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oppressive. There, however, he slackened his speed, to recover breath,
proceeding even at a quick walk, or a slow trot, along the more difficult
parts of the way. The Hurons were whooping and leaping behind him; but this he
disregarded, well knowing they must overcome the difficulties he had
surmounted, ere they could reach the elevation to which he had attained. The
summit of the first hill was now quite near him, and he saw, by the formation
of the land, that a deep glen intervened, before the base of a second hill
could be reached. Walking deliberately to the summit, he glanced eagerly about
him, in every direction, in quest of a cover. None offered in the ground; but
a fallen tree lay near him, and desperate circumstances require desperate
remedies. This tree lay in a line parallel to the glen, at the brow of the
hill; to leap on it, and then to force his person as close as possible under
its lower side, took but a moment. Previously to disappearing from his
pursuers, however, Deerslayer stood on the height, and gave a cry of triumph,
as if exulting at the sight of the descent that lay before him.--In the next
instant he was stretched beneath the tree.
No sooner was this expedient adopted, than the young man ascertained how
desperate had been his own efforts, by the violence of the pulsations in his
frame. He could hear his heart beat, and his breathing was like the action of
a bellows in quick motion. Breath was gained, however, and the heart soon
ceased to throb, as if about to break through its confinement. The footsteps
of those who toiled up the opposite side of the acclivity were now audible,
and presently voices and treads announced the arrival of the pursuers. The
foremost shouted as they reached the height; then, fearful that their enemy
would escape under favour of the descent, each leaped upon the fallen tree,
and plunged into the ravine, trusting to get a sight of the pursued, ere he
reached the bottom. In this manner, Huron followed Huron, until Natty began to
hope the whole had passed. Others succeeded, however, until quite forty had
leaped over the tree; and then he counted them, as the surest mode of
ascertaining how many could be behind. Presently all were in the bottom of the
glen, quite a hundred feet below him, and some had even ascended part of the
opposite hill, when it became evident an inquiry was making, as to the
direction he had taken. This was the critical moment; and one of nerves less
steady, or of a training that had been neglected, would have seized it to
rise, and fly. Not so with Deerslayer. He still lay quiet, watching with
jealous vigilance every movement below, and fast regaining his breath.
The Hurons now resembled a pack of hounds, at fault. Little was said, but
each man ran about, examining the dead leaves, as the hound hunts for the lost
scent. The great number of moccasins that had passed made the examination
difficult, though the in-toe of an Indian was easily to be distinguished from
the freer and wider step of a white man. Believing that no more pursuers
remained behind, and hoping to steal away unseen, Deerslayer suddenly threw
himself over the tree, and fell on the upper side. This achievement appeared
to be effected successfully, and hope beat high in the bosom of the fugitive.
Rising to his hands and feet, after a moment lost in listening to the sounds
in the glen, in order to ascertain if he had been seen, the young man next
scrambled to the top of the hill, a distance of only ten yards, in the
expectation of getting its brow between him and his pursuers, and himself so
far under cover. Even this was effected, and he rose to his feet, walking
swiftly but steadily along the summit, in a direction opposite to that in
which he had first fled. The nature of the calls in the glen, however, soon
made him uneasy, and he sprang upon the summit, again, in order to
reconnoitre. No sooner did he reach the height than he was seen, and the chase
renewed. As it was better footing on the level ground, Deerslayer now avoided
the side-hill, holding his flight along the ridge; while the Hurons, judging
from the general formation of the land, saw that the ridge would soon melt
into the hollow, and kept to the latter, as the easiest mode of heading the
fugitive. A few, at the same time, turned south, with a view to prevent his
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escaping in that direction; while some crossed his trail towards the water, in
order to prevent his retreat by the lake, running southerly.
The situation of Deerslayer was now more critical than it ever had been. He
was virtually surrounded on three sides, having the lake on the fourth. But he
had pondered well on all the chances, and took his measures with coolness,
even while at the top of his speed. As is generally the case with the vigorous
border-men, he could outrun any single Indian among his pursuers, who were
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