Page:The last of the Mohicans (1826 Volume 1).djvu/297

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THE MOHICANS.
281

swer. "An Indian yell is plain language to men who have passed their days in the woods. But when you landed, we were driven to crawl like sarpents, beneath the leaves; and then we lost sight of you entirely, until we placed eyes on you again trussed to the trees, and ready bound for an Indian massacre."

"Our rescue was the deed of Providence! It was nearly a miracle that you took not the wrong path, for the Hurons divided, and each band of them had its horses!"

"Ay! there we were thrown off the scent, and might indeed have lost the trail, had it not been for Uncas," returned the scout, with the tone and manner of a man who recalled all the embarrassment of the past moment; "we took the path, however, that led into the wilderness; for we judged, and judged rightly, that the savages would hold that course with their prisoners. But when we had followed it for many miles, without finding a single twig broken, as I had advised, my mind