 | CHAPTER XIV. The deerslayer: or, The first war-path |  |
14. CHAPTER XIV.
`Sure never lived beneath the sun;
A lizard's body, lean and long,
A fish's head, a serpent's tongue,
Its foot, with triple claw disjoined;
And what a length of tail behind!' ”
Merrick.
The first act of the Delaware, on rejoining his friend, was
to proceed gravely to disencumber himself of his civilized
attire, and to stand forth an Indian warrior again. The
protest of Deerslayer was met by his communicating the
fact that the presence of an Indian in the hut, was known to
the Iroquois, and that his maintaining the disguise would be
more likely to direct suspicions to his real object, than if he
came out openly as a member of a hostile tribe. When the
latter understood the truth, and was told that he had been
deceived in supposing the chief had succeeded in entering
the ark undiscovered, he cheerfully consented to the change,
since further attempt at concealment was useless. A gentler
feeling than the one avowed, however, lay at the bottom of
the Indian's desire to appear as a son of the forest. He had
been told that Hist was on the opposite shore; and nature so
far triumphed over all distinctions of habit, and tribes, and
people, as to reduce this young savage warrior to the level
of a feeling which would have been found in the most refined
inhabitant of a town, under similar circumstances.
There was a mild satisfaction in believing that she he loved
could see him; and as he walked out on the platform, in his
of the tender fancies that fleet through lovers' brains, beset
his imagination and softened his heart.
All this was lost on Deerslayer, who was no great adept
in the mysteries of Cupid, but whose mind was far more occupied
with the concerns that forced themselves on his attention,
than with any of the truant fancies of love. He
soon recalled his companion, therefore, to a sense of their
actual condition, by summoning him to a sort of council of
war, in which they were to settle their future course. In the
dialogue that followed, the parties mutually made each other
acquainted with what had passed in their several interviews.
Chingachgook was told the history of the treaty about the
ransom; and Deerslayer heard the whole of Hetty's communications.
The latter listened with generous interest to
his friend's hopes, and promised cheerfully all the assistance
he could lend.
“ 'T is our main ar'n'd, Sarpent, as you know; this battling
for the castle and old Hutter's darters, coming in as a
sort of accident. Yes—yes—I'll be actyve in helping little
Hist, who's not only one of the best and handsomest maidens
of the tribe, but the very best and handsomest. I've always
encouraged you, chief, in that liking; and it's proper, too,
that a great and ancient race like your'n shouldn't come to
an end. If a woman of red skin and red gifts, could get to
be near enough to me to wish her for a wife, I'd s'arch for
just such another, but that can never be; no, that can never
be. I'm glad Hetty has met with Hist, howsever, for though
the first is a little short of wit and understanding, the last
has enough for both. Yes, Sarpent,” laughing heartily,
“put'em together, and two smarter gals isn't to be found in
all York colony!”
“I will go to the Iroquois camp,” returned the Delaware,
gravely. “No one knows Chingachgook but Wah!, and
a treaty for lives and scalps should be made by a chief!
Give me the strange beasts, and let me take a canoe.”
Deerslayer dropped his head, and played with the end of
a fish-pole in the water, as he sate dangling his legs over the
edge of the platform, like a man who was lost in thought,
by the sudden occurrence of a novel idea. Instead of directly
answering the proposal of his friend, he began to sotiloquize;
his words more true, as he was remarkable for saying
what he thought, whether the remarks were addressed to
himself, or to any one else.
“Yes—yes,” he said, “this must be what they call love!
I've heard say that it sometimes upsets reason altogether,
leaving a young man as helpless, as to calculation and caution,
as a brute beast. To think that the Sarpent should be
so lost to reason, and cunning, and wisdom! We must,
sartainly, manage to get Hist off, and have'em married as
soon as we get back to the tribe, or this war will be of no
more use to the chief, than a hunt a little oncommon and
extr'ornary. Yes—yes—he'll never be the man he was,
till this matter is off his mind, and he comes to his senses,
like all the rest of mankind. Sarpent, you can't be in
airnest, and therefore I shall say but little to your offer. But
you're a chief, and will soon be sent out on the war-path at
the head of parties, and I'll just ask if you'd think of putting
your forces into the inimy's hands, afore the battle is
fou't?'
“Wah!” ejaculated the Indian.
“Ay—Wah!—I know well enough it's Wah!, and altogether
Wah! Ra'ally, Sarpent, I'm consarned and mortified
about you! I never heard so weak an idee come from
a chief, and he, too, one that's already got a name for being
wise, young and inexper'enced as he is. Canoe you shan't
have, so long as the v'ice of fri'ndship and warning can
count for any thing.”
“My pale-face friend is right. A cloud came over the
face of Chingachgook, and weakness got into his mind,
while his eyes were dim. My brother has a good memory
for good deeds, and a weak memory for bad. He will forget.”
“Yes, that's easy enough. Say no more about it chief;
but if another of them clouds blow near you, do your
endivour to get out of its way. Clouds are bad enough in
the weather; but when they come to the reason, it gets to be
serious. Now, sit down by me here, and let us calculate
our movements a little, for we shall soon either have a truce
and a peace, or we shall come to an actyve, and bloody war.
You see the vagabonds can make logs serve their turn, as
great expl'ite for them to invade us in a body. I've been
thinking of the wisdom of putting all old Tom's stores into the
ark, of barring and locking up the castle, and of taking to
the ark, altogether. That is moveable, and by keeping the
sail up, and shifting places, we might worry through a great
many nights, without them Canada wolves finding a way
into our sheep-fold.”
Chingachgook listened to this plan, with approbation. Did
the negotiation fail, there was now little hope that the night
would pass without an assault; and the enemy had sagacity
enough to understand, that, in carrying the castle, they
would probably become masters of all it contained, the offered
ransom included, and still retain the advantages they
had hitherto gained. Some precaution of the sort appeared
to be absolutely necessary; for now the numbers of the Iroquois
were known, a night attack could scarcely be successfully
met. It would be impossible to prevent the enemy from
getting possession of the canoes and the ark, and the latter
itself would be a hold in which the assailants would be as
effectually protected against bullets as were those in the
building. For a few minutes, both the men thought of sinking
the ark in the shallow water, of bringing the canoes into
the house, and of depending altogether on the castle for protection.
But reflection satisfied them that, in the end, this
expedient would fail. It was so easy to collect logs on the
shore, and to construct a raft of almost any size, that it was
certain the Iroquois, now they had turned their attention to
such means, would resort to them seriously, so long as there
was the certainty of success by perseverance. After deliberating
maturely, and placing all the considerations fairly before
them, the two young beginners in the art of forest warfare,
settled down into the opinion, that the ark offered the
only available means of security. This decision was no
sooner come to, than it was communicated to Judith. The
girl had no serious objection to make, and then all four set
about the measures necessary to carrying the plan into execution.
The reader will readily understand that Floating Tom's
worldly goods were of no great amount. A couple of beds,
some wearing apparel, the arms and ammunition, a few
chest, formed the principal items. These were all soon removed,
the ark having been hauled on the eastern side of the
building, so that the transfer could be made without being
seen from the shore. It was thought unnecessary to disturb
the heavier and coarser articles of furniture, as they were
not required in the ark, and were of but little value in themselves.
As great caution was necessary in removing the
different objects, most of which were passed out of a window
with a view to conceal what was going on, it required two
or three hours before all could be effected. By the expiration
of that time, the raft made its appearance, moving from
the shore. Deerslayer immediately had recourse to the
glass, by the aid of which he perceived that two warriors
were on it, though they appeared to be unarmed. The progress
of the raft was slow, a circumstance that formed one
of the great advantages that would be possessed by the scow,
in any future collision between them; the movements of the
latter being comparatively swift and light. As there was
time to make the dispositions for the reception of the two
dangerous visiters, every thing was prepared for them, long
before they had got near enough to be hailed. The Serpent
and the girls retired into the building, where the former stood
near the door, well provided with rifles; while Judith watched
the proceedings without through a loop. As for Deerslayer,
he had brought a stool to the edge of the platform, at the
point towards which the raft was advancing, and taken his
seat, with his rifle leaning carelessly between his legs.
As the raft drew nearer, every means possessed by the
party in the castle was resorted to, in order to ascertain if
their visiters had any fire-arms. Neither Deerslayer nor
Chingachgook could discover any; but Judith, unwilling to
trust to simple eye-sight, thrust the glass through the loop,
and directed it towards the hemlock boughs that lay between
the two logs of the raft, forming a sort of flooring, as well
as a seat for the use of the rowers. When the heavy-moving
craft was within fifty feet of him, Deerslayer hailed the
Hurons, directing them to cease rowing, it not being his intention
to permit them to land. Compliance, of course, was
necessary, and the two grim-looking warriors instantly
until it had driven in much nearer to the platform.
“Are ye chiefs?” demanded Deerslayer, with dignity.—
“Are ye chiefs?—or have the Mingos sent me warriors
without names, on such an ar'n'd? If so, the sooner ye
go back, the sooner the one will be likely to come that a warrior
can talk with.”
“Hugh!” exclaimed the elder of the two on the raft,
rolling his glowing eyes over the different objects that were
visible in and about the castle, with a keenness that showed
how little escaped him. “My brother is very proud, but
Rivenoak (we use the literal translation of the term, writing
as we do in English) is a name to make a Delaware turn
pale.”
“That's true, or it's a lie, Rivenoak, as it may be; but
I am not likely to turn pale, seeing that I was born pale.
What's your ar'n'd, and why do you come among light
bark canoes, on logs that are not even dug out?”
“The Iroquois are not ducks, to walk on water! Let
the pale-faces give them a canoe, and they'll come in a
canoe.”
“That's more rational, than likely to come to pass. We
have but four canoes, and being four persons, that's only
one for each of us. We thank you for the offer, howsever,
though we ask leave not to accept it. You are welcome,
Iroquois, on your logs.”
“Thanks—my young pale-face warrior—he has got a
name—how do the chiefs call him?”
Deerslayer hesitated a moment, and a gleam of pride and
human weakness came over him. He smiled, muttered between
his teeth, and then looking up proudly, he said—
“Mingo, like all who are young and actyve, I've been
known by different names, at different times. One of your
warriors whose spirit started for the happy-grounds of your
people, as lately as yesterday morning, thought I desarved
to be known by the name of Hawkeye; and this because
my sight happened to be quicker than his own, when it got
to be life or death, atween us.”
Chingachgook, who was attentively listening to all that
passed, heard and understood this proof of passing weakness
in his friend, and on a future occasion he questioned
point, where Deerslayer had first taken human life. When
he had got the whole truth, he did not fail to communicate
it to the tribe; from which time the young hunter was universally
known among the Delawares, by an appellation so
honourably earned. As this, however, was a period posterior
to all the incidents of this tale, we shall continue to call
the young hunter by the name under which he has been
first introduced to the reader. Nor was the Iroquois less
struck with the vaunt of the white man. He knew of the
death of his comrade, and had no difficulty in understanding
the allusion; the intercourse between the conqueror and
his victim on that occasion, having been seen by several
savages on the shore of the lake, who had been stationed at
different points just within the margin of the bushes, to
watch the drifting canoes, and who had not time to reach
the scene of action ere the victor had retired. The effect
on this rude being of the forest, was an exclamation of surprise;
then such a smile of courtesy, and wave of the hand,
succeeded, as would have done credit to Asiatic diplomacy.
The two Iroquois spoke to each other, in low terms, and
both drew near the end of the raft that was closest to the
platform.
“My brother, Hawkeye, has sent a message to the Hurons,”
resumed Rivenoak, “and it has made their hearts
very glad. They hear he has images of beasts with two
tails! Will he show them to his friends?”
“Inimies would be truer,” returned Deerslayer; “but
sound isn't sense, and does little harm. Here is one of the
images; I toss it to you under faith of treaties. If it's not
returned, the rifle will settle the p'int atween us.”
The Iroquois seemed to acquiesce in the conditions, and
Deerslayer arose and prepared to toss one of the elephants
to the raft, both parties using all the precaution that was
necessary to prevent its loss. As practice renders men expert
in such things, the little piece of ivory was soon successfully
transferred from one hand to the other; and then
followed another scene on the raft, in which astonishment
and delight got the mastery of Indian stoicism. These two
grim old warriors manifested even more feeling, as they examined
the curiously-wrought chess-man, than had been
schooling had interposed its influence; while the men, like
all who are sustained by well-established characters, were
not ashamed to let some of their emotions be discovered.
For a few minutes they apparently lost all consciousness of
their situation, in the intense scrutiny they bestowed on a
material so fine, work so highly wrought, and an animal so
extraordinary. The lip of the moose is, perhaps, the nearest
approach to the trunk of the elephant that is to be found in
the American forest; but this resemblance was far from
being sufficiently striking to bring the new creature within
the range of their habits and ideas, and the more they studied
the image, the greater was their astonishment. Nor
did these children of the forest mistake the structure on the
back of the elephant for a part of the animal. They were
familiar with horses and oxen, and had seen towers in the
Canadas, and found nothing surprising in creatures of burthen.
Still, by a very natural association, they supposed
the carving meant to represent that the animal they saw
was of a strength sufficient to carry a fort on its back; a
circumstance that in no degree lessened their wonder.
“Has my pale-face brother any more such beasts?” at
last the senior of the Iroquois asked, in a sort of petitioning
manner.
“There's more where them came from, Mingo,” was the
answer; “one is enough, however, to buy off fifty scalps.”
“One of my prisoners is a great warrior—tall as a pine—
strong as the moose—active as a deer—fierce as the panther!
Some day he'll be a great chief, and lead the army of King
George!”
“Tut—tut—Mingo; Harry Hurry is Harry Hurry, and
you'll never make more than a corporal of him, if you do
that. He's tall enough, of a sartainty; but that's of no
use, as he only hits his head ag'in the branches as he goes
through the forest. He's strong, too; but a strong body
isn't a strong head, and the king's generals are not chosen
for their sinews. He's swift, if you will, but a rifle-bullet
is swifter; and as for f'erceness, it's no great recommend
to a soldier; they that think they feel the stoutest, often
givin' out at the pinch. No—no—you'll never make Hurry's
and a rattlepate beneath it!”
“My old prisoner very wise—king of the lake—great
warrior, wise counsellor!”
“Well, there's them that might gainsay all this, too,
Mingo. A very wise man wouldn't be apt to be taken in so
foolish a manner as befel Master Hutter; and if he gives
good counsel, he must have listened to bad, in all that affair.
There's only one king of this lake, and he's a long way
off, and isn't likely ever to see it. Floating Tom is some
such king of this region, as the wolf that prowls through
the woods, is king of the forest. A beast with two tails is
well worth two such scalps!”
“But my brother has another beast?—He will give two,”
holding up as many fingers, “for old father?”
“Floating Tom is no father of mine, but he'll fare none
the worse for that. As for giving two beasts for his scalp,
and each beast with two tails, it is quite beyond reason.
Think yourself well off, Mingo, if you make a much worse
trade.”
By this time the self-command of Rivenoak had got the
better of his wonder, and he began to fall back on his usual
habits of cunning, in order to drive the best bargain he
could. It would be useless to relate more than the substance
of the desultory dialogue that followed, in which the Indian
manifested no little management, in endeavouring to recover
the ground lost under the influence of surprise. He even
affected to doubt whether any original for the image of the
beast existed, and asserted that the oldest Indian had never
heard a tradition of any such animal. Little did either of
them imagine, at the time, that long ere a century elapsed,
the progress of civilization would bring even much more extraordinary
and rare animals into that region, as curiosities to
be gazed at by the curious, and that the particular beast,
about which the disputants contended, would be seen laving
its sides and swimming in the very sheet of water on which
they had met. As is not uncommon on such occasions,
one of the parties got a little warm, in the course of the
discussion; for Deerslayer met all the arguments and prevarications
of his subtle opponent, with his own cool directness
of manner, and unmoved love of truth. What an
perfectly understood that the carved pieces of ivory must
have some such value in the eyes of an Iroquois, as a bag
of gold, or a package of beaver-skins, would in those of a
trader. Under the circumstances, therefore, he felt it to be
prudent not to concede too much at first, since there existed
a nearly unconquerable obstacle to making the transfers,
even after the contracting parties had actually agreed upon
the terms. Keeping this difficulty in view, he held the extra
chess-men in reserve, as a means of smoothing any difficulty
in the moment of need.
At length the savage pretended that further negotiation
was useless, since he could not be so unjust to his tribe as
to part with the honour and emoluments of two excellent,
full-grown, male scalps, for a consideration so trifling as
two toys like those he had seen—and he prepared to take
his departure. Both parties now felt as men are wont to
feel, when a bargain that each is anxious to conclude, is on
the eve of being broken off, in consequence of too much
pertinacity in the way of management. The effect of the
disappointment was very different, however, on the respective
individuals. Deerslayer was mortified, and filled with
regret; for he not only felt for the prisoners, but he also
felt deeply for the two girls. The conclusion of the treaty,
therefore, left him melancholy and full of regret. With the
savage, his defeat produced the savage desire of revenge.
In a moment of excitement, he had loudly announced his
intention to say no more; and he felt equally enraged with
himself and with his cool opponent, that he had permitted a
pale-face to manifest more indifference and self-command
than an Indian chief. When he began to urge his raft away
from the platform, his countenance lowered, and his eye
glowed, even while he affected a smile of amity and a gesture
of courtesy, at parting.
It took some little time to overcome the vis inertiœ of the
logs, and while this was doing by the silent Indian, Rivenoak
stalked over the hemlock boughs that lay between the logs,
in sullen ferocity, eyeing keenly the while, the hut, the platform,
and the person of his late disputant. Once he spoke
in low, quick terms to his companion, and he stirred the
boughs with his feet, like an animal that is restive. At that
for he sat musing on the means of renewing the negotiation
without giving too much advantage to the other side.
It was perhaps fortunate for him that the keen and bright
eyes of Judith were as vigilant as ever. At the instant
when the young man was least on his guard, and his enemy
was the most on the alert, she called out, in a warning voice,
to the former, most opportunely giving the alarm.
“Be on your guard, Deerslayer,” the girl cried; “I see
rifles, with the glass, beneath the hemlock brush, and the
Iroquois is loosening them with his feet!”
It would seem that the enemy had carried their artifices
so far as to employ an agent who understood English. The
previous dialogue had taken place in his own language, but
it was evident, by the sudden manner in which his feet
ceased their treacherous occupation, and in which the countenance
of Rivenoak changed from sullen ferocity to a smile
of courtesy, that the call of the girl was understood. Signing
to his companion to cease his efforts to set the logs in
motion, he advanced to the end of the raft which was nearest
to the platform, and spoke.
“Why should Rivenoak and his brother leave any cloud
between them?” he said. “They are both wise, both brave,
and both generous; they ought to part friends. One beast
shall be the price of one prisoner.”
“And, Mingo,” answered the other, delighted to renew
the negotiation on almost any terms, and determined to
clinch the bargain if possible by a little extra liberality,
“you'll see that a pale-face knows how to pay a full price,
when he trades with an open heart, and an open hand.
Keep the beast that you had forgotten to give back to me,
as you was about to start, and which I forgot to ask for, on
account of consarn at parting in anger. Show it to your
chiefs. When you bring us our fri'nds, two more shall be
added to it—and—” hesitating a moment in distrust of the
expediency of so great a concession, then, deciding in its
favour—“and, if we see them afore the sun sets, we may
find a fourth, to make up an even number.”
This settled the matter. Every gleam of discontent vanished
from the dark countenance of the Iroquois, and he
smiled as graciously, if not as sweetly, as Judith Hutter,
and an ejaculation of pleasure showed how much
he was pleased with this unexpected termination of the
affair. In point of fact, both he and Deerslayer had momentarily
forgotten what had become of the subject of their
discussion, in the warmth of their feelings; but such had
not been the case with Rivenoak's companion. This man
retained the piece, and had fully made up his mind, were it
claimed under such circumstances as to render its return
necessary, to drop it in the lake, trusting to his being able
to find it again, at some future day. This desperate expedient,
however, was no longer necessary; and, after repeating
the terms of agreement, and professing to understand
them, the two Indians finally took their departure, moving
slowly towards the shore.
“Can any faith be put in such wretches?” asked Judith,
when she and Hetty had come out on the platform, and were
standing at the side of Deerslayer, watching the dull movement
of the logs. “Will they not rather keep the toy they
have, and send us off some bloody proofs of their getting
the better of us in cunning, by way of boasting? I've
heard of acts as bad as this.”
“No doubt—Judith; no manner of doubt, if it wasn't
for Indian natur'. But I'm no judge of a red-skin, if that
two-tail'd beast doesn't set the whole tribe in some such
stir, as a stick raises in a beehive! Now, there's the Sarpent;
a man with narves like flint, and no more cur'osity
in every-day consarns, than is befitting prudence.—Why he
was so overcome with the sight of the creatur', carved as it
is in bone, that I felt ashamed for him! That's just their
gifts, however, and one can't well quarrel with a man for
his gifts, when they are lawful. Chingachgook will soon
get over his weakness, and remember that he's a chief, and
that he comes of a great stock, and has a renowned name
to support and uphold; but, as for yonder scamps, there'll
be no peace among'em, until they think they've got possession
of every thing of the natur' of that bit of carved
bone, that's to be found among Thomas Hutter's stores!”
“They only know of the elephants, and can have no
hopes about the other things.”
“That's true, Judith; still, covetousness is a craving
beasts with two tails, who knows but they've got some with
three, or, for that matter, with four! That's what the
schoolmasters call nat'ral arithmetic, and 't will be sartain
to beset the feelin's of savages. They 'll never be easy,
till the truth is known.”
“Do you think, Deerslayer,” inquired Hetty, in her simple
and innocent manner, “that the Iroquois won't let father
and Hurry go? — I read to them several of the very best
verses in the whole Bible, and you see what they have done,
already.”
The hunter, as he always did, listened kindly and even
affectionately to Hetty's remarks: then he mused a moment
in silence. There was something like a flush on his cheek,
as he answered, after quite a minute had passed.
“I don't know whether a white man ought to be ashamed,
or not, to own he can't read; but such is my case, Judith.
You are skilful, I find, in all such matters, while I have only
studied the hand of God, as it is seen in the hills and the
valleys, the mountain-tops, the streams, the forest, and the
springs. Much l'arning may be got in this way, as well as
out of books; and, yet, I sometimes think it is a white
man's gift to read! When I hear from the mouths of the
Moravians, the words of which Hetty speaks, they raise a
longing in my mind, and I think I will know how to read
'em myself; but the game in summer, and the traditions,
and lessons in war, and other matters, have always kept me
behindhand.”
“Shall I teach you, Deerslayer?” asked Hetty, earnestly.
“I'm weak-minded, they say, but I can read as well as Judith.
It might save your life, to know how to read the Bible
to the savages, and it will certainly save your soul; for mother
told me that, again and again!”
“Thankee, Hetty — yes, thankee, with all my heart.
There are like to be too stirring times for much idleness;
but, after it 's peace, and I come to see you ag'in on this
lake, then I 'll give myself up to it, as if 'twas pleasure and
profit, in a single business. Perhaps I ought to be ashamed,
Judith, that 't is so; but truth is truth. As for these Iroquois,
'tisn't very likely they 'll forget a beast with two
tails, on account of a varse or two from the Bible. I rather
or other, to get 'em back ag'in, with us and all
in the castle, and the ark, in the bargain. Howsever, we
must humour the vagabonds, first, to get your father and
Hurry out of their hands, and next, to keep the peace atween
us, until such time as the Sarpent there, can make out to
get off his betrothed wife. If there's any sudden outbreakin'
of anger and ferocity, the Indians will send off all their women
and children to the camp, at once; whereas, by keeping
'em calm and trustful, we may manage to meet Hist, at the
spot she has mentioned. Rather than have the bargain fall
through, now, I 'd throw in half a dozen of them effigy bow-and-arrow
men, such as we 've in plenty in the chist.”
Judith cheerfully assented, for she would have resigned
even the flowered brocade, rather than not redeem her father,
and please Deerslayer.
The prospects of success were now so encouraging, as to
raise the spirits of all in the castle, though a due watchfulness
on the movements of the enemy, was maintained.
Hour passed after hour, notwithstanding, and the sun had
once more begun to fall towards the summits of the western
hills, and yet no signs were seen of the return of the raft.
By dint of sweeping the shore with the glass, Deerslayer at
length discovered a place in the dense and dark woods,
where, he entertained no doubt, the Iroquois were assembled
in considerable numbers. It was near the thicket whence
the raft had issued, and a little rill that trickled into the lake
announced the vicinity of a spring. Here, then, the savages
were probably holding their consultation, and the decision
was to be made that went to settle the question of life or
death for the prisoners. There was one ground for hope in
spite of the delay, however, that Deerslayer did not fail to
place before his anxious companions. It was far more probable
that the Indians had left their prisoners in the camp,
than that they had encumbered themselves, by causing them
to follow through the woods, a party that was out on a merely
temporary excursion. If such was the fact, it required considerable
time to send a messenger the necessary distance,
and to bring the two white men to the spot where they were
to embark. Encouraged by these reflections, a new stock
viewed with less alarm.
The result justified Deerslayer's conjecture. Not long
before the sun had finally disappeared, the two logs were
seen coming out of the thicket, again; and, as it drew near,
Judith announced that her father and Hurry, both of them
pinioned, lay on the bushes in the centre. As before, the
Indians were rowing. The latter seemed to be conscious
that the lateness of the hour demanded unusual exertions,
and contrary to the habits of their people, who are ever
averse to toil, they laboured hard at the rude substitutes for
oars. In consequence of this diligence, the raft occupied its
old station, in about half the time that had been taken in the
previous visits.
Even after the conditions were so well understood, and
matters had proceeded so far, the actual transfer of the
prisoners was not a duty to be executed without difficulty.
The Iroquois were compelled to place great reliance on the
good faith of their foes, though it was reluctantly given, and
was yielded to necessity rather than to confidence. As soon
as Hutter and Hurry should be released, the party in the
castle numbered two to one, as opposed to those on the raft,
and escape by flight was out of the question, as the former
had three bark canoes, to say nothing of the defences of the
house and the ark. All this was understood by both parties,
and it is probable the arrangement never could have
been completed, had not the honest countenance and manner
of Deerslayer wrought their usual effect on Rivenoak.
“My brother knows I put faith in him,” said the latter, as
he advanced with Hutter, whose legs had been released to
enable the old man to ascend to the platform. “One scalp
—one more beast.”
“Stop, Mingo,” interrupted the hunter, “keep your prisoner
a moment. I have to go and seek the means of payment.”
This excuse, however, though true in part, was principally
a fetch. Deerslayer left the platform, and entering
the house, he directed Judith to collect all the arms, and to
conceal them in her own room. He then spoke earnestly to
the Delaware, who stood on guard as before, near the entrance
pocket, and returned.
“You are welcome back, to your old abode, Master Hutter,”
said Deerslayer, as he helped the other up on the
platform, slily passing into the hand of Rivenoak, at the
same time, another of the castles. “You 'll find your darters
right glad to see you; and here's Hetty come herself, to say
as much in her own behalf.”
Here the hunter stopped speaking of his own accord, and
broke out into a hearty fit of his silent and peculiar laughter.
Hurry's legs were just released, and he had been placed on
his feet. So tightly had the ligatures been drawn, that the
use of his limbs was not immediately recovered, and the
young giant presented, in good sooth, a very helpless and a
somewhat ludicrous picture. It was this unusual spectacle,
particularly the bewildered countenance, that excited the
merriment of Deerslayer.
“You look like a girdled pine in a clearin', Harry Hurry,
that is rocking in a gale,” said Deerslayer, checking his unseasonable
mirth, more from delicacy to the others, than from
any respect to the liberated captive. “I 'm glad, howsever, to
see that you haven't had your hair dressed by any of the
Iroquois barbers, in your late visit to their camp.”
“Harkee, Deerslayer,” returned the other, a little fiercely;
“it will be prudent for you to deal less in mirth, and more
in friendship, on this occasion. Act like a Christian, for
once, and not like a laughing gal in a country school, when
the master's back is turned, and just tell me whether there's
any feet, or not, at the end of these legs of mine. I think I
can see them, but as for feelin', they might as well be down
on the banks of the Mohawk, as where they seem to be.”
“You 've come off whole, Hurry, and that 's not a little,”
answered the other, secretly passing to the Indian the remainder
of the stipulated ransom, and making an earnest
sign, at the same moment, for him to commence his retreat.
“You 've come off whole, feet and all, and are only a little
numb, from a tight fit of the withes. Natur'll soon set the
blood in motion, and then you may begin to dance, to celebrate
what I call a most wonderful and onexpected deliverance
from a den of wolves.”
Deerslayer released the arms of his friends, as each landed,
| CHAPTER XIV. The deerslayer: or, The first war-path | |