Chapter: "Come, shall we go and kill us venison?
    And yet it irks me, the poor dappled foals,--
    Being native burghers of this desert city,--
    Should, in their own confines, with forked heads
    Have their round haunches gored."

    As You Like It, II.i.21-25

Hurry Harry thought more of the beauties of Judith Hutter than of those
of the Glimmerglass and its accompanying scenery. As soon as he had
taken a sufficiently intimate survey of floating Tom's implements,
therefore, he summoned his companion to the canoe, that they might go
down the lake in quest of the family. Previously to embarking, however,
Hurry carefully examined the whole of the northern end of the water with
an indifferent ship's glass, that formed a part of Hutter's effects. In
this scrutiny, no part of the shore was overlooked; the bays and points
in particular being subjected to a closer inquiry than the rest of the
wooded boundary.

"'Tis as I thought," said Hurry, laying aside the glass, "the old fellow
is drifting about the south end this fine weather, and has left the
castle to defend itself. Well, now we know that he is not up this-a-way,
'twill be but a small matter to paddle down and hunt him up in his
hiding-place."

"Does Master Hutter think it necessary to burrow on this lake?" inquired
Deerslayer, as he followed his companion into the canoe; "to my eye it
is such a solitude as one might open his whole soul in, and fear no one
to disarrange his thoughts or his worship."

"You forget your friends the Mingos, and all the French savages. Is
there a spot on 'arth, Deerslayer, to which them disquiet rogues don't
go? Where is the lake, or even the deer lick, that the blackguards don't
find out, and having found out, don't, sooner or later, discolour its
water with blood."

"I hear no good character of 'em, sartainly, friend Hurry, though I've
never been called on, yet, to meet them, or any other mortal, on the
warpath. I dare to say that such a lovely spot as this, would not be
likely to be overlooked by such plunderers, for, though I've not been
in the way of quarreling with them tribes myself, the Delawares give
me such an account of 'em that I've pretty much set 'em down in my own
mind, as thorough miscreants."

"You may do that with a safe conscience, or for that matter, any other
savage you may happen to meet."

Here Deerslayer protested, and as they went paddling down the lake, a
hot discussion was maintained concerning the respective merits of
the pale-faces and the red-skins. Hurry had all the prejudices and
antipathies of a white hunter, who generally regards the Indian as a
sort of natural competitor, and not unfrequently as a natural enemy.
As a matter of course, he was loud, clamorous, dogmatical and not
very argumentative. Deerslayer, on the other hand, manifested a very
different temper, proving by the moderation of his language, the
fairness of his views, and the simplicity of his distinctions, that he
possessed every disposition to hear reason, a strong, innate desire to
do justice, and an ingenuousness that was singularly indisposed to have
recourse to sophism to maintain an argument; or to defend a prejudice.
Still he was not altogether free from the influence of the latter
feeling. This tyrant of the human mind, which ruses on it prey through
a thousand avenues, almost as soon as men begin to think and feel, and
which seldom relinquishes its iron sway until they cease to do
either, had made some impression on even the just propensities of this
individual, who probably offered in these particulars, a fair specimen
of what absence from bad example, the want of temptation to go wrong,
and native good feeling can render youth.

"You will allow, Deerslayer, that a Mingo is more than half devil,"
cried Hurry, following up the discussion with an animation that touched
closely on ferocity, "though you want to over-persuade me that the
Delaware tribe is pretty much made up of angels. Now, I gainsay that
proposal, consarning white men, even. All white men are not faultless,
and therefore all Indians can't be faultless. And so your argument is
out at the elbow in the start. But this is what I call reason. Here's
three colors on 'arth: white, black, and red. White is the highest
color, and therefore the best man; black comes next, and is put to live
in the neighborhood of the white man, as tolerable, and fit to be made
use of; and red comes last, which shows that those that made 'em never
expected an Indian to be accounted as more than half human."

"God made all three alike, Hurry."

"Alike! Do you call a nigger like a white man, or me like an Indian?"

"You go off at half-cock, and don't hear me out. God made us all, white,
black, and red; and, no doubt, had his own wise intentions in coloring
us differently. Still, he made us, in the main, much the same in
feelin's; though I'll not deny that he gave each race its gifts. A
white man's gifts are Christianized, while a red-skin's are more for the
wilderness. Thus, it would be a great offence for a white man to scalp
the dead; whereas it's a signal vartue in an Indian. Then ag'in, a white
man cannot amboosh women and children in war, while a red-skin may. 'Tis
cruel work, I'll allow; but for them it's lawful work; while for us, it
would be grievous work."

"That depends on your inimy. As for scalping, or even skinning a savage,
I look upon them pretty much the same as cutting off the ears of wolves
for the bounty, or stripping a bear of its hide. And then you're out
significantly, as to taking the poll of a red-skin in hand, seeing that
the very colony has offered a bounty for the job; all the same as it
pays for wolves' ears and crows' heads."

"Ay, and a bad business it is, Hurry. Even the Indians themselves cry
shame on it, seeing it's ag'in a white man's gifts. I do not pretend
that all that white men do, is properly Christianized, and according
to the lights given them, for then they would be what they ought to be;
which we know they are not; but I will maintain that tradition, and use,
and color, and laws, make such a difference in races as to amount to
gifts. I do not deny that there are tribes among the Indians that are
nat'rally pervarse and wicked, as there are nations among the whites.
Now, I account the Mingos as belonging to the first, and the Frenchers,
in the Canadas, to the last. In a state of lawful warfare, such as
we have lately got into, it is a duty to keep down all compassionate
feelin's, so far as life goes, ag'in either; but when it comes to
scalps, it's a very different matter."

"Just hearken to reason, if you please, Deerslayer, and tell me if the
colony can make an onlawful law? Isn't an onlawful law more ag'in natur'
than scalpin' a savage? A law can no more be onlawful, than truth can be
a lie."

"That sounds reasonable; but it has a most onreasonable bearing, Hurry.
Laws don't all come from the same quarter. God has given us his'n, and
some come from the colony, and others come from the King and Parliament.
When the colony's laws, or even the King's laws, run ag'in the laws of
God, they get to be onlawful, and ought not to be obeyed. I hold to
a white man's respecting white laws, so long as they do not cross the
track of a law comin' from a higher authority; and for a red man to obey
his own red-skin usages, under the same privilege. But, 't is useless
talking, as each man will think fir himself, and have his say agreeable
to his thoughts. Let us keep a good lookout for your friend Floating
Tom, lest we pass him, as he lies hidden under this bushy shore."

Deerslayer had not named the borders of the lake amiss. Along their
whole length, the smaller trees overhung the water, with their branches
often dipping in the transparent element. The banks were steep, even from
the narrow strand; and, as vegetation invariably struggles towards
the light, the effect was precisely that at which the lover of the
picturesque would have aimed, had the ordering of this glorious setting
of forest been submitted to his control. The points and bays, too, were
sufficiently numerous to render the outline broken and diversified. As
the canoe kept close along the western side of the lake, with a view,
as Hurry had explained to his companion, of reconnoitering for enemies,
before he trusted himself too openly in sight, the expectations of the
two adventurers were kept constantly on the stretch, as neither could
foretell what the next turning of a point might reveal. Their progress
was swift, the gigantic strength of Hurry enabling him to play with the
light bark as if it had been a feather, while the skill of his companion
almost equalized their usefulness, notwithstanding the disparity in
natural means.

Each time the canoe passed a point, Hurry turned a look behind him,
expecting to see the "ark" anchored, or beached in the bay. He was
fated to be disappointed, however; and they had got within a mile of the
southern end of the lake, or a distance of quite two leagues from the
"castle," which was now hidden from view by half a dozen intervening
projections of the land, when he suddenly ceased paddling, as if
uncertain in what direction next to steer.

"It is possible that the old chap has dropped into the river," said
Hurry, after looking carefully along the whole of the eastern shore,
which was about a mile distant, and open to his scrutiny for more than
half its length; "for he has taken to trapping considerable, of late,
and, barring flood-wood, he might drop down it a mile or so; though he
would have a most scratching time in getting back again!"

"Where is this outlet?" asked Deerslayer; "I see no opening in the
banks or the trees, that looks as if it would let a river like the
Susquehannah run through it."

"Ay, Deerslayer, rivers are like human mortals; having small beginnings,
and ending with broad shoulders and wide mouths. You don't see the
outlet, because it passes atween high, steep banks; and the pines, and
hemlocks and bass-woods hang over it, as a roof hangs over a house. If
old Tom is not in the 'Rat's Cove,' he must have burrowed in the river;
we'll look for him first in the cove, and then we'll cross to the
outlet."

As they proceeded, Hurry explained that there was a shallow bay, formed
by a long, low point, that had got the name of the "Rat's Cove," from
the circumstance of its being a favorite haunt of the muskrat; and which
offered so complete a cover for the "ark," that its owner was fond of
lying in it, whenever he found it convenient.

"As a man never knows who may be his visitors, in this part of the
country," continued Hurry, "it's a great advantage to get a good look
at 'em afore they come too near. Now it's war, such caution is more than
commonly useful, since a Canada man or a Mingo might get into his hut
afore he invited 'em. But Hutter is a first-rate look-outer, and can
pretty much scent danger, as a hound scents the deer."

"I should think the castle so open, that it would be sartain to draw
inimies, if any happened to find the lake; a thing onlikely enough, I
will allow, as it's off the trail of the forts and settlements."

"Why, Deerslayer, I've got to believe that a man meets with inimies
easier than he meets with fri'nds. It's skearful to think for how many
causes one gets to be your inimy, and for how few your fri'nd. Some take
up the hatchet because you don't think just as they think; other some
because you run ahead of 'em in the same idees; and I once know'd a
vagabond that quarrelled with a fri'nd because he didn't think him
handsome. Now, you're no monument in the way of beauty, yourself,
Deerslayer, and yet you wouldn't be so onreasonable as to become my
inimy for just saying so."

"I'm as the Lord made me; and I wish to be accounted no better, nor any
worse. Good looks I may not have; that is to say, to a degree that the
light-minded and vain crave; but I hope I'm not altogether without some
ricommend in the way of good conduct. There's few nobler looking men to
be seen than yourself, Hurry; and I know that I am not to expect any to
turn their eyes on me, when such a one as you can be gazed on; but I
do not know that a hunter is less expart with the rifle, or less to be
relied on for food, because he doesn't wish to stop at every shining
spring he may meet, to study his own countenance in the water."

Here Hurry burst into a fit of loud laughter; for while he was too
reckless to care much about his own manifest physical superiority, he
was well aware of it, and, like most men who derive an advantage from
the accidents of birth or nature, he was apt to think complacently on
the subject, whenever it happened to cross his mind.

"No, no, Deerslayer, you're no beauty, as you will own yourself, if
you'll look over the side of the canoe," he cried; "Jude will say that
to your face, if you start her, for a tarter tongue isn't to be found in
any gal's head, in or out of the settlements, if you provoke her to use
it. My advice to you is, never to aggravate Judith; though you may tell
anything to Hetty, and she'll take it as meek as a lamb. No, Jude will
be just as like as not to tell you her opinion consarning your looks."

"And if she does, Hurry, she will tell me no more than you have said
already."

"You're not thick'ning up about a small remark, I hope, Deerslayer,
when no harm is meant. You are not a beauty, as you must know, and
why shouldn't fri'nds tell each other these little trifles? If you was
handsome, or ever like to be, I'd be one of the first to tell you of it;
and that ought to content you. Now, if Jude was to tell me that I'm as
ugly as a sinner, I'd take it as a sort of obligation, and try not to
believe her."

"It's easy for them that natur' has favored, to jest about such matters,
Hurry, though it is sometimes hard for others. I'll not deny but I've
had my cravings towards good looks; yes, I have; but then I've always
been able to get them down by considering how many I've known with fair
outsides, who have had nothing to boast of inwardly. I'll not deny,
Hurry, that I often wish I'd been created more comely to the eye, and
more like such a one as yourself in them particulars; but then I get the
feelin' under by remembering how much better off I am, in a great many
respects, than some fellow-mortals. I might have been born lame, and
onfit even for a squirrel-hunt, or blind, which would have made me a
burden on myself as well as on my fri'nds; or without hearing, which
would have totally onqualified me for ever campaigning or scouting;
which I look forward to as part of a man's duty in troublesome times.
Yes, yes; it's not pleasant, I will allow, to see them that's more
comely, and more sought a'ter, and honored than yourself; but it may
all be borne, if a man looks the evil in the face, and don't mistake his
gifts and his obligations."

Hurry, in the main, was a good-hearted as well as good-natured fellow;
and the self-abasement of his companion completely got the better of
the passing feeling of personal vanity. He regretted the allusion he
had made to the other's appearance, and endeavored to express as much,
though it was done in the uncouth manner that belonged to the habits and
opinions of the frontier.

"I meant no harm, Deerslayer," he answered, in a deprecating manner,
"and hope you'll forget what I've said. If you're not downright
handsome, you've a sartain look that says, plainer than any words, that
all's right within. Then you set no value by looks, and will the sooner
forgive any little slight to your appearance. I will not say that Jude
will greatly admire you, for that might raise hopes that would only
breed disapp'intment; but there's Hetty, now, would be just as likely
to find satisfaction in looking at you, as in looking at any other man.
Then you're altogether too grave and considerate-like, to care much
about Judith; for, though the gal is oncommon, she is so general in her
admiration, that a man need not be exalted because she happens to smile.
I sometimes think the hussy loves herself better than she does anything
else breathin'."

"If she did, Hurry, she'd do no more, I'm afeard, than most queens on
their thrones, and ladies in the towns," answered Deerslayer, smiling,
and turning back towards his companion with every trace of feeling
banished from his honest-looking and frank countenance. "I never yet
know'd even a Delaware of whom you might not say that much. But here is
the end of the long p'int you mentioned, and the 'Rat's Cove' can't be
far off."

This point, instead of thrusting itself forward, like all the others,
ran in a line with the main shore of the lake, which here swept within
it, in a deep and retired bay, circling round south again, at the
distance of a quarter of a mile, and crossed the valley, forming the
southern termination of the water. In this bay Hurry felt almost certain
of finding the ark, since, anchored behind the trees that covered the
narrow strip of the point, it might have lain concealed from prying eyes
an entire summer. So complete, indeed, was the cover, in this spot, that
a boat hauled close to the beach, within the point, and near the bottom
of the bay, could by any possibility be seen from only one direction;
and that was from a densely wooded shore within the sweep of the water,
where strangers would be little apt to go.

"We shall soon see the ark," said Hurry, as the canoe glided round
the extremity of the point, where the water was so deep as actually to
appear black; "he loves to burrow up among the rushes, and we shall be
in his nest in five minutes, although the old fellow may be off among
the traps himself."

March proved a false prophet. The canoe completely doubled the point, so
as to enable the two travellers to command a view of the whole cove or
bay, for it was more properly the last, and no object, but those that
nature had placed there, became visible. The placid water swept round
in a graceful curve, the rushes bent gently towards its surface, and
the trees overhung it as usual; but all lay in the soothing and sublime
solitude of a wilderness. The scene was such as a poet or an artist
would have delighted in, but it had no charm for Hurry Harry, who was
burning with impatience to get a sight of his light-minded beauty.

The motion of the canoe had been attended with little or no noise, the
frontiermen habitually getting accustomed to caution in most of their
movements, and it now lay on the glassy water appearing to float in air,
partaking of the breathing stillness that seemed to pervade the entire
scene. At this instant a dry stick was heard cracking on the narrow
strip of land that concealed the bay from the open lake. Both the
adventurers started, and each extended a hand towards his rifle, the
weapon never being out of reach of the arm.

"'Twas too heavy for any light creatur'," whispered Hurry, "and it
sounded like the tread of a man!"

"Not so--not so," returned Deerslayer; "'t was, as you say, too heavy
for one, but it was too light for the other. Put your paddle in the
water, and send the canoe in, to that log; I'll land and cut off the
creatur's retreat up the p'int, be it a Mingo, or be it a muskrat."

As Hurry complied, Deerslayer was soon on the shore, advancing into the
thicket with a moccasined foot, and a caution that prevented the least
noise. In a minute he was in the centre of the narrow strip of land,
and moving slowly down towards its end, the bushes rendering extreme
watchfulness necessary. Just as he reached the centre of the thicket
the dried twigs cracked again, and the noise was repeated at short
intervals, as if some creature having life walked slowly towards the
point. Hurry heard these sounds also, and pushing the canoe off into
the bay, he seized his rifle to watch the result. A breathless minute
succeeded, after which a noble buck walked out of the thicket, proceeded
with a stately step to the sandy extremity of the point, and began to
slake his thirst from the water of the lake. Hurry hesitated an instant;
then raising his rifle hastily to his shoulder, he took sight and fired.
The effect of this sudden interruption of the solemn stillness of such
a scene was not its least striking peculiarity. The report of the weapon
had the usual sharp, short sound of the rifle: but when a few moments
of silence had succeeded the sudden crack, during which the noise was
floating in air across the water, it reached the rocks of the opposite
mountain, where the vibrations accumulated, and were rolled from cavity
to cavity for miles along the hills, seeming to awaken the sleeping
thunders of the woods. The buck merely shook his head at the report of
the rifle and the whistling of the bullet, for never before had he come
in contact with man; but the echoes of the hills awakened his distrust,
and leaping forward, with his four legs drawn under his body, he fell
at once into deep water, and began to swim towards the foot of the lake.
Hurry shouted and dashed forward in chase, and for one or two minutes
the water foamed around the pursuer and the pursued. The former was
dashing past the point, when Deerslayer appeared on the sand and signed
to him to return.

"'Twas inconsiderate to pull a trigger, afore we had reconn'itred the
shore, and made sartain that no inimies harbored near it," said the
latter, as his companion slowly and reluctantly complied. "This much I
have l'arned from the Delawares, in the way of schooling and traditions,
even though I've never yet been on a war-path. And, moreover, venison
can hardly be called in season now, and we do not want for food. They
call me Deerslayer, I'll own, and perhaps I desarve the name, in the way
of understanding the creatur's habits, as well as for some sartainty in
the aim, but they can't accuse me of killing an animal when there is no
occasion for the meat, or the skin. I may be a slayer, it's true, but
I'm no slaughterer."

"'Twas an awful mistake to miss that buck!" exclaimed Hurry, doffing his
cap and running his fingers through his handsome but matted curls, as
if he would loosen his tangled ideas by the process. "I've not done so
onhandy a thing since I was fifteen."

"Never lament it, as the creatur's death could have done neither of us
any good, and might have done us harm. Them echoes are more awful in my
ears, than your mistake, Hurry, for they sound like the voice of natur'
calling out ag'in a wasteful and onthinking action."

"You'll hear plenty of such calls, if you tarry long in this quarter of
the world, lad," returned the other laughing. "The echoes repeat pretty
much all that is said or done on the Glimmerglass, in this calm summer
weather. If a paddle falls you hear of it sometimes, ag'in and ag'in,
as if the hills were mocking your clumsiness, and a laugh, or a whistle,
comes out of them pines, when they're in the humour to speak, in a way
to make you believe they can r'ally convarse."

"So much the more reason for being prudent and silent. I do not think
the inimy can have found their way into these hills yet, for I don't
know what they are to gain by it, but all the Delawares tell me that, as
courage is a warrior's first vartue, so is prudence his second. One such
call from the mountains, is enough to let a whole tribe into the secret
of our arrival."

"If it does no other good, it will warn old Tom to put the pot over, and
let him know visiters are at hand. Come, lad; get into the canoe, and we
will hunt the ark up, while there is yet day."

Deerslayer complied, and the canoe left the spot. Its head was turned
diagonally across the lake, pointing towards the south-eastern curvature
of the sheet. In that direction, the distance to the shore, or to the
termination of the lake, on the course the two were now steering, was
not quite a mile, and, their progress being always swift, it was fast
lessening under the skilful, but easy sweeps of the paddles. When about
half way across, a slight noise drew the eyes of the men towards the
nearest land, and they saw that the buck was just emerging from the lake
and wading towards the beach. In a minute, the noble animal shook the
water from his flanks, gazed up ward at the covering of trees, and,
bounding against the bank, plunged into the forest.

"That creatur' goes off with gratitude in his heart," said Deerslayer,
"for natur' tells him he has escaped a great danger. You ought to have
some of the same feelin's, Hurry, to think your eye wasn't true, or
that your hand was onsteady, when no good could come of a shot that was
intended onmeaningly rather than in reason."

"I deny the eye and the hand," cried March with some heat. "You've got
a little character, down among the Delawares, there, for quickness and
sartainty, at a deer, but I should like to see you behind one of them
pines, and a full painted Mingo behind another, each with a cock'd rifle
and a striving for the chance! Them's the situations, Nathaniel, to try
the sight and the hand, for they begin with trying the narves. I never
look upon killing a creatur' as an explite; but killing a savage is. The
time will come to try your hand, now we've got to blows ag'in, and we
shall soon know what a ven'son reputation can do in the field. I deny
that either hand or eye was onsteady; it was all a miscalculation of the
buck, which stood still when he ought to have kept in motion, and so I
shot ahead of him."

"Have it your own way, Hurry; all I contend for is, that it's lucky.
I dare say I shall not pull upon a human mortal as steadily or with as
light a heart, as I pull upon a deer."

"Who's talking of mortals, or of human beings at all, Deerslayer? I put
the matter to you on the supposition of an Injin. I dare say any man
would have his feelin's when it got to be life or death, ag'in another
human mortal; but there would be no such scruples in regard to an Injin;
nothing but the chance of his hitting you, or the chance of your hitting
him."

"I look upon the redmen to be quite as human as we are ourselves, Hurry.
They have their gifts, and their religion, it's true; but that makes no
difference in the end, when each will be judged according to his deeds,
and not according to his skin."

"That's downright missionary, and will find little favor up in this part
of the country, where the Moravians don't congregate. Now, skin makes
the man. This is reason; else how are people to judge of each other.
The skin is put on, over all, in order when a creatur', or a mortal, is
fairly seen, you may know at once what to make of him. You know a bear
from a hog, by his skin, and a gray squirrel from a black."

"True, Hurry," said the other looking back and smiling, "nevertheless,
they are both squirrels."

"Who denies it? But you'll not say that a red man and a white man are
both Injins?"

"But I do say they are both men. Men of different races and colors, and
having different gifts and traditions, but, in the main, with the same
natur'. Both have souls; and both will be held accountable for their
deeds in this life."

Hurry was one of those theorists who believed in the inferiority of all
the human race who were not white. His notions on the subject were
not very clear, nor were his definitions at all well settled; but his
opinions were none the less dogmatical or fierce. His conscience accused
him of sundry lawless acts against the Indians, and he had found it an
exceedingly easy mode of quieting it, by putting the whole family of
redmen, incontinently, without the category of human rights. Nothing
angered him sooner than to deny his proposition, more especially if the
denial were accompanied by a show of plausible argument; and he did not
listen to his companion's remarks with much composure of either manner
or feeling.

"You're a boy, Deerslayer, misled and misconsaited by Delaware arts, and
missionary ignorance," he exclaimed, with his usual indifference to the
forms of speech, when excited. "You may account yourself as a red-skin's
brother, but I hold'em all to be animals; with nothing human about 'em
but cunning. That they have, I'll allow; but so has a fox, or even a
bear. I'm older than you, and have lived longer in the woods--or, for
that matter, have lived always there, and am not to be told what an
Injin is or what he is not. If you wish to be considered a savage,
you've only to say so, and I'll name you as such to Judith and the old
man, and then we'll see how you'll like your welcome."

Here Hurry's imagination did his temper some service, since, by
conjuring up the reception his semi-aquatic acquaintance would be
likely to bestow on one thus introduced, he burst into a hearty fit
of laughter. Deerslayer too well knew the uselessness of attempting
to convince such a being of anything against his prejudices, to feel a
desire to undertake the task; and he was not sorry that the approach of
the canoe to the southeastern curve of the lake gave a new direction to
his ideas. They were now, indeed, quite near the place that March had
pointed out for the position of the outlet, and both began to look for
it with a curiosity that was increased by the expectation of the ark.

It may strike the reader as a little singular, that the place where a
stream of any size passed through banks that had an elevation of some
twenty feet, should be a matter of doubt with men who could not now have
been more than two hundred yards distant from the precise spot. It will
be recollected, however, that the trees and bushes here, as elsewhere,
fairly overhung the water, making such a fringe to the lake, as to
conceal any little variations from its general outline.

"I've not been down at this end of the lake these two summers," said
Hurry, standing up in the canoe, the better to look about him. "Ay,
there's the rock, showing its chin above the water, and I know that the
river begins in its neighborhood."

The men now plied the paddles again, and they were presently within a
few yards of the rock, floating towards it, though their efforts were
suspended. This rock was not large, being merely some five or six feet
high, only half of which elevation rose above the lake. The incessant
washing of the water for centuries had so rounded its summit, that it
resembled a large beehive in shape, its form being more than usually
regular and even. Hurry remarked, as they floated slowly past, that this
rock was well known to all the Indians in that part of the country, and
that they were in the practice of using it as a mark to designate the
place of meeting, when separated by their hunts and marches.

"And here is the river, Deerslayer," he continued, "though so shut in
by trees and bushes as to look more like an and-bush, than the outlet of
such a sheet as the Glimmerglass."

Hurry had not badly described the place, which did truly seem to be a
stream lying in ambush. The high banks might have been a hundred feet
asunder; but, on the western side, a small bit of low land extended so
far forward as to diminish the breadth of the stream to half that width.

As the bushes hung in the water beneath, and pines that had the stature
of church-steeples rose in tall columns above, all inclining towards the
light, until their branches intermingled, the eye, at a little distance,
could not easily detect any opening in the shore, to mark the egress of
the water. In the forest above, no traces of this outlet were to be seen
from the lake, the whole presenting the same connected and seemingly
interminable carpet of leaves. As the canoe slowly advanced, sucked in
by the current, it entered beneath an arch of trees, through which the
light from the heavens struggled by casual openings, faintly relieving
the gloom beneath.

"This is a nat'ral and-bush," half whispered Hurry, as if he felt that
the place was devoted to secrecy and watchfulness; "depend on it, old
Tom has burrowed with the ark somewhere in this quarter. We will drop
down with the current a short distance, and ferret him out."

"This seems no place for a vessel of any size," returned the other; "it
appears to me that we shall have hardly room enough for the canoe."

Hurry laughed at the suggestion, and, as it soon appeared, with reason;
for the fringe of bushes immediately on the shore of the lake was no
sooner passed, than the adventurers found themselves in a narrow stream,
of a sufficient depth of limpid water, with a strong current, and a
canopy of leaves upheld by arches composed of the limbs of hoary trees.
Bushes lined the shores, as usual, but they left sufficient space
between them to admit the passage of anything that did not exceed twenty
feet in width, and to allow of a perspective ahead of eight or ten times
that distance.

Neither of our two adventurers used his paddle, except to keep the light
bark in the centre of the current, but both watched each turning of the
stream, of which there were two or three within the first hundred yards,
with jealous vigilance. Turn after turn, however, was passed, and the
canoe had dropped down with the current some little distance, when Hurry
caught a bush, and arrested its movement so suddenly and silently as to
denote some unusual motive for the act. Deerslayer laid his hand on the
stock of his rifle as soon as he noted this proceeding, but it was quite
as much with a hunter's habit as from any feeling of alarm.

"There the old fellow is!" whispered Hurry, pointing with a finger, and
laughing heartily, though he carefully avoided making a noise, "ratting
it away, just as I supposed; up to his knees in the mud and water,
looking to the traps and the bait. But for the life of me I can see
nothing of the ark; though I'll bet every skin I take this season, Jude
isn't trusting her pretty little feet in the neighborhood of that black
mud. The gal's more likely to be braiding her hair by the side of some
spring, where she can see her own good looks, and collect scornful
feelings ag'in us men."

"You over-judge young women--yes, you do, Hurry--who as often bethink
them of their failings as they do of their perfections. I dare to say
this Judith, now, is no such admirer of herself, and no such scorner
of our sex as you seem to think; and that she is quite as likely to be
sarving her father in the house, wherever that may be, as he is to be
sarving her among the traps."

"It's a pleasure to hear truth from a man's tongue, if it be only once
in a girl's life," cried a pleasant, rich, and yet soft female voice, so
near the canoe as to make both the listeners start. "As for you, Master
Hurry, fair words are so apt to choke you, that I no longer expect to
hear them from your mouth; the last you uttered sticking in your throat,
and coming near to death. But I'm glad to see you keep better society
than formerly, and that they who know how to esteem and treat women are
not ashamed to journey in your company."

As this was said, a singularly handsome and youthful female face was
thrust through an opening in the leaves, within reach of Deerslayer's
paddle. Its owner smiled graciously on the young man; and the frown
that she cast on Hurry, though simulated and pettish, had the effect to
render her beauty more striking, by exhibiting the play of an expressive
but capricious countenance; one that seemed to change from the soft
to the severe, the mirthful to the reproving, with facility and
indifference.

A second look explained the nature of the surprise. Unwittingly, the men
had dropped alongside of the ark, which had been purposely concealed in
bushes cut and arranged for the purpose; and Judith Hutter had merely
pushed aside the leaves that lay before a window, in order to show her
face, and speak to them.




    "And that timid fawn starts not with fear,
    When I steal to her secret bower;
    And that young May violet to me is dear,
    And I visit the silent streamlet near,
    To look on the lovely flower."

    Bryant, "An Indian Story," ii.11-15

The ark, as the floating habitation of the Hutters was generally called,
was a very simple contrivance. A large flat, or scow, composed the
buoyant part of the vessel; and in its centre, occupying the whole of
its breadth, and about two thirds of its length, stood a low fabric,
resembling the castle in construction, though made of materials so light
as barely to be bullet-proof. As the sides of the scow were a little
higher than usual, and the interior of the cabin had no more elevation
than was necessary for comfort, this unusual addition had neither a very
clumsy nor a very obtrusive appearance. It was, in short, little more
than a modern canal-boat, though more rudely constructed, of greater
breadth than common, and bearing about it the signs of the wilderness,
in its bark-covered posts and roof. The scow, however, had been put
together with some skill, being comparatively light, for its strength,
and sufficiently manageable. The cabin was divided into two apartments,
one of which served for a parlor, and the sleeping-room of the father,
and the other was appropriated to the uses of the daughters. A very
simple arrangement sufficed for the kitchen, which was in one end of
the scow, and removed from the cabin, standing in the open air; the ark
being altogether a summer habitation.

The "and-bush," as Hurry in his ignorance of English termed it, is quite
as easily explained. In many parts of the lake and river, where the
banks were steep and high, the smaller trees and larger bushes, as has
been already mentioned, fairly overhung the stream, their branches not
unfrequently dipping into the water. In some instances they grew out
in nearly horizontal lines, for thirty or forty feet. The water being
uniformly deepest near the shores, where the banks were highest and the
nearest to a perpendicular, Hutter had found no difficulty in letting
the ark drop under one of these covers, where it had been anchored
with a view to conceal its position; security requiring some such
precautions, in his view of the case. Once beneath the trees and bushes,
a few stones fastened to the ends of the branches had caused them to
bend sufficiently to dip into the river; and a few severed bushes,
properly disposed, did the rest. The reader has seen that this cover was
so complete as to deceive two men accustomed to the woods, and who were
actually in search of those it concealed; a circumstance that will be
easily understood by those who are familiar with the matted and wild
luxuriance of a virgin American forest, more especially in a rich soil.
The discovery of the ark produced very different effects on our two
adventurers.

As soon as the canoe could be got round to the proper opening, Hurry
leaped on board, and in a minute was closely engaged in a gay, and a
sort of recriminating discourse with Judith, apparently forgetful of
the existence of all the rest of the world. Not so with Deerslayer. He
entered the ark with a slow, cautious step, examining every arrangement
of the cover with curious and scrutinizing eyes. It is true, he cast
one admiring glance at Judith, which was extorted by her brilliant and
singular beauty; but even this could detain him but a single instant
from the indulgence of his interest in Hutter's contrivances. Step
by step did he look into the construction of the singular abode,
investigate its fastenings and strength, ascertain its means of defence,
and make every inquiry that would be likely to occur to one whose
thoughts dwelt principally on such expedients. Nor was the cover
neglected. Of this he examined the whole minutely, his commendation
escaping him more than once in audible comments. Frontier usages
admitting of this familiarity, he passed through the rooms, as he had
previously done at the 'Castle', and opening a door issued into the end
of the scow opposite to that where he had left Hurry and Judith. Here
he found the other sister, employed at some coarse needle-work, seated
beneath the leafy canopy of the cover.

As Deerslayer's examination was by this time ended, he dropped the butt
of his rifle, and, leaning on the barrel with both hands, he turned
towards the girl with an interest the singular beauty of her sister
had not awakened. He had gathered from Hurry's remarks that Hetty was
considered to have less intellect than ordinarily falls to the share of
human beings, and his education among Indians had taught him to treat
those who were thus afflicted by Providence with more than common
tenderness. Nor was there any thing in Hetty Hutter's appearance, as so
often happens, to weaken the interest her situation excited. An idiot
she could not properly be termed, her mind being just enough enfeebled
to lose most of those traits that are connected with the more artful
qualities, and to retain its ingenuousness and love of truth. It had
often been remarked of this girl, by the few who had seen her, and who
possessed sufficient knowledge to discriminate, that her perception
of the right seemed almost intuitive, while her aversion to the wrong
formed so distinctive a feature of her mind, as to surround her with an
atmosphere of pure morality; peculiarities that are not infrequent with
persons who are termed feeble-minded; as if God had forbidden the evil
spirits to invade a precinct so defenceless, with the benign purpose
of extending a direct protection to those who had been left without the
usual aids of humanity. Her person, too, was agreeable, having a strong
resemblance to that of her sister's, of which it was a subdued and
humble copy. If it had none of the brilliancy of Judith's, the calm,
quiet, almost holy expression of her meek countenance seldom failed to
win on the observer, and few noted it long that did not begin to feel a
deep and lasting interest in the girl. She had no colour, in common,
nor was her simple mind apt to present images that caused her cheek to
brighten, though she retained a modesty so innate that it almost raised
her to the unsuspecting purity of a being superior to human infirmities.
Guileless, innocent, and without distrust, equally by nature and from
her mode of life, providence had, nevertheless shielded her from harm,
by a halo of moral light, as it is said 'to temper the wind to the shorn
lamb.'

"You are Hetty Hutter," said Deerslayer, in the way one puts a question
unconsciously to himself, assuming a kindness of tone and manner that
were singularly adapted to win the confidence of her he addressed.
"Hurry Harry has told me of you, and I know you must be the child?"

"Yes, I'm Hetty Hutter" returned the girl in a low, sweet voice, which
nature, aided by some education, had preserved from vulgarity of tone
and utterance--"I'm Hetty; Judith Hutter's sister; and Thomas Hutter's
youngest daughter."

"I know your history, then, for Hurry Harry talks considerable, and he
is free of speech when he can find other people's consarns to dwell on.
You pass most of your life on the lake, Hetty."

"Certainly. Mother is dead; father is gone a-trapping, and Judith and I
stay at home. What's your name?"

"That's a question more easily asked than it is answered, young woman,
seeing that I'm so young, and yet have borne more names than some of the
greatest chiefs in all America."

"But you've got a name--you don't throw away one name, before you come
honestly by another?"

"I hope not, gal--I hope not. My names have come nat'rally, and I
suppose the one I bear now will be of no great lasting, since the
Delawares seldom settle on a man's ra'al title, until such time as he
has an opportunity of showing his true natur', in the council, or on the
warpath; which has never behappened me; seeing firstly, because I'm not
born a red-skin and have no right to sit in their councillings, and am
much too humble to be called on for opinions from the great of my own
colour; and, secondly, because this is the first war that has befallen
in my time, and no inimy has yet inroaded far enough into the colony, to
be reached by an arm even longer than mine."

"Tell me your names," added Hetty, looking up at him artlessly, "and,
maybe, I'll tell you your character."

"There is some truth in that, I'll not deny, though it often fails. Men
are deceived in other men's characters, and frequently give 'em names
they by no means desarve. You can see the truth of this in the Mingo
names, which, in their own tongue, signify the same things as the
Delaware names,--at least, so they tell me, for I know little of that
tribe, unless it be by report,--and no one can say they are as honest or
as upright a nation. I put no great dependence, therefore, on names."

"Tell me all your names," repeated the girl, earnestly, for her mind
was too simple to separate things from professions, and she did attach
importance to a name; "I want to know what to think of you."

"Well, sartain; I've no objection, and you shall hear them all. In the
first place, then, I'm Christian, and white-born, like yourself, and my
parents had a name that came down from father to son, as is a part of
their gifts. My father was called Bumppo; and I was named after him, of
course, the given name being Nathaniel, or Natty, as most people saw fit
to tarm it."

"Yes, yes--Natty--and Hetty" interrupted the girl quickly, and
looking up from her work again, with a smile: "you are Natty, and I'm
Hetty--though you are Bumppo, and I'm Hutter. Bumppo isn't as pretty as
Hutter, is it?"

"Why, that's as people fancy. Bumppo has no lofty sound, I admit; and
yet men have bumped through the world with it. I did not go by this
name, howsoever, very long; for the Delawares soon found out, or thought
they found out, that I was not given to lying, and they called me,
firstly, 'Straight-tongue.'"

"That's a good name," interrupted Hetty, earnestly, and in a positive
manner; "don't tell me there's no virtue in names!"

"I do not say that, for perhaps I desarved to be so called, lies being
no favorites with me, as they are with some. After a while they found
out I was quick of foot, and then they called me 'The Pigeon'; which,
you know, has a swift wing, and flies in a straight line."

"That was a pretty name!" exclaimed Hetty; "pigeons are pretty birds!"

"Most things that God created are pretty in their way, my good gal,
though they get to be deformed by mankind, so as to change their
natur's, as well as their appearance. From carrying messages, and
striking blind trails, I got at last to following the hunters, when it
was thought I was quicker and surer at finding the game than most lads,
and then they called me the 'Lap-ear'; as, they said, I partook of the
sagacity of the hound."

"That's not so pretty," answered Hetty; "I hope you didn't keep that
name long."

"Not after I was rich enough to buy a rifle," returned the other,
betraying a little pride through his usually quiet and subdued manner;
"then it was seen I could keep a wigwam in ven'son; and in time I got
the name of 'Deerslayer,' which is that I now bear; homely as some will
think it, who set more value on the scalp of a fellow-mortal than on the
horns of a buck."

"Well, Deerslayer, I'm not one of them," answered Hetty, simply; "Judith
likes soldiers, and flary coats, and fine feathers; but they're all
naught to me. She says the officers are great, and gay, and of soft
speech; but they make me shudder, for their business is to kill their
fellow-creatures. I like your calling better; and your last name is a
very good one--better than Natty Bumppo."

"This is nat'ral in one of your turn of mind, Hetty, and much as I
should have expected. They tell me your sister is handsome--oncommon,
for a mortal; and beauty is apt to seek admiration."

"Did you never see Judith?" demanded the girl, with quick earnestness;
"if you never have, go at once and look at her. Even Hurry Harry isn't
more pleasant to look at though she is a woman, and he is a man."

Deerslayer regarded the girl for a moment with concern. Her pale-face
had flushed a little, and her eye, usually so mild and serene,
brightened as she spoke, in the way to betray the inward impulses.

"Ay, Hurry Harry," he muttered to himself, as he walked through the
cabin towards the other end of the boat; "this comes of good looks, if
a light tongue has had no consarn in it. It's easy to see which way that
poor creatur's feelin's are leanin', whatever may be the case with your
Jude's."

But an interruption was put to the gallantry of Hurry, the coquetry
of his intros, the thoughts of Deerslayer, and the gentle feelings of
Hetty, by the sudden appearance of the canoe of the ark's owner, in the
narrow opening among the bushes that served as a sort of moat to
his position. It would seem that Hutter, or Floating Tom, as he was
familiarly called by all the hunters who knew his habits, recognized the
canoe of Hurry, for he expressed no surprise at finding him in the
scow. On the contrary, his reception was such as to denote not only
gratification, but a pleasure, mingled with a little disappointment at
his not having made his appearance some days sooner.

"I looked for you last week," he said, in a half-grumbling,
half-welcoming manner; "and was disappointed uncommonly that you didn't
arrive. There came a runner through, to warn all the trappers and
hunters that the colony and the Canadas were again in trouble; and I
felt lonesome, up in these mountains, with three scalps to see to, and
only one pair of hands to protect them."

"That's reasonable," returned March; "and 't was feeling like a parent.
No doubt, if I had two such darters as Judith and Hetty, my exper'ence
would tell the same story, though in gin'ral I am just as well satisfied
with having the nearest neighbor fifty miles off, as when he is within
call."

"Notwithstanding, you didn't choose to come into the wilderness alone,
now you knew that the Canada savages are likely to be stirring,"
returned Hutter, giving a sort of distrustful, and at the same time
inquiring glance at Deerslayer.

"Why should I? They say a bad companion, on a journey, helps to shorten
the path; and this young man I account to be a reasonably good one.
This is Deerslayer, old Tom, a noted hunter among the Delawares, and
Christian-born, and Christian-edicated, too, like you and me. The lad is
not parfect, perhaps, but there's worse men in the country that he came
from, and it's likely he'll find some that's no better, in this part
of the world. Should we have occasion to defend our traps, and the
territory, he'll be useful in feeding us all; for he's a reg'lar dealer
in ven'son."

"Young man, you are welcome," growled Tom, thrusting a hard, bony hand
towards the youth, as a pledge of his sincerity; "in such times, a white
face is a friend's, and I count on you as a support. Children sometimes
make a stout heart feeble, and these two daughters of mine give me more
concern than all my traps, and skins, and rights in the country."

"That's nat'ral!" cried Hurry. "Yes, Deerslayer, you and I don't know it
yet by experience; but, on the whole, I consider that as nat'ral. If we
had darters, it's more than probable we should have some such feelin's;
and I honor the man that owns 'em. As for Judith, old man, I enlist, at
once, as her soldier, and here is Deerslayer to help you to take care of
Hetty."

"Many thanks to you, Master March," returned the beauty, in a full, rich
voice, and with an accuracy of intonation and utterance that she shared
in common with her sister, and which showed that she had been better
taught than her father's life and appearance would give reason to
expect. "Many thanks to you; but Judith Hutter has the spirit and
the experience that will make her depend more on herself than on
good-looking rovers like you. Should there be need to face the savages,
do you land with my father, instead of burrowing in the huts, under the
show of defending us females and--"

"Girl--girl," interrupted the father, "quiet that glib tongue of thine,
and hear the truth. There are savages on the lake shore already, and no
man can say how near to us they may be at this very moment, or when we
may hear more from them!"

"If this be true, Master Hutter," said Hurry, whose change of
countenance denoted how serious he deemed the information, though it did
not denote any unmanly alarm, "if this be true, your ark is in a most
misfortunate position, for, though the cover did deceive Deerslayer and
myself, it would hardly be overlooked by a full-blooded Injin, who was
out seriously in s'arch of scalps!"

"I think as you do, Hurry, and wish, with all my heart, we lay anywhere
else, at this moment, than in this narrow, crooked stream, which has
many advantages to hide in, but which is almost fatal to them that are
discovered. The savages are near us, moreover, and the difficulty is,
to get out of the river without being shot down like deer standing at a
lick!"

"Are you sartain, Master Hutter, that the red-skins you dread are ra'al
Canadas?" asked Deerslayer, in a modest but earnest manner. "Have you
seen any, and can you describe their paint?"

"I have fallen in with the signs of their being in the neighborhood,
but have seen none of 'em. I was down stream a mile or so, looking to my
traps, when I struck a fresh trail, crossing the corner of a swamp, and
moving northward. The man had not passed an hour; and I know'd it for an
Indian footstep, by the size of the foot, and the intoe, even before I
found a worn moccasin, which its owner had dropped as useless. For that
matter, I found the spot where he halted to make a new one, which was
only a few yards from the place where he had dropped the old one."

"That doesn't look much like a red-skin on the war path!" returned the
other, shaking his head. "An exper'enced warrior, at least, would have
burned, or buried, or sunk in the river such signs of his passage; and
your trail is, quite likely, a peaceable trail. But the moccasin may
greatly relieve my mind, if you bethought you of bringing it off. I've
come here to meet a young chief myself; and his course would be much in
the direction you've mentioned. The trail may have been his'n."

"Hurry Harry, you're well acquainted with this young man, I hope, who
has meetings with savages in a part of the country where he has
never been before?" demanded Hutter, in a tone and in a manner that
sufficiently indicated the motive of the question; these rude beings
seldom hesitating, on the score of delicacy, to betray their feelings.
"Treachery is an Indian virtue; and the whites, that live much in their
tribes, soon catch their ways and practices."

"True--true as the Gospel, old Tom; but not personable to Deerslayer,
who's a young man of truth, if he has no other ricommend. I'll answer
for his honesty, whatever I may do for his valor in battle."

"I should like to know his errand in this strange quarter of the
country."

"That is soon told, Master Hutter," said the young man, with the
composure of one who kept a clean conscience. "I think, moreover, you've
a right to ask it. The father of two such darters, who occupies a lake,
after your fashion, has just the same right to inquire into a stranger's
business in his neighborhood, as the colony would have to demand the
reason why the Frenchers put more rijiments than common along the lines.
No, no, I'll not deny your right to know why a stranger comes into your
habitation or country, in times as serious as these."

"If such is your way of thinking, friend, let me hear your story without
more words."

"'T is soon told, as I said afore; and shall be honestly told. I'm a
young man, and, as yet, have never been on a war-path; but no sooner did
the news come among the Delawares, that wampum and a hatchet were about
to be sent in to the tribe, than they wished me to go out among the
people of my own color, and get the exact state of things for 'em. This
I did, and, after delivering my talk to the chiefs, on my return, I met
an officer of the crown on the Schoharie, who had messages to send to
some of the fri'ndly tribes that live farther west. This was thought a
good occasion for Chingachgook, a young chief who has never struck a
foe, and myself; to go on our first war path in company, and an
app'intment was made for us, by an old Delaware, to meet at the rock
near the foot of this lake. I'll not deny that Chingachgook has another
object in view, but it has no consarn with any here, and is his secret
and not mine; therefore I'll say no more about it."

"'Tis something about a young woman," interrupted Judith hastily, then
laughing at her own impetuosity, and even having the grace to colour a
little, at the manner in which she had betrayed her readiness to impute
such a motive. "If 'tis neither war, nor a hunt, it must be love."

"Ay, it comes easy for the young and handsome, who hear so much of them
feelin's, to suppose that they lie at the bottom of most proceedin's;
but, on that head, I say nothin'. Chingachgook is to meet me at the
rock, an hour afore sunset to-morrow evening, after which we shall go our
way together, molesting none but the king's inimies, who are lawfully
our own. Knowing Hurry of old, who once trapped in our hunting grounds,
and falling in with him on the Schoharie, just as he was on the p'int of
starting for his summer ha'nts, we agreed to journey in company; not so
much from fear of the Mingos, as from good fellowship, and, as he says,
to shorten a long road."

"And you think the trail I saw may have been that of your friend, ahead
of his time?" said Hutter.

"That's my idee, which may be wrong, but which may be right. If I saw
the moccasin, howsever, I could tell, in a minute, whether it is made in
the Delaware fashion, or not."

"Here it is, then," said the quick-witted Judith, who had already gone
to the canoe in quest of it. "Tell us what it says; friend or enemy. You
look honest, and I believe all you say, whatever father may think."

"That's the way with you, Jude; forever finding out friends, where I
distrust foes," grumbled Tom: "but, speak out, young man, and tell us
what you think of the moccasin."

"That's not Delaware made," returned Deerslayer, examining the worn and
rejected covering for the foot with a cautious eye. "I'm too young on a
war-path to be positive, but I should say that moccasin has a northern
look, and comes from beyond the Great Lakes."

"If such is the case, we ought not to lie here a minute longer than is
necessary," said Hutter, glancing through the leaves of his cover, as if
he already distrusted the presence of an enemy on the opposite shore of
the narrow and sinuous stream. "It wants but an hour or so of night,
and to move in the dark will be impossible, without making a noise that
would betray us. Did you hear the echo of a piece in the mountains,
half-an-hour since?"

"Yes, old man, and heard the piece itself," answered Hurry, who now felt
the indiscretion of which he had been guilty, "for the last was fired
from my own shoulder."

"I feared it came from the French Indians; still it may put them on the
look-out, and be a means of discovering us. You did wrong to fire in
war-time, unless there was good occasion.

"So I begin to think myself, Uncle Tom; and yet, if a man can't trust
himself to let off his rifle in a wilderness that is a thousand miles
square, lest some inimy should hear it, where's the use in carrying
one?"

Hutter now held a long consultation with his two guests, in which the
parties came to a true understanding of their situation. He explained
the difficulty that would exist in attempting to get the ark out of
so swift and narrow a stream, in the dark, without making a noise that
could not fail to attract Indian ears. Any strollers in their vicinity
would keep near the river or the lake; but the former had swampy shores
in many places, and was both so crooked and so fringed with bushes, that
it was quite possible to move by daylight without incurring much danger
of being seen. More was to be apprehended, perhaps, from the ear than
from the eye, especially as long as they were in the short, straitened,
and canopied reaches of the stream.

"I never drop down into this cover, which is handy to my traps, and
safer than the lake from curious eyes, without providing the means of
getting out ag'in," continued this singular being; "and that is easier
done by a pull than a push. My anchor is now lying above the suction, in
the open lake; and here is a line, you see, to haul us up to it. Without
some such help, a single pair of hands would make heavy work in forcing
a scow like this up stream. I have a sort of a crab, too, that lightens
the pull, on occasion. Jude can use the oar astern as well as myself;
and when we fear no enemy, to get out of the river gives us but little
trouble."

"What should we gain, Master Hutter, by changing the position?" asked
Deerslayer, with a good deal of earnestness; "this is a safe cover, and
a stout defence might be made from the inside of this cabin. I've never
fou't unless in the way of tradition; but it seems to me we might beat
off twenty Mingos, with palisades like them afore us."

"Ay, ay; you 've never fought except in traditions, that's plain enough,
young man! Did you ever see as broad a sheet of water as this above us,
before you came in upon it with Hurry?"

"I can't say that I ever did," Deerslayer answered, modestly. "Youth
is the time to l'arn; and I'm far from wishing to raise my voice in
counsel, afore it is justified by exper'ence."

"Well, then, I'll teach you the disadvantage of fighting in this
position, and the advantage of taking to the open lake. Here, you may
see, the savages will know where to aim every shot; and it would be too
much to hope that some would not find their way through the crevices of
the logs. Now, on the other hand, we should have nothing but a forest
to aim at. Then we are not safe from fire, here, the bark of this roof
being little better than so much kindling-wood. The castle, too, might
be entered and ransacked in my absence, and all my possessions overrun
and destroyed. Once in the lake, we can be attacked only in boats or
on rafts--shall have a fair chance with the enemy--and can protect the
castle with the ark. Do you understand this reasoning, youngster?"

"It sounds well--yes, it has a rational sound; and I'll not gainsay it."

"Well, old Tom," cried Hurry, "If we are to move, the sooner we make a
beginning, the sooner we shall know whether we are to have our scalps
for night-caps, or not."

As this proposition was self-evident, no one denied its justice. The
three men, after a short preliminary explanation, now set about their
preparations to move the ark in earnest. The slight fastenings were
quickly loosened; and, by hauling on the line, the heavy craft slowly
emerged from the cover. It was no sooner free from the incumbrance of
the branches, than it swung into the stream, sheering quite close to the
western shore, by the force of the current. Not a soul on board heard
the rustling of the branches, as the cabin came against the bushes and
trees of the western bank, without a feeling of uneasiness; for no one
knew at what moment, or in what place, a secret and murderous enemy
might unmask himself. Perhaps the gloomy light that still struggled
through the impending canopy of leaves, or found its way through the
narrow, ribbon-like opening, which seemed to mark, in the air above,
the course of the river that flowed beneath, aided in augmenting the
appearance of the danger; for it was little more than sufficient to
render objects visible, without giving up all their outlines at a
glance. Although the sun had not absolutely set, it had withdrawn its
direct rays from the valley; and the hues of evening were beginning to
gather around objects that stood uncovered, rendering those within the
shadows of the woods still more sombre and gloomy.

No interruption followed the movement, however, and, as the men
continued to haul on the line, the ark passed steadily ahead, the great
breadth of the scow preventing its sinking into the water, and from
offering much resistance to the progress of the swift element beneath
its bottom. Hutter, too, had adopted a precaution suggested by
experience, which might have done credit to a seaman, and which
completely prevented any of the annoyances and obstacles which otherwise
would have attended the short turns of the river. As the ark descended,
heavy stones, attached to the line, were dropped in the centre of the
stream, forming local anchors, each of which was kept from dragging
by the assistance of those above it, until the uppermost of all was
reached, which got its "backing" from the anchor, or grapnel, that lay
well out in the lake. In consequence of this expedient, the ark floated
clear of the incumbrances of the shore, against which it would otherwise
have been unavoidably hauled at every turn, producing embarrassments
that Hutter, single-handed, would have found it very difficult to
overcome. Favored by this foresight, and stimulated by the apprehension
of discovery, Floating Tom and his two athletic companions hauled the
ark ahead with quite as much rapidity as comported with the strength
of the line. At every turn in the stream, a stone was raised from the
bottom, when the direction of the scow changed to one that pointed
towards the stone that lay above. In this manner, with the channel
buoyed out for him, as a sailor might term it, did Hutter move forward,
occasionally urging his friends, in a low and guarded voice, to increase
their exertions, and then, as occasions offered, warning them against
efforts that might, at particular moments, endanger all by too much
zeal. In spite of their long familiarity with the woods, the gloomy
character of the shaded river added to the uneasiness that each felt;
and when the ark reached the first bend in the Susquehannah, and the eye
caught a glimpse of the broader expanse of the lake, all felt a relief,
that perhaps none would have been willing to confess. Here the last
stone was raised from the bottom, and the line led directly towards the
grapnel, which, as Hutter had explained, was dropped above the suction
of the current.

"Thank God!" ejaculated Hurry, "there is daylight, and we shall soon
have a chance of seeing our inimies, if we are to feel 'em."

"That is more than you or any man can say," growled Hutter. "There is no
spot so likely to harbor a party as the shore around the outlet, and the
moment we clear these trees and get into open water, will be the most
trying time, since it will leave the enemy a cover, while it puts us
out of one. Judith, girl, do you and Hetty leave the oar to take care of
itself; and go within the cabin; and be mindful not to show your faces
at a window; for they who will look at them won't stop to praise their
beauty. And now, Hurry, we'll step into this outer room ourselves, and
haul through the door, where we shall all be safe, from a surprise, at
least. Friend Deerslayer, as the current is lighter, and the line has
all the strain on it that is prudent, do you keep moving from window to
window, taking care not to let your head be seen, if you set any value
on life. No one knows when or where we shall hear from our neighbors."

Deerslayer complied, with a sensation that had nothing in common with
fear, but which had all the interest of a perfectly novel and a most
exciting situation. For the first time in his life he was in the
vicinity of enemies, or had good reason to think so; and that, too,
under all the thrilling circumstances of Indian surprises and Indian
artifices. As he took his stand at the window, the ark was just passing
through the narrowest part of the stream, a point where the water first
entered what was properly termed the river, and where the trees fairly
interlocked overhead, causing the current to rush into an arch of
verdure; a feature as appropriate and peculiar to the country, perhaps,
as that of Switzerland, where the rivers come rushing literally from
chambers of ice.

The ark was in the act of passing the last curve of this leafy entrance,
as Deerslayer, having examined all that could be seen of the eastern
bank of the river, crossed the room to look from the opposite window, at
the western. His arrival at this aperture was most opportune, for he
had no sooner placed his eye at a crack, than a sight met his gaze that
might well have alarmed a sentinel so young and inexperienced. A sapling
overhung the water, in nearly half a circle, having first grown towards
the light, and then been pressed down into this form by the weight of
the snows; a circumstance of common occurrence in the American woods.
On this no less than six Indians had already appeared, others standing
ready to follow them, as they left room; each evidently bent on running
out on the trunk, and dropping on the roof of the ark as it passed
beneath. This would have been an exploit of no great difficulty, the
inclination of the tree admitting of an easy passage, the adjoining
branches offering ample support for the hands, and the fall being too
trifling to be apprehended. When Deerslayer first saw this party, it was
just unmasking itself, by ascending the part of the tree nearest to the
earth, or that which was much the most difficult to overcome; and his
knowledge of Indian habits told him at once that they were all in their
war-paint, and belonged to a hostile tribe.

"Pull, Hurry," he cried; "pull for your life, and as you love Judith
Hutter! Pull, man, pull!"

This call was made to one that the young man knew had the strength of a
giant. It was so earnest and solemn, that both Hutter and March felt
it was not idly given, and they applied all their force to the line
simultaneously, and at a most critical moment. The scow redoubled its
motion, and seemed to glide from under the tree as if conscious of
the danger that was impending overhead. Perceiving that they were
discovered, the Indians uttered the fearful war-whoop, and running
forward on the tree, leaped desperately towards their fancied prize.
There were six on the tree, and each made the effort. All but their
leader fell into the river more or less distant from the ark, as they
came, sooner or later, to the leaping place. The chief, who had taken
the dangerous post in advance, having an earlier opportunity than the
others, struck the scow just within the stern. The fall proving so much
greater than he had anticipated, he was slightly stunned, and for a
moment he remained half bent and unconscious of his situation. At this
instant Judith rushed from the cabin, her beauty heightened by the
excitement that produced the bold act, which flushed her cheek to
crimson, and, throwing all her strength into the effort, she pushed
the intruder over the edge of the scow, headlong into the river. This
decided feat was no sooner accomplished than the woman resumed her sway;
Judith looked over the stern to ascertain what had become of the man,
and the expression of her eyes softened to concern, next, her cheek
crimsoned between shame and surprise at her own temerity, and then she
laughed in her own merry and sweet manner. All this occupied less than a
minute, when the arm of Deerslayer was thrown around her waist, and she
was dragged swiftly within the protection of the cabin. This retreat was
not effected too soon. Scarcely were the two in safety, when the forest
was filled with yells, and bullets began to patter against the logs.

The ark being in swift motion all this while, it was beyond the danger
of pursuit by the time these little events had occurred; and the
savages, as soon as the first burst of their anger had subsided, ceased
firing, with the consciousness that they were expending their ammunition
in vain. When the scow came up over her grapnel, Hutter tripped the
latter in a way not to impede the motion; and being now beyond the
influence of the current, the vessel continued to drift ahead, until
fairly in the open lake, though still near enough to the land to render
exposure to a rifle-bullet dangerous. Hutter and March got out two small
sweeps and, covered by the cabin, they soon urged the ark far enough
from the shore to leave no inducement to their enemies to make any
further attempt to injure them.

 Hurry Harry and Deerslayer travel in the canoe to the other end of Glimmerglass in search of Tom Hutter and the ark. On the way they discuss frankly and heatedly their respective impressions of the Indians. Hurry also teases Deerslayer about the latter's plain features and about Judith's possibly outspoken comments upon seeing the young man. When they reach Rat's Cove, Natty starts in pursuit of the animal or human which has made a sound heard by the two travelers. Unable to restrain himself, Hurry shoots at and misses a deer and is scolded by Deerslayer; enemies could be signaled by the shot. Continuing their journey, they find the outlet of Glimmerglass, and the rock which indicates where the ark should be. Hurry spots Tom Hutter in the distance where the latter is working on his traps, and he makes some unflattering remarks about Judith. Both men are embarrassed by her sudden appearance in the bushes near them. They have been exploring next to the ark, but the boat is so well concealed that the two travelers did not notice it. Judith, displeased by Hurry's comments, is pleased by Natty's spontaneous defense of her virtues as a woman. Going aboard the ark, Hurry and Deerslayer talk with Judith and Hetty, respectively. Hurry converses earnestly with Judith to soothe her pride and re-establish himself as a suitor; Natty appreciates Hetty's simple, honest manner, despite the lack of her sister's sophistication and intelligence. Tom Hutter appears and is half-annoyed: Hurry is a week late, the Mingos are on the warpath, and a stranger -- Deerslayer is on the ark. Although Hurry explains that he fortunately met Natty on the trail and that the two formed a team against any Indian attack, it is Deerslayer, however, who satisfies Floating Tom about his honest intentions after he explains his intended rendezvous with Chingachgook. Hutter realizes that the young man may prove a needed ally in any future battle with the Mingos, so he tells about some signs of enemies in the vicinity. Judith, for example, shows a moccasin, which Deerslayer identifies as the type that Indians from Canada would wear. Certain that hostile Indians are now around the lake, Tom Hutter reproaches Hurry Harry because of the shot fired at the deer -- a signal to the Mingos that more white men are at Glimmerglass. The three men start to remove the ark from its refuge in order to allow it to float on the lake where they can see any Indians approaching. Helped by the sunset, they almost succeed in leading the ark in the coming darkness beyond the reach of the trees on the shore. Deerslayer, catching sight of six Indians crouching on a tree that arches across the stream, shouts to Hurry Harry to give the ark a push. Five of the redskins fall into the water as they miss landing in the boat; the sixth Indian falls unconscious on the deck, and Judith shoves him into the lake. Natty pushes her into the cabin, out of range of bullets being fired by other Mingos on the shore. The ark safely reaches the open water of Glimmerglass.

