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 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