University of Virginia Library

3. CHAPTER III.

The heavens were still studded with stars, when
Hawk-eye came to arouse the sleepers. Casting
aside their cloaks, Munro and Heyward were on
their feet, while the woodsman was still making his
low calls, at the entrance of the rude shelter where
they had passed the night. When they issued from
beneath its concealment, they found the scout awaiting
their appearance nigh by, and the only salutation
between them was the significant gesture for silence,
made by their sagacious leader.

“Think over your prayers,” he whispered, as
they approached him; “for he, to whom you make
them, knows all tongues; that of the heart, as well as
those of the mouth. But speak not a syllable; it is
rare for a white voice to pitch itself properly in the
woods, as we have seen by the example of that miserable
devil, the singer. Come,” he continued,
turning towards a curtain of the works; “let us get
into the ditch on this side, and be regardful to step
on the stones and fragments of wood as you go.”

His companions complied, though to one of them

the reasons of all this extraordinary precaution were
yet a mystery. When they were in the low cavity,
that surrounded the earthen fort on three of its sides,
they found the passage nearly choked by the ruins.
With care and patience, however, they succeeded in
clambering after the scout, until they reached the
sandy shore of the Horican.

“That's a trail that nothing but a nose can follow,”
said the satisfied scout, looking back along their difficult
way; “grass is a treacherous carpet for a flying
party to tread on, but wood and stone take no
print from a moccasin. Had you worn your armed
boots, there might, indeed, have been something to
fear! but with the deer-skin suitably prepared, a man
may trust himself, generally, on rocks with safety.
Shove in the canoe nigher to the land, Uncas; this
sand will take a stamp as easily as the butter of the
Dutchers on the Mohawk. Softly, lad, softly; it
must not touch the beach, or the knaves will know
by what road we have left the place.”

The young man observed the precaution; and the
scout, laying a board from the ruins to the canoe,
made a sign for the two officers to enter. When
this was done, every thing was studiously restored to
its former disorder; and then Hawk-eye succeeded
in reaching his little birchen vessel, without leaving
behind him any of those marks which he appeared so
much to dread. Heyward was silent, until the Indians
had cautiously paddled the canoe some distance
from the fort, and within the broad and dark
shadow that fell from the eastern mountains, on the
glossy surface of the lake; then he demanded—

“What need have we for this stolen and hurried
departure?”

“If the blood of an Oneida could stain such a sheet
of pure water as this we float on,” returned the
scout, “your two eyes would answer your own question.
Have you forgotten the skulking reptyle that
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 an Indian,
whose tribe counts so many warriors, need seldom
fear his blood will run, without the death-shriek
coming speedily from some of his enemies.”

“But our presence—the authority of Colonel Munro,
would prove a sufficient protection against the
anger of our allies, especially in a case where the
wretch so well merited his fate. I trust, in Heaven,
you have not deviated a single foot from the direct
line of our course, with so slight a reason.”

“Do you think the bullet of that varlet's rifle
would have turned aside, though his sacred majesty
the king had stood in its path!” returned the stubborn
scout. “Why did not the grand Frencher, he
who is captain general of the Canadas, bury the tomahawks
of the Hurons, if a word from a white can
work so strongly on the natur of an Indian?”

The reply of Heyward was interrupted by a deep
and heavy groan from Munro; but after he had paused
a moment, in deference to the sorrow of his aged
friend, he resumed the subject.

“The Marquis of Montcalm can only settle that
error with his God,” said the young man, solemnly.

“Ay, ay, now there is reason in your words, for
they are bottomed on religion and honesty. There
is a vast difference between throwing a regiment of
white coats atwixt the tribes and the prisoners, and
coaxing an angry savage to forget he carries a knife
and a rifle, with words that must begin with calling
him `your son.' No, no,” continued the scout,
looking back at the dim shore of William Henry,
which now appeared to be fast receding, and laughing
in his own silent but heartfelt manner; “I have
put a trail of water atween us; and unless the imps
can make friends with the fishes, and hear who has
paddled across their basin, this fine morning, we shall
throw the length of the Horican behind us, before
they have made up their minds which path to take.”

“With foes in front, and foes in our rear, our journey
is like to be one of danger!”

“Danger!” repeated Hawk-eye, calmly; “no,
not absolutely of danger; for, with vigilant ears and
quick eyes, we can manage to keep a few hours
ahead of the knaves; or, if we must try the rifle,
there are three of us who understand its gifts as
well as any you can name on the borders. No, not
of danger; but that we shall have what you may call
a brisk push of it, is probable; and it may happen,
a brush, a skrimmage, or some such divarsion, but always
where covers are good, and ammunition abundant.”

It is possible that Heyward's estimate of danger,
distinguished as he was for spirit, differed in some
degree from that of the scout, for, instead of replying,
he now sat in silence, while the canoe glided over

several miles of water. Just as the day dawned,
they entered the narrows of the lake, and stole
swiftly and cautiously among their numberless little
islands. It was by this road that Montcalm had retired
with his army, and the adventurers knew not
but he had left some of his Indians in ambush, to
protect the rear of his forces, and collect the stragglers.
They, therefore, approached the passage
with the customary silence of their guarded habits.

Chingachgook laid aside his paddle; while Uncas
and the scout urged the light vessel through crooked
and intricate channels, where every foot that they
advanced exposed them to the danger of some sudden
rising on their progress. The eyes of the Sagamore
moved warily from islet to islet, and copse to
copse, as the canoe proceeded; and when a clearer
sheet of water permitted, his keen vision was bent
along the bald rocks and impending forests, that
frowned upon the narrow strait.

Heyward, who was a doubly interested spectator,
as well from the beauties of the place as from the
apprehension natural to his situation, was just believing
that he had permitted the latter to be excited
without sufficient reason, when the paddles ceased
moving, in obedience to a signal from Chingachgook.

“Hugh!” exclaimed Uncas, nearly at the moment
that the light tap his father had made on the side of
the canoe, notified them of the vicinity of danger.

“What now?” asked the scout; “the lake is as
smooth as if the winds had never blown, and I can see

along its sheet for miles; there is not so much as the
black head of a loon dotting the water!”

The Indian gravely raised his paddle, and pointed
in the direction that his own steady look was riveted.
Duncan's eyes followed the motion. A few rods in
their front lay another of the low wooded islets, but
it appeared as calm and peaceful, as if its solitude had
never been 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, Sagamore,
there is always a reason for what you do! 'Tis but a
shade, and yet it is not natural. You see the mist,
major, that is rising above the island; you can't call
it a fog, for it is more like a streak of thin cloud”—

“It is vapour from the water!”

“That a child could tell. But what is the edging
of blacker smoke, that hangs along its lower side,
and which you may trace down into the thicket of
hazle? 'Tis from a fire; but one that, in my judgment,
has been suffered to burn low.”

“Let us then push for the place, and relieve our
doubts,” said the impatient Duncan; “the party
must be small that can lie on such a bit of land.”

“If you judge of Indian cunning by the rules you
find in books, or by white sagacity, they will lead
you astray, if not to your death,” returned Hawk-eye,
examining the signs of the place with that acuteness
which distinguished him. “If I may be permitted
to speak in this matter, it will be to say, that we
have but two things to choose between: the one is,

to return, and give up all thoughts of following the
Hurons—”

“Never!” exclaimed Heyward, in a voice far too
loud for their circumstances.

“Well, well,” continued Hawk-eye, making a
hasty sign to repress his ardour; “I am much of
your mind myself; though I thought it becoming
my experience to tell the whole. We must then
make a push, and if the Indians or Frenchers are in
the narrows, run the gauntlet through these topling
mountains. Is there reason in my words, Sagamore?”

The Indian made no other answer than by dropping
his paddle into the water, and urging forward
the canoe. As he held the office of directing its
course, his resolution was sufficiently indicated by
the movement. The whole party now plied their
paddles vigorously, and in a very few moments they
had reached a point whence they might command an
entire view of the northern shore of the island, the
side that had hitherto been concealed.

“There they are, by all the truth of signs!” whispered
the scout; “two canoes and a smoke! The
knaves have'nt yet got their eyes out of the mist, or
we should hear the accursed whoop. Together,
friends—we are leaving them, and are already nearly
out of whistle of a bullet.”

The well known crack of a rifle, whose ball came
skipping along the placid surface of the strait, and a
shrill yell from the island, interrupted his speech,
and announced that their passage was discovered.
In another instant several savages were seen rushing

into the canoes, which were soon dancing over the
water, in swift pursuit. These fearful precursors of
a coming struggle, produced no change in the countenances
and movements of his three guides, so far as
Duncan could discover, except that the strokes of
their paddles were longer and more in unison, and
caused the little bark to spring forward like a creature
possessing life and volition.

“Hold them there, Sagamore,” said Hawk-eye,
looking coolly backward over his left shoulder,
while he still plied his paddle; “keep them just
there. Them Hurons have never a piece in their
nation that will execute at this distance; but `kill-deer'
has a barrel on which a man may safely calculate.”

The scout having ascertained that the Mohicans
were sufficient of themselves to maintain the requisite
distance, deliberately laid aside his paddle, and raised
the fatal rifle. Three several times he brought
the piece to his shoulder, and when his companions
were expecting its report, he as often lowered it, to
request the Indians would permit their enemies to
approach a little nigher. At length, his accurate
and fastidious eye seemed satisfied, and throwing out
his left arm on the barrel, he was slowly elevating
the muzzle, when an exclamation from Uncas, who
sat in the bow, once more caused him to suspend the
shot.

“What now, lad?” demanded Hawk-eye; “you
saved a Huron from the death-shriek by that word;
have you reason for what you do?”

Uncas pointed towards the rocky shore, a little in

their front, whence another war canoe was darting directly
across their course. It was too obvious, now,
that their situation was imminently perilous, to need
the aid of language to confirm it. The scout laid aside
his rifle, and resumed the paddle, while Chingachgook
inclined the bows of the canoe a little towards
the western shore, in order to increase the distance
between them and this new enemy. In the mean
time, they were reminded of the presence of those
who pressed upon their rear, by wild and exulting
shouts. The stirring scene awakened even Munro
from the dull apathy into which he was plunged by
the weight of his misfortunes.

“Let us make for the rocks on the main,” he
said, with the firm mien of a tried soldier, “and
give battle to the savages. God forbid that I, or
those attached to me and mine, should ever trust
again to the faith of any servant of the Louises!”

“He who wishes to prosper in Indian warfare,”
returned the busy scout, “must not be too proud to
learn from the wit of a native. Lay her more
along the land, Sagamore; we are doubling on the
varlets, and perhaps they may try to strike our trail
on the long calculation.”

Hawk-eye was not mistaken; for, when the Hurons
found their course was likely to throw them behind
their chase, they rendered it less direct, until
by gradually bearing more and more obliquely, the
two canoes were, ere long, gliding on parallel lines,
within two hundred yards of each other. It now
became entirely a trial of speed. So rapid was the
progress of the light vessels, that the lake curled in

their front, in miniature waves, and their motion became
undulating by its own velocity. It was, perhaps,
owing to this circumstance, in addition to the
necessity of keeping every hand employed at the
paddles, that the Hurons had not immediate recourse
to their fire-arms. The exertions of the fugitives
were too severe to continue long, and the pursuers
had the advantage of numbers. Duncan observed,
with uneasiness, that the scout began to look anxiously
about him, as if searching for some further
means of assisting their flight.

“Edge her a little more from the sun, Sagamore,”
said the stubborn woodsman; “I see the knaves are
sparing a man to the rifle. A single broken bone might
lose us our scalps. Edge more from the sun, and
we will put the island between us.”

The expedient was not without its use. A long,
low island lay at a little distance before them, and as
they closed with it, the chasing canoe was compelled
to take a side opposite to that on which the pursued
passed. The scout and his companions did not
neglect this advantage, but the instant they were hid
from observation by the bushes, they redoubled efforts
that before had seemed prodigious. The two
canoes came round the last low point, like two
coursers at the top of their speed, the fugitives taking
the lead. This change had brought them nigher to
each other, however, while it altered their relative
positions.

“You showed knowledge in the shaping of birchen
bark, Uncas, when you chose this from among the
Huron canoes,” said the scout, smiling, apparently,

more in satisfaction at their superiority in the race,
than from that prospect of final escape, which now
began to open a little upon them. “The imps have
put all their strength again at the paddles, and we
are to struggle for our scalps with bits of flattened
wood, instead of clouded barrels and true eyes! A
long stroke, and together, friends.”

“They are preparing for a shot,” said Heyward;
“and as we are in a line with them, it can scarcely
fail.”

“Get you then into the bottom of the canoe,” returned
the scout; “you and the colonel; it will be
so much taken from the size of the mark.”

Heyward smiled, as he answered—

“It would be but an ill example for the highest in
rank to dodge, while the warriors were under fire!”

“Lord! Lord! that is now a white man's courage!”
exclaimed the scout; “and like too many of
his notions, not to be maintained by reason. Do
you think the Sagamore, or Uncas, or even I, who
am a man without a cross, would deliberate about
finding a cover in a skrimmage, when an open body
would do no good! For what have the Frenchers
reared up their Quebec, if fighting is always to be
done in the clearings?”

“All that you say is very true, my friend,” replied
Heyward; “still, our customs must prevent us
from doing as you wish.”

A volley from the Hurons interrupted the discourse,
and as the bullets whistled about them, Duncan
saw the head of Uncas turned, looking back at
himself and Munro. Notwithstanding the nearness

of the enemy, and his own great personal danger,
the countenance of the young warrior expressed no
other emotion, as the former was compelled to think,
than amazement at finding men willing to encounter
so useless an exposure. Chingachgook was probably
better acquainted with the notions of white men,
for he did not even cast a glance aside from the riveted
look his eye maintained on the object, by which
he governed their course. A ball soon struck the
light and polished paddle from the hands of the chief,
and drove it through the air far in the advance. A
shout arose from the Hurons, who seized the opportunity
to fire another volley. Uncas described an
arc in the water with his own blade, and as the canoe
passed swiftly on, Chingachgook recovered his
paddle, and flourishing it on high, he gave the war-whoop
of the Mohicans, and then lent his own
strength and skill, again, to the important task.

The clamorous sounds of “le Gros Serpent,”
“la Longue Carabine,” “le Cerf Agile,” burst at
once from the canoes behind, and seemed to give new
zeal to the pursuers. The scout seized “kill-deer”
in his left hand, and elevating it above his head, he
shook it in triumph at his enemies. The savages answered
the insult with a yell, and immediately another
volley succeeded. The bullets pattered along the lake,
and one even pierced the bark of their little vessel.
No perceptible emotion could be discovered in the
Mohicans during this critical moment, their rigid
features expressing neither hope nor alarm; but the
scout again turned his head, and laughing in his own
silent manner, he said to Heyward—

“The knaves love to hear the sounds of their
pieces; but the eye is not to be found among the
Mingoes that can calculate a true range in a dancing
canoe! You see the dumb devils have taken off a
man to charge, and by the smallest measurement that
can be allowed, we move three feet to their two!”

Duncan, who was not altogether as easy under this
nice estimate of distances as his companions, was
glad to find, however, that owing to their superior
dexterity, and the diversion among their enemies,
they were very sensibly obtaining the advantage.
The Hurons soon fired again, and a bullet struck
the blade of Hawk-eye's paddle without injury.

“That will do,” said the scout, examining the slight
indentation with a curious eye; “it would not have
cut the skin of an infant, much less of men, who, like
us, have been blown upon by the Heavens in their
anger. Now, major, if you will try to use this piece
of flattened wood, I'll let `kill-deer' take a part in
the conversation.”

Heyward seized the paddle, and applied himself to
the work with an eagerness that supplied the place of
skill, while Hawk-eye was engaged in inspecting the
priming of his rifle. The latter then took a swift aim,
and fired. The Huron in the bows of the leading
canoe had risen with a similar object, and he now fell
backward, suffering his gun to escape from his hands
into the water. In an instant, however, he recovered
his feet, though his gestures were wild and bewildered.
At the same moment his companions suspended
their efforts, and the chasing canoes clustered together,
and became stationary. Chingachgook and

Uncas profited by the interval to regain their wind,
though Duncan continued to work with the most
persevering industry. The father and son now
cast calm but inquiring glances at each other, to
learn if either had sustained any injury by the fire;
for both well knew that no cry or exclamation would,
in such a moment of necessity, have been permitted
to betray the accident. A few large drops of blood
were trickling down the shoulder of the Sagamore,
who, when he perceived that the eyes of Uncas
dwelt too long on the sight, raised some water in the
hollow of his hand, and washing off the stain, was
content to manifest, in this simple manner, the slightness
of the injury.

“Softly, softly, major,” said the scout, who by
this time had reloaded his rifle; “we are a little too
far already for a rifle to put forth its beauties, and
you see yonder imps are holding a council. Let
them come up within striking distance—my eye may
well be trusted in such a matter—and I will trail the
varlets the length of the Horican, guaranteeing that
not a shot of theirs shall, at the worst, more than break
the skin, while `kill-deer' shall touch the life twice
in three times.”

“We forget our errand,” returned the diligent
Duncan. “For God's sake, let us profit by this advantage,
and increase our distance from the enemy.”

“Give me my children,” said Munro, hoarsely;
“trifle no longer with a father's agony, but restore
me my babes!”

Long and habitual deference to the mandates of

his superiors, had taught the scout the virtue of obedience.
Throwing a last and lingering glance at the
distant canoes, he laid aside his rifle, and relieving
the wearied Duncan, resumed the paddle, which he
wielded with sinews that never tired. His efforts
were seconded by those of the Mohicans, and a very
few minutes served to place such a sheet of water
between them and their enemies, that Heyward once
more breathed freely.

The lake now began to expand, and their route lay
along a wide reach, that was lined; as before, by
high and ragged mountains. But the islands were
few, and easily avoided. The strokes of the paddles
grew more measured and regular, while they
who plied them continued their labour, after the
close and deadly chase from which they had just relieved
themselves, with as much coolness as though
their speed had been tried in sport, rather than under
such pressing, nay, almost desperate, circumstances.

Instead of following the western shore, whither
their errand led them, the wary Mohican inclined
his course more towards those hills, behind which,
Montcalm was known to have led his army into the
formidable fortress of Ticonderoga. As the Hurons,
to every appearance, had abandoned the pursuit,
there was no apparent reason for this excess of caution.
It was, however, maintained for hours, until
they had reached a bay, nigh the northern termination
of the lake. Here the canoe was driven upon
the beach, and the whole party landed. Hawk-eye
and Heyward ascended an adjacent bluff, where the
former, after considering the expanse of water beneath

him, attentively, for many minutes, pointed
out to the latter a small black object, hovering under
a head-land, at the distance of several miles.

“Do you see it?” demanded the scout. “Now,
what would you account that spot, were you left
alone to white experience to find your way through
this wilderness?”

“But for its distance and its magnitude, I should
suppose it a bird. Can it be a living object?”

“'Tis a canoe of good birchen bark, and paddled
by fierce and crafty Mingoes! Though Providence
has lent to those who inhabit the woods eyes that
would be needless to men in the settlements, where
there are inventions to assist the sight, yet no human
organs can see all the dangers which at this moment
circumvent us. These varlets pretend to be bent
chiefly on their sun-down meal, but the moment it
is dark, they will be on our trail, as true as hounds
on the scent. We must throw them off, or our pursuit
of le Renard Subtil may be given up. These lakes
are useful at times, especially when the game takes
the water,” continued the scout, gazing about him
with a countenance of concern, “but they give no
cover, except it be to the fishes. God knows what
the country would be, if the settlements should ever
spread far from the two rivers. Both hunting and
war would lose their beauty.”

“Let us not delay a moment, without some good
and obvious cause.”

“I little like that smoke, which you may see 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 meaning! Well,
words will not mend the matter, and it is time that
we were doing.”

Hawk-eye moved away from the look out, and
descended, musing profoundly, to the shore. He
communicated the result of his observations to his
companions, in Delaware, and a short and earnest
consultation succeeded. When it terminated, the
three instantly set about executing their new resolutions.

The canoe was lifted from the water, and borne
on the shoulders of the party. They proceeded into
the wood, making as broad and obvious a trail as
possible. They soon reached a water-course, which
they crossed, and continued onward, until they came
to an extensive and naked rock. At this point,
where their footsteps might be expected to be no
longer visible, they retraced their route to the brook,
walking backwards, with the utmost care. They now
followed the bed of the little stream to the lake, into
which they immediately launched their canoe again.
A low point concealed them from the head land, and
the margin of the lake was fringed for some distance
with dense and overhanging bushes. Under the
cover of these natural advantages, they toiled their
way, with patient industry, until the scout pronounced
that he believed it would be safe once more
to land.

The halt continued until evening rendered objects
indistinct and uncertain to the eye. Then they resumed
their route, and, favoured by the darkness,
pushed silently and vigorously toward the western

shore. Although the rugged outline of mountain,
to which they were steering, presented no distinctive
marks to the eyes of Duncan, the Mohican
entered the little haven he had selected with the confidence
and accuracy of an experienced pilot.

The boat was again lifted, and borne into the
woods, where it was carefully concealed under a pile
of brush. The adventurers assumed their arms and
packs, and the scout announced to Munro and Heyward,
that he and the Indians were at last in readiness
to proceed.