Chapter 8

"They linger yet, Avengers of their native land."--Gray

The warning call of the scout was not uttered without

occasion. During the occurrence of the deadly encounter

just related, the roar of the falls was unbroken by any

human sound whatever. It would seem that interest in the

result had kept the natives on the opposite shores in

breathless suspense, while the quick evolutions and swift

changes in the positions of the combatants effectually

prevented a fire that might prove dangerous alike to friend

and enemy. But the moment the struggle was decided, a yell

arose as fierce and savage as wild and revengeful passions

could throw into the air. It was followed by the swift

flashes of the rifles, which sent their leaden messengers

across the rock in volleys, as though the assailants would

pour out their impotent fury on the insensible scene of the

fatal contest.

A steady, though deliberate return was made from the rifle

of Chingachgook, who had maintained his post throughout the

fray with unmoved resolution. When the triumphant shout of

Uncas was borne to his ears, the gratified father raised his

voice in a single responsive cry, after which his busy piece

alone proved that he still guarded his pass with unwearied

diligence. In this manner many minutes flew by with the

swiftness of thought; the rifles of the assailants speaking,

at times, in rattling volleys, and at others in occasional,

scattering shots. Though the rock, the trees, and the

shrubs, were cut and torn in a hundred places around the

besieged, their cover was so close, and so rigidly

maintained, that, as yet, David had been the only sufferer

in their little band.

"Let them burn their powder," said the deliberate scout,

while bullet after bullet whizzed by the place where he

securely lay; "there will be a fine gathering of lead when

it is over, and I fancy the imps will tire of the sport

afore these old stones cry out for mercy! Uncas, boy, you

waste the kernels by overcharging; and a kicking rifle never

carries a true bullet. I told you to take that loping

miscreant under the line of white point; now, if your bullet

went a hair's breadth it went two inches above it. The life

lies low in a Mingo, and humanity teaches us to make a quick

end to the sarpents."

A quiet smile lighted the haughty features of the young

Mohican, betraying his knowledge of the English language as

well as of the other's meaning; but he suffered it to pass

away without vindication of reply.

"I cannot permit you to accuse Uncas of want of judgment or

of skill," said Duncan; "he saved my life in the coolest and

readiest manner, and he has made a friend who never will

require to be reminded of the debt he owes."

Uncas partly raised his body, and offered his hand to the

grasp of Heyward. During this act of friendship, the two

young men exchanged looks of intelligence which caused

Duncan to forget the character and condition of his wild

associate. In the meanwhile, Hawkeye, who looked on this

burst of youthful feeling with a cool but kind regard made

the following reply:

"Life is an obligation which friends often owe each other in

the wilderness. I dare say I may have served Uncas some

such turn myself before now; and I very well remember that

he has stood between me and death five different times;

three times from the Mingoes, once in crossing Horican, and

--"

"That bullet was better aimed than common!" exclaimed

Duncan, involuntarily shrinking from a shot which struck the

rock at his side with a smart rebound.

Hawkeye laid his hand on the shapeless metal, and shook his

head, as he examined it, saying, "Falling lead is never

flattened, had it come from the clouds this might have

happened."

But the rifle of Uncas was deliberately raised toward the

heavens, directing the eyes of his companions to a point,

where the mystery was immediately explained. A ragged oak

grew on the right bank of the river, nearly opposite to

their position, which, seeking the freedom of the open

space, had inclined so far forward that its upper branches

overhung that arm of the stream which flowed nearest to its

own shore. Among the topmost leaves, which scantily

concealed the gnarled and stunted limbs, a savage was

nestled, partly concealed by the trunk of the tree, and

partly exposed, as though looking down upon them to

ascertain the effect produced by his treacherous aim.

"These devils will scale heaven to circumvent us to our

ruin," said Hawkeye; "keep him in play, boy, until I can

bring 'killdeer' to bear, when we will try his metal on each

side of the tree at once."

Uncas delayed his fire until the scout uttered the word.

The rifles flashed, the leaves and bark of the oak flew into

the air, and were scattered by the wind, but the Indian

answered their assault by a taunting laugh, sending down

upon them another bullet in return, that struck the cap of

Hawkeye from his head. Once more the savage yells burst out

of the woods, and the leaden hail whistled above the heads

of the besieged, as if to confine them to a place where they

might become easy victims to the enterprise of the warrior

who had mounted the tree.

"This must be looked to," said the scout, glancing about him

with an anxious eye. "Uncas, call up your father; we have

need of all our we'pons to bring the cunning varmint from

his roost."

The signal was instantly given; and, before Hawkeye had

reloaded his rifle, they were joined by Chingachgook. When

his son pointed out to the experienced warrior the situation

of their dangerous enemy, the usual exclamatory "hugh" burst

from his lips; after which, no further expression of

surprise or alarm was suffered to escape him. Hawkeye and

the Mohicans conversed earnestly together in Delaware for a

few moments, when each quietly took his post, in order to

execute the plan they had speedily devised.

The warrior in the oak had maintained a quick, though

ineffectual fire, from the moment of his discovery. But his

aim was interrupted by the vigilance of his enemies, whose

rifles instantaneously bore on any part of his person that

was left exposed. Still his bullets fell in the center of

the crouching party. The clothes of Heyward, which rendered

him peculiarly conspicuous, were repeatedly cut, and once

blood was drawn from a slight wound in his arm.

At length, emboldened by the long and patient watchfulness

of his enemies, the Huron attempted a better and more fatal

aim. The quick eyes of the Mohicans caught the dark line of

his lower limbs incautiously exposed through the thin

foliage, a few inches from the trunk of the tree. Their

rifles made a common report, when, sinking on his wounded

limb, part of the body of the savage came into view. Swift

as thought, Hawkeye seized the advantage, and discharged his

fatal weapon into the top of the oak. The leaves were

unusually agitated; the dangerous rifle fell from its

commanding elevation, and after a few moments of vain

struggling, the form of the savage was seen swinging in the

wind, while he still grasped a ragged and naked branch of

the tree with hands clenched in desperation.

"Give him, in pity, give him the contents of another rifle,"

cried Duncan, turning away his eyes in horror from the

spectacle of a fellow creature in such awful jeopardy.

"Not a karnel!" exclaimed the obdurate Hawkeye; "his death

is certain, and we have no powder to spare, for Indian

fights sometimes last for days; "tis their scalps or ours!

and God, who made us, has put into our natures the craving

to keep the skin on the head."

Against this stern and unyielding morality, supported as it

was by such visible policy, there was no appeal. From that

moment the yells in the forest once more ceased, the fire

was suffered to decline, and all eyes, those of friends as

well as enemies, became fixed on the hopeless condition of

the wretch who was dangling between heaven and earth. The

body yielded to the currents of air, and though no murmur or

groan escaped the victim, there were instants when he grimly

faced his foes, and the anguish of cold despair might be

traced, through the intervening distance, in possession of

his swarthy lineaments. Three several times the scout

raised his piece in mercy, and as often, prudence getting

the better of his intention, it was again silently lowered.

At length one hand of the Huron lost its hold, and dropped

exhausted to his side. A desperate and fruitless struggle

to recover the branch succeeded, and then the savage was

seen for a fleeting instant, grasping wildly at the empty

air. The lightning is not quicker than was the flame from

the rifle of Hawkeye; the limbs of the victim trembled and

contracted, the head fell to the bosom, and the body parted

the foaming waters like lead, when the element closed above

it, in its ceaseless velocity, and every vestige of the

unhappy Huron was lost forever.

No shout of triumph succeeded this important advantage, but

even the Mohicans gazed at each other in silent horror. A

single yell burst from the woods, and all was again still.

Hawkeye, who alone appeared to reason on the occasion, shook

his head at his own momentary weakness, even uttering his

self-disapprobation aloud.

"'Twas the last charge in my horn and the last bullet in my

pouch, and 'twas the act of a boy!" he said; "what mattered

it whether he struck the rock living or dead! feeling would

soon be over. Uncas, lad, go down to the canoe, and bring

up the big horn; it is all the powder we have left, and we

shall need it to the last grain, or I am ignorant of the

Mingo nature."

The young Mohican complied, leaving the scout turning over

the useless contents of his pouch, and shaking the empty

horn with renewed discontent. From this unsatisfactory

examination, however, he was soon called by a loud and

piercing exclamation from Uncas, that sounded, even to the

unpracticed ears of Duncan, as the signal of some new and

unexpected calamity. Every thought filled with apprehension

for the previous treasure he had concealed in the cavern,

the young man started to his feet, totally regardless of the

hazard he incurred by such an exposure. As if actuated by a

common impulse, his movement was imitated by his companions,

and, together they rushed down the pass to the friendly

chasm, with a rapidity that rendered the scattering fire of

their enemies perfectly harmless. The unwonted cry had

brought the sisters, together with the wounded David, from

their place of refuge; and the whole party, at a single

glance, was made acquainted with the nature of the disaster

that had disturbed even the practiced stoicism of their

youthful Indian protector.

At a short distance from the rock, their little bark was to

be seen floating across the eddy, toward the swift current

of the river, in a manner which proved that its course was

directed by some hidden agent. The instant this unwelcome

sight caught the eye of the scout, his rifle was leveled as

by instinct, but the barrel gave no answer to the bright

sparks of the flint.

"'Tis too late, 'tis too late!" Hawkeye exclaimed, dropping

the useless piece in bitter disappointment; "the miscreant

has struck the rapid; and had we powder, it could hardly

send the lead swifter than he now goes!"

The adventurous Huron raised his head above the shelter of

the canoe, and, while it glided swiftly down the stream, he

waved his hand, and gave forth the shout, which was the

known signal of success. His cry was answered by a yell and

a laugh from the woods, as tauntingly exulting as if fifty

demons were uttering their blasphemies at the fall of some

Christian soul.

"Well may you laugh, ye children of the devil!" said the

scout, seating himself on a projection of the rock, and

suffering his gun to fall neglected at his feet, "for the

three quickest and truest rifles in these woods are no

better than so many stalks of mullein, or the last year's

horns of a buck!"

"What is to be done?" demanded Duncan, losing the first

feeling of disappointment in a more manly desire for

exertion; "what will become of us?"

Hawkeye made no other reply than by passing his finger

around the crown of his head, in a manner so significant,

that none who witnessed the action could mistake its

meaning.

"Surely, surely, our case is not so desperate!" exclaimed

the youth; "the Hurons are not here; we may make good the

caverns, we may oppose their landing."

"With what?" coolly demanded the scout. "The arrows of

Uncas, or such tears as women shed! No, no; you are young,

and rich, and have friends, and at such an age I know it is

hard to die! But," glancing his eyes at the Mohicans, "let

us remember we are men without a cross, and let us teach

these natives of the forest that white blood can run as

freely as red, when the appointed hour is come."

Duncan turned quickly in the direction indicated by the

other's eyes, and read a confirmation of his worst

apprehensions in the conduct of the Indians. Chingachgook,

placing himself in a dignified posture on another fragment

of the rock, had already laid aside his knife and tomahawk,

and was in the act of taking the eagle's plume from his

head, and smoothing the solitary tuft of hair in readiness

to perform its last and revolting office. His countenance

was composed, though thoughtful, while his dark, gleaming

eyes were gradually losing the fierceness of the combat in

an expression better suited to the change he expected

momentarily to undergo.

"Our case is not, cannot be so hopeless!" said Duncan; "even

at this very moment succor may be at hand. I see no

enemies! They have sickened of a struggle in which they

risk so much with so little prospect of gain!"

"It may be a minute, or it may be an hour, afore the wily

sarpents steal upon us, and it is quite in natur' for them

to be lying within hearing at this very moment," said

Hawkeye; "but come they will, and in such a fashion as will

leave us nothing to hope! Chingachgook"--he spoke in

Delaware--"my brother, we have fought our last battle

together, and the Maquas will triumph in the death of the

sage man of the Mohicans, and of the pale face, whose eyes

can make night as day, and level the clouds to the mists of

the springs!"

"Let the Mingo women go weep over the slain!" returned the

Indian, with characteristic pride and unmoved firmness; "the

Great Snake of the Mohicans has coiled himself in their

wigwams, and has poisoned their triumph with the wailings of

children, whose fathers have not returned! Eleven warriors

lie hid form the graves of their tribes since the snows have

melted, and none will tell where to find them when the

tongue of Chingachgook shall be silent! Let them draw the

sharpest knife, and whirl the swiftest tomahawk, for their

bitterest enemy is in their hands. Uncas, topmost branch of

a noble trunk, call on the cowards to hasten, or their

hearts will soften, and they will change to women!"

"They look among the fishes for their dead!" returned the

low, soft voice of the youthful chieftain; "the Hurons float

with the slimy eels! They drop from the oaks like fruit

that is ready to be eaten! and the Delawares laugh!"

"Ay, ay," muttered the scout, who had listened to this

peculiar burst of the natives with deep attention; "they

have warmed their Indian feelings, and they'll soon provoke

the Maquas to give them a speedy end. As for me, who am of

the whole blood of the whites, it is befitting that I should

die as becomes my color, with no words of scoffing in my

mouth, and without bitterness at the heart!"

"Why die at all!" said Cora, advancing from the place where

natural horror had, until this moment, held her riveted to

the rock; "the path is open on every side; fly, then, to the

woods, and call on God for succor. Go, brave men, we owe

you too much already; let us no longer involve you in our

hapless fortunes!"

"You but little know the craft of the Iroquois, lady, if you

judge they have left the path open to the woods!" returned

Hawkeye, who, however, immediately added in his simplicity,

"the down stream current, it is certain, might soon sweep us

beyond the reach of their rifles or the sound of their

voices."

"Then try the river. Why linger to add to the number of the

victims of our merciless enemies?"

"Why," repeated the scout, looking about him proudly;

"because it is better for a man to die at peace with himself

than to live haunted by an evil conscience! What answer

could we give Munro, when he asked us where and how we left

his children?"

"Go to him, and say that you left them with a message to

hasten to their aid," returned Cora, advancing nigher to the

scout in her generous ardor; "that the Hurons bear them into

the northern wilds, but that by vigilance and speed they may

yet be rescued; and if, after all, it should please heaven

that his assistance come too late, bear to him," she

continued, her voice gradually lowering, until it seemed

nearly choked, "the love, the blessings, the final prayers

of his daughters, and bid him not mourn their early fate,

but to look forward with humble confidence to the

Christian's goal to meet his children." The hard, weather-

beaten features of the scout began to work, and when she had

ended, he dropped his chin to his hand, like a man musing

profoundly on the nature of the proposal.

"There is reason in her words!" at length broke from his

compressed and trembling lips; "ay, and they bear the spirit

of Christianity; what might be right and proper in a red-

skin, may be sinful in a man who has not even a cross in

blood to plead for his ignorance. Chingachgook! Uncas! hear

you the talk of the dark-eyed woman?"

He now spoke in Delaware to his companions, and his address,

though calm and deliberate, seemed very decided. The elder

Mohican heard with deep gravity, and appeared to ponder on

his words, as though he felt the importance of their import.

After a moment of hesitation, he waved his hand in assent,

and uttered the English word "Good!" with the peculiar

emphasis of his people. Then, replacing his knife and

tomahawk in his girdle, the warrior moved silently to the

edge of the rock which was most concealed from the banks of

the river. Here he paused a moment, pointed significantly

to the woods below, and saying a few words in his own

language, as if indicating his intended route, he dropped

into the water, and sank from before the eyes of the

witnesses of his movements.

The scout delayed his departure to speak to the generous

girl, whose breathing became lighter as she saw the success

of her remonstrance.

"Wisdom is sometimes given to the young, as well as to the

old," he said; "and what you have spoken is wise, not to

call it by a better word. If you are led into the woods,

that is such of you as may be spared for awhile, break the

twigs on the bushes as you pass, and make the marks of your

trail as broad as you can, when, if mortal eyes can see

them, depend on having a friend who will follow to the ends

of the 'arth afore he desarts you."

He gave Cora an affectionate shake of the hand, lifted his

rifle, and after regarding it a moment with melancholy

solicitude, laid it carefully aside, and descended to the

place where Chingachgook had just disappeared. For an

instant he hung suspended by the rock, and looking about

him, with a countenance of peculiar care, he added bitterly,

"Had the powder held out, this disgrace could never have

befallen!" then, loosening his hold, the water closed above

his head, and he also became lost to view.

All eyes now were turned on Uncas, who stood leaning against

the ragged rock, in immovable composure. After waiting a

short time, Cora pointed down the river, and said:

"Your friends have not been seen, and are now, most

probably, in safety. Is it not time for you to follow?"

"Uncas will stay," the young Mohican calmly answered in

English.

"To increase the horror of our capture, and to diminish the

chances of our release! Go, generous young man," Cora

continued, lowering her eyes under the gaze of the Mohican,

and perhaps, with an intuitive consciousness of her power;

"go to my father, as I have said, and be the most

confidential of my messengers. Tell him to trust you with

the means to buy the freedom of his daughters. Go! 'tis my

wish, 'tis my prayer, that you will go!"

The settled, calm look of the young chief changed to an

expression of gloom, but he no longer hesitated. With a

noiseless step he crossed the rock, and dropped into the

troubled stream. Hardly a breath was drawn by those he left

behind, until they caught a glimpse of his head emerging for

air, far down the current, when he again sank, and was seen

no more.

These sudden and apparently successful experiments had all

taken place in a few minutes of that time which had now

become so precious. After a last look at Uncas, Cora

turne,d and with a quivering lip, addressed herself to

Heyward:

"I have heard of your boasted skill in the water, too,

Duncan," she said; "follow, then, the wise example set you

by these simple and faithful beings."

"Is such the faith that Cora Munro would exact from her

protector?" said the young man, smiling mournfully, but with

bitterness.

"This is not a time for idle subtleties and false opinions,"

she answered; "but a moment when every duty should be

equally considered. To us you can be of no further service

here, but your precious life may be saved for other and

nearer friends."

He made no reply, though his eye fell wistfully on the

beautiful form of Alice, who was clinging to his arm with

the dependency of an infant.

"Consider," continued Cora, after a pause, during which she

seemed to struggle with a pang even more acute than any that

her fears had excited, "that the worst to us can be but

death; a tribute that all must pay at the good time of God's

appointment."

"There are evils worse than death," said Duncan, speaking

hoarsely, and as if fretful at her importunity, "but which

the presence of one who would die in your behalf may avert."

Cora ceased her entreaties; and veiling her face in her

shawl, drew the nearly insensible Alice after her into the

deepest recess of the inner cavern.

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