Readings from American Literature [antikvár]

THE LAST OF THE MOHICANS1 A Narrative of 1757 CHAPTER XXXII But plagues shall spread, and funeral fires increase, Till the great king, without a ransom paid, To her own Chrysa send the black-ey'd maid. Popé.2 During the time Uncas was making this disposition of his forces, the woods were as still, and, with the exception of those who had met in council, apparently, as much untenanted, as when they came fresh from the hands of their Almighty Creator. The eye could rangé, in every direction, through the long and shadowed vistas of the trees; but nowhere was any object to be seen that did not properíy beíong to the peaceful and slumbering scenery. Here and there a bird was heard fluttering among the branches of the beeches, and occasionally a squirrel dropped a nut, drawing the startled looks of the party, for a moment, to the place; but the instant the casual interruption ceased, the passing air was heard murmuring above their heads, along that verdant and undulating surface of forest, which spread itself unbroken, unless by stream or laké, over such a vast region of country. Across the tract of wilderness, which lay between the Delawares 3 and the village of their enemies, it seemed as if the foot of man had never trodden, so breathing and deep was the silence in which it lay. But Hawk-eye, whose duty led him foremost in the adventure, knew the character of those with whom he was about to contend too weil to trust the treacherous quiet. When he saw his little band collected, the scout threw "Killdeer" into the hollow of his arm, and making a silent signal that he would be followed, he led them many rods towards the rear, into the bed of a little brook which they had crossed in advancing. Here he halted, and after waiting for the whole of his grave and attentive warriors to close about him, he spoke in Delaware, demanding - "Do any of my young men know whither this run will lead us?" A Delaware stretched forth a hand, with the two fingers separated, and indicating the manner in which they were joined at the root, he answered - "Before the sun could go his own length, the little water will be in the big." Then he added, pointing in the direction of the place he mentioned, "the two make enough for the beavers." "I thought as much," returned the scout, glancing his eye