a foreign tongue is an Iroquois, whether the castle2 of his tribe be in Canada, or be in York. Heyward,
perceiving that the stubborn adherence of the scout to the cause of his friends the Delawares, or Mohicans,
for they were branches of the same numerous people, was likely to prolong a useless discussion, changed
the subject.
Treaty or no treaty, I know full well that your two companions are brave and cautious warriors! have they
heard or seen anything of our enemies
!
An Indian is a mortal to be felt afore he is seen
, returned the scout, ascending the rock, and throwing
the deer carelessly down.
I trust to other signs than such as come in at the eye, when I am outlying on
the trail of the Mingoes
.
Do your ears tell you that they have traced our retreat
?
I should be sorry to think they had, though this is a spot that stout courage might hold for a smart scrimmage.
I will not deny, however, but the horses cowered when I passed them, as though they scented the wolves; and
a wolf is a beast that is apt to hover about an Indian ambushment, craving the offals of the deer the
savages kill
.
You forget the buck at your feet! or, may we not owe their visit to the dead colt? Ha! what noise is
that
?
Poor Miriam
! murmured the stranger;
thy foal was foreordained to become a prey to ravenous beasts
!
Then, suddenly lifting up his voice, amid the eternal din of the waters, he sang aloud:
First born of Egypt, smite did he,
Of mankind, and of beast also:
O, Egypt! wonders sent 'midst thee,
On Pharaoh and his servants too!
The death of the colt sits heavy on the heart of its owner, said the scout;but it's a good sign to see a man account upon his dumb friends. He has the religion of the matter, in believing what is to happen will happen; and with such a consolation, it won't be long afore he submits to the rationality of killing a four-footed beast to save the lives of human men. It may be as you say, he continued, reverting to the purport of Heyward's last remark;and the greater the reason why we should cut our steaks, and let the carcass drive down the stream, or we shall have the pack howling along the cliffs, begrudging every mouthful we swallow. Besides, though the Delaware tongue is the same as a book to the Iroquois, the cunning varlets are quick enough at understanding the reason of a wolf's howl.The scout, while making his remarks, was busied in collecting certain necessary implements; as he concluded, he moved silently by the group of travelers, accompanied by the Mohicans, who seemed to comprehend his intentions with instinctive readiness, when the whole three disappeared in succession, seeming to vanish against the dark face of a perpendicular rock that rose to the height of a few yards, within as many feet of the water's edge.
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