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07 - The Last Of The Mohicans - James Cooper · Adventure Books Collection

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Chapter seven. Quote, they do not sleep on yonder Cliff's a grizzly band.
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I see them sit unquote gray, twould be neglecting a warning that is
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given for our good to lie hid any longer, said Hawkeye. When such
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sounds are raised in the forest, these gentle ones may keep close, but
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the Mohicans and I will watch upon the rock, where I suppose a major
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of the sixtieth would wish to keep us company. Is then our danger,
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so pressing, asked Cora. He who makes strange sounds and gives them out
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for man's information alone knows our danger. I should think myself wicked unto rebellion
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against his will? Was I to burrow with such warnings in the air.
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Even the weak soul who passes his days in singing is stirred by the cry,
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and, as he says, is ready to go forth to the battle.
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If twere only a battle, it would be a thing understood by us
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all and easily managed. But I have heard that when such shrieks are between
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heaven and earth, it betokens another sort of warfare. If all our reasons
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for fear, my friend, were confined to such as proceived from supernatural causes
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we have but little occasion to be alarmed, continued the undisturbed Cora. Are
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you certain that our enemies have not invented some new and ingenious method to strike
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us with terror, that their conquest may become more easy? Lady returned the
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scout solemnly. I have listened to all the sounds of the woods for thirty
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years, as a man will listen whose life and death depend on the quickness
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of his ears. There is no whine of the panther, no whistle of
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the catbird, nor any invention of the devilish mingoes that can cheat me.
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I have heard the forest moan like mortal men in their affliction. Often and
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again have I listened to the wind playing its music in the branches of the
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girdled trees. And I have heard the lightning crackling in the air, like
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the snapping of blazing brush, as it spitted forth sparks and forked flames.
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But never have I thought that I heard more than the pleasure of him who
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sported with the things of his hand. But neither the Mohicans nor I,
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who am I white man without a cross, can explain the cry just heard.
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We therefore believe it a sign given for our good. It is extraordinary,
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said Heyward, taking his pistols from the place where he had laid them
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on entering. Be it a sign of peace or a signal of war,
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it must be looked to lead the way, my friend I follow On issuing
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from their place of confinement, the whole party instantly experienced a grateful renovation of
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spirits by exchanging the pent air of the hiding place for the cool and invigorating
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atmosphere which played around the whirlpools and pitches of the cataract. A heavy evening
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breeze swept along the surface of the river and seemed to drive the roar of
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the falls into the recesses of their own cavern, whence it issued heavily and
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constant, like thunder, rumbling beyond the distant hills. The moon had risen,
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and its light was already glancing here and there on the waters above them,
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But the extremity of the rock where they stood still lay in shadow.
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With the exception of the sounds produced by the rushing waters and the occasional breathing
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of the air as it murmured past them in fitful currents, the scene was
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as still as night and solitude could make it in vain. Were the eyes
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of each individual bent along the opposite shores in quest of some signs of life
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that might explain the nature of the interruption they had heard. Their anxious and
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eager looks were baffled by the deceptive light, or rested only on naked rocks
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and straight and immovable trees. Here is nothing to be seen but the gloom
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and quiet of a lovely evening, whispered Duncan how much should we praise such
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a scene and all this breathing solitude at any other moment, Cora, fancy
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yourselves in security, and what now perhaps increases your terror, may be made
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conducive to enjoyment. Listen, interrupted Alice, the caution was unnecessary. Once
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more, the same sound arose, as if from the bed of the river,
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and having broken out of the narrow bounds of the cliffs, was heard
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undulating through the forest in distant and eying cadences. Can any here give a
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name to such a cry? Demanded Hawkeye, when the last echo was lost
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in the woods. If so, let him speak for myself, I judge
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it not to belong to arth. Here then is one who can undeceive,
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you, said, duncan. I know the sound full well, and have
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often heard it on the field of battle, and in situations which are frequent
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in a soldier's life. Tis the horrid shriek that a horse will give in
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his agony, oftener drawn from him in pain, though sometimes in terror.
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My charger is either a prey to the beast of the forest, or he
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sees his danger without the power to avoid it. The sound might deceive me
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in the cavern, but in the open air I know it too well to
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be wrong. The scout and his companions listened to this simple explanation with the
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interest of men who imbibe knew ideas at the same time that they get rid
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of old ones which had proved disagreeable inmates. The two latter uttered their usual
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expressive exclamation huh, as the truth first glanced upon their minds, while the
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former, after a short musing pause, took upon himself to reply. I
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cannot deny your words, he said, for I am little skilled in horses,
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though born where they abound. The wolves must be hovering above their heads
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on the bank, and the timbersome creatures are calling on man for help in
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the best manner they are able, Uncas he spoke in Delaware. Uncas dropped
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down to the canoe and whirl a brand among the pack. Or fear may
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do what the wolves can't get at to perform, and leave us without horses
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in the morning, when we shall have so much need to journey swiftly.
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The young native had already descended to the water to comply, when a long
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howl was raised on the edge to the river, and was borne swiftly off
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into the depths of the forest, as though the beast of their own accord
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were abandoning their prey. In sudden terror. Uncas, with instinctive quickness,
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receded, and the three foresters held another of their low earnest conferences. We
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have been like hunters who have lost the points of the heavens, and from
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whom the sun has been hit for days, said Hawkeye, turning away from
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his companions. Now we begin again to know the signs of our course,
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and the paths are cleared from briars. Seat yourselves in the shade which the
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moon throws from yonder beach tis thicker than that of the pines, and let
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us wait that which the Lord may choose to send next. Let all your
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conversation be in whispers, though it would be better, and perhaps in the
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end wiser, if each one held discourse with his own thoughts. For a
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time, the manner of the scout was seriously impressive, though no longer distinguished
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by any signs of unmanly apprehension. It was evident that his momentary weakness had
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vanished with the explanation of a mystery which his own experience had not served to
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fathom, and though he now felt all the realities of their actual condition,
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that he was prepared to meet them with the energy of his hardy nature.
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This feeling seemed also common to the natives, who placed themselves in positions which
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commanded a full view of both shores, while their own persons were effectually concealed
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from observation. In such circumstances, common prudence dictated that Heyward and his companions
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should imitate a caution that proceeded from so intelligent a source. The young man
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drew a pile of sassyfras from the cave and placing it in the chasm which
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separated the two caverns. It was occupied by the sisters, who were thus
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protected by the rocks from any missiles, while their anxiety was relieved by the
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assurance that no danger could approach without a warning. Heyward himself was posted at
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hand, so near that he might communicate with his companions without raising his voice
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to a dangerous elevation, while David, in imitation of the woodsman, bestowed
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his person in such a manner among the fissures of the rocks that his ungainly
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limbs were no longer offensive to the eye. In this manner, hours passed
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without further interruption. The moon reached the zenith and shed its mild light perpendicularly
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on the lovely sight of the sisters slumbering peacefully in each other's arms. Duncan
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cast the wide shawl of Hora before a spectacle he so much loved to contemplate,
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and then suffered his own head to seek a pillow on the rock.
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David began to utter sounds that would have shocked his delicate organs in more wakeful
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moments. In short, all but Hawkeye and the Mohicans lost every idea of
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consciousness in uncontrollable drowsiness. But the watchfulness of these vigilant protectors neither tired nor
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slumbered, immovable as that rock of which each appeared to form a part.
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They lay with their eyes roving without intermission along the dark margin of trees that
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bounded the adjacent shores of the narrow stream. Not a sound escaped them.
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The most subtle examination could not have told they breathed. It was evident that
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this excess of caution proceeded from an experience that no subtlety on the part of
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their enemies could deceive. It was, however, continued without any apparent consequences
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until the moon had set, and a pale streak above the tree tops at
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the bend of the river a little below announced the approach of day. Then,
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for the first time, Hawkeye was seen to stir. He crawled along
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the rock and shook Duncan from his heavy slumbers. Now is the time to
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journey, he whispered. Awake the gentle ones, and be ready to get
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into the canoe when I bring it to the landing place. Have you had
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a quiet night, said Heyward, For myself, I believe sleep has gotten
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the better of my vigilance. Oh is yet still as midnight, Be silent,
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but be quick. By this time Duncan was thoroughly awake, and he
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immediately lifted the shawl from the sleeping females. The motion caused Cora to raise
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her hand as if to repulse him, while Alice murmured in her soft,
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gentle voice, No, no, dear father, we were not deserted.
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Duncan was with us. Yes, sweet innocence, whispered the youth, Duncan
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is here, and while life continues or danger remains, he will never quit
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thee Cora, Alice awake. The hour has come to move. A loud
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shriek from the younger of the sisters, and the form of the others standing
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upright before him in bewildered horror was the unexpected answer he received. While the
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words were still on the lips of Heyward. There had arisen such a tumult
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of yells and cries as served to drive the swift currents of his own blood
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back from its bounding course into the fountains of his heart. It seemed,
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for near a minute as if the demons of Hell had possessed themselves of the
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air about them, and were venting their savage humors in barbarous sound. The
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cries came from no particular direction, though it was evident they filled the woods,
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and as the appalled listeners easily imagined the caverns of the falls, the
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rocks, the bed of the river, and the upper air. David raised
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his tall person in the midst of the infernal din with a hand on either
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ear, exclaiming, whence comes this discord? Has hell broke loose? That
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men should outer sounds like these? The bright flashes and the quick reports of
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a dozen rifles from the opposite banks of the stream followed this incautious exposure of
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his person, and left the unfortunate singing master senseless on that rock where he
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had been so long slumbering. The Mohicans boldly sent back the intimidating yell of
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their enemies, who raised a shout of savage triumph at the fall of Gamut.
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The flash of rifles was then quick and close between them, but either
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party was too well skilled to leave even a limb exposed to the hostile aim.
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Duncan listened with intense anxiety for the strokes of the paddle, believing that
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flight was now their only refuge. The river glanced by with its ordinary velocity,
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but the canoe was nowhere to be seen on its dark waters. He
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had just fancied they were cruelly deserted by their scout, as a stream of
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flame issued from the rock beneath them, and a fierce yell, blended with
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a shriek of agony, announced that the messenger of death, sent from the
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fatal weapon of Hawkeye, had found a victim. At this slight repulse,
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the assailants instantly withdrew, and gradually the place became as still as before the
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sudden tumult. Duncan seized the favorable moment to spring to the body of Gamut,
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which he bore within the shelter of the narrow chasm that protected the sisters.
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In another minute, the whole party was collected in the spot of comparative
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safety. The poor fellow has said his scalp, said Hawkeye, coolly,
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passing his hand over the head of David. But he is proof that a
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man may be born with too long a tongue. Twas downright madness to show
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six feet of flesh and blood on a naked rock to the raging savages.
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I only wonder he has escaped with life? Is he not? That?
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Demanded Cora, in a voice whose husky tone showed how powerfully natural horror struggled
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with her assumed firmness. Can we do ought to assist the wretched man?
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No? No, the life is in his heart yet, and after he
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has slept a while, he will come to himself and be a wiser man
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for it, till the hour of his real time shall come, returned Hawkeye,
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casting another oblique glance at the insensible body, while he filled his charger
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with admirable nicety. Carry him in uncas and lay him on the sassyfras.
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The longer his nap last it will be for him, as I doubt whether
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he can find a proper cover for such a shape on these rocks, And
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singing won't do any good with the Iroquois. You believe then that the attack
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will be renewed, asked, Heyward, do I expect a hungry wolf to
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satisfy his craving with a mouthful. They have lost a man, and tis
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their fashion when they meet a loss and fail in the surprise to fall back.
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But we shall have them on again with new expedients to circumvent us and
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master our scalps, our main hope. He continued, raising his rugged countenance
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across which a shade of anxiety just then passed like a darkening cloud will be
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to keep the rock until Monroe can send a party to our help. God
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send it may be soon, and under a leader that knows the Indian customs,
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you here are probable fortunes, Cora said Duncan. And you know we
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have everything to hope from the anxiety and experience of your father. Come then,
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with Alice into this cavern, where you at least will be safe from
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the murderous rifles of our enemies, and where you may bestow a care suited
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to your gentle natures on our unfortunate comrade. The sisters followed him into the
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outer cave, where David was beginning, by his sighs to give symptoms of
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returning consciousness, and then commending the wounded man to their attention. He immediately
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prepared to leave them, Duncan, said the tremulous voice of Cora. When
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he had reached the mouth of the cavern, he turned and beheld the speaker,
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whose color had changed to a deadly paleness, and whose lips quivered,
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gazing after him with an expression of interest which immediately recalled him to her side.
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Remember, Duncan, how necessary your safety is to our own. How
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you bear a father's sacred trust. How much depends on your discretion and care.
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In short, she added, while the tell tale blood stole over her
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features, crimsoning her very temples. How very deservedly dear you are to all
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of the name and row. If anything could add to my own base love
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of life, said Heyward, suffering his unconscious eyes to wonder to the youthful
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form of the silent alice, it would be so kind an insurance as Major
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the sixtieth, our honest host will tell you. I must take my share
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of the fray, But our task will be easy. It is merely to
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keep these bloodhounds at bay for a few hours. Without waiting for a reply,
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he tore himself from the presence of the sisters and joined the scout and
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his companions, who still lay within the protection of the little chasm between the
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two caves. I tell you, uncas said the former, as Hayward joined
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them, you are wasteful of your powder, and the kick of your rifle
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disconcerts your aim. Little powder, light lead, and a long arm seldom
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fell of bringing the death screech from a mingo. At least, such has
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been my experience with the creatures. Come friends, led us to our covers,
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for no man can tell when or where Maqua will strike his blow.
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Footnote. Mingo was the Delaware term of the five nations. Maqua's was the
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name given them by the Dutch. The French, from their first intercourse with
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them, called them Iroquois. End footnote. The Indians silently repaired to their
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appointed stations, which were fishers in the rocks, whence they could command the
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approaches to the foot of the falls. In the center of the little island,
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a few short and stunted pines had found root, forming a thicket into
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which hawkeye darted with the swiftness of a deer, followed by the act of
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Duncan. Here they secured themselves as well as circumstances would permit, among the
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shrubs and fragments of stone that were scattered about the place. Above them was
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a bare rounded rock on each side of which the water played its gambols and
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plunged into the abysses beneath, in the manner already described. As the day
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had now dawned, the opposite shores no longer presented a confused outline, but
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they were able to look into the woods and distinguish objects beneath a canopy of
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gloomy pines. A long and anxious watch succeeded, but without any further evidences
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of a renewed attack, and Duncan began to hope that their fire had proved
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more fatal than was supposed, and that their enemies had been effectually repulsed.
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When he ventured to utter his impression to his companions, it was met by
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Hawkeye with an incredulous shake of the head. You know not the nature of
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a maqua if you think he is so easily beaten back without a scalp,
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he answered, if there was one of the imps yelling this morning, there
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were forty, and they know our number and quality too well to give up
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the chase so soon. Hist look into the water above, just where it
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breaks over the rocks. I am, though mortal, if the risky devils
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haven't swam down to the very pitch, and as bad luck would have it,
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they have hit the head of the island. Hist Man, keep close,
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or your hair will be off your crown. In the turning of a
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knife, Heyward lifted his head from the cover and beheld what he justly considered
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a prodigy of rashness and skill. The river had worn away the edge of
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the soft rock in such a manner as to render its first pitch less abrupt
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and perpendicular than as usual at waterfalls, with no other guide than the ripple
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of the stream, where it met the head of the island. A party
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of their insatiable foes had ventured into the current and swam down upon this point,
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knowing the ready access it would give, if successful, to their intended
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victims. As Hawkeye ceased speaking, four human heads could be seen peering above
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a few logs of driftwood that had lodged on these naked rocks, and which
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had probably suggested the idea of the practicability of the hazardous undertaking. At the
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next moment, a fifth form was seen floating over the green edge of the
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fall, a little from the line of the island. The savage struggled powerfully
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to gain the point of safety, and favored by the glancing water, he
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was already stretching forth an arm to meet the grasp of his companion when he
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shot away again with the swirling current, appeared to rise into the air with
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uplifted arms and starting eyeballs, and fell with a sudden plunge into that deep
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and yawning abyss over which he hovered, A single, wild, despairing shriek
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rose from the cavern, and all was hushed again as the grave. The
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first generous impulse of Duncan was to rush to the rescue of the hapless wretch,
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but he felt himself bound to the spot by the iron grasp of the
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immovable scout. Would ye bring certain death upon us by telling the mingoes where
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we lie, demanded Hawkeye sternly tis A charge of powder saved, and ammunition
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is as precious now as breath to a worried deer. Freshen the priming of
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your pistols the midst of the falls is apt to dampen the brimstone, and
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stand firm for a close struggle, while I fire on their rush. He
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placed a finger in his mouth and drew a long shrill whistle, which was
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answered from the rocks that were guarded by the Mohicans. Duncan caught glimpses of
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heads above the scattered driftwood as this signal rose on the air, but they
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disappeared again as suddenly as they had glanced upon his sight. A low,
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rustling sound next drew his attention behind him, and turning his head, he
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beheld Uncas within a few feet, creeping to his side. Hawkeye spoke to
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him in Delaware when the young chief took his position with singular caution and undisturbed
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coolness. To Heyward, this was a moment of feverish and impatient suspense,
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though the Scouts saw fit to select it as a fit occasion to read a
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lecture to his more youthful associates on the art of using firearms with discretion of
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all weapons, he came minced, the long barreled, true grooved, soft
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metaled rifle is the most dangerous and skillful hands, though it wants a strong
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arm, a quick eye, and great judgment in charging to put forth all
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its beauties. The gunsmiths can have but little insight into their trade when they
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make their filing pieces and short horsemens. He was interrupted by the low but
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expressive uugh of Uncas. I see them, boy, I see them,
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continued Hawkeye. They're gathering for the rush, or they would keep their dingy
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backs down below the logs. Well let them, he added, examining his
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flint. The leading man certainly comes to his death, though it should be
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more calm himself. At that moment, the woods were filled with another burst
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of cries, and at the signal, four savages sprang from the cover of
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the driftwood. Heyward felt a burning desire to rush forward to meet them,
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so intense with the delirious anxiety of the moment, but he was restrained by
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the deliberate examples of the Scout and Uncas. When their foes, who had
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leaped over the black rocks that divided them with long bounds, uttering the wildest
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yells, were within a few rods, the rifle of Hawkeye slowly rose among
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the shrubs and poured out its fatal contents. The foremost Indian bounded like a
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stricken deer and fell headlong among the clefts of the island. Now Uncas cried
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the Scout, drawing his long knife, while his quick eyes began to flash
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with ardor take the last of the screeching imps of the other two. We
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are sertant. He was obeyed, and but two enemies remained to be overcome.
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Heyward had given one of his pistols to Hawkeye, and together they rushed
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down a little declivity toward their foes. They discharged their weapons at the same
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instant, and equally without success, I noted, and I said, it
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muttered the scout, whirling the despised little implement over the falls in bitter disdain.
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Come on, ye, bloody minded hell hounds, Ye meet a man
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without a cross. The words were barely uttered when he encountered a savage of
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gigantic stature of the fiercest mien. At the same moment, Duncan found himself
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engaged with the other in a similar contest of hand to hand. With ready
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skill, Hawkeye and his antagonists each grasped that uplifted arm of the other,
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which held the dangerous knife. For near a minute, they stood, looking
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one another in the eye, and gradually exerting the power of their muscles for
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the mastery. At length, the toughened sinews of the white men prevailed over
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the less practiced limbs of the native. The arm of the latter slowly gave
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way before the increasing force of the scout, who, suddenly, wrestling his
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armed hand from the grasp of the foe, drove the sharp weapon through his
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naked bosom to the heart. In the meantime, Heyward had been pressed in
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a more deadly struggle. His slight sword was snapped in the first encounter.
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As he was destitute of any other means of defense, his safety now depended
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entirely on bodily strength and resolution. Though deficient in neither of these qualities,
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he had met an enemy every way his equal. Happily, he soon succeeded
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in disarming his adversary, whose knife fell on the rock at their feet.
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And from this moment it became a fierce struggle who should cast the other over
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the dizzy height into a neighboring cavern of the falls. Every successful struggle brought
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them nearer to the verge, where Duncan perceived the final and conquering effort must
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be made. Each of the combatants threw all his energies into that effort,
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and the result was that both tottered on the brink of the precipice. Heyward
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felt the grasp of the other at his throat and saw the grim smile the
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savage gave under the revengeful hope that he hurried his enemy to a fate similar
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to his own. As he felt his body slowly yielding to a resistless power,
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and the young man experienced the passing agony of such a moment in all
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its horrors. At that instant of extreme danger, a dark hand and a
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glancing knife appeared before him. The Indian released his hold as the blood flowed
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freely from around the severed tendons of the wrist, and while Duncan was drawn
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backward by the saving hand of uncas his charmed eyes still were riveted on the
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fierce and disappointed countenance of his foe, who fell sullenly and disappointed down the
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irrecoverable precipice. To cover to cover, cried Hawkeye, who just then had
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despatched the enemy. To cover for your lives. The work is but half
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ended. The young Mohican gave a shout of triumph, and, followed by
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Duncan, he glided up the acclivity they had descended to the combat and sought
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the friendly shelter of the rocks and shrubs. End of Chapter seven