"So deem'st thou - so each mortal deems
Of that which is from that which seems;
But other harvest here
Than that which peasant's scythe demands,
Was gather'd in by sterner hands,
With bayonet, blade, and spear."Scott, "The Field of Waterloo," V.i-6.
It exceeded Deerslayer's power to ascertain what had produced the
sudden pause in the movements of his enemies, until the fact was
revealed in the due course of events. He perceived that much agitation
prevailed among the women in particular, while the warriors rested
on their arms in a sort of dignified expectation. It was plain no
alarm was excited, though it was not equally apparent that a friendly
occurrence produced the delay. Rivenoak was evidently apprised of
all, and by a gesture of his arm he appeared to direct the circle
to remain unbroken, and for each person to await the issue in the
situation he or she then occupied. It required but a minute or
two to bring an explanation of this singular and mysterious pause,
which was soon terminated by the appearance of Judith on the exterior
of the line of bodies, and her ready admission within its circle.
If Deerslayer was startled by this unexpected arrival, well knowing
that the quick witted girl could claim none of that exemption from
the penalties of captivity that was so cheerfully accorded to her
feebler minded sister, he was equally astonished at the guise in
which she came. All her ordinary forest attire, neat and becoming
as this usually was, had been laid aside for the brocade that
has been already mentioned, and which had once before wrought so
great and magical an effect in her appearance. Nor was this all.
Accustomed to see the ladies of the garrison in the formal, gala
attire of the day, and familiar with the more critical niceties
of these matters, the girl had managed to complete her dress in a
way to leave nothing strikingly defective in its details, or even
to betray an incongruity that would have been detected by one
practised in the mysteries of the toilet. Head, feet, arms, hands,
bust, and drapery, were all in harmony, as female attire was then
deemed attractive and harmonious, and the end she aimed at, that
of imposing on the uninstructed senses of the savages, by causing
them to believe their guest was a woman of rank and importance,
might well have succeeded with those whose habits had taught them
to discriminate between persons. Judith, in addition to her rare
native beauty, had a singular grace of person, and her mother had
imparted enough of her own deportment to prevent any striking or
offensive vulgarity of manner; so that, sooth to say, the gorgeous
dress might have been worse bestowed in nearly every particular.
Had it been displayed in a capital, a thousand might have worn it,
before one could have been found to do more credit to its gay colours,
glossy satins, and rich laces, than the beautiful creature whose
person it now aided to adorn. The effect of such an apparition had
not been miscalculated. The instant Judith found herself within the
circle, she was, in a degree, compensated for the fearful personal
risk she ran, by the unequivocal sensation of surprise and admiration
produced by her appearance. The grim old warriors uttered their
favorite exclamation "hugh!" The younger men were still more
sensibly overcome, and even the women were not backward in letting
open manifestations of pleasure escape them. It was seldom that
these untutored children of the forest had ever seen any white
female above the commonest sort, and, as to dress, never before had
so much splendor shone before their eyes. The gayest uniforms of
both French and English seemed dull compared with the lustre of the
brocade, and while the rare personal beauty of the wearer added to
the effect produced by its hues, the attire did not fail to adorn
that beauty in a way which surpassed even the hopes of its wearer.
Deerslayer himself was astounded, and this quite as much by the
brilliant picture the girl presented, as at the indifference to
consequences with which she had braved the danger of the step she
had taken. Under such circumstances, all waited for the visitor
to explain her object, which to most of the spectators seemed as
inexplicable as her appearance.
"Which of these warriors is the principal chief?" demanded Judith of
Deerslayer, as soon as she found it was expected that she should
open the communications; "my errand is too important to be delivered
to any of inferior rank. First explain to the Hurons what I say;
then give an answer to the question I have put."
Deerslayer quietly complied, his auditors greedily listening to the
interpretation of the first words that fell from so extraordinary
a vision. The demand seemed perfectly in character for one who
had every appearance of an exalted rank, herself. Rivenoak gave an
appropriate reply, by presenting himself before his fair visitor in
a way to leave no doubt that he was entitled to all the consideration
he claimed.
"I can believe this, Huron," resumed Judith, enacting her assumed
part with a steadiness and dignity that did credit to her powers of
imitation, for she strove to impart to her manner the condescending
courtesy she had once observed in the wife of a general officer,
at a similar though a more amicable scene: "I can believe you to
be the principal person of this party; I see in your countenance
the marks of thought and reflection. To you, then, I must make my
communication."
"Let the Flower of the Woods speak," returned the old chief
courteously, as soon as her address had been translated so that all
might understand it - "If her words are as pleasant as her looks,
they will never quit my ears; I shall hear them long after the winter
of Canada has killed all the flowers, and frozen all the speeches
of summer."
This admiration was grateful to one constituted like Judith, and
contributed to aid her self-possession, quite as much as it fed
her vanity. Smiling involuntarily, or in spite of her wish to seem
reserved, she proceeded in her plot.
"Now, Huron," she continued, "listen to my words. Your eyes tell
you that I am no common woman. I will not say I am queen of this
country; she is afar off, in a distant land; but under our gracious
monarchs, there are many degrees of rank; one of these I fill. What
that rank is precisely, it is unnecessary for me to say, since you
would not understand it. For that information you must trust your
eyes. You see what I am; you must feel that in listening to my
words, you listen to one who can be your friend, or your enemy, as
you treat her."
This was well uttered, with a due attention to manner and a
steadiness of tone that was really surprising, considering all the
circumstances of the case. It was well, though simply rendered
into the Indian dialect too, and it was received with a respect
and gravity that augured favourably for the girl's success. But
Indian thought is not easily traced to its sources. Judith waited
with anxiety to hear the answer, filled with hope even while she
doubted. Rivenoak was a ready speaker, and he answered as promptly
as comported with the notions of Indian decorum; that peculiar
people seeming to think a short delay respectful, inasmuch as it
manifests that the words already heard have been duly weighed.
"My daughter is handsomer than the wild roses of Ontario; her
voice is pleasant to the ear as the song of the wren," answered
the cautious and wily chief, who of all the band stood alone in not
being fully imposed on by the magnificent and unusual appearance
of Judith; but who distrusted even while he wondered: "the humming
bird is not much larger than the bee; yet, its feathers are as gay
as the tail of the peacock. The Great Spirit sometimes puts very
bright clothes on very little animals. Still He covers the Moose
with coarse hair. These things are beyond the understanding of
poor Indians, who can only comprehend what they see and hear. No
doubt my daughter has a very large wigwam somewhere about the lake;
the Hurons have not found it, on account of their ignorance?"
"I have told you, chief, that it would be useless to state my rank
and residence, in as much as you would not comprehend them. You
must trust to your eyes for this knowledge; what red man is there
who cannot see? This blanket that I wear is not the blanket of a
common squaw; these ornaments are such as the wives and daughters
of chiefs only appear in. Now, listen and hear why I have come
alone among your people, and hearken to the errand that has brought
me here. The Yengeese have young men, as well as the Hurons; and
plenty of them, too; this you well know."
"The Yengeese are as plenty as the leaves on the trees! This every
Huron knows, and feels."
"I understand you, chief. Had I brought a party with me, it might
have caused trouble. My young men and your young men would have
looked angrily at each other; especially had my young men seen that
pale-face bound for the torture. He is a great hunter, and is much
loved by all the garrisons, far and near. There would have been
blows about him, and the trail of the Iroquois back to the Canadas
would have been marked with blood."
"There is so much blood on it, now," returned the chief, gloomily,
"that it blinds our eyes. My young men see that it is all Huron."
"No doubt; and more Huron blood would be spilt had I come surrounded
with pale-faces. I have heard of Rivenoak, and have thought it
would be better to send him back in peace to his village, that he
might leave his women and children behind him; if he then wished
to come for our scalps, we would meet him. He loves animals made
of ivory, and little rifles. See; I have brought some with me to
show him. I am his friend. When he has packed up these things
among his goods, he will start for his village, before any of my
young men can overtake him, and then he will show his people in
Canada what riches they can come to seek, now that our great fathers,
across the Salt Lake, have sent each other the war hatchet. I will
lead back with me this great hunter, of whom I have need to keep
my house in venison."
Judith, who was sufficiently familiar with Indian phraseology,
endeavored to express her ideas in the sententious manner common to
those people, and she succeeded even beyond her own expectations.
Deerslayer did her full justice in the translation, and this so much
the more readily, since the girl carefully abstained from uttering
any direct untruth; a homage she paid to the young man's known aversion
to falsehood, which he deemed a meanness altogether unworthy of a
white man's gifts. The offering of the two remaining elephants,
and of the pistols already mentioned, one of which was all the worse
for the recent accident, produced a lively sensation among the Hurons,
generally, though Rivenoak received it coldly, notwithstanding the
delight with which he had first discovered the probable existence
of a creature with two tails. In a word, this cool and sagacious
savage was not so easily imposed on as his followers, and with a
sentiment of honor that half the civilized world would have deemed
supererogatory, he declined the acceptance of a bribe that he felt
no disposition to earn by a compliance with the donor's wishes.
"Let my daughter keep her two-tailed hog, to eat when venison
is scarce," he drily answered, "and the little gun, which has two
muzzles. The Hurons will kill deer when they are hungry, and they
have long rifles to fight with. This hunter cannot quit my young
men now; they wish to know if he is as stouthearted as he boasts
himself to be."
"That I deny, Huron -" interrupted Deerslayer, with warmth - "Yes,
that I downright deny, as ag'in truth and reason. No man has heard
me boast, and no man shall, though ye flay me alive, and then roast
the quivering flesh, with your own infarnal devices and cruelties!
I may be humble, and misfortunate, and your prisoner; but I'm no
boaster, by my very gifts."
"My young pale-face boasts he is no boaster," returned the crafty
chief: "he must be right. I hear a strange bird singing. It has
very rich feathers. No Huron ever before saw such feathers! They
will be ashamed to go back to their village, and tell their people
that they let their prisoner go on account of the song of this
strange bird and not be able to give the name of the bird. They
do not know how to say whether it is a wren, or a cat bird. This
would be a great disgrace; my young men would not be allowed to
travel in the woods without taking their mothers with them, to tell
them the names of the birds!"
"You can ask my name of your prisoner," returned the girl. "It is
Judith; and there is a great deal of the history of Judith in the
pale-face's best book, the Bible. If I am a bird of fine feathers,
I have also my name."
"No," answered the wily Huron, betraying the artifice he had so long
practised, by speaking in English with tolerable accuracy, "I not
ask prisoner. He tired; he want rest. I ask my daughter, with
feeble mind. She speak truth. Come here, daughter; you answer.
Your name, Hetty?"
"Yes, that's what they call me," returned the girl, "though it's
written Esther in the Bible."
"He write him in bible, too! All write in bible. No matter- what
her name?"
"That's Judith, and it's so written in the Bible, though father
sometimes called her Jude. That's my sister Judith. Thomas Hutter's
daughter -Thomas Hutter, whom you called the Muskrat; though he
was no muskrat, but a man like yourselves - he lived in a house on
the water, and that was enough for you."
A smile of triumph gleamed on the hard wrinkled countenance of the
chief, when he found how completely his appeal to the truth-loving
Hetty had succeeded. As for Judith, herself, the moment her sister
was questioned, she saw that all was lost; for no sign, or even
intreaty could have induced the right feeling girl to utter a
falsehood. To attempt to impose a daughter of the Muskrat on the
savages as a princess, or a great lady, she knew would be idle,
and she saw her bold and ingenious expedient for liberating the
captive fail, through one of the simplest and most natural causes
that could be imagined. She turned her eye on Deerslayer, therefore,
as if imploring him to interfere to save them both.
"It will not do, Judith," said the young man, in answer to this
appeal, which he understood, though he saw its uselessness; "it
will not do. 'Twas a bold idea, and fit for a general's lady, but
yonder Mingo" Rivenoak had withdrawn to a little distance, and was
out of earshot - "but yonder Mingo is an oncommon man, and not to
be deceived by any unnat'ral sarcumvention. Things must come afore
him in their right order, to draw a cloud afore his eyes! Twas
too much to attempt making him fancy that a queen, or a great lady,
lived in these mountains, and no doubt he thinks the fine clothes
you wear is some of the plunder of your own father - or, at least,
of him who once passed for your father; as quite likely it was, if
all they say is true."
"At all events, Deerslayer, my presence here will save you for a
time. They will hardly attempt torturing you before my face!"
"Why not, Judith? Do you think they will treat a woman of the
pale faces more tenderly than they treat their own? It's true that
your sex will most likely save you from the torments, but it will
not save your liberty, and may not save your scalp. I wish you had
not come, my good Judith; it can do no good to me, while it may do
great harm to yourself."
"I can share your fate," the girl answered with generous enthusiasm.
"They shall not injure you while I stand by, if in my power to
prevent it -besides -"
"Besides, what, Judith? What means have you to stop Injin cruelties,
or to avart Injin deviltries?"
"None, perhaps, Deerslayer," answered the girl, with firmness, "but
I can suffer with my friends - die with them if necessary."
"Ah! Judith - suffer you may; but die you will not, until the
Lord's time shall come. It's little likely that one of your sex
and beauty will meet with a harder fate than to become the wife
of a chief, if, indeed your white inclinations can stoop to match
with an Injin. 'Twould have been better had you staid in the Ark,
or the castle, but what has been done, is done. You was about to
say something, when you stopped at 'besides'?"
"It might not be safe to mention it here, Deerslayer," the girl
hurriedly answered, moving past him carelessly, that she might speak
in a lower tone; "half an hour is all in all to us. None of your
friends are idle."
The hunter replied merely by a grateful look. Then he turned
towards his enemies, as if ready again to face their torments. A
short consultation had passed among the elders of the band, and by
this time they also were prepared with their decision. The merciful
purpose of Rivenoak had been much weakened by the artifice of
Judith, which, failing of its real object, was likely to produce
results the very opposite of those she had anticipated. This was
natural; the feeling being aided by the resentment of an Indian who
found how near he had been to becoming the dupe of an inexperienced
girl. By this time, Judith's real character was fully understood,
the wide spread reputation of her beauty contributing to the
exposure. As for the unusual attire, it was confounded with the
profound mystery of the animals with two tails, and for the moment
lost its influence.
When Rivenoak, therefore, faced the captive again, it was with
an altered countenance. He had abandoned the wish of saving him,
and was no longer disposed to retard the more serious part of the
torture. This change of sentiment was, in effect, communicated to
the young men, who were already eagerly engaged in making their
preparations for the contemplated scene. Fragments of dried wood
were rapidly collected near the sapling, the splinters which it
was intended to thrust into the flesh of the victim, previously to
lighting, were all collected, and the thongs were already produced
that were again to bind him to the tree. All this was done in
profound silence, Judith watching every movement with breathless
expectation, while Deerslayer himself stood seemingly as unmoved as
one of the pines of the hills. When the warriors advanced to bind
him, however, the young man glanced at Judith, as if to enquire
whether resistance or submission were most advisable. By a significant
gesture she counselled the last, and, in a minute, he was once more
fastened to the tree, a helpless object of any insult, or wrong,
that might be offered. So eagerly did every one now act, that
nothing was said. The fire was immediately lighted in the pile,
and the end of all was anxiously expected.
It was not the intention of the Hurons absolutely to destroy the
life of their victim by means of fire. They designed merely to
put his physical fortitude to the severest proofs it could endure,
short of that extremity. In the end, they fully intended to carry
his scalp with them into their village, but it was their wish
first to break down his resolution, and to reduce him to the level
of a complaining sufferer. With this view, the pile of brush and
branches had been placed at a proper distance, or, one at which
it was thought the heat would soon become intolerable, though it
might not be immediately dangerous. As often happened, however,
on these occasions, this distance had been miscalculated, and the
flames began to wave their forked tongues in a proximity to the face
of the victim, that would have proved fatal, in another instant,
had not Hetty rushed through the crowd, armed with a stick, and
scattered the blazing pile in a dozen directions. More than one
hand was raised to strike this presumptuous intruder to the earth,
but the chiefs prevented the blows, by reminding their irritated
followers of the state of her mind. Hetty, herself, was insensible
to the risk she ran, but, as soon as she had performed this bold
act, she stood looking about her, in frowning resentment, as if to
rebuke the crowd of attentive savages for their cruelty.
"God bless you, dearest sister, for that brave and ready act!"
murmured Judith, herself unnerved so much as to be incapable of
exertion -"Heaven, itself, has sent you on its holy errand."
"'Twas well meant, Judith -" rejoined the victim - "'twas excellently
meant, and 'twas timely; though it may prove ontimely in the ind!
What is to come to pass, must come to pass soon, or 'twill quickly
be too late. Had I drawn in one mouthful of that flame in breathing,
the power of man could not save my life, and you see that, this
time, they've so bound my forehead, as not to leave my head the
smallest chance. 'Twas well meant, but it might have been more
marciful to let the flames act their part."
"Cruel, heartless Hurons!" exclaimed the still indignant Hetty -
"Would you burn a man and a Christian, as you would burn a log of
wood! Do you never read your Bibles? Or do you think God will
forget such things?"
A gesture from Rivenoak caused the scattered brands to be collected.
Fresh wood was brought, even the women and children busying themselves
eagerly, in the gathering of dried sticks. The flame was just
kindling a second time, when an Indian female pushed through the
circle, advanced to the heap, and with her foot dashed aside the
lighted twigs in time to prevent the conflagration. A yell followed
this second disappointment, but when the offender turned towards
the circle, and presented the countenance of Hist, it was succeeded
by a common exclamation of pleasure and surprise. For a minute,
all thought of pursuing the business in hand was forgotten. Young
and old crowded around the girl, in haste to demand an explanation
of her sudden and unlooked-for return. It was at this critical
instant that Hist spoke to Judith in a low voice, placed some small
object unseen in her hand, and then turned to meet the salutations
of the Huron girls, with whom she was personally a great favorite.
Judith recovered her self possession, and acted promptly. The
small, keen edged knife that Hist had given to the other, was
passed by the latter into the hands of Hetty, as the safest and
least suspected medium of transferring it to Deerslayer. But the
feeble intellect of the last defeated the well-grounded hopes of
all three. Instead of first cutting loose the hands of the victim,
and then concealing the knife in his clothes, in readiness for
action at the most available instant, she went to work herself,
with earnestness and simplicity, to cut the thongs that bound his
head, that he might not again be in danger of inhaling flames. Of
course this deliberate procedure was seen, and the hands of Hetty
were arrested, ere she had more than liberated the upper portion of
the captive's body, not including his arms below the elbows. This
discovery at once pointed distrust towards Hist, and to Judith's
surprise, when questioned on the subject, that spirited girl was
not disposed to deny her agency in what had passed.
"Why should I not help the Deerslayer?" the girl demanded, in the
tones of a firm minded woman. "He is the brother of a Delaware
chief; my heart is all Delaware. Come forth, miserable Briarthorn,
and wash the Iroquois paint from your face; stand before the Hurons
the crow that you are. You would eat the carrion of your own dead,
rather than starve. Put him face to face with Deerslayer, chiefs
and warriors; I will show you how great a knave you have been
keeping in your tribe."
This bold language, uttered in their own dialect and with a manner
full of confidence, produced a deep sensation among the Hurons.
Treachery is always liable to distrust, and though the recreant
Briarthorn had endeavoured to serve the enemy well, his exertions
and assiduities had gained for him little more than toleration. His
wish to obtain Hist for a wife had first induced him to betray her,
and his own people, but serious rivals to his first project had
risen up among his new friends, weakening still more their
sympathies with treason. In a word, Briarthorn had been barely
permitted to remain in the Huron encampment, where he was as closely
and as jealously watched as Hist, herself, seldom appearing before
the chiefs, and sedulously keeping out of view of Deerslayer, who,
until this moment, was ignorant even of his presence. Thus summoned,
however, it was impossible to remain in the back ground. "Wash the
Iroquois paint from his face," he did not, for when he stood in the
centre of the circle, he was so disguised in these new colours, that
at first, the hunter did not recognise him. He assumed an air of
defiance, notwithstanding, and haughtily demanded what any could say
against "Briarthorn."
"Ask yourself that," continued Hist with spirit, though her manner
grew less concentrated, and there was a slight air of abstraction
that became observable to Deerslayer and Judith, if to no others
-"Ask that of your own heart, sneaking woodchuck of the Delawares;
come not here with the face of an innocent man. Go look into the
spring; see the colours of your enemies on your lying skin; then
come back and boast how you run from your tribe and took the blanket
of the French for your covering! Paint yourself as bright as the
humming bird, you will still be black as the crow!"
Hist had been so uniformly gentle, while living with the Hurons,
that they now listened to her language with surprise. As for the
delinquent, his blood boiled in his veins, and it was well for the
pretty speaker that it was not in his power to execute the revenge
he burned to inflict on her, in spite of his pretended love.
"Who wishes Briarthorn?" he sternly asked - "If this pale-face is
tired of life, if afraid of Indian torments, speak, Rivenoak; I
will send him after the warriors we have lost."
"No, chiefs - no, Rivenoak -" eagerly interrupted Hist - "Deerslayer
fears nothing; least of all a crow! Unbind him - cut his withes,
place him face to face with this cawing bird; then let us see which
is tired of life!"
Hist made a forward movement, as if to take a knife from a young
man, and perform the office she had mentioned in person, but an aged
warrior interposed, at a sign from Rivenoak. This chief watched
all the girl did with distrust, for, even while speaking in her
most boastful language, and in the steadiest manner, there was an
air of uncertainty and expectation about her, that could not escape
so close an observer. She acted well; but two or three of the old
men were equally satisfied that it was merely acting. Her proposal
to release Deerslayer, therefore, was rejected, and the disappointed
Hist found herself driven back from the sapling, at the very moment
she fancied herself about to be successful. At the same time, the
circle, which had got to be crowded and confused, was enlarged, and
brought once more into order. Rivenoak now announced the intention
of the old men again to proceed, the delay having continued long
enough, and leading to no result.
"Stop Huron - stay chiefs! -" exclaimed Judith, scarce knowing
what she said, or why she interposed, unless to obtain time. "For
God's sake, a single minute longer -"
The words were cut short, by another and a still more extraordinary
interruption. A young Indian came bounding through the Huron ranks,
leaping into the very centre of the circle, in a way to denote the
utmost confidence, or a temerity bordering on foolhardiness. Five
or six sentinels were still watching the lake at different and
distant points, and it was the first impression of Rivenoak that one
of these had come in, with tidings of import. Still the movements
of the stranger were so rapid, and his war dress, which scarcely
left him more drapery than an antique statue, had so little
distinguishing about it, that, at the first moment, it was impossible
to ascertain whether he were friend or foe. Three leaps carried
this warrior to the side of Deerslayer, whose withes were cut in the
twinkling of an eye, with a quickness and precision that left the
prisoner perfect master of his limbs. Not till this was effected
did the stranger bestow a glance on any other object; then he
turned and showed the astonished Hurons the noble brow, fine person,
and eagle eye, of a young warrior, in the paint and panoply of a
Delaware. He held a rifle in each hand, the butts of both resting
on the earth, while from one dangled its proper pouch and horn.
This was Killdeer which, even as he looked boldly and in defiance
at the crowd around him, he suffered to fall back into the hands
of its proper owner. The presence of two armed men, though it was
in their midst, startled the Hurons. Their rifles were scattered
about against the different trees, and their only weapons were
their knives and tomahawks. Still they had too much self-possession
to betray fear. It was little likely that so small a force would
assail so strong a band, and each man expected some extraordinary
proposition to succeed so decisive a step. The stranger did not
seem disposed to disappoint them; he prepared to speak.
"Hurons," he said, "this earth is very big. The Great Lakes are
big, too; there is room beyond them for the Iroquois; there is
room for the Delawares on this side. I am Chingachgook the Son
of Uncas; the kinsman of Tamenund. This is my betrothed; that
pale-face is my friend. My heart was heavy, when I missed him;
I followed him to your camp, to see that no harm happened to him.
All the Delaware girls are waiting for Wah; they wonder that she
stays away so long. Come, let us say farewell, and go on our path."
"Hurons, this is your mortal enemy, the Great Serpent of them you
hate!" cried Briarthorn. "If he escape, blood will be in your
moccasin prints, from this spot to the Canadas. I am all Huron!"
As the last words were uttered, the traitor cast his knife at the
naked breast of the Delaware. A quick movement of the arm, on the
part of Hist, who stood near, turned aside the blow, the dangerous
weapon burying its point in a pine. At the next instant, a similar
weapon glanced from the hand of the Serpent, and quivered in the
recreant's heart. A minute had scarcely elapsed from the moment
in which Chingachgook bounded into the circle, and that in which
Briarthorn fell, like a log, dead in his tracks. The rapidity of
events had prevented the Hurons from acting; but this catastrophe
permitted no farther delay. A common exclamation followed, and
the whole party was in motion. At this instant a sound unusual to
the woods was heard, and every Huron, male and female, paused to
listen, with ears erect and faces filled with expectation. The sound
was regular and heavy, as if the earth were struck with beetles.
Objects became visible among the trees of the background, and a
body of troops was seen advancing with measured tread. They came
upon the charge, the scarlet of the King's livery shining among
the bright green foliage of the forest.
The scene that followed is not easily described. It was one in which
wild confusion, despair, and frenzied efforts, were so blended as
to destroy the unity and distinctness of the action. A general
yell burst from the enclosed Hurons; it was succeeded by the hearty
cheers of England. Still not a musket or rifle was fired, though
that steady, measured tramp continued, and the bayonet was seen
gleaming in advance of a line that counted nearly sixty men. The
Hurons were taken at a fearful disadvantage. On three sides was
the water, while their formidable and trained foes cut them off
from flight on the fourth. Each warrior rushed for his arms, and
then all on the point, man, woman and child, eagerly sought the
covers. In this scene of confusion and dismay, however, nothing
could surpass the discretion and coolness of Deerslayer. His first
care was to place Judith and Hist behind trees, and he looked for
Hetty; but she had been hurried away in the crowd of Huron women.
This effected, he threw himself on a flank of the retiring Hurons,
who were inclining off towards the southern margin of the point,
in the hope of escaping through the water. Deerslayer watched his
opportunity, and finding two of his recent tormentors in a range,
his rifle first broke the silence of the terrific scene. The bullet
brought down both at one discharge. This drew a general fire from
the Hurons, and the rifle and war cry of the Serpent were heard in
the clamor. Still the trained men returned no answering volley,
the whoop and piece of Hurry alone being heard on their side,
if we except the short, prompt word of authority, and that heavy,
measured and menacing tread. Presently, however, the shrieks,
groans, and denunciations that usually accompany the use of the
bayonet followed. That terrible and deadly weapon was glutted in
vengeance. The scene that succeeded was one of those of which so
many have occurred in our own times, in which neither age nor sex
forms an exemption to the lot of a savage warfare.