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07 - The Last Of The Mohicans - James Cooper · Thrilling Adventures - Daily

0:02
Speaker 1: Chapter seven. Quote, they do not sleep on yonder Cliff's
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Speaker 1: a grizzly band. I see them sit unquote gray, twould
0:16
Speaker 1: be neglecting a warning that is given for our good
0:18
Speaker 1: to lie hid any longer, said Hawkeye. When such sounds
0:22
Speaker 1: are raised in the forest, these gentle ones may keep close,
0:27
Speaker 1: but the Mohicans and I will watch upon the rock,
0:30
Speaker 1: where I suppose a major of the sixtieth would wish
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Speaker 1: to keep us company. Is then our danger, so pressing,
0:37
Speaker 1: asked Cora. He who makes strange sounds and gives them
0:40
Speaker 1: out for man's information alone knows our danger. I should
0:44
Speaker 1: think myself wicked unto rebellion against his will? Was I
0:48
Speaker 1: to burrow with such warnings in the air. Even the
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Speaker 1: weak soul who passes his days in singing is stirred
0:55
Speaker 1: by the cry, and, as he says, is ready to
1:00
Speaker 1: go forth to the battle. If twere only a battle,
1:05
Speaker 1: it would be a thing understood by us all and
1:07
Speaker 1: easily managed. But I have heard that when such shrieks
1:12
Speaker 1: are between heaven and earth, it betokens another sort of warfare.
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Speaker 1: If all our reasons for fear, my friend, were confined
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Speaker 1: to such as proceived from supernatural causes we have but
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Speaker 1: little occasion to be alarmed, continued the undisturbed Cora. Are
1:31
Speaker 1: you certain that our enemies have not invented some new
1:35
Speaker 1: and ingenious method to strike us with terror, that their
1:38
Speaker 1: conquest may become more easy? Lady returned the scout solemnly.
1:45
Speaker 1: I have listened to all the sounds of the woods
1:47
Speaker 1: for thirty years, as a man will listen whose life
1:51
Speaker 1: and death depend on the quickness of his ears. There
1:55
Speaker 1: is no whine of the panther, no whistle of the catbird,
1:59
Speaker 1: nor any invention of the devilish mingoes that can cheat me.
2:05
Speaker 1: I have heard the forest moan like mortal men in
2:08
Speaker 1: their affliction. Often and again have I listened to the
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Speaker 1: wind playing its music in the branches of the girdled trees.
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Speaker 1: And I have heard the lightning crackling in the air,
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Speaker 1: like the snapping of blazing brush, as it spitted forth
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Speaker 1: sparks and forked flames. But never have I thought that
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Speaker 1: I heard more than the pleasure of him who sported
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Speaker 1: with the things of his hand. But neither the Mohicans
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Speaker 1: nor I, who am I white man without a cross,
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Speaker 1: can explain the cry just heard. We therefore believe it
2:41
Speaker 1: a sign given for our good. It is extraordinary, said Heyward,
2:46
Speaker 1: taking his pistols from the place where he had laid
2:49
Speaker 1: them on entering. Be it a sign of peace or
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Speaker 1: a signal of war, it must be looked to lead
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Speaker 1: the way, my friend I follow On issuing from their
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Speaker 1: place of confinement, the whole party instantly experienced a grateful
3:05
Speaker 1: renovation of spirits by exchanging the pent air of the
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Speaker 1: hiding place for the cool and invigorating atmosphere which played
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Speaker 1: around the whirlpools and pitches of the cataract. A heavy
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Speaker 1: evening breeze swept along the surface of the river and
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Speaker 1: seemed to drive the roar of the falls into the
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Speaker 1: recesses of their own cavern, whence it issued heavily and constant,
3:28
Speaker 1: like thunder, rumbling beyond the distant hills. The moon had risen,
3:33
Speaker 1: and its light was already glancing here and there on
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Speaker 1: the waters above them, But the extremity of the rock
3:40
Speaker 1: where they stood still lay in shadow. With the exception
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Speaker 1: of the sounds produced by the rushing waters and the
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Speaker 1: occasional breathing of the air as it murmured past them
3:51
Speaker 1: in fitful currents, the scene was as still as night
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Speaker 1: and solitude could make it in vain. Were the eyes
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Speaker 1: of each individual bent along the opposite shores in quest
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Speaker 1: of some signs of life that might explain the nature
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Speaker 1: of the interruption they had heard. Their anxious and eager
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Speaker 1: looks were baffled by the deceptive light, or rested only
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Speaker 1: on naked rocks and straight and immovable trees. Here is
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Speaker 1: nothing to be seen but the gloom and quiet of
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Speaker 1: a lovely evening, whispered Duncan how much should we praise
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Speaker 1: such a scene and all this breathing solitude at any
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Speaker 1: other moment, Cora, fancy yourselves in security, and what now
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Speaker 1: perhaps increases your terror, may be made conducive to enjoyment. Listen,
4:46
Speaker 1: interrupted Alice, the caution was unnecessary. Once more, the same
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Speaker 1: sound arose, as if from the bed of the river,
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Speaker 1: and having broken out of the narrow bounds of the cliffs,
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Speaker 1: was heard undulating through the forest in distant and eying cadences.
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Speaker 1: Can any here give a name to such a cry?
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Speaker 1: Demanded Hawkeye, when the last echo was lost in the woods.
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Speaker 1: If so, let him speak for myself, I judge it
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Speaker 1: not to belong to arth. Here then is one who
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Speaker 1: can undeceive, you, said, duncan. I know the sound full well,
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Speaker 1: and have often heard it on the field of battle,
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Speaker 1: and in situations which are frequent in a soldier's life.
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Speaker 1: Tis the horrid shriek that a horse will give in
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Speaker 1: his agony, oftener drawn from him in pain, though sometimes
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Speaker 1: in terror. My charger is either a prey to the
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Speaker 1: beast of the forest, or he sees his danger without
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Speaker 1: the power to avoid it. The sound might deceive me
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Speaker 1: in the cavern, but in the open air I know
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Speaker 1: it too well to be wrong. The scout and his
5:54
Speaker 1: companions listened to this simple explanation with the interest of
5:58
Speaker 1: men who imbibe knew ideas at the same time that
6:01
Speaker 1: they get rid of old ones which had proved disagreeable inmates.
6:05
Speaker 1: The two latter uttered their usual expressive exclamation huh, as
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Speaker 1: the truth first glanced upon their minds, while the former,
6:13
Speaker 1: after a short musing pause, took upon himself to reply.
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Speaker 1: I cannot deny your words, he said, for I am
6:21
Speaker 1: little skilled in horses, though born where they abound. The
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Speaker 1: wolves must be hovering above their heads on the bank,
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Speaker 1: and the timbersome creatures are calling on man for help
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Speaker 1: in the best manner they are able, Uncas he spoke
6:35
Speaker 1: in Delaware. Uncas dropped down to the canoe and whirl
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Speaker 1: a brand among the pack. Or fear may do what
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Speaker 1: the wolves can't get at to perform, and leave us
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Speaker 1: without horses in the morning, when we shall have so
6:51
Speaker 1: much need to journey swiftly. The young native had already
6:55
Speaker 1: descended to the water to comply, when a long howl
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Speaker 1: was raised on the edge to the river, and was
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Speaker 1: borne swiftly off into the depths of the forest, as
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Speaker 1: though the beast of their own accord were abandoning their prey.
7:07
Speaker 1: In sudden terror. Uncas, with instinctive quickness, receded, and the
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Speaker 1: three foresters held another of their low earnest conferences. We
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Speaker 1: have been like hunters who have lost the points of
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Speaker 1: the heavens, and from whom the sun has been hit
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Speaker 1: for days, said Hawkeye, turning away from his companions. Now
7:28
Speaker 1: we begin again to know the signs of our course,
7:32
Speaker 1: and the paths are cleared from briars. Seat yourselves in
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Speaker 1: the shade which the moon throws from yonder beach tis
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Speaker 1: thicker than that of the pines, and let us wait
7:45
Speaker 1: that which the Lord may choose to send next. Let
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Speaker 1: all your conversation be in whispers, though it would be better,
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Speaker 1: and perhaps in the end wiser, if each one held
7:57
Speaker 1: discourse with his own thoughts. For a time, the manner
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Speaker 1: of the scout was seriously impressive, though no longer distinguished
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Speaker 1: by any signs of unmanly apprehension. It was evident that
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Speaker 1: his momentary weakness had vanished with the explanation of a
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Speaker 1: mystery which his own experience had not served to fathom,
8:17
Speaker 1: and though he now felt all the realities of their
8:19
Speaker 1: actual condition, that he was prepared to meet them with
8:23
Speaker 1: the energy of his hardy nature. This feeling seemed also
8:28
Speaker 1: common to the natives, who placed themselves in positions which
8:32
Speaker 1: commanded a full view of both shores, while their own
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Speaker 1: persons were effectually concealed from observation. In such circumstances, common
8:43
Speaker 1: prudence dictated that Heyward and his companions should imitate a
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Speaker 1: caution that proceeded from so intelligent a source. The young
8:52
Speaker 1: man drew a pile of sassyfras from the cave and
8:55
Speaker 1: placing it in the chasm which separated the two caverns.
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Speaker 1: It was occupied by the sisters, who were thus protected
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Speaker 1: by the rocks from any missiles, while their anxiety was
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Speaker 1: relieved by the assurance that no danger could approach without
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Speaker 1: a warning. Heyward himself was posted at hand, so near
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Speaker 1: that he might communicate with his companions without raising his
9:19
Speaker 1: voice to a dangerous elevation, while David, in imitation of
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Speaker 1: the woodsman, bestowed his person in such a manner among
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Speaker 1: the fissures of the rocks that his ungainly limbs were
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Speaker 1: no longer offensive to the eye. In this manner, hours
9:35
Speaker 1: passed without further interruption. The moon reached the zenith and
9:41
Speaker 1: shed its mild light perpendicularly on the lovely sight of
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Speaker 1: the sisters slumbering peacefully in each other's arms. Duncan cast
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Speaker 1: the wide shawl of Hora before a spectacle he so
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Speaker 1: much loved to contemplate, and then suffered his own head
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Speaker 1: to seek a pillow on the rock. David began to
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Speaker 1: utter sounds that would have shocked his delicate organs in
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Speaker 1: more wakeful moments. In short, all but Hawkeye and the
10:13
Speaker 1: Mohicans lost every idea of consciousness in uncontrollable drowsiness. But
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Speaker 1: the watchfulness of these vigilant protectors neither tired nor slumbered,
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Speaker 1: immovable as that rock of which each appeared to form
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Speaker 1: a part. They lay with their eyes roving without intermission
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Speaker 1: along the dark margin of trees that bounded the adjacent
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Speaker 1: shores of the narrow stream. Not a sound escaped them.
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Speaker 1: The most subtle examination could not have told they breathed.
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Speaker 1: It was evident that this excess of caution proceeded from
10:53
Speaker 1: an experience that no subtlety on the part of their
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Speaker 1: enemies could deceive. It was, however, continued without any apparent
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Speaker 1: consequences until the moon had set, and a pale streak
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Speaker 1: above the tree tops at the bend of the river
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Speaker 1: a little below announced the approach of day. Then, for
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Speaker 1: the first time, Hawkeye was seen to stir. He crawled
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Speaker 1: along the rock and shook Duncan from his heavy slumbers.
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Speaker 1: Now is the time to journey, he whispered. Awake the
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Speaker 1: gentle ones, and be ready to get into the canoe
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Speaker 1: when I bring it to the landing place. Have you
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Speaker 1: had a quiet night, said Heyward, For myself, I believe
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Speaker 1: sleep has gotten the better of my vigilance. Oh is
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Speaker 1: yet still as midnight, Be silent, but be quick. By
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Speaker 1: this time Duncan was thoroughly awake, and he immediately lifted
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Speaker 1: the shawl from the sleeping females. The motion caused Cora
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Speaker 1: to raise her hand as if to repulse him, while
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Speaker 1: Alice murmured in her soft, gentle voice, No, no, dear father,
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Speaker 1: we were not deserted. Duncan was with us. Yes, sweet innocence,
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Speaker 1: whispered the youth, Duncan is here, and while life continues
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Speaker 1: or danger remains, he will never quit thee Cora, Alice awake.
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Speaker 1: The hour has come to move. A loud shriek from
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Speaker 1: the younger of the sisters, and the form of the
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Speaker 1: others standing upright before him in bewildered horror was the
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Speaker 1: unexpected answer he received. While the words were still on
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Speaker 1: the lips of Heyward. There had arisen such a tumult
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Speaker 1: of yells and cries as served to drive the swift
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Speaker 1: currents of his own blood back from its bounding course
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Speaker 1: into the fountains of his heart. It seemed, for near
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Speaker 1: a minute as if the demons of Hell had possessed
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Speaker 1: themselves of the air about them, and were venting their
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Speaker 1: savage humors in barbarous sound. The cries came from no
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Speaker 1: particular direction, though it was evident they filled the woods,
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Speaker 1: and as the appalled listeners easily imagined the caverns of
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Speaker 1: the falls, the rocks, the bed of the river, and
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Speaker 1: the upper air. David raised his tall person in the
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Speaker 1: midst of the infernal din with a hand on either ear, exclaiming,
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Speaker 1: whence comes this discord? Has hell broke loose? That men
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Speaker 1: should outer sounds like these? The bright flashes and the
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Speaker 1: quick reports of a dozen rifles from the opposite banks
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Speaker 1: of the stream followed this incautious exposure of his person,
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Speaker 1: and left the unfortunate singing master senseless on that rock
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Speaker 1: where he had been so long slumbering. The Mohicans boldly
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Speaker 1: sent back the intimidating yell of their enemies, who raised
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Speaker 1: a shout of savage triumph at the fall of Gamut.
13:52
Speaker 1: The flash of rifles was then quick and close between them,
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Speaker 1: but either party was too well skilled to leave even
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Speaker 1: a limb exposed to the hostile aim. Duncan listened with
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Speaker 1: intense anxiety for the strokes of the paddle, believing that
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Speaker 1: flight was now their only refuge. The river glanced by
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Speaker 1: with its ordinary velocity, but the canoe was nowhere to
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Speaker 1: be seen on its dark waters. He had just fancied
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Speaker 1: they were cruelly deserted by their scout, as a stream
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Speaker 1: of flame issued from the rock beneath them, and a
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Speaker 1: fierce yell, blended with a shriek of agony, announced that
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Speaker 1: the messenger of death, sent from the fatal weapon of Hawkeye,
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Speaker 1: had found a victim. At this slight repulse, the assailants
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Speaker 1: instantly withdrew, and gradually the place became as still as
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Speaker 1: before the sudden tumult. Duncan seized the favorable moment to
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Speaker 1: spring to the body of Gamut, which he bore within
14:49
Speaker 1: the shelter of the narrow chasm that protected the sisters.
14:53
Speaker 1: In another minute, the whole party was collected in the
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Speaker 1: spot of comparative safety. The poor fellow has said his scalp,
15:01
Speaker 1: said Hawkeye, coolly, passing his hand over the head of David.
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Speaker 1: But he is proof that a man may be born
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Speaker 1: with too long a tongue. Twas downright madness to show
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Speaker 1: six feet of flesh and blood on a naked rock
15:15
Speaker 1: to the raging savages. I only wonder he has escaped
15:19
Speaker 1: with life? Is he not? That? Demanded Cora, in a
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Speaker 1: voice whose husky tone showed how powerfully natural horror struggled with.
15:28
Speaker 2: Her assumed firmness. Can we do ought to assist the
15:32
Speaker 2: wretched man? No?
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Speaker 1: No, the life is in his heart yet, and after
15:36
Speaker 1: he has slept a while, he will come to himself
15:39
Speaker 1: and be a wiser man for it, till the hour
15:42
Speaker 1: of his real time shall come, returned Hawkeye, casting another
15:47
Speaker 1: oblique glance at the insensible body, while he filled his
15:50
Speaker 1: charger with admirable nicety. Carry him in uncas and lay
15:55
Speaker 1: him on the sassyfras. The longer his nap last it
16:00
Speaker 1: will be for him, as I doubt whether he can
16:03
Speaker 1: find a proper cover for such a shape on these rocks,
16:07
Speaker 1: And singing won't do any good with the Iroquois. You
16:11
Speaker 1: believe then that the attack will be renewed, asked, Heyward,
16:16
Speaker 1: do I expect a hungry wolf to satisfy his craving
16:20
Speaker 1: with a mouthful. They have lost a man, and tis
16:24
Speaker 1: their fashion when they meet a loss and fail in
16:27
Speaker 1: the surprise to fall back. But we shall have them
16:32
Speaker 1: on again with new expedients to circumvent us and master
16:36
Speaker 1: our scalps, our main hope. He continued, raising his rugged
16:42
Speaker 1: countenance across which a shade of anxiety just then passed
16:46
Speaker 1: like a darkening cloud will be to keep the rock
16:49
Speaker 1: until Monroe can send a party to our help. God
16:54
Speaker 1: send it may be soon, and under a leader that
16:58
Speaker 1: knows the Indian customs, you here are probable fortunes, Cora
17:02
Speaker 1: said Duncan. And you know we have everything to hope
17:06
Speaker 1: from the anxiety and experience of your father. Come then,
17:10
Speaker 1: with Alice into this cavern, where you at least will
17:14
Speaker 1: be safe from the murderous rifles of our enemies, and
17:17
Speaker 1: where you may bestow a care suited to your gentle
17:20
Speaker 1: natures on our unfortunate comrade. The sisters followed him into
17:25
Speaker 1: the outer cave, where David was beginning, by his sighs
17:29
Speaker 1: to give symptoms of returning consciousness, and then commending the
17:34
Speaker 1: wounded man to their attention. He immediately prepared to leave them, Duncan,
17:40
Speaker 1: said the tremulous voice of Cora. When he had reached
17:43
Speaker 1: the mouth of the cavern, he turned and beheld the speaker,
17:47
Speaker 1: whose color had changed to a deadly paleness, and whose
17:50
Speaker 1: lips quivered, gazing after him with an expression of interest
17:55
Speaker 1: which immediately recalled him to her side.
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Speaker 2: Remember, Duncan, how necessary your safety is to our own.
18:04
Speaker 2: How you bear a father's sacred trust. How much depends
18:08
Speaker 2: on your discretion and care.
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Speaker 1: In short, she added, while the tell tale blood stole
18:15
Speaker 1: over her features, crimsoning her very temples.
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Speaker 2: How very deservedly dear you are to all of the
18:24
Speaker 2: name and row.
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Speaker 1: If anything could add to my own base love of life,
18:29
Speaker 1: said Heyward, suffering his unconscious eyes to wonder to the
18:32
Speaker 1: youthful form of the silent alice, it would be so
18:36
Speaker 1: kind an insurance as Major the sixtieth, our honest host
18:41
Speaker 1: will tell you. I must take my share of the fray,
18:44
Speaker 1: But our task will be easy. It is merely to
18:48
Speaker 1: keep these bloodhounds at bay for a few hours. Without
18:51
Speaker 1: waiting for a reply, he tore himself from the presence
18:54
Speaker 1: of the sisters and joined the scout and his companions,
18:58
Speaker 1: who still lay within the protection of the little chasm
19:01
Speaker 1: between the two caves. I tell you, uncas said the former,
19:05
Speaker 1: as Hayward joined them, you are wasteful of your powder,
19:09
Speaker 1: and the kick of your rifle disconcerts your aim. Little powder,
19:14
Speaker 1: light lead, and a long arm seldom fell of bringing
19:19
Speaker 1: the death screech from a mingo. At least, such has
19:24
Speaker 1: been my experience with the creatures. Come friends, led us
19:29
Speaker 1: to our covers, for no man can tell when or
19:32
Speaker 1: where Maqua will strike his blow. Footnote. Mingo was the
19:38
Speaker 1: Delaware term of the five nations. Maqua's was the name
19:43
Speaker 1: given them by the Dutch. The French, from their first
19:46
Speaker 1: intercourse with them, called them Iroquois. End footnote. The Indians
19:53
Speaker 1: silently repaired to their appointed stations, which were fishers in
19:57
Speaker 1: the rocks, whence they could command the approaches to the
20:00
Speaker 1: foot of the falls. In the center of the little island,
20:04
Speaker 1: a few short and stunted pines had found root, forming
20:08
Speaker 1: a thicket into which hawkeye darted with the swiftness of
20:11
Speaker 1: a deer, followed by the act of Duncan. Here they
20:16
Speaker 1: secured themselves as well as circumstances would permit, among the
20:20
Speaker 1: shrubs and fragments of stone that were scattered about the place.
20:25
Speaker 1: Above them was a bare rounded rock on each side
20:29
Speaker 1: of which the water played its gambols and plunged into
20:33
Speaker 1: the abysses beneath, in the manner already described. As the
20:38
Speaker 1: day had now dawned, the opposite shores no longer presented
20:42
Speaker 1: a confused outline, but they were able to look into
20:46
Speaker 1: the woods and distinguish objects beneath a canopy of gloomy pines.
20:50
Speaker 1: A long and anxious watch succeeded, but without any further
20:55
Speaker 1: evidences of a renewed attack, and Duncan began to hope
20:59
Speaker 1: that their fire had proved more fatal than was supposed,
21:04
Speaker 1: and that their enemies had been effectually repulsed. When he
21:09
Speaker 1: ventured to utter his impression to his companions, it was
21:12
Speaker 1: met by Hawkeye with an incredulous shake of the head.
21:16
Speaker 1: You know not the nature of a maqua if you
21:18
Speaker 1: think he is so easily beaten back without a scalp,
21:22
Speaker 1: he answered, if there was one of the imps yelling
21:25
Speaker 1: this morning, there were forty, and they know our number
21:29
Speaker 1: and quality too well to give up the chase so soon.
21:34
Speaker 1: Hist look into the water above, just where it breaks
21:37
Speaker 1: over the rocks. I am, though mortal, if the risky
21:40
Speaker 1: devils haven't swam down to the very pitch, and as
21:44
Speaker 1: bad luck would have it, they have hit the head
21:46
Speaker 1: of the island. Hist Man, keep close, or your hair
21:50
Speaker 1: will be off your crown. In the turning of a knife,
21:52
Speaker 1: Heyward lifted his head from the cover and beheld what
21:55
Speaker 1: he justly considered a prodigy of rashness and skill. The
21:59
Speaker 1: river had worn away the edge of the soft rock
22:02
Speaker 1: in such a manner as to render its first pitch
22:04
Speaker 1: less abrupt and perpendicular than as usual at waterfalls, with
22:09
Speaker 1: no other guide than the ripple of the stream, where
22:11
Speaker 1: it met the head of the island. A party of
22:14
Speaker 1: their insatiable foes had ventured into the current and swam
22:18
Speaker 1: down upon this point, knowing the ready access it would give,
22:22
Speaker 1: if successful, to their intended victims. As Hawkeye ceased speaking,
22:28
Speaker 1: four human heads could be seen peering above a few
22:31
Speaker 1: logs of driftwood that had lodged on these naked rocks,
22:35
Speaker 1: and which had probably suggested the idea of the practicability
22:39
Speaker 1: of the hazardous undertaking. At the next moment, a fifth
22:44
Speaker 1: form was seen floating over the green edge of the fall,
22:47
Speaker 1: a little from the line of the island. The savage
22:50
Speaker 1: struggled powerfully to gain the point of safety, and favored
22:54
Speaker 1: by the glancing water, he was already stretching forth an
22:57
Speaker 1: arm to meet the grasp of his companion when he
23:00
Speaker 1: shot away again with the swirling current, appeared to rise
23:04
Speaker 1: into the air with uplifted arms and starting eyeballs, and
23:09
Speaker 1: fell with a sudden plunge into that deep and yawning
23:12
Speaker 1: abyss over which he hovered, A single, wild, despairing shriek
23:18
Speaker 1: rose from the cavern, and all was hushed again as
23:23
Speaker 1: the grave. The first generous impulse of Duncan was to
23:27
Speaker 1: rush to the rescue of the hapless wretch, but he
23:30
Speaker 1: felt himself bound to the spot by the iron grasp
23:34
Speaker 1: of the immovable scout. Would ye bring certain death upon
23:39
Speaker 1: us by telling the mingoes where we lie, demanded Hawkeye
23:43
Speaker 1: sternly tis A charge of powder saved, and ammunition is
23:48
Speaker 1: as precious now as breath to a worried deer. Freshen
23:52
Speaker 1: the priming of your pistols the midst of the falls
23:55
Speaker 1: is apt to dampen the brimstone, and stand firm for
23:59
Speaker 1: a close struggle, while I fire on their rush. He
24:04
Speaker 1: placed a finger in his mouth and drew a long
24:06
Speaker 1: shrill whistle, which was answered from the rocks that were
24:09
Speaker 1: guarded by the Mohicans. Duncan caught glimpses of heads above
24:14
Speaker 1: the scattered driftwood as this signal rose on the air,
24:18
Speaker 1: but they disappeared again as suddenly as they had glanced
24:22
Speaker 1: upon his sight. A low, rustling sound next drew his
24:26
Speaker 1: attention behind him, and turning his head, he beheld Uncas
24:30
Speaker 1: within a few feet, creeping to his side. Hawkeye spoke
24:34
Speaker 1: to him in Delaware when the young chief took his
24:37
Speaker 1: position with singular caution and undisturbed coolness. To Heyward, this
24:43
Speaker 1: was a moment of feverish and impatient suspense, though the
24:48
Speaker 1: Scouts saw fit to select it as a fit occasion
24:52
Speaker 1: to read a lecture to his more youthful associates on
24:55
Speaker 1: the art of using firearms with discretion of all weapons,
24:59
Speaker 1: he came minced, the long barreled, true grooved, soft metaled
25:03
Speaker 1: rifle is the most dangerous and skillful hands, though it
25:08
Speaker 1: wants a strong arm, a quick eye, and great judgment
25:12
Speaker 1: in charging to put forth all its beauties. The gunsmiths
25:17
Speaker 1: can have but little insight into their trade when they
25:21
Speaker 1: make their filing pieces and short horsemens. He was interrupted
25:25
Speaker 1: by the low but expressive uugh of Uncas. I see them, boy,
25:30
Speaker 1: I see them, continued Hawkeye. They're gathering for the rush,
25:34
Speaker 1: or they would keep their dingy backs down below the logs.
25:38
Speaker 1: Well let them, he added, examining his flint. The leading
25:42
Speaker 1: man certainly comes to his death, though it should be
25:45
Speaker 1: more calm himself. At that moment, the woods were filled
25:49
Speaker 1: with another burst of cries, and at the signal, four
25:53
Speaker 1: savages sprang from the cover of the driftwood. Heyward felt
25:57
Speaker 1: a burning desire to rush forward to meet them, so
26:00
Speaker 1: intense with the delirious anxiety of the moment, but he
26:03
Speaker 1: was restrained by the deliberate examples of the Scout and Uncas.
26:07
Speaker 1: When their foes, who had leaped over the black rocks
26:10
Speaker 1: that divided them with long bounds, uttering the wildest yells,
26:14
Speaker 1: were within a few rods, the rifle of Hawkeye slowly
26:18
Speaker 1: rose among the shrubs and poured out its fatal contents.
26:22
Speaker 1: The foremost Indian bounded like a stricken deer and fell
26:26
Speaker 1: headlong among the clefts of the island. Now Uncas cried
26:30
Speaker 1: the Scout, drawing his long knife, while his quick eyes
26:33
Speaker 1: began to flash with ardor take the last of the
26:36
Speaker 1: screeching imps of the other two. We are sertant. He
26:40
Speaker 1: was obeyed, and but two enemies remained to be overcome.
26:44
Speaker 1: Heyward had given one of his pistols to Hawkeye, and
26:47
Speaker 1: together they rushed down a little declivity toward their foes.
26:51
Speaker 1: They discharged their weapons at the same instant, and equally
26:55
Speaker 1: without success, I noted, and I said, it muttered the scout,
27:00
Speaker 1: whirling the despised little implement over the falls in bitter disdain.
27:04
Speaker 1: Come on, ye, bloody minded hell hounds, Ye meet a
27:08
Speaker 1: man without a cross. The words were barely uttered when
27:11
Speaker 1: he encountered a savage of gigantic stature of the fiercest mien.
27:17
Speaker 1: At the same moment, Duncan found himself engaged with the
27:21
Speaker 1: other in a similar contest of hand to hand. With
27:25
Speaker 1: ready skill, Hawkeye and his antagonists each grasped that uplifted
27:31
Speaker 1: arm of the other, which held the dangerous knife. For
27:34
Speaker 1: near a minute, they stood, looking one another in the eye,
27:38
Speaker 1: and gradually exerting the power of their muscles for the mastery.
27:43
Speaker 1: At length, the toughened sinews of the white men prevailed
27:47
Speaker 1: over the less practiced limbs of the native. The arm
27:50
Speaker 1: of the latter slowly gave way before the increasing force
27:54
Speaker 1: of the scout, who, suddenly, wrestling his armed hand from
27:57
Speaker 1: the grasp of the foe, drove the sharp weapon through
28:00
Speaker 1: his naked bosom to the heart. In the meantime, Heyward
28:06
Speaker 1: had been pressed in a more deadly struggle. His slight
28:10
Speaker 1: sword was snapped in the first encounter. As he was
28:13
Speaker 1: destitute of any other means of defense, his safety now
28:17
Speaker 1: depended entirely on bodily strength and resolution. Though deficient in
28:23
Speaker 1: neither of these qualities, he had met an enemy every
28:27
Speaker 1: way his equal. Happily, he soon succeeded in disarming his adversary,
28:33
Speaker 1: whose knife fell on the rock at their feet. And
28:36
Speaker 1: from this moment it became a fierce struggle who should
28:40
Speaker 1: cast the other over the dizzy height into a neighboring
28:44
Speaker 1: cavern of the falls. Every successful struggle brought them nearer
28:49
Speaker 1: to the verge, where Duncan perceived the final and conquering
28:53
Speaker 1: effort must be made. Each of the combatants threw all
28:58
Speaker 1: his energies into that effort, and the result was that
29:01
Speaker 1: both tottered on the brink of the precipice. Heyward felt
29:06
Speaker 1: the grasp of the other at his throat and saw
29:08
Speaker 1: the grim smile the savage gave under the revengeful hope
29:12
Speaker 1: that he hurried his enemy to a fate similar to
29:14
Speaker 1: his own. As he felt his body slowly yielding to
29:18
Speaker 1: a resistless power, and the young man experienced the passing
29:23
Speaker 1: agony of such a moment in all its horrors. At
29:26
Speaker 1: that instant of extreme danger, a dark hand and a
29:30
Speaker 1: glancing knife appeared before him. The Indian released his hold
29:35
Speaker 1: as the blood flowed freely from around the severed tendons
29:39
Speaker 1: of the wrist, and while Duncan was drawn backward by
29:42
Speaker 1: the saving hand of uncas his charmed eyes still were
29:47
Speaker 1: riveted on the fierce and disappointed countenance of his foe,
29:51
Speaker 1: who fell sullenly and disappointed down the irrecoverable precipice. To
29:58
Speaker 1: cover to cover, cried Hawkeye, who just then had despatched
30:02
Speaker 1: the enemy. To cover for your lives. The work is
30:06
Speaker 1: but half ended. The young Mohican gave a shout of triumph, and,
30:10
Speaker 1: followed by Duncan, he glided up the acclivity they had
30:13
Speaker 1: descended to the combat and sought the friendly shelter of
30:17
Speaker 1: the rocks and shrubs. End of Chapter seven