Page:The last of the Mohicans (1826 Volume 1).djvu/255

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THE MOHICANS.
239

be better to take the gold of Munro, and buy the heart of some Huron maid with his gifts and generosity."

The Indian made no reply for near a minute, but bent his fierce looks on the countenance of Cora in such wavering glances, that her eyes sunk with shame, under an impression that, for the first time, they had encountered an expression that no chaste female might endure. While she was shrinking within herself, in dread of having her ears wounded by some proposal still more shocking than the last, the voice of Magua answered, in its tones of deepest malignancy—

"When the blows scorched the back of the Huron, he would know where to find a woman to feel the smart. The daughter of Munro would draw his water, hoe his corn, and cook his venison. The body of the gray-head would sleep among his cannon, but his heart would lie within reach of the knife of le Subtil."

"Monster! well dost thou deserve thy treacherous name!" cried Cora, in an ungovernable burst of filial indignation.