Here are no dead, sadi Heyward;
the storm seems not to have passed this way
.
That's manifest; and clearer than the heavens above our heads
, returned the undisturbed scout;
but either
she, or they that have robbed her, have passed the bush; for I remember the rag she wore to hide a face
that all did love to look upon. Uncas, you are right; the dark-hair has been here, and she has fled like
a frightened fawn, to the wood; none who could fly would remain to be murdered. Let us search for the
marks she left; for, to Indian eyes, I sometimes think a humming-bird leaves his trail in the air
.
The young Mohican darted away at the suggestion, and the scout had hardly done speaking, before the former raised a cry of success from the margin of the forest. On reaching the spot, the anxious party perceived another portion of the veil fluttering on the lower branch of a beech.
Softly, softly
, said the scout, extending his long rifle in front of the eager Heyward;
we now know our
work, but the beauty of the trail must not be deformed. A step too soon may give us hours of trouble.
We have them, though; that much is beyond denial
.
Bless ye, bless ye, worthy man
! exclaimed Munro;
whither then, have they fled, and where are my babes
?
The path they have taken depends on many chances. If they have gone alone, they are quite as likely
to move in a circle as straight, and they may be within a dozen miles of us; but if the Hurons, or any of
the French Indians, have laid hands on them, 'tis probably they are now near the borders of the Canadas.
But what matters that
? continued the deliberate scout, observing the powerful anxiety and disappointment
the listeners exhibited;
here are the Mohicans and I on one end of the trail, and, rely on it, we find the
other, though they should be a hundred leagues asunder! Gently, gently, Uncas, you are as impatient as
a man in the settlements; you forget that light feet leave but faint marks
!
Hugh
! exclaimed Chingachgook, who had been occupied in examining an opening that had been evidently
made through the low underbrush which skirted the forest; and who now stood erect, as he pointed downward,
in the attitude and with the air of a man who beheld a disgusting serpent.
Here is the palpable impression of the footstep of a man
, cried Heyward, bending over the indicated
spot;
he has trod in the margin of this pool, and the mark cannot be mistaken. They are captives
.
Better so than left to starve in the wilderness
, returned the scout;
and they will leave a wider trail. I would
wager fifty beaver skins against as many flints, that the Mohicans and I enter their wigwams within the
month! Stoop to it, Uncas, and try what you can make of the moccasin; for moccasin it plainly is, and no
shoe
.
The young Mohican bent over the track, and removing the scattered leaves from around the place, he examined it with much of that sort of scrutiny that a money dealer, in these days of pecuniary doubts, would bestow on a suspected due-bill. At length he arose from his knees, satisfied with the result of the examination.
Well, boy
, demanded the attentive scout;
what does it say? Can you make anything of the tell-tale
?
Le Renard Subtil
!
Ha! that rampaging devil again! there will never be an end of his loping till
.
Heyward reluctantly admitted the truth of this intelligence, and now expressed rather his hopes than his doubts by saying:
One moccasin is so much like another, it is probable there is some mistake
.