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 common in
America, more especially on the frontiers, Hurry possessed an advantage, in
addition to his prodigious strength, that had rendered the struggle less
unequal than it might otherwise appear to be. This alone had enabled him to
hold out so long, against so many enemies, for the Indian is by no means
remarkable for his skill, or force, in athletic exercises. As yet, no one had
been seriously hurt, though several of the savages had received severe falls,
and he, in particular, who had been thrown bodily upon the platform, might be
said to be temporarily hors de combat. Some of the rest were limping, and
March himself had not entirely escaped from bruises, though want of breath
was the principal loss that both sides wished to repair.

Under circumstances like those in which the parties were placed, a truce, let
it come from what cause it might, could not well be of long continuance. The
arena was too confined, and the distrust of treachery, too great, to admit of
this. Contrary to what might be expected, in his situation, Hurry was the
first to recommence hostilities. Whether this proceeded from policy, an idea
that he might gain some advantage by making a sudden and unexpected assault
or was the fruit of irritation and his undying hatred of an Indian, it is
impossible to say. His onset was furious, however, and at first it carried
all before it. He seized the 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 a minute, two more were at his side, one of whom received a grave
injury by 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 which
nature had furnished, Hurry believed himself fully able to cope with that
number of redskins

"Hurrah! Old Tom," he shouted-"The rascals are taking to the lake, and I'll
soon have 'em all swimming!" As these words were uttered a violent kick in
the face sent back the injured Indian, who had caught at the edge 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 on which the Castle stood, clinging
to the sands and weeds, as if life were to be retained by this frenzied grasp
of death. A blow sent into the pit of another's stomach doubled him up like a
worm that had been trodden on, and but two able bodied foes remained to be
dealt with. One of these, however, was not only the largest and strongest, of
the Hurons, but he was also the most experienced of their warriors present,
and that one whose sinews were the best strung in fights, and by marches on
the warpath. This man fully appreciated the gigantic strength of his
opponent, and had carefully husbanded his own. He was also equipped in the
best manner for such a conflict, standing in nothing but his breech-cloth,
the model of a naked and beautiful statue of agility and strength. To grasp
him required additional dexterity and unusual force. Still Hurry did not
hesitate, but the kick that, had actually destroyed one fellow creature was
no sooner given, than he closed in with this formidable antagonist,
endeavoring to force him into the water, also. The struggle that succeeded
was truly frightful. So fierce did it immediately become, and so quick and
changeful were the evolutions of the athletes, that the remaining savage had
no chance for interfering, had he possessed the desire; but wonder and
apprehension held him spell bound. He was an inexperienced youth, and his
blood curdled as he witnessed the fell strife of human passions, exhibited
too, in an unaccustomed form.

Hurry first attempted to throw his antagonist. With this view he seized him
by the throat, and an arm, and tripped with the quickness and force of an
American borderer. The effect was frustrated by the agile movements of the
Huron, who had clothes to grasp by, and whose feet avoided the attempt with a
nimbleness equal to that with which it was made. Then followed a sort of
mêlée, if such a term can be applied to a struggle between two, in which no
efforts were strictly visible, the limbs and bodies of the combatants
assuming so many attitudes and contortions, as to defeat observation. This
confused but fierce rally lasted less than a minute, however; when, Hurry,
furious at having his strength baffled y the agility and nakedness of his
foe, made a desperate effort, which sent the Huron from him, hurling his body
violently against the logs of the hut. The concussion was so great
momentarily to confuse the latter's faculties. The pain, too, orted a deep
groan; an unusual concession to agony, to ape a red man in the heat of
battle. Still he rushed forward gain, to meet his enemy, conscious that his
safety rested on it's resolution. Hurry now seized the other by the waist,
raised him bodily from the platform, and fell with his own great weight on
the form beneath. This additional shock so stunned the sufferer, that his
gigantic white opponent now had him completely at his mercy. Passing his
hands around the throat of his victim, he compressed them with the strength
of a vice, fairly doubling the head of the Huron over e edge of the platform,
until the chin was uppermost, with the infernal strength he expended. An
instant sufficed to show the consequences. The eyes of the sufferer seemed to
start forward, his tongue protruded, and his nostrils dilated nearly to
splitting. At this instant a rope of bark, having an eye, was passed
dexterously within the two arms of Hurry, the end threaded the eye, forming a
noose, and his elbows were drawn together behind his back, with a power that
all his gigantic strength could not resist. Reluctantly, even under such
circumstances, did the exasperated borderer see his hands drawn from their
deadly grasp, for all the evil passions ;Were then in the ascendant. Almost
at the same instant, a similar fastening secured his ancles, and his body was
rolled to 4the centre of the platform as helplessly, and as cavalierly, as if
it Were a log of wood. His rescued antagonist, however, did not rise, for
while he began again to breathe, his head still hung helplessly over the edge
of the logs, and it was thought at first that his neck was dislocated. He
recovered gradually only, and it was hours before he could walk. Some fancied
that neither his body, nor his mind, ever totally recovered from this near
approach to death.

Hurry owed his defeat and capture to the intensity with which he had
concentrated all his powers, on his fallen foe While thus occupied, the two
Indians he had hurled into the water mounted to the heads of the piles, along
which they passed, and joined their companion on the platform. The latter had
so far rallied his faculties as to have gotten the ropes, which were in
readiness for use as the others appeared, and they were applied in the manner
related, as Hurry lay pressing his enemy down with his whole weight, intent
only on the horrible office of strangling him. Thus were the tables turned,
in a single moment; he who had been so near achieving a victory that would
have been renowned for ages, by means of traditions, throughout all that
region, lying, helpless, bound and a captive. So fearful had been the efforts
of the pale face, and so prodigious the strength he exhibited, that even as
he lay, tethered like a sheep before them, they regarded him with respect,
and not without dread. The helpless body of their stoutest warrior was still
stretched on the platform, and, as they cast their eyes towards the lake, in
quest of the comrade that had been hurled into it so unceremoniously, and of
whom they had lost sight in the confusion of the fray, they perceived his
lifeless form clinging to the grass on the bottom, as already described.
These several circumstances contributed to render the victory of the Hurons
almost as astounding to themselves, as a defeat.

Chingachgook, and his betrothed, witnessed the whole of this struggle from
the Ark. When the three Hurons were about to pass the cords around the arms
of the prostrate Hurry, the Delaware sought his rifle, but, before he could
use it, the white man was bound, and the mischief was done. He might 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 obtain such a trophy,
hesitated about taking that of a foe, without such an object in view. A
glance at Hist, and the recollection of what might follow, checked any
transient wish or revenge. The reader has been told that Chingachgook could
scarcely be said to know how to manage the oars of the Ark at all, however
expert he might be in the use the paddle. Perhaps there is no manual labor,
at which men are so bungling and awkward, as in their first attempts to pull
oar, even the experienced mariner, or boat man, breaking down in his efforts
to figure with the celebrated rullock of the gondollier In short it is,
temporarily, an impracticable thing for a new beginner to succeed with a
single oar, but, in this case it was necessary to handle two, at the same
time, and those of great size. Sweeps, or large oars, however, are sooner
rendered of use by the raw hand, than lighter implements, and this was the
reason that the Delaware had succeeded in moving the Ark as well as he did,
in a first trial. That trial, notwithstanding, sufficed to produce distrust,
and he was fully aware of the critical situation in which Hist and himself
were now placed, should the Hurons take to the canoe that was still lying
beneath the trap, and come against them. At the moment he thought of putting
Hist into the canoe in his own possession, and of taking to the eastern
mountain, in the hope of reaching the Delaware villages by direct flight. But
many considerations suggested themselves to put a stop to this indiscreet
step. It was almost certain that scouts watched the lake on both sides, and
no canoe could possibly approach shore without being seen from the hills.
Then a trail could not be concealed from Indian eyes, and the strength of
Hist was unequal to a flight sufficiently sustained, to outstrip the pursuit
of trained warriors. This was a part of America in which the Indians did not
know the use of horses, and every thing would depend on the physical energies
of the fugitives. Last, but far from being least, were the thoughts connected
with the situation of Deerslayer, a friend who was not to be deserted in his
extremity.

Hist in some particulars, reasoned, and even felt, differently though she
arrived at the same conclusions. Her own anger disturbed her less than her
concern for the two sisters, whose behalf her womanly sympathies were now
strongly enlisted The canoe of the girls, by the time the struggle on the
platform had ceased, was within three hundred yards of the castle, and here
Judith ceased paddling, the evidences strife first becoming apparent to the
eyes. She and Hetty were standing erect, anxiously endeavoring to ascertain
what had occurred, but unable to satisfy their doubts from the circum stance
that the building, in a great measure, concealed the scene of action.

The parties in the Ark, and in the canoe, were indebted to the ferocity of
Hurry's attack for their momentary security In any ordinary case, the girls
would have been immediately captured, a measure easy of execution now the
savages had a canoe, were it not for the rude check the audacity of the
Hurons had received, in the recent struggle. It required some little time to
recover from the effects of this violent scene, and this so much the more,
because the principal man of the party, in the way of personal prowess at
least, had been so great a sufferer. Still it was of the last importance that
Judith and her sister should seek immediate refuge in the Ark, where the
defences offered a temporary shelter at least, and the first step was to
devise the means of 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 girls to make a circuit to avoid the Castle, and to approach the Ark from
the eastward. But these signs were distrusted or misunderstood. It is
probable Judith was not yet sufficiently aware of the real state of things to
put full confidence in either party. Instead of doing as desired, she rather
kept more aloof, paddling slowly back to the north, or into the broadest part
of the lake, where she could command the widest view, and had the fairest
field for flight before her. At this instant the sun appeared above the pines
of the eastern range of mountains and a light southerly breeze arose, as was
usual enough, at that season and hour Chingachgook lost no time in hoisting
the sail. Whatever might be in reserve for him, there could be no question
that it was every way desirable to get the Ark at such a distance from the
castle, as to reduce his enemies to the necessity of approaching the former
in the canoe, which the chances of war had so inopportunely for his wishes
and security, thrown into their hands. The appearance of the opening duck
seemed first to arouse the Hurons from their apathy, and by the time the head
of the scow had fallen off before the wind, which it did unfortunately in the
wrong direction, bringing it within a few yards of the platform, Hist found
it necessary to warn &r lover of the importance of covering his person
against the rifles of his foes. This was a danger to be avoided under all
circumstances, and so much the more, because the Delaware found that Hist
would not take to the cover herself, so long as he remained exposed.
Accordingly, Chingachgook abandoned the scow to its own movements, forced
Hist into the cabin the doors of which he immediately secured, and then he
looked about him for the rifles. The situation of the parties was now so
singular as to merit a 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, and the steering oar abandoned. The latter, fortunately, was loose, so
that it produced no great influence on the crab like movements of the
unwieldy craft. The sail being as sailors term it, flying, or having no
braces, the air forced the yard forward, though both sheets were fast. The
effect was threefold on a boat with a bottom that was perfectly flat, and
which drew merely some three or four inches water. It pressed the head slowly
round to leeward, it forced the whole fabric bodily in the same direction at
the e time, and the water that unavoidably gathered under the gave the scow
also a forward movement. All these changes were exceedingly slow, however,
for the wind was not only light, but it was baffling as usual, and twice or
thrice the sail shook. Once it was absolutely taken aback.

Had there been any keel to the Ark, it would inevitably ye run foul of the
platform, bows on, when it is probable thing could have prevented the Hurons
from carrying it; more particularly as the sail would have enabled them to
approach under cover. As it was, the scow wore slowly round, barely clearing
that part of the building. The piles projecting several feet, they were not
cleared, but the head of the slow moving craft caught between two of them, by
one of its square corners, and hung. At this moment the Delaware was
vigilantly watching through a loop, for 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 as helpless as a log, tethered like a sheep on its way to the
slaughter, near the middle of the platform. Chingachgook could have slain the
first, at any moment, but his scalp would have been safe, and the young chief
disdained to strike a blow that could lead to neither honor nor advantage.

"Run out one of the poles, Sarpent, if Sarpent you be," said Hurry, amid the
groans that the tightness of the ligatures was beginning to extort from 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 for yourself just
finish this gagging blackguard for me."

The appeal of Hurry, however, had no other effect, than to draw the attention
of Hist to his situation. This quick witted creature comprehended it at a
glance. His ancles were bound with several turns of stout bark rope, and his
arms, above the elbows, were similarly secured behind his back; barely
leaving him a little play of the hands and wrists. Putting her mouth near a
loop she said in a low but distinct voice- "Why you do n't roll here, and
fall in scow? Chingachgook shoot Huron, if he chace!"

"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 the bottom,
for me to fall on."

This was said at a happy moment, for, tired of waiting, all the Indians made
a rapid discharge of their rifles, almost simultaneously, injuring no one;
though several bullets passed through the loops. Hist had heard part of
Hurry's words, but most of what he said was lost in the sharp reports of the
firearms. She undid the bar of the door that led to the stern 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 the other end swung slowly round,
nearer and nearer to the platform. Hurry, who now lay with his face towards
the Ark, occasionally writhing and turning over like one in pain, evolutions
he had performed ever since he was secured, watched every change, and, at
last, he saw that the whole vessel was free, and was beginning to grate
slowly along the sides of the piles. The attempt was desperate, but it seemed
to be the only chance for escaping torture and death, and it suited the
reckless daring of the man's character. Waiting to the last moment, in order
that the stern of the scow might fairly rub against the platform, he began to
writhe again, as if in intolerable suffering, execrating all Indians in
general, and the Hurons in particular, and then he suddenly and rapidly
rolled over and over, taking the direction of the stem of the cow.
Unfortunately, Hurry's shoulders required more space to revolve m than his
feet, and, by the time he reached the edge of the platform his direction had
so far changed as to carry him clear of the Ark altogether, and the rapidity
of his revolutions and the emergency admitting of no delay, he fell into the
water. At this instant, Chingachgook, by an understanding with his betrothed
drew the fire of the Hurons, am, not a man of whom saw the manner in which
one, horn they knew to be effectually tethered, had disappeared. But Hist 's
feelings were strongly interested in the success of so bold a scheme, and she
watched the movements of Hurry, the cat watches the mouse. The moment he was
in motion she foresaw the consequences, and this the more readily, as the
scow was now beginning to move with some steadiness, and she bethought her of
the means of saving him. With a sort of instinctive readiness, she opened the
door, at the very moment the rifles were ringing in her ears, and, protected
by the intervening cabin, she stepped into the stem of the scow, time to
witness the fall of Hurry into the lake. Her foot was unconsciously placed on
the end of one of the sheets of the sail, which was fastened aft, and
catching up all the spare rope with the awkwardness, but also with the
generous resolution, of a woman, she threw it in the direction of the
helpless Hurry. The line fell on the head and body of the sinking man and he
not only succeeded in grasping separate parts of with his hands, but he
actually got a portion of it between his teeth. Hurry was an expert swimmer,
and, tethered as he was he resorted to the very expedient that philosophy and
reflection would have suggested. He had fallen on his back, ad instead of
floundering and drowning himself by desperate efforts to walk on the water,
he permitted his body to sink as low as possible, and was already submerged,
with the exception of his face, when the line reached him. In this situation
might possibly have remained until rescued by the Hurons, using his hands as
fishes use their fins, had he received no other succour, but the movement of
the Ark soon tightened the rope, and of 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, and it would have been possible for one accustomed
to endurance, to have been towed a mile in this singular but simple manner.

It has been said that the Hurons did not observe the sudden disappearance of
Hurry. In his present situation, he was not only hid from view, by the
platform, but, as the Ark drew slowly ahead, impelled by a sail that was now
filled, he received the same friendly service from the piles. The Hurons,
indeed, were too intent on endeavoring to slay their Delaware foe, by sending
a bullet through some one of the loops or crevices of the cabin, to bethink
them at all, of one whom they fancied so thoroughly tied. Their great concern
was the manner in which the Ark rubbed past the piles, although its motion
was lessened at least one half by the friction, and they passed into the
northern end of the castle, in order to catch opportunities of firing through
the loops of that part of the building. Chingachgook was similarly occupied,
and remained as ignorant as his enemies, of the situation of Hurry. As the
Ark grated along, the rifles sent their little clouds of smoke from one cover
to the other, but the eyes and movements of the opposing parties were too
quick to permit any injury to be done. At length one side had the
mortification, and the other the pleasure of seeing the scow swing clear of
the piles altogether, when it immediately moved away, with a materially
accelerated motion, towards the north.

Chingachgook now first learned from Hist, the critical condition of Hurry. To
have exposed either of their persons in the stern of the scow, would have
been certain death, but, fortunately, the sheet to which the man clung, led
forward to the foot of the sail. The Delaware found means to unloosen it from
the cleet aft, and Hist, who was already forward for that purpose,
immediately began to pull upon the line. At this moment Hurry was towing
fifty or sixty feet astern, with nothing but his face above water. As he was
dragged out clear of the castle and the piles, he was first perceived by the
Hurons, who raised a hideous yell, and commenced a fire on, what may very
well be termed, the floating mass. It was at same instant, that Hist began to
pull upon the line for a circumstance that probably saved Hurry's life, aided
by his own self-possession and border readiness. The first bullet struck the
water directly on the spot, where the broad chest of the young giant was
visible through the pure element might have pierced his heart, had the angle
at was fired, been less acute. Instead of penetrating the ~ever, it glanced
from its smooth surface, rose, and buried itself in the logs of the cabin,
near the spot at Chingachgook had shown himself the minute before, the line
from the cleet. A second, and a third, fourth bullet followed, all meeting
with the same resistance of the water, though Hurry sensibly the blows they
struck upon the lake so and so near his breast. Discovering their now changed
their plan, and aimed at the uncovered face but by this time Hist was pulling
on the line the target advanced and the deadly missiles still fell upon the
water. In another moment the body was dragged the tow and became concealed.
As for the Delaware and Hist, they worked perfectly covered by the cabin and
in less time than it requires to tell it, they had hauled the huge frame of
Harry to the place they occupied. Chingachgook stood in readiness with his
keen knife, and bending over the side of the scow he soon severed the bark
that bound the limbs of the borderer. To raise him high enough to 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 helpless into the bottom of the
scow. Here we shall leave him to recover his strength and the due
circulation of his blood, while we proceed with the narrative of events that
crowd upon us too fast to admit of any postponement. The moment the Hurons
lost sight of the body of Hurry, they gave a common yell of disappointment
and three of the most active of their number ran to the trap and entered the
canoe. It required some little delay, however, to embark with their weapons,
to find the paddles and, 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
rifles, again, in readiness. As the Ark necessarily sailed before the wind,
it had got by this time quite two hundred yards from the castle, and was
sliding away each instant, farther and farther, though with a motion so easy
as scarcely to stir the water. The canoe of the girls was quite a quarter of
a mile distant from the Ark, obviously keeping aloof, in ignorance of what
had occurred, and in apprehension of the consequences of venturing too near.
They had taken the direction of the eastern shore, endeavoring at the same
time to get to windward of the Ark, and in a manner between the two parties,
as if distrusting which was to be considered a friend, and which an enemy.
The girls, from long habit, used the paddles with great dexterity, and
Judith, in particular, had often sportively gained races, in trials of speed
with the youths that occasionally visited the lake.

When the three Hurons emerged from behind the palisades, and found themselves
on the open lake, and under the necessity of advancing unprotected on the
Ark, if they persevered in the original design, their ardor sensibly cooled.
In a bark canoe, they were totally without cover, and Indian discretion was
entirely opposed to such a sacrifice of life as would most probably follow
any attempt to assault an enemy, entrenched as effectually as the Delaware.
Instead of following the Ark therefore, these three warriors inclined towards
the eastern shore, keeping at a safe distance from the rifles of
Chingachgook. But this manoeuvre rendered the position of the girls
exceedingly critical. It threatened to place them if not between two fires,
at least between two dangers, or what they conceived to be dangers, and,
instead of permitting the Hurons to enclose her, in what she fancied a sort
of net, Judith immediately commenced her retreat, in a southern direction, at
no very great distance from the shore. She did not dare to land; if such an
expedient were to be resorted to at all, she could only venture on it, in the
last extremity. At first the Indians paid little or no attention to the other
canoe, for, fully apprised of its contents, they deemed its capture of
comparatively little moment, while the Ark, with its imaginary treasures, the
persons of the Delaware and of Hurry, and its means of movement on a large
scale, was before them. But this Ark had its dangers as well as its
temptations, and after wasting near an hour, in vacillating evolutions,
always at a safe distance from the rifle, the Hurons seemed suddenly to take
their resolution, and began to display it by giving eager chase to the girls.

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

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

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

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

Judith gave these directions from a mixed feeling; first because she knew
that her sister ever sought the support of her great ally in trouble, and
next because a sensation of feebleness and dependance suddenly came over her
own proud spirit, in that moment of apparent desertion and trial. The prayer
was quickly said, however, and the canoe was soon in rapid motion. Still,
neither party resorted to their greatest exertions from the outset, both
knowing that the chase was likely to be arduous and long. Like two vessels of
war that are preparing for an encounter, they seemed desirous of first
ascertaining their respective rates of speed, in order that they might know
how to graduate their exertions, previously to the great effort. A few
minutes sufficed to show the Hurons that the girls were expert, and that it
would require all their skill and energies to overtake them.

Judith had inclined towards the eastern shore, at the commencement of the
chase, with a vague determination of landing and flying to the woods, as a
last resort, but as she approached the land, the certainty that scouts must
be watching her movements, made her reluctance to adopt such an expedient
unconquerable. Then she was still fresh, and had sanguine hopes of being able
to tire out her pursuers. With such feelings she gave a sweep with her
paddle, and sheered off from the fringe of dark hemlocks beneath the shades
of which she was so near entering, and held her way, again, more towards the
centre of the lake. This seemed the instant favorable for the Hurons to make
their push, as it gave them the entire breadth of the sheet to do it in; and
this too in the widest part, as soon as they had got between the fugitives
and the land. The canoes now flew, Judith making up for what she wanted in
strength, by her great dexterity and self command. For half a mile the
Indians gained no material advantage, but the continuance of so great
exertions for so many minutes sensibly affected all concerned. Here the
Indians resorted to an expedient that enabled them to give one of their party
time to breathe, by shifting their paddles from hand to hand, and this too
without sensibly relaxing their efforts.

Judith occasionally looked behind her, and she saw this expedient practised.
It caused her immediately to distrust the result, since her powers of
endurance were not likely to hold out against those of men who had the means
of relieving each other. Still she persevered, allowing no very visible
consequences immediately to follow the change.

As yet the Indians had not been able to get nearer to the girls, than two
hundred 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, in consequence of the relative
positions of the parties, no change becomes apparent except that which is a
direct gain in the nearest possible approach. "Long" as this species of chase
is admitted to be, however, Judith was enabled to perceive that the Hurons
were sensibly drawing nearer and nearer, before she had gained the centre of
the lake. She was not a girl to despair, but there was an instant when she
thought of yielding, with the wish of being carried to the camp where she
knew the Deerslayer to be a captive; but the considerations connected with
the means she hoped to be able to employ, in order to procure his release,
immediately interposed, in order to stimulate her to renewed exertions. Had
there been any one there to note the progress of the two canoes, he would
have seen that of Judith flying swiftly away from its pursuers, as -the girl
gave it freshly impelled speed, while her mind was thus dwelling on her own
ardent and generous schemes. So material, indeed, was the difference in the
rate of going between the two canoes, for the next five minutes, that the
Hurons began to be convinced all their powers must be exerted, or they would
suffer the disgrace of being baffled by women. Making a furious effort, under
the mortification of such a conviction, one of the strongest of their party
broke his paddle at the very moment when he had taken it from the hand of a
comrade, to relieve him. This at once decided the matter, a canoe containing
three men and having but one paddle, being utterly unable to overtake
fugitives like the daughters of Thomas Hutter.

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

"I never denied it, poor Hetty, and sometimes wish, in bitterness of spirit,
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 take breath."

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

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

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

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

"I've been in all the rooms, Judith," said the latter earnestly, "and they
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 touched the
platform; speaking quick, for her nerves were in a state to be easily
alarmed.

Hetty seemed concerned, and she looked furtively about her, as if unwilling
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, "When
overtaken with liquor he does n't always know what he says, or does, and he
seems to be overtaken with liquor, now."

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

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

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