Chapter 16

"I hear thee babbling to the vale
Of sunshine and of flowers,
But unto me thou bring'st a tale
Of visionary hours."

Wordsworth.

One discovery mentioned at the close of the preceding chapter
was of great moment in the eyes of Deerslayer and his friend. In
the first place, there was the danger, almost the certainty, that
Hutter and Hurry would make a fresh attempt on this camp, should
they awake and ascertain its position. Then there was the increased
risk of landing to bring off Hist; and there were the general
uncertainty and additional hazards that must follow from the
circumstance that their enemies had begun to change their positions.
As the Delaware was aware that the hour was near when he ought to
repair to the rendezvous, he no longer thought of trophies torn
from his foes, and one of the first things arranged between him and
his associate was to permit the two others to sleep on, lest they
should disturb the execution of their plans by substituting some
of their own. The ark moved slowly, and it would have taken fully
a quarter of an hour to reach the point, at the rate at which
they were going, thus affording time for a little forethought.
The Indians, in the wish to conceal their fire from those who
were thought to be still in the castle, had placed it so near the
southern side of the point as to render it extremely difficult to
shut it in by the bushes, though Deerslayer varied the direction
of the scow both to the right and to the left, in the hope of being
able to effect that object.

"There's one advantage, Judith, in finding that fire so near the
water," he said, while executing these little manoeuvres, "since it
shows the Mingos believe we are in the hut, and our coming on 'em
from this quarter will be an unlooked for event. But it's lucky
Harry March and your father are asleep, else we should have 'em
prowling after scalps ag'in. Ha! there - the bushes are beginning
to shut in the fire - and now it can't be seen at all!"

Deerslayer waited a little to make certain that he had at last
gained the desired position, when he gave the signal agreed on,
and Chingachgook let go the grapnel and lowered the sail.

The situation in which the ark now lay had its advantages and its
disadvantages. The fire had been hid by sheering towards the shore,
and the latter was nearer, perhaps, than was desirable. Still,
the water was known to be very deep further off in the lake, and
anchoring in deep water, under the circumstances in which the party
was placed, was to be avoided, if possible. It was also believed
no raft could be within miles; and though the trees in the darkness
appeared almost to overhang the scow, it would not be easy to