The Deerslayer

  Chapter XX

  "Now all is done that man can do, And all is done in vain! My love! my native land, adieu For I must cross the main, My dear, For I must cross the main."

  Robert Burns, "It was a' for our Rightfu' King," II. 7-12.

  The last chapter we left the combatants breathing in their narrow lists.Accustomed to the rude sports of wrestling and jumping, then so commonin America, more especially on the frontiers, Hurry possessed anadvantage, in addition to his prodigious strength, that had rendered thestruggle less unequal than it might otherwise appear to be. This alonehad enabled him to hold out so long, against so many enemies, for theIndian is by no means remarkable for his skill, or force, in athleticexercises. As yet, no one had been seriously hurt, though several of thesavages had received severe falls, and he, in particular, who had beenthrown bodily upon the platform, might be said to be temporarily horsde combat. Some of the rest were limping, and March himself had notentirely escaped from bruises, though want of breath was the principalloss that both sides wished to repair.

  Under circumstances like those in which the parties were placed, atruce, let it come from what cause it might, could not well be of longcontinuance. The arena was too confined, and the distrust of treacherytoo great, to admit of this. Contrary to what might be expected in hissituation, Hurry was the first to recommence hostilities. Whether thisproceeded from policy, an idea that he might gain some advantage bymaking a sudden and unexpected assault, or was the fruit of irritationand his undying hatred of an Indian, it is impossible to say. His onsetwas furious, however, and at first it carried all before it. He seizedthe nearest Huron by the waist, raised him entirely from the platform,and hurled him into the water, as if he had been a child. In half aminute, two more were at his side, one of whom received a grave injuryby the friend who had just preceded him. But four enemies remained, and,in a hand to hand conflict, in which no arms were used but those whichnature had furnished, Hurry believed himself fully able to cope withthat number of red-skins.

  "Hurrah! Old Tom," he shouted--"The rascals are taking to the lake, andI'll soon have 'em all swimming!" As these words were uttered a violentkick in the face sent back the injured Indian, who had caught at theedge of the platform, and was endeavoring to raise himself to its level,helplessly and hopelessly into the water. When the affray was over,his dark body was seen, through the limpid element of the Glimmerglass,lying, with outstretched arms, extended on the bottom of the shoal onwhich the Castle stood, clinging to the sands and weeds, as if life wereto be retained by this frenzied grasp of death. A blow sent into the pitof another's stomach doubled him up like a worm that had been troddenon, and but two able bodied foes remained to be dealt with. One ofthese, however, was not only the largest and strongest of the Hurons,but he was also the most experienced of their warriors present, and thatone whose sinews were the best strung in fights, and by marches onthe warpath. This man fully appreciated the gigantic strength of hisopponent, and had carefully husbanded his own. He was also equippedin the best manner for such a conflict, standing in nothing but hisbreech-cloth, the model of a naked and beautiful statue of agility andstrength. To grasp him required additional dexterity and unusual force.Still Hurry did not hesitate, but the kick that had actually destroyedone fellow creature was no sooner given, than he closed in with thisformidable antagonist, endeavoring to force him into the water, also.The struggle that succeeded was truly frightful. So fierce did itimmediately become, and so quick and changeful were the evolutions ofthe athletes, that the remaining savage had no chance for interfering,had he possessed the desire; but wonder and apprehension held himspell bound. He was an inexperienced youth, and his blood curdled ashe witnessed the fell strife of human passions, exhibited too, in anunaccustomed form.

  Hurry first attempted to throw his antagonist. With this view he seizedhim by the throat, and an arm, and tripped with the quickness andforce of an American borderer. The effect was frustrated by the agilemovements of the Huron, who had clothes to grasp by, and whose feetavoided the attempt with a nimbleness equal to that with which it wasmade. Then followed a sort of melee, if such a term can be applied toa struggle between two in which no efforts were strictly visible,the limbs and bodies of the combatants assuming so many attitudes andcontortions as to defeat observation. This confused but fierce rallylasted less than a minute, however; when, Hurry, furious at havinghis strength baffled by the agility and nakedness of his foe, madea desperate effort, which sent the Huron from him, hurling his bodyviolently against the logs of the hut. The concussion was so great asmomentarily to confuse the latter's faculties. The pain, too, extorteda deep groan; an unusual concession to agony to escape a red man inthe heat of battle. Still he rushed forward again to meet his enemy,conscious that his safety rested on it's resolution. Hurry now seizedthe other by the waist, raised him bodily from the platform, and fellwith his own great weight on the form beneath. This additional shockso stunned the sufferer, that his gigantic white opponent now had himcompletely at his mercy. Passing his hands around the throat of hisvictim, he compressed them with the strength of a vice, fairly doublingthe head of the Huron over the edge of the platform, until the chin wasuppermost, with the infernal strength he expended. An instant sufficedto show the consequences. The eyes of the sufferer seemed to startforward, his tongue protruded, and his nostrils dilated nearly tosplitting. At this instant a rope of bark, having an eye, was passeddexterously within the two arms of Hurry, the end threaded the eye,forming a noose, and his elbows were drawn together behind hisback, with a power that all his gigantic strength could not resist.Reluctantly, even under such circumstances, did the exasperated borderersee his hands drawn from their deadly grasp, for all the evil passionswere then in the ascendant. Almost at the same instant a similarfastening secured his ankles, and his body was rolled to the centre ofthe platform as helplessly, and as cavalierly, as if it were a log ofwood. His rescued antagonist, however, did not rise, for while he beganagain to breathe, his head still hung helplessly over the edge of thelogs, and it was thought at first that his neck was dislocated. Herecovered gradually only, and it was hours before he could walk. Somefancied that neither his body, nor his mind, ever totally recovered fromthis near approach to death.

  Hurry owed his defeat and capture to the intensity with which he hadconcentrated all his powers on his fallen foe. While thus occupied, thetwo Indians he had hurled into the water mounted to the heads of thepiles, along which they passed, and joined their companion on theplatform. The latter had so far rallied his faculties as to have gottenthe ropes, which were in readiness for use as the others appeared, andthey were applied in the manner related, as Hurry lay pressing hisenemy down with his whole weight, intent only on the horrible office ofstrangling him. Thus were the tables turned, in a single moment; he whohad been so near achieving a victory that would have been renownedfor ages, by means of traditions, throughout all that region, lyinghelpless, bound and a captive. So fearful had been the efforts of thepale-face, and so prodigious the strength he exhibited, that even as helay tethered like a sheep before them, they regarded him with respect,and not without dread. The helpless body of their stoutest warrior wasstill stretched on the platform, and, as they cast their eyes towardsthe lake, in quest of the comrade that had been hurled into it sounceremoniously, and of whom they had lost sight in the confusion ofthe fray, they perceived his lifeless form clinging to the grass on thebottom, as already described. These several circumstances contributed torender the victory of the Hurons almost as astounding to themselves as adefeat.

  Chingachgook and his betrothed witnessed the whole of this struggle fromthe Ark. When the three Hurons were about to pass the cords around thearms of the prostrate Hurry the Delaware sought his rifle, but, beforehe could use it the white man was bound and the mischief was done. Hemight still bring down an enemy, but to obtain the scalp was impossible,and the young chief, who would so freely risk his own life to obtainsuch a trophy, hesitated about taking that of a foe withou
t such anobject in view. A glance at Hist, and the recollection of what mightfollow, checked any transient wish for revenge. The reader has been toldthat Chingachgook could scarcely be said to know how to manage the oarsof the Ark at all, however expert he might be in the use of the paddle.Perhaps there is no manual labor at which men are so bungling andawkward, as in their first attempts to pull oar, even the experiencedmariner, or boat man, breaking down in his efforts to figure with thecelebrated rullock of the gondolier. In short it is, temporarily, animpracticable thing for a new beginner to succeed with a single oar, butin this case it was necessary to handle two at the same time, and thoseof great size. Sweeps, or large oars, however, are sooner rendered ofuse by the raw hand than lighter implements, and this was the reasonthat the Delaware had succeeded in moving the Ark as well as he did in afirst trial. That trial, notwithstanding, sufficed to produce distrust,and he was fully aware of the critical situation in which Hist andhimself were now placed, should the Hurons take to the canoe that wasstill lying beneath the trap, and come against them. At the moment hethought of putting Hist into the canoe in his own possession, and oftaking to the eastern mountain in the hope of reaching the Delawarevillages by direct flight. But many considerations suggested themselvesto put a stop to this indiscreet step. It was almost certain that scoutswatched the lake on both sides, and no canoe could possibly approachshore without being seen from the hills. Then a trail could not beconcealed from Indian eyes, and the strength of Hist was unequal toa flight sufficiently sustained to outstrip the pursuit of trainedwarriors. This was a part of America in which the Indians did not knowthe use of horses, and everything would depend on the physical energiesof the fugitives. Last, but far from being least, were the thoughtsconnected with the situation of Deerslayer, a friend who was not to bedeserted in his extremity.

  Hist in some particulars reasoned, and even felt, differently though shearrived at the same conclusions. Her own anger disturbed her less thanher concern for the two sisters, on whose behalf her womanly sympathieswere now strongly enlisted. The canoe of the girls, by the time thestruggle on the platform had ceased, was within three hundred yards ofthe castle, and here Judith ceased paddling, the evidences of strifefirst becoming apparent to the eyes. She and Hetty were standing erect,anxiously endeavoring to ascertain what had occurred, but unable tosatisfy their doubts from the circumstance that the building, in a greatmeasure, concealed the scene of action.

  The parties in the Ark, and in the canoe, were indebted to the ferocityof Hurry's attack for their momentary security. In any ordinary case,the girls would have been immediately captured, a measure easy ofexecution now the savages had a canoe, were it not for the rude checkthe audacity of the Hurons had received in the recent struggle. Itrequired some little time to recover from the effects of this violentscene, and this so much the more, because the principal man of theparty, in the way of personal prowess at least, had been so great asufferer. Still it was of the last importance that Judith and her sistershould seek immediate refuge in the Ark, where the defences offered atemporary shelter at least, and the first step was to devise the meansof inducing them to do so. Hist showed herself in the stern of the scow,and made many gestures and signs, in vain, in order to induce the girlsto make a circuit to avoid the Castle, and to approach the Ark fromthe eastward. But these signs were distrusted or misunderstood. It isprobable Judith was not yet sufficiently aware of the real state ofthings to put full confidence in either party. Instead of doing asdesired, she rather kept more aloof, paddling slowly back to the north,or into the broadest part of the lake, where she could command thewidest view, and had the fairest field for flight before her. Atthis instant the sun appeared above the pines of the eastern range ofmountains and a light southerly breeze arose, as was usual enough atthat season and hour. Chingachgook lost no time in hoisting the sail.Whatever might be in reserve for him, there could be no question thatit was every way desirable to get the Ark at such a distance from thecastle as to reduce his enemies to the necessity of approaching theformer in the canoe, which the chances of war had so inopportunely, forhis wishes and security, thrown into their hands. The appearance of theopening duck seemed first to arouse the Hurons from their apathy, and bythe time the head of the scow had fallen off before the wind, which itdid unfortunately in the wrong direction, bringing it within a fewyards of the platform, Hist found it necessary to warn her lover of theimportance of covering his person against the rifles of his foes. Thiswas a danger to be avoided under all circumstances, and so much themore, because the Delaware found that Hist would not take to the coverherself so long as he remained exposed. Accordingly, Chingachgookabandoned the scow to its own movements, forced Hist into the cabin, thedoors of which he immediately secured, and then he looked about him forthe rifles. The situation of the parties was now so singular as to merita particular description. The Ark was within sixty yards of the castle,a little to the southward, or to windward of it, with its sail full, andthe steering oar abandoned. The latter, fortunately, was loose, sothat it produced no great influence on the crab like movements of theunwieldy craft. The sail being as sailors term it, flying, or having nobraces, the air forced the yard forward, though both sheets were fast.The effect was threefold on a boat with a bottom that was perfectlyflat, and which drew merely some three or four inches water. It pressedthe head slowly round to leeward, it forced the whole fabric bodilyin the same direction at the same time, and the water that unavoidablygathered under the lee gave the scow also a forward movement. All thesechanges were exceedingly slow, however, for the wind was not only light,but it was baffling as usual, and twice or thrice the sail shook. Onceit was absolutely taken aback.

  Had there been any keel to the Ark, it would inevitably have run foul ofthe platform, bows on, when it is probable nothing could have preventedthe Hurons from carrying it; more particularly as the sail would haveenabled them to approach under cover. As it was, the scow wore slowlyround, barely clearing that part of the building. The piles projectingseveral feet, they were not cleared, but the head of the slow movingcraft caught between two of them, by one of its square corners, andhung. At this moment the Delaware was vigilantly watching through a loopfor an opportunity to fire, while the Hurons kept within the building,similarly occupied. The exhausted warrior reclined against the hut,there having been no time to remove him, and Hurry lay, almost ashelpless as a log, tethered like a sheep on its way to the slaughter,near the middle of the platform. Chingachgook could have slain thefirst, at any moment, but his scalp would have been safe, and the youngchief disdained to strike a blow that could lead to neither honor noradvantage.

  "Run out one of the poles, Sarpent, if Sarpent you be," said Hurry, amidthe groans that the tightness of the ligatures was beginning to extortfrom him--"run out one of the poles, and shove the head of the scow off,and you'll drift clear of us--and, when you've done that good turn foryourself just finish this gagging blackguard for me."

  The appeal of Hurry, however, had no other effect than to drawthe attention of Hist to his situation. This quick witted creaturecomprehended it at a glance. His ankles were bound with several turns ofstout bark rope, and his arms, above the elbows, were similarly securedbehind his back; barely leaving him a little play of the hands andwrists. Putting her mouth near a loop she said in a low but distinctvoice--"Why you don't roll here, and fall in scow? Chingachgook shootHuron, if he chase!"

  "By the Lord, gal, that's a judgematical thought, and it shall be tried,if the starn of your scow will come a little nearer. Put a bed at thebottom, for me to fall on."

  This was said at a happy moment, for, tired of waiting, all the Indiansmade a rapid discharge of their rifles, almost simultaneously, injuringno one; though several bullets passed through the loops. Hist had heardpart of Hurry's words, but most of what he said was lost in the sharpreports of the firearms. She undid the bar of the door that led to thestern of the scow, but did not dare to expose her person. All this time,the head of the Ark hung, but by a gradually decreasing hold as t
heother end swung slowly round, nearer and nearer to the platform. Hurry,who now lay with his face towards the Ark, occasionally writhing andturning over like one in pain, evolutions he had performed ever since hewas secured, watched every change, and, at last, he saw that the wholevessel was free, and was beginning to grate slowly along the sidesof the piles. The attempt was desperate, but it seemed to be the onlychance for escaping torture and death, and it suited the reckless daringof the man's character. Waiting to the last moment, in order that thestern of the scow might fairly rub against the platform, he began towrithe again, as if in intolerable suffering, execrating all Indians ingeneral, and the Hurons in particular, and then he suddenly and rapidlyrolled over and over, taking the direction of the stern of the scow.Unfortunately, Hurry's shoulders required more space to revolve inthan his feet, and by the time he reached the edge of the platformhis direction had so far changed as to carry him clear of the Arkaltogether, and the rapidity of his revolutions and the emergencyadmitting of no delay, he fell into the water. At this instant,Chingachgook, by an understanding with his betrothed, drew the fire ofthe Hurons again, not a man of whom saw the manner in which one whomthey knew to be effectually tethered, had disappeared. But Hist'sfeelings were strongly interested in the success of so bold a scheme,and she watched the movements of Hurry as the cat watches the mouse. Themoment he was in motion she foresaw the consequences, and this the morereadily, as the scow was now beginning to move with some steadiness, andshe bethought her of the means of saving him. With a sort of instinctivereadiness, she opened the door at the very moment the rifles wereringing in her ears, and protected by the intervening cabin, she steppedinto the stem of the scow in time to witness the fall of Hurry into thelake. Her foot was unconsciously placed on the end of one of the sheetsof the sail, which was fastened aft, and catching up all the spare ropewith the awkwardness, but also with the generous resolution of a woman,she threw it in the direction of the helpless Hurry. The line fellon the head and body of the sinking man and he not only succeeded ingrasping separate parts of it with his hands, but he actually gota portion of it between his teeth. Hurry was an expert swimmer, andtethered as he was he resorted to the very expedient that philosophy andreflection would have suggested. He had fallen on his back, and insteadof floundering and drowning himself by desperate efforts to walk on thewater, he permitted his body to sink as low as possible, and was alreadysubmerged, with the exception of his face, when the line reached him.In this situation he might possibly have remained until rescued by theHurons, using his hands as fishes use their fins, had he received noother succour, but the movement of the Ark soon tightened the rope, andof course he was dragged gently ahead holding even pace with the scow.The motion aided in keeping his face above the surface of the water, andit would have been possible for one accustomed to endurance to have beentowed a mile in this singular but simple manner.

  It has been said that the Hurons did not observe the suddendisappearance of Hurry. In his present situation he was not only hidfrom view by the platform, but, as the Ark drew slowly ahead, impelledby a sail that was now filled, he received the same friendly servicefrom the piles. The Hurons, indeed, were too intent on endeavoring toslay their Delaware foe, by sending a bullet through some one of theloops or crevices of the cabin, to bethink them at all of one whom theyfancied so thoroughly tied. Their great concern was the manner in whichthe Ark rubbed past the piles, although its motion was lessened at leastone half by the friction, and they passed into the northern end of thecastle in order to catch opportunities of firing through the loops ofthat part of the building. Chingachgook was similarly occupied, andremained as ignorant as his enemies of the situation of Hurry. As theArk grated along the rifles sent their little clouds of smoke from onecover to the other, but the eyes and movements of the opposing partieswere too quick to permit any injury to be done. At length one side hadthe mortification and the other the pleasure of seeing the scow swingclear of the piles altogether, when it immediately moved away, with amaterially accelerated motion, towards the north.

  Chingachgook now first learned from Hist the critical condition ofHurry. To have exposed either of their persons in the stern of the scowwould have been certain death, but fortunately the sheet to which theman clung led forward to the foot of the sail. The Delaware found meansto unloosen it from the cleet aft, and Hist, who was already forward forthat purpose, immediately began to pull upon the line. At this momentHurry was towing fifty or sixty feet astern, with nothing but his faceabove water. As he was dragged out clear of the castle and the pileshe was first perceived by the Hurons, who raised a hideous yell andcommenced a fire on, what may very well be termed the floating mass. Itwas at the same instant that Hist began to pull upon the line forward--acircumstance that probably saved Hurry's life, aided by his ownself-possession and border readiness. The first bullet struck thewater directly on the spot where the broad chest of the young giant wasvisible through the pure element, and might have pierced his heart hadthe angle at which it was fired been less acute. Instead of penetratingthe lake, however, it glanced from its smooth surface, rose, and burieditself in the logs of the cabin near the spot at which Chingachgook hadshown himself the minute before, while clearing the line from the cleet.A second, and a third, and a fourth bullet followed, all meetingwith the same resistance of the water, though Hurry sensibly felt theviolence of the blows they struck upon the lake so immediately above,and so near his breast. Discovering their mistake, the Hurons nowchanged their plan, and aimed at the uncovered face; but by thistime Hist was pulling on the line, the target advanced and the deadlymissiles still fell upon the water. In another moment the body wasdragged past the end of the scow and became concealed. As for theDelaware and Hist, they worked perfectly covered by the cabin, and inless time than it requires to tell it, they had hauled the huge frame ofHarry to the place they occupied. Chingachgook stood in readiness withhis keen knife, and bending over the side of the scow he soon severedthe bark that bound the limbs of the borderer. To raise him high enoughto reach the edge of the boat and to aid him in entering were less easy,as Hurry's arms were still nearly useless, but both were done in time,when the liberated man staggered forward and fell exhausted and helplessinto the bottom of the scow. Here we shall leave him to recover hisstrength and the due circulation of his blood, while we proceed withthe narrative of events that crowd upon us too fast to admit of anypostponement. The moment the Hurons lost sight of the body of Hurry theygave a common yell of disappointment, and three of the most active oftheir number ran to the trap and entered the canoe. It required somelittle delay, however, to embark with their weapons, to find the paddlesand, if we may use a phrase so purely technical, "to get out of dock."By this time Hurry was in the scow, and the Delaware had his riflesagain in readiness. As the Ark necessarily sailed before the wind, ithad got by this time quite two hundred yards from the castle, and wassliding away each instant, farther and farther, though with a motion soeasy as scarcely to stir the water. The canoe of the girls was quitea quarter of a mile distant from the Ark, obviously keeping aloof, inignorance of what had occurred, and in apprehension of the consequencesof venturing too near. They had taken the direction of the easternshore, endeavoring at the same time to get to windward of the Ark, andin a manner between the two parties, as if distrusting which was to beconsidered a friend, and which an enemy. The girls, from long habit,used the paddles with great dexterity, and Judith, in particular, hadoften sportively gained races, in trials of speed with the youths thatoccasionally visited the lake.

  When the three Hurons emerged from behind the palisades, and foundthemselves on the open lake, and under the necessity of advancingunprotected on the Ark, if they persevered in the original design, theirardor sensibly cooled. In a bark canoe they were totally without cover,and Indian discretion was entirely opposed to such a sacrifice of lifeas would most probably follow any attempt to assault an enemy entrenchedas effectually as the Delaware. Instead of following the Ark, therefore,these three warriors inclined towa
rds the eastern shore, keeping ata safe distance from the rifles of Chingachgook. But this manoeuvrerendered the position of the girls exceedingly critical. It threatenedto place them if not between two fires, at least between two dangers, orwhat they conceived to be dangers, and instead of permitting the Huronsto enclose her, in what she fancied a sort of net, Judith immediatelycommenced her retreat in a southern direction, at no very great distancefrom the shore. She did not dare to land; if such an expedient wereto be resorted to at all, she could only venture on it in the lastextremity. At first the Indians paid little or no attention to the othercanoe, for, fully apprised of its contents, they deemed its captureof comparatively little moment, while the Ark, with its imaginarytreasures, the persons of the Delaware and of Hurry, and its means ofmovement on a large scale, was before them. But this Ark had itsdangers as well as its temptations, and after wasting near an hour invacillating evolutions, always at a safe distance from the rifle, theHurons seemed suddenly to take their resolution, and began to display itby giving eager chase to the girls.

  When this last design was adopted, the circumstances of all parties, asconnected with their relative positions, were materially changed.The Ark had sailed and drifted quite half a mile, and was nearly thatdistance due north of the castle. As soon as the Delaware perceived thatthe girls avoided him, unable to manage his unwieldy craft, and knowingthat flight from a bark canoe, in the event of pursuit, would be auseless expedient if attempted, he had lowered his sail, in the hope itmight induce the sisters to change their plan and to seek refuge in thescow. This demonstration produced no other effect than to keep the Arknearer to the scene of action, and to enable those in her to becomewitnesses of the chase. The canoe of Judith was about a quarter of amile south of that of the Hurons, a little nearer to the east shore, andabout the same distance to the southward of the castle as it was fromthe hostile canoe, a circumstance which necessarily put the last nearlyabreast of Hutter's fortress. With the several parties thus situated thechase commenced.

  At the moment when the Hurons so suddenly changed their mode of attacktheir canoe was not in the best possible racing trim. There were buttwo paddles, and the third man so much extra and useless cargo. Thenthe difference in weight between the sisters and the other two men,more especially in vessels so extremely light, almost neutralized anydifference that might proceed from the greater strength of the Hurons,and rendered the trial of speed far from being as unequal as it mightseem. Judith did not commence her exertions until the near approach ofthe other canoe rendered the object of the movement certain, and thenshe exhorted Hetty to aid her with her utmost skill and strength.

  "Why should we run, Judith?" asked the simple minded girl. "The Huronshave never harmed me, nor do I think they ever will."

  "That may be true as to you, Hetty, but it will prove very differentwith me. Kneel down and say your prayer, and then rise and do yourutmost to help escape. Think of me, dear girl, too, as you pray."

  Judith gave these directions from a mixed feeling; first because sheknew that her sister ever sought the support of her great ally introuble, and next because a sensation of feebleness and dependancesuddenly came over her own proud spirit, in that moment of apparentdesertion and trial. The prayer was quickly said, however, and thecanoe was soon in rapid motion. Still, neither party resorted to theirgreatest exertions from the outset, both knowing that the chasewas likely to be arduous and long. Like two vessels of war that arepreparing for an encounter, they seemed desirous of first ascertainingtheir respective rates of speed, in order that they might know how tograduate their exertions, previously to the great effort. A few minutessufficed to show the Hurons that the girls were expert, and that itwould require all their skill and energies to overtake them.

  Judith had inclined towards the eastern shore at the commencement of thechase, with a vague determination of landing and flying to the woods asa last resort, but as she approached the land, the certainty that scoutsmust be watching her movements made her reluctance to adopt such anexpedient unconquerable. Then she was still fresh, and had sanguinehopes of being able to tire out her pursuers. With such feelings shegave a sweep with her paddle, and sheered off from the fringe of darkhemlocks beneath the shades of which she was so near entering, and heldher way again, more towards the centre of the lake. This seemed theinstant favorable for the Hurons to make their push, as it gave themthe entire breadth of the sheet to do it in; and this too in the widestpart, as soon as they had got between the fugitives and the land. Thecanoes now flew, Judith making up for what she wanted in strength by hergreat dexterity and self command. For half a mile the Indians gainedno material advantage, but the continuance of so great exertions for somany minutes sensibly affected all concerned. Here the Indians resortedto an expedient that enabled them to give one of their party time tobreathe, by shifting their paddles from hand to hand, and this toowithout sensibly relaxing their efforts.

  Judith occasionally looked behind her, and she saw this expedientpractised. It caused her immediately to distrust the result, since herpowers of endurance were not likely to hold out against those of men whohad the means of relieving each other. Still she persevered, allowing novery visible consequences immediately to follow the change.

  As yet the Indians had not been able to get nearer to the girls than twohundred yards, though they were what seamen would term "in their wake";or in a direct line behind them, passing over the same track of water.This made the pursuit what is technically called a "stern chase",which is proverbially a "long chase": the meaning of which is that, inconsequence of the relative positions of the parties, no change becomesapparent except that which is a direct gain in the nearest possibleapproach. "Long" as this species of chase is admitted to be, however,Judith was enabled to perceive that the Hurons were sensibly drawingnearer and nearer, before she had gained the centre of the lake. Shewas not a girl to despair, but there was an instant when she thought ofyielding, with the wish of being carried to the camp where she knew theDeerslayer to be a captive; but the considerations connected with themeans she hoped to be able to employ in order to procure his releaseimmediately interposed, in order to stimulate her to renewed exertions.Had there been any one there to note the progress of the two canoes, hewould have seen that of Judith flying swiftly away from its pursuers,as the girl gave it freshly impelled speed, while her mind was thusdwelling on her own ardent and generous schemes. So material, indeed,was the difference in the rate of going between the two canoes forthe next five minutes, that the Hurons began to be convinced all theirpowers must be exerted or they would suffer the disgrace of beingbaffled by women. Making a furious effort under the mortification ofsuch a conviction, one of the strongest of their party broke his paddleat the very moment when he had taken it from the hand of a comrade torelieve him. This at once decided the matter, a canoe containing threemen and having but one paddle being utterly unable to overtake fugitiveslike the daughters of Thomas Hutter.

  "There, Judith!" exclaimed Hetty, who saw the accident, "I hope now youwill own, that praying is useful! The Hurons have broke a paddle, andthey never can overtake us."

  "I never denied it, poor Hetty, and sometimes wish in bitterness ofspirit that I had prayed more myself, and thought less of my beauty!As you say, we are now safe and need only go a little south and takebreath."

  This was done; the enemy giving up the pursuit, as suddenly as a shipthat has lost an important spar, the instant the accident occurred.Instead of following Judith's canoe, which was now lightly skimming overthe water towards the south, the Hurons turned their bows towards thecastle, where they soon arrived and landed. The girls, fearful that somespare paddles might be found in or about the buildings, continued on,nor did they stop until so distant from their enemies as to give themevery chance of escape, should the chase be renewed. It would seem thatthe savages meditated no such design, but at the end of an hour theircanoe, filled with men, was seen quitting the castle and steeringtowards the shore. The girls were without food, and they now drew nearert
o the buildings and the Ark, having finally made up their minds fromits manoeuvres that the latter contained friends.

  Notwithstanding the seeming desertion of the castle, Judith approachedit with extreme caution. The Ark was now quite a mile to the northward,but sweeping up towards the buildings, and this, too, with a regularityof motion that satisfied Judith a white man was at the oars. When withina hundred yards of the building the girls began to encircle it, in orderto make sure that it was empty. No canoe was nigh, and this emboldenedthem to draw nearer and nearer, until they had gone round the piles andreached the platform.

  "Do you go into the house, Hetty," said Judith, "and see that thesavages are gone. They will not harm you, and if any of them are stillhere you can give me the alarm. I do not think they will fire on a poordefenceless girl, and I at least may escape, until I shall be ready togo among them of my own accord."

  Hetty did as desired, Judith retiring a few yards from the platform theinstant her sister landed, in readiness for flight. But the last wasunnecessary, not a minute elapsing before Hetty returned to communicatethat all was safe.

  "I've been in all the rooms, Judith," said the latter earnestly, "andthey are empty, except father's; he is in his own chamber, sleeping,though not as quietly as we could wish."

  "Has any thing happened to father?" demanded Judith, as her foot touchedthe platform; speaking quickly, for her nerves were in a state to beeasily alarmed.

  Hetty seemed concerned, and she looked furtively about her as ifunwilling any one but a child should hear what she had to communicate,and even that she should learn it abruptly.

  "You know how it is with father sometimes, Judith," she said, "Whenovertaken with liquor he doesn't always know what he says or does, andhe seems to be overtaken with liquor now."

  "That is strange! Would the savages have drunk with him, and then leavehim behind? But 'tis a grievous sight to a child, Hetty, to witness sucha failing in a parent, and we will not go near him 'til he wakes."

  A groan from the inner room, however, changed this resolution, and thegirls ventured near a parent whom it was no unusual thing for them tofind in a condition that lowers a man to the level of brutes. He wasseated, reclining in a corner of the narrow room with his shoulderssupported by the angle, and his head fallen heavily on his chest. Judithmoved forward with a sudden impulse, and removed a canvass cap that wasforced so low on his head as to conceal his face, and indeed all but hisshoulders. The instant this obstacle was taken away, the quivering andraw flesh, the bared veins and muscles, and all the other disgustingsigns of mortality, as they are revealed by tearing away the skin,showed he had been scalped, though still living.