Chapter XXVIII.

by James Fenimore Cooper

　　Yes! we have need to bid our hopes repose On some protecting influence; here confined Life hath no healing balm for mental woes; Earth is too narrow for the immortal mind. Our spirits burn to mingle with the day, As exiles panting for their native coast; Yet lured by every wild-flower from their way, And shrinking from the gulf that must be crossed. Death hovers round us--in the zephyr's sigh As in the storm he comes--and lo! Eternity! --MRS. HEMANS.It was probably that inherent disposition to pry into unknownthings, which is said to mark her sex, and which was the weaknessassailed by the serpent when he deluded Eve into disobedience, thatnow tempted Margery to go beyond the limits which Pigeonswing hadset for her, with a view to explore and ascertain what might befound without. In doing this, however, she did not neglect a certaindegree of caution, and avoided exposing her person as much aspossible.

　　Margery had got to the very verge of prudence, so far as the coverwas concerned, when her steps were suddenly arrested by a mostunexpected and disagreeable sight. An Indian was seated on a rockwithin twenty feet of the place where she stood. His back was towardher, but she was certain it could not be Pigeonswing, who had gonein a contrary direction, while the frame of this savage was muchlarger and heavier than that of the Chippewa. His rifle leanedagainst the rock, near his arm, and the tomahawk and knife were inhis belt; still Margery thought, so far as she could ascertain, thathe was not in his war-paint, as she knew was the fact with thosewhom she had seen at Prairie Round. The attitude and wholedeportment of this stranger, too, struck her as remarkable. Althoughour heroine stood watching him for several minutes, almostbreathless with terror and anxiety to learn his object, he neverstirred even a limb in all that time. There he sat, motionless asthe rock on which he had placed himself; a picture of solitude andreflection.

　　It was evident, moreover, that this stranger also sought a speciesof concealment, as well as the fugitives. It is true he had notburied himself in a cover of bushes; but his seat was in a hollow ofthe ground where no one could have seen him, from the rear or oneither side, at a distance a very little greater than that at whichMargery stood, while his front was guarded from view by a line ofbushes that fringed the margin of the stream. Marius, pondering onthe mutations of fortune, amid the ruins of Carthage, could scarcelyhave presented a more striking object than the immovable form ofthis stranger. At length the Indian slightly turned his head, whenhis observer, to her great surprise, saw the hard, red, but nobleand expressive profile of the well-known features of Peter.

　　In an instant all Margery's apprehensions vanished, and her hand wassoon lightly laid on the shoulder of her friend. Notwithstanding thesuddenness of this touch, the great chief manifested no alarm. Heturned his head slowly, and when he saw the bright countenance ofthe charming bride, his smile met hers in pleased recognition. Therewas no start, no exclamation, no appearance of surprise; on thecontrary, Peter seemed to meet his pretty young friend much as amatter of course, and obviously with great satisfaction.

　　"How lucky this is, Peter!" exclaimed the breathless Margery."Bourdon's mind will now be at rest, for he was afraid you had goneto join our enemies, Bear's Meat and his party."

　　"Yes; go and stay wid 'em. So bess. Now dey t'ink Peter all on deirside. But never forget you, young Blossom."

　　"I believe you, Peter; for I feel as if you are a true friend. Howlucky that we should meet here!"

　　"No luck at all. Come a purpose. Pigeonswing tell me where you be,so come here. Juss so."

　　"Then you expected to find us in this cover! and what have you totell us of our enemies?"

　　"Plenty of dem. All about mout' of river. All about woods andOpenings here. More dan you count. T'ink of nuttin' but get yourscalp."

　　"Ah! Peter;--why is it that you red men wish so much to take ourlives?--and why have you destroyed the missionary, a piousChristian, who wished for nothing but your good?"

　　Peter bent his eyes to the earth, and for more than a minute he madeno reply. He was much moved, however, as was visible in hiscountenance, which plainly denoted that strong emotions were at workwithin.

　　"Blossom, listen to my words," he, at length, answered. "They aresuch as a fader would speak to his da'ghter. You my da'ghter. Tellyou so, once; and what Injin say once, he say alway. Poor, and don'tknow much, but know how to do as he say he do. Yes, you my da'ghter!Bear's Meat can't touch you, widout he touch me. Bourdon yourhusband; you his squaw. Husband and squaw go togedder, on same path.Dat right. But, Blossom, listen. Dere is Great Spirit. Injin believedat as well as pale-face. See dat is so. Dere is Great WickedSpirit, too. Feel dat, too; can't help it. For twenty winter datGreat Wicked Spirit stay close to my side. He put his hand beforeone of my ear, and he put his mout' to tudder. Keep whisper,whisper, day and night, nebber stop whisper. Tell me to kill pale-face, wherever I find him. Bess to kill him. If didn't kill pale-face, pale-face kill Injin. No help for it. Kill ole man, kill youngman; kill squaws, pappoose and all. Smash eggs and break up 'e nest.Dat what he whisper, day and night, for twenty winters. Whisper somuch, was force to b'lieve him. Bad to have too much whisper of samet'ing in ear. Den I want scalp. Couldn't have too much scalp. Tookmuch scalp. All pale-face scalp. Heart grow hard. Great pleasure wasto kill pale-face. Dat feeling last, Blossom, till I see you. Feellike fader to you, and don't want your scalp. Won'er great deal whyI feel so, but do feel so. Dat my natur'. Still want all udder pale-face scalp. Want Bourdon scalp, much as any."

　　A slight exclamation from his companion, which could scarcely becalled a scream, caused the Indian to cease speaking, when the twolooked toward each other, and their eyes met. Margery, however, sawnone of those passing gleams of ferocity which had so often troubledher in the first few weeks of their acquaintance; in their stead, anexpression of subdued anxiety, and an earnestness of inquiry thatseemed to say how much the chief's heart yearned to know more onthat mighty subject toward which his thoughts had lately beenturned. The mutual glance sufficed to renew the confidence ourheroine was very reluctant to relinquish, while it awakened afreshall of Peter's parental concern in the welfare of the interestingyoung woman at his side.

　　"But this feeling has left you, Peter, and you no longer wishBourdon's scalp," said Margery, hastily. "Now he is my husband, heis your son."

　　"Dat good, p'raps," answered the Injin, "but dat not a reason,nudder, Blossom. You right, too. Don't want Bourdon scalp anylonger. Dat true. But don't want any scalp, any more. Heart growsoft--an't hard, now."

　　"I wish I could let you understand, Peter, how much I rejoice tohear this! I have never felt afraid of you, on my own account,though I will own that I have sometimes feared that the dreadfulcruel stories which are told of your enmity to my color are notaltogether without truth. Now, you tell me you are the white man'sfriend, and that you no longer wish to injure him. These are blessedwords, Peter; and humbly do I thank God, through his blessed Son,that I have lived to hear them!"

　　"Dat Son make me feel so," returned the Indian, earnestly. "Yes,juss so. My heart was hard, till medicinepriest tell dat traditionof Son of Great Spirit--how he die for all tribes and nations, andask his fader to do good to dem dat take his life--dat won'erfultradition, Blossom! Sound like song of wren in my ear--sweeter danmocking-bird when he do his bess. Yes, dat won'erful. He true, too;for medicine-priest ask his Manitou to bless Injin, juss as Injinslift tomahawk to take his life. I see'd and heard dat, myself. All,won'erful, won'erful!"

　　"It was the Spirit of God that enabled poor Amen to do that, Peter;and it is the Spirit of God that teaches you to see and feel thebeauty of such an act. Without the aid of that Spirit, we arehelpless as children; with it, strong as giants. I do not wonder, atall, that the good missionary was able to pray for his enemies withhis dying breath. God gave him strength to do so."

　　Margery spoke as she felt, earnestly, and with emphasis. Her cheeksflushed with the strength of her feelings, and Peter gazed on herwith a species of reverence and wonder. The beauty of this charmingyoung woman was pleasing rather than brilliant, depending much onexpression for its power. A heightened color greatly increased it,and when, as in this instance, the eyes reflected the tints of thecheeks, one might have journeyed days in older regions, withoutfinding her equal in personal attractions. Much as he admired her,however, Peter had now that on his mind which rendered her beautybut a secondary object with him. His soul had been touched by theunseen, but omnipresent, power of the Holy Spirit, and hiscompanion's language and fervor contributed largely in keeping alivehis interest in what he felt.

　　"Nebber know Injin do dat," said Peter, in a slow, deliberative sortof way; "no, nebber know Injin do so. Always curse and hate hisenemy, and most when about to lose his scalp. Den, feelin's hottest.Den, most want to use tomahawk on his enemy. Den, most feel dat hehate him. But not so wid medicine-priest. Pray for Injin; ask GreatSpirit to do him all 'e good he can; juss as Injin was goin' tostrike. Won'erful--most won'erful dat, in my eyes. Blossom, you knowPeter. He your fader. He take you, and make you his da'ghter. Hisheart is soft to you, Blossom. But, he nuttin' but poor Injin, dougha great chief. What he know? Pale-face pappoose know more dan Injinchief. Dat come from Great Spirit too. He wanted it so, and it isso. Our chiefs say dat Great Spirit love Injin. May be so. T'ink helove ebbery body; but he can't love Injin as much as he love pale-face, or he wouldn't let red man know so little. Don't countwigwams, and canoes, and powder, and lead, as proof of GreatSpirit's love. Pale-face got more of dese dan Injin. Dat I see andknow, and dat I feel. But it no matter. Injin used to be poor, anddon't care. When used to be poor, den used to it. When used to berich, den it hard not to be rich. All use. Injin don't care. But itbad not to know. I'm warrior--I'm hunter--I'm great chief. Yousquaw--you young--you know so much as squaw of chief. But you knowmost. I feel ashamed to know so little. Want to know more. Want toknow most how 'e Son of Great Spirit die for all tribe, and pray tohis fader to bless 'em dat kill him. Dat what Peter now want most toknow!"

　　"I wish I was better able to teach you, Peter, from the bottom of myheart; but the little I do know you shall hear. I would not deny youfor a thousand worlds, for I believe the Holy Spirit has touchedyour heart, and that you will become a new man. Christians believethat all must become new men, who are to live in the other world, inthe presence of God."

　　"How can dat be? Peter soon be ole--how can ole man grow youngag'in?"

　　"The meaning of this is that we must so change in feelings, as nolonger to be the same persons. The things that we loved we musthate, and the things that we hated, or at least neglected, we mustlove. When we feel this change in our hearts, then may we hope thatwe love and reverence the Great Spirit, and are living under hisholy care."

　　Peter listened with the attention of an obedient and respectfulchild. If meekness, humility, a wish to learn the truth, and adevout sentiment toward the Creator, are so many indications of the"new birth," then might this savage be said to have been truly "bornagain." Certainly he was no longer the same man, in a moral point ofview, and of this he was himself entirely conscious. To him thewonder was what had produced so great and so sudden a change! Butthe reply he made to Margery will, of itself, sufficiently expresshis views of his own case.

　　"An Injin like a child," he said, meekly; "nebber know. Even pale-face squaw know more dan great chief, Nebber feel as do now. Heartsoft as young squaw's. Don't hate any body, no more. Wish well toall tribe, and color, and nation. Don't hate Bri'sh, don't hateYankee; don't hate Cherokee, even. Wish 'em all well. Don't know datheart is strong enough to ask Great Spirit to do 'em all good, ifdey want my scalp--p'rap dat too much for poor Injin; but don't wantnobody's scalp, myself. Dat somet'in', I hope, for me."

　　"It is, indeed, Peter; and if you will get down on your knees, andhumble your thoughts, and pray to God to strengthen you in thesegood feelings, he will be sure to do it, and make you, altogether, anew man."

　　Peter looked wistfully at Margery, and then turned his eyes towardthe earth. After sitting in a thoughtful mood for some time, heagain regarded his companion, saying, with the simplicity of achild:

　　"Don't know how to do dat, Blossom. Hear medicine-priest of pale-faces pray, sometime, but poor Injin don't know enough to speak toGreat Spirit. You speak to Great Spirit for him. He know your voice,Blossom, and listen to what you say; but he won't hear Peter, whohas so long hated his enemy. P'raps he angry if he hear Peterspeak."

　　"In that you are mistaken, Peter. The ears of the Lord are ever opento our prayers, when put up in sincerity, as I feel certain thatyours will now be. But, after I have told you the meaning of what Iam about to say, I will pray with you and for you. It is best thatyou should begin to do this, as soon as you can."

　　Margery then slowly repeated to Peter the words of the Lord'sprayer. She gave him its history, and explained the meaning ofseveral of its words that might otherwise have been unintelligibleto him, notwithstanding his tolerable proficiency in English--aproficiency that had greatly increased in the last few weeks, inconsequence of his constant communications with those who spoke ithabitually. The word "trespasses," in particular, was somewhatdifficult for the Indian to comprehend, but Margery persevered untilshe succeeded in giving her scholar tolerably accurate ideas of themeaning of each term. Then she told the Indian to kneel with her,and, for the first time in his life, that man of the Openings andprairies lifted his voice in prayer to the one God. It is true thatPeter had often before mentally asked favors of his Manitou; but therequests were altogether of a worldly character, and the beingaddressed was invested with attributes very different from thosewhich he now understood to belong to the Lord of heaven and earth.Nor was the spirit in asking at all the same. We do not wish to beunderstood as saying that this Indian was already a full convert toChristianity, which contains many doctrines of which he had not themost distant idea; but his heart had undergone the first step in thegreat change of conversion, and he was now as humble as he had oncebeen proud; as meek, as he had formerly been fierce; and he feltthat certain proof of an incipient love of the Creator, in a similarfeeling toward all the works of his hands.

　　When Peter arose from his knees, after repeating the prayer toMargery's slow leading, it was with the dependence of a child on theteaching of its mother. Physically, he was the man he ever had been.He was as able to endure fatigue, as sinewy in his frame, and ascapable of fasting and of sustaining fatigue, as in his most warlikedays; but, morally, the change was great, indeed. Instead of theobstinate confidence in himself and his traditions, which had onceso much distinguished this chief, there was substituted an humbledistrust of his own judgment, that rendered him singularlyindisposed to rely on his personal views, in any matter ofconscience, and he was truly become a child in all that pertained tohis religious belief. In good hands, and under more advantageouscircumstances, the moral improvement of Peter would have been great;but, situated as he was, it could not be said to amount to much morethan a very excellent commencement.

　　All this time both Peter and Margery had been too intent on theirfeelings and employment, to take much heed to the precautionsnecessary to their concealment. The sun was setting ere they arose,and then it was that Peter made the important discovery that theywere observed by two of the young men of the Pottawattamies--scoutskept out by Bear's Meat to look for the fugitives.

　　The time was when Peter would not have hesitated to use his rifle onthese unwelcome intruders; but the better spirit that had come overhim, now led him to adopt a very different course. Motioning to theyoung men, he ordered them to retire, while he led Margery withinthe cover of the bushes. Formerly, Peter would not have scrupled toresort to deception, in order to throw these two young men on awrong scent, and get rid of them in that mode; but now he had areluctance to deceive; and, no sooner did they fall back at hisbeckoning, than he followed Margery to the camp. The latter wasgiving her husband a hurried account of what had just happened, asPeter joined them.

　　"Our camp is known!" exclaimed the bee-hunter the instant he beheldthe Indian.

　　"Juss so. Pottawattamie see squaw, and go and tell his chief. Datsartain," answered Peter.

　　"What is there to be done?--Fight for our lives, or fly?"

　　"Get in canoe quick as can. It take dem young men half-hour to reachplace where chief be. In dat half-hour we muss go as far as we can.No good to stay here. Injin come in about one hour."

　　Le Bourdon knew his position well enough to understand this.Nevertheless, there were several serious objections to an immediateflight. Pigeonswing was absent, and the bee-hunter did not like thenotion of leaving him behind, for various reasons. Then it was notyet dark; and to descend the river by daylight, appeared likeadvancing into the jaws of the lion designedly. Nor was le Bourdonat his ease on the subject of Peter. His sudden appearance, theinsufficient and far from clear account of Margery, and theextraordinary course advised, served to renew ancient distrusts, andto render him reluctant to move. But of one thing there could be nodoubt. Their present position must be known, for Margery had seenthe two strange Indians with her own eyes, and a search might soonbe expected. Under all the circumstances, therefore, our heroreluctantly complied with Margery's reiterated solicitations, andthey all got into the canoes.

　　"I do not like this movement, Peter," said le Bourdon, as he shovedhis own light craft down the brook, previously to entering theriver. "I hope it may turn out to be better than it looks, and thatyou can keep us out of the hands of our enemies. Remember, it isbroad daylight, and that red men are plenty two or three miles belowus."

　　"Yes, know dat; but muss go. Injin too plenty here, soon. Yes, mussgo. Bourdon, why you can't ask bee, now, what bess t'ing for you todo, eh? Good time, now, ask bee to tell what he know."

　　The bee-hunter made no reply, but his pretty wife raised her hand,involuntarily, as if to implore the Indian to forbear. Peter was alittle bewildered; for as yet, he did not understand that a beliefin necromancy was not exactly compatible with the notions of theChristian Providence. In his ignorance, how much was he worse offthan the wisest of our race? Will any discreet man who has ever paidclose attention to the power of the somnambule, deny that there is amystery about such a person that exceeds all our means ofexplanation? That there are degrees in the extent of this power--that there are false, as well as true somnambules--all who haveattended to the subject must allow; but, a deriding disbeliever inour own person once, we have since seen that which no laws, known tous, can explain, and which we are certain is not the subject ofcollusion, as we must have been a party to the fraud ourselves, wereany such practised. To deny the evidence of our senses is an act ofgreater weakness than to believe that there are mysteries connectedwith our moral and physical being that human sagacity has not yetbeen able to penetrate; and we repudiate the want of manliness thatshrinks from giving its testimony when once convinced, through anapprehension of being derided, as weaker than those who withholdtheir belief. We know that our own thoughts have been explained andrendered, by a somnambule, under circumstances that will not admitof any information by means known to us by other principles; andwhatever others may think on the subject, we are perfectly consciousthat no collusion did or could exist. Why, then, are we to despisethe poor Indian because he still fancied le Bourdon could holdcommunication with his bees? We happen to be better informed, andthere may be beings who are aware of the as yet hidden laws ofanimal magnetism--hidden as respects ourselves, though known tothem--and who fully comprehend various mistakes and misapprehensionsconnected with our impressions on this subject, that escape ourmeans of detection. It is not surprising, therefore, that Peter, inhis emergency, turned to those bees, in the hope that they mightprove of assistance, or that Margery silently rebuked him for theweakness, in the manner mentioned.

　　Although it was still light, the sun was near setting when thecanoes glided into the river. Fortunately for the fugitives, thebanks were densely wooded, and the stream of great width--a littlelake, in fact--and there was not much danger of their being seenuntil they got near the mouth; nor then, even, should they once getwithin the cover of the wild rice, and of the rushes. There was noretreat, however; and after paddling some distance, in order to getbeyond the observation of any scout who might approach the placewhere they had last been seen, the canoes were brought closetogether, and suffered to float before a smart breeze, so as not toreach the mouth of the stream before the night closed around them.Everything appeared so tranquil, the solitude was so profound, andtheir progress so smooth and uninterrupted, that a certain amount ofconfidence revived in the breasts of all, and even the bee-hunterhad hopes of eventual escape.

　　A conversation now occurred, in which Peter was questionedconcerning the manner in which he had been occupied during hisabsence; an absence that had given le Bourdon so much concern. Hadthe chief been perfectly explicit, he would have confessed thatfully one-half of his waking thoughts had been occupied in thinkingof the death of the Son of God, of the missionary's prayer for hisenemies, and of the sublime morality connected with such a religion.It is true Peter did not--could not, indeed--enter very profoundlyinto the consideration of these subjects; nor were his notionseither very clear or orthodox; but they were sincere, and thefeelings to which they gave birth were devout. Peter did not touchon these circumstances, however, confining his explanations to thepurely material part of his proceedings. He had remained with Bear'sMeat, Crowsfeather, and the other leading chiefs, in order to be atthe fountain-head of information, and to interpose his influenceshould the pale-faces unhappily fall into the hands of those whowere so industriously looking for them. Nothing had occurred to callhis authority out, but a strange uncertainty seemed to reign amongthe warriors, concerning the manner in which their intended victimseluded their endeavors to overtake them. No trail had beendiscovered, scout after scout coming in to report a total want ofsuccess in their investigations inland. This turned the attention ofthe Indians still more keenly on the river's mouth, it being certainthat the canoes could not have passed out into the lake previouslyto the arrival of the two or three first parties of their young men,who had been sent so early to watch that particular outlet.

　　Peter informed le Bourdon that his cache had been discovered,opened, and rifled of its stores. This was a severe loss to ourhero, and one that would have been keenly felt at any other time;but just then he had interests so much more important to protect,that he thought and said little about this mishap. The circumstancewhich gave him the most concern was this: Peter stated that Bear'sMeat had directed about a dozen of his young men to keep watch, dayand night, in canoes, near the mouth of the river, lying in waitamong the wild rice, like so many snakes in the grass.

　　The party was so much interested in this conversation that, almostinsensibly to themselves, they had dropped down to the beginning ofthe rushes and rice, and had got rather dangerously near to thecritical point of their passage. As it was still daylight, Peter nowproposed pushing the canoes in among the plants, and there remaininguntil it might be safer to move. This was done accordingly, and in aminute or two all three of the little barks were concealed withinthe cover.

　　The question now was whether the fugitives had been observed, butsuffered to advance, as every foot they descended the stream wastaking them nearer to their foes. Peter did not conceal hisapprehension on this point, since he deemed it improbable that anyreach near the mouth of the Kalamazoo was without its lookouts, at amoment so interesting. Such was, indeed, the fact, as was afterwardascertained; but the young men who had seen Peter and Margery hadgiven the alarm, passing the word where the fugitives were to befound, and the sentinels along this portion of the stream haddeserted their stations, in order to be in at the capture. By suchdelicate and unforeseen means does Providence often protect thosewho are the subjects of its especial care, baffling the calculationsof art by its own quiet control of events.

　　The bee-hunter had a feverish desire to be moving. After remainingin the cover about half an hour, he proposed that they should getthe canoes into one of the open passages, of which there were manyamong the plants, and proceed. Peter had more of the patience of anIndian, and deemed the hour too early. But le Bourdon was not yetentirely free from distrust of his companion, and telling Gershom tofollow, he began paddling down one of the passages mentioned. Thisdecisive step compelled the rest to follow, or to separate fromtheir companions. They chose to do the first.

　　Had le Bourdon possessed more self-command, and remained stationarya little longer, he would, in all probability, have escapedaltogether from a very serious danger that he was now compelled torun. Although there were many of the open places among the plants,they did not always communicate with each other, and it becamenecessary to force the canoes through little thickets, in order toget out of one into another, keeping the general direction ofdescending the river. It was while effecting the first of thesechanges, that the agitation of the tops of the plants caught the eyeof a lookout on the shore. By signals, understood among themselves,this man communicated his discovery to a canoe that was acting asone of the guard-boats, thus giving a general alarm along the wholeline of sentinels, as well as to the chiefs down at the hut or atthe mouth of the river. The fierce delight with which this news wasreceived, after so long a delay, became ungovernable, and presentlyyells and cries filled the air, proceeding from both sides of thestream, as well as from the river itself.

　　There was not a white person in those canoes who did not conceivethat their party was lost, when this clamor was heard. With Peter itwas different. Instead of admitting of alarm, he turned all hisfaculties to use. While le Bourdon himself was nearly in despair,Peter was listening with his nice ears, to catch the points on theriver whence the yells arose. For the banks he cared nothing. Thedanger was from the canoes. By the keenness of his faculties, thechief ascertained that there were four canoes out, and that theywould have to run the gauntlet between them, or escape would behopeless. By the sounds he also became certain that these fourcanoes were in the rice, two on each side of the river, and therethey would probably remain, in expectation that the fugitives wouldbe most likely to come down in the cover.

　　The decision of Peter was made in a moment. It was now quite dark,and those who were in canoes within the rice could not well see themiddle of the stream, even by daylight. He determined, therefore, totake the very centre of the river, giving his directions to thateffect with precision and clearness. The females he ordered to liedown, each in her own canoe, while their husbands alone were toremain visible. Peter hoped that, in the darkness, le Bourdon andGershom might pass for Indians, on the lookout, and under his ownimmediate command.

　　One very important fact was ascertained by le Bourdon, as soon asthese arrangements were explained and completed. The wind on thelake was blowing from the south, and of course was favorable tothose who desired to proceed in the opposite direction. This hecommunicated to Margery in a low tone, endeavoring to encourage herby all the means in his power. In return, the young wife muttered afew encouraging words to her husband. Every measure was understoodbetween the parties. In the event of a discovery, the canoes were tobury themselves in the rice, taking different directions, each manacting for himself. A place of rendezvous was appointed outside, ata headland known to Gershom and le Bourdon, and signals were agreedon, by which the latest arrival might know that all was safe there.These points were settled as the canoes floated slowly down thestream.

　　Peter took and kept the lead. The night was star-lit and clear, butthere was no moon. On the water, this made but little difference,objects not being visible at any material distance. The chiefgoverned the speed, which was moderate, but regular. At the rate hewas now going, it would require about an hour to carry the canoesinto the lake. But nearly all of that hour must pass in the midst ofenemies!

　　Half of the period just mentioned elapsed, positively without analarm of any sort. By this time, the party was abreast of the spotwhere Gershom and le Bourdon had secreted the canoes in the formeradventure at the mouth of the river. On the shores, however, a verydifferent scene now offered. Then, the fire burned brightly in thehut, and the savages could be seen by its light. Now, all was notonly dark, but still as death. There was no longer any cry, sound,alarm, or foot-fall, audible. The very air seemed charged withuncertainty, and its offspring, apprehension.

　　As they approached nearer and nearer to what was conceived to be themost critical point in the passage, the canoes got closer together;so close, indeed, that le Bourdon and Gershom might communicate invery guarded tones. The utmost care was taken to avoid making anynoise, since a light and careless blow from a paddle, on the side ofa canoe, would be almost certain, now, to betray them. Margery andDorothy could no longer control their feelings, and each rose in herseat, raising her body so as to bring her head above the gunwale ofthe canoe, if a bark canoe can be said to have a gunwale at all.They even whispered to each other, endeavoring to gleanencouragement by sympathy. At this instant occurred the crisis intheir attempt to escape.