hicans, and then lent his
strength and skill again to the important task.

The clamorous sounds of "Le Gros Serpent!" "La Longue Carabine!" "Le
Cerf Agile!" burst at once from the canoes behind, and seemed to give
new zeal to the pursuers. The scout seized "Killdeer" in his left hand,
and elevating it above his head, he shook it in triumph at his enemies.
The savages answered the insult with a yell, and immediately another
volley succeeded. The bullets pattered along the lake, and one even
pierced the bark of their little vessel. No perceptible emotion could be
discovered in the Mohicans during this critical moment, their rigid
features expressing neither hope nor alarm; but the scout again turned
his head, and laughing in his own silent manner, he said to Heyward,--

"The knaves love to hear the sounds of their pieces; but the eye is not
to be found among the Mingos that can calculate a true range in a
dancing canoe! You see the dumb devils have taken off a man to charge,
and by the smallest measurement that can be allowed, we move three feet
to their two!"

Duncan, who was not altogether as easy under this nice estimate of
distances as his companions, was glad to find, however, that owing to
their superior dexterity, and the diversion among their enemies, they
were very sensibly obtaining the advantage. The Hurons soon fired again,
and a bullet struck the blade of Hawkeye's paddle without injury.

"That will do," said the scout, examining the slight indentation with a
curious eye; "it would not have cut the skin of an infant, much less of
men, who, like us, have been blown upon by the heavens in their anger.
Now, major, if you will try to use this piece of flattened wood, I'll
let 'Killdeer' take a part in the conversation."

Heyward seized the paddle, and applied himself to the work with an
eagerness that supplied the place of skill, while Hawkeye was engaged in
inspecting the priming of his rifle. The latter then took a swift aim,
and fired. The Huron in the bows of the leading canoe had risen with a
similar object, and he now fell backward, suffering his gun to escape
from his hands into the water. In an instant, however, he recovered his
feet, though his gestures were wild and bewildered. At the same moment
his companions suspended their efforts, and the chasing canoes clustered
together, and became stationary. Chingachgook and Uncas profited by the
interval to regain their wind, though Duncan continued to wor