"Stand to your arms, and guard the door- all's lost
Unless that fearful bell be silenced soon.
The officer hath miss'd his path, or purpose,
Or met some unforeseen and hideous obstacle.
Anselmo, with thy company proceed
Straight to the tower; the rest remain with me."Byron, Marino Faliero, lV.ii.23o-35.
The conjecture of Judith Hutter, concerning the manner in which
the Indian girl had met her death, was accurate in the main. After
sleeping several hours, her father and March awoke. This occurred
a few minutes after she had left the Ark to go in quest of her
sister, and when of course Chingachgook and his betrothed were
on board. From the Delaware the old man learned the position
of the camp, and the recent events, as well as the absence of his
daughters. The latter gave him no concern, for he relied greatly
on the sagacity of the elder, and the known impunity with which the
younger passed among the savages. Long familiarity with danger,
too, had blunted his sensibilities. Nor did he seem much to regret
the captivity of Deerslayer, for, while he knew how material his
aid might be in a defence, the difference in their views on the
morality of the woods, had not left much sympathy between them. He
would have rejoiced to know the position of the camp before it had
been alarmed by the escape of Hist, but it would be too hazardous
now to venture to land, and he reluctantly relinquished for the
night the ruthless designs that cupidity and revenge had excited
him to entertain. In this mood Hutter took a seat in the head of
the scow, where he was quickly joined by Hurry, leaving the Serpent
and Hist in quiet possession of the other extremity of the vessel.
"Deerslayer has shown himself a boy, in going among the savages at
this hour, and letting himself fall into their hands like a deer
that tumbles into a pit," growled the old man, perceiving as usual
the mote in his neighbor's eyes, while he overlooked the beam in
his own; "if he is left to pay for his stupidity with his own flesh,
he can blame no one but himself."
"That's the way of the world, old Tom," returned Hurry. "Every man
must meet his own debts, and answer for his own sins. I'm amazed,
howsever, that a lad as skilful and watchful as Deerslayer should
have been caught in such a trap! Didn't he know any better than
to go prowling about a Huron camp at midnight, with no place to
retreat to but a lake? or did he think himself a buck, that by
taking to the water could throw off the scent and swim himself out
of difficulty? I had a better opinion of the boy's judgment, I'll
own; but we must overlook a little ignorance in a raw hand. I say,
Master Hutter, do you happen to know what has become of the gals
- I see no signs of Judith, or Hetty, though I've been through the
Ark, and looked into all its living creatur's."
Hutter briefly explained the manner in which his daughters had
taken to the canoe, as it had been related by the Delaware, as well
as the return of Judith after landing her sister, and her second
departure.
"This comes of a smooth tongue, Floating Tom," exclaimed Hurry,
grating his teeth in pure resentment - "This comes of a smooth
tongue, and a silly gal's inclinations, and you had best look into
the matter! You and I were both prisoners - " Hurry could recall that
circumstance now - "you and I were both prisoners and yet Judith
never stirred an inch to do us any sarvice! She is bewitched with
this lank-looking Deerslayer, and he, and she, and you, and all
of us, had best look to it. I am not a man to put up with such
a wrong quietly, and I say, all the parties had best look to it!
Let's up kedge, old fellow, and move nearer to this p'int, and see
how matters are getting on.
Hutter had no objections to this movement, and the Ark was got
under way in the usual manner; care being taken to make no noise.
The wind was passing northward, and the sail soon swept the scow so
far up the lake as to render the dark outlines of the trees that
clothed the point dimly visible. Floating Tom steered, and he
sailed along as near the land as the depth of the water and the
overhanging branches would allow. It was impossible to distinguish
anything that stood within the shadows of the shore, but the forms
of the sail and of the hut were discerned by the young sentinel on
the beach, who has already been mentioned. In the moment of sudden
surprise, a deep Indian exclamation escaped him. In that spirit
of recklessness and ferocity that formed the essence of Hurry's
character, this man dropped his rifle and fired. The ball was
sped by accident, or by that overruling providence which decides
the fates of all, and the girl fell. Then followed the scene with
the torches, which has just been described.
At the precise moment when Hurry committed this act of unthinking
cruelty, the canoe of Judith was within a hundred feet of the spot
from which the Ark had so lately moved. Her own course has been
described, and it has now become our office to follow that of her
father and his companions. The shriek announced the effects of
the random shot of March, and it also proclaimed that the victim
was a woman. Hurry himself was startled at these unlooked for
consequences, and for a moment he was sorely disturbed by conflicting
sensations. At first he laughed, in reckless and rude-minded
exultation; and then conscience, that monitor planted in our breasts
by God, and which receives its more general growth from the training
bestowed in the tillage of childhood, shot a pang to his heart.
For a minute, the mind of this creature equally of civilization and
of barbarism, was a sort of chaos as to feeling, not knowing what
to think of its own act; and then the obstinacy and pride of one of
his habits, interposed to assert their usual ascendency. He struck
the butt of his rifle on the bottom of the scow, with a species of
defiance, and began to whistle a low air with an affectation of
indifference. All this time the Ark was in motion, and it was already
opening the bay above the point, and was consequently quitting the
land.
Hurry's companions did not view his conduct with the same indulgence
as that with which he appeared disposed to regard it himself. Hutter
growled out his dissatisfaction, for the act led to no advantage,
while it threatened to render the warfare more vindictive than
ever, and none censure motiveless departures from the right more
severely than the mercenary and unprincipled. Still he commanded
himself, the captivity of Deerslayer rendering the arm of the offender
of double consequence to him at that moment. Chingachgook arose,
and for a single instant the ancient animosity of tribes was
forgotten, in a feeling of colour; but he recollected himself in
season to prevent any of the fierce consequences that, for a passing
moment, he certainly meditated. Not so with Hist. Rushing through
the hut, or cabin, the girl stood at the side of Hurry, almost
as soon as his rifle touched the bottom of the scow, and with
a fearlessness that did credit to her heart, she poured out her
reproaches with the generous warmth of a woman.
"What for you shoot?" she said. "What Huron gal do, dat you kill
him? What you t'ink Manitou say? What you t'ink Manitou feel?
What Iroquois do? No get honour- no get camp - no get prisoner -no
get battle - no get scalp - no get not'ing at all! Blood come
after blood! How you feel, your wife killed? Who pity you, when
tear come for moder, or sister? You big as great pine - Huron
gal little slender birch - why you fall on her and crush her? You
t'ink Huron forget it? No; red-skin never forget! Never forget
friend; never forget enemy. Red man Manitou in dat. Why you so
wicked, great pale-face?"
Hurry had never been so daunted as by this close and warm attack
of the Indian girl. It is true that she had a powerful ally in
his conscience, and while she spoke earnestly, it was in tones so
feminine as to deprive him of any pretext for unmanly anger. The
softness of her voice added to the weight of her remonstrance, by
lending to the latter an air of purity and truth. Like most vulgar
minded men, he had only regarded the Indians through the medium
of their coarser and fiercer characteristics. It had never struck
him that the affections are human, that even high principles -
modified by habits and prejudices, but not the less elevated within
their circle - can exist in the savage state, and that the warrior
who is most ruthless in the field, can submit to the softest and
gentlest influences in the moments of domestic quiet. In a word,
it was the habit of his mind to regard all Indians as being only a
slight degree removed from the wild beasts that roamed the woods,
and to feel disposed to treat them accordingly, whenever interest
or caprice supplied a motive or an impulse. Still, though daunted
by these reproaches, the handsome barbarian could hardly be said
to be penitent. He was too much rebuked by conscience to suffer
an outbreak of temper to escape him, and perhaps he felt that he
had already committed an act that might justly bring his manhood
in question. Instead of resenting, or answering the simple but
natural appeal of Hist, he walked away, like one who disdained
entering into a controversy with a woman.
In the mean while the Ark swept onward, and by the time the scene
with the torches was enacting beneath the trees, it had reached the
open lake, Floating Tom causing it to sheer further from the land
with a sort of instinctive dread of retaliation. An hour now
passed in gloomy silence, no one appearing disposed to break it.
Hist had retired to her pallet, and Chingachgook lay sleeping in the
forward part of the scow. Hutter and Hurry alone remained awake,
the former at the steering oar, while the latter brooded over his own
conduct, with the stubbornness of one little given to a confession
of his errors, and the secret goadings of the worm that never dies.
This was at the moment when Judith and Hetty reached the centre of
the lake, and had lain down to endeavor to sleep in their drifting
canoe.
The night was calm, though so much obscured by clouds. The season
was not one of storms, and those which did occur in the month of
June, on that embedded water, though frequently violent were always
of short continuance. Nevertheless, there was the usual current
of heavy, damp night air, which, passing over the summits of the
trees, scarcely appeared to descend as low as the surface of the
glassy lake, but kept moving a short distance above it, saturated with
the humidity that constantly arose from the woods, and apparently
never proceeding far in any one direction. The currents were
influenced by the formation of the hills, as a matter of course, a
circumstance that rendered even fresh breezes baffling, and which
reduced the feebler efforts of the night air to be a sort of capricious
and fickle sighings of the woods. Several times the head of the
Ark pointed east, and once it was actually turned towards the south,
again; but, on the whole, it worked its way north; Hutter making
always a fair wind, if wind it could be called, his principal motive
appearing to keep in motion, in order to defeat any treacherous
design of his enemies. He now felt some little concern about his
daughters, and perhaps as much about the canoe; but, on the whole,
this uncertainty did not much disturb him, as he had the reliance
already mentioned on the intelligence of Judith.
It was the season of the shortest nights, and it was not long
before the deep obscurity which precedes the day began to yield to
the returning light. If any earthly scene could be presented to
the senses of man that might soothe his passions and temper his
ferocity, it was that which grew upon the eyes of Hutter and Hurry
as the hours advanced, changing night to morning. There were the
usual soft tints of the sky, in which neither the gloom of darkness
nor the brilliancy of the sun prevails, and under which objects
appear more unearthly, and we might add holy, than at any other
portion of the twenty four hours. The beautiful and soothing calm
of eventide has been extolled by a thousand poets, and yet it does
not bring with it the far-reaching and sublime thoughts of the half
hour that precedes the rising of a summer sun. In the one case the
panorama is gradually hid from the sight, while in the other its
objects start out from the unfolding picture, first dim and misty;
then marked in, in solemn background; next seen in the witchery of
an increasing, a thing as different as possible from the decreasing
twilight, and finally mellow, distinct and luminous, as the rays
of the great centre of light diffuse themselves in the atmosphere.
The hymns of birds, too, have no moral counterpart in the retreat
to the roost, or the flight to the nest, and these invariably accompany
the advent of the day, until the appearance of the sun itself -
"Bathes in deep joy, the land and sea."
All this, however, Hutter and Hurry witnessed without experiencing
any of that calm delight which the spectacle is wont to bring, when
the thoughts are just and the aspirations pure. They not only
witnessed it, but they witnessed it under circumstances that had a
tendency to increase its power, and to heighten its charms. Only
one solitary object became visible in the returning light that had
received its form or uses from human taste or human desires, which
as often deform as beautify a landscape. This was the castle,
all the rest being native, and fresh from the hand of God. That
singular residence, too, was in keeping with the natural objects
of the view, starting out from the gloom, quaint, picturesque and
ornamental. Nevertheless the whole was lost on the observers, who
knew no feeling of poetry, had lost their sense of natural devotion
in lives of obdurate and narrow selfishness, and had little other
sympathy with nature, than that which originated with her lowest
wants.
As soon as the light was sufficiently strong to allow of a distinct
view of the lake, and more particularly of its shores, Hutter turned
the head of the Ark directly towards the castle, with the avowed
intention of taking possession, for the day at least, as the place
most favorable for meeting his daughters and for carrying on his
operations against the Indians. By this time, Chingachgook was
up, and Hist was heard stirring among the furniture of the kitchen.
The place for which they steered was distant only a mile, and the air
was sufficiently favorable to permit it to be reached by means of
the sail. At this moment, too, to render the appearances generally
auspicious, the canoe of Judith was seen floating northward in the
broadest part of the lake; having actually passed the scow in the
darkness, in obedience to no other power than that of the elements.
Hutter got his glass, and took a long and anxious survey,
to ascertain if his daughters were in the light craft or not, and
a slight exclamation like that of joy escaped him, as he caught a
glimpse of what he rightly conceived to be a part of Judith's dress
above the top of the canoe. At the next instant the girl arose
and was seen gazing about her, like one assuring herself of her
situation. A minute later, Hetty was seen on her knees in the
other end of the canoe, repeating the prayers that had been taught
her in childhood by a misguided but repentant mother. As Hutter
laid down the glass, still drawn to its focus, the Serpent raised
it to his eye and turned it towards the canoe. It was the first
time he had ever used such an instrument, and Hist understood by
his "Hugh!," the expression of his face, and his entire mien, that
something wonderful had excited his admiration. It is well known
that the American Indians, more particularly those of superior
characters and stations, singularly maintain their self-possession
and stoicism, in the midst of the flood of marvels that present
themselves in their occasional visits to the abodes of civilization,
and Chingachgook had imbibed enough of this impassibility to suppress
any very undignified manifestation of surprise. With Hist, however,
no such law was binding, and when her lover managed to bring the
glass in a line with the canoe, and her eye was applied to the
smaller end, the girl started back in alarm; then she clapped her
hands with delight, and a laugh, the usual attendant of untutored
admiration, followed. A few minutes sufficed to enable this quick
witted girl to manage the instrument for herself, and she directed
it at every prominent object that struck her fancy. Finding
a rest in one of the windows, she and the Delaware first surveyed
the lake; then the shores, the hills, and, finally, the castle
attracted their attention. After a long steady gaze at the latter,
Hist took away her eye, and spoke to her lover in a low, earnest
manner. Chingachgook immediately placed his eye to the glass, and
his look even exceeded that of his betrothed in length and intensity.
Again they spoke together, confidentially, appearing to compare
opinions, after which the glass was laid aside, and the young
warrior quitted the cabin to join Hutter and Hurry.
The Ark was slowly but steadily advancing, and the castle was
materially within half a mile, when Chingachgook joined the two
white men in the stern of the scow. His manner was calm, but it
was evident to the others, who were familiar with the habits of the
Indians, that he had something to communicate. Hurry was generally
prompt to speak and, according to custom, he took the lead on this
occasion.
"Out with it, red-skin," he cried, in his usual rough manner. "Have
you discovered a chipmunk in a tree, or is there a salmon-trout
swimming under the bottom of the scow? You find what a pale-face
can do in the way of eyes, now, Sarpent, and mustn't wonder that
they can see the land of the Indians from afar off."
"No good to go to Castle," put in Chingachgook with emphasis,
the moment the other gave him an opportunity of speaking. "Huron
there."
"The devil he is! - If this should turn out to be true, Floating
Tom, a pretty trap were we about to pull down on our heads! Huron,
there! -Well, this may be so; but no signs can I see of any thing,
near or about the old hut, but logs, water, and bark - bating two
or three windows, and one door."
Hutter called for the glass, and took a careful survey of the spot,
before he ventured an opinion, at all; then he somewhat cavalierly
expressed his dissent from that given by the Indian.
"You've got this glass wrong end foremost, Delaware," continued
Hurry. "Neither the old man nor I can see any trail in the lake."
"No trail - water make no trail," said Hist, eagerly. "Stop
boat - no go too near. Huron there!"
"Ay, that's it! - Stick to the same tale, and more people
will believe you. I hope, Sarpent, you and your gal will agree
in telling the same story arter marriage, as well as you do now.
'Huron, there!'-Whereabouts is he to be seen - in the padlock, or the
chains, or the logs. There isn't a gaol in the colony that has
a more lock up look about it, than old Tom's chiente, and
I know something about gaols from exper'ence."
"No see moccasin," said Hist, impatiently "why no look - and see
him."
"Give me the glass, Harry," interrupted Hutter, "and lower the sail.
It is seldom that an Indian woman meddles, and when she does, there
is generally a cause for it. There is, truly, a moccasin floating
against one of the piles, and it may or may not be a sign that
the castle hasn't escaped visitors in our absence. Moccasins are
no rarities, however, for I wear 'em myself; and Deerslayer wears
'em, and you wear 'em, March, and, for that matter so does Hetty,
quite as often as she wears shoes, though I never yet saw Judith
trust her pretty foot in a moccasin."
Hurry had lowered the sail, and by this time the Ark was within two
hundred yards of the castle, setting in, nearer and nearer, each
moment, but at a rate too slow to excite any uneasiness. Each now
took the glass in turn, and the castle, and every thing near it,
was subjected to a scrutiny still more rigid than ever. There the
moccasin lay, beyond a question, floating so lightly, and preserving
its form so well, that it was scarcely wet. It had caught by
a piece of the rough bark of one of the piles, on the exterior of
the water-palisade that formed the dock already mentioned, which
circumstance alone prevented it from drifting away before the air.
There were many modes, however, of accounting for the presence
of the moccasin, without supposing it to have been dropped by an
enemy. It might have fallen from the platform, even while Hutter
was in possession of the place, and drifted to the spot where it was
now seen, remaining unnoticed until detected by the acute vision
of Hist. It might have drifted from a distance, up or down the
lake, and accidentally become attached to the pile, or palisade.
It might have been thrown from a window, and alighted in that
particular place; or it might certainly have fallen from a scout,
or an assailant, during the past night, who was obliged to abandon
it to the lake, in the deep obscurity which then prevailed.
All these conjectures passed from Hutter to Hurry, the former
appearing disposed to regard the omen as a little sinister, while
the latter treated it with his usual reckless disdain. As for the
Indian, he was of opinion that the moccasin should be viewed as
one would regard a trail in the woods, which might, or might not,
equally, prove to be threatening. Hist, however, had something
available to propose. She declared her readiness to take a canoe,
to proceed to the palisade and bring away the moccasin, when its
ornaments would show whether it came from the Canadas or not. Both
the white men were disposed to accept this offer, but the Delaware
interfered to prevent the risk. If such a service was to be undertaken,
it best became a warrior to expose himself in its execution, and
he gave his refusal to let his betrothed proceed, much in the quiet
but brief manner in which an Indian husband issues his commands.
"Well then, Delaware, go yourself if you're so tender of your
squaw," put in the unceremonious Hurry. "That moccasin must be
had, or Floating Tom will keep off, here, at arm's length, till
the hearth cools in his cabin. It's but a little deerskin, a'ter
all, and cut this-a-way or that-a-way, it's not a skear-crow
to frighten true hunters from their game. What say you, Sarpent,
shall you or I canoe it?"
"Let red man go. - Better eyes than pale-face - know Huron trick
better, too."
"That I'll gainsay, to the hour of my death! A white man's eyes,
and a white man's nose, and for that matter his sight and ears are
all better than an Injin's when fairly tried. Time and ag'in have
I put that to the proof, and what is proved is sartain. Still I
suppose the poorest vagabond going, whether Delaware or Huron, can
find his way to yonder hut and back ag'in, and so, Sarpent, use
your paddle and welcome."
Chingachgook was already in the canoe, and he dipped the implement
the other named into the water, just as Hurry's limber tongue ceased.
Wah-ta-Wah saw the departure of her warrior on this occasion with
the submissive silence of an Indian girl, but with most of the
misgivings and apprehensions of her sex. Throughout the whole of
the past night, and down to the moment, when they used the glass
together in the hut, Chingachgook had manifested as much manly
tenderness towards his betrothed as one of the most refined sentiment
could have shown under similar circumstances, but now every sign of
weakness was lost in an appearance of stern resolution. Although
Hist timidly endeavored to catch his eye as the canoe left the side
of the Ark, the pride of a warrior would not permit him to meet
her fond and anxious looks. The canoe departed and not a wandering
glance rewarded her solicitude.
Nor were the Delaware's care and gravity misplaced, under the
impressions with which he proceeded on this enterprise. If the
enemy had really gained possession of the building he was obliged
to put himself under the very muzzles of their rifles, as it were,
and this too without the protection of any of that cover which forms
so essential an ally in Indian warfare. It is scarcely possible
to conceive of a service more dangerous, and had the Serpent been
fortified by the experience of ten more years, or had his friend
the Deerslayer been present, it would never have been attempted;
the advantages in no degree compensating for the risk. But the
pride of an Indian chief was acted on by the rivalry of colour,
and it is not unlikely that the presence of the very creature from
whom his ideas of manhood prevented his receiving a single glance,
overflowing as he was with the love she so well merited, had no
small influence on his determination.
Chingachgook paddled steadily towards the palisades, keeping his eyes
on the different loops of the building. Each instant he expected
to see the muzzle of a rifle protruded, or to hear its sharp crack;
but he succeeded in reaching the piles in safety. Here he was,
in a measure, protected, having the heads of the palisades between
him and the hut, and the chances of any attempt on his life while
thus covered, were greatly diminished. The canoe had reached the
piles with its head inclining northward, and at a short distance
from the moccasin. Instead of turning to pick up the latter, the
Delaware slowly made the circuit of the whole building, deliberately
examining every object that should betray the presence of enemies,
or the commission of violence. Not a single sign could he discover,
however, to confirm the suspicions that had been awakened. The
stillness of desertion pervaded the building; not a fastening was
displaced, not a window had been broken. The door looked as secure
as at the hour when it was closed by Hutter, and even the gate
of the dock had all the customary fastenings. In short, the most
wary and jealous eye could detect no other evidence of the visit
of enemies, than that which was connected with the appearance of
the floating moccasin.
The Delaware was now greatly at a loss how to proceed. At one
moment, as he came round in front of the castle, he was on the point
of stepping up on the platform and of applying his eye to one of
the loops, with a view of taking a direct personal inspection of
the state of things within; but he hesitated. Though of little
experience in such matters, himself, he had heard so much of Indian
artifices through traditions, had listened with such breathless
interest to the narration of the escapes of the elder warriors,
and, in short, was so well schooled in the theory of his calling,
that it was almost as impossible for him to make any gross blunder
on such an occasion, as it was for a well grounded scholar, who had
commenced correctly, to fail in solving his problem in mathematics.
Relinquishing the momentary intention to land, the chief slowly
pursued his course round the palisades. As he approached the
moccasin, having now nearly completed the circuit of the building,
he threw the ominous article into the canoe, by a dexterous and
almost imperceptible movement of his paddle. He was now ready to
depart, but retreat was even more dangerous than the approach, as
the eye could no longer be riveted on the loops. If there was really
any one in the castle, the motive of the Delaware in reconnoitering
must be understood, and it was the wisest way, however perilous it
might be, to retire with an air of confidence, as if all distrust
were terminated by the examination. Such, accordingly, was the
course adopted by the Indian, who paddled deliberately away, taking
the direction of the Ark, suffering no nervous impulse to quicken
the motions of his arms, or to induce him to turn even a furtive
glance behind him.
No tender wife, reared in the refinements of the highest
civilization, ever met a husband on his return from the field with
more of sensibility in her countenance than Hist discovered, as
she saw the Great Serpent of the Delawares step, unharmed, into the
Ark. Still she repressed her emotion, though the joy that sparkled
in her dark eyes, and the smile that lighted her pretty mouth,
spoke a language that her betrothed could understand.
"Well, Sarpent," cried Hurry, always the first to speak, "what news
from the muskrats? Did they shew their teeth, as you surrounded
their dwelling?"
"I no like him," sententiously returned the Delaware. "Too still.
So still, can see silence!"
"That's downright Injin - as if any thing could make less noise
than nothing! If you've no better reason than this to give, old
Tom had better hoist his sail, and go and get his breakfast under
his own roof. What has become of the moccasin?"
"Here," returned Chingachgook, holding up his prize for the general
inspection. The moccasin was examined, and Hist confidently
pronounced it to be Huron, by the manner in which the porcupine's
quills were arranged on its front. Hutter and the Delaware, too,
were decidedly of the same opinion. Admitting all this, however,
it did not necessarily follow that its owners were in the castle.
The moccasin might have drifted from a distance, or it might have
fallen from the foot of some scout, who had quitted the place when
his errand was accomplished. In short it explained nothing, while
it awakened so much distrust.
Under the circumstances, Hutter and Hurry were not men to be long
deterred from proceeding by proofs as slight as that of the moccasin.
They hoisted the sail again, and the Ark was soon in motion,
heading towards the castle. The wind or air continued light, and
the movement was sufficiently slow to allow of a deliberate survey
of the building, as the scow approached. The same death-like silence
reigned, and it was difficult to fancy that any thing possessing
animal life could be in or around the place. Unlike the Serpent,
whose imagination had acted through his traditions until he was
ready to perceive an artificial, in a natural stillness, the others
saw nothing to apprehend in a tranquility that, in truth, merely
denoted the repose of inanimate objects. The accessories of the
scene, too, were soothing and calm, rather than exciting. The day
had not yet advanced so far as to bring the sun above the horizon, but
the heavens, the atmosphere, and the woods and lake were all seen
under that softened light which immediately precedes his appearance,
and which perhaps is the most witching period of the four and twenty
hours. It is the moment when every thing is distinct, even the
atmosphere seeming to possess a liquid lucidity, the hues appearing
gray and softened, with the outlines of objects defined, and
the perspective just as moral truths that are presented in their
simplicity, without the meretricious aids of ornament or glitter.
In a word, it is the moment when the senses seem to recover their
powers, in the simplest and most accurate forms, like the mind
emerging from the obscurity of doubts into the tranquility and peace
of demonstration. Most of the influence that such a scene is apt
to produce on those who are properly constituted in a moral sense,
was lost on Hutter and Hurry; but both the Delawares, though too
much accustomed to witness the loveliness of morning-tide to stop
to analyze their feelings, were equally sensible of the beauties
of the hour, though it was probably in a way unknown to themselves.
It disposed the young warrior to peace, and never had he felt less
longings for the glory of the combat, than when he joined Hist
in the cabin, the instant the scow rubbed against the side of the
platform. From the indulgence of such gentle emotions, however,
he was aroused by a rude summons from Hurry, who called on him to
come forth and help to take in the sail, and to secure the Ark.
Chingachgook obeyed, and by the time he had reached the head of
the scow, Hurry was on the platform, stamping his feet, like one
glad to touch what, by comparison, might be called terra firma,
and proclaiming his indifference to the whole Huron tribe in his
customary noisy, dogmatical manner. Hutter had hauled a canoe up
to the head of the scow, and was already about to undo the fastenings
of the gate, in order to enter within the 'dock.' March had no other
motive in landing than a senseless bravado, and having shaken the
door in a manner to put its solidity to the proof, he joined Hutter
in the canoe and began to aid him in opening the gate. The reader
will remember that this mode of entrance was rendered necessary by
the manner in which the owner of this singular residence habitually
secured it, whenever it was left empty; more particularly at
moments when danger was apprehended. Hutter had placed a line in
the Delaware's hand, on entering the canoe, intimating that the
other was to fasten the Ark to the platform and to lower the sail.
Instead of following these directions, however, Chingachgook left
the sail standing, and throwing the bight of the rope over the
head of a pile, he permitted the Ark to drift round until it lay
against the defences, in a position where it could be entered only
by means of a boat, or by passing along the summits of the palisades;
the latter being an exploit that required some command of the feet,
and which was not to be attempted in the face of a resolute enemy.
In consequence of this change in the position of the scow, which
was effected before Hutter had succeeded in opening the gate
of his dock, the Ark and the Castle lay, as sailors would express
it, yard-arm and yard-arm, kept asunder some ten or twelve feet by
means of the piles. As the scow pressed close against the latter,
their tops formed a species of breast work that rose to the height
of a man's head, covering in a certain degree the parts of the scow
that were not protected by the cabin. The Delaware surveyed this
arrangement with great satisfaction and, as the canoe of Hutter
passed through the gate into the dock, he thought that he might defend
his position against any garrison in the castle, for a sufficient
time, could he but have had the helping arm of his friend Deerslayer.
As it was, he felt comparatively secure, and no longer suffered
the keen apprehensions he had lately experienced in behalf of Hist.
A single shove sent the canoe from the gate to the trap beneath
the castle. Here Hutter found all fast, neither padlock nor chain
nor bar having been molested. The key was produced, the locks
removed, the chain loosened, and the trap pushed upward. Hurry
now thrust his head in at the opening; the arms followed, and the
colossal legs rose without any apparent effort. At the next instant,
his heavy foot was heard stamping in the passage above; that which
separated the chambers of the father and daughters, and into which
the trap opened. He then gave a shout of triumph.
"Come on, old Tom," the reckless woodsman called out from within the
building - "here's your tenement, safe and sound; ay, and as empty
as a nut that has passed half an hour in the paws of a squirrel!
The Delaware brags of being able to see silence; let him come here,
and he may feel it, in the bargain."
"Any silence where you are, Hurry Harry," returned Hutter, thrusting
his head in at the hole as he uttered the last word, which instantly
caused his voice to sound smothered to those without - "Any silence
where you are, ought to be both seen and felt, for it's unlike any
other silence."
"Come, come, old fellow; hoist yourself up, and we'll open doors
and windows and let in the fresh air to brighten up matters. Few
words in troublesome times, make men the best fri'nds. Your darter
Judith is what I call a misbehaving young woman, and the hold of
the whole family on me is so much weakened by her late conduct,
that it wouldn't take a speech as long as the ten commandments to
send me off to the river, leaving you and your traps, your Ark and
your children, your man servants and your maid servants, your oxen
and your asses, to fight this battle with the Iroquois by yourselves.
Open that window, Floating Tom, and I'll blunder through and do
the same job to the front door."
A moment of silence succeeded, and a noise like that produced by
the fall of a heavy body followed. A deep execration from Hurry
succeeded, and then the whole interior of the building seemed alive.
The noises that now so suddenly, and we may add so unexpectedly
even to the Delaware, broke the stillness within, could not be
mistaken. They resembled those that would be produced by a struggle
between tigers in a cage. Once or twice the Indian yell was given,
but it seemed smothered, and as if it proceeded from exhausted or
compressed throats, and, in a single instance, a deep and another
shockingly revolting execration came from the throat of Hurry. It
appeared as if bodies were constantly thrown upon the floor with
violence, as often rising to renew the struggle. Chingachgook
felt greatly at a loss what to do. He had all the arms in the Ark,
Hutter and Hurry having proceeded without their rifles, but there
was no means of using them, or of passing them to the hands of their
owners. The combatants were literally caged, rendering it almost
as impossible under the circumstances to get out, as to get into
the building. Then there was Hist to embarrass his movements, and
to cripple his efforts. With a view to relieve himself from this
disadvantage, he told the girl to take the remaining canoe and to
join Hutter's daughters, who were incautiously but deliberately
approaching, in order to save herself, and to warn the others of
their danger. But the girl positively and firmly refused to comply.
At that moment no human power, short of an exercise of superior
physical force, could have induced her to quit the Ark. The exigency
of the moment did not admit of delay, and the Delaware seeing no
possibility of serving his friends, cut the line and by a strong
shove forced the scow some twenty feet clear of the piles. Here
he took the sweeps and succeeded in getting a short distance
to windward, if any direction could be thus termed in so light an
air, but neither the time, nor his skill at the oars, allowed the
distance to be great. When he ceased rowing, the Ark might have
been a hundred yards from the platform, and half that distance
to the southward of it, the sail being lowered. Judith and Hetty
had now discovered that something was wrong, and were stationary
a thousand feet farther north.
All this while the furious struggle continued within the house.
In scenes like these, events thicken in less time than they can
be related. From the moment when the first fall was heard within
the building to that when the Delaware ceased his awkward attempts
to row, it might have been three or four minutes, but it had evidently
served to weaken the combatants. The oaths and execrations of
Hurry were no longer heard, and even the struggles had lost some
of their force and fury. Nevertheless they still continued with
unabated perseverance. At this instant the door flew open, and
the fight was transferred to the platform, the light and the open
air. A Huron had undone the fastenings of the door, and three or
four of his tribe rushed after him upon the narrow space, as if glad
to escape from some terrible scene within. The body of another
followed, pitched headlong through the door with terrific violence.
Then March appeared, raging like a lion at bay, and for an instant
freed from his numerous enemies. Hutter was already a captive and
bound. There was now a pause in the struggle, which resembled a
lull in a tempest. The necessity of breathing was common to all,
and the combatants stood watching each other, like mastiffs that
have been driven from their holds, and are waiting for a favorable
opportunity of renewing them. We shall profit by this pause to
relate the manner in which the Indians had obtained possession of
the castle, and this the more willingly because it may be necessary
to explain to the reader why a conflict which had been so close
and fierce, should have also been so comparatively bloodless.
Rivenoak and his companion, particularly the latter who had appeared
to be a subordinate and occupied solely with his raft, had made
the closest observations in their visits to the castle. Even the
boy had brought away minute and valuable information. By these
means the Hurons obtained a general idea of the manner in which
the place was constructed and secured, as well as of details that
enabled them to act intelligently in the dark. Notwithstanding
the care that Hutter had taken to drop the Ark on the east side of
the building when he was in the act of transferring the furniture
from the former to the latter, he had been watched in a way to
render the precaution useless. Scouts were on the look-out on the
eastern as well as on the western shore of the lake, and the whole
proceeding had been noted. As soon as it was dark, rafts like that
already described approached from both shores to reconnoitre, and
the Ark had passed within fifty feet of one of them without its
being discovered; the men it held lying at their length on the
logs, so as to blend themselves and their slow moving machine with
the water. When these two sets of adventurers drew near the castle
they encountered each other, and after communicating their respective
observations, they unhesitatingly approached the building. As had
been expected, it was found empty. The rafts were immediately sent
for a reinforcement to the shore, and two of the savages remained
to profit by their situation. These men succeeded in getting on
the roof, and by removing some of the bark, in entering what might
be termed the garret. Here they were found by their companions.
Hatchets now opened a hole through the squared logs of the upper
floor, through which no less than eight of the most athletic of
the Indians dropped into the rooms beneath. Here they were left,
well supplied with arms and provisions, either to stand a siege, or
to make a sortie, as the case might require. The night was passed
in sleep, as is usual with Indians in a state of inactivity. The
returning day brought them a view of the approach of the Ark
through the loops, the only manner in which light and air were now
admitted, the windows being closed most effectually with plank,
rudely fashioned to fit. As soon as it was ascertained that the two
white men were about to enter by the trap, the chief who directed
the proceedings of the Hurons took his measures accordingly. He
removed all the arms from his own people, even to the knives, in
distrust of savage ferocity when awakened by personal injuries, and
he hid them where they could not be found without a search. Ropes
of bark were then prepared, and taking their stations in the three
different rooms, they all waited for the signal to fall upon their
intended captives. As soon as the party had entered the building,
men without replaced the bark of the roof, removed every sign of
their visit, with care, and then departed for the shore. It was
one of these who had dropped his moccasin, which he had not been
able to find again in the dark. Had the death of the girl been
known, it is probable nothing could have saved the lives of Hurry
and Hutter, but that event occurred after the ambush was laid, and
at a distance of several miles from the encampment near the castle.
Such were the means that had been employed to produce the state of
things we shall continue to describe.