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32 - The Last Of The Mohicans - James Cooper · Classic Adventure Books Library

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Chapter thirty two. Quote, but plague shall spread and funeral fires increase till
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the great King, without a ransom paid to her own Chrysa, send the
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black eyed maid unquote from Pope. During the time Uncas was making his disposition
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of his forces, the woods were still, and, with the exception of
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those who had met in council, apparently as much untenanted as when they came
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fresh from the hands of their almighty creator. The eye could range in every
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direction through the long and shadowed vistas of the trees, but nowhere was any
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object to be seen that did not properly belong to the peaceful and slumbering scenery.
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Here and there a bird was heard fluttering among the branches of the beeches,
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and occasionally a squirrel dropped the nut, drawing the startled looks of the
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party for a moment to the place, But the instant the casual interruption ceased.
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The passing air was heard murmuring above their heads along the verdant and undulating
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surface of the forest, which spread itself unbroken unless by stream or lake,
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over such a vast region of country across the tract of wilderness which lay between
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the Delawares and the village of their enemies. It seemed as if the foot
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of man had never trodden, so breathing and deep was the silence in which
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it lay. But Hawkeye, whose duty led him foremost in the adventure,
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knew the character of those with whom he was about to contend too well to
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trust the treacherous quiet. When he saw his little band collected, the scout
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threw kildeer into the hollow of his arm, and, making a silent signal
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that he would be followed, he led them many rods toward the rear,
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into the bed of a little brook which they had crossed in advancing. Here
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he halted, and, after waiting for the whole of his grave and attentive
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warriors to close about him, he spoke in delaware, demanding, do any
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of my young men know whither this run will lead us? A Delaware stretched
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forth a hand with the two fingers separated, and indicating the manner in which
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they were joined. At the root, he answered, before the sun could
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go its own length, the little water will be in the big then,
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he added, pointing in the direction of the place he mentioned. The two
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make enough for the beavers. I thought as much. Returned the scout,
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glancing his eye upward at the opening of the tree tops, from the course
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it takes and the bearings of the mountains. Men, we will keep within
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the cover of its banks till we scent the Hurons. His companions gave the
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usual brief exclamation of ascent, but, perceiving that their leader was about to
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lead the way in person, one or two made signs that all was not
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as it should be. Hawkeye, who comprehended their meaning glances, turned and
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perceived that his party had been followed thus far by the singing master. Do
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you know, friend, asked the scout, gravely, and perhaps with a
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little of the pride of conscious deserving in his manner, that this is a
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band of rangers, chosen for the most desperate service, and put under the
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command of one who, though another might say it with a better face,
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will not be apt to leave them idle. It may not be five,
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it cannot be thirty minutes before we tread on the body of a Huron,
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living or dead. Though not admonished of your intentions in words, returned David,
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whose face was a little flushed, and whose ordinary quiet and unmeaning eyes
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glimmered with an expression of unusual fire. Your men have reminded me of the
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children of Jacob going to battle against the Shakamites, for wickedly aspiring to wedlock
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with a woman of a race that was favored of the Lord. Now I
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have journeyed far, and so journed much in good and evil with the maiden
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ye seek. And though not a man of war, with my loins girded
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and my sword sharpened, yet would I gladly strike a blow in her behalf?
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The scout hesitated, as if weighing the chances of such a strange enlistment
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in his mind, before he answered, you know not the use of any
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weapon. You carry no rifle, And believe me, what the Mingoes take,
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they will freely give again, though not of vaunting and bloodily disposed.
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Goliath returned David, drawing a sling from beneath his party, colored and uncouth
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attire. I have not forgotten the example of the Jewish b with this ancient
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instrument of war. Have I practiced much in my youth and peradventure. The
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skill has not entirely departed from me, aye, said Hawkeye, considering the
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deerskin, thong and apron with a cold and discouraging eye. The thing might
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do its work among arrows or even knives, but these mangue have been furnished
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by the frenchers with a good grooved barrel. A man, however, it
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seems to be your gift to go unharmed amid fire. And as you have
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hitherto been favored, Major, you have left your rifle at a cock a
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single shot before the time would be just twenty scalps lost to no purpose.
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Singer you can follow. We may find use for you in the shoutings.
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I thank you, friend, returned David, supplying himself like his royal namesake,
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from among the pebbles of the brook. Though not given to the desire
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to quelle. Had you sent me away, my spirit would have been troubled,
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remember, added the scout, tapping his own head significantly on that spot
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where Gammaut was yet sore. We come to fight, and not to musicate.
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Until the general hoop is given. Nothing speaks but the rifle. David
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nodded as much to signify his acquiescence with the terms, and then Hawkeye,
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casting another observant glance over his followers, made the signal to proceed their route.
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Lay for the distance of a mile along the bed of the watercourse.
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Though protected from any great danger of observation by the precipitous banks and the thick
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shrubbery which skirted the stream, no precaution known to an Indian attack was neglected.
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A warrior rather crawled than walked, on each flank so as to catch
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occasional glimpses into the forest, and every few minutes the band came to a
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halt and listened for hostile sounds, with an acuteness of organs that would be
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scarcely conceivable to a man in a less natural state. Their march was,
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however, unmolested, and they reached the point where the lesser stream was lost
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in the greater without the smallest evidence that their progress had been noted. Here
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the scout again halted to consult the signs of the forest. We are likely
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to have a good day for a fight, he said in English, addressing
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Heyward, and glancing his eyes upward at the clouds which began to move in
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broad sheets across the firmament. A bright sun and a glittering barrel are no
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friends to true sight. Everything is favorable. They have the wind which will
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bring down their noises and their smoke too, no little matter in itsse whereas
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with us it will be first a shot and then a clear view. But
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here is an end to our cover. The beavers have had the range of
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this stream for hundreds of years, and what between their food and their dams
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there is, as you see, many a girdled stub, but few living
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trees. Hawkeye had, in truth, in these few words, given no
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bad description of the prospect that now lay in their front. The brook was
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irregular in its width, sometimes shooting through narrow fissures in the rocks, and
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others spreading over acres of bottom land, forming little areas that might be turned
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ponds. Everywhere along its bands were the moldering relics of dead trees in all
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the stages of decay, from those that groaned on their tottering trunks to such
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as had recently been robbed of those rugged coats that so mysteriously canained their principle
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of life. A few long, low and moss covered piles were scattered among
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them, like the memorials of a former and long departed generation. All these
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minute particulars were noted by the scout with a gravity and interest that they probably
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had never before attracted. He knew that the Huron encampment lay a short half
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mile up the brook, and with the characteristic anxiety of one who dreaded a
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hidden danger, he was greatly troubled at not finding the smallest trace of the
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presence of his enemy. Once or twice he felt induced to give the order
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for a rush and to attempt the village by surprise, But his experience quickly
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admonished him of the danger of so useless an experiment. Then he listened intently
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and with painful uncertainty, for the sounds of hostility in the quarter where Uncas
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was left. But nothing was audible except the sighing of the wind, which
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began to sweep over the bosom of the forest in gusts, which threatened the
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tempest at length. Yielding, rather to his unusual impatience than taking counsel from
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his knowledge, he determined to bring matters to an issue by unmasking his force
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and proceeding cautiously but steadily up the stream. The scout had stood while making
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his observations, sheltered by a brake, and his companions still lay in the
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bed of the ravine through which the smaller stream debouched. But on hearing his
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low, though intelligible signal, the whole party stole up the bank like so
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many dark specters, and silently arranged themselves around him, pointing in the direction
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he wished to proceed. Hawkeye advanced the band, breaking off in single files,
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and following so accurately in his footsteps as to leave it if we except
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Heyward and David, the trail of but a single man. The party was,
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however, scarcely uncovered before a volley from a dozen rifles was heard in
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their rear, and a delaware, leaping high into the air like a wounded
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deer, fell at his whole length dead. Ah I feared some deviltry like
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this, exclaimed the scout in English, adding with the quickness of thought in
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his adopted tongue to cover men and charge. The band dispersed at the word,
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and before Heyward had well recovered from his surprise, he found himself standing
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alone with David. Luckily, the Hurons had already fallen back, and he
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was safe from their fire. But this state of things was evidently to be
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of short continuance, for the Scouts set the example of pressing on their retreat
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by discharging his rifle and darting from tree to tree as his enemy slowly yielded
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ground. It would seem that the assault had been made by a very small
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party of the Huron, which however, continued to increase in numbers as retired
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on its friends, until the return fire was very nearly, if not quite
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equal to that maintained by the advancing Delawares. Heyward threw himself among the combatants,
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and, imitating the necessary caution of his companions, he made quick discharges
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with his own rifle. The contrast now grew warm and stationary. Few were
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injured, as both parties kept their bodies as much protected as possible by the
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trees, never indeed exposing any part of their persons except in the act of
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taking aim. But the chances were gradually growing unfavorable to Hawkeye and his band.
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The quick sighted scout perceived his danger without knowing how to remedy it.
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He saw it was more dangerous to retreat than to maintain his ground, while
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he found his enemy throwing out men on his flank, which rendered the task
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of keeping themselves covered so very difficult to the Delawares as to nearly silence their
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fire. At this embarrassing moment, when they began to think the whole of
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the hostile tribe was gradually encircling them. They heard the yell of combatants and
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the rattling of arms echoing under the arches of the wood at the place where
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Uncas was posted, a bottom which in a manner lay beneath the ground in
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which Hawkeye and his party were contending. The effects of this attack were instantaneous,
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and to the scout and his friends greatly relieving, it would seem that
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while his own surprise had been anticipated and had consequently failed, the enemy,
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in their turn, having been deceived in its object and in his numbers,
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had left too small a force to resist the impetuous onset of the young Mohican.
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This fact was doubly apparent by the rapid manner in which the battle in
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the force rode upward toward the village, and by an instant falling off in
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the number of their assailants who rushed to assist in maintaining the front, And
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as it now proved to be the principal point of defense. Animating his followers
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by his voice and his own example, Hawkeye then gave the word to bear
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down upon their foes. The charge, in that rude species of warfare,
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consisted merely of pushing from cover to cover nigher to the enemy, and in
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this maneuver he was instantly and successfully obeyed. The Hurons were compelled to withdraw,
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and the scene of the contest rapidly changed from the more open ground on
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which it had commenced to a spot where the assailt found a thicket to rest
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upon. Here the struggle was protracted, arduous, and seemingly of doubtful issue.
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The Delawares, though none of them fell, beginning to bleed freely in
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consequence of the disadvantage at which they were held in this crisis, Hawkeye found
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means to get behind the same tree as that which served for a cover to
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Heyward, most of his own combat being within call a little on his right,
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where they maintained rapid though fruitless discharges on their sheltered enemies. You are
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a young man, major, said the scout, dropping the butt of Kilder
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to the earth and leaning on the barrel, a little fatigued with his previous
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industry, and it may be your gift to lead armies at some future day.
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Again, these imps, the Mingoes you may here see the philosophy of
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an Indian fight. It consists mainly in ready hand, a quick eye,
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and a good cover. Now, if you had a company of the royal
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Americans here, in what manner would you set them to work in this business?
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The bayonet would make a road. Aye, there is white reason in
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what you say. But a man must ask himself in this wilderness, how
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many lives can he spare? No horse, continued the scout, shaking his
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head like one who mused foot note. The American force admits of the passage
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of horses, there being little underbrush and few tangled brakes. The plan of
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Hawkeye is the one which has always proved the most successful in the battles between
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the Whites and the Indians. Wain, in his celebrated campaign on the Miami,
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received the fire of his enemies in line and then causing his dragoons to
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wheel round his flanks. The Indians were driven from their covers before they had
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time to load. One of the most conspicuous of the chiefs who fought in
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the Battle of Miami assured the writer that the red men could not fight the
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warriors with long knives and leather stockings, meaning the dragoons with their sabers and
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boots and Footnote, horse, I am ashamed to say, must sooner or
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later decide these scrimmages. The brutes are better than men. And to horse
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must we come at last? Put a shodden hoof on the moccasin of a
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red skin. And if his rifle be once emptied, he will never stop
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to load it again. This is a subject that might better be discussed at
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another time. Returned, heyward, shall we charge? I see no contradiction
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to the gifts of any man. In passing his breathing spells in useful reflections,
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the scout replied, as to rush, I little relish. Such a
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measure for a scalp or two must be thrown away in the attempt. And
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yet, he added, bending his head aside to catch the sounds of the
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distant combat. If we are to be of use to Uncas, the knaves
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in our front must be got rid of. Then, turning with a prompt
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and decided air, he called aloud to his Indians in their own language.
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His words were answered by a shout, and at a given signal, each
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warrior made a swift movement around his particular tree. The sight of so many
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dark bodies glancing before their eyes at the same instant drew a hasty and consequently
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an ineffectual fire from the Hurons. Without stopping to breathe. The Delawares leaped
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in long bounds toward the wood, like so many panthers springing upon their prey.
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Hawke was in front, brandishing his terrible rifle and animating his followers by
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his example. A few of the older and more cunning Hurons, who had
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not been deceived by the artifice which had been practiced to draw their fire,
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now made a close and deadly discharge of their pieces, and justified the apprehensions
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of the Scalp by falling three of his foremost warriors. But the shock was
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insufficient to repel the impetus of the charge. The Delawares broke into the cover
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with the ferocity of their natures and swept away every trace of resistance by the
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fury of the onset. The combat endured only for an instant hand to hand,
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and then the assailed yielded ground rapidly until they reached the opposite margin of
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the thicket, where they clung to the cover with a sort of obstinacy that
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is so often witnessed in hunted brutes. At this critical moment, when the
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success of the struggle was again becoming doubtful, the crack of a rifle was
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heard behind the Hurons, and a bullet came whizzing from among some beaver lodges
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which were situated in the clearing in the rear, and was followed by the
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fierce, appalling yell of the war Whoop, there speaks the Sagamore shouted,
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Hawkeye, answering the cry with his own stentorian voice. We have them now
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in face and back. The effect on the Hurons was instantaneous, discouraged by
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an assault from a quarter that left them no opportunity for cover. The warriors
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utter a common yell of disappointment, and breaking off in a body, They
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spread themselves across the opening, heedless of every consideration but flight. Many fell
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in making the experiment under the bullets and the loads of the pursuing delawares.
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We shall not pause to detail the meeting between the scout and Chinggotchkook, or
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the more touching interview that Duncan held with Monroe. A few brief and hurried
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words served to explain the state of things to both parties, and then Hawkeye,
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pointing out the sagamore to his band, resigned the chief authority into the
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hands of the Mohican chief. Chingotchkook assumed the station to which his birth and
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experience gave him so distinguished a claim with the grave dignity that always gives force
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to the mandates of a native warrior. Following the footsteps of the scout,
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he led the party back through the thicket, his men scalping the fallen Hurons
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and secreting the bodies of their own dead as they proceeded, until they gained
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a point where the former was content to make a halt. The warriors,
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who had breathed themselves freely in the preceding struggle, were now posted on a
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bit of level ground, sprinkled with trees sufficient numbers to conceal them. The
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land fell away rather precipitately in front and beneath their eyes stretched for several miles
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a narrow, dark and wooded veil. It was through this dense and dark
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forest that Uncas was still contending with the main body of the Hurons. The
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Mohican and his friends advanced to the brow of the hill and listened with practiced
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ears to the sounds of the combat. A few birds hovered over the leafy
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bosom of the valley, frightened from their secluded nest. And here and there
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a light vapory cloud, which seemed already blending with the atmosphere, arose above
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the trees and indicated some spot where the struggle had been fierce and stationary.
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The fight is coming up the ascent, said Duncan, pointing in the direction
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of a new explosion of firearms. We are too much in the center of
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their line to be effective. They will incline into the hollow where the cover
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is thicker, said the scout, and that will leave us well on their
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flank. Go, Sagamore, you will hardly be in time to give the
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hoop and lead on the young men. I will fight this scrimmage with warriors
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of my own color, you know me, Mohican. Not a huron of
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them shall cross the swell into your rear without the notice of kildeer. The
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Indian paused another moment to consider the signs of the contest, which was now
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rolling rapidly up the ascent, a certain evidence that the Delawares triumph. Nor
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did he actually quit the place, until admonished by the proximity of his friends
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as well as enemies, by the bullets of the former, which began to
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patter among the dried leaves on the ground, like the bits of falling hail
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which precede the bursting of the tempest. Hawkeye and his three companions withdrew a
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few paces to a shelter and awaited the issue with calmness, that nothing but
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great practice could impart in such a scene. It was not long before the
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reports of the rifles began to lose the echoes of the woods and to sound
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like weapons discharged in the open air. Then a warrior appeared here and there,
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driven to the skirts of the forest and rallying as he entered the clearing
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as at the place where the final stand was to be made. These were
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soon joined by others. Unto a long line of swarthy figures was to be
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seen clinging to the cover with the obstinacy of desperation. Heyward began to grow
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impatient and turned his eyes anxiously in the direction of Chinskotchkok. The chief was
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seated on a rock with nothing visible but his calm visage. Considering the spectacle
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with an eye as deliberate as if he were posted to merely view the struggle.
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The time has come for the delaware to strike, said duncan not so
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not so, returned the scout. When he scents his friend, he will
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let them know that he is here. See. See the knaves are getting
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in that clump of pines, like bees settling after their flight by the Lord.
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A squaw might put a bullet in the center of such a knot of
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dark skins. At that instant, the hoop was given, and a dozen
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Hurons fell by a discharge from Chinchkotchkok and his band. The shout that followed
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was answered by a single war cry from the forest, and a yell passed
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through the air that sounded as if a thousand throats were united in a common
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effort. The Hurons staggered, deserting the center of their line, and Uncas
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issued from the forest through the opening they left. At the head of a
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hundred warriors. Waving his hands left and right, the young chief pointed out
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the enemy to his followers, who separated in pursuit. The war now divided.
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Both wings of the broken Hurons, seeking protection in the woods, again
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hotly pressed by the victorious warriors of the Lenapee. A minute might have passed,
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but the sounds were already receding in different directions and gradually losing their distinctness.
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Beneath the echoing arches of the woods, one little knot of Hurons,
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however, had disdained to seek a cover, and were retiring like lions at
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bay, slowly and solemnly up the acclivity which Chinegotchkook and his band had just
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deserted, to mingle more closely in the fray. Makua was conspicuous in this
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party, both by his fierce and savage mien and by the air of haughty
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authority. He yet maintained in his eagerness to expedite the pursuit. Uncas had
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left himself nearly alone. But the moment his eye caught the figure of Leys
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of Tille, every other consideration was forgotten. Raising his cry of battle,
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which recalled some six or seven warriors, and reckless of the of their numbers,
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he rushed upon his enemy. Le Renard, who watched the movement,
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paused to receive him with secret joy, But at the moment when he thought
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the rashness of his impestuous young assailant had left him at his mercy. Another
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shout was given and l long Carabine was seen rushing to the rescue. Attended
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by all his white associates. The Huron instantly turned and commenced a rapid retreat
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up the ascent. There was no time for greetings or congratulations, for uncast
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the unconscious of the presence of his friends, continued the pursuit with the velocity
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of the wind. In vain Hawkeye called to him to respect the covers.
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The young Mohican braved the dangerous fire of his enemies and soon compelled them to
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a flight as swift as his own headlong speed. It was fortunate that the
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race was of short continuance, and that the white men were so much favored
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by their position, or the Delaware would soon have outstripped all his companions and
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fallen a victim to his own temerity. But ere such a calamity could happen.
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The pursuers and pursued entered the Wyandot village within striking distance of each other.
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Excited by the presence of their dwellings and tired of the chase, the
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Hurons now made a stand and fought around their council lodge with the fury of
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despair. The onset and the issue were like the passage and destruction of a
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whirlwind. The tomahawk of Uncas, the blows of Hawkeye, and even the
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still nervous arm of Monroe were all busy for that passing moment, and the
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ground was quickly strewed with their enemies still. Maqua, though daring and much
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exposed, escaped from every effort against his life with that sort of fabled protection
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that was made to overlook the fortunes of favored heroes in the legends of ancient
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poetry. Raising a yell that spoke volumes of anger and disappointment, the subtle
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Chief, when he saw his comrades fallen, darted away from the place attended
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by his two only surviving friends, leaving the Delawares engaged in stripping the dead
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of the bloody trophies of their victory. But Uncas, who had vainly sought
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him in the melee, bounded forward in pursuit, Hawkeye, Heyward and David
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still pressing on his footsteps. The utmost that the scout could effect was to
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keep the muzzle of his rifle a little in advance of his friend, to
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whom, however, it answered every purpose of a charmed shield. Once Mockwell
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appeared, disposed to make another and final effort to revenge his losses, but
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abandoning his intention as soon as demonstrated, he leaped into a thicket of bushes,
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through which he was followed by his animal, and suddenly entered the mouth
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of the cave. Already known to the reader, Hawkeye, who had only
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forborne to fire in tenderness to Uncas, raised a shout of success, and
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proclaimed aloud that now they were certain of their game. The pursuers dashed into
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the long and narrow entrance in time to catch a glimpse of the retreating forms
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of the Hurons. Their passage through the natural galleries and subterraneous apartments of the
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cavern was preceded by the shrieks and cries of hundreds of women and children.
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The place, seen by its dim and uncertain light, appeared like the shades
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of the infernal regions across which unhappy ghost and savage demons were flitting in multitudes.
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Still, Uncas kept his eye on Maqua, as if life to him
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possessed but a single object Heyward, and the scout still pressed on his rear,
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actuated, though possibly in a less degree by a common feeling. But
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their way was becoming intricate in those dark and gloomy passages, and the glimpses
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of the retiring warriors less distinct and frequent, and for a moment the trace
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was believed to be lost. When a white robe was seen fluttering in the
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further extremity of a passage that seemed to lead up the mountain.'tis,
30:22
Cora, exclaimed Heyward, in a voice in which horror and delight were wildly
30:27
mingled. Cora Cora echoed Uncas, bounding forward like a deer.'tis.
30:33
The maiden shouted the scout courage lady, we come, we come. The
30:40
chase was renewed with a diligence rendered tenfold encouraging by this glimpse of the captive,
30:45
but the way was rugged broken, and in spots nearly impassable. Uncas
30:51
abandoned his rifle and leaped forward with headlong precipitation. Heyward rashly imitated his example,
30:59
though both were a moment afterward admonished of this madness by hearing the bellowing
31:03
of a piece that the Hurons found time to discharge down the passage in the
31:07
rocks, the bullet from which gave the young Mahican a slight wound. We
31:14
must close, said the scout, passing his friends by desperate leaf. The
31:18
knaves will pick us all off at this distance, and see they hold the
31:22
maidens so as to shield themselves. Though his words were unheeded, or rather
31:27
unheard, his example was followed by his companions, who, by incredible exertions
31:33
got near enough to the fugitives to perceive that coral was borne along between the
31:38
two warriors, while Makua prescribed the direction and manner of their flight. At
31:44
this moment, the forms of all four were strongly drawn against an opening in
31:48
the sky, and they disappeared, nearly frantic with disappointment. Ankason Heyward increased
31:56
efforts that already seemed superhuman, and they issued from the cavern on the side
32:00
of the mountain in time to note the route of the pursued the course,
32:06
lay up the ascent, and still continued hazardous and laborious, encumbered by his
32:12
rifle and perhaps not sustained by so deep an interest in the captive and his
32:17
companions, The scouts suffered the latter to precede him a little, Uncas in
32:22
his turn, taking the lead of Heyward. In this manner, rocks,
32:28
precipices, and difficulties were surmounted in an incredibly short space that at another time
32:35
and under other circumstances would have been deemed almost insuperable. But the impetuous young
32:43
men were rewarded by finding that, encumbered with Cora, the Hurons were losing
32:49
ground in the race. Stay, dog of the Wyandots, exclaimed Uncas,
32:55
shaking his bright tomahawk at Maqua, a Delaware girl. Call Stay, I
33:01
will go no further, cried Cora, stopping unexpectedly on a ledge of rock
33:07
that overhung a deep precipice at no great distance from the summit of the mountain.
33:14
Kill me if thou wilt, detestable, Huron, I will go no
33:20
further. The supporters of the Maiden raised their ready tomahawks with the impious joy
33:24
that fiends are thought to take in mischief, but Maqua stayed the uplifted arms.
33:30
The Huron chief, after casting the weapons he had wrestled from his companions
33:36
over the rock, drew his knife and turned to his captive with a look
33:39
in which conflicting passions fiercely contended women, he said, choose the wigwam or
33:47
the knife. A lay still, Cora regarded him not but dropping on her
33:53
knees, she raised her eyes and stretched her arms toward heaven, saying in
33:58
a meek and yet confiding voice, I am fine do with me ast thou
34:05
seest best woman, repeated Makua, hoarsely and endeavoring in vain to catch a
34:12
glance from her serene and beaming eye Jews, but Cora neither heard nor heeded
34:19
his demand. The form of the Huron trembled in every fiber, and he
34:22
raised his arm on high, but dropped it again with a bewildered air,
34:28
like one who doubted. Once more, he struggled with himself and lifted the
34:32
keen weapon again, But just then a piercing cry was heard above him,
34:37
and Uncas appeared, leaping frantically from a fearful height upon the ledge. Makwell
34:44
recoiled a step, and one of his assistants, profiting by the chance,
34:49
sheathed his own knife in the bosom of Cora. The Huron sprang like a
34:53
tiger on his offending and already retreating countrymen. But the falling form of uncle
35:00
separated the unnatural combatants. Diverted from his subject by this interruption, and maddened
35:06
by the murder he had just witnessed, markwa buried his weapon in the back
35:10
of the prostrate Delaware, uttering an unearthly shout as he committed the dastardly deed,
35:16
but uncas arose from the blow as the wounded panther turns upon his foe
35:22
and struck the murder of Cora to his feet by an effort in which the
35:25
last of his failing strength was expended. Then, with a stern and steady
35:30
look, he turned to lace a till, and indicated by the expression of
35:36
his eye all that he would do had not the power deserted him. The
35:40
latter seized the nerveless arms of the unresisting Delaware, and passed his knife into
35:45
his bosom three several times before his victim, still keeping his gaze, riveted
35:52
on his enemy with a look of inextinguishable scorn, fell dead at his feet.
35:59
M Mercy Huron cried heyward from above. In turnes, nearly choked by
36:05
horror, give mercy, and thou shalt receive from it, Whirling the bloody
36:10
knife up at the imploring youth, The victorious Maqua uttered a cry so fierce,
36:16
so wild, and so joyous that it conveyed the sounds of savage triumph
36:22
to the ears of those who fought in the valley a thousand feet below.
36:25
He was answered by a burst from the lips of the scout, whose tall
36:30
person was just then seen moving swiftly toward him along those dangerous crags, with
36:36
steps as bold and reckless as if he possessed the power to move in air.
36:40
But when the hunter reached the scene of the ruthless massacre, the ledge
36:45
was tenanted only by the dead. His keen eye took a single look at
36:51
the victims, and then shot its glances over the difficulties of the ascent.
36:54
In his front. A form stood at the brow of the mountain, on
36:59
the very edge of the giddy height, with uplifted arms in an awful attitude
37:05
of menace, without stopping to consider his person. The rifle of Hawkeye was
37:10
raised, but a rock which fell on the head of one of the fugitives
37:15
below exposed the indignant and glowing countenance of the honest gimout. Then Maka issued
37:22
from a crevice and stepping with calm indifference over the body of the last of
37:25
his associates, he leaped a wide fissure and ascended the rocks at a point
37:30
where the arm of David could not reach him. A single bound would carry
37:36
him to the brow of the precipice, and as sure as safety. Before
37:39
taking the leap, however, the huron paused, and, shaking his hand
37:45
at the scout, he shouted, the pill faces are dogs that delawares women.
37:51
Makwa leaves them on the rocks for the crows. Laughing hoarsely, he
37:55
made a desperate leap and fell short of his mark, though his hands grasped
38:00
a shrub on the verge of a height. The form of Hawkeye had crouched
38:06
like a beast about to make its spring, and his frame trembled so violently
38:10
with eagerness that the muzzle of the half raised rifle played like a leaf fluttering
38:15
in the wind. Without exhausting himself with fruitless efforts, the cunning Makua suffered
38:21
his body to drop to the length of his arms and found a fragment for
38:24
his feet to rest on. Then, summoning all his powers, he renewed
38:30
the attempt, and so far succeeded as to draw his knees on the edge
38:34
of the mountain. It was now, when the body of his enemy was
38:38
most collected together, that the agitated weapon of the Scout was drawn to his
38:43
shoulder. The surrounding rocks themselves were not steadier than the peace became for the
38:49
single instant that it poured out its contents. The arms of the Huron relaxed,
38:53
and his body fell back a little, while his knees still kept their
38:58
position. Turning a relentless look on his enemy, he shook his hand in
39:04
grim defiance. But his hold loosened, and his dark person was seen cutting
39:12
the air with its head downward for a fleeting instant, and till it glided
39:15
past the fringe of shrubbery which clung to the mountain in its rapid flight to
39:22
destruction. End of Chapter thirty two.