The Leatherstocking Tales II

by James Fenimore Cooper

  As Deerslayer seldom thought it necessary to answer his companion’s peculiar vein of humour, and Hutter was evidently indisposed to dwell longer on the subject, its discussion ceased with this remark. The latter had something more on his mind, however, than recollections. His daughters had no sooner left them, with an expressed intention of going to bed, than he invited his two companions to follow him again into the scow. Here the old man opened his project, keeping back the portions that he had reserved for execution by Hurry and himself.

  “The great object for people posted like ourselves, is to command the water,” he commenced. “So long as there is no other craft on the lake, a bark canoe is as good as a man-of-war, since the castle will not be easily taken by swimming. Now, there are but five canoes remaining in these parts, two of which are mine, and one is Hurry’s. These three we have with us, here, one being fastened in the canoe-dock beneath the house, and the other two being along side the scow. The other canoes are housed on the shore, in hollow logs, and the savages, who are such venomous enemies, will leave no likely place unexamined in the morning, if they’re serious in s’arch of bounties”—

  “Now, friend Hutter,” interrupted Hurry, “the Indian do’n’t live that can find a canoe that is suitably wintered. I’ve done something at this business before now, and Deerslayer, here, knows that I am one that can hide a craft in such a way that I can’t find it myself.”

  “Very true, Hurry,” put in the person to whom the appeal had been made, “but you overlook the sarcumstance that if you couldn’t see the trail of the man who did the job, I could. I’m of Master Hutter’s mind that it’s far wiser to mistrust a savage’s ingenuerty, than to build any great expectations on his want of eye-sight. If these two canoes can be got off to the castle, therefore, the sooner it’s done the better.”

  “Will you be of the party that’s to do it?” demanded Hutter, in a way to show that the proposal both surprised and pleased him.

  “Sartain. I’m ready to enlist in any interprise that’s not ag’in a white man’s lawful gifts. Natur’ orders us to defend our lives, and the lives of others too, when there’s occasion and oppertunity. I’ll follow you, Floating Tom, into the Mingo camp on such an ar’n’d, and will strive to do my duty, should we come to blows, though, never having been tried in battle, I do’n’t like to promise more than I may be able to perform. We all know our wishes, but none know their might ’till put to the proof.”

  “That’s modest and suitable, lad,” exclaimed Hurry. “You’ve never yet heard the crack of an angry rifle, and let me tell you, ’tis as different from the persuasion of one of your venison speeches, as the laugh of Judith Hutter, in her best humour, is from the scolding of a Dutch housekeeper on the Mohawk. I do’n’t expect you’ll prove much of a warrior, Deerslayer, though your equal with the bucks, and the does, do’n’t exist in all these parts. As for the ra’al sarvice, howsever, you’ll turn out rather rearward, according to my consait.”

  “We’ll see, Hurry, we’ll see,” returned the other meekly, and so far as human eye could discover not at all disturbed by these expressed doubts concerning his conduct on a point on which men are uniformly sensitive, precisely in the degree that they feel the consciousness of demerit,—“having never been tried, I’ll wait to know, before I form any opinion myself, and then there’ll be sartainty instead of bragging. I’ve heard of them that was valiant afore the fight, who did little in it, and of them that waited to know their own tempers, and found that they were’n’t as bad as some expected, when put to the proof.”

  “At any rate we know you can use a paddle, young man,” said Hutter, “and that’s all we shall ask of you to-night. Let us waste no more time, but get into the canoe, and do in place of talking.”

  As Hutter led the way in the execution of his project, the boat was soon ready, with Hurry and Deerslayer at the paddles. Before the old man embarked himself, however, he held a conference of several minutes with Judith, entering the house for that purpose; then, returning, he took his place in the canoe, which left the side of the Ark at the next instant.

  Had there been a temple reared to God, in that solitary wilderness, its clock would have told the hour of midnight as the party set forth on their expedition. The darkness had increased, though the night was still clear, and the light of the stars sufficed for all the purposes of the adventurers. Hutter alone knew the places where the canoes were hid, and he directed the course, while his two athletic companions raised and dipped their paddles with proper caution, lest the sound should be carried to the ears of their enemies, across that sheet of placid water, in the stillness of deep night. But the bark was too light to require any extraordinary efforts, and, skill supplying the place of strength, in about half an hour, they were approaching the shore, at a point near a league from the Castle.

  “Lay on your paddles, men,” said Hutter, in a low voice; “and let us look about us for a moment. We must now be all eyes and ears, for these vermin have noses like blood hounds.” The shores of the lake were examined closely, in order to discover any glimmering of light that might have been left in a camp, and the men strained their eyes, in the obscurity, to see if some thread of smoke was not still stealing along the mountain-side, as it arose from the dying embers of a fire. Nothing unusual could be traced, and as the position was at some distance from the outlet, or the spot where the savages had been met, it was thought safe to land. The paddles were plied, again, and the bows of the canoe ground up on the gravelly beach, with a gentle motion, and a sound barely audible. Hutter and Hurry immediately landed, the former carrying his own and his friend’s rifle, leaving Deerslayer in charge of the canoe.

  The hollow log lay at a little distance up the side of the mountain, and the old man led the way towards it, using so much caution as to stop at every third or fourth step to listen if any tread betrayed the presence of a foe. The same death like stillness, however, reigned on the midnight scene, and the desired place was reached without an occurrence to induce alarm.

  “This is it,” whispered Hutter, laying a foot on the trunk of a fallen linden—“hand me the paddles first, and draw the boat out with care, for the wretches may have left it for a bait, after all.”

  “Keep my rifle handy, butt towards me, old fellow,” answered March—“If they attack me loaded, I shall want to unload the piece at ’em, at least. And feel if the pan is full.”

  “All’s right—” muttered the other. “Move slow when you get your load, and let me lead the way.”

  The canoe was drawn out of the log with the utmost care, raised by Hurry to his shoulder, and the two began to return to the shore, moving but a step at a time, lest they should tumble down the steep declivity. The distance was not great, but the descent was extremely difficult, and towards the end of their little journey, Deerslayer was obliged to land and meet them, in order to aid in lifting the canoe through the bushes. With his assistance, the task was successfully accomplished, and the light craft soon floated by the side of the other canoe. This was no sooner done, than all three turned anxiously toward the forest and the mountain, as if expecting an enemy to break out of the one, or to come rushing down the other. Still the silence was unbroken, and they all embarked with the caution that had been used in coming ashore.

  Hutter now steered broad off towards the centre of the lake. Having got a sufficient distance from the shore, he cast his prize loose, knowing that it would drift slowly up the lake, before the light southerly air, and intending to find it on his return. Thus relieved of his tow, the old man held his way down the lake, steering towards the very point, where Hurry had made his fruitless attempt on the life of the deer. As the distance from this point to the outlet was less than a mile, it was like entering an enemy’s country, and redoubled caution became necessary. They reached the extremity of the point, however, and landed in safety, on the little gravelly beach already mentioned. Unlike the last place at which they had gone ashore, here was no acclivity to ascend, the mountains loomi
ng up in the darkness quite a quarter of a mile further west, leaving a margin of level ground between them and the strand. The point itself, though long, and covered with tall trees, was nearly flat, and, for some distance, only a few yards in width. Hutter and Hurry landed as before, leaving their companion in charge of the boat.

  In this instance the dead tree that contained the canoe of which they had come in quest, lay about half way between the extremity of this narrow slip of land, and the place where it joined the main shore; and, knowing that there was water so near him on his left, the old man led the way along the eastern side of the belt, with some confidence, walking boldly though still with caution. He had landed at the point expressly to get a glimpse into the bay, and to make certain that the coast was clear; otherwise he would have come ashore directly abreast of the hollow tree. There was no difficulty in finding the latter, from which the canoe was drawn as before, and, instead of carrying it down to the place where Deerslayer lay, it was launched at the nearest favorable spot. As soon as it was in the water, Hurry entered it, and paddled down to the point, whither Hutter also proceeded following the beach. As the three men had now in their possession all the boats on the lake, their confidence was greatly increased, and there was no longer the same feverish desire to quit the shore, or the same necessity for extreme caution. Their position on the extremity of the long, narrow bit of land added to the feeling of security, as it permitted an enemy to approach in only one direction, that in their front, and under circumstances that would render discovery, with their habitual vigilance, almost certain. The three now landed together, and stood grouped in consultation on the gravelly point.

  “We’ve fairly tree’d the scamps,” said Hurry, chuckling at their success, “and if they wish to visit the castle, let ’em wade or swim! Old Tom, that idee of your’n, in burrowing out in the lake was high proof, and carries a fine bead. There be men who would think the land safer than the water, but after all reason shows it is’n’t; the beavers, and ’rats, and other l’arned creatur’s, taking to the last, when hard pressed. I call our position, now, entrenched, and set the Canadas at defiance.”

  “Let us paddle along this south shore,” said Hutter, “and see if there’s no signs of an encampment—but, first, let me have a better look into the bay, for no one has been far enough round the inner shore of the point, to make sure of that quarter, yet.”

  As Hutter ceased speaking all three moved in the direction he had named. Scarce had they fairly opened the bottom of the bay, when a general start proved that their eyes had lighted on a common object, at the same instant. It was no more than a dying brand, giving out its flickering and failing light, but at that hour, and in that place, it was at once as conspicuous as “a good deed in a naughty world.” There was not a shadow of doubt that this fire had been kindled at an encampment of the Indians. The situation, sheltered from observation on all sides but one, and even on that except for a very short distance, proved that more care had been taken to conceal the spot, than would be used for ordinary purposes, and Hutter, who knew that a spring was near at hand, as well as one of the best fishing stations on the lake, immediately inferred that this encampment contained the women and children of the party.

  “That’s not a warrior’s encampment,” he growled to Hurry, “and there’s a bounty enough sleeping round that fire to make a heavy division of head-money. Send the lad to the canoes, for there’ll come no good of him in such an onset, and let us take the matter in hand, at once, like men.”

  “There’s judgment in your notion, old Tom, and I like it to the back-bone. Deerslayer, do you get into the canoe, lad, and paddle off into the lake, with the spare one, and set it adrift, as we did with the other; after which you can float along shore, as near as you can get to the head of the bay, keeping outside the point, howsever, and outside the rushes too. You can hear us when we want you, and if there’s any delay I’ll call like a loon—yes, that’ll do it—the call of a loon shall be the signal. If you hear rifles, and feel like sogering, why you may close in, and see if you can make the same hand with the savages that you do with the deer.”

  “If my wishes could be followed, this matter would not be undertaken, Hurry—”

  “Quite true—no body denies it, boy; but your wishes ca’n’t be followed, and that inds the matter. So just canoe yourself off into the middle of the lake, and by the time you get back, there’ll be movements in that camp!”

  The young man set about complying with great reluctance and a heavy heart. He knew the prejudices of the frontier men too well, however, to attempt a remonstrance. The latter, indeed, under the circumstances, might prove dangerous, as it would certainly prove useless. He paddled the canoes, therefore, silently and with the former caution to a spot near the centre of the placid sheet of water, and set the boat just recovered adrift, to float towards the castle, before the light southerly air. This expedient had been adopted, in both cases, under the certainty that the drift could not carry the light barks more than a league or two before the return of light, when they might easily be overtaken. In order to prevent any wandering savage from using them, by swimming off and getting possession, a possible but scarcely a probable event, all the paddles were retained.

  No sooner had he set the recovered canoe adrift, than Deerslayer turned the bows of his own towards the point on the shore that had been indicated by Hurry. So light was the movement of the little craft, and so steady the sweep of its master’s arm, that ten minutes had not elapsed ere it was again approaching the land, having in that brief time passed over fully half a mile of distance. As soon as Deerslayer’s eye caught a glimpse of the rushes, of which there were many growing in the water a hundred feet from the shore, he arrested the motion of the canoe, and anchored his boat by holding fast to the delicate but tenacious stem of one of the drooping plants. Here he remained, awaiting with an intensity of suspense that can be easily imagined, the result of the hazardous enterprise.

  It would be difficult to convey to the minds of those who have never witnessed it, the sublimity that characterizes the silence of a solitude as deep as that which now reigned over the Glimmerglass. In the present instance, this sublimity was increased by the gloom of night, which threw its shadowy and fantastic forms around the lake, the forest, and the hills. It is not easy, indeed, to conceive of any place more favorable to heighten these natural impressions than that Deerslayer now occupied. The size of the lake brought all within the reach of human senses, while it displayed so much of the imposing scene at a single view, giving up, as it might be, at a glance, a sufficiency to produce the deepest impressions. As has been said, this was the first lake Deerslayer had ever seen. Hitherto his experience had been limited to the courses of rivers and smaller streams, and never before had he seen so much of that wilderness, which he so well loved, spread before his gaze. Accustomed to the forest, however, his mind was capable of portraying all its hidden mysteries, as he looked upon its leafy surface. This was also the first time he had been on a trail, when human lives depended on the issue. His ears had often drunk in the traditions of frontier warfare, but he had never yet been confronted with an enemy.

  The reader will readily understand, therefore, how intense must have been the expectation of the young man, as he sat in his solitary canoe, endeavoring to catch the smallest sound that might denote the course of things on the shore. His training had been perfect, so far as theory could go, and his self-possession, notwithstanding the high excitement that was the fruit of novelty, would have done credit to a veteran. The visible evidences of the existence of the camp, or of the fire, could not be detected from the spot where the canoe lay, and he was compelled to depend on the sense of hearing alone. He did not feel impatient, for the lessons he had heard, taught him the virtue of patience, and most of all inculcated the necessity of wariness in conducting any covert assault on the Indians. Once he thought he heard the cracking of a dried twig, but expectation was so intense it might mislead him. In this manner, minute afte
r minute passed, until the whole time since he left his companions was extended to quite an hour. Deerslayer knew not whether to rejoice in, or to mourn over this cautious delay, for if it augured security to his associates, it foretold destruction to the feeble and innocent.

  It might have been an hour and a half after his companions and he had parted, when Deerslayer was aroused by a sound that filled him equally with concern and surprise. The quavering call of a loon arose from the opposite side of the lake; evidently at no great distance from its outlet. There was no mistaking the note of this bird, which is so familiar to all who know the sounds of the American lakes. Shrill, tremulous, loud and sufficiently prolonged, it seems the very cry of warning. It is often raised also, at night, an exception to the habits of most of the other feathered inmates of the wilderness, a circumstance which had induced Hurry to select it as his own signal. There had been sufficient time certainly for the two adventurers to make their way by land, from the point where they had been left, to that whence the call had come, but it was not probable that they would adopt such a course. Had the camp been deserted, they would have summoned Deerslayer to the shore, and did it prove to be peopled, there could be no sufficient motive for circling it, in order to re-embark at so great a distance. Should he obey the signal, and be drawn away from the landing, the lives of those who depended on him might be the forfeit, and should he neglect the call, on the supposition that it had been really made, the consequences might be equally disastrous, though from a different cause. In this indecision, he waited, trusting that the call, whether feigned or natural, would be speedily renewed. Nor was he mistaken. A very few minutes elapsed before the same shrill, warning cry was repeated, and from the same part of the lake. This time, being on the alert, his senses were not deceived. Although he had often heard admirable imitations of this bird, and was no mean adept himself in raising its notes, he felt satisfied that Hurry, to whose efforts in that way he had attended, could never so completely and closely follow nature. He determined, therefore, to disregard that cry, and to wait for one less perfect, and nearer at hand.