第33章

As the Delaware and Jasper well knew there must be several more of the Iroquois on the rift, from; the circum-stance that their own appearance had occasioned no sur-prise in the individual they had met, both felt the neces-sity of extreme caution.Men less bold and determined would have thought that they were incurring too great a risk by thus venturing into the midst of their enemies;but these hardy borderers were unacquainted with fear, were accustomed to hazards, and so well understood the necessity of at least preventing their foes from getting the boat, that they would have cheerfully encountered even greater risks to secure their object.So all-important to the safety of Mabel, indeed, did Jasper deem the posses-sion or the destruction of this canoe, that he had drawn his knife, and stood ready to rip up the bark, in order to render the boat temporarily unserviceable, should any-thing occur to compel the Delaware and himself to aban-don their prize.

In the meantime, the Iroquois, who led the way, pro-ceeded slowly through the water in the direction of his own party, still grasping the canoe, and dragging his re-luctant followers in his train.Once Chingachgook raised his tomahawk, and was about to bury it in the brain of his confiding and unsuspicious neighbor; but the probability that the death-cry or the floating body might give the alarm induced that wary chief to change his purpose.At the next moment he regretted this indecision, for the three who clung to the canoe suddenly found themselves in the ceutre of a party of no less than four others who were in quest of it.

After the usual brief characteristic exclamations of sat-isfaction, the savages eagerly laid hold of the canoe, for all seemed impressed with the necessity of securing this important boat, the one side in order to assail their foes, and the other to secure their retreat.The addition to the party, however, was so unlooked-for, and so completely gave the enemy the superiority, that for a few moments the ingenuity and address of even the Delaware were at fault.The five Iroquois, who seemed perfectly to under-stand their errand, pressed forward towards their own shore, without pausing to converse; their object being in truth to obtain the paddles, which they had previously secured, and to embark three or four warriors, with all their rifles and powder-horns, the want of which had alone prevented their crossing the river by swimming as soon as it was dark.

In this manner, the body of friends and foes united reached the margin of the eastern channel, where, as in the case of the western, the river was too deep to be waded.

Here a short pause succeeded, it being necessary to deter-mine the manner in which the canoe was to be carried across.One of the four who had just reached the boat was a chief; and the habitual deference which the Ameri-can Indian pays to merit, experience, and station kept the others silent until this individual had spoken.

The halt greatly added to the danger of discovering the presence of Jasper, in particular, who, however, had the precaution to throw the cap he wore into the bottom of the canoe.Being without his jacket and shirt, the outline of his figure, in the obscurity, would now be less likely to attract observation.His position, too, at the stern of the canoe a little favored his concealment, the Iroquois natur-ally keeping their looks directed the other way.Not so with Chingachgook.This warrior was literally in the midst of his most deadly foes, and he could scarcely move without touching one of them.Yet he was apparently unmoved, though he kept all his senses on the alert, in readiness to escape, or to strike a blow at the proper mo-ment.By carefully abstaining from looking towards those behind him, he lessened the chances of discovery, and waited with the indomitable patience of an Indian for the instant when he should be required to act.

"Let all my young men but two, one at each end of the canoe, cross and get their arms," said the Iroquois chief.

"Let the two push over the boat."

The Indians quietly obeyed, leaving Jasper at the stern, and the Iroquois who had found the canoe at the bow of the light craft, Chingachgook burying himself so deep in the river as to be passed by the others without detection.

The splashing in the water, the tossing arms, and the calls of one to another, soon announced that the four who had last joined the party were already swimming.As soon as this fact was certain, the Delaware rose, resumed his former station, and began to think the moment for action was come.