Chapter XXVII.
"Thou hast been busy, Death, this day, and yet But half thy work is done! The gates of hell Are thronged, yet twice ten thousand spirits more Who from their warm and healthful tenements Fear no divorce; must, ere the sun go down, Enter the world of woe!"--
Southey, Roderick, the Last of the Goths, XXIV, i-6.
One experienced in the signs of the heavens, would have seen that thesun wanted but two or three minutes of the zenith, when Deerslayerlanded on the point, where the Hurons were now encamped, nearly abreastof the castle. This spot was similar to the one already described, withthe exception that the surface of the land was less broken, and lesscrowded with trees. Owing to these two circumstances, it was all thebetter suited to the purpose for which it had been selected, the spacebeneath the branches bearing some resemblance to a densely wooded lawn.Favoured by its position and its spring, it had been much resorted to bysavages and hunters, and the natural grasses had succeeded their fires,leaving an appearance of sward in places, a very unusual accompanimentof the virgin forest. Nor was the margin of water fringed with bushes,as on so much of its shore, but the eye penetrated the woods immediatelyon reaching the strand, commanding nearly the whole area of theprojection.
If it was a point of honor with the Indian warrior to redeem his word,when pledged to return and meet his death at a given hour, so was ita point of characteristic pride to show no womanish impatience, but toreappear as nearly as possible at the appointed moment. It was well notto exceed the grace accorded by the generosity of the enemy, but it wasbetter to meet it to a minute. Something of this dramatic effect mingleswith most of the graver usages of the American aborigines, and no doubt,like the prevalence of a similar feeling among people more sophisticatedand refined, may be referred to a principle of nature. We all love thewonderful, and when it comes attended by chivalrous self-devotion and arigid regard to honor, it presents itself to our admiration in a shapedoubly attractive. As respects Deerslayer, though he took a pride inshowing his white blood, by often deviating from the usages of thered-men, he frequently dropped into their customs, and oftener intotheir feelings, unconsciously to himself, in consequence of having noother arbiters to appeal to, than their judgments and tastes. On thepresent occasion, he would have abstained from betraying a feverishhaste by a too speedy return, since it would have contained a tacitadmission that the time asked for was more than had been wanted; but,on the other hand, had the idea occurred to him, he would have quickenedhis movements a little, in order to avoid the dramatic appearance ofreturning at the precise instant set as the utmost limit of his absence.Still, accident had interfered to defeat the last intention, for whenthe young man put his foot on the point, and advanced with a steadytread towards the group of chiefs that was seated in grave array ona fallen tree, the oldest of their number cast his eye upward, at anopening in the trees, and pointed out to his companions the startlingfact that the sun was just entering a space that was known to mark thezenith. A common, but low exclamation of surprise and admiration escapedevery mouth, and the grim warriors looked at each other, some with envyand disappointment, some with astonishment at the precise accuracy oftheir victim, and others with a more generous and liberal feeling. TheAmerican Indian always deemed his moral victories the noblest, prizingthe groans and yielding of his victim under torture, more than thetrophy of his scalp; and the trophy itself more than his life. To slay,and not to bring off the proof of victory, indeed, was scarcely deemedhonorable, even these rude and fierce tenants of the forest, like theirmore nurtured brethren of the court and the camp, having set up forthemselves imaginary and arbitrary points of honor, to supplant theconclusions of the right and the decisions of reason.
The Hurons had been divided in their opinions concerning the probabilityof their captive's return. Most among them, indeed, had not expected itpossible for a pale-face to come back voluntarily, and meet the knownpenalties of an Indian torture; but a few of the seniors expected betterthings from one who had already shown himself so singularly cool, braveand upright. The party had come to its decision, however, less inthe expectation of finding the pledge redeemed, than in the hope ofdisgracing the Delawares by casting into their teeth the delinquencyof one bred in their villages. They would have greatly preferred thatChingachgook should be their prisoner, and prove the traitor, but thepale-face scion of the hated stock was no bad substitute for theirpurposes, failing in their designs against the ancient stem. With aview to render their triumph as signal as possible, in the event of thehour's passing without the reappearance of the hunter, all the warriorsand scouts of the party had been called in, and the whole band, men,women and children, was now assembled at this single point, to be awitness of the expected scene. As the castle was in plain view, andby no means distant, it was easily watched by daylight, and, it beingthought that its inmates were now limited to Hurry, the Delaware andthe two girls, no apprehensions were felt of their being able to escapeunseen. A large raft having a breast-work of logs had been prepared,and was in actual readiness to be used against either Ark or castleas occasion might require, so soon as the fate of Deerslayer wasdetermined, the seniors of the party having come to the opinion that itwas getting to be hazardous to delay their departure for Canada beyondthe coming night. In short the band waited merely to dispose of thissingle affair, ere it brought matters with those in the Castle to acrisis, and prepared to commence its retreat towards the distant watersof Ontario.
It was an imposing scene into which Deerslayer now found himselfadvancing. All the older warriors were seated on the trunk of the fallentree, waiting his approach with grave decorum. On the right stood theyoung men, armed, while left was occupied by the women and children. Inthe centre was an open space of considerable extent, always canopied bytrees, but from which the underbrush, dead wood, and other obstacles hadbeen carefully removed. The more open area had probably been much usedby former parties, for this was the place where the appearance of asward was the most decided. The arches of the woods, even at high noon,cast their sombre shadows on the spot, which the brilliant rays of thesun that struggled through the leaves contributed to mellow, and, ifsuch an expression can be used, to illuminate. It was probably from asimilar scene that the mind of man first got its idea of the effects ofgothic tracery and churchly hues, this temple of nature producingsome such effect, so far as light and shadow were concerned, as thewell-known offspring of human invention.
As was not unusual among the tribes and wandering bands of theAborigines, two chiefs shared, in nearly equal degrees, the principaland primitive authority that was wielded over these children of theforest. There were several who might claim the distinction of beingchief men, but the two in question were so much superior to all the restin influence, that, when they agreed, no one disputed their mandates,and when they were divided the band hesitated, like men who had losttheir governing principle of action. It was also in conformity withpractice, perhaps we might add in conformity with nature, that one ofthe chiefs was indebted to his mind for his influence, whereas the otherowed his distinction altogether to qualities that were physical. Onewas a senior, well known for eloquence in debate, wisdom in council, andprudence in measures; while his great competitor, if not his rival, wasa brave distinguished in war, notorious for ferocity, and remarkable, inthe way of intellect, for nothing but the cunning and expedients of thewar path. The first was Rivenoak, who has already been introduced to thereader, while the last was called le Panth'ere, in the language of theCanadas, or the Panther, to resort to the vernacular of the Englishcolonies. The appellation of the fighting chief was supposed to indicatethe qualities of the warrior, agreeably to a practice of the red man'snomenclature, ferocity, cunning and treachery being, perhaps, thedistinctive features of his character. The title had been received fromthe French, and was prized so much the more from that circumstance,the Indian submitting profoundly to the greater intelligence of hispale-face allies, in most things of this nature. How well the sobriquetwas merited wi
ll be seen in the sequel.
Rivenoak and the Panther sat side by side awaiting the approach of theirprisoner, as Deerslayer put his moccasined foot on the strand, nor dideither move, or utter a syllable, until the young man had advanced intothe centre of the area, and proclaimed his presence with his voice. Thiswas done firmly, though in the simple manner that marked the characterof the individual.
"Here I am, Mingos," he said, in the dialect of the Delawares, alanguage that most present understood; "here I am, and there is the sun.One is not more true to the laws of natur', than the other has provedtrue to his word. I am your prisoner; do with me what you please. Mybusiness with man and 'arth is settled; nothing remains now but to meetthe white man's God, accordin' to a white man's duties and gifts."
A murmur of approbation escaped even the women at this address, and, foran instant there was a strong and pretty general desire to adopt intothe tribe one who owned so brave a spirit. Still there were dissentersfrom this wish, among the principal of whom might be classed thePanther, and his sister, le Sumach, so called from the number of herchildren, who was the widow of le Loup Cervier, now known to have fallenby the hand of the captive. Native ferocity held one in subjection,while the corroding passion of revenge prevented the other fromadmitting any gentler feeling at the moment. Not so with Rivenoak. Thischief arose, stretched his arm before him in a gesture of courtesy, andpaid his compliments with an ease and dignity that a prince might haveenvied. As, in that band, his wisdom and eloquence were confessedlywithout rivals, he knew that on himself would properly fall the duty offirst replying to the speech of the pale-face.
"Pale-face, you are honest," said the Huron orator. "My people are happyin having captured a man, and not a skulking fox. We now know you; weshall treat you like a brave. If you have slain one of our warriors, andhelped to kill others, you have a life of your own ready to give away inreturn. Some of my young men thought that the blood of a pale-face wastoo thin; that it would refuse to run under the Huron knife. You willshow them it is not so; your heart is stout, as well as your body. Itis a pleasure to make such a prisoner; should my warriors say that thedeath of le Loup Cervier ought not to be forgotten, and that he cannottravel towards the land of spirits alone, that his enemy must be sentto overtake him, they will remember that he fell by the hand of a brave,and send you after him with such signs of our friendship as shall notmake him ashamed to keep your company. I have spoken; you know what Ihave said."
"True enough, Mingo, all true as the gospel," returned the simple mindedhunter, "you have spoken, and I do know not only what you have said,but, what is still more important, what you mean. I dare to sayyour warrior the Lynx was a stout-hearted brave, and worthy of yourfri'ndship and respect, but I do not feel unworthy to keep his company,without any passport from your hands. Nevertheless, here I am, readyto receive judgment from your council, if, indeed, the matter was notdetarmined among you afore I got back."
"My old men would not sit in council over a pale-face until they saw himamong them," answered Rivenoak, looking around him a little ironically;"they said it would be like sitting in council over the winds; they gowhere they will, and come back as they see fit, and not otherwise. Therewas one voice that spoke in your favor, Deerslayer, but it was alone,like the song of the wren whose mate has been struck by the hawk."
"I thank that voice whosever it may have been, Mingo, and will say itwas as true a voice as the rest were lying voices. A furlough is asbinding on a pale-face, if he be honest, as it is on a red-skin, and wasit not so, I would never bring disgrace on the Delawares, among whom Imay be said to have received my edication. But words are useless, andlead to braggin' feelin's; here I am; act your will on me."
Rivenoak made a sign of acquiescence, and then a short conference wasprivately held among the chiefs. As soon as the latter ended, three orfour young men fell back from among the armed group, and disappeared.Then it was signified to the prisoner that he was at liberty to go atlarge on the point, until a council was held concerning his fate. Therewas more of seeming, than of real confidence, however, in this apparentliberality, inasmuch as the young men mentioned already formed a line ofsentinels across the breadth of the point, inland, and escape from anyother part was out of the question. Even the canoe was removed beyondthis line of sentinels, to a spot where it was considered safe fromany sudden attempt. These precautions did not proceed from a failure ofconfidence, but from the circumstance that the prisoner had now compliedwith all the required conditions of his parole, and it would have beenconsidered a commendable and honorable exploit to escape from his foes.So nice, indeed, were the distinctions drawn by the savages in cases ofthis nature, that they often gave their victims a chance to evade thetorture, deeming it as creditable to the captors to overtake, or tooutwit a fugitive, when his exertions were supposed to be quickened bythe extreme jeopardy of his situation, as it was for him to get clearfrom so much extraordinary vigilance.
Nor was Deerslayer unconscious of, or forgetful, of his rights and ofhis opportunities. Could he now have seen any probable opening for anescape, the attempt would not have been delayed a minute. But the caseseem'd desperate. He was aware of the line of sentinels, and feltthe difficulty of breaking through it, unharmed. The lake offeredno advantages, as the canoe would have given his foes the greatestfacilities for overtaking him; else would he have found it no difficulttask to swim as far as the castle. As he walked about the point, he evenexamined the spot to ascertain if it offered no place of concealment,but its openness, its size, and the hundred watchful glances that wereturned towards him, even while those who made them affected not tosee him, prevented any such expedient from succeeding. The dread anddisgrace of failure had no influence on Deerslayer, who deemed it evena point of honor to reason and feel like a white man, rather than as anIndian, and who felt it a sort of duty to do all he could that did notinvolve a dereliction from principle, in order to save his life. Stillhe hesitated about making the effort, for he also felt that he ought tosee the chance of success before he committed himself.
In the mean time the business of the camp appeared to proceed in itsregular train. The chiefs consulted apart, admitting no one but theSumach to their councils, for she, the widow of the fallen warrior,had an exclusive right to be heard on such an occasion. The young menstrolled about in indolent listlessness, awaiting the result with Indianpatience, while the females prepared the feast that was to celebrate thetermination of the affair, whether it proved fortunate or otherwise forour hero. No one betrayed feeling, and an indifferent observer, beyondthe extreme watchfulness of the sentinels, would have detected noextraordinary movement or sensation to denote the real state of things.Two or three old women put their heads together, and it appearedunfavorably to the prospects of Deerslayer, by their scowling looks, andangry gestures; but a group of Indian girls were evidently animated by adifferent impulse, as was apparent by stolen glances that expressed pityand regret. In this condition of the camp, an hour soon glided away.
Suspense is perhaps the feeling of all others that is most difficult tobe supported. When Deerslayer landed, he fully expected in the course ofa few minutes to undergo the tortures of an Indian revenge, and hewas prepared to meet his fate manfully; but, the delay proved far moretrying than the nearer approach of suffering, and the intended victimbegan seriously to meditate some desperate effort at escape, as itmight be from sheer anxiety to terminate the scene, when he was suddenlysummoned, to appear once more in front of his judges, who had alreadyarranged the band in its former order, in readiness to receive him.
"Killer of the Deer," commenced Rivenoak, as soon as his captive stoodbefore him, "my aged men have listened to wise words; they are ready tospeak. You are a man whose fathers came from beyond the rising sun; weare children of the setting sun; we turn our faces towards the GreatSweet Lakes, when we look towards our villages. It may be a wide countryand full of riches towards the morning, but it is very pleasant towardsthe evening. We love most to look in that direction. When we gaze at th
eeast, we feel afraid, canoe after canoe bringing more and more of yourpeople in the track of the sun, as if their land was so full as to runover. The red men are few already; they have need of help. One of ourbest lodges has lately been emptied by the death of its master; it willbe a long time before his son can grow big enough to sit in his place.There is his widow; she will want venison to feed her and her children,for her sons are yet like the young of the robin, before they quit thenest. By your hand has this great calamity befallen her. She has twoduties; one to le Loup Cervier, and one to his children. Scalp forscalp, life for life, blood for blood, is one law; to feed her young,another. We know you, Killer of the Deer. You are honest; when you say athing, it is so. You have but one tongue, and that is not forked, likea snake's. Your head is never hid in the grass; all can see it. Whatyou say, that will you do. You are just. When you have done wrong, it isyour wish to do right, again, as soon as you can. Here, is the Sumach;she is alone in her wigwam, with children crying around her forfood--yonder is a rifle; it is loaded and ready to be fired. Take thegun, go forth and shoot a deer; bring the venison and lay it before thewidow of Le Loup Cervier, feed her children; call yourself her husband.After which, your heart will no longer be Delaware, but Huron; leSumach's ears will not hear the cries of her children; my people willcount the proper number of warriors."
"I fear'd this, Rivenoak," answered Deerslayer, when the other hadceased speaking--"yes, I did dread that it would come to this. Howsever,the truth is soon told, and that will put an end to all expectations onthis head. Mingo, I'm white and Christian born; 't would ill become meto take a wife, under red-skin forms, from among heathen. That whichI wouldn't do, in peaceable times, and under a bright sun, still lesswould I do behind clouds, in order to save my life. I may never marry;most likely Providence in putting me up here in the woods, has intendedI should live single, and without a lodge of my own; but should such athing come to pass, none but a woman of my own colour and gifts shalldarken the door of my wigwam. As for feeding the young of your deadwarrior, I would do that cheerfully, could it be done without discredit;but it cannot, seeing that I can never live in a Huron village. Yourown young men must find the Sumach in venison, and the next time shemarries, let her take a husband whose legs are not long enough tooverrun territory that don't belong to him. We fou't a fair battle, andhe fell; in this there is nothin' but what a brave expects, and shouldbe ready to meet. As for getting a Mingo heart, as well might you expectto see gray hairs on a boy, or the blackberry growing on the pine.No--no Huron; my gifts are white so far as wives are consarned; it isDelaware, in all things touchin' Injins."
These words were scarcely out of the mouth of Deerslayer, before acommon murmur betrayed the dissatisfaction with which they had beenheard. The aged women, in particular, were loud in their expressions ofdisgust, and the gentle Sumach, herself, a woman quite old enough to beour hero's mother, was not the least pacific in her denunciations.But all the other manifestations of disappointment and discontent werethrown into the background, by the fierce resentment of the Panther.This grim chief had thought it a degradation to permit his sister tobecome the wife of a pale-face of the Yengeese at all, and had onlygiven a reluctant consent to the arrangement--one by no means unusualamong the Indians, however--at the earnest solicitations of thebereaved widow; and it goaded him to the quick to find his condescensionslighted, the honor he had with so much regret been persuaded to accord,condemned. The animal from which he got his name does not glare on hisintended prey with more frightful ferocity than his eyes gleamed on thecaptive, nor was his arm backward in seconding the fierce resentmentthat almost consumed his breast.
"Dog of the pale-faces!" he exclaimed in Iroquois, "go yell among thecurs of your own evil hunting grounds!"
The denunciation was accompanied by an appropriate action. Even whilespeaking his arm was lifted, and the tomahawk hurled. Luckily the loudtones of the speaker had drawn the eye of Deerslayer towards him, elsewould that moment have probably closed his career. So great was thedexterity with which this dangerous weapon was thrown, and so deadly theintent, that it would have riven the scull of the prisoner, had he notstretched forth an arm, and caught the handle in one of its turns, witha readiness quite as remarkable as the skill with which the missile hadbeen hurled. The projectile force was so great, notwithstanding, thatwhen Deerslayer's arm was arrested, his hand was raised above and behindhis own head, and in the very attitude necessary to return theattack. It is not certain whether the circumstance of finding himselfunexpectedly in this menacing posture and armed tempted the young manto retaliate, or whether sudden resentment overcame his forbearance andprudence. His eye kindled, however, and a small red spot appeared oneach cheek, while he cast all his energy into the effort of his arm, andthrew back the weapon at his assailant. The unexpectedness of this blowcontributed to its success, the Panther neither raising an arm, norbending his head to avoid it. The keen little axe struck the victim ina perpendicular line with the nose, directly between the eyes, literallybraining him on the spot. Sallying forward, as the serpent darts at itsenemy even while receiving its own death wound, this man of powerfulframe fell his length into the open area formed by the circle, quiveringin death. A common rush to his relief left the captive, in a singleinstant, quite without the crowd, and, willing to make one desperateeffort for life, he bounded off with the activity of a deer. There wasbut a breathless instant, when the whole band, old and young, womenand children, abandoning the lifeless body of the Panther where it lay,raised the yell of alarm and followed in pursuit.
Sudden as had been the event which induced Deerslayer to make thisdesperate trial of speed, his mind was not wholly unprepared for thefearful emergency. In the course of the past hour, he had pondered wellon the chances of such an experiment, and had shrewdly calculated allthe details of success and failure. At the first leap, therefore, hisbody was completely under the direction of an intelligence that turnedall its efforts to the best account, and prevented everything likehesitation or indecision at the important instant of the start. To thisalone was he indebted for the first great advantage, that of gettingthrough the line of sentinels unharmed. The manner in which this wasdone, though sufficiently simple, merits a description.
Although the shores of the point were not fringed with bushes, as wasthe case with most of the others on the lake, it was owing altogetherto the circumstance that the spot had been so much used by hunters andfishermen. This fringe commenced on what might be termed the main land,and was as dense as usual, extending in long lines both north and south.In the latter direction, then, Deerslayer held his way, and, as thesentinels were a little without the commencement of this thicket, beforethe alarm was clearly communicated to them the fugitive had gained itscover. To run among the bushes, however, was out of the question, andDeerslayer held his way, for some forty or fifty yards, in the water,which was barely knee deep, offering as great an obstacle to the speedof his pursuers as it did to his own. As soon as a favorable spotpresented, he darted through the line of bushes and issued into the openwoods. Several rifles were discharged at Deerslayer while in the water,and more followed as he came out into the comparative exposure of theclear forest. But the direction of his line of flight, which partiallycrossed that of the fire, the haste with which the weapons had beenaimed, and the general confusion that prevailed in the camp preventedany harm from being done. Bullets whistled past him, and many cut twigsfrom the branches at his side, but not one touched even his dress. Thedelay caused by these fruitless attempts was of great service to thefugitive, who had gained more than a hundred yards on even the leadingmen of the Hurons, ere something like concert and order had enteredinto the chase. To think of following with rifles in hand was out ofthe question, and after emptying their pieces in vague hopes of woundingtheir captive, the best runners of the Indians threw them aside, callingout to the women and boys to recover and load them, again, as soon aspossible.
Deerslayer knew too well the desperate nature of the struggle in whichhe was enga
ged to lose one of the precious moments. He also knew thathis only hope was to run in a straight line, for as soon as he began toturn, or double, the greater number of his pursuers would put escape outof the question. He held his way therefore, in a diagonal direction upthe acclivity, which was neither very high nor very steep in this partof the mountain, but which was sufficiently toilsome for one contendingfor life, to render it painfully oppressive. There, however, heslackened his speed to recover breath, proceeding even at a quick walk,or a slow trot, along the more difficult parts of the way. The Huronswere whooping and leaping behind him, but this he disregarded, wellknowing they must overcome the difficulties he had surmounted ere theycould reach the elevation to which he had attained. The summit of thefirst hill was now quite near him, and he saw, by the formation of theland, that a deep glen intervened before the base of a second hill couldbe reached. Walking deliberately to the summit, he glanced eagerly abouthim in every direction in quest of a cover. None offered in the ground,but a fallen tree lay near him, and desperate circumstances requireddesperate remedies. This tree lay in a line parallel to the glen, at thebrow of the hill. To leap on it, and then to force his person as closeas possible under its lower side, took but a moment. Previously todisappearing from his pursuers, however, Deerslayer stood on the heightand gave a cry of triumph, as if exulting at the sight of the descentthat lay before him. In the next instant he was stretched beneath thetree.
No sooner was this expedient adopted, than the young man ascertained howdesperate had been his own efforts, by the violence of the pulsations inhis frame. He could hear his heart beat, and his breathing was like theaction of a bellows, in quick motion. Breath was gained, however,and the heart soon ceased to throb as if about to break through itsconfinement. The footsteps of those who toiled up the opposite sideof the acclivity were now audible, and presently voices and treadsannounced the arrival of the pursuers. The foremost shouted as theyreached the height; then, fearful that their enemy would escape underfavor of the descent, each leaped upon the fallen tree and plunged intothe ravine, trusting to get a sight of the pursued ere he reached thebottom. In this manner, Huron followed Huron until Natty began to hopethe whole had passed. Others succeeded, however, until quite forty hadleaped over the tree, and then he counted them, as the surest mode ofascertaining how many could be behind. Presently all were in the bottomof the glen, quite a hundred feet below him, and some had even ascendedpart of the opposite hill, when it became evident an inquiry was makingas to the direction he had taken. This was the critical moment, and oneof nerves less steady, or of a training that had been neglected, wouldhave seized it to rise and fly. Not so with Deerslayer. He still layquiet, watching with jealous vigilance every movement below, and fastregaining his breath.
The Hurons now resembled a pack of hounds at fault. Little was said, buteach man ran about, examining the dead leaves as the hound hunts forthe lost scent. The great number of moccasins that had passed made theexamination difficult, though the in-toe of an Indian was easily to bedistinguished from the freer and wider step of a white man. Believingthat no more pursuers remained behind, and hoping to steal away unseen,Deerslayer suddenly threw himself over the tree, and fell on the upperside. This achievement appeared to be effected successfully, and hopebeat high in the bosom of the fugitive.
Rising to his hands and feet, after a moment lost in listening to thesounds in the glen, in order to ascertain if he had been seen, the youngman next scrambled to the top of the hill, a distance of only ten yards,in the expectation of getting its brow between him and his pursuers, andhimself so far under cover. Even this was effected, and he rose to hisfeet, walking swiftly but steadily along the summit, in a directionopposite to that in which he had first fled. The nature of the calls inthe glen, however, soon made him uneasy, and he sprang upon the summitagain, in order to reconnoitre. No sooner did he reach the height thanhe was seen, and the chase renewed. As it was better footing on thelevel ground, Deerslayer now avoided the side hill, holding his flightalong the ridge; while the Hurons, judging from the general formation ofthe land, saw that the ridge would soon melt into the hollow, and keptto the latter, as the easiest mode of heading the fugitive. A few, atthe same time, turned south, with a view to prevent his escaping in thatdirection, while some crossed his trail towards the water, in order toprevent his retreat by the lake, running southerly.
The situation of Deerslayer was now more critical than it ever hadbeen. He was virtually surrounded on three sides, having the lake onthe fourth. But he had pondered well on all the chances, and tookhis measures with coolness, even while at the top of his speed. As isgenerally the case with the vigorous border men, he could outrun anysingle Indian among his pursuers, who were principally formidable tohim on account of their numbers, and the advantages they possessed inposition, and he would not have hesitated to break off in a straightline at any spot, could he have got the whole band again fairly behindhim. But no such chance did, or indeed could now offer, and when hefound that he was descending towards the glen, by the melting away ofthe ridge, he turned short, at right angles to his previous course,and went down the declivity with tremendous velocity, holding his waytowards the shore. Some of his pursuers came panting up the hill indirect chase, while most still kept on in the ravine, intending to headhim at its termination.
Deerslayer had now a different, though a desperate project in view.Abandoning all thoughts of escape by the woods, he made the best of hisway towards the canoe. He knew where it lay; could it be reached, he hadonly to run the gauntlet of a few rifles, and success would be certain.None of the warriors had kept their weapons, which would have retardedtheir speed, and the risk would come either from the uncertain handsof the women, or from those of some well grown boy; though most of thelatter were already out in hot pursuit. Everything seemed propitious tothe execution of this plan, and the course being a continued descent,the young man went over the ground at a rate that promised a speedytermination to his toil.
As Deerslayer approached the point, several women and children werepassed, but, though the former endeavoured to cast dried branchesbetween his legs, the terror inspired by his bold retaliation onthe redoubted Panther was so great, that none dared come near enoughseriously to molest him. He went by all triumphantly and reached thefringe of bushes. Plunging through these, our hero found himself oncemore in the lake, and within fifty feet of the canoe. Here he ceasedto run, for he well understood that his breath was now all important tohim. He even stooped, as he advanced, and cooled his parched mouth byscooping water up in his hand to drink. Still the moments pressed, andhe soon stood at the side of the canoe. The first glance told him thatthe paddles had been removed! This was a sore disappointment, after allhis efforts, and, for a single moment, he thought of turning, and offacing his foes by walking with dignity into the centre of the campagain. But an infernal yell, such as the American savage alone canraise, proclaimed the quick approach of the nearest of his pursuers,and the instinct of life triumphed. Preparing himself duly, and giving aright direction to its bows, he ran off into the water bearing the canoebefore him, threw all his strength and skill into a last effort, andcast himself forward so as to fall into the bottom of the light craftwithout materially impeding its way. Here he remained on his back, bothto regain his breath and to cover his person from the deadly rifle.The lightness, which was such an advantage in paddling the canoe, nowoperated unfavorably. The material was so like a feather, that the boathad no momentum, else would the impulse in that smooth and placid sheethave impelled it to a distance from the shore that would have renderedpaddling with the hands safe. Could such a point once be reached,Deerslayer thought he might get far enough out to attract the attentionof Chingachgook and Judith, who would not fail to come to his reliefwith other canoes, a circumstance that promised everything. As the youngman lay in the bottom of the canoe, he watched its movements by studyingthe tops of the trees on the mountainside, and judged of his distance bythe time and the motions. Voices on the shore were now numerou
s, and heheard something said about manning the raft, which, fortunately for thefugitive, lay at a considerable distance on the other side of the point.
Perhaps the situation of Deerslayer had not been more critical thatday than it was at this moment. It certainly had not been one half astantalizing. He lay perfectly quiet for two or three minutes, trustingto the single sense of hearing, confident that the noise in the lakewould reach his ears, did any one venture to approach by swimming.Once or twice he fancied that the element was stirred by the cautiousmovement of an arm, and then he perceived it was the wash of the wateron the pebbles of the strand; for, in mimicry of the ocean, it is seldomthat those little lakes are so totally tranquil as not to possess aslight heaving and setting on their shores. Suddenly all the voicesceased, and a death like stillness pervaded the spot: A quietness asprofound as if all lay in the repose of inanimate life. By this time,the canoe had drifted so far as to render nothing visible to Deerslayer,as he lay on his back, except the blue void of space, and a few of thosebrighter rays that proceed from the effulgence of the sun, marking hisproximity. It was not possible to endure this uncertainty long. Theyoung man well knew that the profound stillness foreboded evil, thesavages never being so silent as when about to strike a blow; resemblingthe stealthy foot of the panther ere he takes his leap. He took out aknife and was about to cut a hole through the bark, in order to geta view of the shore, when he paused from a dread of being seen in theoperation, which would direct the enemy where to aim their bullets. Atthis instant a rifle was fired, and the ball pierced both sides of thecanoe, within eighteen inches of the spot where his head lay. This wasclose work, but our hero had too lately gone through that which wascloser to be appalled. He lay still half a minute longer, and then hesaw the summit of an oak coming slowly within his narrow horizon.
Unable to account for this change, Deerslayer could restrain hisimpatience no longer. Hitching his body along, with the utmost caution,he got his eye at the bullet hole, and fortunately commanded a verytolerable view of the point. The canoe, by one of those imperceptibleimpulses that so often decide the fate of men as well as the course ofthings, had inclined southerly, and was slowly drifting down the lake.It was lucky that Deerslayer had given it a shove sufficiently vigorousto send it past the end of the point, ere it took this inclination, orit must have gone ashore again. As it was, it drifted so near it as tobring the tops of two or three trees within the range of the young man'sview, as has been mentioned, and, indeed, to come in quite as closeproximity with the extremity of the point as was at all safe. Thedistance could not much have exceeded a hundred feet, though fortunatelya light current of air from the southwest began to set it slowly offshore.
Deerslayer now felt the urgent necessity of resorting to some expedientto get farther from his foes, and if possible to apprise his friendsof his situation. The distance rendered the last difficult, while theproximity to the point rendered the first indispensable. As was usual insuch craft, a large, round, smooth stone was in each end of the canoe,for the double purpose of seats and ballast; one of these was withinreach of his feet. This stone he contrived to get so far between hislegs as to reach it with his hands, and then he managed to roll it tothe side of its fellow in the bows, where the two served to keep thetrim of the light boat, while he worked his own body as far aft aspossible. Before quitting the shore, and as soon as he perceived thatthe paddles were gone, Deerslayer had thrown a bit of dead branch intothe canoe, and this was within reach of his arm. Removing the cap hewore, he put it on the end of this stick, and just let it appear overthe edge of the canoe, as far as possible from his own person. This rusewas scarcely adopted before the young man had a proof how much he hadunderrated the intelligence of his enemies. In contempt of an artificeso shallow and common place, a bullet was fired directly through anotherpart of the canoe, which actually raised his skin. He dropped the cap,and instantly raised it immediately over his head, as a safeguard.It would seem that this second artifice was unseen, or what was moreprobable, the Hurons feeling certain of recovering their captive, wishedto take him alive.
Deerslayer lay passive a few minutes longer, his eye at the bullethole, however, and much did he rejoice at seeing that he was drifting,gradually, farther and farther from the shore. When he looked upward,the treetops had disappeared, but he soon found that the canoe wasslowly turning, so as to prevent his getting a view of anything at hispeephole, but of the two extremities of the lake. He now bethought himof the stick, which was crooked and offered some facilities for rowingwithout the necessity of rising. The experiment succeeded on trial,better even than he had hoped, though his great embarrassment was tokeep the canoe straight. That his present manoeuvre was seen soon becameapparent by the clamor on the shore, and a bullet entering the stern ofthe canoe traversed its length, whistling between the arms of our hero,and passed out at the head. This satisfied the fugitive that he wasgetting away with tolerable speed, and induced him to increase hisefforts. He was making a stronger push than common, when anothermessenger from the point broke the stick out-board, and at once deprivedhim of his oar. As the sound of voices seemed to grow more and moredistant, however, Deerslayer determined to leave all to the drift, untilhe believed himself beyond the reach of bullets. This was nervous work,but it was the wisest of all the expedients that offered, and the youngman was encouraged to persevere in it by the circumstance that he felthis face fanned by the air, a proof that there was a little more wind.
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