 | CHAPTER IV. The deerslayer: or, The first war-path |  |
4. CHAPTER IV.
When I steal to her secret bower;
And that young May violet to me is dear,
And I visit the silent streamlet near,
To look on the lovely flower.”
Bryant.
The ark, as the floating habitation of the Hutters was
generally called, was a very simple contrivance. A large
flat, or scow, composed the buoyant part of the vessel; and,
in its centre, occupying the whole of its breadth, and about
two-thirds of its length, stood a low fabric, resembling the
castle in construction, though made of materials so light as
barely to be bullet-proof. As the sides of the scow were a
little higher than usual, and the interior of the cabin had
no more elevation than was necessary for comfort, this unusual
addition had neither a very clumsy, nor a very obtrusive
canal-boat, though more rudely constructed, of greater
breadth than common, and bearing about it the signs of
the wilderness, in its bark-covered posts and roof. The
scow, however, had been put together with some skill, being
comparatively light, for its strength, and sufficiently manageable.
The cabin was divided into two apartments,
one of which served for a parlour, and the sleeping-room of
the father, and the other was appropriated to the uses of the
daughters. A very simple arrangement sufficed for the
kitchen, which was in one end of the scow, and removed
from the cabin, standing in the open air; the ark being
altogether a summer habitation.
The “and-bush,” as Hurry in his ignorance of English
termed it, is quite as easily explained. In many parts of
the lake and river, where the banks were steep and high,
the smaller trees, and larger bushes, as has been already
mentioned, fairly overhung the stream, their branches not
unfrequently dipping into the water. In some instances
they grew out in nearly horizontal lines, for thirty or forty
feet. The water being uniformly deepest near the shores,
where the banks were highest and the nearest to a perpendicular,
Hutter had found no difficulty in letting the ark
drop under one of these covers, where it had been anchored
with a view to conceal its position; security requiring some
such precautions, in his view of the case. Once beneath
the trees and bushes, a few stones fastened to the ends of
the branches had caused them to bend sufficiently to dip
into the river; and a few severed bushes, properly disposed,
did the rest. The reader has seen that this cover was so
complete, as to deceive two men accustomed to the woods,
and who were actually in search of those it concealed; a
circumstance that will be easily understood by those who
are familiar with the matted and wild luxuriance of a virgin
American forest, more especially in a rich soil.
The discovery of the ark produced very different effects
on our two adventurers. As soon as the canoe could be got
round to the proper opening, Hurry leaped on board, and
in a minute was closely engaged in a gay, and a sort of
recriminating discourse with Judith, apparently forgetful of
the existence of all the rest of the world. Not so with Deerslayer.
examining every arrangement of the cover with curious and
scrutinizing eyes. It is true, he cast one admiring glance
at Judith, which was extorted by her brilliant and singular
beauty; but even this could detain him but a single instant
from the indulgence of his interest in Hutter's contrivances.
Step by step did he look into the construction of the singular
abode, investigate its fastenings and strength, ascertain
its means of defence, and make every inquiry that
would be likely to occur to one whose thoughts dwelt
principally on such expedients. Nor was the cover neglected.
Of this he examined the whole minutely, his commendation
escaping him more than once, in audible comments.
Frontier usages admitting of this familiarity, he
passed through the rooms as he had previously done at the
castle; and, opening a door, issued into the end of the scow
opposite to that where he had left Hurry and Judith. Here
he found the other sister, employed on some coarse needlework,
seated beneath the leafy canopy of the cover.
As Deerslayer's examination was by this time ended, he
dropped the butt of his rifle, and, leaning on the barrel, with
both hands, he turned towards the girl with an interest the
singular beauty of her sister had not awakened. He had
gathered from Hurry's remarks that Hetty was considered
to have less intellect than ordinarily falls to the share of
human beings; and his education among Indians had taught
him to treat those who were thus afflicted by Providence,
with more than common tenderness. Nor was there any
thing in Hetty Hutter's appearance, as so often happens, to
weaken the interest her situation excited. An idiot she
could not properly be termed, her mind being just enough
enfeebled to lose most of those traits that are connected with
the more artful qualities, and to retain its ingenuousness and
love of truth. It had often been remarked of this girl, by
the few who had seen her, and who possessed sufficient
knowledge to discriminate, that her perception of the right
seemed almost intuitive, while her aversion to the wrong
formed so distinctive a feature of her mind, as to surround
her with an atmosphere of pure morality; peculiarities that
are not unfrequent with persons who are termed feeble-minded;
as if God had forbidden the evil spirits to invade a
a direct protection to those who had been left without the
usual aids of humanity. Her person, too, was agreeable,
having a strong resemblance to that of her sister, of which
it was a subdued and humble copy. If it had none of the
brilliancy of Judith's, the calm, quiet, almost holy expression
of her meek countenance, seldom failed to win on the observer;
and few noted it long, that did not begin to feel a
deep and lasting interest in the girl. She had no colour,
in common, nor was her simple mind apt to present
images that caused her cheek to brighten; though she retained
a modesty so innate, that it almost raised her to
the unsuspecting purity of a being superior to human infirmities.
Guileless, innocent, and without distrust, equally
by nature and from her mode of life, Providence had, nevertheless,
shielded her from harm by a halo of moral light,
as it is said “to temper the wind to the shorn lamb.”
“You are Hetty Hutter,” said Deerslayer, in the way one
puts a question unconsciously to himself, assuming a kindness
of tone and manner that were singularly adapted to win
the confidence of her he addressed. “Hurry Harry has told
me of you, and I know you must be the child?”
“Yes, I'm Hetty Hutter,” returned the girl, in a low,
sweet voice, which nature, aided by some education, had
preserved from vulgarity of tone and utterance; “I'm
Hetty; Judith Hutter's sister; and Thomas Hutter's youngest
daughter.”
“I know your history, then, for Hurry Harry talks considerable,
and he is free of speech, when he can find other
people's consarns to dwell on. You pass most of your life
on the lake, Hetty.”
“Certainly. Mother is dead; father is gone a-trapping,
and Judith and I stay at home. What's your name?”
“That's a question more easily asked than it is answered,
young woman; seeing that I'm so young, and yet have
borne more names than some of the greatest chiefs in all
America.”
“But you've got a name—you don't throw away one
name before you come honestly by another?”
“I hope not, gal—I hope not. My names have come
nat'rally; and I suppose the one I bear now will be of no
ra'al title, until such time as he has an opportunity of showing
his true natur', in the council, or on the war-path; which
has never behappened me; seeing, firstly, because I'm not
born a red-skin, and have no right to sit in their councilings,
and am much too humble to be called on for opinions
from the great of my own colour; and, secondly, because
this is the first war that has befallen in my time, and no
inimy has yet inroaded far enough into the Colony, to be
reached by an arm even longer than mine.”
“Tell me your names,” added Hetty, looking up at him
artlessly, “and, may be, I'll tell you your character.”
“There is some truth in that, I'll not deny, though it
often fails. Men are deceived in other men's characters,
and frequently give 'em names they by no means desarve.
You can see the truth of this in the Mingo names, which,
in their own tongue, signify the same things as the Delaware
names—at least, so they tell me, for I know little of
that tribe, unless it be by report—and no one can say they
are as honest, or as upright a nation. I put no great dependence,
therefore, on names.”
“Tell me all your names,” repeated the girl, earnestly,
for her mind was too simple to separate things from professions,
and she did attach importance to a name; “I want
to know what to think of you.”
“Well, sartain; I've no objection, and you shall hear
them all. In the first place, then, I'm Christian, and white-born,
like yourself, and my parents had a name that came
down from father to son, as is a part of their gifts. My
father was called Bumppo; and I was named after him, of
course, the given name being Nathaniel, or Natty, as most
people saw fit to tarm it.”
“Yes, yes—Natty—and Hetty—” interrupted the
girl quickly, and looking up from her work again, with a
smile; “you are Natty, and I'm Hetty—though you are
Bumppo, and I'm Hutter. Bumppo isn't as pretty as Hutter,
is it?”
“Why, that's as people fancy. Bumppo has no lofty
sound, I admit; and yet men have bumped through the
world with it. I did not go by this name, howsever, very
long; for the Delawares soon found out, or thought they
firstly, Straight-tongue.”
“That's a good name,” interrupted Hetty, earnestly,
and in a positive manner; “don't tell me there's no virtue
in names!”
“I do not say that, for perhaps I desarved to be so
called, lies being no favourites with me, as they are with
some. After a while they found out that I was quick of foot,
and then they called me `The Pigeon;' which, you know,
has a swift wing, and flies in a direct line.”
“That was a pretty name!” exclaimed Hetty; “pigeons
are pretty birds!”
“Most things that God has created are pretty, in their
way, my good gal, though they get to be deformed by man-kind,
so as to change their natur's, as well as their appearance.
From carrying messages, and striking blind trails, I
got, at last, to following the hunters, when it was thought I
was quicker and surer at finding the game than most lads,
and then they called me the `Lap-ear;' as, they said, I partook
of the sagacity of a hound.”
“That's not so pretty,” answered Hetty; “I hope you
didn't keep that name long.”
“Not after I was rich enough to buy a rifle,” returned
the other, betraying a little pride through his usually quiet
and subdued manner; “then it was seen I could keep a
wigwam in ven'son; and, in time, I got the name of `Deerslayer,'
which is that I now bear; homely as some will
think it, who set more valie on the scalp of a fellow-mortal,
than on the horns of a buck.”
“Well, Deerslayer, I'm not one of them,” answered
Hetty, simply; “Judith likes soldiers, and flary coats, and
fine feathers; but they're all naught to me. She says the
officers are great, and gay, and of soft speech; but they
make me shudder, for their business is to kill their fellow-creatures.
I like your calling better; and your last name is
a very good one—better than Natty Bumppo.”
“This is nat'ral, in one of your turn of mind, Hetty, and
much as I should have expected. They tell me your sister
is handsome—oncommon, for a mortal; and beauty is apt
to seek admiration.”
“Did you never see Judith?” demanded the girl, with
look at her. Even Hurry Harry isn't more pleasant to
look at; though she is a woman, and he is a man.”
Deerslayer regarded the girl, for a moment, with concern.
Her pale face had flushed a little, and her eye, usually so
mild and serene, brightened as she spoke, in the way to betray
the inward impulses.
“Ay, Hurry Harry,” he muttered to himself, as he
walked through the cabin, towards the other end of the boat;
“this comes of good looks, if a light tongue has had no consarn
in it. It's easy to see which way that poor creatur's
feelin's are leanin', whatever may be the case with your
Jude's.”
But an interruption was put to the gallantry of Hurry—
the coquetry of his mistress—the thoughts of Deerslayer,
and the gentle feelings of Hetty, by the sudden appearance
of the canoe of the ark's owner, in the narrow opening
among the bushes, that served as a sort of moat to his position.
It would seem that Hutter, or Floating Tom, as he
was familiarly called by all the hunters who knew his habits,
recognized the canoe of Hurry, for he expressed no surprise
at finding him in the scow. On the contrary, his reception
was such as to denote not only gratification, but a pleasure,
mingled with a little disappointment, at his not having made
his appearance some days sooner.
“I look'd for you last week,” he said, in a half-grumbling,
half-welcoming manner; “and was disappointed uncommonly
that you didn't arrive. There came a runner through,
to warn all the trappers and hunters that the Colony and the
Canadas were again in trouble; and I felt lonesome, up in
these mountains, with three scalps to see to, and only one
pair of hands to protect them.”
“That's reasonable,” returned March; “and't was feelin'
like a parent. No doubt, if I had two such darters as Judith
and Hetty, my exper'ence would tell the same story, though,
in gin'ral, I am just as well satisfied with having the nearest
neighbour fifty miles off, as when he is within call.”
“Notwithstanding, you didn't choose to come into the
wilderness alone, now you knew that the Canada savages
are likely to be stirring,” returned Hutter, giving a sort of
“Why should I? They say a bad companion, on a journey,
helps to shorten the path; and this young man I account
to be a reasonably good one. This is Deerslayer, old
Tom, a noted hunter among the Delawares, and Christian-born,
and Christian-edicated, too, like you and me. The
lad is not parfect, perhaps, but there's worse men in the
country that he came from, and, it's likely, he 'll find some
that's no better, in this part of the world. Should we have
occasion to defend our traps, and the territory, he 'll be useful
in feeding us all; for he's a reg'lar dealer in ven'son.”
“Young man, you are welcome,” growled Tom, thrusting
a hard, bony hand towards the youth, as a pledge of his
sincerity; “in such times, a white-face is a friend's, and I
count on you as a support. Children, sometimes, make a
stout heart feeble, and these two daughters of mine give me
more concern than all my traps, and skins, and rights in
the country.”
“That's nat'ral!” cried Hurry. “Yes, Deerslayer, you
and I don't know it, yet, by exper'ence; but, on the whole,
I consider that as nat'ral. If we had darters, it's more
than probable we should have some such feelin's; and I
honour the man that owns 'em. As for Judith, old man, I
enlist, at once, as her soldier, and here is Deerslayer to help
you to take care of Hetty.”
“Many thanks to you, Master March,” returned thé
beauty, in a full, rich voice, and with an accuracy of intonation
and utterance that she shared in common with her
sister, and which showed that she had been better taught
than their father's life and appearance would give reason to
expect; “many thanks to you; but Judith Hutter has the
spirit and the experience that will make her depend more on
herself, than on good-looking rovers like you. Should there
be need to face the savages, do you land, with my father,
instead of burrowing in the huts, under the show of defending
us females, and—”
“Girl—girl,” interrupted the father, “quiet that glib
tongue of thine, and hear the truth. There are savages on
the lake shore, already, and no man can say how near to
more from them!”
“If this be true, Master Hutter,” said Hurry, whose
change of countenance denoted how serious he deemed the
information, though it did not denote any unmanly alarm
“if this be true, your ark is in a most misfortunate position
for, though the cover did deceive Deerslayer and myself, it
would hardly be overlooked by a full-blooded Indian, who
was out seriously in s'arch of scalps!”
“I think as you do, Hurry, and wish, with all my heart,
we lay anywhere else, at this moment, than in this narrow,
crooked stream, which has many advantages to hide in, but
which is almost fatal to them that are discovered. The
savages are near us, moreover, and the difficulty is, to get
out of the river without being shot down like deer standing
at a lick!”
“Are you sartain, Master Hutter, that the red-skins you
dread are ra'al Canadas?” asked Deerslayer, in a modest,
but earnest manner. “Have you seen any; and can you
describe their paint?”
“I have fallen in with the signs of their being in the
neighbourhood, but have seen none of 'em. I was down
stream, a mile or so, looking to my traps, when I struck a
fresh trail, crossing the corner of a swamp, and moving
northward. The man had not passed an hour; and I know'd
it for an Indian footstep by the size of the foot, and the intoe,
even before I found a worn moccasin, which its owner
had dropped as useless. For that matter, I found the spot
where he halted to make a new one, which was only a few
yards from the place where he had dropped the old one.”
“That doesn't look much like a red-skin on the warpath!”
returned the other, shaking his head. “An exper'enced
warrior, at least, would have burned, or buried, or
sunk in the river, such signs of his passage; and your trail
is, quite likely, a peaceable trail. But the moccasin may
greatly relieve my mind, if you bethought you of bringing
it off. I've come here to meet a young chief, myself; and
his course would be much in the direction you 've mentioned.
The trail may have been his'n.”
“Hurry Harry, you 're well acquainted with this young
man, I hope, who has meetings with savages in a part of
Hutter, in a tone and in a manner that sufficiently indicated
the motive of the question; these rude beings seldom hesitating,
on the score of delicacy, to betray their feelings.
“Treachery is an Indian virtue; and the whites, that live
much in their tribes, soon catch their ways and practices.”
“True—true as the Gospel, old Tom; but not personable
to Deerslayer, who's a young man of truth, if he has
no other ricommend. I'll answer for his honesty, whatever
I may do for his valour in battle.”
“I should like to know his errand in this strange quarter
of the country?”
“That is soon told, Master Hutter,” said the young man,
with the composure of one who kept a clean conscience; “I
think, moreover, you 've a right to ask it. The father of
two such darters, who occupies a lake, after your fashion,
has just the same right to inquire into a stranger's business
in his neighbourhood, as the Colony would have to demand
the reason why the Frenchers put more rijiments than common
along the lines. No, no, I 'll not deny your right to
know why a stranger comes into your habitation, or country,
in times as serious as these.”
“If such is your way of thinking, friend, let me hear
your story, without more words.”
“'T is soon told, as I said afore; and shall be honestly
told. I 'm a young man, and, as yet, have never been on a
war-path; but, no sooner did the news come among the
Delawares, that wampum and a hatchet were about to be sent
in to the tribe, than they wished me to go out among the
people of my own colour, and get the exact state of things
for 'em. This I did; and, after delivering my talk to the
chiefs, on my return, I met an officer of the crown, on the
Schoharie, who had moneys to send to some of the fri'ndly
tribes, that live further west. This was thought a good
occasion for Chingachgook, a young chief who has never
struck a foe, and myself, to go on our first war-path in company;
and an app'intment was made for us, by an old Delaware,
to meet at the rock near the foot of this lake. I 'll
not deny that Chingachgook has another object in view, but
it has no consarn with any here, and is his secret, and not
mine; therefore I 'll say no more about it.”
“'T is something about a young woman,” interrupted
Judith, hastily; then laughing at her own impetuosity, and
even having the grace to colour a little at the manner in
which she had betrayed her readiness to impute such a motive.
“If't is neither war, nor a hunt, it must be love.”
“Ay, it comes easy for the young and handsome, who
hear so much of them feelin's, to suppose that they lie at
the bottom of most procedin's; but, on that head, I say nothin'.
Chingachgook is to meet me at the rock, an hour
afore sunset to-morrow evening, after which we shall go our
way together, molesting none but the king's inimies, who
are lawfully our own. Knowing Hurry of old, who once
trapped in our hunting-grounds, and falling in with him on
the Schoharie, just as he was on the p'int of starting for his
summer h'ants, we agreed to journey in company; not so
much from fear of the Mingos, as from good fellowship, and,
as he says, to shorten a long road.”
“And you think the trail I saw may have been that of
your friend, ahead of his time?” said Hutter.
“That's my idee; which may be wrong, but which may
be right. If I saw the moccasin, however, I could tell, in a
minute, whether it is made in the Delaware fashion or not.”
“Here it is, then,” said the quick-witted Judith, who had
already gone to the canoe in quest of it; “tell us what it
says; friend or enemy. You look honest; and I believe all
you say, whatever father may think.”
“That's the way with you, Jude; for ever finding out
friends, where I distrust foes,” grumbled Tom: “but, speak
out, young man, and tell us what you think of the moccasin.”
“That's not Delaware-made,” returned Deerslayer, examining
the worn and rejected covering for the foot with a
cautious eye; “I 'm too young on a war-path to be positive,
but, I should say, that moccasin has a northern look, and
comes from beyond the great lakes.”
“If such is the case, we ought not to lie here a minute
longer than is necessary,” said Hutter, glancing through the
leaves of his cover, as if he already distrusted the presence
of an enemy, on the opposite shore of the narrow and sinuous
stream. “It wants but an hour, or so, of night, and
to move in the dark will be impossible, without making a
piece, in the mountains, half an hour since?”
“Yes, old man, and heard the piece itself,” answered
Hurry, who now felt the indiscretion of which he had been
guilty, “for the last was fired from my own shoulder.”
“I feared it came from the French Indians; still, it may
put them on the look-out, and be a means of discovering us.
You did wrong to fire, in war-time, unless there was good
occasion.”
“So I begin to think, myself, uncle Tom; and yet, if a
man can't trust himself to let off his rifle in a wilderness
that is a thousand miles square, lest some inimy should
hear it, where's the use in carrying one!”
Hutter now held a long consultation with his two guests,
in which the parties came to a true understanding of their
situation. He explained the difficulty that would exist in
attempting to get the ark out of so swift and narrow a stream,
in the dark, without making a noise that could not fail to
attract Indian ears. Any strollers, in their vicinity, would
keep near the river, or the lake; but the former had swampy
shores, in many places, and was both so crooked, and so
fringed with bushes, that it was quite possible to move by
day-light, without incurring much danger of being seen.
More was to be apprehended, perhaps, from the ear, than
from the eye, especially as long as they were in the short,
straitened, and canopied reaches of the stream.
“I never drop down into this cover, which is handy to
my traps, and safer than the lake, from curious eyes, without
providing the means of getting out ag'in,” continued this
singular being; “and that is easier done by a pull, than a
push. My anchor is now lying above the suction, in the
open lake; and here is a line, you see, to haul us up to it.
Without some such help, a single pair of hands would make
heavy work, in forcing a scow, like this, up stream. I have
a sort of a crab, too, that lightens the pull, on occasion.
Jude can use the oar, astarn, as well as myself; and, when
we fear no enemy, to get out of the river gives us but little
trouble.”
“What should we gain, Master Hutter, by changing the
position?” asked Deerslayer, with a good deal of earnestness;
“this is a safe cover; and a stout defence might be
in the way of tradition; but, it seems to me, we might beat
off twenty Mingos, with palisades like them afore us.”
“Ay, ay; you 've never fought, except in traditions, that's
plain enough, young man! Did you ever see as broad a
sheet of water as this above us, before you came in upon it,
with Hurry?”
“I can't say that I ever did,” Deerslayer answered, modestly.
“Youth is the time to l'arn; and I 'm far from
wishing to raise my voice in council, afore it is justified by
exper'ence.”
“Well, then, I 'll teach you the disadvantage of fighting
in this position, and the advantage of taking to the open
lake. Here, you may see, the savages will know where to
aim every shot; and it would be too much to hope that some
would not find their way through the crevices of the logs.
Now, on the other hand, we should have nothing but a forest
to aim at. Then we are not safe from fire, here; the bark
of this roof being little better than so much kindling-wood.
The castle, too, might be entered and ransacked, in my absence,
and all my possessions overrun and destroyed. Once
in the lake, we can be attacked only in boats, or on rafts—
shall have a fair chance with the enemy—and can protect
the castle with the ark. Do you understand this reasoning,
youngster?”
“It sounds well—yes, it has a rational sound; and I 'll
not gainsay it.”
“Well, old Tom,” cried Hurry, “if we are to move, the
sooner we make a beginning, the sooner we shall know
whether we are to have our scalps for night-caps, or not.”
As this proposition was self-evident, no one denied its
justice. The three men, after a short preliminary explanation,
now set about their preparations to move the ark, in
earnest. The slight fastenings were quickly loosened; and,
by hauling on the line, the heavy craft slowly emerged from
the cover. It was no sooner free from the incumbrance
of the branches, than it swung into the stream, sheering
quite close to the western shore, by the force of the current.
Not a soul on board heard the rustling of the branches, as
the cabin came against the bushes and trees of the western
bank, without a feeling of uneasiness; for no one knew at
might unmask himself. Perhaps the gloomy light, that still
struggled through the impending canopy of leaves, or found
its way through the narrow, riband-like opening, which
seemed to mark, in the air above, the course of the river
that flowed beneath, aided in augmenting the appearance of
the danger; for it was little more than sufficient to render
objects visible, without giving up all their outlines at a glance.
Although the sun had not absolutely set, it had withdrawn
its direct rays from the valley; and the hues of evening were
beginning to gather around objects that stood uncovered,
rendering those within the shadows of the woods, still more
sombre and gloomy.
No interruption followed the movement, however, and, as
the men continued to haul on the line, the ark passed steadily
ahead, the great breadth of the scow preventing its sinking
into the water, and, from offering much resistance to the
progress of the swift element beneath its bottom. Hutter,
too, had adopted a precaution, suggested by experience,
which might have done credit to a seaman, and which completely
prevented any of the annoyances and obstacles
which, otherwise, would have attended the short turns of the
river. As the ark descended, heavy stones, attached to the
line, were dropped in the centre of the stream, forming local
anchors, each of which was kept from dragging by the
assistance of those above it, until the uppermost of all was
reached, which got its “backing” from the anchor, or grapnel,
that lay well out in the lake. In consequence of this
expedient, the ark floated clear of the incumbrances of the
shore, against which it would otherwise have been unavoidably
hauled at every turn, producing embarrassments that
Hutter, single-handed, would have found it very difficult to
overcome.
Favoured by this foresight, and stimulated by the apprehension
of discovery, Floating Tom and his two athletic
companions hauled the ark ahead, with quite as much rapidity
as comported with the strength of the line. At every
turn in the stream, a stone was raised from the bottom,
when the direction of the scow changed to one that pointed
towards the stone that lay above. In this manner, with the
channel buoyed out for him, as a sailor might term it, did
low and guarded voice, to increase their exertions, and then,
as occasions offered, warning them against efforts that might,
at particular moments, endanger all by too much zeal. In
spite of their long familiarity with the woods, the gloomy
character of the shaded river added to the uneasiness that
each felt; and when the ark reached the first bend in the
Susquehannah, and the eye caught a glimpse of the broader
expanse of the lake, all felt a relief, that perhaps neither
would have been willing to confess. Here the last stone
was raised from the bottom, and the line led directly towards
the grapnel, which, as Hutter had explained, was
dropped above the suction of the current.
“Thank God!” ejaculated Hurry, “there is day-light,
and we shall soon have a chance of seeing our inimies, if we
are to feel 'em.”
“That is more than you, or any man can say,” growled
Hutter. “There is no spot so likely to harbour a party, as
the shore around the outlet; and the moment we clear these
trees, and get into open water, will be the most trying time,
since it will leave the enemy a cover, while it puts us out
of one. Judith, girl; do you and Hetty leave the oar to take
care of itself, and go within the cabin; and be mindful not
to show your faces at a window; for they who will look at
them won't stop to praise their beauty. And now, Hurry, we'll
step into this outer room, ourselves, and haul through the
door, where we shall all be safe, from a surprise, at least.
Friend Deerslayer, as the current is lighter, and the line
has all the strain on it that is prudent, do you keep moving
from window to window, taking care not to let your head
be seen, if you set any value on life. No one knows when,
or where, we shall hear from our neighbours.”
Deerslayer complied, with a sensation that had nothing
in common with fear, but which had all the interest of a
perfectly novel, and a most exciting situation. For the first
time in his life, he was in the vicinity of enemies, or had
good reason to think so; and that, too, under all the thrilling
circumstances of Indian surprises, and Indian artifices. As
he took his stand at a window, the ark was just passing
through the narrowest part of the stream, a point where the
water first entered what was properly termed the river, and
current to rush into an arch of verdure; a feature as appropriate
and peculiar to the country, perhaps, as that of Switzerland,
where the rivers come rushing literally from chambers
of ice.
The ark was in the act of passing the last curve of this
leafy entrance, as Deerslayer, having examined all that could
be seen of the eastern bank of the river, crossed the room to
look from the opposite window, at the western. His arrival
at this aperture was most opportune, for he had no sooner
placed his eye at a crack, than a sight met his gaze that
might well have alarmed a sentinel so young and inexperienced.
A sapling overhung the water, in nearly half a
circle, having first grown towards the light, and then been
pressed down into this form by the weight of the snows; a
circumstance of common occurrence in the American woods.
On this tree no less than six Indians had already appeared,
others standing ready to follow them, as they left room; each
evidently bent on running out on the trunk, and dropping on
the roof of the ark, as it passed beneath. This would have
been an exploit of no great difficulty, the inclination of the
tree admitting of an easy passage, the adjoining branches
offering ample support for the hands, and the fall being too
trifling to be apprehended. When Deerslayer first saw this
party, it was just unmasking itself, by ascending the part
of the tree nearest to the earth, or that which was much the
most difficult to overcome; and his knowledge of Indian
habits told him, at once, that they were all in their warpaint,
and belonged to a hostile tribe.
“Pull, Hurry,” he cried; “pull for your life, and as you
love Judith Hutter! Pull, man, pull!”
This call was made to one that the young man knew had
the strength of a giant. It was so earnest and solemn, that
both Hutter and March felt it was not idly given, and they
applied all their force to the line simultaneously, and at a
most critical moment. The scow redoubled its motion, and
seemed to glide from under the tree as if conscious of the
danger that was impending over-head. Perceiving that they
were discovered, the Indians uttered the fearful war-whoop,
and running forward on the tree, leaped desperately towards
their fancied prize. There were six on the tree, and each
or less distant from the ark, as they came, sooner or later,
to the leaping-place. The chief, who had taken the dangerous
post in advance, having an earlier opportunity than the
others, struck the scow just within the stern. The fall
proving so much greater than he had anticipated, he was
slightly stunned, and, for a moment, he remained half bent and
unconscious of his situation. At this instant Judith rushed
from the cabin, her beauty heightened by the excitement
that produced the bold act, which flushed her cheek to crimson,
and, throwing all her strength into the effort, she pushed
the intruder over the edge of the scow, headlong into the
river. This decided feat was no sooner accomplished than
the woman resumed her sway; Judith looked over the stern
to ascertain what had become of the man, and the expression
of her eyes softened to concern; next, her cheek crimsoned
between shame and surprise, at her own temerity; and then
she laughed, in her own merry and sweet manner. All this
occupied less than a minute, when the arm of Deerslayer
was thrown around her waist, and she was dragged swiftly
within the protection of the cabin. This retreat was not
effected too soon. Scarcely were the two in safety, when
the forest was filled with yells, and bullets began to patter
against the logs.
The ark being in swift motion all this while, it was beyond
the danger of pursuit by the time these little events
had occurred; and the savages, as soon as the first burst of
their anger had subsided, ceased firing, with the consciousness
that they were expending their ammunition in vain.
When the scow came up over her grapnel, Hutter tripped
the latter, in a way not to impede the motion; and being
now beyond the influence of the current, the vessel continued
to drift ahead, until fairly in the open lake, though still near
enough to the land to render exposure to a rifle-bullet dangerous.
Hutter and March got out two small sweeps, and,
covered by the cabin, they soon urged the ark far enough
from the shore, to leave no inducement to their enemies to
make any further attempt to injure them.
| CHAPTER IV. The deerslayer: or, The first war-path | |