye to affect theleast concealment. Presuming on his disguise,and his ability to sustain the character he hadassumed, he took the most plain and directroute to the place. The hour, however, affordedhim some little of that protection which he ap-peared so much to despise. The boys were al-ready buried in sleep, and all the women, andmost of the warriors, had retired to their lodgesfor the night. Four or five of the latter only lin-gered about the door of the prison of Uncas,wary but close observers of the manner of theircaptive.

At the sight of Gamut, accompanied by onein the well-known masquerade of their mostdistinguished conjurer, they readily made wayfor them both. Still they betrayed no inten-tion to depart. On the other hand, they were

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evidently disposed to remain bound to theplace by an additional interest in the mysteri-ous mummeries that they of course expectedfrom such a visit.

From the total inability of the scout to ad-dress the Hurons in their own language, hewas compelled to trust the conversation en-tirely to David. Notwithstanding the simplicityof the latter, he did ample justice to the instruc-tions he had received, more than fulfilling thestrongest hopes of his teacher.

“The Delawares are women!” he exclaimed,addressing himself to the savage who had aslight understanding of the language in whichhe spoke; “the Yengeese, my foolish country-men, have told them to take up the tomahawk,and strike their fathers in the Canadas, andthey have forgotten their sex. Does my brother

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wish to hear ‘Le Cerf Agile’ ask for his petti-coats, and see him weep before the Hurons, atthe stake?”

The exclamation “Hugh!” delivered in astrong tone of assent, announced the gratifi-cation the savage would receive in witnessingsuch an exhibition of weakness in an enemy solong hated and so much feared.

“Then let him step aside, and the cunningman will blow upon the dog. Tell it to mybrothers.”

The Huron explained the meaning of Davidto his fellows, who, in their turn, listened to theproject with that sort of satisfaction that theiruntamed spirits might be expected to find insuch a refinement in cruelty. They drew backa little from the entrance and motioned to thesupposed conjurer to enter. But the bear, in-

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stead of obeying, maintained the seat it hadtaken, and growled:

“The cunning man is afraid that his breathwill blow upon his brothers, and take awaytheir courage too,” continued David, improv-ing the hint he received; “they must stand fur-ther off.”

The Hurons, who would have deemed sucha misfortune the heaviest calamity that couldbefall them, fell back in a body, taking a po-sition where they were out of earshot, thoughat the same time they could command a viewof the entrance to the lodge. Then, as if sat-isfied of their safety, the scout left his posi-tion, and slowly entered the place. It was silentand gloomy, being tenanted solely by the cap-tive, and lighted by the dying embers of a fire,which had been used for the purposed of cook-

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ery.

Uncas occupied a distant corner, in a reclin-ing attitude, being rigidly bound, both handsand feet, by strong and painful withes. Whenthe frightful object first presented itself to theyoung Mohican, he did not deign to bestow asingle glance on the animal. The scout, whohad left David at the door, to ascertain theywere not observed, thought it prudent to pre-serve his disguise until assured of their privacy.Instead of speaking, therefore, he exerted him-self to enact one of the antics of the animal herepresented. The young Mohican, who at firstbelieved his enemies had sent in a real beastto torment him, and try his nerves, detectedin those performances that to Heyward hadappeared so accurate, certain blemishes, thatat once betrayed the counterfeit. Had Hawk-

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eye been aware of the low estimation in whichthe skillful Uncas held his representations, hewould probably have prolonged the entertain-ment a little in pique. But the scornful expres-sion of the young man’s eye admitted of somany constructions, that the worthy scout wasspared the mortification of such a discovery.As soon, therefore, as David gave the precon-certed signal, a low hissing sound was heard inthe lodge in place of the fierce growlings of thebear.

Uncas had cast his body back against thewall of the hut and closed his eyes, as if will-ing to exclude so contemptible and disagree-able an object from his sight. But the momentthe noise of the serpent was heard, he arose,and cast his looks on each side of him, bendinghis head low, and turning it inquiringly in ev-

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ery direction, until his keen eye rested on theshaggy monster, where it remained riveted, asthough fixed by the power of a charm. Againthe same sounds were repeated, evidently pro-ceeding from the mouth of the beast. Oncemore the eyes of the youth roamed over the in-terior of the lodge, and returning to the formerresting place, he uttered, in a deep, suppressedvoice:

“Hawkeye!”“Cut his bands,” said Hawkeye to David,

who just then approached them.The singer did as he was ordered, and Un-

cas found his limbs released. At the same mo-ment the dried skin of the animal rattled, andpresently the scout arose to his feet, in properperson. The Mohican appeared to compre-hend the nature of the attempt his friend had

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made, intuitively, neither tongue nor featurebetraying another symptom of surprise. WhenHawkeye had cast his shaggy vestment, whichwas done by simply loosing certain thongs ofskin, he drew a long, glittering knife, and put itin the hands of Uncas.

“The red Hurons are without,” he said; “letus be ready.” At the same time he laid his fingersignificantly on another similar weapon, bothbeing the fruits of his prowess among their en-emies during the evening.

“We will go,” said Uncas.

“Whither?”

“To the Tortoises; they are the children of mygrandfathers.”

“Ay, lad,” said the scout in English–a lan-guage he was apt to use when a little abstracted

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in mind; “the same blood runs in your veins,I believe; but time and distance has a littlechanged its color. What shall we do with theMingoes at the door? They count six, and thissinger is as good as nothing.”

“The Hurons are boasters,” said Uncas,scornfully; “their ‘totem’ is a moose, and theyrun like snails. The Delawares are children ofthe tortoise, and they outstrip the deer.”

“Ay, lad, there is truth in what you say; and Idoubt not, on a rush, you would pass the wholenation; and, in a straight race of two miles,would be in, and get your breath again, aforea knave of them all was within hearing of theother village. But the gift of a white man liesmore in his arms than in his legs. As for my-self, I can brain a Huron as well as a better man;but when it comes to a race the knaves would

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prove too much for me.”Uncas, who had already approached the

door, in readiness to lead the way, now re-coiled, and placed himself, once more, in thebottom of the lodge. But Hawkeye, who wastoo much occupied with his own thoughts tonote the movement, continued speaking moreto himself than to his companion.

“After all,” he said, “it is unreasonable tokeep one man in bondage to the gifts of an-other. So, Uncas, you had better take the lead,while I will put on the skin again, and trust tocunning for want of speed.”

The young Mohican made no reply, but qui-etly folded his arms, and leaned his bodyagainst one of the upright posts that supportedthe wall of the hut.

“Well,” said the scout looking up at him,

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“why do you tarry? There will be time enoughfor me, as the knaves will give chase to you atfirst.”

“Uncas will stay,” was the calm reply.“For what?”“To fight with his father’s brother, and die

with the friend of the Delawares.”“Ay, lad,” returned Hawkeye, squeezing the

hand of Uncas between his own iron fingers;“‘twould have been more like a Mingo thana Mohican had you left me. But I thought Iwould make the offer, seeing that youth com-monly loves life. Well, what can’t be done bymain courage, in war, must be done by circum-vention. Put on the skin; I doubt not you canplay the bear nearly as well as myself.”

Whatever might have been the private opin-ion of Uncas of their respective abilities in

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this particular, his grave countenance mani-fested no opinion of his superiority. He silentlyand expeditiously encased himself in the cov-ering of the beast, and then awaited such othermovements as his more aged companion sawfit to dictate.

“Now, friend,” said Hawkeye, addressingDavid, “an exchange of garments will be agreat convenience to you, inasmuch as you arebut little accustomed to the make-shifts of thewilderness. Here, take my hunting shirt andcap, and give me your blanket and hat. Youmust trust me with the book and spectacles, aswell as the tooter, too; if we ever meet again, inbetter times, you shall have all back again, withmany thanks into the bargain.”

David parted with the several articles namedwith a readiness that would have done great

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credit to his liberality, had he not certainlyprofited, in many particulars, by the exchange.Hawkeye was not long in assuming his bor-rowed garments; and when his restless eyeswere hid behind the glasses, and his head wassurmounted by the triangular beaver, as theirstatures were not dissimilar, he might readilyhave passed for the singer, by starlight. Assoon as these dispositions were made, the scoutturned to David, and gave him his parting in-structions.

“Are you much given to cowardice?” hebluntly asked, by way of obtaining a suitableunderstanding of the whole case before he ven-tured a prescription.

“My pursuits are peaceful, and my temper,I humbly trust, is greatly given to mercy andlove,” returned David, a little nettled at so di-

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rect an attack on his manhood; “but there arenone who can say that I have ever forgotten myfaith in the Lord, even in the greatest straits.”

“Your chiefest danger will be at the momentwhen the savages find out that they have beendeceived. If you are not then knocked on thehead, your being a non-composser will protectyou; and you’ll then have a good reason to ex-pect to die in your bed. If you stay, it must beto sit down here in the shadow, and take thepart of Uncas, until such times as the cunningof the Indians discover the cheat, when, as Ihave already said, your times of trial will come.So choose for yourself–to make a rush or tarryhere.”

“Even so,” said David, firmly; “I will abidein the place of the Delaware. Bravely and gen-erously has he battled in my behalf, and this,

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and more, will I dare in his service.”

“You have spoken as a man, and like onewho, under wiser schooling, would have beenbrought to better things. Hold your headdown, and draw in your legs; their formationmight tell the truth too early. Keep silent aslong as may be; and it would be wise, whenyou do speak, to break out suddenly in one ofyour shoutings, which will serve to remind theIndians that you are not altogether as respon-sible as men should be. If however, they takeyour scalp, as I trust and believe they will not,depend on it, Uncas and I will not forget thedeed, but revenge it as becomes true warriorsand trusty friends.”

“Hold!” said David, perceiving that withthis assurance they were about to leave him; “Iam an unworthy and humble follower of one

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who taught not the damnable principle of re-venge. Should I fall, therefore, seek no victimsto my manes, but rather forgive my destroy-ers; and if you remember them at all, let it bein prayers for the enlightening of their minds,and for their eternal welfare.”

The scout hesitated, and appeared to muse.

“There is a principle in that,” he said, “dif-ferent from the law of the woods; and yet it isfair and noble to reflect upon.” Then heavinga heavy sigh, probably among the last he everdrew in pining for a condition he had so longabandoned, he added: “it is what I would wishto practise myself, as one without a cross ofblood, though it is not always easy to deal withan Indian as you would with a fellow Chris-tian. God bless you, friend; I do believe yourscent is not greatly wrong, when the matter is

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duly considered, and keeping eternity beforethe eyes, though much depends on the naturalgifts, and the force of temptation.”

So saying, the scout returned and shookDavid cordially by the hand; after which actof friendship he immediately left the lodge, at-tended by the new representative of the beast.

The instant Hawkeye found himself underthe observation of the Hurons, he drew up histall form in the rigid manner of David, threwout his arm in the act of keeping time, andcommenced what he intended for an imitationof his psalmody. Happily for the success ofthis delicate adventure, he had to deal withears but little practised in the concord of sweetsounds, or the miserable effort would infalli-bly have been detected. It was necessary topass within a dangerous proximity of the dark

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group of the savages, and the voice of the scoutgrew louder as they drew nigher. When at thenearest point the Huron who spoke the Englishthrust out an arm, and stopped the supposedsinging-master.

“The Delaware dog!” he said, leaning for-ward, and peering through the dim light tocatch the expression of the other’s features; “ishe afraid? Will the Hurons hear his groans?”

A growl, so exceedingly fierce and natural,proceeded from the beast, that the young In-dian released his hold and started aside, as if toassure himself that it was not a veritable bear,and no counterfeit, that was rolling before him.Hawkeye, who feared his voice would betrayhim to his subtle enemies, gladly profited bythe interruption, to break out anew in such aburst of musical expression as would, proba-

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bly, in a more refined state of society have beentermed “a grand crash.” Among his actual au-ditors, however, it merely gave him an addi-tional claim to that respect which they neverwithhold from such as are believed to be thesubjects of mental alienation. The little knot ofIndians drew back in a body, and suffered, asthey thought, the conjurer and his inspired as-sistant to proceed.

It required no common exercise of fortitudein Uncas and the scout to continue the digni-fied and deliberate pace they had assumed inpassing the lodge; especially as they immedi-ately perceived that curiosity had so far mas-tered fear, as to induce the watchers to ap-proach the hut, in order to witness the effect ofthe incantations. The least injudicious or impa-tient movement on the part of David might be-

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tray them, and time was absolutely necessaryto insure the safety of the scout. The loud noisethe latter conceived it politic to continue, drewmany curious gazers to the doors of the dif-ferent huts as thy passed; and once or twice adark-looking warrior stepped across their path,led to the act by superstition and watchfulness.They were not, however, interrupted, the dark-ness of the hour, and the boldness of the at-tempt, proving their principal friends.

The adventurers had got clear of the village,and were now swiftly approaching the shel-ter of the woods, when a loud and long cryarose from the lodge where Uncas had beenconfined. The Mohican started on his feet, andshook his shaggy covering, as though the ani-mal he counterfeited was about to make somedesperate effort.

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“Hold!” said the scout, grasping his friendby the shoulder, “let them yell again! ‘Twasnothing but wonderment.”

He had no occasion to delay, for at the nextinstant a burst of cries filled the outer air, andran along the whole extent of the village. Un-cas cast his skin, and stepped forth in his ownbeautiful proportions. Hawkeye tapped himlightly on the shoulder, and glided ahead.

“Now let the devils strike our scent!” saidthe scout, tearing two rifles, with all their at-tendant accouterments, from beneath a bush,and flourishing “killdeer” as he handed Uncashis weapon; “two, at least, will find it to theirdeaths.”

Then, throwing their pieces to a low trail,like sportsmen in readiness for their game, theydashed forward, and were soon buried in the

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somber darkness of the forest.

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“Ant. I shall remember:When C’sar says

Do this, it is performed.”–Julius Caesar

THE IMPATIENCE OF the savages who lin-gered about the prison of Uncas, as has been

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seen, had overcome their dread of the con-jurer’s breath. They stole cautiously, and withbeating hearts, to a crevice, through which thefaint light of the fire was glimmering. For sev-eral minutes they mistook the form of Davidfor that of the prisoner; but the very accidentwhich Hawkeye had foreseen occurred. Tiredof keeping the extremities of his long personso near together, the singer gradually sufferedthe lower limbs to extend themselves, until oneof his misshapen feet actually came in contactwith and shoved aside the embers of the fire.At first the Hurons believed the Delaware hadbeen thus deformed by witchcraft. But whenDavid, unconscious of being observed, turnedhis head, and exposed his simple, mild coun-tenance, in place of the haughty lineamentsof their prisoner, it would have exceeded thecredulity of even a native to have doubted

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any longer. They rushed together into thelodge, and, laying their hands, with but lit-tle ceremony, on their captive, immediately de-tected the imposition. Then arose the cry firstheard by the fugitives. It was succeeded bythe most frantic and angry demonstrations ofvengeance. David, however, firm in his deter-mination to cover the retreat of his friends, wascompelled to believe that his own final hourhad come. Deprived of his book and his pipe,he was fain to trust to a memory that rarelyfailed him on such subjects; and breaking forthin a loud and impassioned strain, he endeav-ored to smooth his passage into the other worldby singing the opening verse of a funeral an-them. The Indians were seasonably remindedof his infirmity, and, rushing into the openair, they aroused the village in the manner de-scribed.

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A native warrior fights as he sleeps, with-out the protection of anything defensive. Thesounds of the alarm were, therefore, hardly ut-tered before two hundred men were afoot, andready for the battle or the chase, as either mightbe required. The escape was soon known; andthe whole tribe crowded, in a body, aroundthe council-lodge, impatiently awaiting the in-struction of their chiefs. In such a sudden de-mand on their wisdom, the presence of thecunning Magua could scarcely fail of beingneeded. His name was mentioned, and alllooked round in wonder that he did not appear.Messengers were then despatched to his lodgerequiring his presence.

In the meantime, some of the swiftest andmost discreet of the young men were orderedto make the circuit of the clearing, under cover

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of the woods, in order to ascertain that theirsuspected neighbors, the Delawares, designedno mischief. Women and children ran to andfro; and, in short, the whole encampment ex-hibited another scene of wild and savage con-fusion. Gradually, however, these symptomsof disorder diminished; and in a few minutesthe oldest and most distinguished chiefs wereassembled in the lodge, in grave consultation.

The clamor of many voices soon announcedthat a party approached, who might be ex-pected to communicate some intelligence thatwould explain the mystery of the novel sur-prise. The crowd without gave way, and sev-eral warriors entered the place, bringing withthem the hapless conjurer, who had been leftso long by the scout in duress.

Notwithstanding this man was held in very

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unequal estimation among the Hurons, somebelieving implicitly in his power, and othersdeeming him an impostor, he was now listenedto by all with the deepest attention. When hisbrief story was ended, the father of the sickwoman stepped forth, and, in a few pithy ex-pression, related, in his turn, what he knew.These two narratives gave a proper directionto the subsequent inquiries, which were nowmade with the characteristic cunning of sav-ages.

Instead of rushing in a confused and disor-derly throng to the cavern, ten of the wisestand firmest among the chiefs were selected toprosecute the investigation. As no time wasto be lost, the instant the choice was made theindividuals appointed rose in a body and leftthe place without speaking. On reaching the

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entrance, the younger men in advance madeway for their seniors; and the whole proceededalong the low, dark gallery, with the firmnessof warriors ready to devote themselves to thepublic good, though, at the same time, secretlydoubting the nature of the power with whichthey were about to contend.

The outer apartment of the cavern was silentand gloomy. The woman lay in her usual placeand posture, though there were those presentwho affirmed they had seen her borne to thewoods by the supposed “medicine of the whitemen.” Such a direct and palpable contradictionof the tale related by the father caused all eyesto be turned on him. Chafed by the silent impu-tation, and inwardly troubled by so unaccount-able a circumstance, the chief advanced to theside of the bed, and, stooping, cast an incredu-

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lous look at the features, as if distrusting theirreality. His daughter was dead.

The unerring feeling of nature for a momentprevailed and the old warrior hid his eyes insorrow. Then, recovering his self-possession,he faced his companions, and, pointing towardthe corpse, he said, in the language of his peo-ple:

“The wife of my young man has left us! TheGreat Spirit is angry with his children.”

The mournful intelligence was received insolemn silence. After a short pause, one of theelder Indians was about to speak, when a dark-looking object was seen rolling out of an adjoin-ing apartment, into the very center of the roomwhere they stood. Ignorant of the nature of thebeings they had to deal with, the whole partydrew back a little, and, rising on end, exhibited

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the distorted but still fierce and sullen featuresof Magua. The discovery was succeeded by ageneral exclamation of amazement.

As soon, however, as the true situation ofthe chief was understood, several knives ap-peared, and his limbs and tongue were quicklyreleased. The Huron arose, and shook himselflike a lion quitting his lair. Not a word escapedhim, though his hand played convulsively withthe handle of his knife, while his lowering eyesscanned the whole party, as if they sought anobject suited to the first burst of his vengeance.

It was happy for Uncas and the scout, andeven David, that they were all beyond thereach of his arm at such a moment; for, as-suredly, no refinement in cruelty would thenhave deferred their deaths, in opposition tothe promptings of the fierce temper that nearly

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choked him. Meeting everywhere faces thathe knew as friends, the savage grated his teethtogether like rasps of iron, and swallowed hispassion for want of a victim on whom to ventit. This exhibition of anger was noted by allpresent; and from an apprehension of exasper-ating a temper that was already chafed nearlyto madness, several minutes were suffered topass before another word was uttered. When,however, suitable time had elapsed, the oldestof the party spoke.

“My friend has found an enemy,” he said. “Ishe nigh that the Hurons might take revenge?”

“Let the Delaware die!” exclaimed Magua,in a voice of thunder.

Another longer and expressive silence wasobserved, and was broken, as before, with dueprecaution, by the same individual.

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“The Mohican is swift of foot, and leaps far,”he said; “but my young men are on his trail.”

“Is he gone?” demanded Magua, in tones sodeep and guttural, that they seemed to proceedfrom his inmost chest.

“An evil spirit has been among us, and theDelaware has blinded our eyes.”

“An evil spirit!” repeated the other, mock-ingly; “‘tis the spirit that has taken the livesof so many Hurons; the spirit that slew myyoung men at ‘the tumbling river’; that tooktheir scalps at the ‘healing spring’; and whohas, now, bound the arms of Le Renard Subtil!”

“Of whom does my friend speak?”

“Of the dog who carries the heart and cun-ning of a Huron under a pale skin–La LongueCarabine.”

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The pronunciation of so terrible a name pro-duced the usual effect among his auditors.But when time was given for reflection, andthe warriors remembered that their formidableand daring enemy had even been in the bosomof their encampment, working injury, fearfulrage took the place of wonder, and all thosefierce passions with which the bosom of Maguahad just been struggling were suddenly trans-ferred to his companions. Some among themgnashed their teeth in anger, others ventedtheir feelings in yells, and some, again, beat theair as frantically as if the object of their resent-ment were suffering under their blows. But thissudden outbreaking of temper as quickly sub-sided in the still and sullen restraint they mostaffected in their moments of inaction.

Magua, who had in his turn found leisure

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for reflection, now changed his manner, and as-sumed the air of one who knew how to thinkand act with a dignity worthy of so grave a sub-ject.

“Let us go to my people,” he said; “they waitfor us.”

His companions consented in silence, andthe whole of the savage party left the cav-ern and returned to the council-lodge. Whenthey were seated, all eyes turned on Magua,who understood, from such an indication, that,by common consent, they had devolved theduty of relating what had passed on him. Hearose, and told his tale without duplicity orreservation. The whole deception practised byboth Duncan and Hawkeye was, of course, laidnaked, and no room was found, even for themost superstitious of the tribe, any longer to

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affix a doubt on the character of the occur-rences. It was but too apparent that they hadbeen insultingly, shamefully, disgracefully de-ceived. When he had ended, and resumedhis seat, the collected tribe–for his auditors, insubstance, included all the fighting men of theparty–sat regarding each other like men aston-ished equally at the audacity and the successof their enemies. The next consideration, how-ever, was the means and opportunities for re-venge.

Additional pursuers were sent on the trailof the fugitives; and then the chiefs appliedthemselves, in earnest, to the business of con-sultation. Many different expedients were pro-posed by the elder warriors, in succession, toall of which Magua was a silent and respect-ful listener. That subtle savage had recovered

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his artifice and self-command, and now pro-ceeded toward his object with his customarycaution and skill. It was only when each onedisposed to speak had uttered his sentiments,that he prepared to advance his own opin-ions. They were given with additional weightfrom the circumstance that some of the run-ners had already returned, and reported thattheir enemies had been traced so far as to leaveno doubt of their having sought safety in theneighboring camp of their suspected allies, theDelawares. With the advantage of possessingthis important intelligence, the chief warily laidhis plans before his fellows, and, as might havebeen anticipated from his eloquence and cun-ning, they were adopted without a dissentingvoice. They were, briefly, as follows, both inopinions and in motives.

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It has been already stated that, in obedi-ence to a policy rarely departed from, the sis-ters were separated so soon as they reachedthe Huron village. Magua had early discov-ered that in retaining the person of Alice, hepossessed the most effectual check on Cora.When they parted, therefore, he kept the for-mer within reach of his hand, consigning theone he most valued to the keeping of their al-lies. The arrangement was understood to bemerely temporary, and was made as much witha view to flatter his neighbors as in obedienceto the invariable rule of Indian policy.

While goaded incessantly by these revenge-ful impulses that in a savage seldom slumber,the chief was still attentive to his more perma-nent personal interests. The follies and disloy-alty committed in his youth were to be expiated

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by a long and painful penance, ere he couldbe restored to the full enjoyment of the confi-dence of his ancient people; and without confi-dence there could be no authority in an Indiantribe. In this delicate and arduous situation,the crafty native had neglected no means of in-creasing his influence; and one of the happi-est of his expedients had been the success withwhich he had cultivated the favor of their pow-erful and dangerous neighbors. The result ofhis experiment had answered all the expecta-tions of his policy; for the Hurons were in nodegree exempt from that governing principleof nature, which induces man to value his giftsprecisely in the degree that they are appreci-ated by others.

But, while he was making this ostensible sac-rifice to general considerations, Magua never

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lost sight of his individual motives. The latterhad been frustrated by the unlooked-for eventswhich had placed all his prisoners beyond hiscontrol; and he now found himself reduced tothe necessity of suing for favors to those whomit had so lately been his policy to oblige.

Several of the chiefs had proposed deep andtreacherous schemes to surprise the Delawaresand, by gaining possession of their camp, to re-cover their prisoners by the same blow; for allagreed that their honor, their interests, and thepeace and happiness of their dead countrymen,imperiously required them speedily to immo-late some victims to their revenge. But plansso dangerous to attempt, and of such doubt-ful issue, Magua found little difficulty in de-feating. He exposed their risk and fallacy withhis usual skill; and it was only after he had re-

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moved every impediment, in the shape of op-posing advice, that he ventured to propose hisown projects.

He commenced by flattering the self-love ofhis auditors; a never-failing method of com-manding attention. When he had enumer-ated the many different occasions on whichthe Hurons had exhibited their courage andprowess, in the punishment of insults, he di-gressed in a high encomium on the virtue ofwisdom. He painted the quality as formingthe great point of difference between the beaverand other brutes; between the brutes and men;and, finally, between the Hurons, in particular,and the rest of the human race. After he hadsufficiently extolled the property of discretion,he undertook to exhibit in what manner its usewas applicable to the present situation of their

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tribe. On the one hand, he said, was theirgreat pale father, the governor of the Canadas,who had looked upon his children with a hardeye since their tomahawks had been so red; onthe other, a people as numerous as themselves,who spoke a different language, possessed dif-ferent interests, and loved them not, and whowould be glad of any pretense to bring themin disgrace with the great white chief. Thenhe spoke of their necessities; of the gifts theyhad a right to expect for their past services;of their distance from their proper hunting-grounds and native villages; and of the neces-sity of consulting prudence more, and inclina-tion less, in so critical circumstances. When heperceived that, while the old men applaudedhis moderation, many of the fiercest and mostdistinguished of the warriors listened to thesepolitic plans with lowering looks, he cunningly

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led them back to the subject which they mostloved. He spoke openly of the fruits of theirwisdom, which he boldly pronounced wouldbe a complete and final triumph over their en-emies. He even darkly hinted that their suc-cess might be extended, with proper caution, insuch a manner as to include the destruction ofall whom they had reason to hate. In short, heso blended the warlike with the artful, the ob-vious with the obscure, as to flatter the propen-sities of both parties, and to leave to each sub-ject of hope, while neither could say it clearlycomprehended his intentions.

The orator, or the politician, who can pro-duce such a state of things, is commonly pop-ular with his contemporaries, however he maybe treated by posterity. All perceived that morewas meant than was uttered, and each one be-

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lieved that the hidden meaning was preciselysuch as his own faculties enabled him to under-stand, or his own wishes led him to anticipate.

In this happy state of things, it is not surpris-ing that the management of Magua prevailed.The tribe consented to act with deliberation,and with one voice they committed the direc-tion of the whole affair to the government ofthe chief who had suggested such wise and in-telligible expedients.

Magua had now attained one great object ofall his cunning and enterprise. The ground hehad lost in the favor of his people was com-pletely regained, and he found himself evenplaced at the head of affairs. He was, in truth,their ruler; and, so long as he could main-tain his popularity, no monarch could be moredespotic, especially while the tribe continued

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in a hostile country. Throwing off, therefore,the appearance of consultation, he assumed thegrave air of authority necessary to support thedignity of his office.

Runners were despatched for intelligencein different directions; spies were ordered toapproach and feel the encampment of theDelawares; the warriors were dismissed totheir lodges, with an intimation that their ser-vices would soon be needed; and the womenand children were ordered to retire, with awarning that it was their province to be silent.When these several arrangements were made,Magua passed through the village, stoppinghere and there to pay a visit where he thoughthis presence might be flattering to the individ-ual. He confirmed his friends in their confi-dence, fixed the wavering, and gratified all.

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Then he sought his own lodge. The wife theHuron chief had abandoned, when he waschased from among his people, was dead. Chil-dren he had none; and he now occupied a hut,without companion of any sort. It was, in fact,the dilapidated and solitary structure in whichDavid had been discovered, and whom he hadtolerated in his presence, on those few occa-sions when they met, with the contemptuousindifference of a haughty superiority.

Hither, then, Magua retired, when his laborsof policy were ended. While others slept,however, he neither knew or sought repose.Had there been one sufficiently curious to havewatched the movements of the newly electedchief, he would have seen him seated in a cor-ner of his lodge, musing on the subject of hisfuture plans, from the hour of his retirement to

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the time he had appointed for the warriors toassemble again. Occasionally the air breathedthrough the crevices of the hut, and the lowflame that fluttered about the embers of the firethrew their wavering light on the person of thesullen recluse. At such moments it would nothave been difficult to have fancied the duskysavage the Prince of Darkness brooding on hisown fancied wrongs, and plotting evil.

Long before the day dawned, however, war-rior after warrior entered the solitary hut ofMagua, until they had collected to the num-ber of twenty. Each bore his rifle, and allthe other accouterments of war, though thepaint was uniformly peaceful. The entranceof these fierce-looking beings was unnoticed:some seating themselves in the shadows of theplace, and others standing like motionless stat-

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ues, until the whole of the designated band wascollected.

Then Magua arose and gave the signal toproceed, marching himself in advance. Theyfollowed their leader singly, and in that well-known order which has obtained the distin-guishing appellation of “Indian file.” Unlikeother men engaged in the spirit-stirring busi-ness of war, they stole from their camp un-ostentatiously and unobserved resembling aband of gliding specters, more than warriorsseeking the bubble reputation by deeds of des-perate daring.

Instead of taking the path which led directlytoward the camp of the Delawares, Magua ledhis party for some distance down the wind-ings of the stream, and along the little artificiallake of the beavers. The day began to dawn

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as they entered the clearing which had beenformed by those sagacious and industrious an-imals. Though Magua, who had resumed hisancient garb, bore the outline of a fox on thedressed skin which formed his robe, there wasone chief of his party who carried the beaver ashis peculiar symbol, or “totem.” There wouldhave been a species of profanity in the omis-sion, had this man passed so powerful a com-munity of his fancied kindred, without bestow-ing some evidence of his regard. Accordingly,he paused, and spoke in words as kind andfriendly as if he were addressing more intelli-gent beings. He called the animals his cousins,and reminded them that his protecting influ-ence was the reason they remained unharmed,while many avaricious traders were promptingthe Indians to take their lives. He promiseda continuance of his favors, and admonished

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them to be grateful. After which, he spokeof the expedition in which he was himself en-gaged, and intimated, though with sufficientdelicacy and circumlocution, the expediency ofbestowing on their relative a portion of thatwisdom for which they were so renowned20

During the utterance of this extraordinaryaddress, the companions of the speaker wereas grave and as attentive to his language asthough they were all equally impressed withits propriety. Once or twice black objects wereseen rising to the surface of the water, andthe Huron expressed pleasure, conceiving that

20These harangues of the beasts were frequentamong the Indians. They often address their victims inthis way, reproaching them for cowardice or commend-ing their resolution, as they may happen to exhibit for-titude or the reverse, in suffering.

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his words were not bestowed in vain. Justas he ended his address, the head of a largebeaver was thrust from the door of a lodge,whose earthen walls had been much injured,and which the party had believed, from its situ-ation, to be uninhabited. Such an extraordinarysign of confidence was received by the oratoras a highly favorable omen; and though the an-imal retreated a little precipitately, he was lav-ish of his thanks and commendations.

When Magua thought sufficient time hadbeen lost in gratifying the family affection ofthe warrior, he again made the signal to pro-ceed. As the Indians moved away in a body,and with a step that would have been inaudi-ble to the ears of any common man, the samevenerable-looking beaver once more venturedhis head from its cover. Had any of the Hurons

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turned to look behind them, they would haveseen the animal watching their movementswith an interest and sagacity that might easilyhave been mistaken for reason. Indeed, so verydistinct and intelligible were the devices of thequadruped, that even the most experienced ob-server would have been at a loss to account forits actions, until the moment when the partyentered the forest, when the whole would havebeen explained, by seeing the entire animal is-sue from the lodge, uncasing, by the act, thegrave features of Chingachgook from his maskof fur.

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“Brief, I pray for you; for you see,‘tis a busy time with me.”

–Much Ado About Nothing.

THE TRIBE, OR rather half tribe, ofDelawares, which has been so often men-tioned, and whose present place of encamp-

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ment was so nigh the temporary village ofthe Hurons, could assemble about an equalnumber of warriors with the latter people. Liketheir neighbors, they had followed Montcalminto the territories of the English crown, andwere making heavy and serious inroads on thehunting-grounds of the Mohawks; though theyhad seen fit, with the mysterious reserve socommon among the natives, to withhold theirassistance at the moment when it was mostrequired. The French had accounted for thisunexpected defection on the part of their allyin various ways. It was the prevalent opinion,however, that they had been influenced byveneration for the ancient treaty, that had oncemade them dependent on the Six Nations formilitary protection, and now rendered themreluctant to encounter their former masters.As for the tribe itself, it had been content to an-

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nounce to Montcalm, through his emissaries,with Indian brevity, that their hatchets weredull, and time was necessary to sharpen them.The politic captain of the Canadas had deemedit wiser to submit to entertain a passive friend,than by any acts of ill-judged severity toconvert him into an open enemy.

On that morning when Magua led his silentparty from the settlement of the beavers intothe forests, in the manner described, the sunrose upon the Delaware encampment as if ithad suddenly burst upon a busy people, ac-tively employed in all the customary avoca-tions of high noon. The women ran fromlodge to lodge, some engaged in preparingtheir morning’s meal, a few earnestly bent onseeking the comforts necessary to their habits,but more pausing to exchange hasty and whis-

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pered sentences with their friends. The war-riors were lounging in groups, musing morethan they conversed and when a few wordswere uttered, speaking like men who deeplyweighed their opinions. The instruments of thechase were to be seen in abundance among thelodges; but none departed. Here and there awarrior was examining his arms, with an atten-tion that is rarely bestowed on the implements,when no other enemy than the beasts of the for-est is expected to be encountered. And occa-sionally, the eyes of a whole group were turnedsimultaneously toward a large and silent lodgein the center of the village, as if it contained thesubject of their common thoughts.

During the existence of this scene, a mansuddenly appeared at the furthest extremity ofa platform of rock which formed the level of

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the village. He was without arms, and his painttended rather to soften than increase the natu-ral sternness of his austere countenance. Whenin full view of the Delawares he stopped, andmade a gesture of amity, by throwing his armupward toward heaven, and then letting it fallimpressively on his breast. The inhabitants ofthe village answered his salute by a low mur-mur of welcome, and encouraged him to ad-vance by similar indications of friendship. For-tified by these assurances, the dark figure leftthe brow of the natural rocky terrace, where ithad stood a moment, drawn in a strong outlineagainst the blushing morning sky, and movedwith dignity into the very center of the huts.As he approached, nothing was audible butthe rattling of the light silver ornaments thatloaded his arms and neck, and the tinkling ofthe little bells that fringed his deerskin moc-

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casins. He made, as he advanced, many cour-teous signs of greeting to the men he passed,neglecting to notice the women, however, likeone who deemed their favor, in the presententerprise, of no importance. When he hadreached the group in which it was evident, bythe haughtiness of their common mien, thatthe principal chiefs were collected, the strangerpaused, and then the Delawares saw that theactive and erect form that stood before themwas that of the well-known Huron chief, Le Re-nard Subtil.

His reception was grave, silent, and wary.The warriors in front stepped aside, openingthe way to their most approved orator by theaction; one who spoke all those languages thatwere cultivated among the northern aborig-ines.

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“The wise Huron is welcome,” said theDelaware, in the language of the Maquas; “heis come to eat his ‘succotash’21, with his broth-ers of the lakes.”

“He is come,” repeated Magua, bending hishead with the dignity of an eastern prince.

The chief extended his arm and taking theother by the wrist, they once more exchangedfriendly salutations. Then the Delaware in-vited his guest to enter his own lodge, andshare his morning meal. The invitation was ac-cepted; and the two warriors, attended by threeor four of the old men, walked calmly away,leaving the rest of the tribe devoured by a de-sire to understand the reasons of so unusual a

21A dish composed of cracked corn and beans. It ismuch used also by the whites. By corn is meant maise.

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visit, and yet not betraying the least impatienceby sign or word.

During the short and frugal repast that fol-lowed, the conversation was extremely circum-spect, and related entirely to the events of thehunt, in which Magua had so lately been en-gaged. It would have been impossible for themost finished breeding to wear more of theappearance of considering the visit as a thingof course, than did his hosts, notwithstandingevery individual present was perfectly awarethat it must be connected with some secret ob-ject and that probably of importance to them-selves. When the appetites of the whole wereappeased, the squaws removed the trenchersand gourds, and the two parties began to pre-pare themselves for a subtle trial of their wits.

“Is the face of my great Canada father turned

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again toward his Huron children?” demandedthe orator of the Delawares.

“When was it ever otherwise?” returnedMagua. “He calls my people ‘most beloved’.”

The Delaware gravely bowed his acquies-cence to what he knew to be false, and contin-ued:

“The tomahawks of your young men havebeen very red.”

“It is so; but they are now bright and dull;for the Yengeese are dead, and the Delawaresare our neighbors.”

The other acknowledged the pacific compli-ment by a gesture of the hand, and remainedsilent. Then Magua, as if recalled to such a rec-ollection, by the allusion to the massacre, de-manded:

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“Does my prisoner give trouble to my broth-ers?”

“She is welcome.”

“The path between the Hurons and theDelawares is short and it is open; let her besent to my squaws, if she gives trouble to mybrother.”

“She is welcome,” returned the chief of thelatter nation, still more emphatically.

The baffled Magua continued silent severalminutes, apparently indifferent, however, tothe repulse he had received in this his openingeffort to regain possession of Cora.

“Do my young men leave the Delawaresroom on the mountains for their hunts?” he atlength continued.

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“The Lenape are rulers of their own hills,”returned the other a little haughtily.

“It is well. Justice is the master of a red-skin. Why should they brighten their toma-hawks and sharpen their knives against eachother? Are not the pale faces thicker than theswallows in the season of flowers?”

“Good!” exclaimed two or three of his audi-tors at the same time.

Magua waited a little, to permit his words tosoften the feelings of the Delawares, before headded:

“Have there not been strange moccasins inthe woods? Have not my brothers scented thefeet of white men?”

“Let my Canada father come,” returned theother, evasively; “his children are ready to seehim.”

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“When the great chief comes, it is to smokewith the Indians in their wigwams. TheHurons say, too, he is welcome. But theYengeese have long arms, and legs that nevertire! My young men dreamed they had seenthe trail of the Yengeese nigh the village of theDelawares!”

“They will not find the Lenape asleep.”“It is well. The warrior whose eye is open

can see his enemy,” said Magua, once moreshifting his ground, when he found himself un-able to penetrate the caution of his companion.“I have brought gifts to my brother. His nationwould not go on the warpath, because they didnot think it well, but their friends have remem-bered where they lived.”

When he had thus announced his liberalintention, the crafty chief arose, and gravely

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spread his presents before the dazzled eyes ofhis hosts. They consisted principally of trinketsof little value, plundered from the slaughteredfemales of William Henry. In the division of thebaubles the cunning Huron discovered no lessart than in their selection. While he bestowedthose of greater value on the two most distin-guished warriors, one of whom was his host,he seasoned his offerings to their inferiors withsuch well-timed and apposite compliments, asleft them no ground of complaint. In short,the whole ceremony contained such a happyblending of the profitable with the flattering,that it was not difficult for the donor immedi-ately to read the effect of a generosity so aptlymingled with praise, in the eyes of those he ad-dressed.

This well-judged and politic stroke on the

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part of Magua was not without instantaneousresults. The Delawares lost their gravity in amuch more cordial expression; and the host, inparticular, after contemplating his own liberalshare of the spoil for some moments with pecu-liar gratification, repeated with strong empha-sis, the words:

“My brother is a wise chief. He is welcome.”“The Hurons love their friends the

Delawares,” returned Magua. “Why shouldthey not? they are colored by the same sun,and their just men will hunt in the samegrounds after death. The red-skins should befriends, and look with open eyes on the whitemen. Has not my brother scented spies in thewoods?”

The Delaware, whose name in English sig-nified “Hard Heart,” an appellation that the

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French had translated into “le Coeur-dur,” for-got that obduracy of purpose, which had prob-ably obtained him so significant a title. Hiscountenance grew very sensibly less stern andhe now deigned to answer more directly.

“There have been strange moccasins aboutmy camp. They have been tracked into mylodges.”

“Did my brother beat out the dogs?” askedMagua, without adverting in any manner tothe former equivocation of the chief.

“It would not do. The stranger is alwayswelcome to the children of the Lenape.”

“The stranger, but not the spy.”

“Would the Yengeese send their women asspies? Did not the Huron chief say he tookwomen in the battle?”

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“He told no lie. The Yengeese have sent outtheir scouts. They have been in my wigwams,but they found there no one to say welcome.Then they fled to the Delawares–for, say they,the Delawares are our friends; their minds areturned from their Canada father!”

This insinuation was a home thrust, and onethat in a more advanced state of society wouldhave entitled Magua to the reputation of a skill-ful diplomatist. The recent defection of thetribe had, as they well knew themselves, sub-jected the Delawares to much reproach amongtheir French allies; and they were now madeto feel that their future actions were to beregarded with jealousy and distrust. Therewas no deep insight into causes and effectsnecessary to foresee that such a situation ofthings was likely to prove highly prejudicial

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to their future movements. Their distant vil-lages, their hunting-grounds and hundreds oftheir women and children, together with a ma-terial part of their physical force, were actuallywithin the limits of the French territory. Ac-cordingly, this alarming annunciation was re-ceived, as Magua intended, with manifest dis-approbation, if not with alarm.

“Let my father look in my face,” said LeCoeur-dur; “he will see no change. It is true,my young men did not go out on the war-path;they had dreams for not doing so. But they loveand venerate the great white chief.”

“Will he think so when he hears that hisgreatest enemy is fed in the camp of his chil-dren? When he is told a bloody Yengee smokesat your fire? That the pale face who has slain somany of his friends goes in and out among the

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Delawares? Go! my great Canada father is nota fool!”

“Where is the Yengee that the Delawaresfear?” returned the other; “who has slain myyoung men? Who is the mortal enemy of myGreat Father?”

“La Longue Carabine!”

The Delaware warriors started at the well-known name, betraying by their amazement,that they now learned, for the first time, one sofamous among the Indian allies of France waswithin their power.

“What does my brother mean?” demandedLe Coeur-dur, in a tone that, by its wonder, farexceeded the usual apathy of his race.

“A Huron never lies!” returned Magua,coldly, leaning his head against the side of the

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lodge, and drawing his slight robe across histawny breast. “Let the Delawares count theirprisoners; they will find one whose skin is nei-ther red nor pale.”

A long and musing pause succeeded. Thechief consulted apart with his companions, andmessengers despatched to collect certain othersof the most distinguished men of the tribe.

As warrior after warrior dropped in, theywere each made acquainted, in turn, with theimportant intelligence that Magua had justcommunicated. The air of surprise, and theusual low, deep, guttural exclamation, werecommon to them all. The news spread frommouth to mouth, until the whole encampmentbecame powerfully agitated. The women sus-pended their labors, to catch such syllables asunguardedly fell from the lips of the consulting

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warriors. The boys deserted their sports, andwalking fearlessly among their fathers, lookedup in curious admiration, as they heard thebrief exclamations of wonder they so freely ex-pressed the temerity of their hated foe. In short,every occupation was abandoned for the time,and all other pursuits seemed discarded in or-der that the tribe might freely indulge, aftertheir own peculiar manner, in an open expres-sion of feeling.

When the excitement had a little abated, theold men disposed themselves seriously to con-sider that which it became the honor and safetyof their tribe to perform, under circumstancesof so much delicacy and embarrassment. Dur-ing all these movements, and in the midst ofthe general commotion, Magua had not onlymaintained his seat, but the very attitude he

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had originally taken, against the side of thelodge, where he continued as immovable, and,apparently, as unconcerned, as if he had nointerest in the result. Not a single indicationof the future intentions of his hosts, however,escaped his vigilant eyes. With his consum-mate knowledge of the nature of the peoplewith whom he had to deal, he anticipated ev-ery measure on which they decided; and itmight almost be said, that, in many instances,he knew their intentions, even before they be-came known to themselves.

The council of the Delawares was short.When it was ended, a general bustle an-nounced that it was to be immediately suc-ceeded by a solemn and formal assemblage ofthe nation. As such meetings were rare, andonly called on occasions of the last importance,

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the subtle Huron, who still sat apart, a wily anddark observer of the proceedings, now knewthat all his projects must be brought to theirfinal issue. He, therefore, left the lodge andwalked silently forth to the place, in front ofthe encampment, whither the warriors were al-ready beginning to collect.

It might have been half an hour before eachindividual, including even the women andchildren, was in his place. The delay had beencreated by the grave preparations that weredeemed necessary to so solemn and unusual aconference. But when the sun was seen climb-ing above the tops of that mountain, againstwhose bosom the Delawares had constructedtheir encampment, most were seated; and ashis bright rays darted from behind the out-line of trees that fringed the eminence, they fell

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upon as grave, as attentive, and as deeply in-terested a multitude, as was probably ever be-fore lighted by his morning beams. Its numbersomewhat exceeded a thousand souls.

In a collection of so serious savages, thereis never to be found any impatient aspirantafter premature distinction, standing ready tomove his auditors to some hasty, and, per-haps, injudicious discussion, in order that hisown reputation may be the gainer. An act ofso much precipitancy and presumption wouldseal the downfall of precocious intellect for-ever. It rested solely with the oldest and mostexperienced of the men to lay the subject ofthe conference before the people. Until such aone chose to make some movement, no deedsin arms, no natural gifts, nor any renown asan orator, would have justified the slightest in-

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terruption. On the present occasion, the agedwarrior whose privilege it was to speak, wassilent, seemingly oppressed with the magni-tude of his subject. The delay had alreadycontinued long beyond the usual deliberativepause that always preceded a conference; butno sign of impatience or surprise escaped eventhe youngest boy. Occasionally an eye wasraised from the earth, where the looks of mostwere riveted, and strayed toward a particularlodge, that was, however, in no manner dis-tinguished from those around it, except in thepeculiar care that had been taken to protect itagainst the assaults of the weather.

At length one of those low murmurs, thatare so apt to disturb a multitude, was heard,and the whole nation arose to their feet by acommon impulse. At that instant the door of

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the lodge in question opened, and three men,issuing from it, slowly approached the placeof consultation. They were all aged, even be-yond that period to which the oldest presenthad reached; but one in the center, who leanedon his companions for support, had numberedan amount of years to which the human race isseldom permitted to attain. His frame, whichhad once been tall and erect, like the cedar, wasnow bending under the pressure of more thana century. The elastic, light step of an Indianwas gone, and in its place he was compelledto toil his tardy way over the ground, inch byinch. His dark, wrinkled countenance was insingular and wild contrast with the long whitelocks which floated on his shoulders, in suchthickness, as to announce that generations hadprobably passed away since they had last beenshorn.

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The dress of this patriarch–for such, consid-ering his vast age, in conjunction with his affin-ity and influence with his people, he mightvery properly be termed–was rich and impos-ing, though strictly after the simple fashionsof the tribe. His robe was of the finest skins,which had been deprived of their fur, in orderto admit of a hieroglyphical representation ofvarious deeds in arms, done in former ages.His bosom was loaded with medals, some inmassive silver, and one or two even in gold,the gifts of various Christian potentates dur-ing the long period of his life. He also worearmlets, and cinctures above the ankles, of thelatter precious metal. His head, on the wholeof which the hair had been permitted to grow,the pursuits of war having so long been aban-doned, was encircled by a sort of plated dia-dem, which, in its turn, bore lesser and more

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glittering ornaments, that sparkled amid theglossy hues of three drooping ostrich feathers,dyed a deep black, in touching contrast to thecolor of his snow-white locks. His tomahawkwas nearly hid in silver, and the handle of hisknife shone like a horn of solid gold.

So soon as the first hum of emotion and plea-sure, which the sudden appearance of this ven-erated individual created, had a little subsided,the name of “Tamenund” was whispered frommouth to mouth. Magua had often heard thefame of this wise and just Delaware; a repu-tation that even proceeded so far as to bestowon him the rare gift of holding secret commu-nion with the Great Spirit, and which has sincetransmitted his name, with some slight alter-ation, to the white usurpers of his ancient terri-

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tory, as the imaginary tutelar saint22 of a vastempire. The Huron chief, therefore, steppedeagerly out a little from the throng, to a spotwhence he might catch a nearer glimpse of thefeatures of the man, whose decision was likelyto produce so deep an influence on his own for-tunes.

The eyes of the old man were closed, asthough the organs were wearied with havingso long witnessed the selfish workings of thehuman passions. The color of his skin differedfrom that of most around him, being richerand darker, the latter having been producedby certain delicate and mazy lines of compli-

22The Americans sometimes called their tutelar saintTamenay, a corruption of the name of the renownedchief here introduced. There are many traditions whichspeak of the character and power of Tamenund.

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cated and yet beautiful figures, which had beentraced over most of his person by the opera-tion of tattooing. Notwithstanding the posi-tion of the Huron, he passed the observant andsilent Magua without notice, and leaning onhis two venerable supporters proceeded to thehigh place of the multitude, where he seatedhimself in the center of his nation, with the dig-nity of a monarch and the air of a father.

Nothing could surpass the reverence and af-fection with which this unexpected visit fromone who belongs rather to another world thanto this, was received by his people. After asuitable and decent pause, the principal chiefsarose, and, approaching the patriarch, theyplaced his hands reverently on their heads,seeming to entreat a blessing. The youngermen were content with touching his robe, or

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even drawing nigh his person, in order tobreathe in the atmosphere of one so aged, sojust, and so valiant. None but the most dis-tinguished among the youthful warriors evenpresumed so far as to perform the latter cere-mony, the great mass of the multitude deemingit a sufficient happiness to look upon a form sodeeply venerated, and so well beloved. Whenthese acts of affection and respect were per-formed, the chiefs drew back again to their sev-eral places, and silence reigned in the whole en-campment.

After a short delay, a few of the young men,to whom instructions had been whispered byone of the aged attendants of Tamenund, arose,left the crowd, and entered the lodge which hasalready been noted as the object of so much at-tention throughout that morning. In a few min-

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utes they reappeared, escorting the individu-als who had caused all these solemn prepara-tions toward the seat of judgment. The crowdopened in a lane; and when the party had re-entered, it closed in again, forming a large anddense belt of human bodies, arranged in anopen circle.

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“The assembly seated, rising o’erthe rest,

Achilles thus the king of men ad-dressed.”

–Pope’s Illiad

CORA STOOD FOREMOST among the pris-

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oners, entwining her arms in those of Alice, inthe tenderness of sisterly love. Notwithstand-ing the fearful and menacing array of savageson every side of her, no apprehension on herown account could prevent the nobler-mindedmaiden from keeping her eyes fastened on thepale and anxious features of the trembling Al-ice. Close at their side stood Heyward, withan interest in both, that, at such a moment ofintense uncertainty, scarcely knew a prepon-derance in favor of her whom he most loved.Hawkeye had placed himself a little in the rear,with a deference to the superior rank of hiscompanions, that no similarity in the state oftheir present fortunes could induce him to for-get. Uncas was not there.

When perfect silence was again restored, andafter the usual long, impressive pause, one of

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the two aged chiefs who sat at the side of thepatriarch arose, and demanded aloud, in veryintelligible English:

“Which of my prisoners is La Longue Cara-bine?”

Neither Duncan nor the scout answered. Theformer, however, glanced his eyes around thedark and silent assembly, and recoiled a pace,when they fell on the malignant visage ofMagua. He saw, at once, that this wily sav-age had some secret agency in their present ar-raignment before the nation, and determinedto throw every possible impediment in the wayof the execution of his sinister plans. He hadwitnessed one instance of the summary pun-ishments of the Indians, and now dreaded thathis companion was to be selected for a second.In this dilemma, with little or no time for reflec-

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tion, he suddenly determined to cloak his in-valuable friend, at any or every hazard to him-self. Before he had time, however, to speak, thequestion was repeated in a louder voice, andwith a clearer utterance.

“Give us arms,” the young man haughtilyreplied, “and place us in yonder woods. Ourdeeds shall speak for us!”

“This is the warrior whose name has filledour ears!” returned the chief, regarding Hey-ward with that sort of curious interest whichseems inseparable from man, when first be-holding one of his fellows to whom merit oraccident, virtue or crime, has given notoriety.“What has brought the white man into thecamp of the Delawares?”

“My necessities. I come for food, shelter, andfriends.”

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“It cannot be. The woods are full of game.The head of a warrior needs no other shelterthan a sky without clouds; and the Delawaresare the enemies, and not the friends of theYengeese. Go, the mouth has spoken, while theheart said nothing.”

Duncan, a little at a loss in what manner toproceed, remained silent; but the scout, whohad listened attentively to all that passed, nowadvanced steadily to the front.

“That I did not answer to the call for LaLongue Carabine, was not owing either toshame or fear,” he said, “for neither one northe other is the gift of an honest man. But I donot admit the right of the Mingoes to bestow aname on one whose friends have been mindfulof his gifts, in this particular; especially as theirtitle is a lie, ‘killdeer’ being a grooved barrel

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and no carabyne. I am the man, however, thatgot the name of Nathaniel from my kin; thecompliment of Hawkeye from the Delawares,who live on their own river; and whom the Iro-quois have presumed to style the ‘Long Rifle’,without any warranty from him who is mostconcerned in the matter.”

The eyes of all present, which had hithertobeen gravely scanning the person of Duncan,were now turned, on the instant, toward theupright iron frame of this new pretender to thedistinguished appellation. It was in no degreeremarkable that there should be found twowho were willing to claim so great an honor,for impostors, though rare, were not unknownamong the natives; but it was altogether ma-terial to the just and severe intentions of theDelawares, that there should be no mistake in

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the matter. Some of their old men consulted to-gether in private, and then, as it would seem,they determined to interrogate their visitor onthe subject.

“My brother has said that a snake crept intomy camp,” said the chief to Magua; “which ishe?”

The Huron pointed to the scout.“Will a wise Delaware believe the barking

of a wolf?” exclaimed Duncan, still more con-firmed in the evil intentions of his ancient en-emy: “a dog never lies, but when was a wolfknown to speak the truth?”

The eyes of Magua flashed fire; but sud-denly recollecting the necessity of maintaininghis presence of mind, he turned away in silentdisdain, well assured that the sagacity of the In-dians would not fail to extract the real merits of

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the point in controversy. He was not deceived;for, after another short consultation, the waryDelaware turned to him again, and expressedthe determination of the chiefs, though in themost considerate language.

“My brother has been called a liar,” he said,“and his friends are angry. They will show thathe has spoken the truth. Give my prisonersguns, and let them prove which is the man.”

Magua affected to consider the expedient,which he well knew proceeded from distrust ofhimself, as a compliment, and made a gestureof acquiescence, well content that his veracityshould be supported by so skillful a marks-man as the scout. The weapons were instantlyplaced in the hands of the friendly opponents,and they were bid to fire, over the heads of theseated multitude, at an earthen vessel, which

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lay, by accident, on a stump, some fifty yardsfrom the place where they stood.

Heyward smiled to himself at the idea of acompetition with the scout, though he deter-mined to persevere in the deception, until ap-prised of the real designs of Magua.

Raising his rifle with the utmost care, and re-newing his aim three several times, he fired.The bullet cut the wood within a few inchesof the vessel; and a general exclamation ofsatisfaction announced that the shot was con-sidered a proof of great skill in the use of aweapon. Even Hawkeye nodded his head, asif he would say, it was better than he expected.But, instead of manifesting an intention to con-tend with the successful marksman, he stoodleaning on his rifle for more than a minute, likea man who was completely buried in thought.

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From this reverie, he was, however, awakenedby one of the young Indians who had furnishedthe arms, and who now touched his shoulder,saying in exceedingly broken English:

“Can the pale face beat it?”

“Yes, Huron!” exclaimed the scout, raisingthe short rifle in his right hand, and shakingit at Magua, with as much apparent ease as ifit were a reed; “yes, Huron, I could strike younow, and no power on earth could prevent thedeed! The soaring hawk is not more certain ofthe dove than I am this moment of you, didI choose to send a bullet to your heart! Whyshould I not? Why!–because the gifts of mycolor forbid it, and I might draw down evil ontender and innocent heads. If you know sucha being as God, thank Him, therefore, in yourinward soul; for you have reason!”

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The flushed countenance, angry eye andswelling figure of the scout, produced a sensa-tion of secret awe in all that heard him. TheDelawares held their breath in expectation; butMagua himself, even while he distrusted theforbearance of his enemy, remained immovableand calm, where he stood wedged in by thecrowd, as one who grew to the spot.

“Beat it,” repeated the young Delaware atthe elbow of the scout.

“Beat what, fool!–what?” exclaimed Hawk-eye, still flourishing the weapon angrily abovehis head, though his eye no longer sought theperson of Magua.

“If the white man is the warrior he pre-tends,” said the aged chief, “let him strikenigher to the mark.”

The scout laughed aloud–a noise that pro-

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duced the startling effect of an unnatural soundon Heyward; then dropping the piece, heavily,into his extended left hand, it was discharged,apparently by the shock, driving the fragmentsof the vessel into the air, and scattering themon every side. Almost at the same instant, therattling sound of the rifle was heard, as he suf-fered it to fall, contemptuously, to the earth.

The first impression of so strange a scenewas engrossing admiration. Then a low, but in-creasing murmur, ran through the multitude,and finally swelled into sounds that denoted alively opposition in the sentiments of the spec-tators. While some openly testified their satis-faction at so unexampled dexterity, by far thelarger portion of the tribe were inclined to be-lieve the success of the shot was the result ofaccident. Heyward was not slow to confirm an

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opinion that was so favorable to his own pre-tensions.

“It was chance!” he exclaimed; “none canshoot without an aim!”

“Chance!” echoed the excited woodsman,who was now stubbornly bent on maintaininghis identity at every hazard, and on whom thesecret hints of Heyward to acquiesce in the de-ception were entirely lost. “Does yonder lyingHuron, too, think it chance? Give him anothergun, and place us face to face, without cover ordodge, and let Providence, and our own eyes,decide the matter atween us! I do not make theoffer, to you, major; for our blood is of a color,and we serve the same master.”

“That the Huron is a liar, is very evident,”returned Heyward, coolly; “you have yourselfheard him assert you to be La Longue Cara-

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bine.”

It were impossible to say what violent asser-tion the stubborn Hawkeye would have nextmade, in his headlong wish to vindicate hisidentity, had not the aged Delaware once moreinterposed.

“The hawk which comes from the clouds canreturn when he will,” he said; “give them theguns.”

This time the scout seized the rifle with avid-ity; nor had Magua, though he watched themovements of the marksman with jealous eyes,any further cause for apprehension.

“Now let it be proved, in the face of this tribeof Delawares, which is the better man,” criedthe scout, tapping the butt of his piece with thatfinger which had pulled so many fatal triggers.

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“You see that gourd hanging against yondertree, major; if you are a marksman fit for theborders, let me see you break its shell!”

Duncan noted the object, and prepared him-self to renew the trial. The gourd was oneof the usual little vessels used by the Indians,and it was suspended from a dead branch ofa small pine, by a thong of deerskin, at thefull distance of a hundred yards. So strangelycompounded is the feeling of self-love, that theyoung soldier, while he knew the utter worth-lessness of the suffrages of his savage umpires,forgot the sudden motives of the contest in awish to excel. It had been seen, already, thathis skill was far from being contemptible, andhe now resolved to put forth its nicest quali-ties. Had his life depended on the issue, theaim of Duncan could not have been more de-

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liberate or guarded. He fired; and three or fouryoung Indians, who sprang forward at the re-port, announced with a shout, that the ball wasin the tree, a very little on one side of the properobject. The warriors uttered a common ejacu-lation of pleasure, and then turned their eyes,inquiringly, on the movements of his rival.

“It may do for the Royal Americans!” saidHawkeye, laughing once more in his ownsilent, heartfelt manner; “but had my gun of-ten turned so much from the true line, manya marten, whose skin is now in a lady’s muff,would still be in the woods; ay, and many abloody Mingo, who has departed to his finalaccount, would be acting his deviltries at thisvery day, atween the provinces. I hope thesquaw who owns the gourd has more of themin her wigwam, for this will never hold water

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again!”

The scout had shook his priming, andcocked his piece, while speaking; and, as heended, he threw back a foot, and slowly raisedthe muzzle from the earth: the motion wassteady, uniform, and in one direction. When ona perfect level, it remained for a single moment,without tremor or variation, as though bothman and rifle were carved in stone. During thatstationary instant, it poured forth its contents,in a bright, glancing sheet of flame. Again theyoung Indians bounded forward; but their hur-ried search and disappointed looks announcedthat no traces of the bullet were to be seen.

“Go!” said the old chief to the scout, in a toneof strong disgust; “thou art a wolf in the skinof a dog. I will talk to the ‘Long Rifle’ of theYengeese.”

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“Ah! had I that piece which furnished thename you use, I would obligate myself to cutthe thong, and drop the gourd without break-ing it!” returned Hawkeye, perfectly undis-turbed by the other’s manner. “Fools, if youwould find the bullet of a sharpshooter in thesewoods, you must look in the object, and notaround it!”

The Indian youths instantly comprehendedhis meaning–for this time he spoke in theDelaware tongue–and tearing the gourd fromthe tree, they held it on high with an exult-ing shout, displaying a hole in its bottom,which had been cut by the bullet, after pass-ing through the usual orifice in the center ofits upper side. At this unexpected exhibition,a loud and vehement expression of pleasureburst from the mouth of every warrior present.

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It decided the question, and effectually estab-lished Hawkeye in the possession of his dan-gerous reputation. Those curious and admir-ing eyes which had been turned again on Hey-ward, were finally directed to the weather-beaten form of the scout, who immediately be-came the principal object of attention to thesimple and unsophisticated beings by whomhe was surrounded. When the sudden andnoisy commotion had a little subsided, theaged chief resumed his examination.

“Why did you wish to stop my ears?” hesaid, addressing Duncan; “are the Delawaresfools that they could not know the young pan-ther from the cat?”

“They will yet find the Huron a singing-bird,” said Duncan, endeavoring to adopt thefigurative language of the natives.

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“It is good. We will know who can shut theears of men. Brother,” added the chief turninghis eyes on Magua, “the Delawares listen.”

Thus singled, and directly called on to de-clare his object, the Huron arose; and advanc-ing with great deliberation and dignity into thevery center of the circle, where he stood con-fronted by the prisoners, he placed himself inan attitude to speak. Before opening his mouth,however, he bent his eyes slowly along thewhole living boundary of earnest faces, as ifto temper his expressions to the capacities ofhis audience. On Hawkeye he cast a glanceof respectful enmity; on Duncan, a look of in-extinguishable hatred; the shrinking figure ofAlice he scarcely deigned to notice; but whenhis glance met the firm, commanding, and yetlovely form of Cora, his eye lingered a mo-

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ment, with an expression that it might havebeen difficult to define. Then, filled with hisown dark intentions, he spoke in the languageof the Canadas, a tongue that he well knew wascomprehended by most of his auditors.

“The Spirit that made men colored them dif-ferently,” commenced the subtle Huron. “Someare blacker than the sluggish bear. These Hesaid should be slaves; and He ordered themto work forever, like the beaver. You mayhear them groan, when the south wind blows,louder than the lowing buffaloes, along theshores of the great salt lake, where the big ca-noes come and go with them in droves. SomeHe made with faces paler than the ermine ofthe forests; and these He ordered to be traders;dogs to their women, and wolves to theirslaves. He gave this people the nature of the pi-

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geon; wings that never tire; young, more plen-tiful than the leaves on the trees, and appetitesto devour the earth. He gave them tongues likethe false call of the wildcat; hearts like rabbits;the cunning of the hog (but none of the fox),and arms longer than the legs of the moose.With his tongue he stops the ears of the Indians;his heart teaches him to pay warriors to fighthis battles; his cunning tells him how to get to-gether the goods of the earth; and his arms in-close the land from the shores of the salt-waterto the islands of the great lake. His gluttonymakes him sick. God gave him enough, andyet he wants all. Such are the pale faces.

“Some the Great Spirit made with skinsbrighter and redder than yonder sun,” con-tinued Magua, pointing impressively upwardto the lurid luminary, which was struggling

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through the misty atmosphere of the horizon;“and these did He fashion to His own mind.He gave them this island as He had made it,covered with trees, and filled with game. Thewind made their clearings; the sun and rainripened their fruits; and the snows came to tellthem to be thankful. What need had they ofroads to journey by! They saw through thehills! When the beavers worked, they lay inthe shade, and looked on. The winds cooledthem in summer; in winter, skins kept themwarm. If they fought among themselves, it wasto prove that they were men. They were brave;they were just; they were happy.”

Here the speaker paused, and again lookedaround him to discover if his legend hadtouched the sympathies of his listeners. Hemet everywhere, with eyes riveted on his own,

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heads erect and nostrils expanded, as if each in-dividual present felt himself able and willing,singly, to redress the wrongs of his race.

“If the Great Spirit gave different tonguesto his red children,” he continued, in a low,still melancholy voice, “it was that all ani-mals might understand them. Some He placedamong the snows, with their cousin, the bear.Some he placed near the setting sun, on theroad to the happy hunting grounds. Some onthe lands around the great fresh waters; but toHis greatest, and most beloved, He gave thesands of the salt lake. Do my brothers knowthe name of this favored people?”

“It was the Lenape!” exclaimed twenty eagervoices in a breath.

“It was the Lenni Lenape,” returned Magua,affecting to bend his head in reverence to their

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former greatness. “It was the tribes of theLenape! The sun rose from water that was salt,and set in water that was sweet, and never hidhimself from their eyes. But why should I, aHuron of the woods, tell a wise people theirown traditions? Why remind them of their in-juries; their ancient greatness; their deeds; theirglory; their happiness; their losses; their de-feats; their misery? Is there not one amongthem who has seen it all, and who knows it tobe true? I have done. My tongue is still for myheart is of lead. I listen.”

As the voice of the speaker suddenly ceased,every face and all eyes turned, by a commonmovement, toward the venerable Tamenund.From the moment that he took his seat, untilthe present instant, the lips of the patriarch hadnot severed, and scarcely a sign of life had es-

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caped him. He sat bent in feebleness, and ap-parently unconscious of the presence he wasin, during the whole of that opening scene, inwhich the skill of the scout had been so clearlyestablished. At the nicely graduated sound ofMagua’s voice, however, he betrayed some ev-idence of consciousness, and once or twice heeven raised his head, as if to listen. But whenthe crafty Huron spoke of his nation by name,the eyelids of the old man raised themselves,and he looked out upon the multitude withthat sort of dull, unmeaning expression whichmight be supposed to belong to the counte-nance of a specter. Then he made an effort torise, and being upheld by his supporters, hegained his feet, in a posture commanding byits dignity, while he tottered with weakness.

“Who calls upon the children of the

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Lenape?” he said, in a deep, guttural voice,that was rendered awfully audible by thebreathless silence of the multitude; “whospeaks of things gone? Does not the egg be-come a worm–the worm a fly, and perish? Whytell the Delawares of good that is past? Betterthank the Manitou for that which remains.”

“It is a Wyandot,” said Magua, steppingnigher to the rude platform on which the otherstood; “a friend of Tamenund.”

“A friend!” repeated the sage, on whosebrow a dark frown settled, imparting a portionof that severity which had rendered his eye soterrible in middle age. “Are the Mingoes rulersof the earth? What brings a Huron in here?”

“Justice. His prisoners are with his brothers,and he comes for his own.”

Tamenund turned his head toward one of his

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supporters, and listened to the short explana-tion the man gave.

Then, facing the applicant, he regarded hima moment with deep attention; after which hesaid, in a low and reluctant voice:

“Justice is the law of the great Manitou. Mychildren, give the stranger food. Then, Huron,take thine own and depart.”

On the delivery of this solemn judgment, thepatriarch seated himself, and closed his eyesagain, as if better pleased with the images ofhis own ripened experience than with the visi-ble objects of the world. Against such a decreethere was no Delaware sufficiently hardy tomurmur, much less oppose himself. The wordswere barely uttered when four or five of theyounger warriors, stepping behind Heywardand the scout, passed thongs so dexterously

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and rapidly around their arms, as to hold themboth in instant bondage. The former was toomuch engrossed with his precious and nearlyinsensible burden, to be aware of their inten-tions before they were executed; and the lat-ter, who considered even the hostile tribes ofthe Delawares a superior race of beings, sub-mitted without resistance. Perhaps, however,the manner of the scout would not have beenso passive, had he fully comprehended the lan-guage in which the preceding dialogue hadbeen conducted.

Magua cast a look of triumph around thewhole assembly before he proceeded to the ex-ecution of his purpose. Perceiving that the menwere unable to offer any resistance, he turnedhis looks on her he valued most. Cora met hisgaze with an eye so calm and firm, that his res-

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olution wavered. Then, recollecting his formerartifice, he raised Alice from the arms of thewarrior against whom she leaned, and beck-oning Heyward to follow, he motioned for theencircling crowd to open. But Cora, instead ofobeying the impulse he had expected, rushedto the feet of the patriarch, and, raising hervoice, exclaimed aloud:

“Just and venerable Delaware, on thy wis-dom and power we lean for mercy! Be deafto yonder artful and remorseless monster, whopoisons thy ears with falsehoods to feed histhirst for blood. Thou that hast lived long,and that hast seen the evil of the world, shouldknow how to temper its calamities to the mis-erable.”

The eyes of the old man opened heavily, andhe once more looked upward at the multitude.

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As the piercing tones of the suppliant swelledon his ears, they moved slowly in the direc-tion of her person, and finally settled there in asteady gaze. Cora had cast herself to her knees;and, with hands clenched in each other andpressed upon her bosom, she remained likea beauteous and breathing model of her sex,looking up in his faded but majestic counte-nance, with a species of holy reverence. Grad-ually the expression of Tamenund’s featureschanged, and losing their vacancy in admira-tion, they lighted with a portion of that intelli-gence which a century before had been wont tocommunicate his youthful fire to the extensivebands of the Delawares. Rising without assis-tance, and seemingly without an effort, he de-manded, in a voice that startled its auditors byits firmness:

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“What art thou?”“A woman. One of a hated race, if thou wilt–

a Yengee. But one who has never harmed thee,and who cannot harm thy people, if she would;who asks for succor.”

“Tell me, my children,” continued the pa-triarch, hoarsely, motioning to those aroundhim, though his eyes still dwelt upon the kneel-ing form of Cora, “where have the Delawarescamped?”

“In the mountains of the Iroquois, beyondthe clear springs of the Horican.”

“Many parching summers are come andgone,” continued the sage, “since I drank of thewater of my own rivers. The children of Min-quon23 are the justest white men, but they were

23William Penn was termed Minquon by the

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thirsty and they took it to themselves. Do theyfollow us so far?”

“We follow none, we covet nothing,” an-swered Cora. “Captives against our wills, havewe been brought amongst you; and we ask butpermission to depart to our own in peace. Artthou not Tamenund–the father, the judge, I hadalmost said, the prophet–of this people?”

“I am Tamenund of many days.”“‘Tis now some seven years that one of thy

people was at the mercy of a white chief on the

Delawares, and, as he never used violence or injusticein his dealings with them, his reputation for probitypassed into a proverb. The American is justly proud ofthe origin of his nation, which is perhaps unequaled inthe history of the world; but the Pennsylvanian and Jer-seyman have more reason to value themselves in theirancestors than the natives of any other state, since nowrong was done the original owners of the soil.

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borders of this province. He claimed to be ofthe blood of the good and just Tamenund. ‘Go’,said the white man, ‘for thy parent’s sake thouart free.’ Dost thou remember the name of thatEnglish warrior?”

“I remember, that when a laughing boy,” re-turned the patriarch, with the peculiar recol-lection of vast age, “I stood upon the sands ofthe sea shore, and saw a big canoe, with wingswhiter than the swan’s, and wider than manyeagles, come from the rising sun.”

“Nay, nay; I speak not of a time so very dis-tant, but of favor shown to thy kindred by oneof mine, within the memory of thy youngestwarrior.”

“Was it when the Yengeese and the Dutch-manne fought for the hunting-grounds of theDelawares? Then Tamenund was a chief, and

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first laid aside the bow for the lightning of thepale faces–”

“Not yet then,” interrupted Cora, “by manyages; I speak of a thing of yesterday. Surely,surely, you forget it not.”

“It was but yesterday,” rejoined the agedman, with touching pathos, “that the childrenof the Lenape were masters of the world. Thefishes of the salt lake, the birds, the beasts, andthe Mengee of the woods, owned them for Sag-amores.”

Cora bowed her head in disappointment,and, for a bitter moment struggled with herchagrin. Then, elevating her rich features andbeaming eyes, she continued, in tones scarcelyless penetrating than the unearthly voice of thepatriarch himself:

“Tell me, is Tamenund a father?”

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The old man looked down upon her fromhis elevated stand, with a benignant smile onhis wasted countenance, and then casting hiseyes slowly over the whole assemblage, he an-swered:

“Of a nation.”

“For myself I ask nothing. Like thee andthine, venerable chief,” she continued, press-ing her hands convulsively on her heart, andsuffering her head to droop until her burningcheeks were nearly concealed in the maze ofdark, glossy tresses that fell in disorder uponher shoulders, “the curse of my ancestors hasfallen heavily on their child. But yonder is onewho has never known the weight of Heaven’sdispleasure until now. She is the daughter of anold and failing man, whose days are near theirclose. She has many, very many, to love her,

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and delight in her; and she is too good, muchtoo precious, to become the victim of that vil-lain.”

“I know that the pale faces are a proud andhungry race. I know that they claim not onlyto have the earth, but that the meanest of theircolor is better than the Sachems of the red man.The dogs and crows of their tribes,” contin-ued the earnest old chieftain, without heedingthe wounded spirit of his listener, whose headwas nearly crushed to the earth in shame, as heproceeded, “would bark and caw before theywould take a woman to their wigwams whoseblood was not of the color of snow. But letthem not boast before the face of the Manitoutoo loud. They entered the land at the rising,and may yet go off at the setting sun. I haveoften seen the locusts strip the leaves from the

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trees, but the season of blossoms has alwayscome again.”

“It is so,” said Cora, drawing a long breath,as if reviving from a trance, raising her face,and shaking back her shining veil, with a kin-dling eye, that contradicted the death-like pale-ness of her countenance; “but why–it is not per-mitted us to inquire. There is yet one of thineown people who has not been brought beforethee; before thou lettest the Huron depart in tri-umph, hear him speak.”

Observing Tamenund to look about himdoubtingly, one of his companions said:

“It is a snake–a red-skin in the pay of theYengeese. We keep him for the torture.”

“Let him come,” returned the sage.Then Tamenund once more sank into his

seat, and a silence so deep prevailed while

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the young man prepared to obey his simplemandate, that the leaves, which fluttered inthe draught of the light morning air, were dis-tinctly heard rustling in the surrounding forest.

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“If you deny me, fie upon yourlaw!

There is no force in the decrees ofVenice:

I stand for judgment: answer, shallI have it?”

–Merchant of Venice

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THE SILENCE CONTINUED unbroken byhuman sounds for many anxious minutes.Then the waving multitude opened and shutagain, and Uncas stood in the living circle. Allthose eyes, which had been curiously study-ing the lineaments of the sage, as the sourceof their own intelligence, turned on the in-stant, and were now bent in secret admirationon the erect, agile, and faultless person of thecaptive. But neither the presence in which hefound himself, nor the exclusive attention thathe attracted, in any manner disturbed the self-possession of the young Mohican. He cast adeliberate and observing look on every side ofhim, meeting the settled expression of hostilitythat lowered in the visages of the chiefs withthe same calmness as the curious gaze of the at-tentive children. But when, last in this haughtyscrutiny, the person of Tamenund came under

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his glance, his eye became fixed, as though allother objects were already forgotten. Then, ad-vancing with a slow and noiseless step up thearea, he placed himself immediately before thefootstool of the sage. Here he stood unnoted,though keenly observant himself, until one ofthe chiefs apprised the latter of his presence.

“With what tongue does the prisoner speakto the Manitou?” demanded the patriarch,without unclosing his eyes.

“Like his fathers,” Uncas replied; “with thetongue of a Delaware.”

At this sudden and unexpected annuncia-tion, a low, fierce yell ran through the mul-titude, that might not inaptly be comparedto the growl of the lion, as his choler is firstawakened–a fearful omen of the weight of hisfuture anger. The effect was equally strong

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on the sage, though differently exhibited. Hepassed a hand before his eyes, as if to excludethe least evidence of so shameful a spectacle,while he repeated, in his low, guttural tones,the words he had just heard.

“A Delaware! I have lived to see the tribesof the Lenape driven from their council-fires,and scattered, like broken herds of deer, amongthe hills of the Iroquois! I have seen the hatch-ets of a strong people sweep woods from thevalleys, that the winds of heaven have spared!The beasts that run on the mountains, and thebirds that fly above the trees, have I seen liv-ing in the wigwams of men; but never beforehave I found a Delaware so base as to creep,like a poisonous serpent, into the camps of hisnation.”

“The singing-birds have opened their bills,”

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returned Uncas, in the softest notes of his ownmusical voice; “and Tamenund has heard theirsong.”

The sage started, and bent his head aside, asif to catch the fleeting sounds of some passingmelody.

“Does Tamenund dream!” he exclaimed.“What voice is at his ear! Have the wintersgone backward! Will summer come again tothe children of the Lenape!”

A solemn and respectful silence succeededthis incoherent burst from the lips of theDelaware prophet. His people readily con-structed his unintelligible language into one ofthose mysterious conferences he was believedto hold so frequently with a superior intelli-gence and they awaited the issue of the rev-elation in awe. After a patient pause, how-

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ever, one of the aged men, perceiving that thesage had lost the recollection of the subject be-fore them, ventured to remind him again of thepresence of the prisoner.

“The false Delaware trembles lest he shouldhear the words of Tamenund,” he said. “‘Tisa hound that howls, when the Yengeese showhim a trail.”

“And ye,” returned Uncas, looking sternlyaround him, “are dogs that whine, when theFrenchman casts ye the offals of his deer!”

Twenty knives gleamed in the air, and asmany warriors sprang to their feet, at this bit-ing, and perhaps merited retort; but a mo-tion from one of the chiefs suppressed the out-breaking of their tempers, and restored theappearance of quiet. The task might proba-bly have been more difficult, had not a move-

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ment made by Tamenund indicated that he wasagain about to speak.

“Delaware!” resumed the sage, “little artthou worthy of thy name. My people have notseen a bright sun in many winters; and the war-rior who deserts his tribe when hid in clouds isdoubly a traitor. The law of the Manitou is just.It is so; while the rivers run and the mountainsstand, while the blossoms come and go on thetrees, it must be so. He is thine, my children;deal justly by him.”

Not a limb was moved, nor was a breathdrawn louder and longer than common, un-til the closing syllable of this final decree hadpassed the lips of Tamenund. Then a cry ofvengeance burst at once, as it might be, fromthe united lips of the nation; a frightful au-gury of their ruthless intentions. In the midst

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of these prolonged and savage yells, a chiefproclaimed, in a high voice, that the captivewas condemned to endure the dreadful trialof torture by fire. The circle broke its order,and screams of delight mingled with the bus-tle and tumult of preparation. Heyward strug-gled madly with his captors; the anxious eyeof Hawkeye began to look around him, withan expression of peculiar earnestness; and Coraagain threw herself at the feet of the patriarch,once more a suppliant for mercy.

Throughout the whole of these trying mo-ments, Uncas had alone preserved his serenity.He looked on the preparations with a steadyeye, and when the tormentors came to seizehim, he met them with a firm and uprightattitude. One among them, if possible morefierce and savage than his fellows, seized the

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hunting-shirt of the young warrior, and at asingle effort tore it from his body. Then, witha yell of frantic pleasure, he leaped toward hisunresisting victim and prepared to lead him tothe stake. But, at that moment, when he ap-peared most a stranger to the feelings of hu-manity, the purpose of the savage was arrestedas suddenly as if a supernatural agency had in-terposed in the behalf of Uncas. The eyeballs ofthe Delaware seemed to start from their sock-ets; his mouth opened and his whole form be-came frozen in an attitude of amazement. Rais-ing his hand with a slow and regulated motion,he pointed with a finger to the bosom of thecaptive. His companions crowded about himin wonder and every eye was like his own, fas-tened intently on the figure of a small tortoise,beautifully tattooed on the breast of the pris-oner, in a bright blue tint.

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For a single instant Uncas enjoyed his tri-umph, smiling calmly on the scene. Thenmotioning the crowd away with a high andhaughty sweep of his arm, he advanced in frontof the nation with the air of a king, and spoke ina voice louder than the murmur of admirationthat ran through the multitude.

“Men of the Lenni Lenape!” he said, “myrace upholds the earth! Your feeble tribe standson my shell! What fire that a Delaware can lightwould burn the child of my fathers,” he added,pointing proudly to the simple blazonry on hisskin; “the blood that came from such a stockwould smother your flames! My race is thegrandfather of nations!”

“Who art thou?” demanded Tamenund, ris-ing at the startling tones he heard, more than atany meaning conveyed by the language of the

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prisoner.“Uncas, the son of Chingachgook,” an-

swered the captive modestly, turning from thenation, and bending his head in reverence tothe other’s character and years; “a son of thegreat Unamis.”24

“The hour of Tamenund is nigh!” exclaimedthe sage; “the day is come, at last, to the night!I thank the Manitou, that one is here to fill myplace at the council-fire. Uncas, the child of Un-cas, is found! Let the eyes of a dying eagle gazeon the rising sun.”

The youth stepped lightly, but proudly onthe platform, where he became visible tothe whole agitated and wondering multitude.Tamenund held him long at the length of his

24Turtle.

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arm and read every turn in the fine lineamentsof his countenance, with the untiring gaze ofone who recalled days of happiness.

“Is Tamenund a boy?” at length the bewil-dered prophet exclaimed. “Have I dreamed ofso many snows–that my people were scatteredlike floating sands–of Yengeese, more plentythan the leaves on the trees! The arrow ofTamenund would not frighten the fawn; hisarm is withered like the branch of a dead oak;the snail would be swifter in the race; yet is Un-cas before him as they went to battle against thepale faces! Uncas, the panther of his tribe, theeldest son of the Lenape, the wisest Sagamoreof the Mohicans! Tell me, ye Delawares, hasTamenund been a sleeper for a hundred win-ters?”

The calm and deep silence which succeeded

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these words sufficiently announced the awfulreverence with which his people received thecommunication of the patriarch. None daredto answer, though all listened in breathless ex-pectation of what might follow. Uncas, how-ever, looking in his face with the fondness andveneration of a favored child, presumed on hisown high and acknowledged rank, to reply.

“Four warriors of his race have lived anddied,” he said, “since the friend of Tamenundled his people in battle. The blood of the tur-tle has been in many chiefs, but all have goneback into the earth from whence they came, ex-cept Chingachgook and his son.”

“It is true–it is true,” returned the sage, aflash of recollection destroying all his pleas-ing fancies, and restoring him at once to aconsciousness of the true history of his na-

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tion. “Our wise men have often said that twowarriors of the unchanged race were in thehills of the Yengeese; why have their seats atthe council-fires of the Delawares been so longempty?”

At these words the young man raised hishead, which he had still kept bowed a little, inreverence; and lifting his voice so as to be heardby the multitude, as if to explain at once andforever the policy of his family, he said aloud:

“Once we slept where we could hear the saltlake speak in its anger. Then we were rulersand Sagamores over the land. But when a paleface was seen on every brook, we followedthe deer back to the river of our nation. TheDelawares were gone. Few warriors of them allstayed to drink of the stream they loved. Thensaid my fathers, ‘Here will we hunt. The wa-

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ters of the river go into the salt lake. If we gotoward the setting sun, we shall find streamsthat run into the great lakes of sweet water;there would a Mohican die, like fishes of thesea, in the clear springs. When the Manitouis ready and shall say “Come,” we will followthe river to the sea, and take our own again.’Such, Delawares, is the belief of the children ofthe Turtle. Our eyes are on the rising and nottoward the setting sun. We know whence hecomes, but we know not whither he goes. It isenough.”

The men of the Lenape listened to his wordswith all the respect that superstition couldlend, finding a secret charm even in the figura-tive language with which the young Sagamoreimparted his ideas. Uncas himself watched theeffect of his brief explanation with intelligent

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eyes, and gradually dropped the air of author-ity he had assumed, as he perceived that his au-ditors were content. Then, permitting his looksto wander over the silent throng that crowdedaround the elevated seat of Tamenund, he firstperceived Hawkeye in his bonds. Stepping ea-gerly from his stand, he made way for himselfto the side of his friend; and cutting his thongswith a quick and angry stroke of his own knife,he motioned to the crowd to divide. The Indi-ans silently obeyed, and once more they stoodranged in their circle, as before his appearanceamong them. Uncas took the scout by the hand,and led him to the feet of the patriarch.

“Father,” he said, “look at this pale face; ajust man, and the friend of the Delawares.”

“Is he a son of Minquon?”“Not so; a warrior known to the Yengeese,

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and feared by the Maquas.”

“What name has he gained by his deeds?”

“We call him Hawkeye,” Uncas replied, us-ing the Delaware phrase; “for his sight neverfails. The Mingoes know him better by thedeath he gives their warriors; with them he is‘The Long Rifle’.”

“La Longue Carabine!” exclaimed Tame-nund, opening his eyes, and regarding thescout sternly. “My son has not done well to callhim friend.”

“I call him so who proves himself such,” re-turned the young chief, with great calmness,but with a steady mien. “If Uncas is welcomeamong the Delawares, then is Hawkeye withhis friends.”

“The pale face has slain my young men; his

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name is great for the blows he has struck theLenape.”

“If a Mingo has whispered that much in theear of the Delaware, he has only shown thathe is a singing-bird,” said the scout, who nowbelieved that it was time to vindicate himselffrom such offensive charges, and who spokeas the man he addressed, modifying his In-dian figures, however, with his own peculiarnotions. “That I have slain the Maquas I amnot the man to deny, even at their own council-fires; but that, knowingly, my hand has neverharmed a Delaware, is opposed to the reasonof my gifts, which is friendly to them, and allthat belongs to their nation.”

A low exclamation of applause passedamong the warriors who exchanged looks witheach other like men that first began to perceive

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their error.

“Where is the Huron?” demanded Tame-nund. “Has he stopped my ears?”

Magua, whose feelings during that scene inwhich Uncas had triumphed may be much bet-ter imagined than described, answered to thecall by stepping boldly in front of the patriarch.

“The just Tamenund,” he said, “will not keepwhat a Huron has lent.”

“Tell me, son of my brother,” returned thesage, avoiding the dark countenance of Le Sub-til, and turning gladly to the more ingenu-ous features of Uncas, “has the stranger a con-queror’s right over you?”

“He has none. The panther may get intosnares set by the women; but he is strong, andknows how to leap through them.”

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“La Longue Carabine?”

“Laughs at the Mingoes. Go, Huron, askyour squaws the color of a bear.”

“The stranger and white maiden that comeinto my camp together?”

“Should journey on an open path.”

“And the woman that Huron left with mywarriors?”

Uncas made no reply.

“And the woman that the Mingo hasbrought into my camp?” repeated Tamenund,gravely.

“She is mine,” cried Magua, shaking hishand in triumph at Uncas. “Mohican, youknow that she is mine.”

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“My son is silent,” said Tamenund, endeav-oring to read the expression of the face that theyouth turned from him in sorrow.

“It is so,” was the low answer.

A short and impressive pause succeeded,during which it was very apparent with whatreluctance the multitude admitted the justiceof the Mingo’s claim. At length the sage, onwhom alone the decision depended, said, in afirm voice:

“Huron, depart.”

“As he came, just Tamenund,” demandedthe wily Magua, “or with hands filled with thefaith of the Delawares? The wigwam of Le Re-nard Subtil is empty. Make him strong with hisown.”

The aged man mused with himself for a

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time; and then, bending his head toward oneof his venerable companions, he asked:

“Are my ears open?”“It is true.”“Is this Mingo a chief?”“The first in his nation.”“Girl, what wouldst thou? A great warrior

takes thee to wife. Go! thy race will not end.”“Better, a thousand times, it should,” ex-

claimed the horror-struck Cora, “than meetwith such a degradation!”

“Huron, her mind is in the tents of her fa-thers. An unwilling maiden makes an un-happy wigwam.”

“She speaks with the tongue of her people,”returned Magua, regarding his victim with alook of bitter irony.

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“She is of a race of traders, and will bar-gain for a bright look. Let Tamenund speak thewords.”

“Take you the wampum, and our love.”“Nothing hence but what Magua brought

hither.”“Then depart with thine own. The Great

Manitou forbids that a Delaware should be un-just.”

Magua advanced, and seized his captivestrongly by the arm; the Delawares fell back, insilence; and Cora, as if conscious that remon-strance would be useless, prepared to submitto her fate without resistance.

“Hold, hold!” cried Duncan, springing for-ward; “Huron, have mercy! her ransom shallmake thee richer than any of thy people wereever yet known to be.”

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“Magua is a red-skin; he wants not the beadsof the pale faces.”

“Gold, silver, powder, lead–all that a warriorneeds shall be in thy wigwam; all that becomesthe greatest chief.”

“Le Subtil is very strong,” cried Magua, vio-lently shaking the hand which grasped the un-resisting arm of Cora; “he has his revenge!”

“Mighty ruler of Providence!” exclaimedHeyward, clasping his hands together inagony, “can this be suffered! To you, just Tame-nund, I appeal for mercy.”

“The words of the Delaware are said,” re-turned the sage, closing his eyes, and droppingback into his seat, alike wearied with his men-tal and his bodily exertion. “Men speak nottwice.”

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“That a chief should not misspend his timein unsaying what has once been spoken is wiseand reasonable,” said Hawkeye, motioning toDuncan to be silent; “but it is also prudent inevery warrior to consider well before he strikeshis tomahawk into the head of his prisoner.Huron, I love you not; nor can I say that anyMingo has ever received much favor at myhands. It is fair to conclude that, if this wardoes not soon end, many more of your warriorswill meet me in the woods. Put it to your judg-ment, then, whether you would prefer takingsuch a prisoner as that into your encampment,or one like myself, who am a man that it wouldgreatly rejoice your nation to see with nakedhands.”

“Will ‘The Long Rifle’ give his life for thewoman?” demanded Magua, hesitatingly; for

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he had already made a motion toward quittingthe place with his victim.

“No, no; I have not said so much as that,”returned Hawkeye, drawing back with suit-able discretion, when he noted the eagernesswith which Magua listened to his proposal. “Itwould be an unequal exchange, to give a war-rior, in the prime of his age and usefulness, forthe best woman on the frontiers. I might con-sent to go into winter quarters, now –at leastsix weeks afore the leaves will turn–on condi-tion you will release the maiden.”

Magua shook his head, and made an impa-tient sign for the crowd to open.

“Well, then,” added the scout, with the mus-ing air of a man who had not half made up hismind; “I will throw ‘killdeer’ into the bargain.Take the word of an experienced hunter, the

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piece has not its equal atween the provinces.”Magua still disdained to reply, continuing

his efforts to disperse the crowd.“Perhaps,” added the scout, losing his dis-

sembled coolness exactly in proportion as theother manifested an indifference to the ex-change, “if I should condition to teach youryoung men the real virtue of the we’pon, itwould smoothe the little differences in ourjudgments.”

Le Renard fiercely ordered the Delawares,who still lingered in an impenetrable beltaround him, in hopes he would listen to theamicable proposal, to open his path, threaten-ing, by the glance of his eye, another appeal tothe infallible justice of their “prophet.”

“What is ordered must sooner or later ar-rive,” continued Hawkeye, turning with a sad

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and humbled look to Uncas. “The varlet knowshis advantage and will keep it! God bless you,boy; you have found friends among your nat-ural kin, and I hope they will prove as true assome you have met who had no Indian cross.As for me, sooner or later, I must die; it is,therefore, fortunate there are but few to makemy death-howl. After all, it is likely the impswould have managed to master my scalp, soa day or two will make no great difference inthe everlasting reckoning of time. God blessyou,” added the rugged woodsman, bendinghis head aside, and then instantly changing itsdirection again, with a wistful look toward theyouth; “I loved both you and your father, Un-cas, though our skins are not altogether of acolor, and our gifts are somewhat different. Tellthe Sagamore I never lost sight of him in mygreatest trouble; and, as for you, think of me

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sometimes when on a lucky trail, and dependon it, boy, whether there be one heaven or two,there is a path in the other world by which hon-est men may come together again. You’ll findthe rifle in the place we hid it; take it, and keepit for my sake; and, harkee, lad, as your natu-ral gifts don’t deny you the use of vengeance,use it a little freely on the Mingoes; it may un-burden griefs at my loss, and ease your mind.Huron, I accept your offer; release the woman.I am your prisoner!”

A suppressed, but still distinct murmur ofapprobation ran through the crowd at this gen-erous proposition; even the fiercest among theDelaware warriors manifesting pleasure at themanliness of the intended sacrifice. Maguapaused, and for an anxious moment, it mightbe said, he doubted; then, casting his eyes on

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Cora, with an expression in which ferocity andadmiration were strangely mingled, his pur-pose became fixed forever.

He intimated his contempt of the offer witha backward motion of his head, and said, in asteady and settled voice:

“Le Renard Subtil is a great chief; he has butone mind. Come,” he added, laying his handtoo familiarly on the shoulder of his captive tourge her onward; “a Huron is no tattler; we willgo.”

The maiden drew back in lofty womanly re-serve, and her dark eye kindled, while the richblood shot, like the passing brightness of thesun, into her very temples, at the indignity.

“I am your prisoner, and, at a fitting timeshall be ready to follow, even to my death.

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But violence is unnecessary,” she coldly said;and immediately turning to Hawkeye, added:“Generous hunter! from my soul I thank you.Your offer is vain, neither could it be accepted;but still you may serve me, even more than inyour own noble intention. Look at that droop-ing humbled child! Abandon her not until youleave her in the habitations of civilized men. Iwill not say,” wringing the hard hand of thescout, “that her father will reward you–for suchas you are above the rewards of men–but hewill thank you and bless you. And, believeme, the blessing of a just and aged man hasvirtue in the sight of Heaven. Would to GodI could hear one word from his lips at this aw-ful moment!” Her voice became choked, and,for an instant, she was silent; then, advancinga step nigher to Duncan, who was supportingher unconscious sister, she continued, in more

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subdued tones, but in which feeling and thehabits of her sex maintained a fearful strug-gle: “I need not tell you to cherish the treasureyou will possess. You love her, Heyward; thatwould conceal a thousand faults, though shehad them. She is kind, gentle, sweet, good,as mortal may be. There is not a blemish inmind or person at which the proudest of youall would sicken. She is fair–oh! how sur-passingly fair!” laying her own beautiful, butless brilliant, hand in melancholy affection onthe alabaster forehead of Alice, and parting thegolden hair which clustered about her brows;“and yet her soul is pure and spotless as herskin! I could say much–more, perhaps, thancooler reason would approve; but I will spareyou and myself–” Her voice became inaudible,and her face was bent over the form of her sis-ter. After a long and burning kiss, she arose,

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and with features of the hue of death, but with-out even a tear in her feverish eye, she turnedaway, and added, to the savage, with all herformer elevation of manner: “Now, sir, if it beyour pleasure, I will follow.”

“Ay, go,” cried Duncan, placing Alice in thearms of an Indian girl; “go, Magua, go. TheseDelawares have their laws, which forbid themto detain you; but I–I have no such obligation.Go, malignant monster–why do you delay?”

It would be difficult to describe the expres-sion with which Magua listened to this threatto follow. There was at first a fierce and man-ifest display of joy, and then it was instantlysubdued in a look of cunning coldness.

“The words are open,” he was content withanswering, “‘The Open Hand’ can come.”

“Hold,” cried Hawkeye, seizing Duncan by

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the arm, and detaining him by violence; “youknow not the craft of the imp. He would leadyou to an ambushment, and your death–”

“Huron,” interrupted Uncas, who submis-sive to the stern customs of his people, hadbeen an attentive and grave listener to all thatpassed; “Huron, the justice of the Delawarescomes from the Manitou. Look at the sun.He is now in the upper branches of the hem-lock. Your path is short and open. When he isseen above the trees, there will be men on yourtrail.”

“I hear a crow!” exclaimed Magua, with ataunting laugh. “Go!” he added, shaking hishand at the crowd, which had slowly openedto admit his passage. “Where are the petticoatsof the Delawares! Let them send their arrowsand their guns to the Wyandots; they shall have

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venison to eat, and corn to hoe. Dogs, rabbits,thieves–I spit on you!”

His parting gibes were listened to in a dead,boding silence, and, with these biting words inhis mouth, the triumphant Magua passed un-molested into the forest, followed by his pas-sive captive, and protected by the inviolablelaws of Indian hospitality.

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“Flue.–Kill the poys and the lug-gage!

‘Tis expressly against the law ofarms;

‘tis as arrant a piece of knavery,mark you now, as can be offeredin the ‘orld.”

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–King Henry V.

SO LONG AS their enemy and his victim con-tinued in sight, the multitude remained mo-tionless as beings charmed to the place by somepower that was friendly to the Huron; but,the instant he disappeared, it became tossedand agitated by fierce and powerful passion.Uncas maintained his elevated stand, keepinghis eyes on the form of Cora, until the colorsof her dress were blended with the foliage ofthe forest; when he descended, and, movingsilently through the throng, he disappeared inthat lodge from which he had so recently is-sued. A few of the graver and more attentivewarriors, who caught the gleams of anger thatshot from the eyes of the young chief in pass-ing, followed him to the place he had selectedfor his meditations. After which, Tamenund

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and Alice were removed, and the women andchildren were ordered to disperse. During themomentous hour that succeeded, the encamp-ment resembled a hive of troubled bees, whoonly awaited the appearance and example oftheir leader to take some distant and momen-tous flight.

A young warrior at length issued from thelodge of Uncas; and, moving deliberately, witha sort of grave march, toward a dwarf pine thatgrew in the crevices of the rocky terrace, he torethe bark from its body, and then turned whencehe came without speaking. He was soon fol-lowed by another, who stripped the sapling ofits branches, leaving it a naked and blazed25

25A tree which has been partially or entirely strippedof its bark is said, in the language of the country, to be“blazed.” The term is strictly English, for a horse is said

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trunk. A third colored the post with stripesof a dark red paint; all which indications of ahostile design in the leaders of the nation werereceived by the men without in a gloomy andominous silence. Finally, the Mohican himselfreappeared, divested of all his attire, except hisgirdle and leggings, and with one-half of hisfine features hid under a cloud of threateningblack.

Uncas moved with a slow and dignifiedtread toward the post, which he immediatelycommenced encircling with a measured step,not unlike an ancient dance, raising his voice,at the same time, in the wild and irregularchant of his war song. The notes were in theextremes of human sounds; being sometimesmelancholy and exquisitely plaintive, even ri-

to be blazed when it has a white mark.

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valing the melody of birds–and then, by sud-den and startling transitions, causing the au-ditors to tremble by their depth and energy.The words were few and often repeated, pro-ceeding gradually from a sort of invocation,or hymn, to the Deity, to an intimation of thewarrior’s object, and terminating as they com-menced with an acknowledgment of his owndependence on the Great Spirit. If it werepossible to translate the comprehensive andmelodious language in which he spoke, theode might read something like the following:“Manitou! Manitou! Manitou! Thou art great,thou art good, thou art wise: Manitou! Man-itou! Thou art just. In the heavens, in theclouds, oh, I see many spots–many dark, manyred: In the heavens, oh, I see many clouds.”

“In the woods, in the air, oh, I hear the

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whoop, the long yell, and the cry: In the woods,oh, I hear the loud whoop!”

“Manitou! Manitou! Manitou! I am weak–thou art strong; I am slow; Manitou! Manitou!Give me aid.”

At the end of what might be called eachverse he made a pause, by raising a note louderand longer than common, that was peculiarlysuited to the sentiment just expressed. Thefirst close was solemn, and intended to con-vey the idea of veneration; the second descrip-tive, bordering on the alarming; and the thirdwas the well-known and terrific war-whoop,which burst from the lips of the young warrior,like a combination of all the frightful soundsof battle. The last was like the first, humbleand imploring. Three times did he repeat thissong, and as often did he encircle the post in

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his dance.

At the close of the first turn, a grave andhighly esteemed chief of the Lenape followedhis example, singing words of his own, how-ever, to music of a similar character. Warrior af-ter warrior enlisted in the dance, until all of anyrenown and authority were numbered in itsmazes. The spectacle now became wildly ter-rific; the fierce-looking and menacing visagesof the chiefs receiving additional power fromthe appalling strains in which they mingledtheir guttural tones. Just then Uncas struck histomahawk deep into the post, and raised hisvoice in a shout, which might be termed hisown battle cry. The act announced that he hadassumed the chief authority in the intended ex-pedition.

It was a signal that awakened all the slum-

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bering passions of the nation. A hundredyouths, who had hitherto been restrained bythe diffidence of their years, rushed in a fran-tic body on the fancied emblem of their enemy,and severed it asunder, splinter by splinter, un-til nothing remained of the trunk but its rootsin the earth. During this moment of tumult,the most ruthless deeds of war were performedon the fragments of the tree, with as much ap-parent ferocity as if they were the living vic-tims of their cruelty. Some were scalped; somereceived the keen and trembling axe; and oth-ers suffered by thrusts from the fatal knife. Inshort, the manifestations of zeal and fierce de-light were so great and unequivocal, that theexpedition was declared to be a war of the na-tion.

The instant Uncas had struck the blow, he

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moved out of the circle, and cast his eyes upto the sun, which was just gaining the point,when the truce with Magua was to end. Thefact was soon announced by a significant ges-ture, accompanied by a corresponding cry; andthe whole of the excited multitude abandonedtheir mimic warfare, with shrill yells of plea-sure, to prepare for the more hazardous exper-iment of the reality.

The whole face of the encampment was in-stantly changed. The warriors, who were al-ready armed and painted, became as still as ifthey were incapable of any uncommon burstof emotion. On the other hand, the womenbroke out of the lodges, with the songs of joyand those of lamentation so strangely mixedthat it might have been difficult to have saidwhich passion preponderated. None, however,

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was idle. Some bore their choicest articles, oth-ers their young, and some their aged and in-firm, into the forest, which spread itself like averdant carpet of bright green against the sideof the mountain. Thither Tamenund also re-tired, with calm composure, after a short andtouching interview with Uncas; from whomthe sage separated with the reluctance that aparent would quit a long lost and just recov-ered child. In the meantime, Duncan saw Aliceto a place of safety, and then sought the scout,with a countenance that denoted how eagerlyhe also panted for the approaching contest.

But Hawkeye was too much accustomed tothe war song and the enlistments of the natives,to betray any interest in the passing scene. Hemerely cast an occasional look at the numberand quality of the warriors, who, from time

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to time, signified their readiness to accompanyUncas to the field. In this particular he wassoon satisfied; for, as has been already seen,the power of the young chief quickly embracedevery fighting man in the nation. After thismaterial point was so satisfactorily decided, hedespatched an Indian boy in quest of “killdeer”and the rifle of Uncas, to the place where theyhad deposited their weapons on approachingthe camp of the Delawares; a measure of dou-ble policy, inasmuch as it protected the armsfrom their own fate, if detained as prisoners,and gave them the advantage of appearingamong the strangers rather as sufferers thanas men provided with means of defense andsubsistence. In selecting another to performthe office of reclaiming his highly prized rifle,the scout had lost sight of none of his habitualcaution. He knew that Magua had not come

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unattended, and he also knew that Huron spieswatched the movements of their new enemies,along the whole boundary of the woods. Itwould, therefore, have been fatal to himselfto have attempted the experiment; a warriorwould have fared no better; but the danger of aboy would not be likely to commence until af-ter his object was discovered. When Heywardjoined him, the scout was coolly awaiting theresult of this experiment.

The boy, who had been well instructed, andwas sufficiently crafty, proceeded, with a bo-som that was swelling with the pride of sucha confidence, and all the hopes of young ambi-tion, carelessly across the clearing to the wood,which he entered at a point at some little dis-tance from the place where the guns were se-creted. The instant, however, he was concealed

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by the foliage of the bushes, his dusky formwas to be seen gliding, like that of a serpent,toward the desired treasure. He was success-ful; and in another moment he appeared fly-ing across the narrow opening that skirted thebase of the terrace on which the village stood,with the velocity of an arrow, and bearing aprize in each hand. He had actually gained thecrags, and was leaping up their sides with in-credible activity, when a shot from the woodsshowed how accurate had been the judgmentof the scout. The boy answered it with a fee-ble but contemptuous shout; and immediatelya second bullet was sent after him from anotherpart of the cover. At the next instant he ap-peared on the level above, elevating his guns intriumph, while he moved with the air of a con-queror toward the renowned hunter who hadhonored him by so glorious a commission.

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Notwithstanding the lively interest Hawk-eye had taken in the fate of his messenger, hereceived “killdeer” with a satisfaction that, mo-mentarily, drove all other recollections from hismind. After examining the piece with an intel-ligent eye, and opening and shutting the pansome ten or fifteen times, and trying sundryother equally important experiments on thelock, he turned to the boy and demanded withgreat manifestations of kindness, if he washurt. The urchin looked proudly up in his face,but made no reply.

“Ah! I see, lad, the knaves have barked yourarm!” added the scout, taking up the limb ofthe patient sufferer, across which a deep fleshwound had been made by one of the bullets;“but a little bruised alder will act like a charm.In the meantime I will wrap it in a badge of

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wampum! You have commenced the businessof a warrior early, my brave boy, and are likelyto bear a plenty of honorable scars to yourgrave. I know many young men that havetaken scalps who cannot show such a mark asthis. Go!” having bound up the arm; “you willbe a chief!”

The lad departed, prouder of his flowingblood than the vainest courtier could be of hisblushing ribbon; and stalked among the fel-lows of his age, an object of general admirationand envy.

But, in a moment of so many serious and im-portant duties, this single act of juvenile for-titude did not attract the general notice andcommendation it would have received undermilder auspices. It had, however, served to ap-prise the Delawares of the position and the in-

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tentions of their enemies. Accordingly a partyof adventurers, better suited to the task thanthe weak though spirited boy, was ordered todislodge the skulkers. The duty was soon per-formed; for most of the Hurons retired of them-selves when they found they had been discov-ered. The Delawares followed to a sufficientdistance from their own encampment, and thenhalted for orders, apprehensive of being ledinto an ambush. As both parties secreted them-selves, the woods were again as still and quietas a mild summer morning and deep solitudecould render them.

The calm but still impatient Uncas now col-lected his chiefs, and divided his power. Hepresented Hawkeye as a warrior, often tried,and always found deserving of confidence.When he found his friend met with a favor-

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able reception, he bestowed on him the com-mand of twenty men, like himself, active, skill-ful and resolute. He gave the Delawares tounderstand the rank of Heyward among thetroops of the Yengeese, and then tendered tohim a trust of equal authority. But Duncan de-clined the charge, professing his readiness toserve as a volunteer by the side of the scout.After this disposition, the young Mohican ap-pointed various native chiefs to fill the differentsituations of responsibility, and, the time press-ing, he gave forth the word to march. He wascheerfully, but silently obeyed by more thantwo hundred men.

Their entrance into the forest was perfectlyunmolested; nor did they encounter any liv-ing objects that could either give the alarm, orfurnish the intelligence they needed, until they

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came upon the lairs of their own scouts. Herea halt was ordered, and the chiefs were assem-bled to hold a “whispering council.”

At this meeting divers plans of operationwere suggested, though none of a character tomeet the wishes of their ardent leader. Had Un-cas followed the promptings of his own incli-nations, he would have led his followers to thecharge without a moment’s delay, and put theconflict to the hazard of an instant issue; butsuch a course would have been in oppositionto all the received practises and opinions of hiscountrymen. He was, therefore, fain to adopt acaution that in the present temper of his mindhe execrated, and to listen to advice at whichhis fiery spirit chafed, under the vivid recollec-tion of Cora’s danger and Magua’s insolence.

After an unsatisfactory conference of many

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minutes, a solitary individual was seen ad-vancing from the side of the enemy, with suchapparent haste, as to induce the belief he mightbe a messenger charged with pacific overtures.When within a hundred yards, however, ofthe cover behind which the Delaware coun-cil had assembled, the stranger hesitated, ap-peared uncertain what course to take, and fi-nally halted. All eyes were turned now on Un-cas, as if seeking directions how to proceed.

“Hawkeye,” said the young chief, in a lowvoice, “he must never speak to the Huronsagain.”

“His time has come,” said the laconic scout,thrusting the long barrel of his rifle throughthe leaves, and taking his deliberate and fa-tal aim. But, instead of pulling the trigger, helowered the muzzle again, and indulged him-

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self in a fit of his peculiar mirth. “I took theimp for a Mingo, as I’m a miserable sinner!”he said; “but when my eye ranged along hisribs for a place to get the bullet in–would youthink it, Uncas–I saw the musicianer’s blower;and so, after all, it is the man they call Gamut,whose death can profit no one, and whose life,if this tongue can do anything but sing, may bemade serviceable to our own ends. If soundshave not lost their virtue, I’ll soon have a dis-course with the honest fellow, and that in avoice he’ll find more agreeable than the speechof ‘killdeer’.”

So saying, Hawkeye laid aside his rifle; and,crawling through the bushes until within hear-ing of David, he attempted to repeat the musi-cal effort, which had conducted himself, withso much safety and eclat, through the Huron

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encampment. The exquisite organs of Gamutcould not readily be deceived (and, to say thetruth, it would have been difficult for any otherthan Hawkeye to produce a similar noise), and,consequently, having once before heard thesounds, he now knew whence they proceeded.The poor fellow appeared relieved from a stateof great embarrassment; for, pursuing the di-rection of the voice–a task that to him was notmuch less arduous that it would have been tohave gone up in the face of a battery–he soondiscovered the hidden songster.

“I wonder what the Hurons will think ofthat!” said the scout, laughing, as he took hiscompanion by the arm, and urged him towardthe rear. “If the knaves lie within earshot, theywill say there are two non-compossers insteadof one! But here we are safe,” he added, point-

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ing to Uncas and his associates. “Now giveus the history of the Mingo inventions in nat-ural English, and without any ups and downsof voice.”

David gazed about him, at the fierce andwild-looking chiefs, in mute wonder; but as-sured by the presence of faces that he knew, hesoon rallied his faculties so far as to make anintelligent reply.

“The heathen are abroad in goodly num-bers,” said David; “and, I fear, with evil in-tent. There has been much howling and un-godly revelry, together with such sounds as itis profanity to utter, in their habitations withinthe past hour, so much so, in truth, that I havefled to the Delawares in search of peace.”

“Your ears might not have profited much bythe exchange, had you been quicker of foot,”

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returned the scout a little dryly. “But let that beas it may; where are the Hurons?”

“They lie hid in the forest, between this spotand their village in such force, that prudencewould teach you instantly to return.”

Uncas cast a glance along the range of treeswhich concealed his own band and mentionedthe name of:

“Magua?”“Is among them. He brought in the maiden

that had sojourned with the Delawares; and,leaving her in the cave, has put himself, like araging wolf, at the head of his savages. I knownot what has troubled his spirit so greatly!”

“He has left her, you say, in the cave!” in-terrupted Heyward; “‘tis well that we know itssituation! May not something be done for herinstant relief?”

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Uncas looked earnestly at the scout, beforehe asked:

“What says Hawkeye?”

“Give me twenty rifles, and I will turn tothe right, along the stream; and, passing bythe huts of the beaver, will join the Sagamoreand the colonel. You shall then hear the whoopfrom that quarter; with this wind one may eas-ily send it a mile. Then, Uncas, do you drivein the front; when they come within range ofour pieces, we will give them a blow that, Ipledge the good name of an old frontiersman,shall make their line bend like an ashen bow.After which, we will carry the village, and takethe woman from the cave; when the affair maybe finished with the tribe, according to a whiteman’s battle, by a blow and a victory; or, in theIndian fashion, with dodge and cover. There

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may be no great learning, major, in this plan,but with courage and patience it can all bedone.”

“I like it very much,” cried Duncan, who sawthat the release of Cora was the primary objectin the mind of the scout; “I like it much. Let itbe instantly attempted.”

After a short conference, the plan was ma-tured, and rendered more intelligible to theseveral parties; the different signals were ap-pointed, and the chiefs separated, each to hisallotted station.

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“But plagues shall spread, and fu-neral fires increase,

Till the great king, without a ran-som paid,

To her own Chrysa send the black-eyed maid.”

–Pope.

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DURING THE TIME Uncas was making thisdisposition of his forces, the woods were asstill, and, with the exception of those who hadmet in council, apparently as much untenantedas when they came fresh from the hands oftheir Almighty Creator. The eye could range,in every direction, through the long and shad-owed vistas of the trees; but nowhere was anyobject to be seen that did not properly belongto the peaceful and slumbering scenery.

Here and there a bird was heard flutteringamong the branches of the beeches, and occa-sionally a squirrel dropped a nut, drawing thestartled looks of the party for a moment to theplace; but the instant the casual interruptionceased, the passing air was heard murmuringabove their heads, along that verdant and un-dulating surface of forest, which spread itself

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unbroken, unless by stream or lake, over sucha vast region of country. Across the tract ofwilderness which lay between the Delawaresand the village of their enemies, it seemed as ifthe foot of man had never trodden, so breath-ing and deep was the silence in which it lay.But Hawkeye, whose duty led him foremostin the adventure, knew the character of thosewith whom he was about to contend too wellto trust the treacherous quiet.

When he saw his little band collected, thescout threw “killdeer” into the hollow of hisarm, and making a silent signal that he wouldbe followed, he led them many rods toward therear, into the bed of a little brook which theyhad crossed in advancing. Here he halted, andafter waiting for the whole of his grave and at-tentive warriors to close about him, he spoke in

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Delaware, demanding:

“Do any of my young men know whitherthis run will lead us?”

A Delaware stretched forth a hand, with thetwo fingers separated, and indicating the man-ner in which they were joined at the root, heanswered:

“Before the sun could go his own length, thelittle water will be in the big.” Then he added,pointing in the direction of the place he men-tioned, “the two make enough for the beavers.”

“I thought as much,” returned the scout,glancing his eye upward at the opening in thetree-tops, “from the course it takes, and thebearings of the mountains. Men, we will keepwithin the cover of its banks till we scent theHurons.”

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His companions gave the usual brief excla-mation of assent, but, perceiving that theirleader was about to lead the way in person,one or two made signs that all was not as itshould be. Hawkeye, who comprehended theirmeaning glances, turned and perceived thathis party had been followed thus far by thesinging-master.

“Do you know, friend,” asked the scout,gravely, and perhaps with a little of the pride ofconscious deserving in his manner, “that this isa band of rangers chosen for the most desper-ate service, and put under the command of onewho, though another might say it with a bet-ter face, will not be apt to leave them idle. Itmay not be five, it cannot be thirty minutes, be-fore we tread on the body of a Huron, living ordead.”

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“Though not admonished of your intentionsin words,” returned David, whose face was alittle flushed, and whose ordinarily quiet andunmeaning eyes glimmered with an expres-sion of unusual fire, “your men have remindedme of the children of Jacob going out to battleagainst the Shechemites, for wickedly aspiringto wedlock with a woman of a race that wasfavored of the Lord. Now, I have journeyedfar, and sojourned much in good and evil withthe maiden ye seek; and, though not a manof war, with my loins girded and my swordsharpened, yet would I gladly strike a blow inher behalf.”

The scout hesitated, as if weighing thechances of such a strange enlistment in hismind before he answered:

“You know not the use of any we’pon. You

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carry no rifle; and believe me, what the Min-goes take they will freely give again.”

“Though not a vaunting and bloodily dis-posed Goliath,” returned David, drawing asling from beneath his parti-colored and un-couth attire, “I have not forgotten the exam-ple of the Jewish boy. With this ancient in-strument of war have I practised much in myyouth, and peradventure the skill has not en-tirely departed from me.”

“Ay!” said Hawkeye, considering the deer-skin thong and apron, with a cold and discour-aging eye; “the thing might do its work amongarrows, or even knives; but these Mengwe havebeen furnished by the Frenchers with a goodgrooved barrel a man. However, it seems tobe your gift to go unharmed amid fire; andas you have hitherto been favored–major, you

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have left your rifle at a cock; a single shot be-fore the time would be just twenty scalps lostto no purpose–singer, you can follow; we mayfind use for you in the shoutings.”

“I thank you, friend,” returned David, sup-plying himself, like his royal namesake, fromamong the pebbles of the brook; “though notgiven to the desire to kill, had you sent meaway my spirit would have been troubled.”

“Remember,” added the scout, tapping hisown head significantly on that spot whereGamut was yet sore, “we come to fight, and notto musickate. Until the general whoop is given,nothing speaks but the rifle.”

David nodded, as much to signify his ac-quiescence with the terms; and then Hawkeye,casting another observant glance over his fol-lowers made the signal to proceed.

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Their route lay, for the distance of a mile,along the bed of the water-course. Though pro-tected from any great danger of observation bythe precipitous banks, and the thick shrubberywhich skirted the stream, no precaution knownto an Indian attack was neglected. A warriorrather crawled than walked on each flank so asto catch occasional glimpses into the forest; andevery few minutes the band came to a halt, andlistened for hostile sounds, with an acutenessof organs that would be scarcely conceivableto a man in a less natural state. Their marchwas, however, unmolested, and they reachedthe point where the lesser stream was lost inthe greater, without the smallest evidence thattheir progress had been noted. Here the scoutagain halted, to consult the signs of the forest.

“We are likely to have a good day for a

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fight,” he said, in English, addressing Hey-ward, and glancing his eyes upward at theclouds, which began to move in broad sheetsacross the firmament; “a bright sun and a glit-tering barrel are no friends to true sight. Every-thing is favorable; they have the wind, whichwill bring down their noises and their smoke,too, no little matter in itself; whereas, with us itwill be first a shot, and then a clear view. Buthere is an end to our cover; the beavers havehad the range of this stream for hundreds ofyears, and what atween their food and theirdams, there is, as you see, many a girdled stub,but few living trees.”

Hawkeye had, in truth, in these few words,given no bad description of the prospect thatnow lay in their front. The brook was irregularin its width, sometimes shooting through nar-

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row fissures in the rocks, and at others spread-ing over acres of bottom land, forming little ar-eas that might be termed ponds. Everywherealong its bands were the moldering relics ofdead trees, in all the stages of decay, from thosethat groaned on their tottering trunks to such ashad recently been robbed of those rugged coatsthat so mysteriously contain their principle oflife. A few long, low, and moss-covered pileswere scattered among them, like the memori-als of a former and long-departed generation.

All these minute particulars were noted bythe scout, with a gravity and interest that theyprobably had never before attracted. He knewthat the Huron encampment lay a short halfmile up the brook; and, with the characteris-tic anxiety of one who dreaded a hidden dan-ger, he was greatly troubled at not finding the

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smallest trace of the presence of his enemy.Once or twice he felt induced to give the orderfor a rush, and to attempt the village by sur-prise; but his experience quickly admonishedhim of the danger of so useless an experiment.Then he listened intently, and with painful un-certainty, for the sounds of hostility in the quar-ter where Uncas was left; but nothing was au-dible except the sighing of the wind, that be-gan to sweep over the bosom of the forest ingusts which threatened a tempest. At length,yielding rather to his unusual impatience thantaking counsel from his knowledge, he deter-mined to bring matters to an issue, by unmask-ing his force, and proceeding cautiously, butsteadily, up the stream.

The scout had stood, while making his ob-servations, sheltered by a brake, and his com-

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panions still lay in the bed of the ravine,through which the smaller stream debouched;but on hearing his low, though intelligible, sig-nal the whole party stole up the bank, likeso many dark specters, and silently arrangedthemselves around him. Pointing in the direc-tion he wished to proceed, Hawkeye advanced,the band breaking off in single files, and follow-ing so accurately in his footsteps, as to leave it,if we except Heyward and David, the trail ofbut a single man.

The party was, however, scarcely uncoveredbefore a volley from a dozen rifles was heardin their rear; and a Delaware leaping high in tothe air, like a wounded deer, fell at his wholelength, dead.

“Ah, I feared some deviltry like this!” ex-claimed the scout, in English, adding, with the

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quickness of thought, in his adopted tongue:“To cover, men, and charge!”

The band dispersed at the word, and beforeHeyward had well recovered from his surprise,he found himself standing alone with David.Luckily the Hurons had already fallen back,and he was safe from their fire. But this stateof things was evidently to be of short continu-ance; for the scout set the example of pressingon their retreat, by discharging his rifle, anddarting from tree to tree as his enemy slowlyyielded ground.

It would seem that the assault had beenmade by a very small party of the Hurons,which, however, continued to increase in num-bers, as it retired on its friends, until the re-turn fire was very nearly, if not quite, equal tothat maintained by the advancing Delawares.

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Heyward threw himself among the combat-ants, and imitating the necessary caution of hiscompanions, he made quick discharges withhis own rifle. The contest now grew warm andstationary. Few were injured, as both partieskept their bodies as much protected as possi-ble by the trees; never, indeed, exposing anypart of their persons except in the act of tak-ing aim. But the chances were gradually grow-ing unfavorable to Hawkeye and his band. Thequick-sighted scout perceived his danger with-out knowing how to remedy it. He saw it wasmore dangerous to retreat than to maintain hisground: while he found his enemy throwingout men on his flank; which rendered the taskof keeping themselves covered so very difficultto the Delawares, as nearly to silence their fire.At this embarrassing moment, when they be-gan to think the whole of the hostile tribe was

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gradually encircling them, they heard the yellof combatants and the rattling of arms echoingunder the arches of the wood at the place whereUncas was posted, a bottom which, in a man-ner, lay beneath the ground on which Hawkeyeand his party were contending.

The effects of this attack were instantaneous,and to the scout and his friends greatly reliev-ing. It would seem that, while his own surprisehad been anticipated, and had consequentlyfailed, the enemy, in their turn, having been de-ceived in its object and in his numbers, had lefttoo small a force to resist the impetuous onsetof the young Mohican. This fact was doublyapparent, by the rapid manner in which thebattle in the forest rolled upward toward thevillage, and by an instant falling off in the num-ber of their assailants, who rushed to assist in

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maintaining the front, and, as it now proved tobe, the principal point of defense.

Animating his followers by his voice, and hisown example, Hawkeye then gave the wordto bear down upon their foes. The charge, inthat rude species of warfare, consisted merelyin pushing from cover to cover, nigher to theenemy; and in this maneuver he was instantlyand successfully obeyed. The Hurons werecompelled to withdraw, and the scene of thecontest rapidly changed from the more openground, on which it had commenced, to a spotwhere the assailed found a thicket to rest upon.Here the struggle was protracted, arduous andseemingly of doubtful issue; the Delawares,though none of them fell, beginning to bleedfreely, in consequence of the disadvantage atwhich they were held.

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In this crisis, Hawkeye found means to getbehind the same tree as that which served for acover to Heyward; most of his own combatantsbeing within call, a little on his right, wherethey maintained rapid, though fruitless, dis-charges on their sheltered enemies.

“You are a young man, major,” said thescout, dropping the butt of “killdeer” to theearth, and leaning on the barrel, a little fa-tigued with his previous industry; “and it maybe your gift to lead armies, at some future day,ag’in these imps, the Mingoes. You may heresee the philosophy of an Indian fight. It con-sists mainly in ready hand, a quick eye and agood cover. Now, if you had a company of theRoyal Americans here, in what manner wouldyou set them to work in this business?”

“The bayonet would make a road.”

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“Ay, there is white reason in what you say;but a man must ask himself, in this wilderness,how many lives he can spare. No–horse26,”continued the scout, shaking his head, like onewho mused; “horse, I am ashamed to say mustsooner or later decide these scrimmages. Thebrutes are better than men, and to horse must

26The American forest admits of the passage ofhorses, there being little underbrush, and few tangledbrakes. The plan of Hawkeye is the one which has al-ways proved the most successful in the battles betweenthe whites and the Indians. Wayne, in his celebratedcampaign on the Miami, received the fire of his enemiesin line; and then causing his dragoons to wheel roundhis flanks, the Indians were driven from their covers be-fore they had time to load. One of the most conspicuousof the chiefs who fought in the battle of Miami assuredthe writer, that the red men could not fight the warriorswith “long knives and leather stockings”; meaning thedragoons with their sabers and boots.

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we come at last. Put a shodden hoof on themoccasin of a red-skin, and, if his rifle be onceemptied, he will never stop to load it again.”

“This is a subject that might better be dis-cussed at another time,” returned Heyward;“shall we charge?”

“I see no contradiction to the gifts of any manin passing his breathing spells in useful reflec-tions,” the scout replied. “As to rush, I littlerelish such a measure; for a scalp or two mustbe thrown away in the attempt. And yet,” headded, bending his head aside, to catch thesounds of the distant combat, “if we are to beof use to Uncas, these knaves in our front mustbe got rid of.”

Then, turning with a prompt and decidedair, he called aloud to his Indians, in theirown language. His words were answered by

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a shout; and, at a given signal, each warriormade a swift movement around his particulartree. The sight of so many dark bodies, glanc-ing before their eyes at the same instant, drew ahasty and consequently an ineffectual fire fromthe Hurons. Without stopping to breathe, theDelawares leaped in long bounds toward thewood, like so many panthers springing upontheir prey. Hawkeye was in front, brandish-ing his terrible rifle and animating his follow-ers by his example. A few of the older andmore cunning Hurons, who had not been de-ceived by the artifice which had been practicedto draw their fire, now made a close and deadlydischarge of their pieces and justified the ap-prehensions of the scout by felling three of hisforemost warriors. But the shock was insuffi-cient to repel the impetus of the charge. TheDelawares broke into the cover with the feroc-

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ity of their natures and swept away every traceof resistance by the fury of the onset.

The combat endured only for an instant,hand to hand, and then the assailed yieldedground rapidly, until they reached the oppo-site margin of the thicket, where they clung tothe cover, with the sort of obstinacy that is sooften witnessed in hunted brutes. At this crit-ical moment, when the success of the strugglewas again becoming doubtful, the crack of a ri-fle was heard behind the Hurons, and a bul-let came whizzing from among some beaverlodges, which were situated in the clearing, intheir rear, and was followed by the fierce andappalling yell of the war-whoop.

“There speaks the Sagamore!” shoutedHawkeye, answering the cry with his ownstentorian voice; “we have them now in face

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and back!”

The effect on the Hurons was instantaneous.Discouraged by an assault from a quarter thatleft them no opportunity for cover, the warriorsuttered a common yell of disappointment, andbreaking off in a body, they spread themselvesacross the opening, heedless of every consider-ation but flight. Many fell, in making the ex-periment, under the bullets and the blows ofthe pursuing Delawares.

We shall not pause to detail the meetingbetween the scout and Chingachgook, or themore touching interview that Duncan heldwith Munro. A few brief and hurried wordsserved to explain the state of things to both par-ties; and then Hawkeye, pointing out the Sag-amore to his band, resigned the chief authorityinto the hands of the Mohican chief. Chingach-

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gook assumed the station to which his birthand experience gave him so distinguished aclaim, with the grave dignity that always givesforce to the mandates of a native warrior. Fol-lowing the footsteps of the scout, he led theparty back through the thicket, his men scalp-ing the fallen Hurons and secreting the bodiesof their own dead as they proceeded, until theygained a point where the former was content tomake a halt.

The warriors, who had breathed themselvesfreely in the preceding struggle, were nowposted on a bit of level ground, sprinkled withtrees in sufficient numbers to conceal them.The land fell away rather precipitately in front,and beneath their eyes stretched, for severalmiles, a narrow, dark, and wooded vale. It wasthrough this dense and dark forest that Uncas

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was still contending with the main body of theHurons.

The Mohican and his friends advanced to thebrow of the hill, and listened, with practisedears, to the sounds of the combat. A few birdshovered over the leafy bosom of the valley,frightened from their secluded nests; and hereand there a light vapory cloud, which seemedalready blending with the atmosphere, aroseabove the trees, and indicated some spot wherethe struggle had been fierce and stationary.

“The fight is coming up the ascent,” saidDuncan, pointing in the direction of a new ex-plosion of firearms; “we are too much in thecenter of their line to be effective.”

“They will incline into the hollow, where thecover is thicker,” said the scout, “and that willleave us well on their flank. Go, Sagamore;

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you will hardly be in time to give the whoop,and lead on the young men. I will fight thisscrimmage with warriors of my own color. Youknow me, Mohican; not a Huron of them allshall cross the swell, into your rear, without thenotice of ‘killdeer’.”

The Indian chief paused another moment toconsider the signs of the contest, which wasnow rolling rapidly up the ascent, a certain ev-idence that the Delawares triumphed; nor didhe actually quit the place until admonished ofthe proximity of his friends, as well as enemies,by the bullets of the former, which began topatter among the dried leaves on the ground,like the bits of falling hail which precede thebursting of the tempest. Hawkeye and his threecompanions withdrew a few paces to a shelter,and awaited the issue with calmness that noth-

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ing but great practise could impart in such ascene.

It was not long before the reports of the ri-fles began to lose the echoes of the woods, andto sound like weapons discharged in the openair. Then a warrior appeared, here and there,driven to the skirts of the forest, and rally-ing as he entered the clearing, as at the placewhere the final stand was to be made. Thesewere soon joined by others, until a long line ofswarthy figures was to be seen clinging to thecover with the obstinacy of desperation. Hey-ward began to grow impatient, and turned hiseyes anxiously in the direction of Chingach-gook. The chief was seated on a rock, withnothing visible but his calm visage, consider-ing the spectacle with an eye as deliberate as ifhe were posted there merely to view the strug-

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gle.“The time has come for the Delaware to

strike!” said Duncan.“Not so, not so,” returned the scout; “when

he scents his friends, he will let them know thathe is here. See, see; the knaves are getting inthat clump of pines, like bees settling after theirflight. By the Lord, a squaw might put a bulletinto the center of such a knot of dark skins!”

At that instant the whoop was given, and adozen Hurons fell by a discharge from Chin-gachgook and his band. The shout that fol-lowed was answered by a single war-cry fromthe forest, and a yell passed through the air thatsounded as if a thousand throats were unitedin a common effort. The Hurons staggered, de-serting the center of their line, and Uncas is-sued from the forest through the opening they

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left, at the head of a hundred warriors.

Waving his hands right and left, the youngchief pointed out the enemy to his follow-ers, who separated in pursuit. The war nowdivided, both wings of the broken Huronsseeking protection in the woods again, hotlypressed by the victorious warriors of theLenape. A minute might have passed, but thesounds were already receding in different di-rections, and gradually losing their distinctnessbeneath the echoing arches of the woods. Onelittle knot of Hurons, however, had disdainedto seek a cover, and were retiring, like lions atbay, slowly and sullenly up the acclivity whichChingachgook and his band had just deserted,to mingle more closely in the fray. Magua wasconspicuous in this party, both by his fierce andsavage mien, and by the air of haughty author-

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ity he yet maintained.

In his eagerness to expedite the pursuit, Un-cas had left himself nearly alone; but the mo-ment his eye caught the figure of Le Subtil, ev-ery other consideration was forgotten. Rais-ing his cry of battle, which recalled some sixor seven warriors, and reckless of the dispar-ity of their numbers, he rushed upon his en-emy. Le Renard, who watched the movement,paused to receive him with secret joy. But atthe moment when he thought the rashness ofhis impetuous young assailant had left himat his mercy, another shout was given, andLa Longue Carabine was seen rushing to therescue, attended by all his white associates.The Huron instantly turned, and commenceda rapid retreat up the ascent.

There was no time for greetings or congrat-

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ulations; for Uncas, though unconscious of thepresence of his friends, continued the pursuitwith the velocity of the wind. In vain Hawkeyecalled to him to respect the covers; the youngMohican braved the dangerous fire of his en-emies, and soon compelled them to a flight asswift as his own headlong speed. It was fortu-nate that the race was of short continuance, andthat the white men were much favored by theirposition, or the Delaware would soon haveoutstripped all his companions, and fallen avictim to his own temerity. But, ere such acalamity could happen, the pursuers and pur-sued entered the Wyandot village, within strik-ing distance of each other.

Excited by the presence of their dwellings,and tired of the chase, the Hurons now madea stand, and fought around their council-lodge

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with the fury of despair. The onset and the is-sue were like the passage and destruction ofa whirlwind. The tomahawk of Uncas, theblows of Hawkeye, and even the still nervousarm of Munro were all busy for that passingmoment, and the ground was quickly strewedwith their enemies. Still Magua, though dar-ing and much exposed, escaped from every ef-fort against his life, with that sort of fabledprotection that was made to overlook the for-tunes of favored heroes in the legends of an-cient poetry. Raising a yell that spoke volumesof anger and disappointment, the subtle chief,when he saw his comrades fallen, darted awayfrom the place, attended by his two only sur-viving friends, leaving the Delawares engagedin stripping the dead of the bloody trophies oftheir victory.

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But Uncas, who had vainly sought him inthe melee, bounded forward in pursuit; Hawk-eye, Heyward and David still pressing on hisfootsteps. The utmost that the scout could ef-fect, was to keep the muzzle of his rifle a lit-tle in advance of his friend, to whom, how-ever, it answered every purpose of a charmedshield. Once Magua appeared disposed tomake another and a final effort to revenge hislosses; but, abandoning his intention as soonas demonstrated, he leaped into a thicket ofbushes, through which he was followed by hisenemies, and suddenly entered the mouth ofthe cave already known to the reader. Hawk-eye, who had only forborne to fire in tender-ness to Uncas, raised a shout of success, andproclaimed aloud that now they were certainof their game. The pursuers dashed into thelong and narrow entrance, in time to catch a

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glimpse of the retreating forms of the Hurons.Their passage through the natural galleries andsubterraneous apartments of the cavern waspreceded by the shrieks and cries of hundredsof women and children. The place, seen byits dim and uncertain light, appeared like theshades of the infernal regions, across which un-happy ghosts and savage demons were flittingin multitudes.

Still Uncas kept his eye on Magua, as if lifeto him possessed but a single object. Heywardand the scout still pressed on his rear, actuated,though possibly in a less degree, by a commonfeeling. But their way was becoming intricate,in those dark and gloomy passages, and theglimpses of the retiring warriors less distinctand frequent; and for a moment the trace wasbelieved to be lost, when a white robe was seen

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fluttering in the further extremity of a passagethat seemed to lead up the mountain.

“‘Tis Cora!” exclaimed Heyward, in a voicein which horror and delight were wildly min-gled.

“Cora! Cora!” echoed Uncas, bounding for-ward like a deer.

“‘Tis the maiden!” shouted the scout.“Courage, lady; we come! we come!”

The chase was renewed with a diligence ren-dered tenfold encouraging by this glimpse ofthe captive. But the way was rugged, broken,and in spots nearly impassable. Uncas aban-doned his rifle, and leaped forward with head-long precipitation. Heyward rashly imitatedhis example, though both were, a moment af-terward, admonished of his madness by hear-ing the bellowing of a piece, that the Hurons

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found time to discharge down the passage inthe rocks, the bullet from which even gave theyoung Mohican a slight wound.

“We must close!” said the scout, passing hisfriends by a desperate leap; “the knaves willpick us all off at this distance; and see, theyhold the maiden so as to shield themselves!”

Though his words were unheeded, or ratherunheard, his example was followed by hiscompanions, who, by incredible exertions, gotnear enough to the fugitives to perceive thatCora was borne along between the two war-riors while Magua prescribed the direction andmanner of their flight. At this moment theforms of all four were strongly drawn againstan opening in the sky, and they disappeared.Nearly frantic with disappointment, Uncas andHeyward increased efforts that already seemed

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superhuman, and they issued from the cavernon the side of the mountain, in time to note theroute of the pursued. The course lay up the as-cent, and still continued hazardous and labori-ous.

Encumbered by his rifle, and, perhaps, notsustained by so deep an interest in the captiveas his companions, the scout suffered the latterto precede him a little, Uncas, in his turn, tak-ing the lead of Heyward. In this manner, rocks,precipices and difficulties were surmounted inan incredibly short space, that at another time,and under other circumstances, would havebeen deemed almost insuperable. But the im-petuous young men were rewarded by findingthat, encumbered with Cora, the Hurons werelosing ground in the race.

“Stay, dog of the Wyandots!” exclaimed Un-

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cas, shaking his bright tomahawk at Magua; “aDelaware girl calls stay!”

“I will go no further!” cried Cora, stoppingunexpectedly on a ledge of rock, that overhunga deep precipice, at no great distance from thesummit of the mountain. “Kill me if thou wilt,detestable Huron; I will go no further.”

The supporters of the maiden raised theirready tomahawks with the impious joy thatfiends are thought to take in mischief, butMagua stayed the uplifted arms. The Huronchief, after casting the weapons he had wrestedfrom his companions over the rock, drew hisknife, and turned to his captive, with a look inwhich conflicting passions fiercely contended.

“Woman,” he said, “chose; the wigwam orthe knife of Le Subtil!”

Cora regarded him not, but dropping on her

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knees, she raised her eyes and stretched herarms toward heaven, saying in a meek and yetconfiding voice:

“I am thine; do with me as thou seest best!”“Woman,” repeated Magua, hoarsely, and

endeavoring in vain to catch a glance from herserene and beaming eye, “choose!”

But Cora neither heard nor heeded his de-mand. The form of the Huron trembled in ev-ery fibre, and he raised his arm on high, butdropped it again with a bewildered air, like onewho doubted. Once more he struggled withhimself and lifted the keen weapon again; butjust then a piercing cry was heard above them,and Uncas appeared, leaping frantically, from afearful height, upon the ledge. Magua recoileda step; and one of his assistants, profiting by thechance, sheathed his own knife in the bosom of

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Cora.

The Huron sprang like a tiger on his offend-ing and already retreating country man, but thefalling form of Uncas separated the unnaturalcombatants. Diverted from his object by thisinterruption, and maddened by the murder hehad just witnessed, Magua buried his weaponin the back of the prostrate Delaware, utteringan unearthly shout as he committed the das-tardly deed. But Uncas arose from the blow, asthe wounded panther turns upon his foe, andstruck the murderer of Cora to his feet, by an ef-fort in which the last of his failing strength wasexpended. Then, with a stern and steady look,he turned to Le Subtil, and indicated by the ex-pression of his eye all that he would do had notthe power deserted him. The latter seized thenerveless arm of the unresisting Delaware, and

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passed his knife into his bosom three severaltimes, before his victim, still keeping his gazeriveted on his enemy, with a look of inextin-guishable scorn, fell dead at his feet.

“Mercy! mercy! Huron,” cried Heyward,from above, in tones nearly choked by horror;“give mercy, and thou shalt receive from it!”

Whirling the bloody knife up at the implor-ing youth, the victorious Magua uttered a cryso fierce, so wild, and yet so joyous, that it con-veyed the sounds of savage triumph to the earsof those who fought in the valley, a thousandfeet below. He was answered by a burst fromthe lips of the scout, whose tall person was justthen seen moving swiftly toward him, alongthose dangerous crags, with steps as bold andreckless as if he possessed the power to move inair. But when the hunter reached the scene of

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the ruthless massacre, the ledge was tenantedonly by the dead.

His keen eye took a single look at the vic-tims, and then shot its glances over the diffi-culties of the ascent in his front. A form stoodat the brow of the mountain, on the very edgeof the giddy height, with uplifted arms, in anawful attitude of menace. Without stoppingto consider his person, the rifle of Hawkeyewas raised; but a rock, which fell on the headof one of the fugitives below, exposed the in-dignant and glowing countenance of the hon-est Gamut. Then Magua issued from a crevice,and, stepping with calm indifference over thebody of the last of his associates, he leaped awide fissure, and ascended the rocks at a pointwhere the arm of David could not reach him.A single bound would carry him to the brow of

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the precipice, and assure his safety. Before tak-ing the leap, however, the Huron paused, andshaking his hand at the scout, he shouted:

“The pale faces are dogs! the Delawareswomen! Magua leaves them on the rocks, forthe crows!”

Laughing hoarsely, he made a desperateleap, and fell short of his mark, though hishands grasped a shrub on the verge of theheight. The form of Hawkeye had crouchedlike a beast about to take its spring, and hisframe trembled so violently with eagernessthat the muzzle of the half-raised rifle playedlike a leaf fluttering in the wind. Without ex-hausting himself with fruitless efforts, the cun-ning Magua suffered his body to drop to thelength of his arms, and found a fragment forhis feet to rest on. Then, summoning all his

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powers, he renewed the attempt, and so farsucceeded as to draw his knees on the edge ofthe mountain. It was now, when the body ofhis enemy was most collected together, that theagitated weapon of the scout was drawn to hisshoulder. The surrounding rocks themselveswere not steadier than the piece became, for thesingle instant that it poured out its contents.The arms of the Huron relaxed, and his bodyfell back a little, while his knees still kept theirposition. Turning a relentless look on his en-emy, he shook a hand in grim defiance. But hishold loosened, and his dark person was seencutting the air with its head downward, for afleeting instant, until it glided past the fringeof shrubbery which clung to the mountain, inits rapid flight to destruction.

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“They fought, like brave men, longand well,

They piled that ground withMoslem slain,

They conquered–but Bozzaris fell,Bleeding at every vein.His few surviving comrades saw

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His smile when rang their loudhurrah,

And the red field was won;Then saw in death his eyelids closeCalmly, as to a night’s repose,

Like flowers at set of sun.”–Halleck.

THE SUN FOUND the Lenape, on the suc-ceeding day, a nation of mourners. The soundsof the battle were over, and they had fed fattheir ancient grudge, and had avenged theirrecent quarrel with the Mengwe, by the de-struction of a whole community. The black andmurky atmosphere that floated around the spotwhere the Hurons had encamped, sufficientlyannounced of itself, the fate of that wander-ing tribe; while hundreds of ravens, that strug-gled above the summits of the mountains, or

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swept, in noisy flocks, across the wide rangesof the woods, furnished a frightful direction tothe scene of the combat. In short, any eye atall practised in the signs of a frontier warfaremight easily have traced all those unerring ev-idences of the ruthless results which attend anIndian vengeance.

Still, the sun rose on the Lenape a nation ofmourners. No shouts of success, no songs oftriumph, were heard, in rejoicings for their vic-tory. The latest straggler had returned from hisfell employment, only to strip himself of theterrific emblems of his bloody calling, and tojoin in the lamentations of his countrymen, as astricken people. Pride and exultation were sup-planted by humility, and the fiercest of humanpassions was already succeeded by the mostprofound and unequivocal demonstrations of

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grief.

The lodges were deserted; but a broad beltof earnest faces encircled a spot in their vicin-ity, whither everything possessing life had re-paired, and where all were now collected, indeep and awful silence. Though beings of ev-ery rank and age, of both sexes, and of all pur-suits, had united to form this breathing wall ofbodies, they were influenced by a single emo-tion. Each eye was riveted on the center of thatring, which contained the objects of so muchand of so common an interest.

Six Delaware girls, with their long, dark,flowing tresses falling loosely across their bo-soms, stood apart, and only gave proof of theirexistence as they occasionally strewed sweet-scented herbs and forest flowers on a litter offragrant plants that, under a pall of Indian

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robes, supported all that now remained of theardent, high-souled, and generous Cora. Herform was concealed in many wrappers of thesame simple manufacture, and her face wasshut forever from the gaze of men. At her feetwas seated the desolate Munro. His aged headwas bowed nearly to the earth, in compelledsubmission to the stroke of Providence; but ahidden anguish struggled about his furrowedbrow, that was only partially concealed by thecareless locks of gray that had fallen, neglected,on his temples. Gamut stood at his side, hismeek head bared to the rays of the sun, whilehis eyes, wandering and concerned, seemed tobe equally divided between that little volume,which contained so many quaint but holy max-ims, and the being in whose behalf his soulyearned to administer consolation. Heywardwas also nigh, supporting himself against a

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tree, and endeavoring to keep down those sud-den risings of sorrow that it required his ut-most manhood to subdue.

But sad and melancholy as this group mayeasily be imagined, it was far less touchingthan another, that occupied the opposite spaceof the same area. Seated, as in life, with hisform and limbs arranged in grave and decentcomposure, Uncas appeared, arrayed in themost gorgeous ornaments that the wealth ofthe tribe could furnish. Rich plumes noddedabove his head; wampum, gorgets, bracelets,and medals, adorned his person in profusion;though his dull eye and vacant lineaments toostrongly contradicted the idle tale of pride theywould convey.

Directly in front of the corpse Chingachgookwas placed, without arms, paint or adornment

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of any sort, except the bright blue blazonry ofhis race, that was indelibly impressed on hisnaked bosom. During the long period that thetribe had thus been collected, the Mohican war-rior had kept a steady, anxious look on the coldand senseless countenance of his son. So riv-eted and intense had been that gaze, and sochangeless his attitude, that a stranger mightnot have told the living from the dead, but forthe occasional gleamings of a troubled spirit,that shot athwart the dark visage of one, andthe deathlike calm that had forever settled onthe lineaments of the other. The scout was hardby, leaning in a pensive posture on his ownfatal and avenging weapon; while Tamenund,supported by the elders of his nation, occupieda high place at hand, whence he might lookdown on the mute and sorrowful assemblageof his people.

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Just within the inner edge of the circle stooda soldier, in the military attire of a strange na-tion; and without it was his warhorse, in thecenter of a collection of mounted domestics,seemingly in readiness to undertake some dis-tant journey. The vestments of the stranger an-nounced him to be one who held a responsi-ble situation near the person of the captain ofthe Canadas; and who, as it would now seem,finding his errand of peace frustrated by thefierce impetuosity of his allies, was content tobecome a silent and sad spectator of the fruitsof a contest that he had arrived too late to an-ticipate.

The day was drawing to the close of its firstquarter, and yet had the multitude maintainedits breathing stillness since its dawn.

No sound louder than a stifled sob had been

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heard among them, nor had even a limb beenmoved throughout that long and painful pe-riod, except to perform the simple and touch-ing offerings that were made, from time totime, in commemoration of the dead. Thepatience and forbearance of Indian fortitudecould alone support such an appearance of ab-straction, as seemed now to have turned eachdark and motionless figure into stone.

At length, the sage of the Delawaresstretched forth an arm, and leaning on theshoulders of his attendants, he arose with anair as feeble as if another age had already inter-vened between the man who had met his na-tion the preceding day, and him who now tot-tered on his elevated stand.

“Men of the Lenape!” he said, in low, hollowtones, that sounded like a voice charged with

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some prophetic mission: “the face of the Man-itou is behind a cloud! His eye is turned fromyou; His ears are shut; His tongue gives no an-swer. You see him not; yet His judgments arebefore you. Let your hearts be open and yourspirits tell no lie. Men of the Lenape! the faceof the Manitou is behind a cloud.”

As this simple and yet terrible annunciationstole on the ears of the multitude, a stillness asdeep and awful succeeded as if the veneratedspirit they worshiped had uttered the wordswithout the aid of human organs; and eventhe inanimate Uncas appeared a being of life,compared with the humbled and submissivethrong by whom he was surrounded. As theimmediate effect, however, gradually passedaway, a low murmur of voices commenced asort of chant in honor of the dead. The sounds

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were those of females, and were thrillingly softand wailing. The words were connected by noregular continuation, but as one ceased anothertook up the eulogy, or lamentation, whicheverit might be called, and gave vent to her emo-tions in such language as was suggested byher feelings and the occasion. At intervals thespeaker was interrupted by general and loudbursts of sorrow, during which the girls aroundthe bier of Cora plucked the plants and flow-ers blindly from her body, as if bewilderedwith grief. But, in the milder moments of theirplaint, these emblems of purity and sweetnesswere cast back to their places, with every signof tenderness and regret. Though rendered lessconnected by many and general interruptionsand outbreakings, a translation of their lan-guage would have contained a regular descant,which, in substance, might have proved to pos-

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sess a train of consecutive ideas.

A girl, selected for the task by her rankand qualifications, commenced by modest al-lusions to the qualities of the deceased war-rior, embellishing her expressions with thoseoriental images that the Indians have proba-bly brought with them from the extremes of theother continent, and which form of themselvesa link to connect the ancient histories of thetwo worlds. She called him the “panther of histribe”; and described him as one whose moc-casin left no trail on the dews; whose boundwas like the leap of a young fawn; whose eyewas brighter than a star in the dark night; andwhose voice, in battle, was loud as the thun-der of the Manitou. She reminded him of themother who bore him, and dwelt forcibly onthe happiness she must feel in possessing such

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a son. She bade him tell her, when they met inthe world of spirits, that the Delaware girls hadshed tears above the grave of her child, and hadcalled her blessed.

Then, they who succeeded, changing theirtones to a milder and still more tender strain,alluded, with the delicacy and sensitivenessof women, to the stranger maiden, who hadleft the upper earth at a time so near his owndeparture, as to render the will of the GreatSpirit too manifest to be disregarded. They ad-monished him to be kind to her, and to haveconsideration for her ignorance of those artswhich were so necessary to the comfort of awarrior like himself. They dwelled upon hermatchless beauty, and on her noble resolution,without the taint of envy, and as angels maybe thought to delight in a superior excellence;

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adding, that these endowments should provemore than equivalent for any little imperfectionin her education.

After which, others again, in due succession,spoke to the maiden herself, in the low, soft lan-guage of tenderness and love. They exhortedher to be of cheerful mind, and to fear noth-ing for her future welfare. A hunter would beher companion, who knew how to provide forher smallest wants; and a warrior was at herside who was able to protect he against everydanger. They promised that her path should bepleasant, and her burden light. They cautionedher against unavailing regrets for the friendsof her youth, and the scenes where her fatherhad dwelt; assuring her that the “blessed hunt-ing grounds of the Lenape,” contained vales aspleasant, streams as pure; and flowers as sweet,

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as the “heaven of the pale faces.” They ad-vised her to be attentive to the wants of hercompanion, and never to forget the distinctionwhich the Manitou had so wisely establishedbetween them. Then, in a wild burst of theirchant they sang with united voices the temperof the Mohican’s mind. They pronounced himnoble, manly and generous; all that became awarrior, and all that a maid might love. Cloth-ing their ideas in the most remote and subtleimages, they betrayed, that, in the short periodof their intercourse, they had discovered, withthe intuitive perception of their sex, the truantdisposition of his inclinations. The Delawaregirls had found no favor in his eyes! He was ofa race that had once been lords on the shoresof the salt lake, and his wishes had led himback to a people who dwelt about the gravesof his fathers. Why should not such a predilec-

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tion be encouraged! That she was of a bloodpurer and richer than the rest of her nation, anyeye might have seen; that she was equal to thedangers and daring of a life in the woods, herconduct had proved; and now, they added, the“wise one of the earth” had transplanted her toa place where she would find congenial spirits,and might be forever happy.

Then, with another transition in voice andsubject, allusions were made to the virgin whowept in the adjacent lodge. They compared herto flakes of snow; as pure, as white, as brilliant,and as liable to melt in the fierce heats of sum-mer, or congeal in the frosts of winter. Theydoubted not that she was lovely in the eyes ofthe young chief, whose skin and whose sorrowseemed so like her own; but though far fromexpressing such a preference, it was evident

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they deemed her less excellent than the maidthey mourned. Still they denied her no needher rare charms might properly claim. Herringlets were compared to the exuberant ten-drils of the vine, her eye to the blue vault ofheavens, and the most spotless cloud, with itsglowing flush of the sun, was admitted to beless attractive than her bloom.

During these and similar songs nothing wasaudible but the murmurs of the music; re-lieved, as it was, or rather rendered terrible,by those occasional bursts of grief which mightbe called its choruses. The Delawares them-selves listened like charmed men; and it wasvery apparent, by the variations of their speak-ing countenances, how deep and true was theirsympathy. Even David was not reluctant tolend his ears to the tones of voices so sweet;

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and long ere the chant was ended, his gaze an-nounced that his soul was enthralled.

The scout, to whom alone, of all the whitemen, the words were intelligible, suffered him-self to be a little aroused from his meditativeposture, and bent his face aside, to catch theirmeaning, as the girls proceeded. But whenthey spoke of the future prospects of Cora andUncas, he shook his head, like one who knewthe error of their simple creed, and resuminghis reclining attitude, he maintained it until theceremony, if that might be called a ceremony, inwhich feeling was so deeply imbued, was fin-ished. Happily for the self-command of bothHeyward and Munro, they knew not the mean-ing of the wild sounds they heard.

Chingachgook was a solitary exception tothe interest manifested by the native part of the

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audience. His look never changed throughoutthe whole of the scene, nor did a muscle movein his rigid countenance, even at the wildest orthe most pathetic parts of the lamentation. Thecold and senseless remains of his son was allto him, and every other sense but that of sightseemed frozen, in order that his eyes mighttake their final gaze at those lineaments he hadso long loved, and which were now about to beclosed forever from his view.

In this stage of the obsequies, a warrior muchrenowned for deed in arms, and more espe-cially for services in the recent combat, a manof stern and grave demeanor, advanced slowlyfrom the crowd, and placed himself nigh theperson of the dead.

“Why hast thou left us, pride of the Wa-panachki?” he said, addressing himself to the

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dull ears of Uncas, as if the empty clay retainedthe faculties of the animated man; “thy timehas been like that of the sun when in the trees;thy glory brighter than his light at noonday.Thou art gone, youthful warrior, but a hun-dred Wyandots are clearing the briers from thypath to the world of the spirits. Who that sawthee in battle would believe that thou couldstdie? Who before thee has ever shown Uttawathe way into the fight? Thy feet were like thewings of eagles; thine arm heavier than fallingbranches from the pine; and thy voice like theManitou when He speaks in the clouds. Thetongue of Uttawa is weak,” he added, look-ing about him with a melancholy gaze, “andhis heart exceeding heavy. Pride of the Wa-panachki, why hast thou left us?”

He was succeeded by others, in due order,

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until most of the high and gifted men of the na-tion had sung or spoken their tribute of praiseover the manes of the deceased chief. Wheneach had ended, another deep and breathingsilence reigned in all the place.

Then a low, deep sound was heard, like thesuppressed accompaniment of distant music,rising just high enough on the air to be audi-ble, and yet so indistinctly, as to leave its char-acter, and the place whence it proceeded, alikematters of conjecture. It was, however, suc-ceeded by another and another strain, each ina higher key, until they grew on the ear, firstin long drawn and often repeated interjections,and finally in words. The lips of Chingach-gook had so far parted, as to announce thatit was the monody of the father. Though notan eye was turned toward him nor the small-

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est sign of impatience exhibited, it was appar-ent, by the manner in which the multitude el-evated their heads to listen, that they drankin the sounds with an intenseness of attention,that none but Tamenund himself had ever be-fore commanded. But they listened in vain.The strains rose just so loud as to become intel-ligible, and then grew fainter and more trem-bling, until they finally sank on the ear, as ifborne away by a passing breath of wind. Thelips of the Sagamore closed, and he remainedsilent in his seat, looking with his riveted eyeand motionless form, like some creature thathad been turned from the Almighty hand withthe form but without the spirit of a man. TheDelawares who knew by these symptoms thatthe mind of their friend was not prepared forso mighty an effort of fortitude, relaxed in theirattention; and, with an innate delicacy, seemed

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to bestow all their thoughts on the obsequies ofthe stranger maiden.

A signal was given, by one of the elderchiefs, to the women who crowded that partof the circle near which the body of Cora lay.Obedient to the sign, the girls raised the bierto the elevation of their heads, and advancedwith slow and regulated steps, chanting, asthey proceeded, another wailing song in praiseof the deceased. Gamut, who had been a closeobserver of rites he deemed so heathenish, nowbent his head over the shoulder of the uncon-scious father, whispering:

“They move with the remains of thy child;shall we not follow, and see them interred withChristian burial?”

Munro started, as if the last trumpet hadsounded in his ear, and bestowing one anxious

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and hurried glance around him, he arose andfollowed in the simple train, with the mien ofa soldier, but bearing the full burden of a par-ent’s suffering. His friends pressed around himwith a sorrow that was too strong to be termedsympathy–even the young Frenchman joiningin the procession, with the air of a man whowas sensibly touched at the early and melan-choly fate of one so lovely. But when the lastand humblest female of the tribe had joinedin the wild and yet ordered array, the men ofthe Lenape contracted their circle, and formedagain around the person of Uncas, as silent, asgrave, and as motionless as before.

The place which had been chosen for thegrave of Cora was a little knoll, where a clusterof young and healthful pines had taken root,forming of themselves a melancholy and ap-

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propriate shade over the spot. On reaching itthe girls deposited their burden, and contin-ued for many minutes waiting, with character-istic patience, and native timidity, for some ev-idence that they whose feelings were most con-cerned were content with the arrangement. Atlength the scout, who alone understood theirhabits, said, in their own language:

“My daughters have done well; the whitemen thank them.”

Satisfied with this testimony in their favor,the girls proceeded to deposit the body in ashell, ingeniously, and not inelegantly, fabri-cated of the bark of the birch; after which theylowered it into its dark and final abode. Theceremony of covering the remains, and con-cealing the marks of the fresh earth, by leavesand other natural and customary objects, was

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conducted with the same simple and silentforms. But when the labors of the kind beingswho had performed these sad and friendly of-fices were so far completed, they hesitated, in away to show that they knew not how much fur-ther they might proceed. It was in this stage ofthe rites that the scout again addressed them:

“My young women have done enough,” hesaid: “the spirit of the pale face has no needof food or raiment, their gifts being accordingto the heaven of their color. I see,” he added,glancing an eye at David, who was prepar-ing his book in a manner that indicated an in-tention to lead the way in sacred song, “thatone who better knows the Christian fashions isabout to speak.”

The females stood modestly aside, and, fromhaving been the principal actors in the scene,

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they now became the meek and attentive ob-servers of that which followed. During thetime David occupied in pouring out the piousfeelings of his spirit in this manner, not a signof surprise, nor a look of impatience, escapedthem. They listened like those who knew themeaning of the strange words, and appearedas if they felt the mingled emotions of sorrow,hope, and resignation, they were intended toconvey.

Excited by the scene he had just witnessed,and perhaps influenced by his own secret emo-tions, the master of song exceeded his usualefforts. His full rich voice was not found tosuffer by a comparison with the soft tones ofthe girls; and his more modulated strains pos-sessed, at least for the ears of those to whomthey were peculiarly addressed, the additional

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power of intelligence. He ended the anthem, ashe had commenced it, in the midst of a graveand solemn stillness.

When, however, the closing cadence hadfallen on the ears of his auditors, the secret, tim-orous glances of the eyes, and the general andyet subdued movement of the assemblage, be-trayed that something was expected from thefather of the deceased. Munro seemed sensiblethat the time was come for him to exert whatis, perhaps, the greatest effort of which humannature is capable. He bared his gray locks, andlooked around the timid and quiet throng bywhich he was encircled, with a firm and col-lected countenance. Then, motioning with hishand for the scout to listen, he said:

“Say to these kind and gentle females, that aheart-broken and failing man returns them his

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thanks. Tell them, that the Being we all wor-ship, under different names, will be mindful oftheir charity; and that the time shall not be dis-tant when we may assemble around His thronewithout distinction of sex, or rank, or color.”

The scout listened to the tremulous voice inwhich the veteran delivered these words, andshook his head slowly when they were ended,as one who doubted their efficacy.

“To tell them this,” he said, “would be to tellthem that the snows come not in the winter, orthat the sun shines fiercest when the trees arestripped of their leaves.”

Then turning to the women, he made sucha communication of the other’s gratitude as hedeemed most suited to the capacities of his lis-teners. The head of Munro had already sunkupon his chest, and he was again fast relapsing

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into melancholy, when the young Frenchmanbefore named ventured to touch him lightly onthe elbow. As soon as he had gained the at-tention of the mourning old man, he pointedtoward a group of young Indians, who ap-proached with a light but closely covered litter,and then pointed upward toward the sun.

“I understand you, sir,” returned Munro,with a voice of forced firmness; “I understandyou. It is the will of Heaven, and I sub-mit. Cora, my child! if the prayers of aheart-broken father could avail thee now, howblessed shouldst thou be! Come, gentlemen,”he added, looking about him with an air oflofty composure, though the anguish that quiv-ered in his faded countenance was far too pow-erful to be concealed, “our duty here is ended;let us depart.”

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Heyward gladly obeyed a summons thattook them from a spot where, each instant, hefelt his self-control was about to desert him.While his companions were mounting, how-ever, he found time to press the hand of thescout, and to repeat the terms of an engage-ment they had made to meet again within theposts of the British army. Then, gladly throw-ing himself into the saddle, he spurred hischarger to the side of the litter, whence lowand stifled sobs alone announced the presenceof Alice. In this manner, the head of Munroagain drooping on his bosom, with Heywardand David following in sorrowing silence, andattended by the aide of Montcalm with hisguard, all the white men, with the exception ofHawkeye, passed from before the eyes of theDelawares, and were buried in the vast forestsof that region.

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But the tie which, through their commoncalamity, had united the feelings of these sim-ple dwellers in the woods with the strangerswho had thus transiently visited them, was notso easily broken. Years passed away before thetraditionary tale of the white maiden, and ofthe young warrior of the Mohicans ceased tobeguile the long nights and tedious marches, orto animate their youthful and brave with a de-sire for vengeance. Neither were the secondaryactors in these momentous incidents forgotten.Through the medium of the scout, who servedfor years afterward as a link between them andcivilized life, they learned, in answer to theirinquiries, that the “Gray Head” was speedilygathered to his fathers–borne down, as waserroneously believed, by his military misfor-tunes; and that the “Open Hand” had con-veyed his surviving daughter far into the set-

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tlements of the pale faces, where her tears hadat last ceased to flow, and had been succeededby the bright smiles which were better suitedto her joyous nature.

But these were events of a time later thanthat which concerns our tale. Deserted by all ofhis color, Hawkeye returned to the spot wherehis sympathies led him, with a force that noideal bond of union could destroy. He wasjust in time to catch a parting look of the fea-tures of Uncas, whom the Delawares were al-ready inclosing in his last vestment of skins.They paused to permit the longing and linger-ing gaze of the sturdy woodsman, and whenit was ended, the body was enveloped, neverto be unclosed again. Then came a processionlike the other, and the whole nation was col-lected about the temporary grave of the chief–

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temporary, because it was proper that, at somefuture day, his bones should rest among thoseof his own people.

The movement, like the feeling, had been si-multaneous and general. The same grave ex-pression of grief, the same rigid silence, andthe same deference to the principal mourner,were observed around the place of intermentas have been already described. The body wasdeposited in an attitude of repose, facing therising sun, with the implements of war and ofthe chase at hand, in readiness for the final jour-ney. An opening was left in the shell, by whichit was protected from the soil, for the spirit tocommunicate with its earthly tenement, whennecessary; and the whole was concealed fromthe instinct, and protected from the ravages ofthe beasts of prey, with an ingenuity peculiar to

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the natives. The manual rites then ceased andall present reverted to the more spiritual partof the ceremonies.

Chingachgook became once more the objectof the common attention. He had not yet spo-ken, and something consolatory and instruc-tive was expected from so renowned a chiefon an occasion of such interest. Conscious ofthe wishes of the people, the stern and self-restrained warrior raised his face, which hadlatterly been buried in his robe, and lookedabout him with a steady eye. His firmly com-pressed and expressive lips then severed, andfor the first time during the long ceremonieshis voice was distinctly audible. “Why do mybrothers mourn?” he said, regarding the darkrace of dejected warriors by whom he was en-vironed; “why do my daughters weep? that

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a young man has gone to the happy hunting-grounds; that a chief has filled his time withhonor? He was good; he was dutiful; he wasbrave. Who can deny it? The Manitou hadneed of such a warrior, and He has called himaway. As for me, the son and the father of Un-cas, I am a blazed pine, in a clearing of the palefaces. My race has gone from the shores of thesalt lake and the hills of the Delawares. Butwho can say that the serpent of his tribe hasforgotten his wisdom? I am alone–”

“No, no,” cried Hawkeye, who had beengazing with a yearning look at the rigid fea-tures of his friend, with something like his ownself-command, but whose philosophy couldendure no longer; “no, Sagamore, not alone.The gifts of our colors may be different, butGod has so placed us as to journey in the same

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path. I have no kin, and I may also say, likeyou, no people. He was your son, and a red-skin by nature; and it may be that your bloodwas nearer–but, if ever I forget the lad who hasso often fou’t at my side in war, and slept at myside in peace, may He who made us all, what-ever may be our color or our gifts, forget me!The boy has left us for a time; but, Sagamore,you are not alone.”

Chingachgook grasped the hand that, in thewarmth of feeling, the scout had stretchedacross the fresh earth, and in an attitudeof friendship these two sturdy and intrepidwoodsmen bowed their heads together, whilescalding tears fell to their feet, watering thegrave of Uncas like drops of falling rain.

In the midst of the awful stillness with whichsuch a burst of feeling, coming as it did, from

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the two most renowned warriors of that region,was received, Tamenund lifted his voice to dis-perse the multitude.

“It is enough,” he said. “Go, children of theLenape, the anger of the Manitou is not done.Why should Tamenund stay? The pale facesare masters of the earth, and the time of thered men has not yet come again. My day hasbeen too long. In the morning I saw the sonsof Unamis happy and strong; and yet, beforethe night has come, have I lived to see the lastwarrior of the wise race of the Mohicans.”

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