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

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Speaker 1: Chapter thirty two. Quote, but plague shall spread and funeral
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Speaker 1: fires increase till the great King, without a ransom paid
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Speaker 1: to her own Chrysa, send the black eyed maid unquote
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Speaker 1: from Pope. During the time Uncas was making his disposition
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Speaker 1: of his forces, the woods were still, and, with the
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Speaker 1: exception of those who had met in council, apparently as
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Speaker 1: much untenanted as when they came fresh from the hands
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Speaker 1: of their almighty creator. The eye could range in every
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Speaker 1: direction through the long and shadowed vistas of the trees,
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Speaker 1: but nowhere was any object to be seen that did
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Speaker 1: not properly belong to the peaceful and slumbering scenery. Here
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Speaker 1: and there a bird was heard fluttering among the branches
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Speaker 1: of the beeches, and occasionally a squirrel dropped the nut,
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Speaker 1: drawing the startled looks of the party for a moment
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Speaker 1: to the place, But the instant the casual interruption ceased.
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Speaker 1: The passing air was heard murmuring above their heads along
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Speaker 1: the verdant and undulating surface of the forest, which spread
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Speaker 1: itself unbroken unless by stream or lake, over such a
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Speaker 1: vast region of country across the tract of wilderness which
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Speaker 1: lay between the Delawares and the village of their enemies.
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Speaker 1: It seemed as if the foot of man had never trodden,
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Speaker 1: so breathing and deep was the silence in which it lay.
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Speaker 1: But Hawkeye, whose duty led him foremost in the adventure,
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Speaker 1: knew the character of those with whom he was about
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Speaker 1: to contend too well to trust the treacherous quiet. When
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Speaker 1: he saw his little band collected, the scout threw kildeer
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Speaker 1: into the hollow of his arm, and, making a silent
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Speaker 1: signal that he would be followed, he led them many
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Speaker 1: rods toward the rear, into the bed of a little
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Speaker 1: brook which they had crossed in advancing. Here he halted, and,
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Speaker 1: after waiting for the whole of his grave and attentive
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Speaker 1: warriors to close about him, he spoke in delaware, demanding,
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Speaker 1: do any of my young men know whither this run
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Speaker 1: will lead us? A Delaware stretched forth a hand with
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Speaker 1: the two fingers separated, and indicating the manner in which
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Speaker 1: they were joined. At the root, he answered, before the
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Speaker 1: sun could go its own length, the little water will
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Speaker 1: be in the big then, he added, pointing in the
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Speaker 1: direction of the place he mentioned. The two make enough
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Speaker 1: for the beavers. I thought as much. Returned the scout,
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Speaker 1: glancing his eye upward at the opening of the tree tops,
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Speaker 1: from the course it takes and the bearings of the mountains. Men,
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Speaker 1: we will keep within the cover of its banks till
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Speaker 1: we scent the Hurons. His companions gave the usual brief
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Speaker 1: exclamation of ascent, but, perceiving that their leader was about
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Speaker 1: to lead the way in person, one or two made
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Speaker 1: signs that all was not as it should be. Hawkeye,
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Speaker 1: who comprehended their meaning glances, turned and perceived that his
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Speaker 1: party had been followed thus far by the singing master.
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Speaker 1: Do you know, friend, asked the scout, gravely, and perhaps
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Speaker 1: with a little of the pride of conscious deserving in
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Speaker 1: his manner, that this is a band of rangers, chosen
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Speaker 1: for the most desperate service, and put under the command
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Speaker 1: of one who, though another might say it with a
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Speaker 1: better face, will not be apt to leave them idle.
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Speaker 1: It may not be five, it cannot be thirty minutes
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Speaker 1: before we tread on the body of a Huron, living
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Speaker 1: or dead. Though not admonished of your intentions in words,
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Speaker 1: returned David, whose face was a little flushed, and whose
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Speaker 1: ordinary quiet and unmeaning eyes glimmered with an expression of
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Speaker 1: unusual fire. Your men have reminded me of the children
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Speaker 1: of Jacob going to battle against the Shakamites, for wickedly
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Speaker 1: aspiring to wedlock with a woman of a race that
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Speaker 1: was favored of the Lord. Now I have journeyed far,
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Speaker 1: and so journed much in good and evil with the
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Speaker 1: maiden ye seek. And though not a man of war,
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Speaker 1: with my loins girded and my sword sharpened, yet would
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Speaker 1: I gladly strike a blow in her behalf? The scout hesitated,
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Speaker 1: as if weighing the chances of such a strange enlistment
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Speaker 1: in his mind, before he answered, you know not the
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Speaker 1: use of any weapon. You carry no rifle, And believe me,
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Speaker 1: what the Mingoes take, they will freely give again.
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Speaker 2: Though not of vaunting and bloodily disposed.
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Speaker 1: Goliath returned David, drawing a sling from beneath his party,
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Speaker 1: colored and uncouth attire.
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Speaker 2: I have not forgotten the example of the Jewish b
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Speaker 2: with this ancient instrument of war. Have I practiced much
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Speaker 2: in my youth and peradventure. The skill has not entirely
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Speaker 2: departed from me, aye, said Hawkeye, considering the deerskin, thong
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Speaker 2: and apron with a cold and discouraging eye. The thing
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Speaker 2: might do its work among arrows or even knives, but
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Speaker 2: these mangue have been furnished by the frenchers with a
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Speaker 2: good grooved barrel. A man, however, it seems to be
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Speaker 2: your gift to go unharmed amid fire. And as you
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Speaker 2: have hitherto been favored, Major, you have left your rifle
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Speaker 2: at a cock a single shot before the time would
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Speaker 2: be just twenty scalps lost to no purpose. Singer you
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Speaker 2: can follow. We may find use for you in the shoutings.
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Speaker 2: I thank you, friend, returned.
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Speaker 1: David, supplying himself like his royal namesake, from among the
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Speaker 1: pebbles of the brook.
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Speaker 2: Though not given to the desire to quelle. Had you
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Speaker 2: sent me away, my spirit would have been troubled.
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Speaker 1: Remember, added the scout, tapping his own head significantly on
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Speaker 1: that spot where Gammaut was yet sore. We come to fight,
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Speaker 1: and not to musicate. Until the general hoop is given.
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Speaker 1: Nothing speaks but the rifle. David nodded as much to
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Speaker 1: signify his acquiescence with the terms, and then Hawkeye, casting
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Speaker 1: another observant glance over his followers, made the signal to
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Speaker 1: proceed their route. Lay for the distance of a mile
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Speaker 1: along the bed of the watercourse. Though protected from any
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Speaker 1: great danger of observation by the precipitous banks and the
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Speaker 1: thick shrubbery which skirted the stream, no precaution known to
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Speaker 1: an Indian attack was neglected. A warrior rather crawled than walked,
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Speaker 1: on each flank so as to catch occasional glimpses into
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Speaker 1: the forest, and every few minutes the band came to
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Speaker 1: a halt and listened for hostile sounds, with an acuteness
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Speaker 1: of organs that would be scarcely conceivable to a man
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Speaker 1: in a less natural state. Their march was, however, unmolested,
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Speaker 1: and they reached the point where the lesser stream was
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Speaker 1: lost in the greater without the smallest evidence that their
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Speaker 1: progress had been noted. Here the scout again halted to
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Speaker 1: consult the signs of the forest. We are likely to
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Speaker 1: have a good day for a fight, he said in English,
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Speaker 1: addressing Heyward, and glancing his eyes upward at the clouds
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Speaker 1: which began to move in broad sheets across the firmament.
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Speaker 1: A bright sun and a glittering barrel are no friends
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Speaker 1: to true sight. Everything is favorable. They have the wind
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Speaker 1: which will bring down their noises and their smoke too,
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Speaker 1: no little matter in itsse whereas with us it will
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Speaker 1: be first a shot and then a clear view. But
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Speaker 1: here is an end to our cover. The beavers have
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Speaker 1: had the range of this stream for hundreds of years,
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Speaker 1: and what between their food and their dams there is,
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Speaker 1: as you see, many a girdled stub, but few living trees.
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Speaker 1: Hawkeye had, in truth, in these few words, given no
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Speaker 1: bad description of the prospect that now lay in their front.
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Speaker 1: The brook was irregular in its width, sometimes shooting through
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Speaker 1: narrow fissures in the rocks, and others spreading over acres
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Speaker 1: of bottom land, forming little areas that might be turned ponds.
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Speaker 1: Everywhere along its bands were the moldering relics of dead
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Speaker 1: trees in all the stages of decay, from those that
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Speaker 1: groaned on their tottering trunks to such as had recently
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Speaker 1: been robbed of those rugged coats that so mysteriously canained
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Speaker 1: their principle of life. A few long, low and moss
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Speaker 1: covered piles were scattered among them, like the memorials of
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Speaker 1: a former and long departed generation. All these minute particulars
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Speaker 1: were noted by the scout with a gravity and interest
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Speaker 1: that they probably had never before attracted. He knew that
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Speaker 1: the Huron encampment lay a short half mile up the brook,
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Speaker 1: and with the characteristic anxiety of one who dreaded a
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Speaker 1: hidden danger, he was greatly troubled at not finding the
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Speaker 1: smallest trace of the presence of his enemy. Once or
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Speaker 1: twice he felt induced to give the order for a
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Speaker 1: rush and to attempt the village by surprise, But his
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Speaker 1: experience quickly admonished him of the danger of so useless
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Speaker 1: an experiment. Then he listened intently and with painful uncertainty,
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Speaker 1: for the sounds of hostility in the quarter where Uncas
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Speaker 1: was left. But nothing was audible except the sighing of
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Speaker 1: the wind, which began to sweep over the bosom of
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Speaker 1: the forest in gusts, which threatened the tempest at length. Yielding,
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Speaker 1: rather to his unusual impatience than taking counsel from his knowledge,
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Speaker 1: he determined to bring matters to an issue by unmasking
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Speaker 1: his force and proceeding cautiously but steadily up the stream.
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Speaker 1: The scout had stood while making his observations, sheltered by
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Speaker 1: a brake, and his companions still lay in the bed
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Speaker 1: of the ravine through which the smaller stream debouched. But
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Speaker 1: on hearing his low, though intelligible signal, the whole party
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Speaker 1: stole up the bank like so many dark specters, and
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Speaker 1: silently arranged themselves around him, pointing in the direction he
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Speaker 1: wished to proceed. Hawkeye advanced the band, breaking off in
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Speaker 1: single files, and following so accurately in his footsteps as
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Speaker 1: to leave it if we except Heyward and David, the
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Speaker 1: trail of but a single man. The party was, however,
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Speaker 1: scarcely uncovered before a volley from a dozen rifles was
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Speaker 1: heard in their rear, and a delaware, leaping high into
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Speaker 1: the air like a wounded deer, fell at his whole
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Speaker 1: length dead. Ah I feared some deviltry like this, exclaimed
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Speaker 1: the scout in English, adding with the quickness of thought
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Speaker 1: in his adopted tongue to cover men and charge. The
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Speaker 1: band dispersed at the word, and before Heyward had well
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Speaker 1: recovered from his surprise, he found himself standing alone with David. Luckily,
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Speaker 1: the Hurons had already fallen back, and he was safe
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Speaker 1: from their fire. But this state of things was evidently
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Speaker 1: to be of short continuance, for the Scouts set the
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Speaker 1: example of pressing on their retreat by discharging his rifle
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Speaker 1: and darting from tree to tree as his enemy slowly
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Speaker 1: yielded ground. It would seem that the assault had been
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Speaker 1: made by a very small party of the Huron, which however,
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Speaker 1: continued to increase in numbers as retired on its friends,
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Speaker 1: until the return fire was very nearly, if not quite
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Speaker 1: equal to that maintained by the advancing Delawares. Heyward threw
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Speaker 1: himself among the combatants, and, imitating the necessary caution of
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Speaker 1: his companions, he made quick discharges with his own rifle.
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Speaker 1: The contrast now grew warm and stationary. Few were injured,
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Speaker 1: as both parties kept their bodies as much protected as
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Speaker 1: possible by the trees, never indeed exposing any part of
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Speaker 1: their persons except in the act of taking aim. But
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Speaker 1: the chances were gradually growing unfavorable to Hawkeye and his band.
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Speaker 1: The quick sighted scout perceived his danger without knowing how
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Speaker 1: to remedy it. He saw it was more dangerous to
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Speaker 1: retreat than to maintain his ground, while he found his
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Speaker 1: enemy throwing out men on his flank, which rendered the
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Speaker 1: task of keeping themselves covered so very difficult to the
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Speaker 1: Delawares as to nearly silence their fire. At this embarrassing moment,
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Speaker 1: when they began to think the whole of the hostile
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Speaker 1: tribe was gradually encircling them. They heard the yell of
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Speaker 1: combatants and the rattling of arms echoing under the arches
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Speaker 1: of the wood at the place where Uncas was posted,
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Speaker 1: a bottom which in a manner lay beneath the ground
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Speaker 1: in which Hawkeye and his party were contending. The effects
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Speaker 1: of this attack were instantaneous, and to the scout and
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Speaker 1: his friends greatly relieving, it would seem that while his
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Speaker 1: own surprise had been anticipated and had consequently failed, the enemy,
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Speaker 1: in their turn, having been deceived in its object and
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Speaker 1: in his numbers, had left too small a force to
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Speaker 1: resist the impetuous onset of the young Mohican. This fact
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Speaker 1: was doubly apparent by the rapid manner in which the
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Speaker 1: battle in the force rode upward toward the village, and
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Speaker 1: by an instant falling off in the number of their
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Speaker 1: assailants who rushed to assist in maintaining the front, And
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Speaker 1: as it now proved to be the principal point of defense.
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Speaker 1: Animating his followers by his voice and his own example,
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Speaker 1: Hawkeye then gave the word to bear down upon their foes.
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Speaker 1: The charge, in that rude species of warfare, consisted merely
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Speaker 1: of pushing from cover to cover nigher to the enemy,
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Speaker 1: and in this maneuver he was instantly and successfully obeyed.
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Speaker 1: The Hurons were compelled to withdraw, and the scene of
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Speaker 1: the contest rapidly changed from the more open ground on
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Speaker 1: which it had commenced to a spot where the assailt
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Speaker 1: found a thicket to rest upon. Here the struggle was protracted, arduous,
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Speaker 1: and seemingly of doubtful issue. The Delawares, though none of
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Speaker 1: them fell, beginning to bleed freely in consequence of the
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Speaker 1: disadvantage at which they were held in this crisis, Hawkeye
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Speaker 1: found means to get behind the same tree as that
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Speaker 1: which served for a cover to Heyward, most of his
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Speaker 1: own combat being within call a little on his right,
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Speaker 1: where they maintained rapid though fruitless discharges on their sheltered enemies.
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Speaker 1: You are a young man, major, said the scout, dropping
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Speaker 1: the butt of Kilder to the earth and leaning on
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Speaker 1: the barrel, a little fatigued with his previous industry, and
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Speaker 1: it may be your gift to lead armies at some
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Speaker 1: future day. Again, these imps, the Mingoes you may here
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Speaker 1: see the philosophy of an Indian fight. It consists mainly
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Speaker 1: in ready hand, a quick eye, and a good cover. Now,
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Speaker 1: if you had a company of the royal Americans here,
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Speaker 1: in what manner would you set them to work in
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Speaker 1: this business?
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Speaker 2: The bayonet would make a road.
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Speaker 1: Aye, there is white reason in what you say. But
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Speaker 1: a man must ask himself in this wilderness, how many
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Speaker 1: lives can he spare? No horse, continued the scout, shaking
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Speaker 1: his head like one who mused foot note. The American
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Speaker 1: force admits of the passage of horses, there being little
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Speaker 1: underbrush and few tangled brakes. The plan of Hawkeye is
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Speaker 1: the one which has always proved the most successful in
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Speaker 1: the battles between the Whites and the Indians. Wain, in
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Speaker 1: his celebrated campaign on the Miami, received the fire of
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Speaker 1: his enemies in line and then causing his dragoons to
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Speaker 1: wheel round his flanks. The Indians were driven from their
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Speaker 1: covers before they had time to load. One of the
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Speaker 1: most conspicuous of the chiefs who fought in the Battle
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Speaker 1: of Miami assured the writer that the red men could
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Speaker 1: not fight the warriors with long knives and leather stockings,
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Speaker 1: meaning the dragoons with their sabers and boots and Footnote, horse,
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Speaker 1: I am ashamed to say, must sooner or later decide
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Speaker 1: these scrimmages. The brutes are better than men. And to
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Speaker 1: horse must we come at last? Put a shodden hoof
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Speaker 1: on the moccasin of a red skin. And if his
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Speaker 1: rifle be once emptied, he will never stop to load
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Speaker 1: it again. This is a subject that might better be
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Speaker 1: discussed at another time. Returned, heyward, shall we charge? I
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Speaker 1: see no contradiction to the gifts of any man. In
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Speaker 1: passing his breathing spells in useful reflections, the scout replied,
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Speaker 1: as to rush, I little relish. Such a measure for
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Speaker 1: a scalp or two must be thrown away in the attempt.
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Speaker 1: And yet, he added, bending his head aside to catch
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Speaker 1: the sounds of the distant combat. If we are to
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Speaker 1: be of use to Uncas, the knaves in our front
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Speaker 1: must be got rid of. Then, turning with a prompt
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Speaker 1: and decided air, he called aloud to his Indians in
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Speaker 1: their own language. His words were answered by a shout,
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Speaker 1: and at a given signal, each warrior made a swift
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Speaker 1: movement around his particular tree. The sight of so many
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Speaker 1: dark bodies glancing before their eyes at the same instant
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Speaker 1: drew a hasty and consequently an ineffectual fire from the Hurons.
18:07
Speaker 1: Without stopping to breathe. The Delawares leaped in long bounds
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Speaker 1: toward the wood, like so many panthers springing upon their prey.
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Speaker 1: Hawke was in front, brandishing his terrible rifle and animating
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Speaker 1: his followers by his example. A few of the older
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Speaker 1: and more cunning Hurons, who had not been deceived by
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Speaker 1: the artifice which had been practiced to draw their fire,
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Speaker 1: now made a close and deadly discharge of their pieces,
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Speaker 1: and justified the apprehensions of the Scalp by falling three
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Speaker 1: of his foremost warriors. But the shock was insufficient to
18:41
Speaker 1: repel the impetus of the charge. The Delawares broke into
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Speaker 1: the cover with the ferocity of their natures and swept
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Speaker 1: away every trace of resistance by the fury of the onset.
18:52
Speaker 1: The combat endured only for an instant hand to hand,
18:57
Speaker 1: and then the assailed yielded ground rapidly until they reached
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Speaker 1: the opposite margin of the thicket, where they clung to
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Speaker 1: the cover with a sort of obstinacy that is so
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Speaker 1: often witnessed in hunted brutes. At this critical moment, when
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Speaker 1: the success of the struggle was again becoming doubtful, the
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Speaker 1: crack of a rifle was heard behind the Hurons, and
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Speaker 1: a bullet came whizzing from among some beaver lodges which
19:22
Speaker 1: were situated in the clearing in the rear, and was
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Speaker 1: followed by the fierce, appalling yell of the war Whoop,
19:28
Speaker 1: there speaks the Sagamore shouted, Hawkeye, answering the cry with
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Speaker 1: his own stentorian voice. We have them now in face
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Speaker 1: and back. The effect on the Hurons was instantaneous, discouraged
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Speaker 1: by an assault from a quarter that left them no
19:44
Speaker 1: opportunity for cover. The warriors utter a common yell of disappointment,
19:49
Speaker 1: and breaking off in a body, They spread themselves across
19:52
Speaker 1: the opening, heedless of every consideration but flight. Many fell
19:57
Speaker 1: in making the experiment under the bullets and the loads
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Speaker 1: of the pursuing delawares. We shall not pause to detail
20:04
Speaker 1: the meeting between the scout and Chinggotchkook, or the more
20:08
Speaker 1: touching interview that Duncan held with Monroe. A few brief
20:12
Speaker 1: and hurried words served to explain the state of things
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Speaker 1: to both parties, and then Hawkeye, pointing out the sagamore
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Speaker 1: to his band, resigned the chief authority into the hands
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Speaker 1: of the Mohican chief. Chingotchkook assumed the station to which
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Speaker 1: his birth and experience gave him so distinguished a claim
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Speaker 1: with the grave dignity that always gives force to the
20:36
Speaker 1: mandates of a native warrior. Following the footsteps of the scout,
20:41
Speaker 1: he led the party back through the thicket, his men
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Speaker 1: scalping the fallen Hurons and secreting the bodies of their
20:46
Speaker 1: own dead as they proceeded, until they gained a point
20:49
Speaker 1: where the former was content to make a halt. The warriors,
20:53
Speaker 1: who had breathed themselves freely in the preceding struggle, were
20:56
Speaker 1: now posted on a bit of level ground, sprinkled with
20:59
Speaker 1: trees sufficient numbers to conceal them. The land fell away
21:04
Speaker 1: rather precipitately in front and beneath their eyes stretched for
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Speaker 1: several miles a narrow, dark and wooded veil. It was
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Speaker 1: through this dense and dark forest that Uncas was still
21:16
Speaker 1: contending with the main body of the Hurons. The Mohican
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Speaker 1: and his friends advanced to the brow of the hill
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Speaker 1: and listened with practiced ears to the sounds of the combat.
21:26
Speaker 1: A few birds hovered over the leafy bosom of the valley,
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Speaker 1: frightened from their secluded nest. And here and there a
21:33
Speaker 1: light vapory cloud, which seemed already blending with the atmosphere,
21:38
Speaker 1: arose above the trees and indicated some spot where the
21:42
Speaker 1: struggle had been fierce and stationary. The fight is coming
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Speaker 1: up the ascent, said Duncan, pointing in the direction of
21:49
Speaker 1: a new explosion of firearms. We are too much in
21:53
Speaker 1: the center of their line to be effective. They will
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Speaker 1: incline into the hollow where the cover is thicker, said
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Speaker 1: the scout, and that will leave us well on their flank. Go, Sagamore,
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Speaker 1: you will hardly be in time to give the hoop
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Speaker 1: and lead on the young men. I will fight this
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Speaker 1: scrimmage with warriors of my own color, you know me, Mohican.
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Speaker 1: Not a huron of them shall cross the swell into
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Speaker 1: your rear without the notice of kildeer. The Indian paused
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Speaker 1: another moment to consider the signs of the contest, which
22:29
Speaker 1: was now rolling rapidly up the ascent, a certain evidence
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Speaker 1: that the Delawares triumph. Nor did he actually quit the place,
22:38
Speaker 1: until admonished by the proximity of his friends as well
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Speaker 1: as enemies, by the bullets of the former, which began
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Speaker 1: to patter among the dried leaves on the ground, like
22:48
Speaker 1: the bits of falling hail which precede the bursting of
22:50
Speaker 1: the tempest. Hawkeye and his three companions withdrew a few
22:55
Speaker 1: paces to a shelter and awaited the issue with calmness,
22:58
Speaker 1: that nothing but great practice could impart in such a scene.
23:02
Speaker 1: It was not long before the reports of the rifles
23:05
Speaker 1: began to lose the echoes of the woods and to
23:08
Speaker 1: sound like weapons discharged in the open air. Then a
23:11
Speaker 1: warrior appeared here and there, driven to the skirts of
23:14
Speaker 1: the forest and rallying as he entered the clearing as
23:18
Speaker 1: at the place where the final stand was to be made.
23:22
Speaker 1: These were soon joined by others. Unto a long line
23:25
Speaker 1: of swarthy figures was to be seen clinging to the
23:28
Speaker 1: cover with the obstinacy of desperation. Heyward began to grow
23:33
Speaker 1: impatient and turned his eyes anxiously in the direction of Chinskotchkok.
23:39
Speaker 1: The chief was seated on a rock with nothing visible
23:43
Speaker 1: but his calm visage. Considering the spectacle with an eye
23:47
Speaker 1: as deliberate as if he were posted to merely view
23:51
Speaker 1: the struggle. The time has come for the delaware to strike,
23:57
Speaker 1: said duncan not so not so, returned the scout. When
24:01
Speaker 1: he scents his friend, he will let them know that
24:04
Speaker 1: he is here.
24:06
Speaker 2: See.
24:07
Speaker 1: See the knaves are getting in that clump of pines,
24:10
Speaker 1: like bees settling after their flight by the Lord. A
24:14
Speaker 1: squaw might put a bullet in the center of such
24:16
Speaker 1: a knot of dark skins. At that instant, the hoop
24:20
Speaker 1: was given, and a dozen Hurons fell by a discharge
24:23
Speaker 1: from Chinchkotchkok and his band. The shout that followed was
24:27
Speaker 1: answered by a single war cry from the forest, and
24:30
Speaker 1: a yell passed through the air that sounded as if
24:33
Speaker 1: a thousand throats were united in a common effort. The
24:36
Speaker 1: Hurons staggered, deserting the center of their line, and Uncas
24:41
Speaker 1: issued from the forest through the opening they left. At
24:44
Speaker 1: the head of a hundred warriors. Waving his hands left
24:48
Speaker 1: and right, the young chief pointed out the enemy to
24:51
Speaker 1: his followers, who separated in pursuit. The war now divided.
24:55
Speaker 1: Both wings of the broken Hurons, seeking protection in the woods,
24:59
Speaker 1: again hotly pressed by the victorious warriors of the Lenapee.
25:03
Speaker 1: A minute might have passed, but the sounds were already
25:06
Speaker 1: receding in different directions and gradually losing their distinctness. Beneath
25:11
Speaker 1: the echoing arches of the woods, one little knot of Hurons, however,
25:16
Speaker 1: had disdained to seek a cover, and were retiring like
25:20
Speaker 1: lions at bay, slowly and solemnly up the acclivity which
25:26
Speaker 1: Chinegotchkook and his band had just deserted, to mingle more
25:29
Speaker 1: closely in the fray. Makua was conspicuous in this party,
25:34
Speaker 1: both by his fierce and savage mien and by the
25:37
Speaker 1: air of haughty authority. He yet maintained in his eagerness
25:42
Speaker 1: to expedite the pursuit. Uncas had left himself nearly alone.
25:48
Speaker 1: But the moment his eye caught the figure of Leys
25:50
Speaker 1: of Tille, every other consideration was forgotten. Raising his cry
25:55
Speaker 1: of battle, which recalled some six or seven warriors, and
25:59
Speaker 1: reckless of the of their numbers, he rushed upon his enemy.
26:03
Speaker 1: Le Renard, who watched the movement, paused to receive him
26:07
Speaker 1: with secret joy, But at the moment when he thought
26:12
Speaker 1: the rashness of his impestuous young assailant had left him
26:15
Speaker 1: at his mercy. Another shout was given and l long
26:19
Speaker 1: Carabine was seen rushing to the rescue. Attended by all
26:23
Speaker 1: his white associates. The Huron instantly turned and commenced a
26:29
Speaker 1: rapid retreat up the ascent. There was no time for
26:32
Speaker 1: greetings or congratulations, for uncast the unconscious of the presence
26:37
Speaker 1: of his friends, continued the pursuit with the velocity of
26:40
Speaker 1: the wind. In vain Hawkeye called to him to respect
26:44
Speaker 1: the covers. The young Mohican braved the dangerous fire of
26:48
Speaker 1: his enemies and soon compelled them to a flight as
26:51
Speaker 1: swift as his own headlong speed. It was fortunate that
26:55
Speaker 1: the race was of short continuance, and that the white
26:58
Speaker 1: men were so much favored by their position, or the
27:02
Speaker 1: Delaware would soon have outstripped all his companions and fallen
27:06
Speaker 1: a victim to his own temerity. But ere such a
27:11
Speaker 1: calamity could happen. The pursuers and pursued entered the Wyandot
27:15
Speaker 1: village within striking distance of each other. Excited by the
27:20
Speaker 1: presence of their dwellings and tired of the chase, the
27:23
Speaker 1: Hurons now made a stand and fought around their council
27:26
Speaker 1: lodge with the fury of despair. The onset and the
27:30
Speaker 1: issue were like the passage and destruction of a whirlwind.
27:34
Speaker 1: The tomahawk of Uncas, the blows of Hawkeye, and even
27:38
Speaker 1: the still nervous arm of Monroe were all busy for
27:41
Speaker 1: that passing moment, and the ground was quickly strewed with
27:45
Speaker 1: their enemies still. Maqua, though daring and much exposed, escaped
27:52
Speaker 1: from every effort against his life with that sort of
27:56
Speaker 1: fabled protection that was made to overlook the fortunes of
28:00
Speaker 1: favored heroes in the legends of ancient poetry. Raising a
28:05
Speaker 1: yell that spoke volumes of anger and disappointment, the subtle Chief,
28:09
Speaker 1: when he saw his comrades fallen, darted away from the
28:12
Speaker 1: place attended by his two only surviving friends, leaving the
28:17
Speaker 1: Delawares engaged in stripping the dead of the bloody trophies
28:21
Speaker 1: of their victory. But Uncas, who had vainly sought him
28:25
Speaker 1: in the melee, bounded forward in pursuit, Hawkeye, Heyward and
28:29
Speaker 1: David still pressing on his footsteps. The utmost that the
28:34
Speaker 1: scout could effect was to keep the muzzle of his
28:36
Speaker 1: rifle a little in advance of his friend, to whom, however,
28:41
Speaker 1: it answered every purpose of a charmed shield. Once Mockwell appeared,
28:47
Speaker 1: disposed to make another and final effort to revenge his losses,
28:51
Speaker 1: but abandoning his intention as soon as demonstrated, he leaped
28:56
Speaker 1: into a thicket of bushes, through which he was followed
28:59
Speaker 1: by his animal, and suddenly entered the mouth of the cave.
29:03
Speaker 1: Already known to the reader, Hawkeye, who had only forborne
29:08
Speaker 1: to fire in tenderness to Uncas, raised a shout of success,
29:12
Speaker 1: and proclaimed aloud that now they were certain of their game.
29:17
Speaker 1: The pursuers dashed into the long and narrow entrance in
29:21
Speaker 1: time to catch a glimpse of the retreating forms of
29:23
Speaker 1: the Hurons. Their passage through the natural galleries and subterraneous
29:28
Speaker 1: apartments of the cavern was preceded by the shrieks and
29:31
Speaker 1: cries of hundreds of women and children. The place, seen
29:35
Speaker 1: by its dim and uncertain light, appeared like the shades
29:38
Speaker 1: of the infernal regions across which unhappy ghost and savage
29:43
Speaker 1: demons were flitting in multitudes. Still, Uncas kept his eye
29:49
Speaker 1: on Maqua, as if life to him possessed but a
29:52
Speaker 1: single object Heyward, and the scout still pressed on his rear, actuated,
29:58
Speaker 1: though possibly in a less degree by a common feeling.
30:02
Speaker 1: But their way was becoming intricate in those dark and
30:05
Speaker 1: gloomy passages, and the glimpses of the retiring warriors less
30:09
Speaker 1: distinct and frequent, and for a moment the trace was
30:13
Speaker 1: believed to be lost. When a white robe was seen
30:16
Speaker 1: fluttering in the further extremity of a passage that seemed
30:19
Speaker 1: to lead up the mountain. 'tis, Cora, exclaimed Heyward, in
30:24
Speaker 1: a voice in which horror and delight were wildly mingled.
30:29
Speaker 1: Cora Cora echoed Uncas, bounding forward like a deer.
30:34
Speaker 2: 'tis.
30:34
Speaker 1: The maiden shouted the scout courage lady, we come, we come.
30:40
Speaker 1: The chase was renewed with a diligence rendered tenfold encouraging
30:44
Speaker 1: by this glimpse of the captive, but the way was
30:46
Speaker 1: rugged broken, and in spots nearly impassable. Uncas abandoned his
30:52
Speaker 1: rifle and leaped forward with headlong precipitation. Heyward rashly imitated
30:58
Speaker 1: his example, though both were a moment afterward admonished of
31:02
Speaker 1: this madness by hearing the bellowing of a piece that
31:05
Speaker 1: the Hurons found time to discharge down the passage in
31:08
Speaker 1: the rocks, the bullet from which gave the young Mahican
31:12
Speaker 1: a slight wound. We must close, said the scout, passing
31:17
Speaker 1: his friends by desperate leaf. The knaves will pick us
31:20
Speaker 1: all off at this distance, and see they hold the
31:23
Speaker 1: maidens so as to shield themselves. Though his words were unheeded,
31:28
Speaker 1: or rather unheard, his example was followed by his companions, who,
31:33
Speaker 1: by incredible exertions got near enough to the fugitives to
31:36
Speaker 1: perceive that coral was borne along between the two warriors,
31:40
Speaker 1: while Makua prescribed the direction and manner of their flight.
31:44
Speaker 1: At this moment, the forms of all four were strongly
31:47
Speaker 1: drawn against an opening in the sky, and they disappeared,
31:52
Speaker 1: nearly frantic with disappointment. Ankason Heyward increased efforts that already
31:57
Speaker 1: seemed superhuman, and they issued from the cavern on the
32:01
Speaker 1: side of the mountain in time to note the route
32:04
Speaker 1: of the pursued the course, lay up the ascent, and
32:07
Speaker 1: still continued hazardous and laborious, encumbered by his rifle and
32:13
Speaker 1: perhaps not sustained by so deep an interest in the
32:17
Speaker 1: captive and his companions, The scouts suffered the latter to
32:21
Speaker 1: precede him a little, Uncas in his turn, taking the
32:25
Speaker 1: lead of Heyward. In this manner, rocks, precipices, and difficulties
32:30
Speaker 1: were surmounted in an incredibly short space that at another
32:35
Speaker 1: time and under other circumstances would have been deemed almost insuperable.
32:42
Speaker 1: But the impetuous young men were rewarded by finding that,
32:45
Speaker 1: encumbered with Cora, the Hurons were losing ground in the race. Stay,
32:53
Speaker 1: dog of the Wyandots, exclaimed Uncas, shaking his bright tomahawk
32:57
Speaker 1: at Maqua, a Delaware girl. Call Stay, I will go
33:03
Speaker 1: no further, cried Cora, stopping unexpectedly on a ledge of
33:08
Speaker 1: rock that overhung a deep precipice at no great distance
33:12
Speaker 1: from the summit of the mountain.
33:14
Speaker 2: Kill me if thou wilt, detestable, Huron, I will go
33:19
Speaker 2: no further.
33:21
Speaker 1: The supporters of the Maiden raised their ready tomahawks with
33:24
Speaker 1: the impious joy that fiends are thought to take in mischief,
33:28
Speaker 1: but Maqua stayed the uplifted arms. The Huron chief, after
33:33
Speaker 1: casting the weapons he had wrestled from his companions over
33:36
Speaker 1: the rock, drew his knife and turned to his captive
33:39
Speaker 1: with a look in which conflicting passions fiercely contended.
33:44
Speaker 3: Women, he said, choose the wigwam or the knife. A
33:49
Speaker 3: lay still, Cora regarded him not but dropping on her knees,
33:54
Speaker 3: she raised her eyes and stretched her arms toward heaven,
33:58
Speaker 3: saying in a meek and yet confiding voice.
34:01
Speaker 2: I am fine do with me ast thou seest best.
34:07
Speaker 1: Woman, repeated Makua, hoarsely and endeavoring in vain to catch
34:12
Speaker 1: a glance from her serene and beaming eye Jews, but
34:17
Speaker 1: Cora neither heard nor heeded his demand. The form of
34:20
Speaker 1: the Huron trembled in every fiber, and he raised his
34:24
Speaker 1: arm on high, but dropped it again with a bewildered air,
34:28
Speaker 1: like one who doubted. Once more, he struggled with himself
34:32
Speaker 1: and lifted the keen weapon again, But just then a
34:36
Speaker 1: piercing cry was heard above him, and Uncas appeared, leaping
34:40
Speaker 1: frantically from a fearful height upon the ledge. Makwell recoiled
34:44
Speaker 1: a step, and one of his assistants, profiting by the chance,
34:49
Speaker 1: sheathed his own knife in the bosom of Cora. The
34:53
Speaker 1: Huron sprang like a tiger on his offending and already
34:57
Speaker 1: retreating countrymen. But the falling form of uncle separated the
35:00
Speaker 1: unnatural combatants. Diverted from his subject by this interruption, and
35:05
Speaker 1: maddened by the murder he had just witnessed, markwa buried
35:09
Speaker 1: his weapon in the back of the prostrate Delaware, uttering
35:13
Speaker 1: an unearthly shout as he committed the dastardly deed, but
35:17
Speaker 1: uncas arose from the blow as the wounded panther turns
35:21
Speaker 1: upon his foe and struck the murder of Cora to
35:24
Speaker 1: his feet by an effort in which the last of
35:26
Speaker 1: his failing strength was expended. Then, with a stern and
35:31
Speaker 1: steady look, he turned to lace a till, and indicated
35:35
Speaker 1: by the expression of his eye all that he would
35:38
Speaker 1: do had not the power deserted him. The latter seized
35:42
Speaker 1: the nerveless arms of the unresisting Delaware, and passed his
35:45
Speaker 1: knife into his bosom three several times before his victim,
35:50
Speaker 1: still keeping his gaze, riveted on his enemy with a
35:53
Speaker 1: look of inextinguishable scorn, fell dead at his feet. M
36:00
Speaker 1: Mercy Huron cried.
36:02
Speaker 2: Heyward from above.
36:03
Speaker 1: In turnes, nearly choked by.
36:05
Speaker 2: Horror, give mercy, and thou shalt receive from.
36:09
Speaker 1: It, Whirling the bloody knife up at the imploring youth,
36:13
Speaker 1: The victorious Maqua uttered a cry so fierce, so wild,
36:18
Speaker 1: and so joyous that it conveyed the sounds of savage
36:21
Speaker 1: triumph to the ears of those who fought in the
36:24
Speaker 1: valley a thousand feet below. He was answered by a
36:28
Speaker 1: burst from the lips of the scout, whose tall person
36:30
Speaker 1: was just then seen moving swiftly toward him along those
36:34
Speaker 1: dangerous crags, with steps as bold and reckless as if
36:38
Speaker 1: he possessed the power to move in air. But when
36:41
Speaker 1: the hunter reached the scene of the ruthless massacre, the
36:45
Speaker 1: ledge was tenanted only by the dead. His keen eye
36:50
Speaker 1: took a single look at the victims, and then shot
36:53
Speaker 1: its glances over the difficulties of the ascent. In his front.
36:57
Speaker 1: A form stood at the brow of the mountain, on
36:59
Speaker 1: the very edge of the giddy height, with uplifted arms
37:04
Speaker 1: in an awful attitude of menace, without stopping to consider
37:08
Speaker 1: his person. The rifle of Hawkeye was raised, but a
37:12
Speaker 1: rock which fell on the head of one of the
37:14
Speaker 1: fugitives below exposed the indignant and glowing countenance of the
37:18
Speaker 1: honest gimout. Then Maka issued from a crevice and stepping
37:24
Speaker 1: with calm indifference over the body of the last of
37:26
Speaker 1: his associates, he leaped a wide fissure and ascended the
37:31
Speaker 1: rocks at a point where the arm of David could
37:33
Speaker 1: not reach him. A single bound would carry him to
37:37
Speaker 1: the brow of the precipice, and as sure as safety.
37:40
Speaker 1: Before taking the leap, however, the huron paused, and, shaking
37:44
Speaker 1: his hand at the scout, he shouted.
37:47
Speaker 3: The pill faces are dogs that delawares women. Makwa leaves
37:52
Speaker 3: them on the rocks for the crows.
37:55
Speaker 1: Laughing hoarsely, he made a desperate leap and fell short
37:59
Speaker 1: of his mark, though his hands grasped a shrub on
38:02
Speaker 1: the verge of a height. The form of Hawkeye had
38:06
Speaker 1: crouched like a beast about to make its spring, and
38:09
Speaker 1: his frame trembled so violently with eagerness that the muzzle
38:13
Speaker 1: of the half raised rifle played like a leaf fluttering
38:16
Speaker 1: in the wind. Without exhausting himself with fruitless efforts, the
38:20
Speaker 1: cunning Makua suffered his body to drop to the length
38:23
Speaker 1: of his arms and found a fragment for his feet
38:25
Speaker 1: to rest on. Then, summoning all his powers, he renewed
38:30
Speaker 1: the attempt, and so far succeeded as to draw his
38:33
Speaker 1: knees on the edge of the mountain. It was now,
38:37
Speaker 1: when the body of his enemy was most collected together,
38:40
Speaker 1: that the agitated weapon of the Scout was drawn to
38:43
Speaker 1: his shoulder. The surrounding rocks themselves were not steadier than
38:48
Speaker 1: the peace became for the single instant that it poured
38:50
Speaker 1: out its contents. The arms of the Huron relaxed, and
38:55
Speaker 1: his body fell back a little, while his knees still
38:57
Speaker 1: kept their position. Turning a relentless look on his enemy,
39:02
Speaker 1: he shook his hand in grim defiance. But his hold loosened,
39:08
Speaker 1: and his dark person was seen cutting the air with
39:12
Speaker 1: its head downward for a fleeting instant, and till it
39:16
Speaker 1: glided past the fringe of shrubbery which clung to the
39:19
Speaker 1: mountain in its rapid flight to destruction. End of Chapter
39:25
Speaker 1: thirty two.