"Stand to your arms, and guard the door- all's lost
Unless that fearful bell be silenced soon.
The officer hath miss'd his path, or purpose,
Or met some unforeseen and hideous obstacle.
Anselmo, with thy company proceed
Straight to the tower; the rest remain with me."
Byron, Marino Faliero, lV.ii.23o-35.
The conjecture of Judith Hutter, concerning the manner in which the Indian
girl had met her death, was accurate in the main. After sleeping several
hours, her father and March awoke. This occurred a few minutes after she had
left the Ark to go in quest of her sister, and when of course Chingachgook
and his betrothed were on board. From the Delaware the old man learned the
position of the camp, and the recent events, as well as the absence of his
daughters. The latter gave him no concern, for he relied greatly on the
sagacity of the elder, and the known impunity with which the younger passed
among the savages. Long familiarity with danger, too, had blunted his
sensibilities. Nor did he seem much to regret the captivity of Deerslayer,
for, while he knew how material his aid might be in a defence, the difference
in their views on the morality of the woods, had not left much sympathy
between them. He would have rejoiced to know the position of the camp before
it had been alarmed by the escape of Hist, but it would be too hazardous now
to venture to land, and he reluctantly relinquished for the night, the
ruthless designs that cupidity and revenge had excited him to entertain. In
this mood Hutter took a seat in the head of the scow, where he was quickly
joined by Hurry, leaving the Serpent and Hist in quiet possession of the
other extremity of the vessel.
"Deerslayer has shown himself a boy, in going among the savages at this hour,
and letting himself fall into their hands like a deer that tumbles into a
pit," growled the old man, perceiving as usual the mote in his neighbor's
eyes, while he overlooked the beam in his own; "if he is left to pay for' his
stupidity with his own flesh, he can blame no one but himself."
"That's the way of the world, old Tom," returned Hurry. "Every man must meet
his own debts, and answer for his own sins. I'm amazed, howsever, that a lad
as skilful and watchful as Deerslayer, should have been caught in such a
trap! Didn't he know any better than to go prowling about a Huron camp, at
midnight, with no place to retreat to, but a lake; or did he think himself a
buck, that by taking to the water could throw off the scent and swim himself
out of difficulty. I had a better opinion of the boy's judgment, I'll own;
but we must overlook a little ignorance in a raw hand. I say, Master Hutter,
do you happen to know what has become of the gals - I see no signs of Judith,
or Hetty, though I've been through the Ark, and looked into all its living
creatur's."
Hutter briefly explained the manner in which his daughters had taken to the
canoe, as it had been related by the Delaware, as well as the return of
Judith after landing her sister, and her second departure.
"This comes of a smooth tongue, Floating Tom," exclaimed Hurry, grating his
teeth in pure resentment-"This comes of a smooth tongue, and a silly gal's
inclinations, and you had best look into the matter! You and I were both
prisoners- Hurry could recal that circumstance now - "you and I were both
prisoners and yet Judith never stirred an inch to do us any sarvice! She is
bewitched with this lank-looking Deerslayer, and he, and she, and you, and
all of us, had best look to it. I am not a man to put up with such a wrong
quietly, and I say, all the parties had best look to it! Let's up kedge, old
fellow, and move nearer to this p'int, and see how matters are getting on.
Hutter had no objections to this movement, and the Ark was got under way, in
the usual manner; care being taken to make no noise. The wind was passing
northward, and the sail soon swept the scow so far up the lake, as to render
the dark outlines of the trees that clothed the point, dimly visible.
Floating Tom steered, and he sailed along as near the land, as the depth of
the water, and the overhanging branches would allow. It was impossible to
distinguish any thing that stood within the shadows of the shore, but the
forms of the sail and of the hut, were discerned by the young sentinel on the
beach, who has already been mentioned. In the moment of sudden surprise, a
deep Indian exclamation escaped him. In that spirit of recklessness and
ferocity that formed the essence of Hurry's character, this man dropped his
rifle and fired. The ball was sped by accident, or by that overruling
providence which decides the fates of all, and the girl fell. Then followed
the scene with the torches, which has just been described.
At the precise moment when Hurry committed this act of unthinking cruelty,
the canoe of Judith was within a hundred feet of the spot from which the Ark
had so lately moved. Her own course has been described, and it has now become
our office to follow that of her father and his companions. The shriek
announced the effects of the random shot of March, and it also proclaimed
that the victim was a woman. Hurry himself was startled at these unlooked for
consequences, and for a moment he was sorely disturbed by conflicting
sensations. At first he laughed, in reckless and rude-minded exultation; and
then conscience, that monitor planted in our breasts by God, and which
receives its more general growth from the training bestowed in the tillage of
childhood, shot a pang to his heart. For a minute, the mind of this creature
equally of civilization and of barbarism, was a sort of chaos as to feeling,
not knowing what to think of its own act; and then the obstinacy and pride of
one of his habits, interposed to assert their usual ascendency. He struck the
butt of his rifle on the bottom of the scow, with a species of defiance, and
began to whistle a low air with an affectation of indifference. All this time
the Ark was in motion, and it was already opening the bay above the point,
and was consequently quitting the land.
Hurry's companions did not view his conduct with the same indulgence, as that
with which he appeared disposed to regard it himself. Hutter growled out his
dissatisfaction, for the act led to no advantage, while it threatened to
render the warfare more vindictive than ever, and none censure motiveless
departures from the right, more severely than the mercenary and unprincipled.
Still he commanded himself, the captivity of Deerslayer rendering the arm of
the offender of double consequence to him at that moment. Chingachgook arose,
and for a single instant the ancient animosity of tribes was forgotten, in a
feeling of colour; but he recollected himself in season to prevent any of the
fierce consequences that, for a passing moment, he certainly meditated. Not
so with Hist. Rushing through the hut, or cabin, the girl stood at the side
of Hurry, almost as soon as his rifle touched the bottom of the scow, and
with a fearlessness that did credit to her heart, she poured out her
reproaches with the generous warmth of a woman.
"What for you shoot?" she said. "What Huron gal do, dat you kill him? What
you t'ink Manitou say? What you t'ink Manitou, feel? What Iroquois do? No get
honour- no get camp - no get prisoner - no get battle - no get scalp - no get
not'ing at all! Blood come after blood! How you feel, your wife killed? Who
pity you, when tear come for moder, or sister? You big as great pine - Huron
gal little slender birch - why you fall on her and crush her! You t'ink Huron
forget it? No; red skin never forget! Never forget friend; never forget
enemy. Red man Manitou in dat. Why you so wicked, great pale-face?"
Hurry had never been so daunted as by this close and warm attack of the
Indian girl. It is true that she had a powerful ally in his conscience and
while she spoke earnestly, it was in tones so feminine as to deprive him of
any pretext for unmanly anger. The softness of her voice added to the weight
of her remonstrance, by lending to the latter an air of purity and truth.
Like most vulgar minded men, he had only regarded the Indians through the
medium of their coarser and fiercer characteristics. It had never struck him
that the affections are human, that even high principles- modified by habits
and prejudices, but not the less elevated within their circle-can exist in
the savage state, and that the warrior who is most ruthless in the field, can
submit to the softest and gentlest influences, in the moments of domestic
quiet. In a word, it was the habit of his mind to regard all Indians as being
only a slight degree removed from the wild beasts that roamed the woods, and
to feel disposed to treat them accordingly, whenever interest or caprice
supplied a motive, or an impulse. Still, though daunted by these reproaches,
the handsome barbarian could hardly be said to be penitent. He was too much
rebuked by conscience to suffer an outbreak of temper to escape him, and
perhaps he felt that he had already committed an act that might justly bring
his manhood in question. Instead of resenting, or answering the simple but
natural appeal of Hist, he walked away, like one who disdained entering into
a controversy with a woman.
In the mean while, the Ark swept onward, and by the time the scene with the
torches, was enacting beneath the trees, it had reached the open lake,
Floating Tom causing it to sheer further from the land, with a sort of
instinctive dread of retaliation. An hour now passed in gloomy silence, no
one appearing disposed to break it. Hist had retired to her pallet, and
Chingachgook lay sleeping in the forward part of the scow. Hutter and Hurry
alone remained awake, the former at the steering oar, while the latter
brooded over his own conduct, with the stubbornness of one little given to a
confession of his errors, and the secret goadings of the worm that never
dies. This was at the moment when Judith and Hetty reached the centre of the
lake, and had lain down to endeavor to sleep, in their drifting canoe.
The night was calm, though so much obscured by clouds. The season was not one
of storms, and those which did occur in the month of June, on that embedded
water, though frequently violent were always of short continuance.
Nevertheless, there was the usual current of heavy, damp night air, which,
passing over the summits of the trees, scarcely appeared to descend as low as
the surface of the glassy lake, but kept moving a short distance above it,
saturated with the humidity that constantly arose from the woods, and
apparently never proceeding far in any one direction. The currents were
influenced by the formation of the hills, as a matter of course, a
circumstance that rendered even fresh breezes baffling, and which reduced the
feebler efforts of the night air to be a sort of capricious and fickle
sighings of the woods. Several times the head of the Ark pointed east, and
once it was actually turned towards the south, again; but, on the whole, it
worked its way north; Hutter making always a fair wind, if wind it could be
be a wish called, his principal motive appearing to keep in motion, in order
to defeat any treacherous design of his enemies. He, now, felt some little
concern about his daughters, and perhaps as much about the canoe; but, on the
whole, this uncertainty did not much disturb him, as he had the reliance
already mentioned on the intelligence of Judith.
It was the season of the shortest nights, and it was not long before the deep
obscurity which precedes the day began to yield to the returning light. If
any earthly scene could be presented to the senses of man that might soothe
his passions and temper his ferocity, it was that which grew upon the eyes of
Hutter and Hurry, as the hours advanced, changing night to morning. There
were the usual soft tints of the sky, in which neither the gloom of darkness
nor the brilliancy of the sun prevails, and under which objects appear more
unearthly and we might add holy, than at any other portion of the twenty four
hours. The beautiful and soothing calm of even tide has been extolled by a
thousand poets, and yet it does not bring with it, the far-reaching and
sublime thoughts of the half hour that precedes the rising of a summer sun.
In the one case the panorama is gradually hid from the sight, while in the
other, its objects start out from the unfolding picture, first dim and misty;
then marked in, in solemn back ground; next seen in the witchery of an
increasing, a thing as different as possible from the decreasing twilight,
and finally mellow, distinct and luminous, as the rays of the great centre of
light diffuse themselves in the atmosphere. The hymns of birds, too, have no
moral counterpart in the retreat to the roost, or the flight to the nest, and
these invariably accompany the advent of the day, until the appearance of the
sun itself- "Bathes in deep joy, the land and sea.
All this, however, Hutter and Hurry witnessed without experiencing any of
that calm delight, which the spectacle is wont to bring, when the thoughts
are just, and the aspirations pure. They not only witnessed it, but they
witnessed it under circumstances that had a tendency to increase its power,
and to heighten its charms. Only one solitary object became visible in the
returning light, that had received its form or uses from human taste, or
human desires which as often deform as beautify a landscape. This was the
castle, all the rest being native, and fresh from the hand of God. That
singular residence, too, was in keeping with the natural objects of the view,
starting out from the gloom, quaint, picturesque, and ornamental.
Nevertheless the whole was lost on the observers, who knew no feeling of
poetry, had lost their sense of natural devotion in lives of obdurate and
narrow selfishness, and had little other sympathy with nature, than that
which originated with her lowest wants.
As soon as the light was sufficiently strong to. allow of a distinct view of
the lake, and more particularly of its shores, Hutter turned the head of the
Ark directly towards the castle, with the avowed intention of taking
possession, for the day at least, as the place most favorable for meeting his
daughters, and for carrying on his operations against the Indians. By this
time, Chingachgook was up, and Hist was heard stirring among the furniture of
the kitchen. The place for which they steered was distant only a mile, and
the air was sufficiently favorable to permit it to be reached by means of the
sail. At this moment, too, to render the appearances generally auspicious,
the canoe of Judith was seen floating northward in the broadest part of the
lake; having actually passed the scow in the darkness, in obedience to no
other power than that of the elements. Hutter got his glass, and took a long
and anxious survey, to ascertain if his daughters were in the light craft, or
not, and a slight exclamation like that of joy escaped him, as he caught a
glimpse of what he rightly conceived to be a part of Judith's dress above the
top of the canoe. At the next instant the girl arose, and was seen gazing
about her, like one assuring herself of her situation. A minute later, Hetty
was seen on her knees, in the other end of the canoe, repeating the prayers
that had been taught her, in childhood, by a misguided but repentant mother.
As Hutter laid down the glass, still drawn to its focus, the Serpent raised
it to his eye, and turned it towards the canoe. It was the first time he had
ever used such an instrument, and Hist understood by his "hugh!," the
expression of his face, and his entire mien, that something wonderful had
excited his admiration. It is well known that the American Indians, more
particularly those of superior characters and stations, singularly maintain
their self-possession and stoicism, in the midst of the flood of marvels that
present themselves in their occasional visits to the abodes of civilization,
and Chingachgook had imbibed enough of this impassibility to suppress any
very undignified manifestation of surprise. With Hist, however, no such law
was binding, and when her lover managed to bring the glass in a line with a
canoe, and her eye was applied to the smaller end, the girl started back in
alarm; then she clapped her hands with delight, and a laugh, the usual
attendant of untutored admiration, followed. A few minutes sufficed to enable
this quick witted girl to manage the instrument for herself, and she directed
it at every prominent object that struck her fancy. Finding a rest in one of
the windows, she and the Delaware first surveyed the lake; then the shores,
the hills, and, finally, the castle attracted their attention. After a long
steady gaze at the latter, Hist took away her eye, and spoke to her lover in
a low' earnest manner. Chingachgook immediately placed his eye to the glass,
and his look even exceeded that of his betrothed in length and intensity.
Again they spoke together, confidentially, appearing to compare opinions,
after which the glass was laid aside, and the young warrior quitted the cabin
to join Hutter and Hurry.
The Ark was slowly but steadily advancing, and the castle was materially
within half a mile, when Ghingachgook joined the two white men in the stern
of the scow. His manner was calm, but it was evident to the others, who were
familiar with the habits of the Indians, that he had something to
communicate. Hurry was generally prompt to speak and, according to custom, he
took the lead on this occasion.
"Out with it, red-skin," he cried, in his usual rough manner. "Have you
discovered a chip-munk in a tree, or is there a salmon-trout swimming under
the bottom of the scow? You find what a pale-face can do in the way of eyes,
now, Sarpent, and must n't wonder that they can see the land of the Indians
from afar off."
"No good to go to Castle," put in Chingachgook with emphasis, the moment the
other gave him an opportunity of speaking. "Huron there."
"The devil he is! - If this should turn out to be true, Floating Tom, a
pretty trap were we about to pull down on our heads! Huron, there! -Well,
this may be so; but no signs can I see of any thing, near or about the old
hut, but logs, water, and bark-bating two or three windows, and one door."
Hutter called for the glass, and took a careful survey of the spot, before he
ventured an opinion, at all; then he somewhat cavalierly expressed his
dissent from that given by the Indian.
"You've got this glass wrong end foremost, Delaware," continued Hurry.
"Neither the old man, nor I can see any trail in the lake."
"No trail - water make no trail," said Hist, eagerly. "Stop boat - no go too
near. Huron there! "
"Ay, that's it! - Stick to the same tale, and more people will believe you. I
hope Sarpent, you and your gal will agree in telling the same story arter
marriage, as well as you do now. 'Huron, there!'- Whereabouts is he to be
seen-in the padlock, or the chains, or the logs. There is n't a gaol in the
colony that has a more lock up look about it, than old Tom's chiente, and, I
know something about gaols from exper'ence. "
"No see moccasin-" said Hist, impatiently-"why no look- and see him."
"Give me the glass, Harry," interrupted Hutter, "and lower the sail. It is
seldom that an Indian woman meddles, and when she does, there is generally a
cause for it. There is, truly, a moccasin floating against one of the piles,
and it may, or may not be a sign that the castle has n't escaped visitors, in
our absence. Moccasins are no rarities, however, for I wear 'em myself; and
Deerslayer wears 'em, and you wear 'em, March, and, for that matter so does
Hetty, quite as often as she wears shoes, though I never yet saw Judith trust
her pretty foot in a moccasin."
Hurry had lowered the sail, and by this time the Ark was within two hundred
yards of the castle, setting in, nearer and nearer, each moment, but at a
rate too slow to excite any uneasiness. Each now took the glass in turn, and
the castle, and every thing near it, was subjected to a scrutiny still more
rigid than ever. There the moccasin lay, beyond a question, floating so
lightly, and preserving its form so well, that it was scarcely wet. It had
caught by a piece of the rough bark of one of the piles, on the exterior of
the water-palisade that formed the dock already mentioned, which circumstance
alone prevented it from drifting away before the air. There were many modes,
however, of accounting for the presence of the moccasin, without supposing it
to have been dropped by an enemy. It might have fallen from the platform,
even while Hutter was in possession of the place, and drifted to the spot
where it was now seen, remaining unnoticed until detected by the acute vision
of Hist. It might have drifted from a distance, up or down the lake, and
accidentally become attached to the pile, or palisade. It might have been
thrown from a window, and alighted in that particular place; or it might
certainly have fallen from a scout, or an assailant, during the past night,
who was obliged to abandon it, to the lake, in the deep obscurity which then
prevailed.
All these conjectures passed from Hutter to Hurry, the former appearing
disposed to regard the omen as a little sinister, while the latter treated it
with his usual reckless disdain. As for the Indian, he was of opinion that
the moccasin should be viewed as one would regard a trail in the woods, which
might, or might not, equally, prove to be threatening. Hist, however, had
something available to propose. She declared her readiness to take a canoe,
to proceed to the palisade and bring away the moccasin, when its ornaments
would show whether it came from the Canadas or not. Both the white men were
disposed to accept this offer, but the Delaware interfered to prevent the
risk. If such a service was to be undertaken, it best became a warrior to
expose himself in its execution, and he gave his refusal to let his betrothed
proceed, much in the quiet but brief manner in which an Indian husband issues
his commands.
"Well then, Delaware, go yourself if you're so tender of your squaw," put in
the unceremonious Hurry. "That moccasin must be had, or Floating Tom will
keep off, here, at arm's length, till the hearth cools in his cabin. It's but
a little deerskin, a'ter all, and cut this-a-way or that-a-way, it's not a
skear-crow to frighten true hunters from their game. What say you, Sarpent,
shall you or I canoe it?"
"Let red man go. - Better eyes than pale-face- know Huron trick better, too."
"That I'll gainsay, to the hour of my death! A white man's eyes, and a white
man's nose, and for that matter his sight and ears are all better than an
Injin's when fairly tried. Time and ag'in have I put that to the proof, and
what is proved is sartain. Still I suppose the poorest vagabond going,
whether Delaware or Huron, can find his way to yonder hut and back ag'in, and
so, Sarpent, use your paddle and welcome."
Chingachgook was already in the canoe, and he dipped the implement the other
named into the water, just as Hurry's limber tongue ceased. Wah-ta!-Wah saw
the departure of her warrior on this occasion, with the submissive silence of
an Indian girl, but with most of the misgivings and apprehensions of her sex.
Throughout the whole of the past night, and down to the moment, when they
used the glass together in the hut, Chingachgook had manifested as much manly
tenderness towards his betrothed, as one of the most refined sentiment could
have shown under similar circumstances, but now every sign of weakness was
lost in an appearance of stern resolution. Although Hist timidly endeavored
to catch his eye, as the canoe left the side of the Ark, the pride of a
warrior would not permit him to meet her fond and anxious looks. The canoe
departed and not a wandering glance rewarded her solicitude.
Nor were the Delaware's care and gravity misplaced, under the impressions
with which he proceeded on this enterprise. If the enemy had really gained
possession of the building, he was obliged to put himself under the very
muzzles of their rifles, as it were, and this too without the protection of
any of that cover, which forms so essential an ally in Indian warfare. It is
scarcely possible to conceive of a service more dangerous, and had the
Serpent been fortified by the experience of ten more years, or had his friend
the Deerslayer been present, it would never have been attempted; the
advantages in no degree compensating for the risk. But the pride of an Indian
chief was acted on by the rivalry of colour, and it is not unlikely that the
presence of the very creature from whom his ideas of manhood prevented his
receiving a single glance, overflowing as he was with the love she so well
merited, had no small influence on his determination.
Chingachgook paddled steadily towards the palisades, keeping his eyes on the
different loops of the building. Each instant he expected to see the muzzle
of a rifle protruded, or to hear its sharp crack; but he succeeded in
reaching the piles in safety. Here he was, in a measure, protected, having
the heads of the palisades between him and the hut, and the chances of any
atempt on his life while thus covered, were greatly diminished. The canoe had
reached the piles with its head inclining northward, and at a short distance
from the moccasin. Instead of turning to pick up the latter, the Delaware
slowly made the circuit of the whole building, deliberately examining every
object that should betray the presence of enemies, or the commission of
violence. Not a single sign could he discover, however, to confirm the
suspicions that had been awakened. The stillness of desertion pervaded the
building; not a fastening was displaced, not a window had been broken. The
door looked as secure as at the hour when it was closed by Hutter, and even
the gate of the dock had all the customary fastenings. In short, the most
wary and jealous eye could detect no other evidence of the visit of enemies,
than that which was connected with the appearance of the floating moccasin.
The Delaware was now greatly at a loss how to proceed. At one moment, as he
came round in front of the castle, he was on the point of stepping up on the
platform, and of applying his eye to one of the loops, with a view of taking
a direct personal inspection of the state of things within; but he hesitated.
Though of little experience in such matters, himself, he had heard so much of
Indian artifices through traditions, had listened with such breathless
interest to the narration of the escapes of the elder warriors, and, in
short, was so well schooled in the theory of his calling, that it was almost
as impossible for him to make any gross blunder on such an occasion, as it
was for a well grounded scholar, who had commenced correctly, to fail in
solving his problem in mathematics. Relinquishing the momentary intention to
land, the chief slowly pursued his course round the palisades. As he
approached the moccasin, having now nearly completed the circuit of the
building, he threw the ominous article into the canoe, by a dexterous and
almost imperceptible movement of his paddle. He was now ready to depart, but
retreat was even more dangerous than the approach, as the eye could no longer
be riveted on the loops. If there was really any one in the castle, the
motive of the Delaware in reconnoitring must be understood, and it was the
wisest way, however perilous it might be, to retire with an air of
confidence, as if all distrust were terminated by the examination. Such,
accordingly, was the course adopted by the Indian, who paddled deliberately
away, taking the direction of the Ark, suffering no nervous impulse to
quicken the motions
of his arms, or to induce him to turn even a furtive glance behind him.
No tender wife, reared in the refinements of the highest civilization, ever
met a husband on his return from the field, with more of sensibility in her
countenance, than Hist discovered, as she saw the Great Serpent of the
Delawares, step, unharmed, into the Ark. Still she repressed her emotion,
though the joy that sparkled in her dark eyes, and the smile that lighted her
pretty mouth, spoke a language that her betrothed could understand.
"Well, Sarpent," cried Hurry, always the first to speak, "what news from the
muskrats? Did they shew their teeth, as you surrounded their dwelling?"
"I no like him-" sententiously returned the Delaware. "Too still. So still,
can see silence!"
"That's downright Injin-as if any thing could make less noise than nothing!
If you've no better reason than this to give, old Tom had better hoist his
sail, and go and get his breakfast under his own roof. What has become of the
moccasin?"
"Here," returned Chingachgook, holding up his prize for the general
inspection. The moccasin was examined, and Hist confidently pronounced it to
be Huron, by the manner in which the porcupine's quills were arranged on its
front. Hutter and the Delaware, too, were decidedly of the same opinion.
Admitting all this, however, it did not necessarily follow that its owners
were in the castle. The moccasin might have drifted from a distance, or it
might have fallen from the foot of some scout, who had quitted the place when
his errand was accomplished. In short it explained nothing, while it awakened
so much distrust.
Under the circumstances, Hutter and Hurry were not men to be long deterred
from proceeding by proofs as slight as that of the moccasin. They hoisted the
sail again, and the Ark was soon in motion, heading towards the castle. The
wind, or air continued light, and the movement was sufficiently slow, to
allow of a deliberate survey of the building, as the scow approached. The
same death-like silence reigned, and it was difficult to fancy that any thing
possessing animal life could be in or around the place. Unlike the Serpent,
whose imagination had acted through his traditions, until he was ready to
perceive an artificial, in a natural stillness, the others saw nothing to
apprehend in a tranquility that, in truth, merely denoted the repose of
inanimate objects. The accessories of the scene, too, were soothing and calm,
rather than exciting. The day had not yet advanced so far as to bring the sun
above the horizon, but the heavens, the atmosphere, and the woods and lake
were all seen under that softened light which immediately precedes his
appearance, and which perhaps is the most witching period of the four and
twenty hours. It is the moment, when every thing is distinct, even the
atmosphere seeming to possess a liquid lucidity, the hues appearing gray and
softened, with the outlines of objects defined, and the perspective just as
moral truths, that are presented in their simplicity, without the
meretricious aids of ornament, or glitter. In a word, it is the moment when
the senses seem to recover their powers, in the simplest and most accurate
forms, like the mind emerging from the obscurity of doubts, into the
tranquility and peace of demonstration. Most of the influence that such a
scene is apt to produce on those who are properly constituted in a moral
sense, was lost on Hutter and Hurry; but both the Delawares, though too much
accustomed to witness the loveliness of morning-tide, to stop to analyze
their feelings, were equally sensible of the beauties of the hour, though it
was probably in a way unknown to themselves. It disposed the young warrior to
peace, and never had he felt less longings for the glory of the combat, than
when he joined Hist in the cabin, the instant the scow rubbed against the
side of the platform. From the indulgence of such gentle emotions, however,
he was aroused by a rude summons from Hurry, who called on him to come forth,
and help to take in the sail, and to secure the Ark.
Chingachgook obeyed, and by the time he had reached the head of the scow,
Hurry was on the platform, stamping his feet, like one glad to touch what, by
comparison, might be called terra firma, and proclaiming his indifference to
the whole Huron tribe, in his customary noisy, dogmatical, manner. Hutter had
hauled a canoe up to the head of the scow, and was already about to undo the
fastenings of the gate, in order to enter within the 'dock.' March had no
other motive in landing than a senseless bravado, and having shaken the door,
in a manner to put its solidity to the proof, he joined Hutter in the canoe,
and began to aid him in opening the gate. The reader will remember that this
mode of entrance was rendered necessary by the manner in which the owner of
this singular residence habitually secured it, whenever it was left empty;
more particularly at moments when danger was apprehended. Hutter had placed a
line in the Delaware's hand, on entering the canoe, intimating that the other
was to fasten the Ark to the platform and to lower the sail. Instead of
following these directions, however, Chingachgook left the sail standing, and
throwing the bight of the rope over the head of a pile, he permitted the Ark
to drift round, until it lay against the defences, in a position where it
could be entered only by means of a boat, or by passing along the summits of
the palisades; the latter being an exploit that required some command of the
feet, and which was not to be attempted in the face of a resolute enemy.
In consequence of this change in the position of the scow, which was effected
before Hutter had succeeded in opening the gate of his dock, the Ark and the
Castle, lay, as sailors would express it, yard-arm and yard-arm, kept asunder
some ten or twelve feet, by means of the piles. As the scow pressed close
against the latter, their tops formed a species of breast work, that rose to
the height of a man's head, covering in a certain degree, the parts of the
scow that were not protected by the cabin. The Delaware surveyed this
arrangement with great satisfaction, and, as the canoe of Hutter passed
through the gate, into the dock, he thought that he might defend his position
against any garrison in the castle, for a sufficient time, could he but have
had the helping arm of his friend Deer-slayer. As it was, he felt
comparatively secure, and no longer suffered the keen apprehensions he had
lately experienced in behalf of Hist.
A single shove sent the canoe from the gate, to the trap beneath the castle.
Here Hutter found all fast, neither pad lock nor chain, nor bar, having been
molested. The key was produced, the locks removed, the chain loosened, and
the trap pushed upward. Hurry now thrust his head in at the opening; the arms
followed, and the colossal legs rose without any apparent effort. At the next
instant, his heavy foot was heard stamping in the passage above; that which
separated the chambers of the father and daughters, and into which the trap
opened. He then gave a shout of triumph.
"Come on, old Tom," the reckless woodsman called out from within the
building-"here's your tenement, safe and sound; ay, and as empty as a nut
that has passed half an hour in the paws of a squirrel! The Delaware brags of
being able to see silence; let him come here, and he may feel it, in the
bargain."
"Any silence where you are, Hurry Harry," returned Hutter, thrusting his head
in at the hole, as he uttered the last word, which instantly caused his voice
to sound smothered to those without-"Any silence where you are, ought to be
both seen and felt, for it's unlike any other silence."
"Come-come-old fellow; hoist yourself up, and we'll open doors and windows
and let in the fresh air to brighten up matters. Few words in troublesome
times, make men the best fri'nds. Your by her late conduct, that it wouldn't
take a speech as long as the ten commandments to send me off to the river,
leaving you and your traps, your Ark and your children, your man servants and
your maid servants, your oxen and your asses, to fight this battle with the
Iroquois, by yourselves. Open that window, Floating Tom, and I'll blunder
through and do the same job to the front door."
A moment of silence succeeded, and a noise like that produced by the fall of
a heavy body followed. A deep execration from Hurry succeeded, and then the
whole interior of the building seemed alive. The noises that now so suddenly,
and we may add so unexpectedly even to the Delaware, broke the stillness
within, could not be mistaken. They resembled those that would be produced by
a struggle between tigers in a cage. Once or twice the Indian yell was given,
but it seemed smothered, and as if it proceeded from exhausted or compressed
throats, and, in a single instance, a deep and another shockingly revolting
execration came from the throat of Hurry. It appeared as if bodies were
constantly thrown upon the floor with violence, as often rising to renew the
struggle. Chingachgook felt greatly at a loss what to do. He had all the arms
in the Ark, Hutter and Hurry having proceeded without their rifles, but there
was no means of using them, or of passing them to the hands of their owners.
The combatants, were literally caged, rendering it almost as impossible under
the circumstances to get out, as to get into the building. Then there was
Hist to embarrass his movements, and to cripple his efforts. With a view to
relieve himself from this disadvantage, he told the girl to take the
remaining canoe, and to join Hutter's daughters, who were incautiously but
deliberately approaching, in order to save herself, and to warn the others of
their danger. But the girl positively and firmly refused to comply. At that
moment, no human power, short of an exercise of superior physical force,
could have induced her to quit the Ark. The exigency of the moment did not
admit of delay, and the Delaware seeing no possibility of serving his
friends, cut the line and by a strong shove forced the scow some twenty feet,
clear of the piles. Here he took the sweeps and succeeded in getting a short
distance to windward, if any direction could be thus termed in so light an
air, but neither the time, nor his skill at the oars, allowed the distance to
be great. When he ceased rowing, the Ark might have been a hundred yards from
the platform, and half that distance to the southward of it, the sail being
lowered. Judith and Hetty had now discovered that something was wrong, and
were stationary a thousand feet farther north.
All this while the furious struggle continued within the house. In scenes
like these, events thicken in less time than they can be related. From the
moment when the first fall was heard within the building to that when the
Delaware ceased his awkward attempts to row, it might have been three or four
minutes, but it had evidently served to weaken the combatants. The oaths and
execrations of Hurry were no longer heard, and even the struggles had lost
some of their force and fury. Nevertheless they still continued with unabated
perseverance. At this instant the door flew open, and the fight was
transferred to the platform, the light and the open air. A Huron had undone
the fastenings of the door, and three or four of his tribe rushed after him
upon the. narrow space, as if glad to escape from some terrible scene within.
The body of another followed, pitched headlong through the door, with
terrific violence. Then March appeared, raging like a lion at bay, and for an
instant free'd from his numerous enemies. Hutter was already a captive and
bound. There was now a pause in the struggle, which resembled a lull in a
tempest. The necessity of breathing was common to all, and the combatants
stood watching each other, like mastiffs that have been driven from their
holds, and are waiting for a favorable opportunity of renewing them. We shall
profit by this pause to relate the manner in which the Indians had obtained
possession of the castle, and this the more willingly because it may be
necessary to explain to the reader why a conflict which had been so close and
fierce, should have also been so comparatively bloodless.
Rivenoak and his companion, particularly the latter who had appeared to be a
subordinate and occupied solely with his raft, had made the closest
observations in their visits to the castle. Even the boy had brought away
minute and valuable information. By these means the Hurons obtained a general
idea of the manner in which the place was constructed and secured, as well as
of details that enabled them to act intelligently in the dark.
Notwithstanding the care that Hutter had taken to drop the Ark on the east
side of the building when he was in the act of transferring the furniture
from the former to the latter, he had been watched in a way to render the
precaution useless. Scouts were on the look-out on the eastern, as well as on
the western, shore of the lake, and the whole proceeding had been noted. As
soon as it was dark, rafts like that already described, approached from both
shores to reconnoitre, and the Ark had passed within fifty feet of one of
them, without its being discovered; the men it held lying at their length on
the logs, so as to blend themselves and their slow moving machine with the
water. When these two sets of adventurers drew near the castle they
encountered each other, and after communicating their respective
observations, they unhesitatingly approached the building. As had been
expected, it was found empty. The rafts were immediately sent for a
reinforcement to the shore, and two of the savages remained to profit by
their situation. These men succeeded in getting on the roof, and by removing
some of the bark, in entering what might be termed the garret. Here they were
found by their companions. Hatchets now opened a hole through the squared
logs of the upper floor, through which no less than eight of the most
athletic of the Indians dropped into the rooms beneath. Here they were left,
well supplied with arms and provisions, either to stand a siege, or to make a
sortie, as the case might require. The night was passed in sleep, as is usual
with Indians in a state of inactivity. The returning day brought them a view
of the approach of the Ark through the loops, the only manner in which light
and air were now admitted, the windows being closed most effectually with
plank, rudely fashioned to fit. As soon as it was ascertained that the two
white men were about to enter by the trap, the chief who directed the
proceedings of the Hurons took his measures accordingly. He removed all the
arms from his own people, even to the knives, in distrust of savage ferocity
when awakened by personal injuries, and he hid them where they could not be
found, without a search. Ropes of bark were then prepared, and taking their
stations in the three different rooms, they all waited for the signal to fall
upon their intended captives. As soon as the party had entered the building,
men without replaced the bark of the roof, removed every sign of their visit,
with care, and then departed for the shore. It was one of these who had
dropped his moccasin, which he had not been able to find, again, in the dark.
Had the death of the girl been known, it is probable nothing could have saved
the lives of Hurry and Hutter but that event occurred after the ambush was
laid, and at a distance of several miles from the encampment near the castle
Such were the means that had been employed to produce the state of things we
shall continue to describe.
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