ssail their foes, and the other to secure their retreat. The addition
to the party, however, was so unlooked-for, and so completely gave the
enemy the superiority, that for a few moments the ingenuity and address
of even the Delaware were at fault. The five Iroquois, who seemed
perfectly to understand their errand, pressed forward towards their
own shore, without pausing to converse; their object being in truth to
obtain the paddles, which they had previously secured, and to embark
three or four warriors, with all their rifles and powder-horns, the want
of which had alone prevented their crossing the river by swimming as
soon as it was dark.

In this manner, the body of friends and foes united reached the margin
of the eastern channel, where, as in the case of the western, the
river was too deep to be waded. Here a short pause succeeded, it being
necessary to determine the manner in which the canoe was to be carried
across. One of the four who had just reached the boat was a chief;
and the habitual deference which the American Indian pays to merit,
experience, and station kept the others silent until this individual had
spoken.

The halt greatly added to the danger of discovering the presence of
Jasper, in particular, who, however, had the precaution to throw the
cap he wore into the bottom of the canoe. Being without his jacket and
shirt, the outline of his figure, in the obscurity, would now be less
likely to attract observation. His position, too, at the stern of the
canoe a little favored his concealment, the Iroquois naturally keeping
their looks directed the other way. Not so with Chingachgook. This
warrior was literally in the midst of his most deadly foes, and he
could scarcely move without touching one of them. Yet he was apparently
unmoved, though he kept all his senses on the alert, in readiness
to escape, or to strike a blow at the proper moment. By carefully
abstaining from looking towards those behind him, he lessened the
chances of discovery, and waited with the indomitable patience of an
Indian for the instant when he should be required to act.

"Let all my young men but two, one at each end of the canoe, cross and
get their arms," said the Iroquois chief. "Let the two push over the
boat."

The Indians quietly obeyed, leaving Jasper at the stern, and the
Iroquois who had found the canoe at the bow of the light craft,
Chingachgook burying himself so deep in the river as to be passed by the
others wit